As we now know, Michael Cohen lied when he testified before Congress that the Trump Tower Moscow project ended in January 2016. Via The Post:
In a nine-page filing, prosecutors laid out a litany of lies that Cohen admitted he told to congressional lawmakers about the Moscow project — an attempt, Cohen said, to minimize links between the proposed development and Trump as his presidential bid was taking off.
Cohen falsely said efforts to build a Trump-branded tower in Moscow ended in January 2016, when in fact discussions continued through that year, the filing said. Among the people Cohen briefed on the status of the project was Trump himself, on more than three occasions, according to the document.
Cohen now says he pursued the Moscow project until the summer of 2016 and interacted with Putin’s office during that period. Here’s Trump’s response to this development from a short while ago:
Trump on potential Moscow deal about which Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress: "I wasn't trying to hide anything." pic.twitter.com/wG8sHQnXnS
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 29, 2018
Shorter Spanky: “I didn’t do it, but even if I did, it wasn’t wrong.”
I think the paper Trump is referring to in that clip — the document he says proves the deal was out in the open — is the proposal Cohen attached as an exhibit in his appearance before Congress, during which he now admits he lied. So, Trump is trying to create a smokescreen here. Nobody is saying the deal was 100% secret all along; the point is, Trump and Cohen lied about when the project ended.
Why? Because they’re guilty as fuck. A lot of “collusiony” things happened during the late spring and summer of 2016, including Cohen’s discussions with Putin’s assistant about setting up a meeting between Putin and Trump after the RNC, the pro-Russia change to the GOP platform (the sole change the Trump people requested at the RNC), the Trump Tower meeting with the Russians offering dirt, the conversations between Stone, Corsi, an intermediary and Assange, etc.
It looks damning because it IS damning. They’re lying because they’re guilty. And Cohen’s plea document hints that there’s plenty of evidence to corroborate his contacts with the Putin regime and Trump principals that summer.
Trump’s statement above was made as he was boarding Marine One on his way to the G20 summit in Argentina. He was originally scheduled to meet Putin there, but moments ago, Trump claimed he cancelled that meeting to protest Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian ships:
Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!
What a load of horse shit — he doesn’t care about the Ukrainian ships any more than he cares about the Saudis’ murder of a US-based journalist who worked for The Post. Trump is afraid of being exposed.
This is a surreal shit-show, friends, and I am so ready for the fucking credits to roll.
Corner Stone
Are we really supposed to believe any of this? I heard from the Paragon of Virtue and Rectitude Himself, Mr. Rudy, that Cohen was a lying liar who lies.
jacy
Twitter is saying there is federal raid going on right now at a Chicago law firm that did tax work for Trump for 12 years. Everyone ordered out and the windows papered over. Curiouser and Curiouser.
rikyrah
And, it’s only Thursday:
This week alone we are witnessing:
Trump’s lawyer now confessing to lying about 2016 Russia outreach… as Trump’s campaign chair is accused of lying to prosecutors in Russia probe… as a tipster to Trump adviser Roger Stone confesses to lying about emails that Russia stole.
— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) November 29, 2018
Corner Stone
Vladdy Daddy must’ve told Trump he could have the afternoon off to rest up ahead of the drubbing he’s going to get from meeting with Xi.
geg6
What a perfect day to be alone in the office. All my co-workers are currently holding a program for 250 8th graders and I’m the only one here. I am getting no work done and cackling like a loon. So far, today is a very fun day.
Schlemazel
@jacy:
I owe someone a hat tip but I am too lazy to try to find it on my phone:
I have not seen this many shoes drop since Riverdance!
whoever came up with that please step forward and claim your prize
Gravenstone
Another poster here has suggested supplanting the “tick tock motherfuckers” chorus with the Tell Tale Heart. My question, becomes can we still have Poe’s Law when we’re actually living in the midst of a Poe story?
dmsilev
@Corner Stone: You do have to admit that Rudy is an expert on the subject of lying liars who tell lies.
MattF
Given that Putin/Trump has been in the news the past few days… it’s not surprising that Trump backed off. Also, Bolton probably made the ‘National Security frowny face’ to persuade Trump about the seriousness of Russia’s recent misbehavior.
Mike in DC
This is more like the 12 hour director’s cut extended trilogy edition, with a blooper reel during the credits and 2 post credits scenes.
Elizabelle
@Schlemazel:
It was Tony J in the previous thread. Made me laugh as I scrolled through too.
cope
I too am so ready for the credits to roll and the next shoe to drop and the corner to be turned and the bill to come due and the fat lady to sing. What a wonderful cachophany it will all make when they all finally go crashing to Earth, cursing and crying and gnashing their teeth. This is gonna be GREAT!
Juju
@jacy: Holy moly!
TenguPhule
This is a horror movie. Its the stinger after the credits you have to worry about.
TenguPhule
@rikyrah:
One can only imagine what Friday will bring.
Corner Stone
@cope:
Cacophony of The Kakistocracy. Sounds like a lovely opera Subaru Dianne may have tickets to one day.
TenguPhule
@Gravenstone:
Nevermore.
JPL
What is happening?
Deutsche Bank
Cohen
and now @jacy: a law firm…
Maybe Stone is next.
This is an article about the law firm https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/ed-burke-fbi-federal-agents-city-hall-council/
kindness
Oh Betty, you are a riot! Rolling credits? Now? We have about a dozen Constitutional Crisis’ coming before we get there. Just wait till the Presidential Pardons start raining down. Then is when it is all going to get real. And there is no William Archibald Cox in this Administration to stand up to Trump, refuse his bidding and get fired for it.
Miss Bianca
@Schlemazel: I think that was Tony J(ay?). A very funny fellow.
TenguPhule
@Mike in DC:
We could do without the long winded director’s twitter commentary throughout the entire movie though.
germy
“So! Here’s the story!”
Christ, he reminds me of every crooked salesman I’ve ever dealt with.
Kay
Congress has to start enforcing their own rules- they have to start punishing the Trump hires who lied to them.
They really have an interest in protecting the institution they all work for. These people sashay in there and lie to them constantly. Why should anyone ever tell them the truth? You can lie your ass off in there and get a promotion.
jacy
I caught the press asking questions on the lawn as Trump was leaving this morning, and he was literally babbling (recognizing that everything Trump says is pretty much babbling). This was extra babbling. You need a bucket brigade for that much flop sweat.
