Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Ah, the different things are different argument.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Republicans in disarray!

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

You are here: Home / Politics / Goddamned Traitors / Tick-Tock, Mofos!

Tick-Tock, Mofos!

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Acting on a tip from valued commenter and awesome law-giver Cleek in the thread downstairs, I call your attention to CBS News and Washington Post stories about the Mueller team’s interest in Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates’ work with a Russian intelligence agency asset. Via The Post:

The FBI has found that a business associate of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort had ongoing ties to Russian intelligence, including during the 2016 campaign when Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, were in touch with the associate, according to new court filings.

The documents, filed late Tuesday by prosecutors for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, also allege that Gates had said he knew the associate was a former officer with the Russian military intelligence service.

The allegations underscore Mueller’s interest in Manafort and Gates, who continued to interact with business associates in Ukraine even as they helped lead Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Looks considerably rat-fucky, sounds pretty tick-tocky and smells fairly smoking-gunny to me, friends. What do you think?

Reader Interactions

205Comments

  4. 4.

    Lapassionara

    Is there such a thing as a “former” officer with Russian Military Intelligence? Is that the same as the GRU?

  5. 5.

    kindness

    Mueller dropped this one as insurance. Insurance so Donald doesn’t fire Mueller without collateral damage. Previously the collateral damage would have been limited to MSM & left wing sites that the Donald doesn’t look at so he doesn’t care. Now, even Fox News would have a hard time poo-pooing Russian involvement (even though as we speak the morons on the couch over there are doing just that).

    Honestly I think a better insurance policy for Mueller would be for him to put out a press release saying everything so far points to it all being Barack Obama’s fault. Not meaning it mind you. Just saying it to distract Trump with a shiny object.

  8. 8.

    Jonny Scrum-half

    Based on complete ignorance and with no particularly deep knowledge of any facts, it looks to me like Manafort is the critical component of any case against Trump, and Mueller is doing everything he can to make him turn.

  10. 10.

    Mike Furlan

    Most white folks think that if it was needed to defeat Hillary, it was their patriotic duty.

    And, as our betters tell us, only the opinion of white folks counts.

  12. 12.

    LAO

    @JPL: Trump’s inability to hire top notch legal talent is stunning (let’s face it criminal defense attorneys are the ultimate legal whores), Trump is so toxic between his inability to follow advice, his refusal to pay and the fear that association with Trump will hurt future business, no one seems willing to hire on. This is a constant topic of conversation in my legal suite.

  13. 13.

    MJS

    @LAO: Is Politico considering themselves part of the campaign to smear Mueller? Because I pay somewhat close attention to this stuff, and saw absolutely nothing about Mueller re: WMD, Whitey Bulger, anthrax, etc. at any point when this campaign apparently kicked off. It looks like Politico is attempting to amplify this nonsense.

  15. 15.

    Roger Moore

    It’s completely irrelevant. Manafort was just a gopher who went for coffee. Trump barely knew the guy, and couldn’t pick him out of a lineup if you asked. If he was consorting with unsavory types, it was completely without sanction by the campaign.

  17. 17.

    ruemara

    @oatler.: Because we can have a smoking gun and still be ruled by traitors that the collective ennui, apathy and glorification of cynical non-involvement in deciding the government’s future has allowed. Having a corrupt bunch of motherfuckers doesn’t make collecting the evidence of their corruption have no value.

    @MJS: It’s not called GOPolitico for nothing.

  19. 19.

    Steve in the ATL

    valued commenter and awesome law-giver Cleek

    I wish my law career were half as good as Cleek’s!

    @MJS: Politico shows occasional flashes of reason, but has always been a right wing outlet

  20. 20.

    germy

    #BREAKING Ecuador cuts off Assange's outside communication in its London embassy, says official

    — AFP news agency (@AFP) March 28, 2018

    Lenin Moreno has cut off Assange's communications because he ignored previous warnings "not to issue messages that would imply interference in relation to other States.". Ecuador may 'adopt new measures in the face of breach of commitment by Assange.' https://t.co/2tzIT45CUF— Paul Canning (@pauloCanning) March 28, 2018

  21. 21.

    Corner Stone

    What do you think?

    I think we’re going to need to go all out for this coming election cycle.

  23. 23.

    James E. Powell

    @Mike Furlan:

    I agree. We can’t expect any of them to change their minds. Everything must directed toward getting our people out in record numbers.

  24. 24.

    Roger Moore

    @germy:
    They may have cut his landline, but unless they’re willing to take away his wirelessly connectable devices, he’ll still be able to get on the internet.

