Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

Republicans in disarray!

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Everybody saw this coming.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

Second rate reporter says what?

Tick tock motherfuckers!

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

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

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

You are here: Home / You Can Just Get Fucked, McCarthy

You Can Just Get Fucked, McCarthy

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Eat a bag of dicks, bigot:

Republicans clamored for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s head Monday, demanding he give up his gavel or resign from Congress as part of their campaign of revenge against Democrats who pursued and promoted allegations of collusion between President Donald Trump and the Russian government.

Trump and senior White House aides, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other allies of the president on Capitol Hill raced to paint the California Democrat as an overeager disciple of a theory debunked by the Justice Department in a summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings released Sunday.

Pretty sure I know what Nancy’s response to this will be.

Reader Interactions

140Comments

  4. 4.

    randy khan

    @Geeno:

    They’re really anxious to make hay before the report is released, aren’t they?

    Funny, isn’t it?

    Anyway, Pelosi will give those demands exactly the attention they deserve.

  8. 8.

    Kay

    We’re never going to see this report, are we? They’re just going to keep it from us, forever.

    I feel like it belongs to us and we should get a copy. If it doesn’t belong to the public who does it belong to? Donald Trump? Barr? It must be ours- it can’t be their property.

  10. 10.

    geg6

    Well, this seems pretty mild compared to the Possum Queen. Possum Queen wants to have them all put to death for treason.

  11. 11.

    FlipYrWhig

    What the fuck is this? It’s an entire party comprised of earnest bigots and disingenuous pieces of shit.

    I mean, can you imagine the media reaction if Bill Clinton had taken a rah-rah victory lap after the impeachment trial failed?

  12. 12.

    FlipYrWhig

    @geg6: The entire reelection campaign is going to be “THEY tried to take down the president, don’t let THEM get away with it,” isn’t it? It’s truly repellent.

  13. 13.

    clay

    Is that right, Kevin?

    “There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, according to a recording of the June 15, 2016, exchange, which was listened to and verified by The Washington Post. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a Californian Republican known in Congress as a fervent defender of Putin and Russia.

    House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) immediately interjected, stopping the conversation from further exploring McCarthy’s assertion, and swore the Republicans present to secrecy.

    Before the conversation, McCarthy and Ryan had emerged from separate talks at the Capitol with Ukrainian Prime Minister Vladi­mir Groysman, who had described a Kremlin tactic of financing populist politicians to undercut Eastern European democratic institutions.

    News had just broken the day before in The Washington Post that Russian government hackers had penetrated the computer network of the Democratic National Committee, prompting McCarthy to shift the conversation from Russian meddling in Europe to events closer to home.

    Some of the lawmakers laughed at McCarthy’s comment. Then McCarthy quickly added: “Swear to God.”

    Ryan instructed his Republican lieutenants to keep the conversation private, saying: “No leaks. . . . This is how we know we’re a real family here.”

  14. 14.

    James E Powell

    We Democrats will have to steel ourselves against this stuff because the whole press/media world loves Trump, loves Republican bullshit, and definitely does not like Democrats (except those who go on cable shows and criticize other Democrats). It’s going to be a lot harder than it should be to beat Trump in 2020.

  15. 15.

    West of the Rockies

    Can SOMETHING good happen, please?!?

    EF leaves us, the Trumplings are all twerking before the cameras, and everything seems kinda shitty at the moment.

  16. 16.

    replicnt6

    @geg6: Ah, I remember when we were all being tut-tutted for using the word “treason” wrt quid-pro-quos with a hostile foreign government.

  17. 17.

    Roger Moore

    @Kay:

    We’re never going to see this report, are we? They’re just going to keep it from us, forever.

    I expect it to leak if it isn’t released through proper channels.

  18. 18.

    Walker

    a theory debunked by the Justice Department in a summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s

    That wording is so tortured it violates the Geneva convention.

  19. 19.

    MisterForkbeard

    @clay: We should pair that with McCarthy’s on-air “We totally succeeded in damaging Hillary through the Benghazi hearings” quote, too.

  20. 20.

    FlipYrWhig

    @MisterForkbeard: And even though according to the logic being expressed by Republicans TO-FUCKING-DAY the Benghazi investigation coming up with nothing should have entitled Hillary Clinton to moon the cameras and promise gory revenge on all her foes.

