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AIBU?

We’re all going on a WITCH HUNT! We’re not scared ...we persist. (Trump cont.)

965 replies

TheClaws · 08/05/2018 04:35

In response to one of Trump’s incoherent WITCH HUNT! tweets in the last 12 hours, Rep. Adam Schiff sent this:

Adam Schiff @RepAdamSchiff 12 hrs
More
Adam Schiff Retweeted Donald J. Trump

Given all the secret meetings with the Russians, the denials, the false statements, and the guilty pleas, your attacks on the Republican, respected, decorated, Vietnam Veteran running the investigation could not be more false, or transparent.

Previous thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3231026-Trumpwatch-Courage-Calls-to-Courage-Everywhere

OP posts:
Quantumblue · 08/05/2018 05:44

Thanks claws. Be Best.

OnTheDarkSideOfTheSpoon · 08/05/2018 06:04

Thanks claws!

On melania:

Melania Trump copies 'Be Best' anti-cyberbullying guidelines from booklet released by Obama's FTC
www.rawstory.com/2018/05/melania-trump-cribs-best-anti-cyberbullying-booklet-obamas-ftc/


Sarah Lerner
@SarahLerner
it’s almost like she has a history of plagiarizing material from the obamas

And

Melissa McEwan
@Shakestweetz
Melania Trump is a white supremacist who just launched an anti-bullying initiative without a trace of irony. She can fuck off.

And that's all I have to say about that.

OnTheDarkSideOfTheSpoon · 08/05/2018 06:22

Four Women Accuse New York’s Attorney General of Physical Abuse
Eric Schneiderman has raised his profile as a voice against sexual misconduct. Now, after suing Harvey Weinstein, he faces a #MeToo reckoning of his own.
www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/four-women-accuse-new-yorks-attorney-general-of-physical-abuse

And

Eric Schneiderman, New York Attorney General, Quits After Assault Claims
www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/nyregion/new-york-attorney-general-eric-schneiderman-abuse.html?smid=tw-share

And

Sarah Kendzior
@sarahkendzior
I've been wondering why Trump's team seemed so unconcerned with potential NY state charges if they're pardoned federally.

I'm guessing this is why.

Connor Saparoff Ferguson
@csferguson
Replying to @sarahkendzior
Do you think it's likely they knew this story was in the works?

Sarah Kendzior
‏******@sarahkendzior
Yes. That's their trade; they have decades of dirt on everyone. I want more details on this story, but the co-authors are good reporters, so I think the allegations should be taken seriously.

Richard Vamos
@RickVamos
Replying to @sarahkendzior
But serious question: While not helpful, isn’t someone else just going to step in with all the same evidence and case?

Sarah Kendzior
@sarahkendzior
In a functional legal system, yes. This whole time, I've thought the Trump team had a back-up plan for the NY AG -- either a legit problem, or a manipulation of the court system.

What should happen is a straightforward continuation of the cases based on law and evidence, but...

Mike Carolla
@MikeCarolla
Replying to @sarahkendzior
Sarah, that's not how this works. If Schneiderman resigns, the investigation gets passed off to other people in the AG's office as well as DA offices.

Sarah Kendzior
@sarahkendzior
You may have noticed the rule of law is in tatters and protocol has been effectively abandoned while a mafia brigade posing as a government commits crimes in plain sight?

That is why I don't think an AG transition, followed by the new AG continuing prosecution, will go smoothly.

And

Sarah Kendzior
@sarahkendzior
I posted this quote a few days ago:

"I don't want to know what the law is. I want to know who the judge is." -- Trump's mentor, Roy Cohn

That goes for prosecutors too and anyone in law. You need to grasp how Trump's camp thinks. Do not act like them, but anticipate the moves.

They'll disregard, manipulate and if possible, rewrite laws to exonerate themselves and keep money flowing. They'll exploit any vulnerability or personal failure.

Assume they will do the worst, and then insist on rule of law. Demand justice.

But also? Learn to think like them.

