Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Be a traveling stable for those who can’t find room at the inn.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

I also would like a pony to improve my balloon juice experience.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

There is one struggling party in US right now, and it’s not the Democrats.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

Joe Biden can go out like FDR, not by dying in office, but by crushing the fascists.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

When we show up, we win.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

I really should read my own blog.

A consequence of cucumbers

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

When the time comes to make an endorsement, the pain of NYT editors will be palpable as they reluctantly whisper “Biden.”

Shut up, hissy kitty!

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

You are here: Home / I said Lord take me downtown, I’m just looking for some Kush

I said Lord take me downtown, I’m just looking for some Kush

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Winter is coming for at least some Trump associates:

Criminal charges against two former top advisers (Manafort and Flynn) to President Donald Trump are virtually certain, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Tuesday.

I think if it’s just Flynn and Manafort, Trump throws them under the bus, Jonathan Turley tells us it’s some combination of nothingburger and witch hunt, and life goes on.

I can’t see Trump throwing Kushner or Don Jr. under the bus though. I think they get pardons if indictments come. And then things get really crazy.

What’s your take on this?

Reader Interactions

172Comments

  1. 1.

    Sourmash

    He’d throw anyone under the bus except Ivanka, but once that pardon pen comes out, it’s a tough thing to put down.

  4. 4.

    NCSteve

    I think after they’re indicted, Flynn and Manfort will dance the proffer dance and then flip on Trump like burgers on the Wendy’s griddle. I think they’ll make Sammy the Bull look like a stand up guy who took one for the boss. And I think between those two and Felix Sater, who’s almost certainly already turned, the dominos will start to tumble.

  8. 8.

    different-church-lady

    I find it amazing I’m living through Watergate twice — once as a child, and now as an adult.

  10. 10.

    JPL

    My version has Flynn saying Pence was aware of his dealings, and Trump will gladly toss Pence aside.
    Realistically If indicted, Mueller gets fired, and Manafort and Flynn are pardoned. Congress continues trying to destroy us all with their tax cuts.

  12. 12.

    Death Panel Truck

    If I were one of these guys, I’d offer to roll on Trump in order to shorten my stay in the federal sneezer.

  16. 16.

    Mustang Bobby

    @different-church-lady: Except Watergate took over two years from break-in to resignation (assuming the break-in is the start date). This is happening at the speed of light in comparison. Of course, back then they had to actually dial a telephone — with a dial — to get a call through.

  17. 17.

    gvg

    I sort of think this time it might be some Congressmen, not just Presidents associates. I also wonder about some non governmental people like the Mercers, the Koch’s, Murdock, The National Inquirer’s owner, etc. I just find it odd how they have behaved for awhile. As if they aren’t American.

  18. 18.

    Ohio Mom

    @West of the Cascades: There’s still a blog roll? Haven’t seen evidence of it in a long time. Stuck on a hidden, inaccessible blog roll is a good place for Turley. In addition to everything else about him, I always found him too tabloid-esque.

    .@different-church-lady: Me too, but this time around feels more perilous because of the foreign influence. I never believed all the anti-Russian hype of my youth but now find it darkly ironic that they did turn into a real threat, and that I’m right to be scared of them now.

  19. 19.

    Corner Stone

    @JPL: Mueller is going to get canned. The timing has stretched longer than I would have thought, but IMO it is coming.

  20. 20.

    DCrefugee

    It’s a little schizoid, but I’m concerned by the length of time it’s taken to start the criminal processes resulting from the former FBI investigations and now the Mueller project. IANAL, but it seems there is enough evidence in the public domain — in addition to whatever’s not been made public — that prosecutions and convictions should be relatively easy to justify and conduct. So I’ll believe Sen. Blumenthal when I see some concrete and public action.

    Yes, I know “these things take time” and a good prosecutor already knows the outcome before bringing charges, but I’m growing impatient. I want a slowly building set of open court testimonies, public hearings by Congress and frog-marching to begin and continue into next summer so the 2018 mid-terms turn into a romp for the Ds, with a House majority and at least what margins we have now in the Senate.

    I don’t see the political will to impeach or “25” President Asterisk, but I can see a plurality of citizens going forward with the political will to neuter him and make his life more miserable than it apparently already is, while the GOP disintegrates from its hatred. If there’s a deity, there’s also will be enough to neuter Pence and splinter what remains of the R team.

    Hey, I can dream.

  21. 21.

    eclare

    I don’t see Manafort being thrown under the bus without taking everyone he can with him. He’s been doing this a long time for some very nasty people, just the way I read him. And I still wonder when Putin gets tired of all of this and instructs someone on how to make very special tea.