  21. 21.

    Brachiator

    Republicans clamored for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s head Monday, demanding he give up his gavel or resign from Congress

    Okay… purges? Is it Infrastructure Week again already?

  22. 22.

    Vince

    raced to paint the California Democrat as an overeager disciple of a theory debunked by the Justice Department in a summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings released Sunday.

    I really fucking hate the media. Nothing was debunked which implies evidence was presented to prove allegations were wrong. The Justice Department summary stated that the report cleared trump but provided no evidence of that. Until the full report is actually released nothing has been debunked.

  23. 23.

    germy

    Whew!

    Sarah Sanders: "They literally accused the President of the United States of being an agent for a foreign government. That's equivalent to treason. Thats punishable by death in this country." pic.twitter.com/nz5fsKTW7F— The Hill (@thehill) March 25, 2019

    It’s her little chuckle after “punishable by death” that creeps me out.

  24. 24.

    lamh36

    @Kay: My money says one of the retiring Dem pols (or their staff) who won’t be seeking relection will leak the full report.

  25. 25.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Vince: Even better, the Justice Department didn’t even say Trump was “cleared” – it said Mueller wasn’t able to establish a good enough case for Russian Conspiracy, and that Barr had decided not to go after Obstruction because of a lack of underlying crime and because Trump did most of his obstruction in public. It even explicitly says it doesn’t exonerate Trump of Obstruction. BARR himself said that.

    I’m kind of surprised by how awful the media is on this. I shouldn’t be, but I am.

  28. 28.

    SenyorDave

    @germy: “They literally accused the President of the United States of being an agent for a foreign government. That’s equivalent to treason. Thats punishable by death in this country.”

    Confused here. Does she mean that the accuser is subject to the death penalty? Because I will uncategorically state that I believe that Donald Trump is an agent of a foreign government. Am I subject to the death penalty?

  29. 29.

    Aleta

    The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from a mystery company over a grand jury subpoena tied to special counsel Robert Mueller’s now completed Russia probe.

    The justices gave no explanation for denying the request that was submitted by the company, and there were no notable dissents from the nine-member court. It takes four justices to agree to hear a case.

    The federal grand jury subpoena, which is being kept under seal along with related court filings, seeks information from a corporation owned by a foreign government, known in court filings only as “Country A.”

    The Supreme Court in January refused to block the contempt order, which forced the company to comply with the subpoena.

    The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals had upheld the order holding the company in contempt despite its arguments that it was immune from the subpoena under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and that the subpoena is unreasonable and oppressive because it would force the corporation to violate domestic law.

    The company, which said in redacted court filings that it was a witness in the investigation, argued it was entitled to sovereign immunity from the subpoena and that U.S. courts have no criminal jurisdiction over foreign states.

    In refusing to turn over the requested information, the company faces $50,000 per day in fines.

    The Hill

  32. 32.

    Raoul

    Demanding Schiff give up his gavel or resign from Congress.

    Hahahahahaha. Yeah, they can demand all they want, Veruca Salt-like. Willie Wonka, er I mean Nancy Pelosi will send the idea down the garbage chute.

  33. 33.

    piratedan

    what bothers me the most about the unfolding of events, if Barr has indeed mischaracterized the summation of Mueller’s report, why hasn’t he found himself a podium and simply said so.

  34. 34.

    VeniceRiley

    @lamh36: I want the entire thing, including the counter-intelligence. If out intel agencies couldn’t save democracy by now, at least we would know why.

  37. 37.

    SenyorDave

    BY the way, WHY DON’T THE DEMOCRATS ASK FOR TRUMP’S APOLOGY FOR EIGHT YEARS OF THE BIRTHER CLAIMS, where that piece of excrement questioned Obama’s legal qualifications for president. I think this would be one time where Obama could make a case for making a comment like “When is Donald Trump going to apologize to my family and the American people.

  38. 38.

    rk

    @FlipYrWhig:

    The entire reelection campaign is going to be “THEY tried to take down the president, don’t let THEM get away with it,” isn’t it? It’s truly repellent.

    The election is a long ways away. I expect 4000 more Trump scandals by then. I doubt if there was anyone who was going to base their support for Trump based on what Mueller’s report said. Those who hate him, hate him more every day. Those who love him will support him even if did shoot someone on fifth ave.

