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You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2016 / Impeachment Open Thread: “Get Me Roger Stone” Update

Impeachment Open Thread: “Get Me Roger Stone” Update

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Per the Washington Post:

The deputy manager of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign pulled back the curtain Tuesday on the campaign’s keen interest in the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks and suggested that Trump himself had more knowledge of the matter than the president has previously claimed.

Testifying at the trial of Roger Stone — a Trump friend accused of lying about his own WikiLeaks-related dealings — Rick Gates said he overheard a phone call in which Stone seemed to make the president aware of a planned WikiLeaks release. Gates and other witnesses testified that Stone posited himself as something of an intermediary between WikiLeaks and the campaign, with access to insider information.

Gates said his boss, Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, had told him that Trump would be kept updated on WikiLeaks’ plans to release Democratic campaign emails — which authorities concluded were hacked by Russia.

The testimony from the former high-ranking campaign official indicates that Trump’s knowledge of WikiLeaks was more advanced than he has previously stated. In written responses last year to questions from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who was investigating Russian meddling in the campaign, Trump said he did not recall receiving any information about WikiLeaks disclosures in advance, being told that Stone “or anyone associated with my campaign” had discussions with WikiLeaks about future leaks, or ever discussing WikiLeaks with Stone…

Asked whether anyone else was giving the campaign information about WikiLeaks, Gates testified on Tuesday that “the only person I’m aware of that had information at that time was Mr. Stone.”

At trial, prosecutors are seeking to prove that Stone lied and sought to obstruct justice, but in pursuing that case, testimony during the past week has revealed a raft of information about the campaign’s attention to WikiLeaks…

Stone, 67, has pleaded not guilty to lying to Congress about his efforts to learn more about WikiLeaks releases that could harm Hillary Clinton, Trump’s 2016 presidential rival, and to tampering with a witness also called by Congress by trying to get him not to contradict Stone’s testimony.Stone’s attorneys argued that his testimony was not actually false because he never “successfully” contacted WikiLeaks, and also argued he did not lie to the committee because he believed WikiLeaks was not relevant to the lawmakers’ investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election…

Gates said campaign officials were pleased, but “in disbelief” after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange talked in an interview in June 2016 about leaks that could be damaging to Clinton.

“It was, in a way, a gift,” Gates said…

Reader Interactions

36Comments

  1. 1.

    Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    May Roger get his long awaited just desserts! And bring down the orange fart-cloud too! Meanwhile I hope this thread is more deserving of the Piano Kitty than last night’s videos test thread. I find watching all of Minh and Haburu’s videos so relaxing! I wish I could sleep like him.

  2. 2.

    Wag

    Wow. I find my total lack of surprise at these developments to be a disheartening reflection on my current state of mind. I can’t believe how sad I am at how far Trump has pulled down our country.

  4. 4.

    waspuppet

    If Trump and his minions are going to convince me they didn’t do anything wrong, they’re going to have to at least try to stop looking completely guilty in every photo everywhere every day. That Stone photo in the tweet at the the top of this post should be considered definitive.

  6. 6.

    Duane

    Some people are good at lying, but not Trumpov. Good liars mix in truth when possible to keep credibility. He’s too stupid to get that. He lies when the truth would work.

  8. 8.

    NotMax

    “First, I didn’t talk with him, he talked with me. Second, the connection was bad and I was sure he was discussing piggy freaks.”

    //

  11. 11.

    p.a.

    How is evidence presented for 25th Amendment action? Rethugs final line of defense. Off to wiki I go…

    It allows the vice president, together with a “majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide,” to declare the president “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office” in a written declaration.

  13. 13.

    trollhattan

    Make of this what you will.

    The NFL has arranged a private workout for Colin Kaepernick this Saturday in Atlanta that all 32 teams are welcome to attend, according to a memo obtained Tuesday by NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.

    Kaepernick’s workout will include on-field work and an interview. Video of the workout and interview will be made available to all 32 teams, as well.

    Several teams have inquired to Kaepernick’s readiness to play football, and Kaepernick and his representatives have expressed his desire to return to the NFL. The league has discussed possible steps with Kaepernick’s camp, which emphasized that he is ready to work out for and be interviewed by NFL teams.

    NFL Network’s Steve Wyche reports, per league sources, that Kaepernick’s workout will be run by scouting combine personnel and former NFL coaches. Any teams on hand can also hold interviews with Kaepernick, per Wyche.

    With eleventy teams starting backup QBs one would have thought this would have happened long ago.

  14. 14.

    tokyokie

    It’s not like lying under oath rises to the level of an impeachable offense. At least not if it’s in the context of a civil suit. If it were done as part of a government investigation, then it’s not big deal.

  15. 15.

    p.a.

    @trollhattan: Teh suck is that having been idle so long, and coming in (if) at midseason, he will most likely be ineffective, allowing all the wrong people to nod and “I told you so” us.

  16. 16.

    Roger Moore

    @p.a.:
    The key point isn’t the VP telling Congress the President is unfit. It’s when the President turns around and says “yes I am” and the VP says “no he isn’t”. At that point, Congress has to adjudicate the disagreement, and the only procedure given is that 2/3 of each house has to agree with the VP to uphold the determination the president is unfit.

