And Comey was just fired. Totally chill. Nothing to see here.

socaliganbear;842838528 said:

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And Comey was just fired. Totally chill. Nothing to see here.

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Here we go....

joe yaks;842838514 said:

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"If" the Russians hacked anything. So you (along with Trump) apparently disagree with the unanimous conclusion of the intelligence community. The 400 lb dude in the basement theory...

There's plenty of dirty laundry to go around. Agreed

Agree it's about oligarchs...not GoPz, Demos or Indies. It's about all of em

The GoP and the DNC both tzsuch. Trump really tzuchs as do Hilary and Putin...btw--include tzschithead Paul Ryan. Agreed

Secret taped phone conversations. Yep

Flynn was fired by the Obama admin for publishing his paper opposing the administration's support for a caliphate to cause a Syria regime change. His chat on the phone with the Russian ambassador is a bogus charge. He's on tape and has now asked for immunity. I guess you know what he said on that tape to conclude it is a bogus charge.

Page has so many business contacts he'll probably perjure himself by omission. We shall see what the evidence shows on him

Can you prosecute Prez Trump for kissing Putin's asz? No, he can be prosecuted if the evidence demonstrates that he was part of collusion with the Ruskies on timing the release of hacked emails and other potential shenanigans. Putin is short man, but Trump looks up to him.

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OK that is funny

MSaviolives;842838458 said:

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Since Sessions recused himself, that may be less of a problem. It is possible that there could be some kind of mass firing--that would create a constitutional crises. But as Nixon learned, Friday Night Massacres are not a panacea.

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FBI Director Comey has been fired. Do we have a constitutional crisis yet? Will moderate Republican voters save America or save their party?

dajo9;842838533 said:

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FBI Director Comey has been fired. Do we have a constitutional crisis yet? Will moderate Republican voters save America or save their party?

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Oh boy, here we go...

socaliganbear;842838528 said:

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And Comey was just fired. Totally chill. Nothing to see here.

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Does he get to keep his pension?

dajo9;842838533 said:

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FBI Director Comey has been fired. Do we have a constitutional crisis yet? Will moderate Republican voters save America or save their party?

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You should be happy. I remember you saying he should be charged with crimes after the email brouhaha

This duration of this thread life just quintupled.

Is Comey now supposed to be some paragon of virtue? The guy who screwed up investigations into both candidates.

GB54;842838538 said:

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Is Comey now supposed to be some paragon of virtue? The guy who screwed up investigations into both candidates.

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I bet Alex Jones will be though.

Jared Kushner to be named as new FBI Director....(in addition to his other duties)

socaliganbear;842838528 said:

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And Comey was just fired. Totally chill. Nothing to see here.

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I am tired of people saying that there is no evidence of collusion. Yates and Comey said they can't discuss the evidence they have because of the fact that it is SECRET.
They don't say there is NO evidence.
From what I can tell there is plenty of circumstantial evidence.

A. Sally Yates fired as soon as she tells Trump administration of Flynn's connections with Russia.

B. Comey gets fired after he discloses FBI investigation of Trump administration's connections with Russia and seems to be making headway in "connecting the dots".

C. A number of Trump-connected people being investigated LIE to cover up their contacts with Russia and Putin. Why LIE if there is nothing to cove up.

D.Here is a list of contacts between Trump administration and Russia as known so far:

Flynn (Former National Security Advisor) - Seems to have a relationship with Putin. Source
Paul Manafort (Former campaign Advisor) Seems to have ties to Russia. Source
Carter Page (Former Trump Advisor) Has close ties to Putin. Source
Felix Sater (Trump Associate) Russian born with ties to Bayrock (Russian Oligarchs) Source
Jack Kingston (Former Trump Surrogate) Has a relationship with Russia. Source
Sergei Millian (Trump Associate)-Millian is a Russian Businessman. Source
Rick Gates (Former Trump Advisor) Worked with Manafort pro-Russia Lobbying firm. Source
Boris Epshteyn(Former Trump Surrogate/advisor)- Russian born, seems to defend Russia. Source
Roger Stone (Trump Ally) Has relationship with Assange/positive views on Russia Source
Wilbur Ross (Trump Commerce Secretary) Has a relationship with Russia. Source
Howard Lurber( Trump Economic Advisor) Major Russia investor. Source
Mike McSherry(Convention Strategy Lead) pro-Russia Ukrainian lobby. Source
Richard Burt (Former Trump Advisor) - Sits on advisory board for Russia's Alfa Bank. Source
Tillerson (Secretary of State) - Very close to Putin. Source

GB54;842838538 said:

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Is Comey now supposed to be some paragon of virtue? The guy who screwed up investigations into both candidates.

