Even though Donald Trump must be feeling terribly betrayed by Mike Flynn's decision to cooperate with Bob Mueller, and sing like a canary.
As he should, because as I said earlier today, Flynn's testimony could end up sending Trump to the Big House.
The Orange Oaf was able to stay off Twitter for almost a day, no doubt on the advice of his lawyers.
Only to return a few hours ago, and all but convict HIMSELF.
For here's the problem. Trump didn't fire Flynn, he resigned after lying to Vice President Mike Pence about a meeting with the Russian ambassador.
And if Trump knew that Flynn had lied to the FBI, why didn't he mention that before?
And more importantly why did he meet with the FBI director James Comey, the day after Flynn resigned?
To urge him to go easy on his old friend Flynn.
And when Comey refused to do that, why did Trump fire him?
Because if I was a prosecutor, I would look at what happened, and at that tweet, and charge Trump with obstruction of justice.
And sure enough some Democrats like this congressman have already reached the same conclusion:
THIS IS OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE. @POTUS now admits he KNEW Michael Flynn lied to the FBI. Yet Trump tried to influence or stop the FBI investigation on #Flynn. https://t.co/8JqGBxgou0— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) December 2, 2017
But then I'm sure Bob Mueller has more than enough evidence to do that without that tweet.
So now just spend a few seconds watching and listening to the verdict of the people when Trump arrived at a fund raiser in New York City last night.
Trump Motorcade arriving to chants of "Lock Him Up" in NYC https://t.co/fIFcUCLuIO— Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) December 2, 2017
Because Trump is going to hear a lot of that wherever he goes from now on.
Lock him up, lock him up.
And throw away the key....
It's too late. Trump can go down in flames or shoot himself in his little emperor on Fifth Avenue for all anybody cares. The GOP is going to make damn sure that he (and they) take America and everybody else with them. Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine of disaster capitalism, the bigliest and yugest bankruptcy declaration in history applied to the world's largest casino corporation: the United States of America, Inc.
ReplyDeleteThe "tax bill" is going to wreck America permanently this time (and, just like in 1929 and 2007 -- as America goes, so goes the world). Already, out of desperation, I have heard about grad-school students in a panic who've sent out emergency applications to non-U.S. schools (McGill is a pretty popular destination, the PM being perhaps the best mascot they've ever had) because they won't be able to afford to stay at university in the U.S. It adds provisions for churches to keep their tax-exempt status if they engage in political lobbying, which means we're well on our way to becoming a fully-fledged Mammonist theocracy. And so much more that the GOP didn't read and didn't have to read, because their paymasters and the paymasters' shrewd lawyers had already written and read it for them. Just sign your name, Senator Faustus...
This social engineering overhaul disguised as a "tax bill" is the least popular piece of legislation (and piece of something else) since perhaps the Orwellian-named PATRIOT Act, but it still looks likely to get the Dotard's scribbled EKG signature on it. The U.S. is going to go bankrupt because the only votes that matter are the whims of the billionaire plutocrats that Chrystia Freeland wrote about in her book of same name. Koch and Mercer own the U.S. now. Trump is irrelevant. Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan are the ones who sold us to the devil for thirty pieces of silver.
Keep your Prince of Peace and treasure him as long as you can, Canada. The Battleship Putrumpkin is sinking fast and, as the frequent commenter here named Kathleen often says, greed will be the end of us all. Leave it to a party that hates the arts to "retcon" the ending of A Christmas Carol to satisfy their own humbug pleasures. They depress the Dickens out of me!
hi anon...I understand how you feel, that tax bill is something right out of 1929, and will turn the U.S. into a now totally brazen plutocracy. The amount of suffering it will cause to the poorest and most vulnerable people in America is beyond belief, and unforgivable. But I console myself with that old saying. Those who sow the wind will reap the whirlwind. The Trump gang, the GOP flunkies, and the billionaires went for short term greed, and they will live to regret it...
DeleteTrump didn't fire Flynn, he resigned after lying to Vice President Mike Spence about a meeting with the Russian ambassador.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you repeat this as though it were true? Mike Pence was head of the Trump transition team. He either knew what the senior advisors were up to or he was incompetent. No evidence has ever been provided to establish that Flynn lied to Pence, other than the say-so of Pence himself. Since Pence has an obvious interest in concealing his own responsibility and is a noted liar, I give his statement no credence at all.
hi anon...surely you are not suggesting that the very very Christian Pence could be lying are you? That's practically blasphemy. But it doesn't really matter what Pence says or said. If Mueller discovers that he was lying, he will hang with the rest of them...
DeleteDid Trump just convict himself? The tweet maybe a "confession" of sorts, however, the real work is still being done. As Flynn rolls on the son in law, Jared Kushner, it is going to be some entertaining if the daughter gets unhappy. Because the daughter may have the real dirt and if her father doesn't start pardoning people soon, she may turn on him.