Roger Moore
Anyone who believes Trump isn’t going to find a time to talk secretly with Putin at the G20 meeting needs to talk to my Nigerian friend about an unbelievable business opportunity.
kimp
“Lordy, I hope there are tapes”…
TenguPhule
@Kay:
Republicans have no interest in that though. Which is the main source of the problem. The other one of course is the MADDENING refusal of Democrats to go back and chase after the culprits after the fact. Karl Rove should be rotting for contempt of Congress, but instead he walks free and proud.
A Ghost To Most
As I’ve said before, this is the most optimistic I’ve been in two years.
We have been blessed by our enemies: most incompetent traitors ever. It’s hard to get good help these days, eh, Pootie?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
New York, Washington, Frankfurt, now Chicago…. Really sounds like Mueller has cried havoc, and let slip the hounds of the law
Elizabelle
Chicago Sun-Times has a story up:
Hereditary politico. More than passing resemblance to Dick Cheney.
TenguPhule
@Roger Moore:
Anyone who thinks Trump will manage to keep it a secret needs to be kept away from sharp objects.
The Dangerman
Argentina have extradition? Asking for a friend.
jacy
Melania, Jared, and Ivanka are on the plane with Trump. Is it time to ask if we have and extradition treaty with Argentina?
edited to add: Damn it, The Dangerman.
Elizabelle
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yeah. And on the day the “elites” are heading to the G20. LOL.
I have been happy all day since I heard about the Frankfurt Deutsche Bank raid. Bring it on. Panama Papers is just the appetizer.
JPL
@jacy: Trump must wonder what else Michael Cohen told the feds. I wonder if trump is wearing his depends.
TenguPhule
@The Dangerman:
Why yes, yes it does.
ETA: And Saudi Arabia doesn’t. Good ally my ass.
feebog
@Mike in DC:
More like a blooper reel that never ends.
Kay
They’re all so greedy. They’re career criminals who got away with it for decades- whole careers- but that wasn’t enough. They had to run the country. Horrible low quality people who aren’t very talented but all were making a lot of money and they couldn’t just leave the public sector to other people and stay under their rocks- they had to force themselves on us all.
Donald Trump could have spent the rest of his life running his gross sleazy empire and bellowing a bunch of bullshit and he would always have gotten tons of media coverage, because they fucking love him. But that wasn’t enough. They had to grab the whole thing.
“Punishment”, per se, doesn’t do that much for me. I want them if prison if they’re convicted because anyone else would be, but what I’d really like is for them to be poor. To have to live in some crap house and get a job and survive without all the shit that they were handed.
TenguPhule
@Elizabelle:
Are small children known to disappear mysteriously in his vicinity?
oatler.
It’s kind of like the There was an old woman who swallowed a fly song.
Mandalay
@Betty Cracker:
Not following that. I think it’s more the case that he simply doesn’t have the stones to criticize Putin to his face over Ukraine, and he would have canceled the meeting with Putin regardless of what Cohen said once Putin raised the stakes in Ukraine.
The focus is generally on Trump being a liar and corrupt, but despite all his bluster Trump is also a very weak president.
TenguPhule
@Kay:
Problem is that these are the kind of people who don’t stay poor because they will do whatever it takes to claw their way back into power. Whatever it takes.
trollhattan
President Stupid Nixon is worse than President Nixon 1.0. This is suboptimal.
p.a.
Saw two great bumper stickers yesterday:
Elect a clown, expect a circus
and
1 out of 3 Trump voters
are as stupid as the other 2
A Ghost To Most
@germy:
The Ancient Randonneur
Lot of action since Donnie Dollhands turned in his open book exam to Mueller.
jacy
@Mandalay:
Grassley already out there spewing, “Of course Trump didn’t collude with Russia! Look how he cancelled the meeting with Putin! No one is as tough on Russia as Mr. Trump!” Love the smell of widespread panic in the mid-morning.
Yarrow
It’s all starting to happen now and as I’ve been saying, when it happens a lot will happen fast. I expect the big stuff won’t happen until Nancy is safely in the Speaker’s chair but there’s plenty to make it interesting between now and then.
Boris, Rasputin's Evil Twin
@TenguPhule: I’m so old, I recall when “Contempt of Congress” was a serious offense, not the common state of mind.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Just saw a clip of the Beast and the First Courtesan walking up the stairs to AF-1, their arms around each other, and he gave her a peck on the cheek. He usually doesn’t even pause to let her go up first.
@p.a.:
I love that
Adam L Silverman
@jacy:
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/ed-burke-fbi-federal-agents-city-hall-council/
Much more at the link. And here’s more detailed reporting on this guy’s relationship with the President:
https://chicago.suntimes.com/business/the-donald-and-the-alderman-break-up-burke-no-longer-doing-tax-work-for-trump/
Also more at the link.
Schlemazel
THANK YOU, @Elizabelle:
and Hat tip to Tony J
I intend to get some twitter mileage out of that one
Elizabelle
@Kay: I want that for Trump and his circle too.
Perp walk. Orange jumpsuit. Booking photos where his hair looks as nonexistent as Phil Spector’s. Public humiliation and being ruined financially, Trump, Ivanka, Jared, the nitwit sons. All of them. Down, down, down.
Make it hurt so bad that no one tries this again.
TenguPhule
@Boris, Rasputin’s Evil Twin: Well played.
CarolDuhart2
Don’t forget what’s coming up on the side: Jeffrey Epstein. There are some people who never got their day in court, and if Epstein would rather not spend the rest of his natural life in jail, Trump gets nailed on that too. And these are state charges, so no pardon there.
A pardon isn’t really going to help these mooks. Sure, they may be immune from Federal criminal charges, but pardons don’t cover civil torts or state charges.
And Manafort would still get out of jail penniless and in real danger. He can’t make a living doing what he was doing, carrying water for various dictators at the age of 79. Nobody will ever trust him-the ones who are still alive. And the new crop will have people of his own. And lets not forget the enemies of such regimes who want revenge. Indeed the best thing of a host of bad things would be for him to stay in jail where there is at least some barrier between him and them.
Cohen still has time on the clock, but he wants a life of some sort after this is all over in 10-15 or whatever years he gets. A pardon doesn’t help him with state charges from various frauds or help him with his law license.
