Trump under investigation for potential violations of Espionage Act

[Excel]

Just now, heybruce said:

I'm certain of it.  If there is one thing Trump does know, it is how to get in and out of marriages with the minimum of cost and inconvenience.

So you think she may have done, but in truth we don't really know.

[Walker88]

28 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Let's not get carried away. Try to remember that, on the emotional level,  we're dealing with an angry resentful child. I think it's far more likely that Trump held on to that stuff because he couldn't accept that he lost the election and it was his way of trolling the Biden administration.

I agree 45 is enough of a petulant child to do as you say, but the presence of the CI Chief on the search team is what has me leaning towards more extensive charges.

 

I would say beyond the shadow of a doubt DoJ has to consider that 45 intended to monetize the material. It would be irresponsible not to consider that. Perhaps they will find it not to be the case, but absolutely they will consider it.

 

It is always a consideration in violations involving classified material. The same was considered when an NSA employee was found with lots of docs at his home. Investigation cleared him of that, but he still got 9 years in jail.

[placeholder]

7 minutes ago, heybruce said:

I'm certain of it.  If there is one thing Trump does know, it is how to get in and out of marriages with the minimum of cost and inconvenience.

 

Melania Trump used newfound leverage to redo prenup after election win, new book says

When the first lady stayed in N.Y. after inauguration, she said it was for Barron's schooling. But there's more to it.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/melania-trump-used-newfound-leverage-redo-prenup-after-election-win-n1230471

[Excel]

1 minute ago, placeholder said:

 

Melania Trump used newfound leverage to redo prenup after election win, new book says

When the first lady stayed in N.Y. after inauguration, she said it was for Barron's schooling. But there's more to it.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/melania-trump-used-newfound-leverage-redo-prenup-after-election-win-n1230471

Well that nails it and good for her. 

[placeholder]

3 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

I agree 45 is enough of a petulant child to do as you say, but the presence of the CI Chief on the search team is what has me leaning towards more extensive charges.

 

I would say beyond the shadow of a doubt DoJ has to consider that 45 intended to monetize the material. It would be irresponsible not to consider that. Perhaps they will find it not to be the case, but absolutely they will consider it.

 

It is always a consideration in violations involving classified material. The same was considered when an NSA employee was found with lots of docs at his home. Investigation cleared him of that, but he still got 9 years in jail.

Trump had better opportunities before. For instance when he met with Putin in Helsinki (remember those Halcyon days before Finland aspired to join NATO) and arranged to have a meeting with him without any advisers being present. Nor even a State Dept. translator.

[NanLaew]

19 hours ago, Tippaporn said:

On a case by case basis, yes.  But not across the board.  That's when a DA takes it upon himself or herself to thumb his or her nose at the legislature which passed the laws the DA is sworn to uphold but then refuses to enforce.

Hmmm... I see.

 

How 'bout a prez who won't admit he lost?

[heybruce]

9 minutes ago, Excel said:

So you think she may have done, but in truth we don't really know.

I think she is one of many who could be the mole.  I'm certain that Trump's inner circle is just as opportunistic and self-serving as he is; there is no contest between loyalty to Trump and personal self-interest in any of their minds, Trump children included.

 

It's kind of an interesting whodunit.

[placeholder]

2 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Hmmm... I see.

 

How 'bout a prez who won't admit he lost?

I think you'll find that despite the mountains of evidence to the contrary, there are members who entirely agree with Trump on that matter.

[candide]

3 hours ago, proton said:

Biden, or is it the 46? has already achieved that by gifting millions of dollars worth of arms to the Taliban, having no southern border control and making the USA a world wide joke. ????

And, as usual, fake news! You shouldn't get your information from Facebook and Twitter images.

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/aug/20/viral-image/no-proof-biden-left-taliban-80b-weapons-or-he-want/

[NanLaew]

20 hours ago, xylophone said:

MTG is a screaming far right nutjob and the fact that she is in the house of Representatives speaks volumes about the mental state of the people who put her there.