  27. 27.

    Brachiator

    Looks considerably rat-fucky, sounds pretty tick-tocky and smells fairly smoking-gunny to me, friends. What do you think?

    I just watch the show and see what develops.

  28. 28.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @LAO: IANAL, but this sounds like somebody knew somebody who knew a guy who was semi-retired (it’s not in this blurb but I think I saw he’s 69 YO) and kinda had some relevant experience and was willing to take the job

    Ekonomou is contracted as an assistant district attorney in Brunswick, Georgia, and told Reuters that he “prosecutes a lot of murders for the D.A.,” though he has never been involved in such a prominent or far-reaching case as the Mueller investigation
    When asked if he has the requisite experience to defend Trump in such an important case, he cited his 40 years of legal experience. “Just because you’re not a Beltway lawyer doesn’t mean you don’t know what you’re doing,” he
    According to Reuters, Ekonomou is a part of The Lambros Firm LLC in Atlanta and focuses on cases of civil and criminal racketeering for D.A.s in Georgia. Earlier in his career, he also worked in the U.S. Attorney’s office and he went back to get his doctorate in medieval history from Emory University in 2000

    Prof Matlock? racketeering and medieval history? so maybe he’s the guy to defend our Borgia president

  29. 29.

    Amir Khalid

    @kindness:
    That would entail dragging a completely innocent party into the matter. Which sounds like a fairly serious breach of professional ethics. I doubt very much that Mueller rolls that way.

  30. 30.

    germy

    @Roger Moore:

    ? URGENT ASSANGE ALERT ?

    Julian Assange has had his Internet disconnected and is not allowed any visitors

    If you’re in LONDON please gather immediately outside the Ecuadorian Embassy

    Demand “Reconnect Julian”

    Until Julian is back online

    Thank you

    ? URGENT ASSANGE ALERT ?— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) March 28, 2018

  32. 32.

    LAO

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: It just weird. The whole thing is weird. Defending a complex criminal investigation is an art, I wouldn’t trust any of Trump’s lawyer to successfully defend a speeding ticket.

  34. 34.

    germy

    The government of Ecuador has confirmed that it has cut off internet access in its embassy in London to Julian Assange, the founder of the whistleblowing site WikiLeaks, saying that he was putting the country’s international relations at risk.

    In a statement released on Wednesday, Ecuador said that the step had been taken because Assange had failed to abide by an agreement not to interfere in the South American country’s relations with other states.

    “The government of Ecuador warns that Assange’s behaviour, through his messages on social networks, put at risk the country’s good relations with the United Kingdom, the other states of the European Union, and other nations,” the statement said.

    As part of an agreement between Assange and the Ecuadorian government, he is not permitted to send any messages that could interfere with the South American nation’s relations with other countries.

  37. 37.

    MJS

    @germy: Of course, if it’s an internet connection Assange wants, he can simply leave the embassy and find a nearby coffee shop.

  38. 38.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    Roh Ho

    Brian Krassenstein
    ?
    ‏ @krassenstein
    16m16 minutes ago

    Trump has tried to get the emoluments violations lawsuit against him by the Maryland and D.C. Attorney Generals thrown out.

    Moments ago a federal court ruled against him. The lawsuit will move forward and boy is Trump in trouble!

    Foreign & domestic emoluments violations alleged
    62 replies 559 retweets 1,293 likes

  39. 39.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    An aside: I hate how SHS is non-answering a question and points to someone else right before she’s done lying in order to avoid follow-up questions.

    As for this Mueller development… it feels a bit like impeachment pRon to me. Maybe it’ll be big, but more likely we’ll move on within a few hours to focus on Stormy or something else.

    I’m waiting for something really big, say, a Kushner indictment or a release of no-two-ways-about-it incriminating emails or photographs.

  40. 40.

    Amir Khalid

    @germy:
    Ah. So the Embassy has cut off his Internet access. Good. That’ll keep him from stirring anything up.

  43. 43.

    Aleta

    @LAO: And the letters the Dems sent yesterday to the DOJ people in line if Rosenthal is fired, asking for public statements.

  44. 44.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    @germy:

    Oh, dear… I imagine that smug, hygiene-challenged prick is having an epic hissy fit.

  46. 46.

    Roger Moore

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    According to Reuters, Ekonomou is a part of The Lambros Firm LLC in Atlanta and focuses on cases of civil and criminal racketeering for D.A.s in Georgia.

    It sounds as if Trump is also starting to expect RICO prosecution, so somebody on his team is not completely asleep at the switch.