  23. 23.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    All I can say is that, while I want Mueller to do a thorough job here, I’d sure as hell like to see him wrap this up fast, like before the end of the year fast. The biggest hitch here is that, though we need to prosecute people who broke the law, at heart, this is a political offense. It’s a crime against our democratic system, and we, the American citizens whose system this is, need to understand just what the fuck happened, how, why and who did it, and we can’t do that when this is all kept secret in grand jury rooms. Beyond that, Mueller’s job isn’t to clear the air and show us all what happened, it’s to bring charges, and if somebody did something politically poisonous but not unlawful, he won’t bring charges and the files won’t come to light. That’s a problem here. I’d like some assurance that whatever he unearths, whether it leads to indictments or not, we get to find out all about it. There can’t be any secrets here.

  26. 26.

    rikyrah

    @JPL:

    My version has Flynn saying Pence was aware of his dealings, and Trump will gladly toss Pence aside.

    Been saying this for awhile..

    Race Bannon is up to his eyeballs in:
    1. The Flynn Mess
    2. The Comey Firing

    and, if he thinks that Dolt45 isn’t going to throw him under the bus, he’s delusional.

  28. 28.

    gvg

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): i wonder if he is smart enough to realize he can’t throw some of these people to the wolves without it leading to his own trouble. If it would work, sure, he’d throw anybody under the bus, but I don’t see how doing it would actually HELP him. However he really never seemed that bright to me and clearly has declined even more mentally so he might do it, while thinking it would help.
    I don’t think i have ever seen someone “rich” who had so much trouble getting good lawyers. Even notorious murderers had better lawyer reputations. Thats one of the things that gives me hope.
    It may be unreasonable, but I want them gone soon not later. these people are all scary in several different ways.

  30. 30.

    rikyrah

    @eclare:

    I don’t see Manafort being thrown under the bus without taking everyone he can with him. He’s been doing this a long time for some very nasty people, just the way I read him.

    Manafort and ‘honor’ don’t belong in the same time zone. He is SO not going down – FOR ANYBODY.

  31. 31.

    James Powell

    Question for the blogs criminal defense attorneys – I’m strictly civil – does a pardoned person have fifth amendment protection for the acts covered by the pardon? That is, does it have the same effect as immunity?

  32. 32.

    burnspbesq

    @DCrefugee:

    The failure of the Bear Stearns prosecution back in 2007 still has prosecutors running scared about supposedly “easy” white-collar cases. I don’t blame Mueller for taking his time; any case he chooses to bring has to be so overwhelming that it can survive having a Dotard supporter on the jury.

  33. 33.

    glory b

    @NCSteve: As soon as it was announced that they were scrutinizing Flynn, his attorney was saying he had a story to tell. So I don’t see any other way this goes down.

  35. 35.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    @gvg: Well, how I read the way Czar Manbaby’s mind [sic] is that there are only winners and losers any time two or more people have anything to do with each other. If one side wins, the other has to lose by definition, and vercy visa. He can’t fathom that there could be some outcome where he comes out ahead and the other person does, too, or where he loses and so does the other person. Anything good the other person gets out of any interaction with him is by definition a loss to him. How I read him is that he’ll screw everybody else he can because that hurts them; the lose. And if they lose, he wins. I could be wrong, but everything I’ve seen from this assclown leads me to believe this.

  36. 36.

    burnspbesq

    @rikyrah:

    On the other hand, witness protection may be Manafort’s best chance of making it to New Year’s Day. He’s the Frankie Five Angels of this script.

  38. 38.

    Corner Stone

    @glory b:

    As soon as it was announced that they were scrutinizing Flynn, his attorney was saying he had a story to tell. So I don’t see any other way this goes down.

    “And, boy, do I have a story to tell! What’s that? Yes, I would like a cup of tea. Thank you.”

  39. 39.

    cokane

    No take, just have to wait and see what happens. I don’t think anyone here could have predicted the Don Jr. blatant attempt at collusion that came to light. No sense in trying to make any more predictions.

  41. 41.

    Gin & Tonic

    I’ve said this before, but Manafort is not the type of guy who gets thrown under a bus unless he makes sure the bus explodes in a massive fireball that kills or maims everyone in a one-mile radius. I’m getting elected Pope of Rome before he “takes one for the team.”

  45. 45.

    MazeDancer

    OT Good News: The USN Comfort has – finally – been dispatched and is on its way to Puerto Rico.

    Hillary lobbied hard for this on Twitter and TV, starting almost immediately after storm struck. Think she caused much of the tweeting about it. So, yay, for her. And, yay, something good is happening for Puerto Rico.

  46. 46.

    Redshift

    @glory b:

    As soon as it was announced that they were scrutinizing Flynn, his attorney was saying he had a story to tell. So I don’t see any other way this goes down.

    Yeah, and they turned him down. Speculation I read at the time was that he wasn’t willing to turn on Trump, and they only grant immunity in return for ratting out someone higher up, not other small fish.

