Raising social involvement, self awareness and self improvement topics, because our communities are the sum of our personal beliefs, behaviors, action or inaction. Only "we" can improve our family, work place, school, city, country, etc.
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
What Will Trump Do?
As time draws near for Trump to talk to the special prosecutor, he seems to be wriggling like a fish on a hook. For someone who is certain that he has acted appropriately, he sure seems to fear Mueller and crew. Thoughts?
Trump has to fire Mueller, and risk impeachment. Either that or negotiate a plea bargain to leave the presidency. He doesn't have any other alternatives at this point.
At this point, I am pretty sure that Trump knows that Mueller has or will find that he, Trump has violated criminal laws. The trick for Trump is to keep the investigation as narrow as possible, and hope for the best. Trump is counting on Republicans in Congress to stand by him no matter what happens with the Mueller investigation. And I think they will.
"Toppling Mueller, with its constitutional implication of a President trying to evade accountability, would make the uproar following former FBI Director James Comey's firing last year pale by comparison. After all, jettisoning the former FBI director demonstrably made Trump's political and legal exposure over the Russia investigation much worse.
In fact, the only potential scenario in which Trump could benefit by firing Mueller would be if he does indeed have something to hide from the special counsel and he is able to permanently derail the investigation.
"Let's posit for a moment that there is something there ... in which case it is not the stupidest thing in the world to attack Mueller," David Priess, a former senior CIA officer and national security and intelligence author, told CNN's Brooke Baldwin on Monday.
"There may be something much worse out there, in which case this is not a stupid strategy at all. This would be protecting against the worst case scenario," Priess said."
Here is a possibility: Fire Mueller for gross incompetence. He has been at this for 14 months and has ZERO evidence for his original charge, and the only "crimes" prosecuted so far are procedural, having nothing to do with an underlying criminal activity. It's been a huge waste of money on a witch hunt that found no witches anywhere.
Naturally he is wary of talking to Mueller, since Mueller is out to "get him" any way he can. I think he should give Mueller a deadline-- 60 days to prove something or pack it in.
I am sure there would be a hullabaloo if Trump fired Mueller. But Republicans, in all likelihood, would stick with him. They don't see they have a political alternative. They vouched for him to the American people, and they can't back down from that.
Do people really believe that Mueller won't find criminal activity in the Trump Organization? Does anyone really think Trump is not a crook? Does anyone believe that Trump has not been laundering money for the Russians for decades?
I just don't think anyone does think those things. Not even Trump denies it. His argument is that those things can't be proved.
Naturally he is wary of talking to Mueller, since Mueller is out to "get him" any way he can.
Trump is simply incapable of telling the truth. And lying to Mueller would be a crime. So there is simply no way he can agree to being interviewed by Mueller. So that leaves him with two alternatives. First, he can do what any normal target of a federal investigation would do, take the fifth. That's a possibility, but it would be politically explosive. The second alternative is to fire Mueller and try to ride out the political firestorm that would ensue.
Odd, that you know Trump is lying, laundering money for the Russians, committed crimes and collusion and probably burned a few cats for fun, yet Mueller and his crack team have, for 14 months, been unable to find any evidence for any of it. How about we fire Mueller and let Hiram do the job. $10,000 for 1 month's work.
We don't know what evidence Mueller has. What we know is that he has secured convictions. We also know that Trump has used Russian money to fund his business activities. And we know that while his defenders are deeply committed to saying there is no evidence of wrongdoing, they are very careful to avoid saying there is no wrongdoing. And that's because they know there is.
"we know"??? "They know"??? Who is this "we" that knows things that we don't and can't, and of which Mueller hasn't told us? I'm tired of taking idle chatter about supposed wrong-doing. Either Mueller makes the big score within the next 2-4 weeks or wraps it up. If I gave an employee such an easy task as some think it is, they would have been done a year ago. It's either gross incompetence or it's just featherbedding a do-nothing job.
Just about everyone. It's not as if Donald Trump was subtle about it. The American people knew who and what Donald Trump was when they elected him president.
I believe that Trump in his hubris and line of business is guilty of breaking significant laws, I do not know however if it rises to the level of collusion with the Russian Government or Obstruction of Justice.
"I expect Trump will try to get rid of Mueller in the next few weeks / months"
I suspect Laurie is correct. This has been a slow-motion "Saturday Night Massacre" and the failure of Congressional Republicans to draw a red line for Trump has only emboldened him.
I have been able to have exciting, memorable experiences without breaking the law. A few highlights include living in Costa Rica for a year, backpacking through Europe for 2.5 months and biking from Seattle to San Francisco. I see no need to do stupid or illegal things in the pursuit of fun.
I did get a speeding ticket - once in 40 years of driving -but can't really recall any other crimes that I have committed.
I don't know if I have ever intentionally committed a crime besides speeding, but between heavy drinking at times and friends with questionable judgment my past is not nearly as squeaky clean as yours.
Not to mention that we have been running an in home business for ~25 years... Thankfully we have never been audited. I am sure they would find something me and the accountant missed.
And being a money centered person... I have been working or in school since I was 5... Maybe I can take an extended holiday when the kids are done with college...
Oh no... Then I have 3 weddings to help with... :-)
Trump has to fire Mueller, and risk impeachment. Either that or negotiate a plea bargain to leave the presidency. He doesn't have any other alternatives at this point.
ReplyDelete--Hiram
At this point, I am pretty sure that Trump knows that Mueller has or will find that he, Trump has violated criminal laws. The trick for Trump is to keep the investigation as narrow as possible, and hope for the best. Trump is counting on Republicans in Congress to stand by him no matter what happens with the Mueller investigation. And I think they will.
ReplyDelete--Hiram
I liked this part of the article.