  39. 39.

    Kristine

    @clay:

    “There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, according to a recording of the June 15, 2016, exchange, which was listened to and verified by The Washington Post. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a Californian Republican known in Congress as a fervent defender of Putin and Russia.

    A competent member of the media would read that quote back to McCarthy during an interview, then sit quietly and wait for the tumble of backtracks and explanations.

    Guessing it’ll never happen.

  40. 40.

    But her emails!!!

    @SenyorDave:

    Whoa there. Trump’s too stupid to be an agent. He’s an asset, although one that may not provably be conspiring with a foreign government.

  43. 43.

    Raoul

    @FlipYrWhig: I’m pretty sure she should have done exactly that. Would she be president now if she had? Maybe. But I’d have paid good money to see Chuck Todd have an aneurysm on teevee when she dropped pant suit.

  44. 44.

    Mandalay

    It’s so ironic that they’re going after Schiff since (to me) he has been the most reasonable and open minded of all the Democrats going after Trump. Every time he made a comment he was extremely diplomatic and cautious, and always attached the caveat that “…we should wait for the report to be released before reaching any conclusions…”.

    I suspect they want Schiff gone because they know he has the public persona of an honest, intelligent and fair legislator, but the bite of a crocodile.

    It ain’t over till it’s over.

  45. 45.

    Roger Moore

    @lamh36:

    My money says one of the retiring Dem pols (or their staff) who won’t be seeking relection will leak the full report.

    They can’t leak the report because they haven’t seen it. Mueller gave it to Barr, and Barr has so far released only his summary. The report would have to be leaked to the Democrats before they could release it to the public. FWIW, the Democrats would not have to leak it; they can officially release any information they want to by publishing it in the Congressional Record.

  46. 46.

    Spanky

    @MisterForkbeard:

    I’m kind of surprised by how awful the media is on this. I shouldn’t be, but I am.

    The media are “awful” because they’re complicit, not inept. Let’s keep bringing that up, making it as explicit as possible.

  49. 49.

    Roger Moore

    @Mandalay:

    I suspect they want Schiff gone because they know he has the public persona of an honest, intelligent and fair legislator, but the bite of a crocodile.

    I think it’s the bite of a crocodile they’re more worried about than the public persona. They know he isn’t going to let this go.

  50. 50.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Roger Moore: Supposedly the Gang of Eight is getting briefed on the full contents soon. I don’t think they’ll have the actual report, though.

  52. 52.

    FlipYrWhig

    @rk: Right — what it shows, though, is that the ENTIRE CAMPAIGN is going to be about inflaming their craziest people into believing that a media-liberal conspiracy is trying to take out their cherished hero.

  53. 53.

    Raoul

    @Spanky: I can’t tell (and don’t care) if they’re terrified of him. They know he is effective.

    The GOP noise machine is going after any and all Dems. On any pretext: valid (not that I think there are any), shaky, or fake.

    We have to out campaign them. I see absolutely zero reason why Schiff or anyone on the Dem side should take any of it seriously, other than to be on counter offensive (mooning remaining optional). The claims are bulls**t. But the repub signaling that this will be a drag-down mudfest is real.

    I don’t believe we win by also getting full-on filthy, but we can’t just laugh it off, absurd as it is.

  54. 54.

    debit

    Just remember: most of the things that makes us weep, wail and go crazy are total mysteries to the general public. For example: the week of my birthday I lamented that I wasn’t going to get Roger Stone in jail for a present and half of my office said, “Who is Roger Stone?” in honest bewilderment. They don’t know or care about the Mueller report or what Barr said about it or even register the republicans doing victory dances.

    Nothing is going to penetrate their blissful ignorance until there are actual impeachment hearings or criminal indictments. Meanwhile, the needle is not moving on Trump’s popularity and the people who are paying attention are fired up and angry. Fired up is good. Angry is good (and gets shit done). Don’t despair.

  56. 56.

    Roger Moore

    @MisterForkbeard:

    I don’t think they’ll have the actual report, though.

    I don’t trust the briefing; they need to be able to see and read the whole report. The lengths the Republicans are going to keep the report from the public should be evidence enough that it’s not good for Trump.

  57. 57.

    Raoul

    @FlipYrWhig: Yup.