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Nobody is saying he was a paragon of virtue. He simply was not a Stooge for Putin. He was hated by Republicans and Democrats alike. But he appears to have been an American and determined to investigate those people who would do harm to America and its institutions.

Time for all true Americans to stand up and put Country ahead of Party. If not, we might as well just "pack it up" as a country.

At what point do the totally not mysterious suicides of top gov officials begin?

MSaviolives;842838534 said:

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Oh boy, here we go...

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Living in a banana republic is fun!

He also order the immediate arrest of Stephen Colbert for public rudeness.

68great;842838544 said:

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Nobody is saying he was a paragon of virtue. He simply was not a Stooge for Putin. He was hated by Republicans and Democrats alike. But he appears to have been an American and determined to investigate those people who would do harm to America and its institutions.

Time for all true Americans to stand up and put Country ahead of Party. If not, we might as well just "pack it up" as a country.

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I think it's a good thing, only because it might open the door to a more impartial investigation

NYCGOBEARS;842838040 said:

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Make Election Day a national holiday.

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Make election day April 15

MSaviolives;842838541 said:

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Jared Kushner to be named as new FBI Director....(in addition to his other duties)

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I don't think the POTUS can also serve as the FBI Director.

But seriously, laughing at people claiming that this is a constitutional crisis. Maybe bad optics, but not a constitutional issues. With the FBI director overseen by the Attorney General and appointed and subject to termination of employment by the President, what is exactly the constitutional crisis? After potentially altering the presidential election so close to the election based on tortured reasoning, I am glad he is gone. He had no credibility left. I want our top cop to be practical, non-political, and big picture servant of justice. This guy was lost in the weeds, making wrong statements that he knew would be misinterpreted, couldn't decide on a path, and lost credibility with both parties. Even if the motive behind his firing may be questionable, I am glad he is gone. Now, let's see who is appointed and whether the person is confirmed by the Senate.

Also laughing at people who continue to be trolled by our POTUS (sad that anyone can write that and mean it). A bit disingenuous to feign outrage over the stupid things he writes at this point. He may be the most ill-informed president in the history, and we have to survive the next three and half years, but don't be fake. If you are surprised at this point, you too are a bit ignorant. If you continue to act outraged and be maudlin over the same crap, you are most likely a little drama queen, but who knows.

GB54;842838550 said:

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I think it's a good thing, only because it might open the door to a more impartial investigation

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Seems like the Senate's hand might be forced now, assuming they still wish to remain an independent body and not just a rubber stamp for Trump.

GB54;842838550 said:

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I think it's a good thing, only because it might open the door to a more impartial investigation

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That is a possibility, but I can't truly believe you actually think he'll appoint someone impartial.

socaliganbear;842838555 said:

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That is a possibility, but I can't truly believe you actually think he'll appoint someone impartial.

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Congress would have to do it (and as I noted above, probably the Senate since the House is a tire fire right now).

Hopefully there's still an ongoing investigation left for this impartial new guy/girl.

calbear93;842838553 said:

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I don't think the POTUS can also serve as the FBI Director.

But seriously, laughing at people claiming that this is a constitutional crisis. Maybe bad optics, but not a constitutional issues. With the FBI director overseen by the Attorney General and appointed and subject to termination of employment by the President, what is exactly the constitutional crisis? After potentially altering the presidential election so close to the election based on tortured reasoning, I am glad he is gone. He had no credibility left. I want our top cop to be practical, non-political, and big picture servant of justice. This guy was lost in the weeds, making wrong statements that he knew would be misinterpreted, couldn't decide on a path, and lost credibility with both parties. Even if the motive behind his firing may be questionable, I am glad he is gone. Now, let's see who is appointed and whether the person is confirmed by the Senate.

Also laughing at people who continue to be trolled by our POTUS (sad that anyone can write that and mean it). A bit disingenuous to feign outrage over the stupid things he writes at this point. He may be the most ill-informed president in the history, and we have to survive the next three and half years, but don't be fake. If you are surprised at this point, you too are a bit ignorant. If you continue to act outraged and be maudlin over the same crap, you are most likely a little drama queen, but who knows.

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The constitutional crises would be if the new director were to shut down the investigation, or if there is a mass firing of AG career prosecutors involved in the investigation/prosecution of these issues. Replacing the head of the FBI, not so much. I thought Comey mishandled the Clinton investigation, but felt he was a straight arrow on the Russian investigation. We'll see what happens now...

MSaviolives;842838559 said:

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The constitutional crises would be if the new director were to shut down the investigation, or if there is a mass firing of AG career prosecutors involved in the investigation/prosecution of these issues. Replacing the head of the FBI, not so much. I thought Comey mishandled the Clinton investigation, but felt he was a straight arrow on the Russian investigation. We'll see what happens now...