So Trump is about to be screwed without even a kiss. The things he can do won’t really make this go away.
Roger Moore
@The Dangerman:
Russia doesn’t, which is reason number 2 why it’s Trump’s probable long-term destination.
Kay
I feel like it would matter a lot in an ordinary prosecution that the low quality Trump hires all lie so much- a blizzard of lies- no way to tell if any of these people is ever truthful- but it will matter less in this one because, well, they’re all liars.
So what they say matters only to the extent that what they say leads to someone who is credible or a document or other proof. Which is valuable! But not because of what they say- what they say is shit. Means nothing without more.
We don’t really have to debate if they’;re credible. They’re not. Not a one of them. Just bake that in and move on.
Adam L Silverman
@Elizabelle: While most of the reporting indicates this is in regard to offshore money laundering detailed in the Panama Papers, it is important to keep in mind that the President’s business and Jared’s business owe Deutsche Bank a lot of money. And the Trump Organization’s point of contact at Deutsche Bank is Justice Kennedy’s son.
Spanky
@kimp:
There are, but they involve little girls.
Just warning you ahead of time.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
Father and son could share a cell in Fed Max, general population.
TenguPhule
@Spanky:
And some of the girls aren’t actually girls.
Adam L Silverman
I’m sure Tucker made a frowny face…
Kay
@Elizabelle:
Right. It is past time someone was actually punished. That’s how it happens in the real world, too, for ordinary people. Sometimes they just happen to come along at a time where some limit has been reached and they get hammered – it’s just bad luck.
We have a huge white collar crime problem and the Trumps happened to get caught at the time that became clear, so an example should be made. That happens to ordinary criminal defendants. Poor timing.
TenguPhule
@CarolDuhart2:
It would be professional malpractice for our domestic IC and our allied ICs to keep Cohen around after his usefulness has ended.
Corner Stone
@Kay:
Trump Sr would take a job mopping floors at the local Mickey D’s so he could get free fries every day. He’s too stupid to work the drive-thru. Ivanka as perfume spray person, but not in a nice dept store but on the corner trying to hawk her own branded junk. I see Assistant Associate in a Dollar Tree for DJT Jr. Eric…maybe cleaning out large animal cages at a local zoo?
Not that there is anything wrong with hard work, I just want these evil people to have to know what it’s like before they die.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
one of my hobby-horses: He never expected, or really wanted, to be president, he wanted to be the head and star and highest-paid employees of a new Russia-financed (edited) Trump-TV/media entity that would’ve been a FoxNews/RT hybrid, cash (and attention) for trump, and for Putin a destabilizing political force under the HRC administration
The Moar You Know
Whoever recommended the Miami Herald thing on Jeff Epstein, thanks for that, I guess. It’s more than a little bit dismaying to find out the whole “cabal of rich, powerful men running a worldwide pedophile ring” myth is actually 100% true, no myth at all.
It’s a fucking horrifying series and every American should be forced to read it. And after reading the three-part series, I don’t ever want to hear from anyone again that we have a justice system that works. That fucker Epstein should have been burned at the stake on New Years Eve in Times Square, in front of the entire world. Instead, he suffered what amounts to zero consequences.
Day like today, that shit was enough to send me down the conspiracy rabbit hole. I think I’ll be OK, but goddamn.
Adam L Silverman
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@jacy:
The band, maybe. The fans? IDK…
TaMara (HFG)
@jacy: All well and good, but I will not rest easy until Pence is implicated in everything. There is a reason Manfort handpicked him and I need to know why.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman: This is the part of the bustout where the crooks start setting stuff on fire.
I hope Mueller is as prepared for that as we all hope he is.
TaMara (HFG)
@Elizabelle: I think this might need to be a rotating tagline
TenguPhule
@The Moar You Know:
Still time for that to happen.
Mike in DC
I no longer give a fuck what the Senate does. Trump needs to be charged after he leaves office. If convicted, he needs to spend the rest of his life in prison, both as just punishment for his crimes and as an enduring object lesson for others.
Tony Jay
@Schlemazel:
Ha! You’re most welcome. And you’re all too kind.
Got to say, though. Seeing Mueller go all Order 66 on Emperor Prisontime’s evil empire is making me want to pop some corn, big time.
sukabi
@Boris, Rasputin’s Evil Twin: that was before congress was contemptible.
Corner Stone
@TaMara (HFG):
His manly squinty eyed grimace?
TenguPhule
@Tony Jay:
Technically this is order 65.
/Star Wars Pedant
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: An interesting question needs to be asked: When the President and his advisors on judicial nominations – Don McGahn, Leonard Leo, and Mitch McConnell – were convincing Justice Kennedy to retire because the President would appoint a replacement that Kennedy would be comfortable with, was there any discussion about protecting his son in regard to any of the work he did for Deutsche Bank both in regard to his work coordinating loans for the Trump Organization or his other work for Deutsche Bank?
Kay
@The Moar You Know:
The saddest part to me is those girls. They were throw-away girls, which is how it was covered up for so long. No one gave a shit what happened to them. I’m so, so glad that they’re speaking out. The entire justice system failed them. Every powerful person and institution that was supposed to get them justice failed them, from the police to federal prosecutors to scumbag Ken Starr.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
I am hoping the IC keyed Mueller on to any such hypothetical conversation.
Examples need to be made.
Gravenstone
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Flying off to exile? All they need to do is make it to the Russian embassy before the authorities can sweep them up.
Betty Cracker
@Mandalay: Exposed as Putin’s valet, I mean. Trump didn’t say shit about Ukraine and was scheduled to meet with Putin despite Russian aggression there. Nothing has changed, except this Cohen plea, which reminds everyone that Trump is Putin’s squeeing fanboy. It wouldn’t do to have another Helsinki, not now.
TenguPhule
@Kay:
But you repeat yourself. //
Dorothy A. Winsor
@TaMara (HFG): I gather Pence’s fellow R congressmen called him “Mike Dense.” Would stupidity be enough to make him a good choice?
TenguPhule
oh FFS, these maggots will not stop at destroying everything President Obama built.
Kay
@Corner Stone:
That’s the thing, though. Their gross cronies will make sure they’re paid to do something harmful and sleazy until they’re in their 80’s.