  47. 47.

    sdhays

    @Gin & Tonic: The caveat to that is: Manafort should fear Putin, so if Putin would be displeased by Manafort talking, then Manafort may grin and bear it rather than risk Putin’s wrath.

  48. 48.

    Redshift

    @MazeDancer:

    The USN Comfort has – finally – been dispatched and is on its way to Puerto Rico.

    So I guess all the blather about how it wasn’t possible did turn out to be BS. Quelle surprise, if their lips are moving, they’re lying.

  50. 50.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Anyone calculating the odds of a pardon should keep in mind that the one pardon issued so far was not directly connected to Trump. Arpaio’s pardon was a declaration of white supremacist solidarity.

  55. 55.

    Aimai

    @randy khan: i think he loves kushner. He sees him as a surrogate spouse for ivanka and a sycophantic son who will never challenge him as head of the family. Kushner is his creation, unlike his own sons who are half their mother. Kushner has no place in the family other than by sucking up to trump.

  56. 56.

    geg6

    @James Powell:

    IANAL, but as I understand it, a pardon requires an admission of guilt. And it still leaves the person open for civil lawsuits and any state law violations.

  57. 57.

    NCSteve

    @James Powell: I’m just a civil lawyer, too, but one who seems to have encountered a surprising number of Fifth Amendment issues over the years. The answer is that there is no Fifth Amendment protection as to pardoned crimes, but to the extent that the same acts could be prosecuted as violations of state law (or as violations of federal law if the pardon is from a governor), the Fifth may be invoked.

  60. 60.

    lgerard

    I think it is a given that Manafort and Flynn are dead men. The problem is that much of their behavior either predates or was remote from the trump campaign.
    There will be lots of smoke and a very unpleasant stench hanging over the campaign but i think the argument that trump is too stupid and too lazy to have any direct involvement may win out. Obstruction charges would be up to the House, and I don’t see them ever doing anything in that direction although their spinning will be entertaining.
    I am still praying for Rodger Stone to be involved somehow.

  63. 63.

    TenguPhule

    Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) has announced he will not seek reelection this year, another blow to the Republican establishment wing that comes on the same day the latest Republican effort to revamp the Affordable Care Act failed.

    Via Wapo.

  64. 64.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    I can’t see Trump throwing Kushner or Don Jr. under the bus though. I think they get pardons if indictments come.

    Something tells me this isn’t in the spirit of the pardon

  65. 65.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    I think Schneiderman is also key to this, as the money laundering happened in New York – Manafort lived in Trump Tower. I think Manafort and Kelly are fucked coming and going. Hope they’ve got the goods on Devine too, and all those campaign finance violations from overseas. I picture that baptism scene in the Godfather, except with dudes with big white FBI letters on the back of their jackets instead of hit men. I also want a pony.

  67. 67.

    NCSteve

    @geg6: A pardon does not require or imply an admission of guilt. Richard Nixon, just to cite a prominent example, didn’t have to admit to anything.

    What a pardon does do is make it difficult to impossible (depending on jurisdiction) to seek exoneration of a crime you’ve already been convicted of committing. That’s the ugly dilemma that the wrongfully convicted face when a pardon is offered.

  68. 68.

    Teddys Person

    Dolt45 knows no loyalty. He demands it, but it’s a one way street. He’ll throw anyone under the bus to save himself, including Ivanka.

    INAL, but I thought if someone accepts a pardon they’ve basically admitted guilt and can’t “take the 5th.” So, people he pardons have to talk or face charges for obstructing justice? I don’t think that a pardon is the magic get out of jail free card, my problems all go away that Dolt45 thinks it is. I could be completely wrong and impaired by to many episodes of Law and Order.

    ETA: I see NCSteve is setting me straight in #67

  69. 69.

    No Drought No More

    I feel surprisingly OK with the idea of Trump pardoning anyone, and that includes his own guilty ass. I suppose it can be called counter intuitive on my part, or leastwise a departure from my usually reflexive go-for-the-throat approach I’ve honed over the decades where the GOP is concerned. It could well destroy the republican party as a national power (it damn well should, at least), as even those pardoned must still answer truthfully to all questions asked them in courts of law and before congress at the risk of seeing their paroles revoked (which is what their pardons would essentially be). The sooner the complete truth and scale of what happened is made known to Americans and the rest of the planet, the better. If pardons followed by resignation is what it takes to accomplish, so be it.

  71. 71.

    Millard Filmore

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.):

    I’d like some assurance that whatever he unearths, whether it leads to indictments or not, we get to find out all about it. There can’t be any secrets here.

    I am a nobody, Mr Nowhere Man, Zero The Hero … but here is what I think. When Mueller makes his report to Congress Trump will say “pardons all around, its on the house!” The Republicans on Capital Hill will do nothing substantial. But enough information will be public for New York State to go after Trump for his financial crimes. Also enough information will be public for various entities to start civil suits against the RNC, state Republican partys, Trump, Trump’s family, Trump’s inner circle, his outer circle, senators, and representatives. This will be enough to get most all “hidden” crimes exposed except for national security stuff.