    So among the challenges, but do-able: Project competence, connecting to voters fears and concerns (their sense of impending health care disaster isn’t going away because the GOP Klown Kar is wound up to 110 mph), and focus on solutions.*

    It’s beltway received wisdom that voters find policy boring. But voters don’t find it so when a candidate can explain why taxing the rich works. Or why improving our health care system will save them money and help them stay out of bankruptcy.

    *eta: I don’t just mean white men’s fears or concerns, just FTR.

  58. 58.

    Chyron HR

    Do a lot of criminals who get off on a technicality turn around and threaten to sue the cops for investigating an innocent man? Or just the dumb ones?

  59. 59.

    JWR

    John Cole up top: “Pretty sure I know what Nancy’s response to this will be.”

    Fuckem!

  60. 60.

    NeenerNeener

    @rk:

    Those who love him will support him even if did shoot someone on fifth ave.

    Change that to:
    Those who love him will support him even if he shot someone they love right in front of them.

  62. 62.

    Mandalay

    @Roger Moore:

    they can officially release any information they want to by publishing it in the Congressional Record

    But they could only publish what Barr chooses to give them, right? So presumably Barr could redact huge chunks of the report on the grounds of (say) “national security”, and there is nothing the Democrats could do about that, right?

    Or can Democrats (or possibly some House committee), demand and then publish the unredacted report?

  65. 65.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Roger Moore: It’s certainly interesting all the weasel words being used in that letter, I suppose it’s all of them are trying to project the image of the FBI being neutral by tossing the hot potato to Congress.

  71. 71.

    Kay

    Steven Dennis
    ‏Verified account
    @StevenTDennis
    Follow Follow @StevenTDennis
    More
    JUST NOW: McConnell blocks Schumer measure calling for Mueller report to be made public

    I want the report we all own. We paid for it. It’s ours.

    Why aren’t media calling for the report to be made public? This is supposedly in their wheelhouse, right? Transparency? The public’s right to know? Are they waiting for Trump’s permission?

  74. 74.

    Emma

    The funny thing is, I have been getting angrier and angrier but not at the republicans in Washington. They’re scorpions, it’s their nature. I am getting angrier and angrier at the people who elected them. At the people who celebrate their meanness of spirit and their viciousness of action. I’ve never been exactly full of the milk of human kindness but honestly? All I got left is thousand-year-old vinegar. I will care about them only as far as I must in order to protect the innocent. But I am not willing to coddle them any longer. As far as I’m concerned they must live with the consequences of their actions.

  75. 75.

    japa21

    It is interesting that even Trump’s toady, Barr, felt he had to include the phrase that the evidence does not exonerate Trump. One wonders just how bad the rest of the report actually is.

    As to Schiff, he has repeatedly stated that there is evidence of collusion, but that does mean it would be sufficient to bring charges.

    People keep reporting that Barr’s summary states there was no evidence but I don’t think that is accurate. I believe it said Mueller did not find conspiracy, which would mean, IMO, that Mueller did not feel that the evidence he had was sufficient. As Adam as said, much of that evidence, and probably the most damning, comes from sources that cannot be used, even though it is trustworthy.

    I do think that some members of Congress will see the full report but may not be able to disclose it all.

  76. 76.

    Tom Q

    The behavior of the media just now — acting as if a full report has cleared Trump, when 1 ) no objective observer has read the full report and 2) even the Barr summary clearly doesn’t say that — is sadly familiar but, I’d say, not necessarily determinative. I know it can feel that way, but I remember the Mission Accomplished era, when anyone who didn’t view Iraq as a complete, era-defining triumph for Bush was a sore loser and denialist. That anyone took that position now seems absurd.

    My feeling is there are a lot more shoes to drop.

  77. 77.

    Kay

    Imagine media right now if Obama had been investigated, there was a report, and Democrats were blocking release of it.

    Is there some non-profit we can petition to sue for release of this report? There is NO process by which anyone can demand it?

  78. 78.

    Fair Economist

    Barr’s obviously distorted letter does not even claim it was “debunked”. He even admits there is substantial evidence against the President. He just says he, an employee of Trump, is choosing not to prosecute.

  79. 79.

    japa21

    @Kay: They don’t want it made public because although not enough to legally prosecute, there is still plenty of damning evidence in it.