They never go away. Ken Starr is still cashing in. You have to actually put them in prison.
CarolDuhart2
@TenguPhule: That’s not what I’m thinking about. I don’t expect them to keep him around after all is over. But if he serves his sentence without problems, maybe he could collect Social Security or take a job that doesn’t require a law license. Cohen’s in his early 50’s. Give him 10-15 years, he’s still in his sixties. He still has a chance to live some kind of life after his time behind bars, unlike 69 year old Manafort who may die in prison and fears retribution when/if he ever gets out.
TenguPhule
@TenguPhule: New insurance guidelines would undermine rules of the Affordable Care Act
trollhattan
@jacy:
I never liked Grassley but since his I am mad as a mad thing! performance at the Cavenaugh hearings he’s become an oily, cranky, old…really old, indignant, offended caricature. Guess the job is open since Hatch is headed out.
Kay
So this will be the challenge for us, as far as the public ever having some coherent story of what happened- all the low quality hires lie constantly. I don’t really know how to handle it- I don’t think anyone does. It’s really difficult to deal with completely amoral people but we have to.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
the old fool was bellowing about “pulling the plug on grandma”, while Max Baucus was slow-walking health care reform because he didn’t want to damage his bipartisan working relationship with his good friend Chuck
Martin
@Kay:
Absolutely. The problem with money is you can always make more of it so fining people for being overly ambitious at making money is useless. But time – you can’t make more of that.
LAO
@Kay:
The Epstein story is vile – and an absolute indictment of then US Attorney Acosta and his office, but I Ken Starr was a member of the defense team and, quite frankly defense attorneys have no obligation to victims.
Tony Jay
@cope: @TenguPhule:
Well, technically, Order 65 would need the Senate to lower the boom on Jabba the Trump and that’s not going to happen in this timeline.#gotyourpedantrightheresonny
TenguPhule
@Kay:
I’d suggest flogging.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Kay: IANAL, but I believe every one who says Mueller wouldn’t take Cohen’s word for anything unless he had documents, and maybe tapes, to back him up. My hope is that televised hearings, with a smug-yet-sweaty Don Junior and a garrulous Michael Cohen (and a few others) will knock trump down into the low 30s, maybe down to that 27%, and that will scare a few Rs up in 2020.
TaMara (HFG)
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Worked for Shrub the Lessor
trollhattan
@LAO:
Dersh of “I’m no longer invited to the best parties in the Hamptons” fame was also part of the team. These fuckers keep flocking together.
Corner Stone
@Kay:
Who could have ever guessed that the presidential panty sniffer would turn out to be a monstrous pervert?
WaterGirl
From LGM:
different-church-lady
@Gravenstone:
“–tear up the planks! here, here!”
Adam L Silverman
@The Moar You Know: I’m working on getting one of our resident commenter legal eagles to do a subject matter expert’s guest post for us on this. It may take a few days given that person’s schedule. So please be patient.
Corner Stone
@Kay:
Isn’t he like a three time loser by now (at least)? All that money wasted sniffing panties at the WH, the whole Baylor fiasco and now this revelation? And yet I will bet we see him on CNN sometime in the near future to pontificate on some morality issue where Trump is handling it just right.
Adam L Silverman
Litlebritdifrnt
Yet another example of Twitler not being able to think on his feet he was just asked by Paul Brandus (West Wing Reports)
Q: “If Cohen is such a bum, why did you hire him, have him on your payroll for 12 years, and have him do so much of your dirty work?”
A: President Trump: “Because a long time ago he did me a favor. A long time ago he did me a favor.”
Any smart person would have said “he didn’t do any dirty work for me but….”
Not Twitler he doesn’t see a rake before he walks into it.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Gravenstone: I hear there’s a room coming open at some Ecuadorian embassy.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: He is.
LAO
@trollhattan: Honestly — don’t make me defense these assholes but that what defense attorneys do. Defend people who committed terrible crimes.
CarolDuhart2
You know…there’s one person who’s grateful today. Chris Christie. Sometimes being rejected is the best thing that can happen. He won’t be going to jail, just left office. A desperate Republican Party could do worse post-Trump. Even with some of the stench, he could at least distance himself from this and get a second bite of the apple.
different-church-lady
FYI: for about the past 18 hours I’ve been experiencing a glitch where my comment doesn’t show up when I post, but if I reload the page it did indeed go through.
Adam L Silverman
Kind of a quiet morning…
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@different-church-lady: Supplementing, not supplanting. See above.
I’m trying to space out the quotes to, with luck, hit the climax about when Trump has his final legal meltdown. But it’s hard. Time flows oddly in this continuum.
different-church-lady
@Litlebritdifrnt: That’s more Trump thinking like a mob boss.
TenguPhule
@CarolDuhart2:
Must you bring up such potentially awful news during a time of joy? //
LAO
@LAO: Why can’t I edit — I making a thousand typos today!!!
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman: NRA layoffs?
Schlemazel
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
I always assumed it was because it would encourage the Talibengilicals to vote for the ticket on the assumption the Cosmic Muffin would remove Dump and the chosen one would ascend to the throne
but it could be because he is too stupid to notice. The GOP admitted they only wanted a thing capable of signing bills as POTUS, no brain necessary. They almost had that with Boy George
dmsilev
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
Downside there is that there’s a cat to take care of. Trump doesn’t do animals.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: I assume you’ve seen this interesting thread on Justice Kennedy and his dad.
Reminder that both Kavanaugh and Gorsuch clerked for Kennedy.
Schlemazel
@TenguPhule:
saw that, the day just gets better and better
geg6
So now he’s cancelled his planned meetings with Turkey and South Korea, too.
My guess? Bolton and Pompeo have wrestled him into the bedroom of AF1 and are holding him down while whatever doctor is on board administers the elephant tranquilizer. He’s melting down for sure. Imagine being stuck on that plane with him raging away.