ReplyDelete"Toppling Mueller, with its constitutional implication of a President trying to evade accountability, would make the uproar following former FBI Director James Comey's firing last year pale by comparison. After all, jettisoning the former FBI director demonstrably made Trump's political and legal exposure over the Russia investigation much worse.
In fact, the only potential scenario in which Trump could benefit by firing Mueller would be if he does indeed have something to hide from the special counsel and he is able to permanently derail the investigation.
"Let's posit for a moment that there is something there ... in which case it is not the stupidest thing in the world to attack Mueller," David Priess, a former senior CIA officer and national security and intelligence author, told CNN's Brooke Baldwin on Monday.
"There may be something much worse out there, in which case this is not a stupid strategy at all. This would be protecting against the worst case scenario," Priess said."
I am mean does anyone think Trump would be self sacrificing enough to confess?
ReplyDeleteOr do we think he would prefer to sew chaos across our country in the name of possible self preservation?
Here is a possibility: Fire Mueller for gross incompetence. He has been at this for 14 months and has ZERO evidence for his original charge, and the only "crimes" prosecuted so far are procedural, having nothing to do with an underlying criminal activity. It's been a huge waste of money on a witch hunt that found no witches anywhere.
ReplyDeleteNaturally he is wary of talking to Mueller, since Mueller is out to "get him" any way he can. I think he should give Mueller a deadline-- 60 days to prove something or pack it in.
I am sure there would be a hullabaloo if Trump fired Mueller. But Republicans, in all likelihood, would stick with him. They don't see they have a political alternative. They vouched for him to the American people, and they can't back down from that.
ReplyDelete--Hiram
Do people really believe that Mueller won't find criminal activity in the Trump Organization? Does anyone really think Trump is not a crook? Does anyone believe that Trump has not been laundering money for the Russians for decades?
ReplyDeleteI just don't think anyone does think those things. Not even Trump denies it. His argument is that those things can't be proved.
--Hiram
ReplyDeleteNaturally he is wary of talking to Mueller, since Mueller is out to "get him" any way he can.
Trump is simply incapable of telling the truth. And lying to Mueller would be a crime. So there is simply no way he can agree to being interviewed by Mueller. So that leaves him with two alternatives. First, he can do what any normal target of a federal investigation would do, take the fifth. That's a possibility, but it would be politically explosive. The second alternative is to fire Mueller and try to ride out the political firestorm that would ensue.
--Hiram
Odd, that you know Trump is lying, laundering money for the Russians, committed crimes and collusion and probably burned a few cats for fun, yet Mueller and his crack team have, for 14 months, been unable to find any evidence for any of it. How about we fire Mueller and let Hiram do the job. $10,000 for 1 month's work.
ReplyDeleteWe don't know what evidence Mueller has. What we know is that he has secured convictions. We also know that Trump has used Russian money to fund his business activities. And we know that while his defenders are deeply committed to saying there is no evidence of wrongdoing, they are very careful to avoid saying there is no wrongdoing. And that's because they know there is.
ReplyDelete--Hiram
"we know"??? "They know"??? Who is this "we" that knows things that we don't and can't, and of which Mueller hasn't told us? I'm tired of taking idle chatter about supposed wrong-doing. Either Mueller makes the big score within the next 2-4 weeks or wraps it up. If I gave an employee such an easy task as some think it is, they would have been done a year ago. It's either gross incompetence or it's just featherbedding a do-nothing job.
ReplyDeleteGiven that we allowed Ken Starr four years, we can afford a little patience with the Mueller investigation.
ReplyDeleteJust about everyone. It's not as if Donald Trump was subtle about it. The American people knew who and what Donald Trump was when they elected him president.
ReplyDelete--Hiram
I believe that Trump in his hubris and line of business is guilty of breaking significant laws, I do not know however if it rises to the level of collusion with the Russian Government or Obstruction of Justice.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the special counsel stays on task.
The special counsel has the authority to follow the investigation where ever it leads, including all of Trump's shady buisiness dealings.
ReplyDeleteI expect Trump will try to get rid of Mueller in the next few weeks / months
Laurie,
ReplyDeleteSo you think it is okay for police to investigate a person until they find something? Anything?
I am happy I am not being investigated...
I think the presidents shady buisness dealings warrent investigation.
ReplyDeletethe GOP set a precedent of endless investigation going after the clintons for years
It would be extremely boring to investigate me.
It is good that you led such a clean risk averse life...
ReplyDeleteI on the other hand did many stupid memorable exciting things...
I some times am amazed I am still here to reminisce about them. That guardian angel of mine must be real tired. :-)
"I expect Trump will try to get rid of Mueller in the next few weeks / months"
ReplyDeleteI suspect Laurie is correct. This has been a slow-motion "Saturday Night Massacre" and the failure of Congressional Republicans to draw a red line for Trump has only emboldened him.
I have been able to have exciting, memorable experiences without breaking the law. A few highlights include living in Costa Rica for a year, backpacking through Europe for 2.5 months and biking from Seattle to San Francisco. I see no need to do stupid or illegal things in the pursuit of fun.
ReplyDeleteI did get a speeding ticket - once in 40 years of driving -but can't really recall any other crimes that I have committed.
Laurie,
ReplyDeleteThat does sound like fun.
I don't know if I have ever intentionally committed a crime besides speeding, but between heavy drinking at times and friends with questionable judgment my past is not nearly as squeaky clean as yours.
Not to mention that we have been running an in home business for ~25 years... Thankfully we have never been audited. I am sure they would find something me and the accountant missed.
And being a money centered person... I have been working or in school since I was 5... Maybe I can take an extended holiday when the kids are done with college...
Oh no... Then I have 3 weddings to help with... :-)