Hey! Cut that out right now! I'll have you know that some of my best friends are from Georgia.

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, placeholder said:

I think you'll find that despite the mountains of evidence to the contrary, there are members who entirely agree with Trump on that matter.

Not just members. There are many Americans that will remain fully loyal to dear leader regardless of any evidence. As this clip suggests we simply must ignore them and write them off as lost to save the democracy. They are not the majority!

 

 

[SunnyinBangrak]

2 minutes ago, heybruce said:

I think she is one of many who could be the mole.  I'm certain that Trump's inner circle is just as opportunistic and self-serving as he is; there is no contest between loyalty to Trump and personal self-interest in any of their minds, Trump children included.

 

It's kind of an interesting whodunit.

quote "I'm certain that Trump's inner circle is just as opportunistic and self-serving as he is"

 

So opportunistic and self-serving that they all donated all of their salary to firefighters and National park staff(and other worthy patriotic causes)? Donating his entire salary shows Trump's love for America and a total lack of greed and corruptibility. It shows he is an idealist, his love for America and his desire to make her great again, far surpasses his want for money. I'll bet the guy currently in office is not donating his entire salary.

 This is what makes the left's claims that Trump is a spy so amusing.

 

"The President of the United States makes $400,000 annually, before taxes. During his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump promised to donate his salary if elected President. It was a promise, even his critics acknowledge, that Trump was keeping."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2021/02/27/president-donald-trump-probably-donated-his-entire-16m-salary-back-to-the-us-government--here-are-the-details/?sh=63ab9ae71a8d

[NanLaew]

17 hours ago, LosLobo said:

The Russia hoax was not a hoax. 

The Trump 2016 campaign manager recently admitted that he did collude with Russia.
 

 

The "I'll admit to anythin' if it gets me outta the pen and away from their stinkin' baloney sandwiches" quote of the week award goes to...

[SunnyinBangrak]

18 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

I agree 45 is enough of a petulant child to do as you say, but the presence of the CI Chief on the search team is what has me leaning towards more extensive charges.

 

I would say beyond the shadow of a doubt DoJ has to consider that 45 intended to monetize the material. It would be irresponsible not to consider that. Perhaps they will find it not to be the case, but absolutely they will consider it.

 

It is always a consideration in violations involving classified material. The same was considered when an NSA employee was found with lots of docs at his home. Investigation cleared him of that, but he still got 9 years in jail.

quote "I would say beyond the shadow of a doubt DoJ has to consider that 45 intended to monetize the material."

 

So we should go ahead, skip the trial by jury, and go straight to his punishment because some Tom Clancy fan on the internet says he is deffo going to try monetizing these alleged confidential papers he allegedly stole? Sounds illogical in the extreme.

 

quote "It is always a consideration in violations involving classified material. The same was considered when an NSA employee was found with lots of docs at his home. Investigation cleared him of that, but he still got 9 years in jail."

 

 Is there any precedent we can draw from? Has anybody either running for President or actually been President had confidential material at home for whatever reason? How was that punished by the FBI? Would it have showed Trump is more honest if rather than alerting the FBI to his storage of documents at home and allowed them to add another padlock for security that he smashed the documents with a hammer and bleach?

 

What is this, day 4? And STILL the FBI can't say whether it found these stolen allegedly classified documents and clear this mess up for the nation. Beyond farcical.

[nauseus]

37 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Do you have any idea of the amounts of equipment accumulated

over 20 years?

 

Obviously not.

 

Have you any idea of the logistics of shipping equipment across half the world? Apart from the fact that most vehicles have to be properly cleaned an disinfected, how do you think that they would get out of Afghanistan in the first place?

 

Each item has a cost value. That means would it be cheaper to leave it behind or take it back. Really heavy items such as main battle tank would have to be put onto transporters and driven to the nearest port.

 

In this case it would most likely be Karachi in Pakistan some 1,400 km one way. They would have to travel about half the distance through Afghanistan via Kandahar and Quetta, being very careful not to stray across the border with Iran. Or directly to Quetta and Karachi some 1,500 km or via the Khyber Pass, Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore and Hyderabad to Karachi some 1,850 km.