  81. 81.

    Ohio Mom

    @Kay: I guess we the people are going to have to demand to see the report. To the phones to call…? Our Congressmen? Doesn’t look like they have any more leverage than we do.

    My local Indivisible group spent some time talking about where we would gather to protest when/if Mueller was fired. We did not imagine that the report would be finished and kept a secret.

  82. 82.

    Fair Economist

    @japa21: I am sure there is plenty to prosecute. Crooked Barr is just helping to cover up for his crooked boss.

  83. 83.

    Plato

    As long as shitty voters keep rewarding rethugs, they will keep doing shittier and shittier things.

    And fuck mueller, the incompetent.

  84. 84.

    Mart

    @Kay:

    We’re never going to see this report, are we? They’re just going to keep it from us, forever.

    I think it will be the usual dance. Declare victory, smear opposition. (Done/Ongoing) Over the next year or so drips and drabs of the report leak out and look bad for team Trump/Russian interference in elections. But a lifelong crook like Trump kept enough distance to prevent being prosecuted. Media gets bored and is making too much money covering the daily outrages to care much about a year old report. Trump 2020!!! (Schultz and Wilmer combine for 15% of the vote.) Sad.

  87. 87.

    Tom Q

    “People keep reporting that Barr’s summary states there was no evidence but I don’t think that is accurate. I believe it said Mueller did not find conspiracy, which would mean, IMO, that Mueller did not feel that the evidence he had was sufficient. ”

    Actually, I believe the phrase he used was “did not establish” cooperation with “the Russian government”. Both fragments seem extremely lawyerly: “did not establish” could mean anything from “found nothing” to “everything short of a smoking gun”…and “the Russian government” is overly specific — as if any Russian cutouts (mobsters, Wikileaks, etc.) were not considered.

    Which is to say, even Barr’s claim that collusion was ruled out might not be as true as people seem to assume. We’ve got to see Mueller’s full report to be sure.

  88. 88.

    B.B.A.

    Mueller is a cop, and a Republican. I told myself to expect this. It still hurts.

    Mark my words: the “real” report will be about as useful to us as the long form birth certificate was to the birthers. It won’t magically make Hillary retroactively President. Time to move on.

  89. 89.

    Mart

    @Kay:

    I want the report we all own. We paid for it. It’s ours.

    Actually Manafort’s court fines via Ukrainian/Russian oligarch payoffs paid for the report.

  90. 90.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @japa21:

    People keep reporting that Barr’s summary states there was no evidence but I don’t think that is accurate. I believe it said Mueller did not find conspiracy,

    From what I understand, Barr’s claim is that there is no evidence that Trump was active in the conspiracy. Worth noting Trump is pretty easy to manipulate as we have seen with North Korea. Basically, “The president is a complete sucker, but that’s not a crime”.

  94. 94.

    Brachiator

    @Kay:

    Why aren’t media calling for the report to be made public? This is supposedly in their wheelhouse, right?

    In France, thousands of workers take to the streets.

    In the UK, hundreds of thousands march demanding changes to BREXIT.

    Democrats in Congress are asking for the report; the people need to back them up. You can’t wait for the media.

  96. 96.

    goblue72

    @B.B.A.: The hashtag Resistance that’s been chanting “Russia!Russia!Russia!” the last 2 years, while the hippies on the Left were declaring it a distraction at best, a potential “completely blow up in your face” at worst, are going to learn precisely nothing from this. I am sure they will somehow figure out a way to blame the hippies for insufficient cheerleading in all this.

  97. 97.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Tom Q: What it means is that for criminal/legal purposes they defined conspiracy and/or cooperation very, very narrowly. As in they had to have SIGINT, whether from email, texts, or phone calls, or other hard copy documentary evidence where Russia offered X and the President or one of his surrogates accepted it in exchange for Y. That’s not how it works. So from an intel/counterintel perspective just what has been reported in open sources and been reinforced by more reporting in open sources, it is easy to delineate the network around the President and around Putin and show where they overlap and connect and which way the influence is running. It is, however, hard to make a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt with this information. The standards of evidence, even what actually counts as evidence, is very, very different in the world of intelligence and the world of law.

  99. 99.