And

Caroline O.
@RVAwonk
Mensch is doing what she always does: Seizing on a divisive issue and using it to try to drive a wedge.

Let's be clear: Eric Schneiderman, like Al Franken, resigned under his own volition. Due process applies to criminal cases, not employment decisions.
twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/993680007309520898

It's ridiculously offensive & beyond ignorant to dismiss credible allegations of sexual assault as "Russian propaganda."

This is also the type of BS that discredits solid research on Russian disinformation operations.

Sputnik literally used the ridiculous theory that Al Franken was "taken down" by a Russian disinformation operation to try to discredit the entire Russia investigation.

And Julian Assange used Mike Farb's debunked "botnet" story about Al Franken to try to discredit an entire field of research on Russian cyber operations/information warfare.

So let's not go down that road with Eric Schneiderman.

To be clear: I have no doubt that Russian & US actors have & will try to exploit divisions surrounding credible allegations of sexual assault against prominent figures like Eric Schneiderman & Al Franken. But that doesn't mean the allegations themselves are "Russian propaganda."

And

Windsor Mann
@WindsorMann
The selective outrage in the Trump camp at Schneiderman is a good reminder of the power of tribalism. It is the enemy of reason and morality.

To quote Orwell: “Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits, but according to who does them.”

TheClaws · 08/05/2018 06:23

I should reference my sources - the thread title refers to a much-loved picture book of my kids’ called We’re going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Hunt and Helen Oxenbury. They’re 17 and 18 now, but whoever we hit heavy traffic or we get flooded in, we always talk like this book, ie. “Uh oh. A flood! We can’t go over it. We can’t go through it. We’ll have to go around it! ”

We could be weird though.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=0gyI6ykDwds

OP posts:
TheClaws · 08/05/2018 06:24

*Not Michael Hunt - Michael Rosen.

OP posts:
OnTheDarkSideOfTheSpoon · 08/05/2018 06:27

Trump Lawyers Aim to Decide by May 17 Whether President Testifies in Mueller Probe
Legal team has long been divided on sit-down interview with special counsel
www.wsj.com/articles/trump-lawyers-aim-to-decide-by-may-17-whether-president-testifies-in-mueller-probe-1525727774

Mr. Trump’s legal team has long been divided on whether he should agree to a sit-down interview with Mr. Mueller, a decision that exposes him to legal perils but also could hasten the end of an investigation that has shadowed his presidency.

In an interview, Mr. Giuliani said, “every day we swing a little different” on whether to advise Mr. Trump to talk to Mr. Mueller, though he suggested that recent developments in the probe have made him more leery.

[...]Another consideration is how Mr. Trump would perform as a witness and whether he has the discipline to avoid unnecessary tangents that open himself to new questions.

“Anyone can see he has great difficulty staying on a subject,” one person familiar with the legal team’s deliberations said.

In his initial discussions with Mr. Mueller’s team, though, Mr. Giuliani said the prosecutors seemed “reasonable as to the ground rules.” He said he came away believing that an interview “had gone up in possibility.”

[...]In an informal, four-hour practice session, Mr. Trump’s lawyers were only able to walk him through two questions, given the frequent interruptions on national-security matters along with Mr. Trump’s loquaciousness, one person familiar with the matter said.

Meanwhile, the turnover has created a separate problem for Mr. Trump’s defense: His lawyers lack security clearances, which could limit the documents and materials they can see.

When Mr. Dowd left in March, he was the only outside lawyer who held a clearance. The outside team as it now stands—Jay Sekulow, Marty and Jane Raskin and Mr. Giuliani—are all in the process of applying for security clearances, a person familiar with the matter said.

Mr. Cobb, who works in the White House, holds a security clearance, but he plans to leave at the end of the month.

Legal experts said Mr. Giuliani may struggle to get a clearance, given his consulting work on behalf of foreign countries in past years, including a Qatari state-owned oil company.