  48. 48.

    kindness

    @Amir Khalid: While I think my snark about Obama would work with Trump that last line was indeed snark. A nice shiny object in Trumps eyes for certain though.

    Mueller dropped that shoe to insure his continued employment in this enterprise and to pressure Manifort to turn. Once Manifort turns Trump is toast.

  50. 50.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @germy:

    Good because if there is one thing more reliable than Russian Bots heaping praise on Trump in his twitter feed it is Assange.
    He positively salivates in his adoration of his God Trump, it is sickening

  51. 51.

    JPL

    @LAO: hmmm

    WASHINGTON — A lawyer for President Trump broached the idea of Mr. Trump pardoning two of his former top advisers, Michael T. Flynn and Paul Manafort, with their lawyers last year, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions.
    The discussions came as the special counsel was building cases against both men, and they raise questions about whether the lawyer, John Dowd, was offering pardons to influence their decisions about whether to plead guilty and cooperate in the investigation.
    The talks suggest that Mr. Trump’s lawyers were concerned about what Mr. Flynn and Mr. Manafort might reveal were they to cut a deal with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, in exchange for leniency. Mr. Mueller’s team could investigate the prospect that Mr. Dowd made pardon offers to thwart the inquiry, although legal experts are divided about whether such offers might constitute obstruction of justice.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/28/us/politics/trump-pardon-michael-flynn-paul-manafort-john-dowd.html

  53. 53.

    Roger Moore

    @Fester Addams:

    Yes, one who is deceased.

    That would be a “late” officer, not a “former” officer. I assume one can become a former member by becoming a double agent and defecting to another country. Of course Putin is working hard at making those “former” officers into “late” officers.

  54. 54.

    Amir Khalid

    @MJS:
    The Met Police still have that outstanding arrest warrant on him for violating the terms of his bail.

  56. 56.

    Roger Moore

    @germy:

    In a statement released on Wednesday, Ecuador said that the step had been taken because Assange had failed to abide by an agreement not to interfere in the South American country’s relations with other states.

    I would recommend just giving him the boot.

  60. 60.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    @Roger Moore:

    How does putting that putz up in the embassy benefit Ecuador anyway? Does Assange pay for his food and toiletries and such?

  61. 61.

    hueyplong

    Gotta think Putin would consider a cut-loose Assange to be a loose end that needs tidying up in a poisoned-in-public-in-the-UK sense.

  62. 62.

    Amir Khalid

    @kindness:
    Of course I knew you were snarking. But Mueller doesn’t need to go that far to have Trump distracted; all he has to do is get someone in Trump’s vicinity to point upward and say, “Squirrel!”

  64. 64.

    scav

    @sukabi: I swear that entire campaign was simply floating in coffee with all those utter and complete strangers wandering in and dropping off double-shot talls. No wonder they still have the jitters.

  67. 67.

    LAO

    @Spanky: I can’t emphasis enough the level of crazy this is! The president of the united states (lowercase because trump) can’t find a single white shoe lawyer to represent him. It’s like Michelle Bachman level of crazy.

  69. 69.

    GregB

    I imagine after having repeated chemical weapons attacks on their soil, England might want to bring the hammer down on that propagandist for the world wide fascist movement.

  72. 72.

    trollhattan

    @germy:
    “Needed, one small mockworthy rabble for YouTube video project.”

    Somebody in London is going to have a video opportunity, assuming anybody bothers to show up.

  73. 73.

    LAO

    @JPL: I would think no.

    ETA: I see that there are people who believe that the pardon talks could lead to an obstruction investigation, but I still don’t think you can pierce the attorney client privilege based upon the “pardon” conversations.

  75. 75.

    Mike in DC

    The key questions:
    1. Did the Russians interfere to help Trump?(yes)
    2. Did Trump talk about favorable policy changes towards Russia?(yes)
    3. Was the Trump campaign in communication with Russian nationals with ties to Putin, the hackers, and Russian Intelligence Services?(yes, 70 times, including 22 meetings involving at least 10 members of Team Trump)
    4. Conspiracy–was a quid pro quo, either explicit or implicit, communicated and agreed directly or indirectly between the campaign and the Russians? (To be determined, but highly plausible at this point)
    5. Coordination–was there any de facto coordination between the Russian active measures campaign and the Trump political operation? (To be determined, but also highly plausible)
    6. Complicity–if 4 and 5 are true, was Trump aware and participating in the conspiracy? (TBD, plausible)
    7. Completion–were there any other acts in furtherance of the conspiracy?(if there is a conspiracy, the answer is yes, because there was an immediate effort to lift sanction unilaterally when Trump took office)

    So, we have about half the answers, and we’re waiting on conspiracy, coordination and complicity. If there is/was and the evidence is solid and overwhelming, 45 should be removed from office and face charges.