 

They would also need reams of paperwork, passes, passports, diplomatic permissions and paperwork up the ying yang and that is for only a one way one trip journey. They would be moving half an armies equipment across 2 not particularly friendly countries.

 

Just imagine the chaos if the Afghan of Pakistan decided to stop and search every vehicle and every person for drugs perhaps every 50 km.

So why not demolish them then?

[nauseus]

2 hours ago, heybruce said:

As a reliable ally and a force for democracy and stability in the world. 

 

Why?  How do you think Biden regards the UK?

Tell that to the Ukrainians.

[FritsSikkink]

8 minutes ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

quote "I'm certain that Trump's inner circle is just as opportunistic and self-serving as he is"

 

So opportunistic and self-serving that they all donated all of their salary to firefighters and National park staff(and other worthy patriotic causes)? Donating his entire salary shows Trump's love for America and a total lack of greed and corruptibility. It shows he is an idealist, his love for America and his desire to make her great again, far surpasses his want for money. I'll bet the guy currently in office is not donating his entire salary.

 This is what makes the left's claims that Trump is a spy so amusing.

 

"The President of the United States makes $400,000 annually, before taxes. During his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump promised to donate his salary if elected President. It was a promise, even his critics acknowledge, that Trump was keeping."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2021/02/27/president-donald-trump-probably-donated-his-entire-16m-salary-back-to-the-us-government--here-are-the-details/?sh=63ab9ae71a8d

Get a grip he is convicted for ripping off charities: Judge Fines Trump $2 Million for Misusing Charity Foundation | Snopes.com

[nauseus]

23 minutes ago, heybruce said:

I think she is one of many who could be the mole.  I'm certain that Trump's inner circle is just as opportunistic and self-serving as he is; there is no contest between loyalty to Trump and personal self-interest in any of their minds, Trump children included.

 

It's kind of an interesting whodunit.

But quite a shot in the dark nevertheless, eh Clousseau?

[placeholder]

16 minutes ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

quote "I'm certain that Trump's inner circle is just as opportunistic and self-serving as he is"

 

So opportunistic and self-serving that they all donated all of their salary to firefighters and National park staff(and other worthy patriotic causes)? Donating his entire salary shows Trump's love for America and a total lack of greed and corruptibility. It shows he is an idealist, his love for America and his desire to make her great again, far surpasses his want for money. I'll bet the guy currently in office is not donating his entire salary.

 This is what makes the left's claims that Trump is a spy so amusing.

 

"The President of the United States makes $400,000 annually, before taxes. During his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump promised to donate his salary if elected President. It was a promise, even his critics acknowledge, that Trump was keeping."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2021/02/27/president-donald-trump-probably-donated-his-entire-16m-salary-back-to-the-us-government--here-are-the-details/?sh=63ab9ae71a8d

Given that Trump's business consists mainly of real estate pass through corporations, and real estate and pass through corporations were especially favored by his 2017 tax bill, let's not get too carried away by his alleged generosity.

 

Trump Says G.O.P. Tax Bill Wouldn’t Benefit Him. That’s Not True.

“Commercial real estate came out essentially unscathed,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum, a conservative advocacy group. Real estate developers “didn’t lose anything they care about,” and they got even more breaks, like a shorter depreciation schedule in the Senate tax bill, Mr. Holtz-Eakin pointed out...

“Lower pass-through rates and the repeal of the alternative minimum tax — those two alone are so hugely beneficial to Trump that I have trouble imagining any way that he wouldn’t come out ahead,” said Steve Wamhoff, senior fellow for federal tax policy at the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/business/trump-benefit-tax-cuts.html

[NanLaew]

4 hours ago, heybruce said:

I've cracked the code:  "Speaking as a Brit" means the poster has views far outside the mainstream for the UK but wants people to think he speaks for his country.