OnTheDarkSideOfTheSpoon · 08/05/2018 06:31

Trump grows frustrated with Giuliani as Stormy Daniels drama rages on
The recent shakeups of the president's personal and White House legal teams have done little to calm things down.

www.politico.com/story/2018/05/07/trump-giuliani-fallout-stormy-daniels-573196

President Donald Trump has shaken up his legal team in the last three weeks — and he’s still not happy.

The president has been griping to associates that Rudy Giuliani, his new personal attorney, has failed to shut down the Stormy Daniels hush money saga. And he has expressed frustration that Giuliani’s media appearances are raising more questions than they are answering, turning the story into a days-long drama capped by the admission Sunday that the president may have made similar payments to other women.

For now, White House aides said, Giuliani still has a direct line in to Trump – the two speak almost daily – and nobody in the West Wing is eager to insert themselves between the two irascible New Yorkers by yanking Giuliani off TV. But some aides said they expect the president to fire Giuliani if his behavior doesn’t change.

In a phone interview Monday, Giuliani pushed back against the notion that the president is unhappy with his performance. “If I’m not up to it, I don’t know who is,” he told POLITICO. “I know the Justice Department better than just about anyone.”

And

As headlines swirl, Trump grows frustrated with Giuliani
apnews.com/1ad738724df84c909f508dbfdab23bc4/As-headlines-swirl,-Trump-grows-frustrated-with-Giuliani

Trump snapped at both men in recent days, chiding Hannity for using the word “funneled,” which he believes had illegal connotations, according to the people. As for Giuliani, the president has not yet signaled to him to stop appearing on television, but told a confidant recently that perhaps his new lawyer should “be benched” at least temporarily, if he can’t improve his performance.

The president has not publicly discussed dismissing Giuliani and has been appreciative of his sharp attacks on the Russia investigation and his forceful battles with the press, according to three White House aides and outside allies. The two men have spoken frequently, according to officials familiar with their interactions.

But many Trump allies both inside and outside the White House have grown anxious in recent days about Giuliani’s whirlwind and unpredictable interviews.

OnTheDarkSideOfTheSpoon · 08/05/2018 06:34

Roger Stone Says He Had Little Contact With Manafort Deputy
www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/us/politics/roger-stone-rick-gates-special-counsel.html

And

Manu Raju
@mkraju
Roger Stone says on @NewDay this AM that he still hasn’t been contacted by Mueller team. “The claim that I knew in advanced about the alleged hacking of the Democratic National Convention ... is speculation.

Caroline O.
@RVAwonk
More Caroline O. Retweeted Manu Raju
Roger Stone still seems to be under the impression that it's a good thing that Mueller's team hasn't contacted him.

(Spolier alert: It's not.)

And

Kyle Griffin
@kylegriffin1
The warrants to raid Michael Cohen were broader than previously known, Vanity Fair reports, covering records related to taxi medallions, bank accounts, loans, mortgages, L.L.C.s, comms with the Trump campaign, and comms about campaign-finance laws.

“I’D DIE FOR MY WIFE AND MY KIDS. AND THIS IS ALL RUINING THEIR LIVES”: AFTER RUDY’S MELTDOWN, MICHAEL COHEN GRAPPLES WITH HIS NEW REALITY
Besieged by the media and legal bills, and feeling abandoned by Washington, friends say Cohen is in a “dangerous place.”
www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/05/michael-cohen-grapples-with-his-new-reality

OnTheDarkSideOfTheSpoon · 08/05/2018 06:37

Caroline O.
@RVAwonk
Asked why Trump hasn't commented on the detention of protesters in Russia, including Alexei Navalny, and what message he has for the Kremlin, Sarah Sanders says:

"The president congratulates [Putin] and looks forward to a time when we can have a good relationship with Russia."