  76. 76.

    eric

    @Roger Moore: Oddly, I would be bet Assange has no expectation of privacy from the Ecuadoran government. It would not shock me that they are letting him stay so they can actually monitor his involvement with Ecuadoran affairs.

  78. 78.

    Gelfling 545

    @germy: I think this type of “gathering” could cause the embassy to consider whether he had overstayed his welcome.

  79. 79.

    TenguPhule

    @kindness:

    Now, even Fox News would have a hard time poo-pooing Russian involvement (even though as we speak the morons on the couch over there are doing just that).

    The new line of defense is “His poll numbers are rising, stop trying to divide the country and doing the Russian’s work for them!”

    Yes, its industrial grade bullshit, but they’re getting increasingly desperate to rationalize fascism.

  81. 81.

    TenguPhule

    @West of the Rockies (been a while):

    An aside: I hate how SHS is non-answering a question and points to someone else right before she’s done lying in order to avoid follow-up questions.

    If there is any justice left in the world, SHS’s punishment will be endless weekends of being locked in the stocks and pelted with feces, mud and rotten food.

  82. 82.

    JPL

    @LAO: haha It does go to show that Trump should have hired you, and paid a lot up front.
    Maybe a journalist will ask Sarah if Trump plans on pardoning Manafort. Since Trump is on lockdown, there is no way to ask him.

  83. 83.

    Roger Moore

    @Mike in DC:

    4. Conspiracy–was a quid pro quo, either explicit or implicit, communicated and agreed directly or indirectly between the campaign and the Russians? (To be determined, but highly plausible at this point)

    I’m going to put this as a confirmed yes. Remember Don Jr.’s description of the Trump Tower meeting. The Russians brought up the Magnitsky Act sanctions and their counter-sanctions against adoptions, and Don Jr. said something along the lines of we’re only private citizens so we can’t help you unless we get elected. That was at least an implied quid pro quo, and it’s straight from somebody Don Sr. will have a hard time dismissing as part of the campaign- especially because he helped to craft some of Don Jr.’s public responses to the affair.

  84. 84.

    TenguPhule

    @Roger Moore:

    Trump barely knew the guy, and couldn’t pick him out of a lineup if you asked.

    To be fair, he couldn’t pick his own sons out of a lineup either.

  85. 85.

    Amir Khalid

    @eric:
    With no Internet and no access to visitors, it’s hard to see how Assange is going to continue meddling in Ecuadorian affairs if indeed that’s what he’s been doing. That would complicate any attempt to monitor said meddling.

  86. 86.

    Gelfling 545

    @Spanky: He always wants to clain to be an historic first at something. Now he can be the first president to need a lawyer appointed by the court.

  89. 89.

    TenguPhule

    @Amir Khalid:

    With no Internet and no access to visitors, it’s hard to see how Assange is going to continue meddling in Ecuadorian affairs if indeed that’s what he’s been doing.

    Unless they strip search him every hour on the hour, guarantee he’s going to be finding ways to violate that agreement.

    Its what he does.

  90. 90.

    eric

    @Amir Khalid: I suspect that they have been monitoring his communications and getting intel from him as compensation. I think that the deal was that he just cant get in their shit. And being the proverbial scorpion, he cannot help himself

  91. 91.

    TenguPhule

    @EBT:

    Why would an embassy not be armed to the gills with wireless jammers?

    On Ecuador’s budget? They’ll be lucky if their wifi is secured at all.

  92. 92.

    Mike in DC

    @Roger Moore:
    Plausible. I suspect that the answer to coordination involves Cambridge Analytica. Confirmation of Trump’s complicity would have to come from Gates, Manafort, Flynn and/or Kushner. Sessions, maybe as well.

  93. 93.

    sukabi

    @MJS: think he’s become a bit much of a liability for Ecuador, seems like they’re ‘encouraging’ him to leave. ☺

  94. 94.

    patroclus

    The Ecuadorian Presidential election is next week and the principal opponent has pledged to evict Assange in one month if he wins. Undoubtedly, there is an element of local politics in the current President cutting internet access now. They supposedly signed an agreement with Assange to stop messing with the politics of other countries that Assange rather obviously thinks nothing of. We’ll see if this stands, but I think the outcome of the election will be dispositive.

  95. 95.

