Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Collusion Is Possible
It has become an article of faith in some quarters on the right – well, most — that the Mueller investigation has found no evidence of collusion with Russia and has accordingly shifted gears to process crimes like lying to the FBI or obstruction of justice. Having decided that this must be true, many have called for Mueller to wrap it up.
But this requires a lot of wishful thinking.
Consider the sentencing memos. Most of the attention has focused on the payoffs to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. But the Office of Special Counsel advised a federal judge that Michael Cohen had committed other serious crimes. He “withheld information material to the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.” He later came clean. Mueller’s office recommended that Cohen be given some credit for this, and included this wording: Cohen “voluntarily provided the SCO with information about his own conduct and that of others on core topics under investigation by the SCO . . . the information he provided has been credible and consistent with other evidence obtained in the SCO’s continuing investigation.”
The “core topic” under investigation is Russian interference in the election. The “other evidence” is unknown to us at this point, but it’s safe to assume that it’s significant, because Mueller would not rely on Cohen’s word alone.
In the sentencing memo about Michael Flynn, Mueller’s office noted that he was cooperating on three criminal investigations. Three.
This should give pause to those who say “If there were any evidence of collusion with Russia, we would have heard of it by now.” Not necessarily. The Mueller investigation has been the most silent of any in memory. He doesn’t leak. His spokesman is said to have the simplest job in Washington, saying “no comment.”
At least 14 people in Donald Trump’s orbit were approached by Russian agents during the campaign and transition. These included his children, his lawyer, his national security advisor, and business associates. His campaign chairman, Trump had reason to know when he hired him, was up to his eyeballs in oligarchs. Supposedly, when Trump learned of Paul Manafort’s extensive Russia ties in 2016, he said “I’ve got a crook running my campaign.” Today he paints Manafort as a martyr and ostentatiously dangles a pardon, even though we’ve since learned of Manafort’s close ties to an asset of Russian intelligence. And it’s worth asking again: If Mr. Trump was such a keen businessman, why didn’t he question Manafort’s willingness to work for free? Shouldn’t it have alarmed him to have someone so indebted to shady Kremlin associates so close?
President Trump has repeatedly denied any connections to Russia. In July, 2016 he told CBS “I mean I have nothing to do with Russia. I don’t have any jobs in Russia. I’m all over the world but we’re not involved in Russia.” And in September, he told a rally “I have nothing to do with Russia, folks. I’ll give you a written statement.”
You don’t have to credit the lurid gossip in the Steele dossier to know that those statements were lies. It has since come to light that his children and top advisors met at Trump Tower with a Russian peddling dirt on Clinton. Or just check the guilty pleas of Michael Cohen. Cohen now confirms that Trump was pursuing a Moscow tower deal until at least June of 2016. The Trump organization was hoping to get Vladimir Putin’s approval and endorsement of the idea, and were apparently considering doing business the Russian way – offering Putin himself the penthouse, valued at $50 million, as a loss leader. Trump signed a letter of intent to go forward with the project on October 28, 2015, the night of the third Republican presidential primary debate – in the midst of denials that he had anything to do with Russia.
Felix Sater, a Russian-born Trump business colleague, was working on this with Cohen. After the letter of intent was signed, Sater wrote to Cohen saying: “Everything will be negotiated and discussed not with flunkies but with people who will have dinner with Putin and discuss the issues and get a go-ahead. My next steps are very sensitive with Putin’s very, very close people. We can pull this off.”
They didn’t. But not for lack of trying. Roger Stone, a longtime Trump pal and self-styled dirty trickster, boasted of ties to Wikileaks. Others who were weirdly friendly toward the Kremlin included George Papadopoulos, Michael Flynn, and, of course, Donald Trump, Jr.
The reason so many people of low character are proving problematic to this president is that he has always attracted that sort. If he let them conspire a little against “crooked Hillary,” would that really be a shock?
Published in Law, Politics
This is a good point. We all like the idea that punching back ‘destroys X’, but in fact a boxing match involves a lot more punches than hits.
In fiction people and boxers are considerably more masterful; there is the knockout punch.
Because fiction.
Sidenote: The Matrix movie. Character named Apoc; likely from ‘epoch’. It never occurred to me before now.
As epiphanies go, it’s pretty low-piff, but I’ma post it anyway.
Nice!
President Clinton inaugurated the longstanding tradition of National Emoting which has protected our citizens from the cruelties of Executive-level indifference that plagued our nation before he was elected. We should be Concerned when our current leaders fail to bite their lips or look moved when events occur and are then talked about. No one man has done more to turn the bully pulpit into the Being Nice Pulpit.
We are in his debt.
Whoa Nellie!
Our Sainted Special Counsel Robert Mueller has decided to defy Judge Emmett Sullivan’s order and has refused to turn over the original FBI “302” interview notes in Mike Flynn case of course after wiping clean Strzok and Page’s phones yesterday. Hmmm……… Destructive of evidence followed by the withholding of evidence in a Federal case. Seems like some very serious crimes have been committed by our Dear Special Counsel.
Perhaps Mona or one of her New Deep State Gestapo Bimbo’s can explain this to us.
Or perhaps this is the beginning of the end for the Brennan-Comey-Mueller-Rosenstein soft coup d’ tat. We shall see if Sainted Robert is above the law after all.
LOL. You started it, see your quote above. Then you get your panties in a wad when I respond. But that’s typically how you play. Not the first time I’ve seen this tactic by you. Your default mode is Perpetually Offended.
Right back at ya: LOL Good-bye.
I wonder what the effect of migration away from California by businesses and middle class people has on the composition of the electorate there. Most of the people who leave are conservative.
Possibly. Likely, even. I’d want to see stats, but it occurs to me that even if the conservatives are the ones who leave, once they fetch up in a conservative state their new hosts start to wish their new libs would go back home.
Don’t you hate it when someone proves you wrong and there’s no comeback?
There is no comeback because you are of those who refuse to let things go. And I refuse to spend my time arguing with someone who must have his way no matter what. And, by the way, loves to send pictures to these comments, which supposedly buttress his point.
No there was no comeback because you were wrong.
A. Our first interaction on this thread was when you insulted me.
B. I came back in kind.
C. You played the “I’m insulted card”.
Here’s a gigantic hint. If you don’t like being insulted, then don’t start it with strangers.
Now it’s finished.
Can you prove that Trump did not collide with Russia? Then he must be guilty. And we can prosecute many people on related process crimes to prove it. You know process crimes. It is where people are prosecuted to but put pressure on them to change their statements to what the prosecution wants.