And

The Pentagon Considers This Russian Sniper Rifle a Big Threat to US Soldiers. The NRA Helped Promote It.
So much for patriotism.
www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/05/the-pentagon-considers-this-russian-sniper-rifle-a-big-threat-to-us-soldiers-the-nra-helped-promote-it/

And

Why A Powerful Russian Oligarch Was Furious With Paul Manafort
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/why-a-powerful-russian-oligarch-was-furious-with-paul-manafort

And

ABC News
@ABC
NATO commander says Russia has taken advantage of its military role in Syria to bolster its naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean, making the region "very crowded." abcn.ws/2FSE7LY

OnTheDarkSideOfTheSpoon · 08/05/2018 06:41

Media/social media

Justin Hendrix
@justinhendrix
At a panel at Stanford, execs from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube told an audience of law students and lawyers that the issues of propaganda, fake news and hate speech area complex, have no easy answers, and that they aren’t certain there even is a problem.

www.businessinsider.com.au/youtube-facebook-and-twitter-execs-say-dont-expect-easy-answers-to-fighting-hate-speech-fake-news-2018-5

"Indeed, that was a position that all the social networks took, that bad actors will continue to exist online as well as off, and that rushing to create new laws and policies, without understanding the issues fully, would be a mistake."

Sandy Parakilas
@mixblendr
More Sandy Parakilas Retweeted Justin Hendrix
Wow. If you work in policy at Twitter, FB or YT and you “aren’t sure there’s a problem” with hate speech or fake news on those sites, you don’t deserve your job. That’s social media equivalent of denying global warming.

And

Cambridge Analytica kept Facebook data models through US election
Exclusive: Social network failed to make firm delete valuable models derived from data until campaign was over
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/06/cambridge-analytica-kept-facebook-data-models-through-us-election

And

YouTube’s Kremlin Disinformation Problem
Kremlin-funded content is really good at baiting YouTube’s search results
medium.com/dfrlab/youtubes-kremlin-disinformation-problem-d78472c1b72b

And

southpaw
@nycsouthpaw
Col. Oliver North, an illicit international arms trader convicted of obstructing congressional investigations and destroying documents, will be the next president of the NRA.

Sarah Kendzior
@sarahkendzior
More Sarah Kendzior Retweeted southpaw

  1. Commit crimes
  2. Become cable news pundit
  3. Rise to political or lobbying power

    This describes not only a large number of public officials, but Trump too.

    It's why cable news should stop hiring unrepentant criminals to analyze political crimes. This is where it leads.
OnTheDarkSideOfTheSpoon · 08/05/2018 06:45

White supremacy

Caroline O.
@RVAwonk
George Zimmerman has been charged w/ aggravated stalking after he allegedly threatened and harassed a private investigator.

Among other things, Zimmerman threatened to FEED THE INVESTIGATOR TO AN ALLIGATOR.

George Zimmerman threatened to feed an investigator to an alligator, court records say
www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article210640919.html

[...]That same affidavit, from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, says Zimmerman texted private investigator Dennis Warren a link to an article that quotes Zimmerman as saying, "I know how to handle people who f--- with me. I have since February 2012."

That's a reference to Feb. 26, 2012, when Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman in Sanford in Central Florida, shot and killed Trayvon around 7 p.m. as Trayvon returned from a convenience store during halftime of the NBA All-Star Game. He had been staying with his dad, who lived in the neighborhood. Zimmerman said he shot Trayvon in self defense.

And

THOUSANDS OF PRIVATELY OWNED COMPANIES ARE PROFITING FROM THE U.S. PRISON SYSTEM
psmag.com/social-justice/thousands-of-privately-owned-companies-are-profiting-from-the-us-prison-system