    Roger Moore

    @Mandalay:

    But they could only publish what Barr chooses to give them, right? So presumably Barr could redact huge chunks of the report on the grounds of (say) “national security”, and there is nothing the Democrats could do about that, right?

    The HPSCI regularly deals with the highest levels of secrecy, so the members and their staff have to have very high level security clearance. That would make it very difficult for the administration to refuse to share it with them on national security grounds.

  100. 100.

    Ruckus

    @clay:

    “No leaks. . . . This is how we know we’re a real family here.”

    A real fucking crime family. The Gambinos have nothing on republicans.

  103. 103.

    Adam L Silverman

  105. 105.

    jl

    @goblue72: The Russia and other foreign influence angles on Trump ranges from highest priority issues that are existential threats to our democracy (foreign hacking of voting data and election systems), to total BS (Russia Today is a SPY! and everyone who appears on it is a SPY!).

    I think exactly what kind of coordination, active or passive, occurred between Trump campaign and Russia falls someplace in the middle. Certainly a mistake to use criminal liability as the main criterion for Trumpster wrongdoing on that front. For example, Trump lied his ass off about pending investments in Russia.

    Apparently Mueller took a very narrow view of his task. In retrospect, Pelosi was correct to downplay impeachment, so one point for establishment. OTOH, people who have been running around calling everyone who disagrees with DNC conventional wisdom, including some recent Dem primary candidates who I am not supporting this time, Russian spies, need to get a grip.

    Good that will come out of this is that will force Dem primary candidates to focus on policy, which is exactly what they have been doing. So, we have a good field of primary candidates who know what to do. I’m going to contribute again to Warren in celebration of the Mueller report finally being done.

    And, we need to see the whole report that can be legally revealed (and be very aggressive about that, aggressively question any deletions not related to grand jury testimony). Dems need to continue fact based investigations on corruption of Trumpsters, and can’t let Barr’s attempt at a white wash stand. But we need to follow facts, not slogans that have become ingrained over past two years.

  106. 106.

    FlipYrWhig

    @goblue72: Is this one of those “I’m a hardcore radical hippie coursing with the vitality of 47 years of youth!” days for you, or one of those “I’m enjoying the view from my posh office, loser!” days?

  108. 108.

    Ruckus

    @Kay:
    I’m going with if it’s this damaging that only 7 people are ever allowed to see it and they are all members of the same political party of the person most suspected of crimes, then there probably was a major crime committed by that person but the evidence can not be revealed. IOW Adam is correct, the evidence is Top Secret intel. And if it is Trump has seen it and that’s why he’s been shouting that it doesn’t exist. First because he’s a fucking moron and second to set the cover, just like Nixon. “I’m not a crook!” Which of course is exactly what he is. Which is why someone will burn the source at some point in time. It’s the only way to get this big of crook, force the hand of his protectors. Because they know that if he goes, they are sure to follow.

  109. 109.

    trollhattan

    @geg6:
    Yeah, a literal know-nothing.

    “They literally accused the President of the United States of being an agent for a foreign government. That’s equivalent to treason. Thats punishable by death in this country.”

  110. 110.

    Aleta

    Eric Garland @ericgarland
    The Mueller report exonerates Trump so much that McConnell still doesn’t want you to read it. Well, well. ?

    Eric Garland @ericgarland
    Felix Sater, former Trump adviser, sued by City of Almaty and BTA Bank over money laundering.

    Eric Garland @ericgarland
    Kendzior: the power of lies in an authoritarian regime
    is to make it big, obvious, and make people feel powerless to do anything about it.

    Don’t let Rs convince us we’re powerless.

  111. 111.

    mrmoshpotato

    @FlipYrWhig:

    What the fuck is this? It’s an entire party comprised of earnest bigots and disingenuous pieces of shit.

    That’s a nice way to put it. Fuck the Republican party for being a massive pile of shit for my entire life. Bet these fuckers would just LOVE to have a Russian-style you-can’t-trash-the-government law here.

    Buncha ❄️

  112. 112.

    Ohio Mom

    @rikyrah: Thinking of Nixon, he left office because of Watergate, but the bigger crime to me was derailing the Vietnam War peace talks. That truth did eventually out, way too late to be useful.

    So I suspect will be the case here: One day it will all be out in the open, too late to do any good. Some of us oldsters may not live long enough to see this.