CarolDuhart2
@TenguPhule: Pence rightly deserves his nickname. The only way he gets into the Oval is Trump stumbles somehow. There are only two names I can think of that might make it a race in 2024 (or 2020 if there’s that stumble). Kasich and possible Christie. There simply doesn’t seem anyone else that works for them. They both have enough of a moderate veneer that swing voters might find them passable. Everyone else? No chance.
dmsilev
@Adam L Silverman: Just another successful Infrastructure Week.
delk
@Adam L Silverman: Burke was my alderman growing up during the last days of the machine. He was also one half of the two Eddies that led the council wars against Harold Washington.
dmsilev
@geg6: I’m going with the Ockham’s Razor argument that he’s just too damn lazy to prepare for anything resembling a “formal meeting”.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@geg6: I hope his floating rage focuses on Mrs Mr Kellyanne Conway and she gets screamed at for a couple of hours. While there is turbulence.
geg6
@LAO:
True, but it sure shines a bright light on why he was so comfortable with women being raped by the football team while he was president at Baylor
germy
TenguPhule
Trump adviser sought WikiLeaks emails via Farage ally, Mueller document alleges
Its raining shoes…..and men.
germy
@dmsilev: The cat is gone, according to latest news.
TenguPhule
@germy:
But the cat came back the very next day. It just couldn’t stay away.
germy
@TenguPhule: The cat is cooperating fully with Mueller, according to what I’ve read.
dmsilev
@germy: Are we sure that the cat isn’t a cooperating witness?
Yarrow
LOL.
trollhattan
@LAO:
Dersh is interesting in this case (heh) because he was one of Epstein’s frequent guests and if I recall the article correctly, is accused of sexual relations with some of the girls. That’s beyond simply lawyering for cashola. To my knowledge Starr wasn’t part of that circle of abuse.
Yarrow
@germy: @dmsilev: I wonder if the cat wore a collar? Hmmmm….
ruemara
@TenguPhule: I might watch that on Rockin’ New Year’s Eve.
TenguPhule
Fucking Flake is all talk and still a traitor to the Republic.
germy
https://nypost.com/2018/11/28/trump-threatens-to-declassify-devastating-docs-about-democrats/?utm_campaign=iosapp&utm_source=twitter_app
patroclus
Burke is corrupt as hell – he’s just always gotten away with it. He was the leader of the Council when they opposed Harold Washington (Vrdolyak got the headlines but Burke was the Finance Chair). This could be Trump-related but it also could be any manner of corruption. Kudos to Chuy Garcia for leading the charge to finally bury Burke once and for all.
germy
@Yarrow: His bowtie was really a camera.
EDIT:
I’ve seen photos of the cat and he always wore a festive bowtie while staring glumly out the embassy window.
bemused
@Kay:
Being poor and struggling would be their worst nightmares.
Mandalay
@Adam L Silverman:
I second that. One hell of a scoop, and a mountain of details. And it was written over six months ago. The authors have to get 2019 Pulitzers for that.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/anthonycormier/trump-moscow-micheal-cohen-felix-sater-campaign
Betty Cracker
Huh, this is interesting; two days after Michael Cohen lied to Congress about his contact with the Kremlin (he claimed an inquiry wasn’t answered), Vladimir Putin’s press secretary (Peskov) lied to back up Cohen’s story (via TPM):
Gosh, why would Putin’s minion lie to back up Trump’s henchman? It’s almost like they were…colluding.
TenguPhule
@germy: please proceed, Mr. Trump.
p.a.
Dog bites man:
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s Republican-led Legislature began voting Wednesday on bills that would substantially scale back citizen-initiated minimum wage and paid sick leave laws that a business lobby criticized as too expensive and burdensome, setting up expected court challenges if GOP Gov. Rick Snyder signs them before making way for a Democrat in January.
--bd
Yes, but once AF1 crosses the Equator will Trump’s psyche start spiraling counter-clockwise?
Elizabelle
@germy: Yeah. I hope Assange’s cat is living large somewhere now.
Free to come and go as he pleases. Living his best little life. Unlike the person who could not be bothered to clean his litterbox.
Luciamia
Hmmm, looks like those bleeding red Christmas tree are gonna be an apt symbol at the White House.
Matt McIrvin
So, I guess Mueller was waiting on the Mississippi runoff after all.
Gravenstone
@germy: What about penalties for non-compliance? Because if so, THANKS REPUBLICANS FOR THE PRECEDENT!!!
Hello, expanded capacity magazines – let’s talk.
Gravenstone
@TenguPhule: Wonder if Malloch knew Mifsud?
Adam L Silverman
@trollhattan: Google “Alan Dershowitz first wife” when you have some time.
TenguPhule
@Matt McIrvin:
Sure looks like a lot of things started happening very fast right after.
Corner Stone
@germy: I know there’s like a Wide Sargasso Sea of Stupidity that exists every time Trump opens his mouth, but this has to rank up there amongst the top. So, you have evidence of criminal or maybe just unethical behavior but you’re not telling anyone what it is. Until or unless they say mean things about you. In regards to an investigation where you are totally and completely innocent.
TenguPhule
Adam L Silverman
@different-church-lady: I was a bit confused when you asked about being in moderation last night as I didn’t see anything in moderation.
Corner Stone
@p.a.:
It’s almost as if…as if Republicans are determined to do exactly what they said they would do if in office…
Corner Stone
@Luciamia:
“It’s a…nice day for a..Red Wedding!”
MagdaInBlack
@delk:
Burke and Fast Eddie Vrdolyak
Yes I remember
Oy
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: Could be a typo for NBA lay ups. Who knows…
Actually it is accurate:
https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2018/11/28/layoffs-hit-nra-s-media-operation-nratv/222177
LAO
Now, if only he were forced to resign as Labor Secretary.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@germy: The man in the gabardine suit? All gone to look for America.
I am old. I remember all those songs.
Kay
@p.a.:
I think they can just put it back on the ballot which will drive up Dem turnout…
This time they can put it on the ballot and say “Republicans gutted that law you passed” to the public.
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: Yep. Never quite sure what to make of that account though.
Corner Stone
Big News, if true:
Steve in the ATL
@LAO:
You scumbag! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a union to bust….
Adam L Silverman
He’s not going to formally meet with anyone at the G20 by the time AF1 lands. He’s going to spend 48 hours in his rooms at the US ambassador’s residence, watching cable TV, eating, and rage tweeting!
Adam L Silverman
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: I know what you mean about the account, but lots of interesting info that one can go follow themselves pops up in those types of threads.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: Well, that’s what he did in France.