And

✊🏿Black Aziz aNANsi
@Freeyourmindkid

  1. Want to know the real tragedy of racism that is rarely ever discussed? Think about all of the people who were marched across Africa, out onto slave ships, forced property for hundreds of years and then intimidated to stay in their place under the threat of economic or physical
  2. Violence for the next hundred plus years. Now think about those people and factor in all of the people who died prematurely over this 500 year period. You can't help but wonder how many potential scientists, philosophers, artists, authors and people who could hsve changed the
  3. World in general either lost their lives or were forced to work for free as property by some lazy colonizer. One of the biggest tragedy is this whole system robbed the world of great minds and reduced the existence of people who could have potentially changed the world to
  4. Working to make some lazy bastards rich. Benjamin Banner, although free, taught himself astronomy, helped design Washington D.C, Harriet Tubman freed herself and countless others from slavery and ended up becoming helping to lead raids against the confederacy during the
  5. Civil war. Not even to mention the Africans who were trafficked to this country but were specificslly targeted because they were already skilled in agriculture. Or the Africans who were trafficked who were already educated and were even able to write in Arabic in some
  6. Instances (unlike many of their colonizer counterparts). Hell, the continental army would have died and Britain would have won the revolutionary war if an enslaved African hasn't introduced the concept of inoculation to George Washington. But you know What? The sad thing is
  7. that this kinda stuff still goes on today. Black kids are tracked into classes certain industries and professions because they aren't seen as college material (and no I'm not saying there is something wrong with picking up a trade) and their minds never get exposed to certain
  8. Concepts that they could master. You also have brilliant kids who get into trouble as teenagers, get the boom thrown at them and are unable to receive federal aid go to school or are even barred from getting licensed in certain professions. The fact of the matter is this
  9. Country has never valued us, It's valued our bodies and our labor when It's come to benefiting everybody else but us. Why do you think so much of the tech industry targets content created by black people while refusing to hire black people in significant numbers to work in

10. The tech industry? It's 👏🏿 the 👏🏿 same 👏🏿 shit 👏🏿 people 👏🏿. This shit has been going on for 500 years, but all in going to say is that the day black folks wake up as a people and take control of their own destiny by refusing to be everybody else's muel, that's the
11. day that the rest of the world better figure out what the fuck they are going to do.
OnTheDarkSideOfTheSpoon · 08/05/2018 06:46

Before the Blankenship-McConnell Feud, the Senator Aided the Mining Executive
Mitch McConnell helped Don Blankenship’s company avoid dire regulatory consequences for a disastrous spill in 2000.

www.propublica.org/article/don-blankenship-mitch-mcconnell-feud-the-senator-aided-the-mining-executive

TheNorthWestPawsage · 08/05/2018 06:47

Lots to catch up on this morning!
Ta for the new thread Claws - Bear Hunt is a favourite book in this house Smile

OnTheDarkSideOfTheSpoon · 08/05/2018 06:51

PBS NewsHour
@NewsHour
As President Trump's Iran deal deadline looms, two Obama administration staffers who helped shape the pact are thrust back into the spotlight as the targets of a plot to discredit them.

Report: Israeli private security firm tried to discredit Obama officials tied to Iran nuclear deal
www.pbs.org/newshour/show/report-israeli-private-security-firm-tried-to-discredit-obama-officials-tied-to-iran-nuclear-deal

Ryan Goodman
@rgoodlaw
More Ryan Goodman Retweeted PBS NewsHour
Most explicit statement yet tying Trump circle and #BlackCube dirty tricks ops...

@julianborger: "our sourcing who are close to this private security firm said it was clear that, when the tasking for this went out, that the ultimate customer was the Trump team, the Trump camp."

And

Colin Kahl
@ColinKahl
Israeli intel firm Black Cube admits they attempted to dig up dirt on me & @brhodes (& our families!) as part of broader effort to undermine the Iran Deal👇

Who hired them? Their BS cover story about a corporate dispute can’t explain why we were targeted. www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/07/donald-trump-iran-nuclear-deal-trita-parsi-us-intelligence-warning

And

Avi
@AviAhvee
I know it's impossible to focus on just one outrageous thing Trump and his ilk engage in, but this is straight up authoritarian behavior and it should lead every news cycle until it's been appropriately addressed.
We need to focus on this because it's an immediate precursor to what authoritarians like Putin do right now, which is dig up dirt (real or contrived) in an effort to block opponents from challenging their rule.