    Criminal behavior and Republican presidents just seem to go together like soup and sanwiches and all tne rest: Regan/Iran-Contra, Bush 2 was handed at least one stolen election, now Trump, with a smorgabord of crimes.

  113. 113.

    CarolDuhart2

    @goblue72: F you. Evidence came out that DJT was a wholly owned asset of Russia, tried to get Russian financing for a Trump tower, and had several oligarchs on speed dial.

  114. 114.

    Aleta

    @Tom Q: exactly. Most of the headlines and story ledes should be chopped up and used as turkey feed. They’re a source of rage and despair all on their own.

  115. 115.

    jl

    No indictments, and/ore apparent exoneration of Trumpsters for Trump Tower meeting, including Donald Trump Jr, are the most troubling thing about the Mueller results. I don’t know how much of that falls under various legal jargon words for ‘collusion’. Is that, seems to me obvious, violation of campaign finance law, something Mueller parceled out to other agencies?

  116. 116.

    mrmoshpotato

    @lamh36: If that happens, I hope some newspaper will publish it in its entirety.

    Bastards had a damn field days with stolen emails. Questions about a risotto recipe? REALLY?!?!

  117. 117.

    plato

    Theresa winning again.

    MPs have voted to take control of Commons business in an unprecedented move to try to find a majority for any Brexit option.

    The government was defeated by 329 votes to 302 on the cross-party amendment, a majority of 27.

    Thirty Tory MPs voted against the government, including three ministers – Richard Harrington, Alistair Burt and Steve Brine.

    The three have now resigned from their junior ministerial jobs.

    Theresa May had tried to head off a defeat by offering MPs a series of votes on Brexit alternatives, organised by the government.

    She said allowing MPs to take over the Commons agenda would have set an “unwelcome precedent”.

    But supporters of the amendment, tabled by Conservative MP Sir Oliver Letwin, said they did not trust the government to give MPs a say on the full range of Brexit options.

    The so-called indicative votes are set to take place on Wednesday.

  118. 118.

    Leto

    @Emma:

    All I got left is thousand-year-old vinegar.

    I’m glad I’m not alone. You mentioned the scorpion and it made me think of the scorpion and the frog. Except it’s not us, Dems, who are the frogs. It’s the people who put the R’s in charge. Every time I hear, “I didn’t think his policies would affect me!!!” They’re being continually stung by the scorpion and wondering wtf is going on, except they knew the nature of the scorpion before they set off.

    Whatever. Fuck’em.

  119. 119.

    J R in WV

    @rk:

    I doubt if there was anyone who was going to base their support for Trump based on what Mueller’s report said. Those who hate him, hate him more every day.

    Well, if Robert Mueller III actually found Donald Trump innocent of conspiracy with a (or many) foreign nation(s), as in Russia, then I for one will work HARD to re-elect The Glorious President, His Excellency, Donald J Trump! Or NOT!!

    But of course, Mr Mueller didn’t do any such thing, we know this because Mueller’s report isn’t already released to the public.

    Grrrr!

  121. 121.

    burnspbesq

    @Kay:

    I imagine there will be a 10-foot tall stack of FOIA requests on the floor in Barr’s outer office by Thursday. They’ll stonewall, and then we’ll see what the D.C. District thinks.

  122. 122.

    Brachiator

    Theresa winning again.

    I have no idea what May is playing at. She says that she doesn’t have the votes to secure her deal, but insists that her deal is the best option and must be voted on.

  123. 123.

    jc

    I think the Republicans are going to sit on Mueller’s actual report as long as they can keep coming up with phony baloney reasons not to let it go public. And in the meantime, they’ll manipulate every angle and play the media and the court of public opinion like a wurlizter. It took them no time at all to go full faux outrage over that horrible Demon-rat liddle Adam Schitt.

    Trump’s lies win again, why are Republicans terrified of the truth?

  125. 125.

    J R in WV

    @rikyrah:

    Trump has repeatedly told aides he doesn’t want federal $$$ going to Puerto Rico, be it HUD or food stamp assistance.

    Well, no surprise there. Trump is as racist as anyone since George Wallace (R-AL) or Lester Maddox (R-GA) — and Trump thinks Puerto Rican people are, well, he’s a racist, so there you are.