Adam L Silverman
@CarolDuhart2: Actually the whole point of primarying an incumbent of your own party isn’t to actually win the nomination from them, rather it is to telegraph and demonstrate their vulnerability as they reclaim the nomination. When Ted Kennedy primaried Carter this is what happened. When Buchanan primaried Bush 41 this is what happened. To a certain extant, when Reagan sort of challenged Ford, this happened.
Adam L Silverman
@germy: We now go to the armed intelligentsia for reaction…
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2018/11/daniel-zimmerman/cnn-trump-to-announce-bump-stock-ban-within-days/
C Stars
@Adam L Silverman: Very low energy.
sm*t cl*de
@Corner Stone:
“We’re the Kakistocrats!”
Adam L Silverman
@LAO: Wait till discovery in that lawsuit brought by the victims start at the end of the year. He’s not long in his position once that starts.
Domestic short hair tabby (fka vheidi)
@Roger Moore: yep
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: Yes it is. Anyone know if rain is forecast for Buenos Aires?
Corner Stone
@C Stars: Trump never had the stah-men-uh! he proclaimed during the campaign but he has decidedly hit the low water mark for interest, or ability, to do more than walk to the South Lawn and answer questions.
geg6
@TenguPhule:
Mitch Landrieu would look good in that open Senate seat, I’m thinking.
laura
@Kay:
The saddest part to me is those girls. They were throw-away girls, which is how it was covered up for so long. No one gave a shit what happened to them.
Kay, ain’t that the truth! They are and have always been disposable and their lives have no value to these evil, skeezy, Lords of Power. And now, all those former useful tools who have placed the blame for sex trafficking on HRC will do a double quick reversal and claim that these slutty, drug using, broken women are just trying to bring these good men down.
NO MORE POWER WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY! ENOUGH.
Mandalay
@Adam L Silverman:
How can anyone refuse an invitation to find dirt on Dershowitz ?…
Dershowitz is another one of these pious, pompous pundits who can’t keep it in their pants, and have had a train wreck for a private life. John Fund, Jeffrey Toobin, George Will are Jason Miller are other examples.
rikyrah
Being from Chicago, I can’t state strong enough the earthquake that happened in Chicago when they raided Ed Burke today. There is no more powerful politician in Chicago than Burke. He has a security detail that rivals the Mayor. His wife is on the Illinois Supreme Court.
I am still in shock.
rikyrah
@Kay:
Which they should do. Put it on the ballot again.
Ridnik Chrome
@rikyrah: I too am from Chicago, I remember well the Council Wars of the Harold Washington era, and I still spit after saying Eddie Burke’s name. Nothing would make me happier than seeing him frog-marched.
TCS
@Elizabelle: Any connections to Cohen’s taxi business in Chicago?
Gin & Tonic
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Always makes me think of a Robert Mapplethorpe photo titled “Man in Polyester Suit.”
Do not Google this.
Doug R
@Mike in DC: Feels like this season’s going to have a cliffhanger.
Some new cast members coming in January, should be quite the shakeup.
JPL
@LAO: Good!
Now trump will just keep Whitaker, and the republicans will no longer care that he’s not confirmed.
Mandalay
@Gin & Tonic: You just won this thread.
ruemara
@rikyrah: I am gonna drop this thread on Kennedy’s mob ties. Oh, Justice (Ret.) Kennedy. I’m guessing Burke is gonna pay the piper.
smintheus
Anybody have suggestions about how to uninstall Siri from a Mac computer? I just updated to Mojave and find that I now have this spyware that Mac treats as if it were a core program. There’s probably a way to discard it using the command line, but I haven’t been able to figure out how. Mac’s help/chat refused to tell me how to do it, saying that Mac did not support deleting essential apps, while also hinting that I was in fact on the right track. The local Mac store claimed that they didn’t know of any way to do it.
Adam L Silverman
@geg6: Apparently he’s considering running for president.
The Moar You Know
@germy: Do it, you orange piece of shit. He won’t, because the only thing there implicates him.
Doug R
@jacy: My response?
Bye Felicia(s).
Adam L Silverman
@rikyrah: Chicago mix for everyone!
Alexa!!!! Order all the Chicago mix please!!!!!
Jeffro
@Adam L Silverman:
To quote, um, you: “Ya think?”
LOL
Trumpistas, you’re about to see your warrior king devolve into a little whiny puddle of goo right before your very eyes. Heck, you already are.
LAO
@Gin & Tonic: No, no, no. Everyone should google it — it’s quite a suit.
jacy
@TenguPhule:
Kennedy is a grade-A asshole hiding behind some folksy bullshit. Not very bright either.
Ridnik Chrome
@Ridnik Chrome: Also, I’m actually kind of amazed that Eddie Burke is still a) alive and b) an alderman. I met him once about twenty years ago at my old job and I remember his face being roughly the color of a brick. I would have figured either the feds or his ticker would have gotten him by now.
debit
@LAO: It’s quite a -something- that’s for sure. Just so everyone is aware, the search result is very much NOT safe for work. Said the woman posting from work.
LAO
@debit: Well, you know, it is art.
jacy
@Adam L Silverman:
I think he’s pretty much given up on even appearing to do the job. Honestly, I think he’s really going to spiral now simply because he can’t do the daily rally thing. That’s the only thing that even temporarily fills the yawning hole inside him. I look forward to him either physcially collapsing inward on himself, or exploding Scanners-style. Not picky which.
Gin & Tonic
@LAO: I clearly said not to Google it, didn’t I?
WaterGirl
@Litlebritdifrnt: A: President Trump:
That strikes me as possibly the only true thing Trump has said since the beginning of 2016.
Mary G
This is shaping up to be the best Infrastructure Week evah!
catclub
@JPL:
they will continue to not care.
Trump could have fired Sessions months ago and the Senate would do….. nothing. Or maybe not confirm a replacement and Whitaker sits there even longer.
jacy
@geg6:
Getting Kennedy out of the Senate only works if John Bel Edwards retains the governership. Bel Edwards has done as good a job as could be asked, considering he’s a very Blue Dog and had to clean up after the 8-year Bobby Jindal horrowshow. Kennedy as gov would be a fucking disaster, especially for healthcare and education, both of which have been treading water here for a long time. Hopefully voters remember that, but it’s Louisiana, so probably not. Politics are weirder here than anywhere else.