ReplyDeleteWhatever is going on, Trump has made no comments regarding "pardons" for those out on bail, those making deals, etc. this all leads me to believe, Trump knows the truth and its coming for him. He maybe able to pardon a lot of people, but most likely not himself. We will all wait for next year's Christmas present, which might be delivered by Mueller in another 3 months or so. Perhaps the Easter bunny will carry a basket with Trump's head.
hi e.a.f....the tweet won't be enough to convict him in a court of law, but it doesn't help his case with the American people. The more doubts they have about Trump the less they will want to vote for him, which is after all our main objective. Now speaking about the Easter bunny... do you think you could convince him to bring us Trump's head in a basket, for Christmas instead?
DeleteThe liar in chief is just continuing to use the tools of the trade that allowed him to amass a fortune in the business world despite numerous bankruptcies, law suits and government legal challenges. The only difference now is that the lies are in the public domain rather than shrouded behind layers of corporate veils. Given his success,ego and encouragement from some "friends"it is understandable that he would think that he was destined to make America great again only to find that the size of the pond has expanded, the sharks are bigger, and seeming small indiscetions and lies can grow into monsters. Who knew being president would be so hard?
ReplyDeleteHe probably has a few more tricks in his tool kit but in addition to underestimating the size of the sharks he implicated his family which will turn things into a real shit show if they are indicted. In Trumps world the thought of loosing and walking away to embark on the next great Con is always an option but the destruction of his dynasty is not. He would likely choose mutual destruction instead. Hopefully the walk away scenario will win the day.
RT
hi RT.... I agree with you, the old Con artist could limp away from any bruising encounter, but when he sees his dynasty going down the toilet he will do anything to avoid that. Which could be good if as you say he just walks away. But very bad if he thinks that only war will distract Americans from his problems. I think the next few weeks could very well decide whether we live or whether we die, and the suspense is killing me... ;)
DeleteI am very glad you were one that did not mock me last year when I was trying to point out, in real time, there is clear Russian activity in that election unlike anything I had even heard of, let alone seen, before. I still have a LOT of anger towards every single progressive who "but her emails!!!!", "but she once said "super-predators" as First Lady and therefore she was too racist to support, etc, etc, etc.
ReplyDeleteYou know why this still pisses me off this much? Because it was F'NNNNNNNN out in the open contemporaneously!!!
I also have not forgotten Russia's use of Saint Bernie and his massive internet presence that never showed at the polls in the primaries, yet more work from the Russians in no small amount that has STILL not been owned up to by Sanders and his cohorts, oh no, it is all that crooked Hillary's fault, never him nor their own!
I'm sorry Simon, it isn't you, it is me. I know you gave my concerns respect at the time, which made you a rarity at that time among the more progressive bloggers I read. This is the most serious event in international politics since the Fall of the Berlin Wall. I have NEVER seen such willingness of one major nuclear power to so openly and blatantly intervene in the internal domestic political affairs of another, let alone the sole hyperpower on the freaking planet! The key word in the proceeding is "openly".
I knew Flynn was going to be a weak point for the FBI/Mueller all along, so this isn't a surprise. I will admit to periodically going around the place chanting "lock him up!" in mocking tones to what Flynn did last year, but hey, I'm only human, although if the GOP are not stopped that may not be seen to be true much longer, especially if afterward the USA decides we are to be formally absorbed.
After all, it isn't like we could stop them if they really wanted, and I suspect that the rest of the world would be too afraid of a USA that would do such a thing to really fight back. Way out there hypothetical? Possibly. Then again so was President Donald Trump when he announced, and even then I saw the possibility as viable, jackpot winning odds at that moment but still possible. I watched that go from there to probability in a matter of months, and then actuality with the rest of the world. So I no longer treat long shot political hypotheticals where things like this, especially where it relies on GOP complicity/management to happen, so casually let alone dismissively, and I think until we start seeing real hard political change down south that should be true for all of us that are easily othered, as both you AND I can be Simon just for being open about who and what we are.
Sorry Simon, but so far the trends are not shifting enough yet. Until I see actual movement that way, I remain wary and fearful, and please, no one tell me I have no real basis for it, or am being a drama queen, etc, because I heard it all when I was warning on Trump and the dangers of the Sanders campaign demonizing her with GOP rhetoric/lies! Never going to happen, yeah, right! I recalled hearing that with GWB in both his federal elections too.
Holier/Purer than thou progressives own this reality with Trump as much as as blind following conservatives and racists. Yet those progressives who claim to live in the reality based community will not accept their own share, starting from St. Bernie himself. That does NOT fill me with hope, nor should I see why it would anyone, for Bernie is first and foremost for Bernie when you judge by actual facts instead of feelings and use consistent standards for EVERYONE equally, not just your preferred one(s).
Again sorry for the rant, it isn't aimed at you nor about you, but the wider situation and how we got there, and whether and how we may see it ended short of something much uglier than what we already have down there.