LOL. On another forum, an American friend of mine, in his fifties who, by dint of his parents employment and his quick entry into the international oil and gas business after graduating, admits to only having lived seven years of his adult life in the US. He's never even voted. He says he wouldn't dare to try and get inside the heads or even second guess the political and social proclivities of his own, grown-up progeny, still living in the US, let alone speak for the millions of fellow Americans that he doesn't even know.

 

He admits to reading with slacked-jaw incredulity, the deep political analyses and exploration of US politics and the American psyche being loudly carried out on the forum by various Brits, Aussies and other non-Americans who for the most part, have never been to America. The special ones though are those that openly admit to having lived more of their lives in the parochial backwater that is Thailand than their own homelands. Yet still pass (what they claim to be) their opinions on a third country.

 

YCMTSU

 

For some, it's time to 'pull the head in' I reckon.

 

For the rest, seeya on page 28, OK?

Edited August 15, 2022 by NanLaew

[candide]

14 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Get a grip he is convicted for ripping off charities: Judge Fines Trump $2 Million for Misusing Charity Foundation | Snopes.com

And also scammed students 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/federal-court-approves-25-million-trump-university-settlement-n845181

 

He also got a conflict of interest by having the State fund his hotels, etc...

Edited August 15, 2022 by candide

[placeholder]

16 minutes ago, nauseus said:

Tell that to the Ukrainians.

Well, I guess if you mean that the Ukrainians fear the re-election of Trump, you have point.

[xylophone]

7 hours ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

Looks like yet another false quote attributed to Trump to make more people hate him, or do you have a source for this unlikely quote?

Whoosh..............................????

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, billd766 said:

Do you have any idea of the amounts of equipment accumulated

over 20 years?

 

Obviously not.

 

Have you any idea of the logistics of shipping equipment across half the world? Apart from the fact that most vehicles have to be properly cleaned an disinfected, how do you think that they would get out of Afghanistan in the first place?

 

Each item has a cost value. That means would it be cheaper to leave it behind or take it back. Really heavy items such as main battle tank would have to be put onto transporters and driven to the nearest port.

 

In this case it would most likely be Karachi in Pakistan some 1,400 km one way. They would have to travel about half the distance through Afghanistan via Kandahar and Quetta, being very careful not to stray across the border with Iran. Or directly to Quetta and Karachi some 1,500 km or via the Khyber Pass, Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore and Hyderabad to Karachi some 1,850 km.

 

They would also need reams of paperwork, passes, passports, diplomatic permissions and paperwork up the ying yang and that is for only a one way one trip journey. They would be moving half an armies equipment across 2 not particularly friendly countries.

 

Just imagine the chaos if the Afghan of Pakistan decided to stop and search every vehicle and every person for drugs perhaps every 50 km.

It's far quicker to say that the US simply offloaded out-of-date materiel. A military inventory that had already been largely written-off as far as the US taxpayer was concerned. There would probably be more anger if taxpayers had funded the repatriation of this junk as Trump and his cohorts idiotically claim was the 'patriotic' thing to do.

 

I say let them have their "Biden funded the Taliban" nonsense moment and move on.

[LosLobo]

45 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

The "I'll admit to anythin' if it gets me outta the pen and away from their stinkin' baloney sandwiches" quote of the week award goes to...

The award for anachronism of the year goes to...

Paul Manafort was pardoned by Trump in 2020.

[heybruce]

34 minutes ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

quote "I'm certain that Trump's inner circle is just as opportunistic and self-serving as he is"

 

So opportunistic and self-serving that they all donated all of their salary to firefighters and National park staff(and other worthy patriotic causes)? Donating his entire salary shows Trump's love for America and a total lack of greed and corruptibility. It shows he is an idealist, his love for America and his desire to make her great again, far surpasses his want for money. I'll bet the guy currently in office is not donating his entire salary.

 This is what makes the left's claims that Trump is a spy so amusing.