LAO
@Gin & Tonic: I didn’t google it. I saw it a Maplethorpe exhibition when I was an impressionable young lady. It has led me to a lifetime of disappointment…
JPL
@Gin & Tonic: I followed your instruction.
Ridnik Chrome
@Gin & Tonic: Not only should everyone Google it, they should print it out and send it as a Christmas card to all their Trump-voting relatives.
Corner Stone
@Mary G:
There is only one Infrastructure Week. And it is good.
catclub
@Gin & Tonic: Have You ever seen the Picture of Robert Mugabe in an amazing Suit?
Now THAT is a search that is worth doing.
WaterGirl
@germy: Remember in 2007/2008 when the Obama campaign held all sorts of endorsements in their pocket and rolled them out as needed when they wanted to control the narrative?
This announcement about bump stocks makes me think there are people who are holding things like that in their pockets in order to distract from Mueller and other events that aren’t to their liking.
trollhattan
@Adam L Silverman:
Uhhh, yikes. He’s a real peach.
Martin
@Mary G: We really need to ascend ‘Infrastructure Week!’ to the same punchline status as ‘The Aristocrats!’.
Corner Stone
@LAO:
If that’s what you’re looking for then I may never leave the house again. I’m not a vest guy and polyester just doesn’t do it for me.
catclub
@LAO: Wouldn’t that scandal be seen as credentials in Trump’s eyes?
Gin & Tonic
@LAO: I saw it at an exhibition, too, and didn’t even know (and didn’t dare find out) whether it was searchable. Mapplethorpe, as you’re probably aware, had certain, um, predilections. Sorry life has let you down.
Martin
@WaterGirl: Trump and his merry band of assholes do nothing but for political gain. I’m guessing they have binders full of distractions they plan on rolling out on bad news days.
Doug R
@TenguPhule: The Cat Came Back
J R in WV
@Adam L Silverman:
Holee Crap ! I never had much respect for Dershowitz, but that’s horrible !!
Thanks, kinda, if you know what I mean…. Worse than Ken Starrrr. maybe.
catclub
@jacy: Yeah, Bel Edwards won because he was running against Vitter, who the people hated even more than a Democrat. Kennedy is likely to win in a walk.
Steve in the ATL
Unrelated to anything I have personally been involved in, can anyone recommend a criminal defense attorney in Athens, Georgia? Friend’s kid got busted for drugs.
LAO, did you end up taking the Georgia bar like you planned?
germy
@smintheus: Can you go to the applications folder and drag siri to the trash?
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Gin & Tonic: Made me look. Seems like a nice suit. 3-piece, you don’t see that too often anymore. Accessories are admittedly a little unusual.
JPL
@catclub: That’s why he has the job now, but the negative news might be more than trump’s handlers can stomach.
Yarrow
@Steve in the ATL: Raven might know someone since that’s his neck of the woods.
LAO
@catclub: It’s hard for me to explain to people who don’t practice criminal law in the federal system how utterly egregious and how inconceivable the Epstein non-prosecution was. I still don’t understand how it happened and “rich white, dude” is actually not a real answer. If Acosta was appointed AG (because he’s already been through Senate confirmation) I would expect every career prosecutor to resign.
Steve in the ATL
@smintheus: “Siri, delete yourself and tell Tim Cook to suck it!”
NB: can’t confirm that this will work.
LAO
@Steve in the ATL: No and No. And one miserable argument/experience before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is all I need in a lifetime. Sorry.
different-church-lady
@Adam L Silverman:
Yeah, I jumped the gun on that — didn’t see the post come up and just assumed moderation. Tried two more, didn’t see them, refreshed the page and they all showed up.
PS: and whaddaya know, it just happened again with this very post.
J R in WV
@LAO:
If only he were prosecuted for his part in the pedophile cover-up conspiracy, forced to register as a sex offender, spend 12 years in a real actual prison, sharing a cell with J. Epstein.
If only!
rikyrah
@TCS:
Would it interest you that the taxi medallion business in Chicago is controlled by Russians???
jacy
@catclub:
Not necessarily true. There’s a pretty strong incumbent bias for governer here. And Bel Edwards very first act was to expand Medicaid, whixh has made a HUGE difference and is very popular. He also managed to get TOPS (the state scholarship fund that pays for any eligible student to attend college) fully funded, when the Republicans were talking about cutting it in half. Kennedy has got some work to do. Local political scientists put it at probably 50/50 between Bel Edwards and Kennedy if Kennedy announces.
Gelfling 545
@Schlemazel: I already appropriated it (with attribution) on FB.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman: Did they all also lose in the general?
Yarrow
@jacy: And there’s no way to predict what the Mueller investigation is going to do to the 2020 election. It could affect the Republican party and there could be a lot of collateral damage.
different-church-lady
@Mandalay: Pyrrhic victory.
JanieM
@smintheus: I don’t have a Mac, but I googled “how to remove Siri from a Mac computer” and got a lot of results that weren’t part of Mac forums. I’ve found solutions to a lot of weird computer/Windows questions by this method. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out which results you want to rely on…
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@jacy: Melania, Jared, and Ivanka are on the plane with Trump.
Wow. Everyone he cares about.
And Melania.
jacy
@catclub:
Just out of curiosity, I looked up Bel Edwards latest numbers and he has a 55% approval rating and only a 32% disapproval rating in the state, which puts him above both Sen. Kennedy and Sen. Cassidy in approval. Contrast with Bobby Jindal, who left office with 16% approval…….
smintheus
@germy: No, it won’t give you the option. That’s why I think you need to go into Terminal and turn off SIP (System Integrity Protection, the new protection Mac has built in against trashing programs)….which I know how to do…and then proceed with the correct command line instructions to locate and delete Siri. But I don’t know how to do the latter.
different-church-lady
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: If he were flying solo, he’s still be with everyone he cares about.
Adam L Silverman
@?BillinGlendaleCA: All of those incumbents lost their reelections in the general election. Ford to Carter, Carter to Reagan, and Bush 41 to Clinton. The only three one term presidents since WW II that weren’t the result of not running again. The only one of those was LBJ.
Yarrow
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Trump is on the plane. The only one he cares about.
