Causes of High Electricity Bills in Thai Apartments

[rooster59]

Trump says Republican memo vindicates him in Russia probe

By Ayesha Rascoe

 

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with North Korean defectors in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., February 2, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

 

PALM BEACH, Fla (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that a controversial memo attacking federal law enforcement written by congressional Republicans vindicates him in the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

 

Trump's fervent embrace of the memo raised again the prospect that he may use it as justification to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, who is conducting the investigation, or Deputy Attorney Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Mueller.

 

Tweeting from his resort in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said the memo "totally vindicates" him but added "the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Their (sic) was no Collusion and there was no Obstruction." He called the investigation "an American disgrace."

 

The White House told Reuters on Friday there would be no changes at the Justice Department as a result of the memo's conclusions.

 

The memo, written by Republicans on the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee chaired by Devin Nunes, argues that the federal investigation of potential collusion between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia was a product of political bias against Trump at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Justice Department.

 

Trump approved the release of the formerly classified memo without redactions, despite objections from the FBI in a move that deepened tension between the White House and senior law enforcement that has existed since Trump first took office.

 

Democrats contend the four-page memo mischaracterizes highly sensitive classified information and was intended to undermine the Mueller criminal probe that was launched in May 2017 as an outgrowth an earlier FBI investigation.

 

Jerrold Nadler, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that Trump's decision to allow the release of the memo was "part of a coordinated propaganda effort to discredit, disable and defeat the Russia investigation."

 

Some Republicans also were critical of the memo's release. John Kasich, the governor of Ohio and a former rival of Trump's for the presidential nomination, released a statement on Saturday calling it "a disservice to our country."

 

Asked by reporters on Friday whether the memo made him more likely to fire Rosenstein or whether he had confidence in him, Trump replied, “You figure it out.”

 

Dismissing Rosenstein or Mueller would trigger a political firestorm much like the sacking of FBI Director James Comey by Trump last year.

 

Mueller also is examining whether Trump has obstructed of justice in trying to thwart the Russia investigation.

 

QUESTIONS OF AUTHORITY

 

The memo alleges the FBI concealed the Democratic ties of a source the agency used to justify surveillance on Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser with links to Russia. The memo revealed the names of senior FBI and Justice Department officials, including Rosenstein, who it said signed off on the surveillance.

 

The document was commissioned by Nunes, the Republican chairman of the House intelligence panel. He said it laid bare "serious violations of the public trust, and the American people have a right to know when officials in crucial institutions are abusing their authority for political purposes."

 

On Saturday, Nadler circulated a memo to House Democrats disputing the conclusions of the Nunes memo and arguing that Page was a lawful target of surveillance, according to NBC News.

 

"Carter Page was, more likely than not, an agent of a foreign power. The Department of Justice thought so. A federal judge agreed," Nadler wrote in the memo.

 

Mueller's investigation so far has led to guilty pleas by two of Trump's foreign policy advisers to charges of lying to the FBI, and indictments of former campaign manager Paul Manafort and his business partner Rick Gates.

 

On Friday, the Justice Department backed Mueller by dismissing a civil suit filed by Manafort claiming Rosenstein had exceeded his legal authority in giving Mueller "carte blanche."

 

The Republican memo focused on court-approved surveillance of Page and said the FBI used a source who was strongly biased against Trump, former British spy Christopher Steele, to justify the action.

 

It alleged that a dossier of alleged Trump-Russia contacts compiled by Steele, and funded in part by Democrats, formed an "essential part" of requests to a special court to be allowed to conduct electronic surveillance on Page that began in October 2016.

 

Despite the memo's charges, neither the focus on Page nor the FBI's investigation of Trump-Russia ties began with the Steele dossier.

 

Page came to the FBI's attention as early as 2013, when he met in New York with Russians who were officers of the Kremlin's foreign intelligence service, sources have said.

 

The memo acknowledges that the FBI counterintelligence investigation began in July 2016, three months before the request for electronic surveillance on Page, as a result of the activities of another Trump campaign aide, George Papadopoulos.

 

Steve Vladeck, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Texas-Austin, said it was unprecedented for the president to feud so publicly with leaders of the U.S. intelligence agencies.