 

"The President of the United States makes $400,000 annually, before taxes. During his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump promised to donate his salary if elected President. It was a promise, even his critics acknowledge, that Trump was keeping."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2021/02/27/president-donald-trump-probably-donated-his-entire-16m-salary-back-to-the-us-government--here-are-the-details/?sh=63ab9ae71a8d

Are you really unaware of how Trump monetized the Presidency and post-Presidency?

 

After the election and well before taking office Trump doubled the admission fee at Mar-a-Lago from $100k to $200k, then announced that it would be the "Winter White House".  https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/25/mar-a-lago-membership-fee-doubles-to-200000.html  Lot's of people were going to Mar-a-Lago to curry favor with him, and maybe get a peak at some classified even in the early days.  Of course people were also staying in his other hotels, also to curry favor.

 

Trump's only legislative accomplishment (which was actually Mitch McConnell's doing) was a tax cut that more than compensated for his PR stunt of forgoing his salary.  There's also all the people staying at his hotels and Mar-a-Lago to curry favor with him. 

 

He played the Presidency in a manner that paid him for the PR stunt salary donation many times over.

 

Now he's playing the post-Presidency in an even more profitable manner.  His non-existent "Election Defense Fund" has taken in hundreds of millions from gullible supporters  https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/matters-trumps-election-defense-fund-didnt-exist-rcna33326  and he's now using his latest fiasco to solicit more money.

 

You are truly blinded by Trumpiness if you think Trump ever intended to lose money by running for President.

[heybruce]

19 minutes ago, nauseus said:

Tell that to the Ukrainians.

How has the UK been an unreliable ally to Ukraine?

[Walker88]

1 hour ago, placeholder said:

Trump had better opportunities before. For instance when he met with Putin in Helsinki (remember those Halcyon days before Finland aspired to join NATO) and arranged to have a meeting with him without any advisers being present. Nor even a State Dept. translator.

Actually, he did have a State translator in the room (Maria Gross), but claimed executive privilege and did not even allow Pompeo to question her. He also took her notes and destroyed them, not showing his Nat Sec Adviser, Sec State, DCI or DNI.

 

He would not have been allowed to carry any classified docs into that meeting, by the way. Not with vladdy in the room. He could bring what was in his head, which tends to be delusions of grandeur and little more.

 

He walked out of that meeting as white as a ghost, while putin had a devilish smile. 45 then sided with vladdy over the US intel Community and accepted the soccer ball gift from putin (which was bugged).

[Walker88]

4 minutes ago, heybruce said:

Are you really unaware of how Trump monetized the Presidency and post-Presidency?

 

After the election and well before taking office Trump doubled the admission fee at Mar-a-Lago from $100k to $200k, then announced that it would be the "Winter White House".  https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/25/mar-a-lago-membership-fee-doubles-to-200000.html  Lot's of people were going to Mar-a-Lago to curry favor with him, and maybe get a peak at some classified even in the early days.  Of course people were also staying in his other hotels, also to curry favor.

 

Trump's only legislative accomplishment (which was actually Mitch McConnell's doing) was a tax cut that more than compensated for his PR stunt of forgoing his salary.  There's also all the people staying at his hotels and Mar-a-Lago to curry favor with him. 

 

He played the Presidency in a manner that paid him for the PR stunt salary donation many times over.

 

Now he's playing the post-Presidency in an even more profitable manner.  His non-existent "Election Defense Fund" has taken in hundreds of millions from gullible supporters  https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/matters-trumps-election-defense-fund-didnt-exist-rcna33326  and he's now using his latest fiasco to solicit more money.

 

You are truly blinded by Trumpiness if you think Trump ever intended to lose money by running for President.

He also cost the US Taxpayer big.

 

When his wife stayed in NYC for the first six months, security cost $500,000 per day. Overall bill was $90,000,000.

 

His golf cost, according to OMB, was more than $150 million over 4 years. His kids' trips to Dubai and India to try to license the name to properties there costs a lot. He also used to insist that stopover flights in the UK put up SS and other personnel at his Scottish golf course, Turnberry.

[Rimmer]

Unattributed conspiracy troll posts and replies removed