  18. 18.

    p.a.

    @Roger Moore: “of such other body as Congress may by law provide”
    is a very strange construct. Sounds like a way for elected officials to weasel out of responsibility by appointing some sort of investigatory body. Likely academic exercise given the current Rethug DNA, but if the polls become bad enough (do they want to become a rump Confederate party?) and survival instinct kicks in…

  20. 20.

    debbie

    Perhaps more appropriate here:

    Has this been shared? Trump should be very, very scared.

    According to NBC News, Bolton used his appearance last Wednesday at Morgan Stanley’s global investment event in Miami to mock Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner and suggest Trump’s approach to Turkey is “motivated by personal or financial interests,” according to a number of people who were present for the remarks. While the details were scant, one assumes that Bolton has a low opinion of Trump’s son-in-law inserting himself in matters of foreign policy despite having literally no relevant experience whatsoever. When it comes to Ivanka, perhaps he shared his take on the first daughter’s endorsement of former national security council adviser turned felon Mike Flynn, or the manner in which she and her husband obtained their top security security clearances. As for Trump, who has property in Turkey, putting his own interests above those of national security, well, it’s not that hard to believe a guy whose only principle in life is “how does this benefit me?” would bring such an outlook to the Oval Office.

  21. 21.

    Mnemosyne

    @Roger Moore:

    I wonder, though, if Republicans would prefer to declare Trump unfit than to impeach him. Impeachment requires them to decide that he willfully committed crimes. Removing him via 25th Amendment would allow them to claim that there were no crimes, the poor man is just sick and needs help.

  22. 22.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Roger Moore: And I don’t believe it’s a one-off if Congress agrees with the VP(by 2/3’s vote), the President can come back again and say I’m OK and start the process all over again. The 25th Amendment was created after JFK’s assassination when the thought came up as to what would happen if the President was a vegetable.

  26. 26.

    Roger Moore

    @p.a.:

    “of such other body as Congress may by law provide” is a very strange construct.

    It’s not that odd. There are a number of places where the Constitution specifies some rule but then allows Congress to override that rule if they choose. A good example is the date for the beginning of Congressional sessions. It was initially set for the first Monday in December but was later changed to January 3rd, but in both cases it said that Congress could choose a different day if it wished.

  27. 27.

    Roger Moore

    @Mnemosyne:

    Removing him via 25th Amendment would allow them to claim that there were no crimes, the poor man is just sick and needs help.

    I think it would be hard either way. IMO, it would take something the Republicans could classify as a shocking revelation about him to get them to get rid of him; otherwise it will look as if they’re just turning on him because he’s lost his popularity. That’s actually an easier bar to clear in the case of impeachment, because they couldn’t have known about the Ukraine stuff until after it happened. In the case of putting him aside through the 25th Amendment, it would require him doing something that was obviously way beyond what he had done before, or they’d face the question of why they suddenly decided there was a problem.

  28. 28.

    p.a.

    @Roger Moore:

    In the case of putting him aside through the 25th Amendment, it would require him doing something that was obviously way beyond what he had done before, or they’d face the question of why they suddenly decided there was a problem.

    D. Trump: “Hold my beer…”

  29. 29.

    Jeffro

    Sooner or later (ok later) a significant portion of the country’s going to all go, “OHHHHH…I get it now! The guy up to his eyeballs in decades of Russian mafia/oligarch money had a longtime buddy work with a corrupt intermediary to disclose embarrassing Democratic emails that were hacked during attacks by Russia on our country!! And gosh darn it, it looks like it worked, too! It all makes sense now!”

    And then go right back to watching Netflix, or something

  30. 30.

    Wag

    @Mnemosyne:

    But if he’s declared unfit, it isn’t a permanent removal from office. If Trump finds a physician that says he’s all better, trump can return to office.

  31. 31.

    Gelfling 545

    @Roger Moore: Hard to imagine what could shock them at this point. Wandering naked through the WH grounds, perhaps? He’s done just about everything else. Though actually I guess rescinding the tax breaks might do it.

  32. 32.

    Mnemosyne

    All I want for Christmas is for Roger Stone to serve some prison time. It can be at Club Fed — I’m not a monster — but it needs to be 12 months behind bars MINIMUM

  33. 33.

    Roger Moore

    @Wag:

    If Trump finds a physician that says he’s all better, trump can return to office.

    If the VP and a majority of the cabinet declares the President to be unfit, the President is relieved of his powers until he declares he is fit. If the VP and a majority of the cabinet disagrees, it’s up to Congress to settle the dispute. But once Congress has settled the dispute, the 25th Amendment doesn’t say the President can keep going back and rerunning the process. There seems to be an assumption that he can do it, or at least that Congress can change their mind later, but there is nothing in the black letter text that says so.

  35. 35.

    J R in WV

    Stone is better than two years younger than I am. Whoo… is that boy road rode hard and put away wet, time after time!?!?!!!

    What does his wife look like at this time in their lives?!

    Swinging must really take it out of you, huh?

    ETA, fix road/rode duh!

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