 

"You do long-term damage to these institutions if you convince a large swath of the American public that they can't be trusted," Vladeck said.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-02-04

[Samui Bodoh]

3 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that a controversial memo attacking federal law enforcement written by congressional Republicans vindicates him in the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

I see no evidence whatsoever that the "memo" written by partisan Republican members of the Intelligence committee vindicates Trump in any way, shape or form.

 

This is nothing more that the proverbial "Big Lie" technique of politics whereby a politician screams garbage over and over again and expects everyone to believe it. The difficulty in this modern age is the magnification given to the "Big Lie" by Fox "news" and other right-wing media. 

 

I fervently hope that Americans will wake up and see through this crap. I cannot say that Trump is guilty of conspiracy with the Russians in the election (I simply don't know), but every move that he makes seems to be aimed at deflecting attention from some guilty secret. And secrets always come out sooner or later; I hope that the secret(s) comes out before the damage done is beyond repair. 

 

I have said it before and (sadly) will say it again;

 

Donald Trump is an ever-expanding cloud of toxic waste that defiles everything it touches.

 

God help us all

 

[Jingthing]

It's bizarre enough that "trump" often refers to himself in the third person. But what's with quoting his name as well? That's another level stuff. I've never seen that. Psychiatrists, please advise.

 

 

Of course the partisan memo doesn't vindicate "trump" at all. Not one bit. 

 

I already did a reality translation of the latest "trump" BIG LIE tweet here --

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2018 by Jingthing

[hellyes2oo2]

This is just another example of how Trump views his base supporters. He regards them all as idiots, and feels that no matter what he tells them they will believe him. But maybe he is right, and the vast majority of them are idiots.

[isaanbanhou]

23 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

It's bizarre enough that "trump" often refers to himself in the third person. But what's with quoting his name as well? That's another level stuff. I've never seen that. Psychiatrists, please advise.

 

 

He heard that the Queen refers  to the royal we, he  feels the need to be at least equal to the monarchy.  

[Silurian]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

It's bizarre enough that "trump" often refers to himself in the third person. But what's with quoting his name as well? That's another level stuff. I've never seen that. Psychiatrists, please advise.

 

Donald was probably watching Fox News and got all tangled up in the commentary. Most likely he was just diarrhea tweeting on what his eyes were feeding on. There are no original thoughts in that tweet. Just reflections of other half-crazed right-wing talking heads.

 

Get used to it. The WH now dictates policy based on the right-wing media and their ilk since there is no depth to the WH's own beliefs.

 

[stevenl]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

It's bizarre enough that "trump" often refers to himself in the third person. But what's with quoting his name as well? That's another level stuff. I've never seen that. Psychiatrists, please advise.

 

 

Of course the partisan memo doesn't vindicate "trump" at all. Not one bit. 

 

I already did a reality translation of the latest "trump" BIG LIE tweet here --

 

 

 

 

 

I presume "Trump" is referring to team Trump, so also including Ivanka and especially Jared, probably even the whole election campaign team.

So I do understand the use of "Trump" here.

[Pib]

 

 

[worgeordie]

Oh !,no it does not,Donald,maybe one of the most

corrupt presidents the U.S.A has ever had,and its had some,

he has only been in power for 1 year,so expect much more

to be divulged in coming years,if he lasts that long.

regards worgeordie

[Boon Mee]

No other conclusion is to be made by the revelations of impropriety regarding the FBI and the DNC's actions. 

Trump is most certainly vindicated. 

[Becker]

1 minute ago, Boon Mee said:

No other conclusion is to be made by the revelations of impropriety regarding the FBI and the DNC's actions. 

Trump is most certainly vindicated. 

Reality is obviously something you're struggling with. For a humorous take on the very serious subject of the reality disconnect experienced by the man-child base:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAJUZRZBdlM

[attrayant]

6 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

No other conclusion is to be made by the revelations of impropriety regarding the FBI and the DNC's actions. Trump is most certainly vindicated. 

 

Sean Hannity, is that you?

[bendejo]

On the other hand, all this investigating of his connections with Russia may have led to the discovery of other monkey business, such as money laundering.  This could be his downfall. 

Oh what, he should be ignored from now on?  Don't want to persecute him, eh?  No president should have to suffer through that.  Except for Bill Clinton, because he was a Democrat.  A parade of special prosecutors for five years.

His behavior surely betrays he's afraid of being caught.  And what about this hold the Russians have on him?  Regardless, they seem to have him over a barrel.  