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Even if that were to happen, it still wouldn't be a constitutional crisis because the constitution does not prohibit the president from doing so. The House still has impeachment powers, and the Senate still has the ability to try the impeachment. Nixon was not investigated by the FBI. He was under impeachment investigation by Congress. I will say this, though. If that were to happen, that is political suicide for all involved, in the same vein that Spicer is done after this administration.

Comey is a freaking clown and was gonna be gone at some point, Obama should have canned him before the election but if he had done that, it would looked like providing a cover for Hillary.

So when does Trump announce his appointment of Rudy Giuliani to lead Bureau?

Zerk;842838563 said:

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So when does Trump announce his appointment of Rudy Giuliani to lead Bureau?

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It's going to be someone "impartial".

MSaviolives;842838541 said:

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Jared Kushner to be named as new FBI Director....(in addition to his other duties)

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How about Kushner's sister pitching US visas to Chinese businessmen in exchange for *cough* *cough* "investment" in prime New Jersey real estate... conveniently held by the Kushner's?

MSaviolives;842838559 said:

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I thought Comey mishandled the Clinton investigation, but felt he was a straight arrow on the Russian investigation.

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And to be clear, it's not so much his investigation of Clinton that was bad. It was his decisions about when/how to make public statements about it.

calbear93;842838560 said:

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Even if that were to happen, it still wouldn't be a constitutional crisis because the constitution does not prohibit the president from doing so. The House still has impeachment powers, and the Senate still has the ability to try the impeachment. Nixon was not investigated by the FBI. He was under impeachment investigation by Congress. I will say this, though. If that were to happen, that is political suicide for all involved, in the same vein that Spicer is done after this administration.

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I guess we define the term differently. Under your definition, as long as there is impeachment power, there is no crisis. And there would only be a crisis if the President refused to step down after being impeached. I guess my definition would include what happens when a corrupt party fails to take action to impeach when a President corruptly interferes with the Judicial Branch (for instance, having a crony AG cause mass firings of career prosecutors to avoid prosecution). This article seems to include both definitions (mine being when institutions fail), but we are arguing fine points probably not worth further discussing. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/constitutional-crisis/

calbear93;842838553 said:

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I don't think the POTUS can also serve as the FBI Director.

But seriously, laughing at people claiming that this is a constitutional crisis. Maybe bad optics, but not a constitutional issues. With the FBI director overseen by the Attorney General and appointed and subject to termination of employment by the President, what is exactly the constitutional crisis? After potentially altering the presidential election so close to the election based on tortured reasoning, I am glad he is gone. He had no credibility left. I want our top cop to be practical, non-political, and big picture servant of justice. This guy was lost in the weeds, making wrong statements that he knew would be misinterpreted, couldn't decide on a path, and lost credibility with both parties. Even if the motive behind his firing may be questionable, I am glad he is gone. Now, let's see who is appointed and whether the person is confirmed by the Senate.

Also laughing at people who continue to be trolled by our POTUS (sad that anyone can write that and mean it). A bit disingenuous to feign outrage over the stupid things he writes at this point. He may be the most ill-informed president in the history, and we have to survive the next three and half years, but don't be fake. If you are surprised at this point, you too are a bit ignorant. If you continue to act outraged and be maudlin over the same crap, you are most likely a little drama queen, but who knows.

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I approve of this message.

sycasey;842838566 said:

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And to be clear, it's not so much his investigation of Clinton that was bad. It was his decisions about when/how to make public statements about it.

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I agree--it was his proclamation usurping the AG's Office in July, and then his announcement of reopening the investigation that were, to me, badly mishandled.

For perspective, there are already multiple federal grand jury proceedings underway, and if certain leaks are to be believed, indictments already issued but currently under seal. Those "tapps" are not going away.

MSaviolives;842838567 said:

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I guess we define the term differently. Under your definition, as long as there is impeachment power, there is no crisis. And there would only be a crisis if the President refused to step down after being impeached. I guess my definition would include what happens when a corrupt party fails to take action to impeach when a President corruptly interferes with the Judicial Branch (for instance, having a crony AG cause mass firings of career prosecutors to avoid prosecution). This article seems to include both definitions (mine being when institutions fail), but we are arguing fine points probably not worth further discussing. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/constitutional-crisis/

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Agreed. I just have pet-peeve about people invoking the Constitution when it doesn't apply. Our founding fathers intended the President to have this power, with the check being the Congress' ability to impeach. Heck, the President has unlimited pardon powers except with respect to IMPEACHMENT. This may be a political issue and this is the risk of entrusting one party with both the congress and the white house, but it is not a constitutional issue. If he exercised his pardon powers, it would be politically devastating to the Republican party in the same way if he appointed someone who shut down the investigation. Neither is a constitutional crisis.