Russian presidential election: Alexei Navalny barred from competing
www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42479909

It shouldn't be a passing news item that a man who campaigned on the idea of jailing his opponent and currently tweets about jailing FBI and Justice Dept officials used an Israeli spy agency to investigate his predecessors.

Trump assails Comey in tweetstorm, suggests ex-FBI director deserves ‘jail’
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-assails-comey-in-tweetstorm-calls-for-ex-fbi-director-to-be-imprisoned/2018/04/15/af00c178-40af-11e8-ad8f-27a8c409298b_story.html

Again, this is the very thing that Putin does, right now, in Russia, and Trump appears to be emulating him in his rhetoric and his actions.

Russian protest leader Navalny out of jail, faces 2 charges
abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/russian-protest-leader-navalny-jail-faces-charges-54969934

Trump also praises budding dictators and makes passing remarks about hoping to amass power the same way they have, which is terrifying when it's coupled with these kinds of actions.

Trump on China's Xi consolidating power: 'Maybe we'll give that a shot some day'
edition.cnn.com/2018/03/03/politics/trump-maralago-remarks/index.html

And

Tom Newton Dunn
@tnewtondunn
Word coming out of Washington tonight is Boris has failed, and Trump will reimpose sanctions on Iran tomorrow - effectively collapsing the nuclear deal.
Sources suggest Trump will announce the decision 5 days earlier than planned (not due til Saturday) to put distance between Israel embassy move to Jerusalem on May 14. Both within 48 hours would be v combustive.

PerkingFaintly · 08/05/2018 07:09

Persisting through it!

(Fabulous thread title!)

OhYouBadBadKitten · 08/05/2018 07:11

Thanks Claws.

Minimammoth · 08/05/2018 07:20

Nice thread, hmm a fountain, palm trees, lots of glass, looks a little Mar a Lago in here.

Roussette · 08/05/2018 07:59

Thanks for bigly thread Claws . And thanks everyone for all the info and links, I'm ploughing through them!

I know it's been mentioned on previous thread but I'm shocked that Oliver North is now Pres of the NRA. I remember him well and watched some of his trial, this is a man who was charged with defrauding the US for selling arms to Iran. This is dodgy weapon sales and covering it up, destroying evidence etc.
he's a convicted felon but seemingly the right person to run the NRA.
Says it all doesn't it... and suits 45 no doubt.

On another subject...this is laughable isn't it... taken from Melania's speech yesterday. How she's got the nerve to stand there and say this given she's married to the biggest cyber bully, I do not know

@ThisWeekABC
Follow Follow @ThisWeekABC
More
Melania Trump: "When children learn positive online behaviors early on, social media can be used in productive ways."

"It is our responsibility as adults to educate and remind them that...they must choose their words wisely and speak with respect and compassion."

lionheart · 08/05/2018 08:15

Thanks Claws.

We’re all going on a WITCH HUNT! We’re not scared ...we persist. (Trump cont.)
BoreOfWhabylon · 08/05/2018 08:22

Thanks Claws

CrustyCob · 08/05/2018 08:28

Thank you for the new thread. I'm nearly up to speed. ( I've been away)
Jaw drop at everything, I feel as though a hundred years have passed in a few days.

boatyardblues · 08/05/2018 08:46

Morning y’all. Thanks for the new thread.

The recent turn of events is, um, sobering, especially the Iran deal stuff. I get that Trumps buddies are lining up to make out like bandits with any ensuing war and are no doubt grooming and positively stroking the narcicissist in chief just the way he likes, but does he not have a single moral fibre in that great lump of a body of his?

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SheGotBetteDavisEyes · 08/05/2018 09:51

Great thread title Claws.

We're going to catch a big one. What a beautiful day... Grin

cozietoesie · 08/05/2018 09:59

Thanks, Claws. Smile

Lweji · 08/05/2018 10:00

Missed the new thread, so:

Ah, Melania is more popular than POTUS.

edition.cnn.com/2018/05/07/politics/melania-new-cnn-poll/index.html

He won't be happy.

(although nowhere near her predecessors)

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