    Accepting the pardon is an admission of guilt, which will be a nice starting point in the civil actions. A boatload of money will be needed for these court cases but it will have the Rs chasing their tails for years.

  72. 72.

    NCSteve

    @TenguPhule: Theoretically a pickup opportunity, yeah, but, damn, I can’t help but suspect he’ll just be replaced by someone worse. And even more horrifying is the possibility that Harold Ford might come crawling back out of the woodwork.

  74. 74.

    trollhattan

    @TenguPhule:
    Inevitable question in light of soon-to-be Senator Moore: who’s the craziest Republican motherfvcker in Tennessee? Because that will be the replacement.

  76. 76.

    eclare

    @NCSteve: I live in Memphis, no one from Memphis has a shot at winning a state wide race. East/Middle TN hate Memphis (we are a majority minority city)….best hope for a pickup is someone from Nashville, but I don’t see that happening.

  77. 77.

    sharl

    @NCSteve: A more recent example is Joe Arpaio. The lawyers I’ve seen weigh in on it – while almost uniformly critical, and noting the problems and dicey precedent(s) it creates for the DoJ – say that the Arpaio pardon is legal.

  78. 78.

    gene108

    I think if it’s just Flynn and Manafort, Trump throws them

    I think Trump pardon’s every one involved for all Federal charges. He has unlimited power to pardon people, he’s a narcissist, and you think there’s some sort of ethical criteria that will make him care?

    He has the power to destroy Mueller’s work by pardoning everyone. It’s a win for him.

    Edit: He fired Comey to make the Russia investigation go away. If he can just end every aspect of this investigation by pardoning anyone indicted, even before it goes to trial, he can make it go away. It’ll just take longer.

  80. 80.

    Yutsano

    @Redshift: Marla got a mansion in LA and sweet alimony cheques every month. Plus she had the sense to keep her daughter with him well away from that poisonous clan. Melania needs to suck it up and take Barron back to Slovenia.

  81. 81.

    piratedan

    to start….

    perjury – Flynn, Manafort, Trump, Sessions have already perjured themselves in statements made to the press and already disproved by later statements
    obstruction – Trump, Sessions – guilty by actions and deeds (already publicly admitted) and yet, still no shoes or pennies dropped by Congress.

    voter fraud/suppression – pick someone from the GOP who hasn’t, it’d be quicker
    campaign finance violations – see above
    conspiracy to (see above) – see above
    Emoluments violations – the entire trump crime family, Mnuchin, Price, DeVos
    treason? – Ryan, McConnell, Conway, Bannon, Manafort, Flynn, Trumps (DJT, Jr. Eric, Kushner), Sessions, Nunes, Chaffetz, Gowdy, Cornyn, McCain – would not surprise me if all were guilty. Although I think Ivanka skates…

    who gets prosecuted – 2017 Flynn, Manafort, 2018 – Sessions, 2019……

    who gets convicted.. we’ll see, if its the courts, every fucking body. If its Congress only, then Flynn and everyone else skates…

  84. 84.

    eclare

    @JPL: Yeah, I could see that. She’s from West TN, but she’s the right color and sends the right cultural signals.

  85. 85.

    West of the Cascades

    @Ohio Mom: There IS still a Blogroll. About 80% of the bloggers I read are on it – so I just need to start at balloon-juice.com, get my daily quotient of snark, and then click down the roll to my other favorite bloggers. Why bookmark them separately when they’re conveniently in one place tucked away on the periphery of this blog?

    (yes, I am lazy on the internet)

  88. 88.

    Roger Moore

    @gvg:

    I just find it odd how they have behaved for awhile. As if they aren’t American.

    There is a group of ultra-rich people who aren’t really American. They aren’t really citizens of any country in the traditional sense of owing allegiance to that country. Their only real loyalty is to their wealth, and they see things like national citizenship and governments only in terms of how those things serve their money. Forget what people say about Jews; the ultra-rich are the true rootless cosmopolitans.

  89. 89.

    Shalimar

    @Doug!: Turley got on the blog roll by mostly writing things we agreed with a decade ago. Looking back, there were always signs he was a narcissistic self-promoter, but he was anti-Bush and reasonable-sounding back when that mattered.

  90. 90.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Pardons are an open, public admission of Donald’s own guilt.

    Hang him, hang every adult member of his fucking family.

  92. 92.

    eclare

    @Major Major Major Major: Rumor has it Peyton is thinking about it, as an R. If he runs, forget it. I am probably the only UT alum in the state who hates him with a passion, and I just fucking cannot get away from him.