    In a real world with morals, that right there would be all it would take to impeach the bastard, but not in Mitch McConnell world. In that world, Trump is the master of the universe. In our world, not so much… Trump is a monster in our world.

  126. 126.

    Roger Moore

    @Brachiator:

    She says that she doesn’t have the votes to secure her deal, but insists that her deal is the best option and must be voted on.

    She’s trying to strong-arm Parliament into approving her deal by refusing to give them any other option other than a no deal Brexit.

  129. 129.

    trnc

    @Kay:

    Why aren’t media calling for the report to be made public? This is supposedly in their wheelhouse, right? Transparency? The public’s right to know?

    I was wondering the same thing. NPR interviewed Hakim Jeffries and the interviewer, just like in another interview this morning, seems to take Barr at his word and appears to have no interest in calling for the report to be made public. She also appeared perturbed when Jeffries launched into a 100% correct shellacking of republican chicanery after she suggested that dems should treat seriously the call for Schiff’s resignation.

  132. 132.

    Jay

    @trnc:

    The MSM never “reformed” after the WMD/Iraq War bullshit, they barely apologized and moved on. Their job is to sell lies, and the bigger the lie, the better.

    In total, there’s maybe a dozen reporters in the US worthy of the name.

    Will Wilkinson ?
    @willwilkinson
    ·
    3h
    Replying to
    @willwilkinson
    The media’s atrocious gullibility, which is letting this happen without serious resistance, is even more scandalous than the credulity that herded public opinion behind the invasion of Iraq. Because we already *know* this administration does nothing but lie.
    36
    521
    1.6K

    Will Wilkinson ?
    @willwilkinson
    ·
    2h

  133. 133.

    Dan B

    Seems like the GOP is working the media to blame Dems for Russian interferencce. It seems weird that the WH, Huckabee Sanders, and McConnell have put out statements that Dems are: 1. To be questioned by the media, 2. Probably committed treason, 3. Were weak on Russia. Like they’re setting up a trial by media to sucker the public.

    I await, “Hillary’s emails helped the Russians!”

    At a minimum they’ll probably call for investigations of prominent Dems to distract from the report.

  135. 135.

    Amir Khalid

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    “The president is a complete sucker, but that’s not a crime”.

    Not a crime, but still grounds for removal from office if he is a big enough sucker to be a danger to the republic. “I hink that is what was meant by “high crimes and misdemeanours“.

  136. 136.

    J R in WV

    @Amir Khalid:

    You aren’t the only person who thinks Presidents should be removed more often by the legislative branch. Once or twice would straighten out the Executive branch. Especially if one of them got sent up the river in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs.

  137. 137.

    GxB

    @Brachiator: Way late to the party but just wanted to thank you for saying this.

    ETA: not ripping on Kay, just the general lack of action rampant these days.

  139. 139.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Dan B: Actually they’re already working that. Specifically, that the Clinton campaign was conspiring with Ukraine to steal the election. This is being pushed by the Russians in the wake of Barr’s letter to Congress.

    Russian state news outlet RIA Novosti predicts the Russian election interference will soon be replaced by “Ukrainegate,” based on the conspiracy theory that Ukraine meddled in the U.S. elections on the side of Hillary Clinton. Trump recently tweeted the link to an article, widely promoted by the Russians, stating: “As Russia Collusion fades, Ukrainian plot to help Clinton emerges.”

    The same narrative of Ukrainian—not Russian—election interference was promoted by Fox News host Sean Hannity in 2017. Right on cue, Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. jumped on the Ukraine bandwagon by tweeting an article that demanded the removal of former President Barack Obama’s U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, and rehashing the claims of Ukraine’s alleged interference in the U.S. elections.

    The Russian state media are hoping that President Trump, described by RIA Novosti as “a vengeful showman,” will initiate a brand new investigation of election interference—this time, against Ukraine. The Kremlin’s scribes predict the grand finale of such an investigation would be perfectly timed to unfold immediately prior to the 2020 election.

  140. 140.

    Bill Arnold

    @ruemara:

    make it a sword cane & I’m in. Let’s go back to classical congressional behaviour

    The cane as a weapon (PDF, 1912, A.C. Cunningham)
    Wow, plenty of enhanced cane designs to choose from. In a quick search I see gun canes, stun-gun canes, sword canes for sale. (Has anybody made a Toad Cane?)

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