President Trump fumed via Twitter about the Mueller probe throughout Sunday in a fury of tweets, culminating with what appeared to be an official announcement (and seemingly intended to be a provocation to force Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to refuse or resign) :
“I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes – and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!”
Rosenstein, while not exactly refusing, dodged by issuing a challenge to the President and his gang for any credible charge worthy of investigation:
“If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action.”
In technical legal terms Rosenstein’s response means, “The ball is back in your court, dumb ass.”
A DOJ spokesperson added that the Inspector General would “expand the ongoing review of the FISA application process to include determining whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election.”
Any expectations that Trump and his pals harbored that his “demand” would force Rosenstein to refuse or resign didn’t work. Now it’s up to Trump whether to push further.
Listening to BBC Radio overnight brought this nugget: using actuarial tables, odds are good that at least one or two of the elderly Supreme Court Justices will die within the next two years. News presenter noted that President Trump has replacements already chosen.
Happy Monday!
Anyone else catch Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick blaming school shootings on video games & abortion? Apparently abortion has led to devaluing of life.
Even more so than Republicans?
Sj, saw that – and the comments from TXans. To sum it up he’s widely considered to be the idiot his comments suggest he is.
Pogo,
A woman’s life has less value than [fill in blank]. Story as old as time. Easy target, easy to blame.
Love that Texas pols are regurgitating background checks, mental health, blah blah blah when the latest shooter took the guns from his father’s collection. A + B does not equal C here.
Said this before, will say it forever: if society did nothing after Sandy Hook, nothing will be done about our gun addicted country. The guns are here & will remain. If laws are made, just go underground. This is the real definition of devaluing life.
TX Gov Abbott is holding a shotgun giveaway on his website in the wake of the NRA’s visit a few weeks back.
Did you hear the response to Patrick’s ~ideas~ about video games & abortions from the parent of a Parkland stundent? He said he had never heard anything so moronic. Yep. That’s Dan Patrick; the moron-in-waiting.
My question to Patrick with regard to his abortion comment is why is it OK that kids are being murdered after they are born?
Oh, and fewer doors…there are too many entrances. Folks are gonna start home-schooling because their kids are afraid to go to school.
If reports that the murderer in Santa Fe, TX killed a girl who repeatedly rebuffed his advances are true, I hope the METOO movement will get involved and do something about educating kids about harassment and rejection…and adults, too.
Mueller tide might be rising but will his ultimate findings get 67 Senate votes for conviction and removal?
Craig… with the Republicans being total chickenshits, that will be an almost impossible scenario. I’m not sure even if Mueller had Trump dead to rights in obvious collusion it would make a difference. But Mueller can indict Trump’s children. And I think Trump knows it and is afraid of it and that’s why he’s becoming unhinged.
I agree with your analysis RR. Wish Mueller was an innovator who would test DOJ’s no-indictment policy on presidents, but he’s not. However, he could prepare a sealed indictment to be served the minute Trump leaves office.
the twit’s twitter tear today of former cia dir brennan plus the demand to investigate the fbi will probably back fire on him by motivating the spooks in the field to work harder on a slam dunk error free solid case on the campaign conspiracies with foreign countries.
wonder if clapper is next up to be targeted for saying this today
Washington (CNN)Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Monday accused President Donald Trump of leading “a very disturbing assault on the independence of the Department of Justice.”
“When the President — this president or any president — tries to use the Department of Justice as kind of a private investigatory body, that’s not good for the country,” Clapper told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on “New Day.”
[…]
Clapper warned that increased politicization in the oversight of the intelligence agencies “places a heavier burden on our intelligence community leaders to provide the top cover, so that rank-and-file workers, employees in the intelligence community, can continue to serve up truth to power, even if the power doesn’t listen to the truth.”
and for this as reported by realclearpolitics earlier:
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told CNN’s Don Lemon Thursday night that the president’s claim that the Obama administration spied on his campaign is “hyperbole” but if it is true, it is a “good thing.”
“They [the Obama admin’s FBI] may have had someone who was talking to them in the campaign, but, you know, the focus here… is not on the campaign, per se, but what the Russians were doing,” Clapper said.