  93. 93.

    hueyplong

    Manafort doesn’t strike me as the type to suffer in silence.

    Mueller needs to tap the line on which Trump/Pence/Jared asks Putin to ice him.

    I like the tag line Winter is Coming. Sounds much darker than Merry Fitzmas.

  94. 94.

    trollhattan

    My go-to least-favorite cabinet member is at it again.

    The Environmental Protection Agency is spending $24,570 to build a “privacy booth” for the agency’s chief, Scott Pruitt, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday. The Washington Post reported, citing a contract the agency signed with Acoustical Solutions, LLC, that the EPA agreed to pay nearly $25,000 for a “privacy booth for the administrator,” scheduled to be completed Oct. 9, 2017.

    According to Acoustical Solutions’ website, the company manufactures and distributes “acoustical products” that can be used for “office/conference room privacy, reduction in mechanical and equipment noise, secure rooms (SKIF) environments, scientific testing rooms, gun ranges and many other environments.”

    The EPA, according to the Washington Post, requested a soundproof booth that cost considerably more than a standard model. Steve Snider, a sales consultant with Acoustical Solutions, told the Washington Post that the EPA “had a lot of modifications” in its request.

    “Their main goal was they wanted essentially a secure phone booth that couldn’t be breached from a data point of view or from someone standing outside eavesdropping,” he said.

    Note that Pruitt had the computer removed from his office and never uses a phone there, and is followed by his security detail even inside EPA HQ.

  95. 95.

    Roger Moore

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.):

    Yes, I’ve been wondering for a while how long it would be before Putin makes his mind up that he’s gotten everything out of this investment that he can, and he needs to sell his shares before it all comes crashing down.

    How would he back out of it? There’s enough evidence that he can’t hope to cover the whole thing up. Even killing all the people involved would only make his role that much more obvious, even if it managed to obscure a few details. There’s no real benefit to him in cutting Trump and company loose; it would just make any of them who managed to survive be more likely to turn on him. No, he’s going to try to milk this for all it’s worth until it finally fails, and then he’ll hide behind his sovereign immunity (and his nuclear arsenal) to avoid any personal consequences.

  96. 96.

    JCJ

    @trollhattan:

    Perhaps he should also steer clear of women wearing “LOL” shirts (The woman with the nerve agent in the KL airport that killed the relative of Kim Jong Un)

  97. 97.

    The Lodger

    @JPL: I believe that’s Marsha of the House Blackburn, The Unlearnt, Queen of the Vandals, the Roidrage and the Worst Men, Khaleesi of the Great Ass Sea, Lady Repugnant of the Seven Kingdoms, Breaker of Brains and Mother of Drag-ass Rednecks.

  98. 98.

    hueyplong

    @trollhattan: Pruitt seems the type to keep a cyanide capsule on him just in case a reporter hears him say something, not realizing all the reporters are in the bag, anyway.

  100. 100.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Major Major Major Major: Actually it is defeatism disguised as game theory, with the following options
    A: Dems lose
    B. Rs win
    C. Rs win with a bigger margin

    Predict a loss, feel smug, masquerade it as deep analysis, or if you are pundit coin some stupid law.
    Example: Josh Marshall and his rule of R moderates. These rules are not some universal law like gravitation and politics is not a linear regression.
    /End rant.

  101. 101.

    J R in WV

    I said Lord take me downtown, I’m just looking for some Kush

    ZZ Top, one of the finest 3 man rock bands evar !!!

    I actually always thought that line was ” I’m just looking for some Tush ” – meaning some of those great-looking women who come dancing out of the big Hot Rods in the videos.

    Was Kush even an available strain of pot back when the song came out?

    In any case, celebrating the intimation that indictments will begin being announced of senior members of the campaign, members of the White House Staff, members of the Trump Family with great Texas blues rock is entirely appropriate. Plus the Senate gave up on their abortions of health care deformity.

    I’ve been feeling down, so down. I can’t even decide where to donate my small tithe of aid to Puerto Rico, which I have decided is where my contribution should go. Those people are so left with nothing, and there are so many of them out there stranded with nothing. I was going to donate to Habitat, but two things slowed me down, first it was just generic “Hurricane Relief” rather than specific locations, and second, at the bottom of the page they made it clear that they reserved the right to use donated funds as the Board directs.

    But I’ve got the money burning my hand, so I’ll give it to someone who promises to send it to Puerto Rico.

  103. 103.

    Mary G

    Corker’s resignation probably doesn’t mean a pickup, but yet another primary where all the crazies come out of the woodwork, Bannon finds another Judge Moore to promote, and they spend money they aren’t getting from donors where they didn’t think they’d have to, so win anyway.

  104. 104.

    Elizabelle

    That is so interesting about Corker retiring. Might be fun to speculate on future upcoming retirements.