    LAO

    @Gelfling 545: In order for the Court to appoint a federal defender or CJA lawyer, a defendant is required to demonstrate that he/she is indigent by submitting a sworn financial affidavit. No free lawyer for Trump.

    ETA: I do realize you’re kidding but I can’t help myself some days.

  96. 96.

    catclub

    @Jonny Scrum-half:

    and Mueller is doing everything he can to make him turn.

    and so far none of it has worked. (apparently)

    Manafort may have a very good idea of which bad outcome for him is worst, and the threats from Mueller may not be the worst ones he fears.

  97. 97.

    Steve in the DFW

    @danielx:

    I think it’s one of those “once in, never out” deals.

    Exactly. Just like I’m still a Cubs fan even though I haven’t lived in Chicago since the seventies.

  98. 98.

    Yarrow

    Love reading this. Tick tock, motherfuckers!

    And Assange losing his internet access. Hilarious. Can’t wait for them to dump him on the street.

  99. 99.

    catclub

    @Mike in DC: why not Bannon? Bannon apparently was a big wheel at CA – or the holding company above it.
    Bannon was in the admin until he was let go from it in 2017. Manafort was (at least officially) off the team after August 2016.

  102. 102.

    germy

    ? URGENT ASSANGE ALERT ?

    Julian is out of crisps. Could someone swing round Tesco and pick him up a Walkers Extra Crunchy?

    — Schooley (@Rschooley) March 28, 2018

  104. 104.

    Fair Economist

    @patroclus: The Ecuadorian Presidential Election was last year and the candidate pledging to evict Assange lost. The next election is in 2021. That said, it’s filtering into the minds of leftists across the world, probably including the leftists ruling Ecuador, that Russia is their enemy now, not their ally.

  106. 106.

    germy

    This is excellent

    HOLY HECK – @Emma4Change took a picture of the side of my face and I was wondering what she was doing until she told me she was gonna draw the side of my face. I was like whaa?? Then she sends me this! I loved her before but I love her even more after this beautiful piece AHH ? pic.twitter.com/aRRL879v2m— therealkenidrawoods (@KenidraRWoods_) March 28, 2018

  108. 108.

    JMG

    If this is old news, I apologize, but the Times is reporting that former Trump lawyer Dowd floated the possibility of pardons to Manafort and Flynn’s lawyers last year. Mueller’s looking into it.

  110. 110.

    LAO

    @Jay S: It sure will. And I think Jared should fill it out for his FIL, because he’s really good a filing out financial disclosure forms. An absolute genius.

  111. 111.

    Mike in DC

    @catclub:
    True. Anyone deeply involved in the campaign, with direct access to Trump, could possibly confirm his involvement/assent. Even knowledge after the fact would be damning.

  112. 112.

    Miss Bianca

    @Gelfling 545: something about the prospect of Trump needing a public defender, because no reputable white-shoe firm will touch him – and the comcomitant mental image of a bunch of DC public defenders praying, “not me, not me, dear God please, *not me*” – is surprisingly schadenfreudelicious to petite moi.

  114. 114.

    TenguPhule

    @Miss Bianca:

    something about the prospect of Trump needing a public defender, because no reputable white-shoe firm will touch him – and the comcomitant mental image of a bunch of DC public defenders praying, “not me, not me, dear God please, *not me*” – is surprisingly schadenfreudelicious to petite moi.

    What evil have public defenders ever done to you?

  115. 115.

    d58826

    was a former officer with the Russian military intelligence service.

    Doesn’t Adam keep pounding home the message – once a Russian lintel operative always a Russian lintel operative.

  116. 116.

    MattF

    I’ve always suspected that Mueller has various contingency plans. Trump, after all, has lots of vulnerabilities. And Manafort! The man is a walking vulnerability. Anyone who has done money laundering in NYC is going to have quite a bit of splainin’ to do. In court.

  117. 117.

    d58826

    @TenguPhule:

    prospect of Trump needing a public defender, because no reputable white-shoe firm will touch him

    I doubt that a barefooted lawyer would want to touch this case

  118. 118.

    piratedan

    @TenguPhule: well you would think that if Vlad has been bankrolling the GOP via 3rd parties, working up and maintaining troll farms and spending cash on developing lethal nerve agents that he MIGHT have a law firm or two he could alert Donald to…. but perhaps he couldn’t risk the possible legal entanglements of yet another link….

  119. 119.

    The Moar You Know

    Manafort may have a very good idea of which bad outcome for him is worst, and the threats from Mueller may not be the worst ones he fears.