Don't be fooled by all the Republicans smooching his backside, they have their knives at the ready: they're all rallying behind the Nunes memo, but they know it's not worth the paper its printed on (good thing the citizens paid for it, not them ). 

 

 

[heybruce]

47 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

No other conclusion is to be made by the revelations of impropriety regarding the FBI and the DNC's actions. 

Trump is most certainly vindicated. 

The memo argues that the FISA court that approved the surveillance of Carter Page was not informed that some of the evidence used, the Steele dossier, was funded for political purposes.  It does not challenge the validity of the evidence used.  It does not change the fact that the Russian investigation had begun months before the FISA court application, or that the FISA court has only rejected 12 of 33,942 warrants during the courts 33 year life.

 

In short, the memo suggests that there were flaws in the warrant of one person who was part of the Russia investigation.  It is debatable if these flaws are real.  It is unlikely that the court would have rejected the warrant without the flaws.  The memo in no way suggests the overall Russia investigation is corrupt or unwarranted, and in no way vindicates Trump.

Edited February 4, 2018 by heybruce

[Briggsy]

Trump is becoming increasingly desperate to end this investigation and is using some of the biggest tools in the Trump toybox (at a level he has never dealt with before). The biggest tools I referred to are to get the prosecutor/d.a./head of building code/banker/etc. removed and/or placed under intense personal pressure. He has used this tactic in his hotel development and tv careers. This is what we are seeing now.

 

Assuming this fails,...

 

his next stage will be to "settle". I am not sure if this option will be available in this case. I suspect it will though. He will insist on full amnesty for himself and his family, a pay-off, the right to resign from the presidency in a manner of his choosing and of course, the Trump non-disclosure clause.

[Silurian]

2 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

his next stage will be to "settle". I am not sure if this option will be available in this case. I suspect it will though. He will insist on full amnesty for himself and his family, a pay-off, the right to resign from the presidency in a manner of his choosing and of course, the Trump non-disclosure clause.

 

I'm okay with this and the sooner the better. It is not the best outcome but acceptable.

 

[ncc1701d]

Thankfully Mueller is not going to be swayed by anything Trump - or anyone else, tweets.

[joecoolfrog]

2 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

No other conclusion is to be made by the revelations of impropriety regarding the FBI and the DNC's actions. 

Trump is most certainly vindicated. 

Not sure what is more embarrassing , Big Chief Orange Scalp or his deluded supporters.

[ncc1701d]

2 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

No other conclusion is to be made by the revelations of impropriety regarding the FBI and the DNC's actions. 

Trump is most certainly vindicated. 

I really would like to know Boon Mee - if Mueller ends up saying there was collusion by Trump - will you accept that?

 

I’ll accept If he says there wasn’t.

[ilostmypassword]

3 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

No other conclusion is to be made by the revelations of impropriety regarding the FBI and the DNC's actions. 

Trump is most certainly vindicated. 

Can you cite the portion(s) of the report that establishes this vindication? I bet not because there's nothing there.

[geriatrickid]

All part of the buildup to fire Rod Rosenstein for his appointment of  Special Counsel Mueller. If Trump does this, he will cause the drumbeat of impeachment to beat faster. If Trump is going to act he will try and do it before the November midterms.

And mark my words, Nunes will at some point be indicted. He has sealed his fate with this work of deceit.

[mikebike]

Is it just me or has the nattering of the Trump base gotten quieter here lately?

 

[Jingthing]

9 minutes ago, mikebike said:

Is it just me or has the nattering of the Trump base gotten quieter here lately?

 

Not sure, but I think it's almost impossible to shake people in the hard core "trump" base. There really is no point in "debating" with such people if the goal is to move them. Future elections will be decided by the passion factor on different sides and the swingy type voters. 

[Grubster]

I supported Trump and I am regretting that, He is doing nothing for the working class that he said he would do. This investigation needs to take its course to see what did happen with the Russians and possibly Trump. 

[Thaidream]

The Memo proves only one thing and that is that Donald Trump is trying to use this document in an attempt to obstruct the Mueller investigation.

 

Trump knows that Mueller is starting to investigate his business dealings with the Russians and there are plenty that may be construed as money laundering. Once Mueller dissects Trump's money trail he will find Russians investing huge amounts of money in Trump's real estate holdings and paying way over the market price. If Trump is so interested in releasing documents- why doesn't he release  his tax returns. Simple reason- Because he knows the tax returns will show Russian money coming into his business empire.