    I truly think some of the GOP pols are sicker of the crazy ass wingnut constituents than we are. (Charlie Dent, congressmoderate from PA, etc.)

    Nothing to glean from WaPost story. Corker says he always thought he’d retire after 2 terms.

    Corker’s retirement will create what is likely to be a highly contested, ideologically driven Republican primary. It also creates a vacuum among Senate Republicans for leaders on national security issues.

    “After much thought, consideration and family discussion over the past year, Elizabeth and I have decided that I will leave the United States Senate when my term expires at the end of 2018,” the Chattanooga Republican said in a statement.

    “When I ran for the Senate in 2006, I told people that I couldn’t imagine serving for more than two terms. Understandably, as we have gained influence, that decision has become more difficult. But I have always been drawn to the citizen legislator model, and while I realize it is not for everyone, I believe with the kind of service I provide, it is the right one for me.

    “I also believe the most important public service I have to offer our country could well occur over the next 15 months, and I want to be able to do that as thoughtfully and independently as I did the first 10 years and nine months of my Senate career.

    Corker recently called into question Trump’s stability, and Trump responded by tweeting that Corker was “constantly asking me” whether to seek reelection.

  107. 107.

    Amaranthine RBG

    The NY AG is coordinating with Mueller.

    Anyone know what New York state laws may have been violated that would be beyond the Pardon power?

  109. 109.

    Elizabelle

    @Amaranthine RBG: Is it the case that a president may only pardon for federal crimes?

    So New York State — and any other states — take your best shot. Hadn’t we heard Mueller et al were loading up on RICO experts?

  111. 111.

    hueyplong

    Actually, Corker sounds like a guy about to join the NFLTG Club, whose Chairwoman is Susan Collins. Once they’re known to be retiring, or have been diagnosed so that they’re about to be retired by God, they’re no longer the automatic folds J Marshall thinks they are.

    Wishful thinking, I know.

  113. 113.

    Shalimar

    @Frankensteinbeck: The Arpaio pardon was for Trump’s benefit. Arpaio was incidental to the political goal. Same holds true for any Russia pardons:They will be for the purpose of getting Trump out of trouble, not the recipients.

  115. 115.

    J R in WV

    @piratedan:

    perjury – Flynn, Manafort, Trump, Sessions have already perjured themselves in statements made to the press and already disproved by later statements

    You can’t perjure yourself in the news media, no one is sworn to tell the truth to a journalist. In fact, more politicians lie to reporters every day than tell the truth to their wives about what they ate for lunch.

    Really, do you understand anything about the justice system? It is not connected to TV News, Print News, NPR CBS nor Voice of America, noy in any way!

    To perjure yourself, you have to have sworn an oath to tell the truth and be testifying before an entity (Congress, the Judicial system) with the authority to levy perjury changes. And tell a big fat honking Lie, also too, while testifying to that entity.

    Telling a fairy tale to a reporter after testimony is concluded, that is OK, legally speaking. Even spinning fairy tales at lunch between stints of testifying is legal.

  116. 116.

    Amaranthine RBG

    @Elizabelle: My understanding that the President’s pardon power is only for federal crimes. Constitution refers to “crimes against the United States”, I believe. But, in this “rules don’t apply” administration, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone cobbled together a b.s. argument that all of the crimes really were crimes against the US primarily and so President can pardon even “state law” violations.

    I’m sure Senator Roy Moore would support that theory.

  117. 117.

    Shalimar

    @Elizabelle: Yes, that is the case. Presidents can only pardon for federal crimes, not state. As for what New York might investigate Trump for, they have jurisdiction over any of his corporate and financial crimes.

  118. 118.

    Elizabelle

    @Mary G: The Tennessean:

    In bombshell announcement, Corker says he will not seek re-election next year.

    The usual, as with the WaPost story, and more local color:

    Corker, a two-term senator who chairs the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had agonized for weeks over whether he should run for another term amid speculation that he would likely face a challenge from the GOP’s right flank.

    Conservative activist Andy Ogles already has announced his intentions to run for the seat. Other Republicans, including former state Rep. Joe Carr and state Sen. Mark Green, also have said they are may jump into the race.

    …. Corker, a former Chattanooga mayor, was first elected to the Senate in 2006, defeating Democrat Harold Ford Jr. of Memphis in an otherwise difficult election season for the GOP. Republicans lost their majorities in both the Senate and the House that year. Corker was the only Republican newcomer to win a Senate seat that year. [Harold Ford, with his reverse Midas touch effect, too. WTG, jack.]

    In the Senate, Corker quickly developed a reputation as lawmaker who would side with then-President George W. Bush on some issues, but challenge him on others. For example, Corker backed an energy bill that his fellow Republicans tried to kill. He also went against the White House and supported the expansion of a health insurance program for children.