    @catclub: imagining Sergei Skripal gasping out the last minutes of his conscious life on a park bench while his daughter dies right next to him kind of puts life in a Fed pen in a whole new light.

  122. 122.

    EBT

    @TenguPhule: I mean, if one feels like violating laws, or lives in a place where they are legal, Alibaba probably still has decent enough ones.
    I mean a lot of super markets manage it by accident, and I *am* an electronics technologist after all.

  123. 123.

    d58826

    Hmmmm looks like Der Fuhrer is going to need a bigger row boat for all his lawyers

    A federal judge said Wednesday that a lawsuit alleging foreign gifts made to President Donald Trump may be illegal can proceed.

    But the ruling from Judge Peter Messitte of the US District Court of Maryland says the Maryland and District of Columbia attorneys general who brought the case will have to focus it on the Trump Organization’s operations in Washington. That means the case going forward will challenge payments made by foreign officials for services at the Trump International Hotel, but will not include visits to Mar-a-Lago in Florida or other Trump properties.

    http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/judge-says-emoluments-case-against-trump-can-proceed/ar-BBKPrr6?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iehp

  126. 126.

    Chyron HR

    @Roger Moore:

    [Giving Assange asylum is] a calculated insult to the Yanquis

    Yes, but Assage’s co-conspirators have effectively become the US Government. Harboring him to stick it to the US is as dumb as the Chomskyite argument that Russia conspiring to install a Republican president is America’s just deserts for Eisenhower overthrowing Mosaddegh and Reagan funding the Contras.

  127. 127.

    Gravenstone

    @ruemara: Kim can go join Julian in Ecuadorian purgatory. Or, he can drop dead at our collective earliest convenience of an overdue heart attack. I’m not wedded to either outcome.

  128. 128.

    Mike in DC

    @catclub: Mueller could threaten to publicly thank him for his cooperation and let him go free. He wouldn’t last more than a few weeks.

  129. 129.

    James E. Powell

    @germy:

    There is no limit to RWer ass-holiosity. I’ve been darkly amused at the number of press/media types expressing shock at the way RWers have gone after the Parkland students. Living in “both sides” world requires one’s mind to be erased like in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

  130. 130.

    TenguPhule

    @Gravenstone:

    Kim can go join Julian in Ecuadorian purgatory. Or, he can drop dead at our collective earliest convenience of an overdue heart attack. I’m not wedded to either outcome.

    por que no los dos?

  132. 132.

    Mnemosyne

    @germy:

    Please let there be a picture of the three pathetic white dudebros who show up for the “protest.”

  133. 133.

    Mike in NC

    @d58826:

    Doesn’t Adam keep pounding home the message – once a Russian lintel operative always a Russian lintel operative.

    Reminder that the final season of “The Americans” starts tonight on FX.

  136. 136.

    Just One More Canuck

    @Ms. D. Ranged in AZ: Manafort apparently has nothing to worry about . Per TPM, Manafort is suing to have the indictment overturned, on the basis that Rosenstein didn’t have the authority to give Mueller as broad a mandate as he did. In the next breath, the say that even if he did have the authority, Mueller couldn’t investigate Manafort because the DOJ knew what manafort was doing before Mueller started investigating.

    I’ll leave it to the resident legal beagles to figure out how that makes sense.

    https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/manafort-motion-dismiss-virginia

  137. 137.

    Tokyokie

    @LAO: Who knows? If der Trumpenführer finds that a RICO action has tied up all his unencumbered assets, maybe he really won’t have the dough to pay one. Of course, that would require him to file an honest declaration of his net worth………

  138. 138.

    Gravenstone

    @JPL: Wouldn’t pre-emptively pardoning them basically have been an own goal? I’ve seen it described here often enough in the sense that not having to worry about 5th amendment protections for their own actions, they’d then have to spill everything relevant against Trump under oath before a grand jury or at a trial, yes?

  140. 140.

    LAO

    @Gravenstone: I think that the key take away with respect to Trump’s legal team and their absolute ineptness, is their total inability to game out strategy and understand the implications of the moves that they make. So, this would not surprise me.

  141. 141.

    bemused

    @germy:

    She has 3 children herself. I can’t fathom how people like her have no qualms about trashing other kids like Hogg. She comes across as very cold and mean. If she has any compassion or heart, I hope she at least shows it for her kids.

  142. 142.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Gravenstone: They could still be in legal jeopardy at the state level, so there would be some things on which they could claim 5th Amendment protections.

  143. 143.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @JPL: TPM was observation was Trump is so offensive to women that and firm that represented Trump would likely lose all the women in their firm.