But if there was an intelligence agent “observing” the Trump campaign’s interactions with Russia, “that’s a good thing because the Russians posed a threat to the very basis of our political system.”
“I think it’s hugely dangerous if someone like that is exposed,” Clapper said of the yet-unnamed spy inside the Trump campaign.
Shhhh, Bernie is running, again. (Glad Jamie is on vacay.)
I’m glad he’s running to push the issues, but I think his time has passed. He could’ve beat Trumpsky the last time, but this is now.
Dems need someone who can reach Trumpsky’s base with regard to the issues with which they struggle; Bernie still has the message, but I would rather see Warren make the charge.
Let’s not forget that we have a new crop of voters coming up and they are energized.
Criminal & new NRA spokesmodel, Ollie North, is blaming school shootings on Ritalin. (sigh) OK, let the NRA and BigPharma duke it out.
Poor kids.
Sickening Critterz and their blood money.
Vote em out if you live long enough.
Good news for Dems..
Convicted coal executive Don Blankenshp is launching a third-party bid for Senate in West Virginia after losing the Republican primary earlier this month. https://t.co/jnxL1DPABc
Good for Don. ?
blueINdallas,
I’m blaming school shootings on people who had access to guns who shoot innocent people in schools. If they didn’t have guns they would not shoot innocent people. Maybe we should give people pies, cream pies – a la the Three Stooges. Imagine the mayhem 😉
Ya know in England they stab stab stab people, which apparently is far worse than blowing someone’s face off, at least according to President Trump. (Does anyone have a gif of the “stabbing” President during his NRA speech? Pure. Gold. )
Isn’t it grand how NRA ho’s blame everything except the obvious 8-/
West Virginia Democrats (hi Pogo) should play merry prankster & do whatever they can to further Blankenship’s candidacy.
Supreme Court backs employers over workers in first of two major labor cases
Monday massacre per chance?
usatoday:
WASHINGTON — President Trump is meeting with top Justice Department, FBI and intelligence officials Monday to discuss congressional requests for information on the investigation into Russian collusion, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
The meeting comes a day after Trump demanded that the Justice Department investigate whether the FBI spied on his campaign for president in 2016.
The president has been urging his administration to turn over information to congressional Republicans demanding the identity of sources in the probe. Law enforcement and intelligence officials have resisted, saying it could compromise their investigation and imperil covert sources.
In the Oval Office Monday, Trump will meet with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Sanders said.
Bloomberg:
Trump Jr. Draws New Mueller Scrutiny Over Foreign Campaign Links
Reports emerge of a second Trump Tower meeting with foreigners
‘Things are really getting ridiculous,’ Trump tweets
Starting to smell like the shredders are running in SFB bunker/hi-rise. Something is going on that is causing the head case to act very guilty of every crime there is in the U.S. and the rest of the solar system. I am still going with a blackmail over him regarding a very young girl or boy in Russia. The rest is his money machine doing things which are not available to others.
It is a wonderful day, recovering from loading a pickup load of tools and gear overhead through a window, pulling a 20T boat around and then hefting aboard a forty pound dog, taking down windows and canvas, crawling around in an engine room. whew, a bit sore today. Life is good. Mom tells me to not grow old. I am taking her advice and ignoring that I was born when Truman was prez.
Boy, I read that wrong. Bernie is running for Senate, again. I thought he was throwing his hat into the ring for Prez.
Yes Blue, Bernie! is being the asshole again- running inthe dem primary to get the dem nomination then decline it and run as an indie in the general so no real dem can oppose him. Prick.
Yet, he’s the voice of the growing, liberal movement.
Sj, good idea. Maybe I’ll take out an ad. ?
Ya know, there’re times I think maybe Bernie! isn’t so bad- then he reminds me that I was right about what a douche he is. The Vermont dem party should tell him to fuck off and change their rules so that if Bernie! runs as a dem and then rejects the nomination the runner up gets the general election slot
BB, sounds like a great but exhausting day – messing about in boats. A lovely way to fritter away a day.
pogo, Jamie would be proud… couldn’t have said it better. well, maybe she would have used classier language come to think of it. but same sentiment.