    Corker was easily re-elected in 2012 against Democrat Mark Clayton, an anti-gay activist denounced by his own party. [What is wrong with TN Dems? They outdid Harold Ford.]

    When Republicans reclaimed their Senate majority two years later, Corker became chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a job that elevated his profile on the national stage and put him at the center of national and international issues.

  119. 119.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Shalimar:
    But there’s no real benefit to pardoning Arpaio. It gains him nothing politically. He got his applause just saying it. He pardoned Arpaio because Trump is passionate in his belief that brown people should be treated brutally. It is a long held and consistent view of his.

  120. 120.

    Patricia Kayden

    @DCrefugee: Do we have to worry about impeachment if Mueller recommends criminal charges against the Trump gang? I don’t think Republicans will be able to keep their Trump chew toy after Mueller is done with his investigation and starts really going after the Trumpsters.

  121. 121.

    Jeffro

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.):

    All I can say is that, while I want Mueller to do a thorough job here, I’d sure as hell like to see him wrap this up fast, like before the end of the year fast.

    I’ve been saying ‘by the end of September’ for indictments for quite a while now. I may be off by a week at most, but they’re about to start dropping. Have faith!

  122. 122.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Frankensteinbeck: Great point. Ditto for his going after Black football players who engage in a peaceful protest against police brutality. Why go after them? Especially now given all that’s going on in this country. It’s just another way to shore up that White Supremacist support. Trump is making it clear that he has no use for non-White people and never has.

  123. 123.

    eclare

    @Elizabelle: Hey, I will do everything I can for whoever the Democrats run, but the Democratic party here is pretty hapless, and as I said upthread, if Peyton runs, forget it. He played golf with POS and Corker a few weeks ago, and that is the rumor.

  124. 124.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Patricia Kayden:

    It’s just another way to shore up that White Supremacist support.

    Even that’s going too far. This is what he believes in. I understand there’s so precious little Trump cares about besides himself that it’s hard to fathom ‘white supremacy’ is it, but by now the evidence is overwhelming.

  125. 125.

    catclub

    @rikyrah: If Harold Ford gets elected from TN as a so-called Democrat, he will not vote for Trump’s Supreme Court nominees. That is fine by me.
    Corker always did.

  127. 127.

    Insane Clown POTUS

    @Elizabelle:
    The president has no power to pardon state charges at all. Since the Trump campaign and his many businesses and scams are New York based, he has no recourse if they are brought up by Schneiderman. The NY AG can use state money laundering charges to get Manafort to squeal, and Trump can’t do anything about it.

  128. 128.

    ThresherK

    My closest Wilmerites continue to repost links to NY Observer items slogging Hillary.

    Other than that I have no idea.

    PS Did Amy Klobuchar get promoted to neoliberalest neolib to ever sell out because her CNN appearance about Obama care consisted of more than repeating Single Payer Now?

  130. 130.

    Elizabelle

    @schrodingers_cat: Yeah. Tennessee may have a lot of whackos, more than its share, but Trump gonna be on the ticket with Blackburn and anyone else next year.

    Tennessee seems to turn its Senate seats over fairly frequently. And it’s a state that has produced some very good Senators, in recent memory, in addition to famous ones.

    Estes Kefauver
    Bill Brock
    Howard Baker
    Al Gore, Jr. (after Al Gore, Sr.)
    Fred Law & Order Thompson
    Bill Frist
    Jim Sasser
    Lamar! Alexander, elevated to Senate in 2003; Senior senator today
    Bob Corker

    Some states’ senators could be in witness protection programs; not Tennessee’s.

  135. 135.

    SenyorDave

    @trollhattan: The Environmental Protection Agency is spending $24,570 to build a “privacy booth” for the agency’s chief, Scott Pruitt, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

    Why can’t they just use the Cone of Silence from the old Get Smart series?

    Trump and his team make the bumbling Maxwell Smart look like James Bond.

  136. 136.

    randy khan

    @Amaranthine RBG:

    The NY AG is coordinating with Mueller.

    Anyone know what New York state laws may have been violated that would be beyond the Pardon power?

    All of them, Katie.

    Okay, seriously, various and sundry financial crimes, fraud, and tax evasion, off the top of my head.

  137. 137.

    SenyorDave

    @eclare: if Peyton runs, forget it.

    maybe they can resurrect his old sexual molestation case. Of course, it didn’t hurt Trump. But I’m guessing that it wasn’t the first time for Peyton, just the first time he got caught.

  138. 138.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Ivanka and Donald Jr. tried to ‘bump’ Tiffany out of will

    Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. were embroiled in a battle to take away inheritance money from their sister, Tiffany Trump, according to a new archive of the conversations Donald Trump had on air with The Howard Stern Show.

  140. 140.