  145. 145.

    Mnemosyne

    @d58826:

    So it sounds like the AG of Florida would need to bring the emoluments claim about Mar-A-Loco? Can any of our lawyers tell me if I’m interpreting that correctly?

    If so, I think we can be pretty sure that it ain’t gonna happen unless a miracle occurs.

  150. 150.

    Immanentize

    @germy: That is just the worst, stupidest attack ever — Hitting a kid on which colleges he did not get into? I bet a few notable fancy schools will suddenly find room for him.

  152. 152.

    germy

    @Immanentize:

    I bet a few notable fancy schools will suddenly find room for him.

    And then people like Laura will say “it’s just because he’s famous!”

  153. 153.

    Mary G

    @MJS: I have the feeling that if Julian went out to have a coffee and use the cafe’s wireless, the embassy would change the locks, turn out the lights, and pretend nobody’s home when he came back. They say fish and guests go bad after three days, and he’s been there for months.

  159. 159.

    Shalimar

    @germy: How is it predictable that someone with a 4.1 GPA wouldn’t get into UCLA? Shouldn’t this be where Ingraham starts bitching about quotas and diversity being totally unfair to deserving white males?

  162. 162.

    Immanentize

    My son is just starting to look at colleges. He is interested in computer science programs…. We went to look at Rice (very nice)! Universities now report their SATs on a 25% and 75% basis — At Rice, that spread is 1490/1580 out of 1600. That is some serious damn test scores. Not only are their bottom 25 percentile students way above the national average, over 25% of the incoming class had a perfect SAT. It’s competitive out there, people.

  164. 164.

    Immanentize

    @Shalimar: So first, UCLA is a California State system school. By ruling of the board of regents, they are only allowed to take so many out of state plus foreign students (I think it is 18% in California?) So the competition is tough.

  165. 165.

    germy

    @Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):

    goes after him for that.

    They’re at the “throw whatever you can at the wall and see what sticks” phase, a sign of desperation.

    Yes, the bad guy killed himself when the guard showed up and shot him at the exact same time. Not a deterrent? LOLok. https://t.co/HiRARDIV9Y— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) March 27, 2018

    Can’t be too many people who would use “LOL” in a tweet about murder, a police-involved shooting and a teenage suicide. But you do you. https://t.co/rAmnK0piDf— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) March 28, 2018

  166. 166.

    Yutsano

    @Immanentize: Same with the University of Washington. 70% of the student population has to have an address from inside the state. Getting in as an out of stater is amazingly hard. But since WSU has no such restrictions, we get a lot more out of state folks.

  168. 168.

    Walker

    @Immanentize:

    I am member of a CS department at a university you may have heard of. My university also has the policy that admissions are done with a faculty reader. That is, all applications are read by both an admissions officer and a faculty member. This is university service, not unlike serving on a committee.

    Typically, the people who volunteer for this service are faculty members with children who will be applying for college soon. The reason being that that want to see what universities are looking for. Many faculty come away from the experience totally shocked. Before reading, they had no idea how competitive it has become at the top universities.

  170. 170.

    Sloegin

    Is there a juicer over / under on a Mueller weekend firing yet? Trump will never get a good Nixon impeachment speed-run score without it.

  171. 171.

    Miss Bianca

    @TenguPhule: you’re right – that’s pretty awful for the poor publc defenders. Fortunately, per LAO, they’re not likely to have to face the prospect. : )

  172. 172.

    Walker

    @OGLiberal:

    These are often bonuses for AP courses. This is to keep an A in a normal course from counting as much as an A in a advanced course. When we look at applications, we are typically looking for students that have taken the most challenging courses offered by their school.

  173. 173.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @West of the Rockies (been a while):

    I hate how SHS is non-answering a question and points to someone else right before she’s done lying in order to avoid follow-up questions.

    I wish the reporters would gang up on her and the next reporter would ask the (obvious) follow-up question to the previous reporter’s. It’s not like Jethrene is going to give a real answer to the new reporter’s awesome question either. So they might as well keep hammering her on just one.

  174. 174.

    Immanentize

    @Walker: Keep reading! Maybe my son’s app. will cross your desk.

    The University that I teach at is not super-competitive, but still, the grades, the activities, the sports, the test scores. Ooolala! As @JR: said, kids in HS today are knocking themselves out where I remember pretty much kicking back…. But that is what helps produce amazing kids like the Parkland activists.

  175. 175.

    Zinsky

    As long as nutless Paul Ryan leads the nutless majority in the House, they will let these traitors off scot free! We should begin converting Trump Tower into a high-rise prison immediately !