 

The fact that Carter Page is the subject of the FISA Court makes perfect sense since in 2013 Page was under surveillance by the FBI for Russian connections.  Allegedly, Russian agents tried to recruit Page as an agent. That fact alone would be enough to put Page under surveillance again since he was working for a Presidential candidate who went on to win the Presidency.  The Dossier and who funded it were not even relevant to the Court.

 

What the FBI counter intelligence division does- they watch people who have contacts with Russian agents. and become even more interested when that person works for the President of the US.

 

Once the American people get a full understanding of what the Mueller investigation  eventually reveals they will understand  the Memo is a ruse by Trump to change the spotlight away from him

Richard Nixon when President tried similar actions by firing people; deleting tape recordings and having people lie for him.  It was all to no avail because eventually the full truth comes out.  What did Nixon in- was the fact that the FBI was following the money and this is exactly what will do Trump in -and force his resignation. 

[Jingthing]

trump's intentions with this bogus memo are obvious.

But what is not so obvious is what the republican controlled government may actually do if/when trump goes nuclear on Rosenstein and Mueller. 

Based on their previous behavior, I am not at all optimistic. The word complicit doesn't even begin to describe the extent of the moral caving of that party. 

Even after 2018 if there are grounds and house votes for impeachment, it remains very unlikely there will ever be enough votes to convict in the senate regardless of the horrors uncovered, if allowed to be uncovered.

This is setting up to be a constitutional crisis on steroids.

The future of the entire American democracy is at stake. The normal checks and balances are failing badly under the power of a strong man authoritarian leader. 

It's a global trend now but for now the parts of the world that are still democratic can no longer look to the USA for any leadership at all. 

Edited February 4, 2018 by Jingthing

[attrayant]

Also worth noting that the Bengazi Warrior himself Trey Gowdy says he has 100% confidence in Mueller.  He also says there would have been a Trump investigation even without the Steel Dossier.

 

 

Even Ryan says it impugns neither Rosenstein nor Mueller.  Trump is, of course, implying the exact opposite.

 

Memo Leaves Trump Little New Ammunition Against Mueller

[Andaman Al]

5 hours ago, Briggsy said:

Trump is becoming increasingly desperate to end this investigation and is using some of the biggest tools in the Trump toybox (at a level he has never dealt with before). The biggest tools I referred to are to get the prosecutor/d.a./head of building code/banker/etc. removed and/or placed under intense personal pressure. He has used this tactic in his hotel development and tv careers. This is what we are seeing now.

 

Assuming this fails,...

 

his next stage will be to "settle". I am not sure if this option will be available in this case. I suspect it will though. He will insist on full amnesty for himself and his family, a pay-off, the right to resign from the presidency in a manner of his choosing and of course, the Trump non-disclosure clause.

There will be no 'settle', any other President would be given that privilege but Trump, his family and his enablers will be jailed. Does anyone think after recent events the intelligence service and DOJ are not going to throw the book at the whole swamp stinking crowd of them. The person that will get the "deal" will be the oncoming President that takes over. If it is Pence, he will be given a 'deal' and in return will issue no pardons.

[Thaidream]

There will be a deal and it will be to end the issue as quickly as possible to spare further damage to the interests of the US; restore faith in Government; and salvage America's interests abroad.  Anyway- that is how it will be presented.   Trump resigns and will not be pursued and Pence will give him a pardon to be safe.  Just about everyone else will go to jail

 

The above is how they got rid of Richard Nixon and everyone will be glad to get rid of Trump except the alt right supporters who will scream conspiracy forever. Pence will never be re-elected and that will put an end to the Trump nightmare. However, the information Russia has obtained on America's most vital secrets will take a decade to undue.

[hstew]

There's a new "teflon Don" in town now...Washington town that is.

 

Hillary/DNC PAYING for the steel dossier, the damn stupid FBI use it for a FISA warrant (w/o stating the salient details in the application).

 

If anyone needs vindication, it is Clinton, Comey, FBI, DOJ, etc. Rosenstein keeps his job for now, but Comey is EXPOSED big time.

 

Good on them, they caught with their pants down on this one.

Edited February 4, 2018 by hstew
MYOB