    Elizabelle

    LOL. A reader comment at the FTF NYT, on photo with white male Republican senators at podium, looking sad, cause they’re not gonna get their Graham Cassidy. It’s Graham, the Turtle, Barrasso, Cornyn. The usual punchable faces. Cassidy’s hiding in the background. He blends right into the ceiling architecture. Did not see him at all on first look.

    That picture looks like the group of ferrymen waiting to escort you and all your fondest dreams across the River Styx after they just found out you canceled your ticket.

  141. 141.

    Roger Moore

    @Patricia Kayden:

    Do we have to worry about impeachment if Mueller recommends criminal charges against the Trump gang?

    Yes. There’s a common, but not universal, belief that the president can’t be prosecuted while he’s in office. If that’s true- and it’s almost certain any attempt to try him while in office would wind up in front of the Supreme Court, so we’d get a definitive answer- the indictments would be inactive until he was either impeached and convicted or completed his term(s). The big question is whether the Republicans in Congress would be willing to ignore the indictment or if that would be enough to force them to go through with impeachment proceedings. If the indictment had enough detail, the Republicans might feel compelled to go along with impeachment to avoid negative political consequences.

  145. 145.

    piratedan

    @J R in WV: fair enough JR..

    so does perjury extend to lying on government clearance forms and testimony in front of the Senate…

    if so, then Sessions, Kushner, Flynn are already guilty

  146. 146.

    jonas

    @Major Major Major Major: It is, which makes it interesting that one of its most prominent reporters, John Schneider, is an avowed never-Trumper conservative with close ties to the IC and he’s been predicting for months that Mueller’s probe will effectively end the Trump administration. We can hope, I suppose.

  147. 147.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)

    @rikyrah: Let me take this opportunity to remind you that the state of Tennessee has plenty of crazier Republicans, and many stupider ones, than Bob Corker. We can do worse, and I am afraid the Tennessee GOP will consider that a challenge.

    Maybe he’ll switch places with Bill Haslam, and become governor. Of the possible scenarios, that’s not the worst, and Haslam’s brother might like to have a friend in the Senate.

  152. 152.

    Shalimar

    @jonas: Schneider isn’t a reporter. He writes an opinion column on national security. Kushner also stepped down as publisher of the Observer and supposedly divested his ownership interest to a family trust, though we only have his word on the last part. What to make of those two data points as far as Schneider’s independence, I have no clue.

  153. 153.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @JPL:

    If indicted, Mueller gets fired, and Manafort and Flynn are pardoned. Congress continues trying to destroy us all with their tax cuts.

    @Corner Stone:

    Mueller is going to get canned.

    Any one of those things would bring out the pitchforks and tumbrels before you could say “1793.”

  154. 154.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Patricia Kayden: This is one reason for people taking a stint in the military. Learning that those blah people have your back, and you should have theirs.

    This is lost on cowardly scum like the entire Trump Crime Family.

  158. 158.

    J R in WV

    @piratedan:

    Pretty sure not completing a security form completely and truthfully is a crime, and not perjury, either, but espionage-related crime of some sort. Adam would know the details.

    Testifying before a friendly Senate is another matter. Technically, I guess, it would be perjury to tell a Senate committee that you had never met with a Russian (for example) when in fact you had several times. Also really stupid!!! But unless the Senate is motivated to take action, and this Senate won’t indict Charley Manson without a bribe, I think a Republican would slide for lying about Russian contacts. Even an AG like KKKousin Sessions.

    Until and unless there were serious detailed damming indictments around that perjury. We can hope, right?

  161. 161.

    Elie

    Hey wait — I thought that the President can only pardon for Federal crimes — not state. If any of them pop up with breaking criminal state codes such as fraud, not sure he can do much but cry. Please correct me if I am wrong, but that was what I thought that I read…

  164. 164.

    Corner Stone

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Any one of those things would bring out the pitchforks and tumbrels before you could say “1793.”

    Not it won’t! Because everything is doomed! Dooooommmmeeeeedddd!!! I tell you! That’s all anybody here says! It’s doomed! There is no commentary anywhere on this entire site except that we’ve already lost because we’re all DOOOOOMMMMMMEEEEEDDD-ED!

  166. 166.

    Tuna

    I see Kushner being called at Manafort’s trial to authenticate recorded phone conversation. I don’t know of he takes the 5th or answers questions but, whatever he does I will be engaged in uncontrollable laughter.

  170. 170.

    Death Panel Truck

    @J R in WV:

    I actually always thought that line was ” I’m just looking for some Tush ”

    Well, since the song is called “Tush,” that’d be a pretty good bet.

  172. 172.

    Barry

    @sdhays: “The caveat to that is: Manafort should fear Putin, so if Putin would be displeased by Manafort talking, then Manafort may grin and bear it rather than risk Putin’s wrath.”

    What Manafort needs to fear is that Putin might decide not to rely on that, but to act pre-emptively.

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