  176. 176.

    Immanentize

    @OGLiberal: There is a formula that many schools use that weights for AP classes and other types of advanced or accelerated placements. So, an A in a regular course is a 4.0, but an A in an AP course might be a 4.5, etc.

  177. 177.

    Tokyokie

    @OGLiberal: I think AP courses give 5.0 for an A. Which isn’t good, because the Associated Press isn’t the news behemoth it once was.

  178. 178.

    Mary G

    I volunteered at the thrift shop my mom started and about a third of our profits go to the Boys and Girls Club and more than half go to scholarships. The highest average last year was 4.85. The high school has AP classes where àn A is 4.5 and IB classes where an A is 5.0. These kids work 16 hours a day,cause grades alone aren’t enough, they have to play music, sports, do charity work and on and on. It’s brutal.

  179. 179.

    TenguPhule

    @Zinsky:

    We should begin converting Trump Tower into a high-rise prison immediately

    Or we could demolish it with all of them locked inside.

    And build affordable housing units instead.

  180. 180.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Immanentize:

    We went to look at Rice (very nice)!

    My elder son went to Rice. It’s an excellent school, especially if you’re in engineering, and has a beautiful campus. When my son applied, he had an additional edge beyond grades, scores, etc. owing to the school’s desire to move from being a topnotch regional university to a nationally-regarded one, so they gave the kid from Chicago all sorts of incentives to come. A bright Massachusetts boy might be similarly encouraged by the admissions folks.

  185. 185.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Immanentize: my grandfather went to Rice, but right after he graduated the Navy put him on a destroyer and sent him fight the Japanese. Hope that doesn’t happen to your son!

  186. 186.

    Ruckus

    @Mnemosyne:
    You are not old. I’m older than dirt and I’m not all that old. And I’m a fair bit older than you. You are seasoned. That’s it, seasoned.

  187. 187.

    Mnemosyne

    @Ruckus:

    You couldn’t see my gray roots last weekend because I was wearing a hat. ? My mom’s whole side of the family went completely gray before they were 50, and I’m on that same road.

  189. 189.

    patrick II

    @TenguPhule: my favorite of those suggestions is the high-rise. I would break Trump Towers into Apartments at low rent and the thought of them being able to sit on Golden toilets if you didn’t totally refurbish makes me happy.

  191. 191.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Immanentize:

    UCLA is a California State system school

    Technical point: UCLA is a University of California school; we also have the California State University schools which are an outgrowth of the old normal(teacher college) schools.

    BillinGlendaleCA, UCLA BS’82

  192. 192.

    Brachiator

    @Captain C:

    Or maybe Hannity himself is getting indicted. We can only hope.

    I would love to see Hannity indicted for something. Almost anything. Especially something juicy and salacious.

  197. 197.

    Steve in the ATL

    @rikyrah:

    There’s a lot of racketeering in Georgia?

    Lots of smuggling rings here—people, drugs, you name it. Drive down Buford Highway through Chamblee and it’s like a trip through every country in Asia, South America, and Central America.

    Never bought any girls there, but have eaten a lot of good food.

  199. 199.

    Brachiator

    @Mnemosyne:

    G’s MLIS degree will be from San Jose State, which is the oldest school in the CSU system and started as, yes, a teachers’ college.

    Oddly enough, a southern branch campus split off in 1881 and later became UCLA.

    And according to the Wiki, the library and information sciences is one of the most popular programs. Cool California history.

  200. 200.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    @germy:

    I think he’s got some serious dirt on James Earl Carter, something super important and relevant that’ll totally sink Carter’s political career.//

  201. 201.

    Yutsano

    @TenguPhule: Oh wait didn’t you hear? Fox News cleared all their personalities of any and all sexual harassment charges last week. Their own internal investigation found nothing. It was signed off with, “Suck it, libtards!”

    *Might be some sarcasm in there.

  202. 202.

    Steve in the ATL

    @TenguPhule: I almost added exotic animals to the list. Haven’t looked for hedgehogs in particulate, but I’ll bet my porcupine guy can get one

  205. 205.

    Dmbeaster

    What a surprise. Someone with significant financial issues, who is working for Trump for free, maintains his Russian contacts on whom he was financially dependent. And then he is later briefing a Russian oligarch with Kremlin ties (is there any other kind?) about Trump’s campaign. And as campaign manager happens to be at the meeting where Russian intelligence operatives are offering up dirt on Clinton stolen by Russian intelligence as part of its global ratfvcking campaign.

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