TCS
@rikyrah: Yeah. Knew that. Just wondering if Burke was connected in any way. Busy day today w/ Deutsche bank raid, Cohen, Manafort, Ukraine etc. I am imagining Anthony Kennedy, Kavanaugh, Deutschebank, Cohen, Burke, Trump,Kushner, Manafort, et al ad nauseum all in this together in some nefarious way that I cannot make out.
smintheus
@JanieM: Thanks. I did that and tried out a few of the offered methods, but none I tried have worked.
ruemara
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I wonder which embassy would take him in.
TS (the original)
@germy: If he gets any more presidential, they’ll have to stamp it on his forehead
NotMax
“I was only touching the cookies in the jar, I wasn’t going to eat them.”
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman: Actually, LBJ did run; his performance in the New Hampshire primary, while he won, was lackluster; so he bowed out of the race early on.
different-church-lady
@ruemara: ECUADOR: “You don’t have any pets? That’s good, because we just changed the lease…”
TenguPhule
@NotMax:
It was his tongue!
Yarrow
@LAO: I saw video on the news of Acosta during his confirmation hearing. Rubio was sitting next to him it looked like. They also said something like various prosecutors knew about it and something about how the decision stood through three administrations–although I could have got that part wrong since I wasn’t fully paying attention. In any case, they made it seem like no big deal.
Mandalay
@catclub:
And what is stalwart Republican David Vitter up to now?…
Vitter’s support for breaking sanctions against Russia is highly principled, and suggestions that it is because Deripaska possesses photos of Vitter wearing a diaper are highly irresponsible.
J R in WV
So Tony Kennedy’s dad was a mob lawyer, and he inherited his dad’s law practice…
Color me shocked. And his son, working for Deutsche Bank, loaned Trump a hundred million dollars, or perhaps Euros.
What a family business, amirite~!?!?!~
No wonder “Justice” Kennedy resigned so that “Justice” Kavanaugh could take his seat on the highest bench!!!
Color me shocked, again!
Yarrow
@J R in WV: Reminder that both Gorsuch and Kavanaugh clerked for Kennedy. He hand picked Kavanaugh. Seems like a good story there for some enterprising journalist.
piratedan
Hell… at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if Vlad shoots down AF1 just to watch the unfolding shitshow as the ‘Nation mourns the death of its President”……
gwangung
He could place a bomb on there and the clown show they have running the place would never find it.
Corner Stone
@J R in WV:
Over a billion dollars, with a B, during a few year span. Trump Org still currently owes something like $350M to DB. Mysterious how that is, nick war?
Brachiator
I’m super busy with work today, so just peeking in. This Trump/Cohen stuff is crazy!
But Trump is out of the country, right? He must be storing up a Twitter rampage.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@gwangung: Sure, it only took them 3 weeks to figure out how to use a light switch.
sherparick
Hey, this is the best Infrastructure Week yet!
--bd
@Corner Stone: Neat autocorrect on “Nicht Wahr” there.
Yarrow
Wow, this is quite a headline:
Viva BrisVegas
@LAO:
I think the question is “why Ken Starr?”.
Was he picked by Epstein because of his tremendous abilities as a defense lawyer?
Or was he picked because he had a backdoor to Acosta via his political affiliations?
Acosta gave Epstein an amazingly good deal and then illegally hid it from the victims. That doesn’t happen without some quid pro quo.
Elizabelle
@Yarrow: Whoa. Huntington Beach, CA. From your first link:
The doves are all fine and well cared for (by a relative). Todd got into “all white birds” in the 1980s.
He’d been leaving threatening messages and voicemail. There was finally the sound of the racking of a shotgun in one of the messages, and that got the authorities interested in the White (Power) Birdman of Huntington Beach.
trollhattan
@Yarrow:
Holy crap that’s a weird story. I hate it when Florida Man shows up here, but at least it’s Orange County. Along with the Nazi crap I can’t help notice the stars and bars.
Here’s hoping he gets locked up and those rifles melted.
Shana
@Betty Cracker: On a related note, I saw the other day that they’re still having the Kremlin Annex protests outside the WH. I think it said they were up to Day 128.
Dan B
@Adam L Silverman: BA, Argentina: 72, partly cloudy.
Must has moar kreeatife eckskewsez nowe! Melancholy runs (in heels..) and hides.
WaterGirl
@Adam L Silverman: I’m from Chicago, but Chicago mix is downright disgusting. Ugh.
sm*t cl*de
@smintheus:
I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Dave
Corner Stone
@sm*t cl*de: SIRI, open the pod bay doors.
Chris Johnson
How is nobody seeing it, or at least saying it?
Vlad shooting down AF1, my ass.
They’re never coming back.
They’re going home.
The question is now whether Mueller has enough on Pence to take him out (and Ryan, etc), and how we will all ride out the insane seismic shock that’s about to hit. And THAT is Putin’s final blow to the Republic. Just as Mueller is ready to go public, this is about whisking Trump and the key traitors away, never to return… and gloating. Publically.
I could be wrong but I’m calling it. (it will be interesting if I AM wrong, will be amusing to watch the shitshow unfold). In case I am not wrong, I’m calling it: Trump is gone. He’s gone home, with his handler (Melania of the red red trees, a nice touch) and his closest, most complicit family (his crooked traitor son-in-law and his beloved Ivanka).
Anybody left behind is just fucked.
Corner Stone
@Chris Johnson: Man, that would be the sweetest ending I can imagine outside of orange jumpsuit perp walks. If they want to stay gone I will donate to whatever GoFundMe that pops up barring them from ever coming back.
I honestly think the USA would breathe a big collective sigh of relief and just move the fuck on if your scenario held up.
MisterForkbeard
@Chris Johnson: This is a very tempting fantasy, but I very much doubt this is happening. Trump is bringing his family (his “things”, if you will) because he’s freaking out and needs people close to him to tell him how awesome he is.
The thing here is that even with all these revelations, Republicans still support Trump/insist it’s a liberal plot… and he’s infected enough of the judiciary to have at least a shot in a court case. There’s no reason for him to bug out now.
tybee
@Doug R: i knew some asshole would dredge that up. ;)
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@MisterForkbeard:
This, if Trump was at wits end he would be making a lot more noise and pretty much be babbling about leaving.
ellie
That Epstein story is a hard read. What a gross fucking pig. He needs to die in jail.
Amir Khalid
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
That’s from the song that Paul Simon gave to Wilmer to use for his presidential campaign.