Turns out Peter Smith, the guy who contacted @pwnallthethings about Clinton emails and was actively seeking them from Russia that was our blockbuster story a couple weeks ago, died via suicide, not natural causes. Failing health + some life insurance thing, though I thought suicide usually voided that?
Suicide coverage on life insurance is a thing. I was honestly amazed to find it was a thing but it was offered as an option on the policy I have.
My term life insurance offers it as standard, but it doesn't kick in for a year or two. They obviously don't want people buying it and then offing themselves. But after that I guess suicide is just the fatal complication of severe depression, so if that develops it should be covered.
This guy's death needs to be investigated to make sure he didn't die of Putin poisoning.
This is fun. After Maddow covered a ProPublica pieces on Kasowitz and the troubles he'd have re:the Russia case, Random Guy sent Kasowitz and e-mail urging him to quit. Not, you know, polite, but for the internet? Downright neighborly. Kasowitz responded by turning into an unhinged frat boy.
Marc Kasowitz, President Trump’s personal attorney on the Russia case, threatened a stranger in a string of profanity-laden emails Wednesday night.
The man, a retired public relations professional in the western United States who asked not to be identified, read ProPublica’s story this week on Kasowitz and sent the lawyer an email with the subject line: “Resign Now.’’
Kasowitz replied with series of angry messages sent between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern time. One read: “I’m on you now. You are fucking with me now Let’s see who you are Watch your back , bitch.”
In another email, Kasowitz wrote: “Call me. Don’t be afraid, you piece of shit. Stand up. If you don’t call, you’re just afraid.” And later: “I already know where you live, I’m on you. You might as well call me. You will see me. I promise. Bro.”
Amazing. If you need a chuckle, I highly suggest checking the article and the whole string of e-mails. It's... Well, proof that Trump certainly did not hire the best of the best.
He did eventually apologize. His excuse? It was late and had been a long day. At like, 10pm.
what in the actual fuck
This is like the death throes of some washed up has been video game developer's career after they release a crappy product with sixty preorder bonuses and seven day one DLCs costing twice as much as the game itself. I mean, how many times have we seen this exact behavior in that kind of scenario? Except this is the person responsible for the legal affairs (the many, many, numerous, serious legal affairs) of the President of the United Fucking States of America.
I had a hundred times more sympathy for the Ocean Marketing guy.
He can't hire lawyers, so he just settles for internet tough guys?
He hired a lawyer who would be great for fighting city governments, threatening reporters, muscling over some zoning board schmuck, because that's the only world he knows.
He can't hire lawyers, so he just settles for internet tough guys?
He hired a lawyer who would be great for fighting city governments, threatening reporters, muscling over some zoning board schmuck, because that's the only world he knows.
Exactly. Trump is basically an 80s mobster real estate sleaze and he's never evolved out of that
He doesn't know how. He is incapable. All of his choices and the people he personally surrounds himself with reflect that.
He'd be a brutally effective mayor, or even a governor in some states.
He would basically be Chris Christie++
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HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
Trump doesn't hire lawyers to fight in the court of law, he hires lawyers to fulfill the role of being a public relations cheerleader or bouncer. It's bizarre as shit, but it helps take some of the heat off of Trump saying stupid aggressive stuff because he has lawyers duped into doing that for him.
Best part is, reportedly, Trump has a history of scamming lawyers out of their due pay.
“They talked about the adoption stuff, which was actually a big thing at the time, but nothing happened,” Trump said.
But he went on to indicate that he may have known about the meeting before last weekend after all: “In fact maybe it was mentioned at some point,” he added.
For context, the quoted bit comes after a bit where he said he hadn't heard about the meeting until a couple of days ago.
I don't even know what the truth is but I assume it'll be a day or two before Trump Senior is telling the press he knew all about it and thought it was great but really it was nothing so it's no big deal, right? Everybody thinks that.
I feel like someone ought to contact Kasowitz' state bar about that
Edit: also this paragraph from the ProPublica article has a quote that is an, uh, oddly specific denial
Since the story was published, his spokesman issued a statement disputing several parts of the story: “Marc Kasowitz has not struggled with alcoholism,” Sitrick wrote. “He has not come into the office intoxicated, attorneys have not had to go across the street to the restaurant during the workday to consult Kasowitz on work matters
I feel like that is the kind of behavior that not being an alcoholic doesn't really make any better.
Like the old apocryphal tale about a man who developed liver issues and had to quit drinking and then his wife divorced him 6 months later, when asked the reason why she divorced him so soon now that he was finally sober after putting up with his alcoholism for years, she said "well, honestly the whole time we were married I thought he was abusive because he was an alcoholic, once he quit drinking I figured out he was just an asshole".
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BlackDragon480Bluster KerfuffleMaster of Windy ImportRegistered Userregular
Kushner wants to be throwing more punches. Specifically in defense of Don Jr, but generally as well.
I'm kinda surprised he seems to even give a shit about Jr. They seem like natural rivals from the outside, and neither of them are exactly what I'd call profiles in team spirit.
Kushner wants to be throwing more punches. Specifically in defense of Don Jr, but generally as well.
I'm kinda surprised he seems to even give a shit about Jr. They seem like natural rivals from the outside, and neither of them are exactly what I'd call profiles in team spirit.
It's his reaction to everything. He pushed for Comey's firing and for an aggressive response to criticism of that too.
“They talked about the adoption stuff, which was actually a big thing at the time, but nothing happened,” Trump said.
But he went on to indicate that he may have known about the meeting before last weekend after all: “In fact maybe it was mentioned at some point,” he added.
For context, the quoted bit comes after a bit where he said he hadn't heard about the meeting until a couple of days ago.
I don't even know what the truth is but I assume it'll be a day or two before Trump Senior is telling the press he knew all about it and thought it was great but really it was nothing so it's no big deal, right? Everybody thinks that.
Not sure if this is because he's just really dumb, or because he can't stand for someone else to be the center of attention for even 2 seconds.
Kushner's reactions to these events demonstrates that he has never had to face any consequences for any actions in his life. He is privilege personified.
This is fun. After Maddow covered a ProPublica pieces on Kasowitz and the troubles he'd have re:the Russia case, Random Guy sent Kasowitz and e-mail urging him to quit. Not, you know, polite, but for the internet? Downright neighborly. Kasowitz responded by turning into an unhinged frat boy.
Marc Kasowitz, President Trump’s personal attorney on the Russia case, threatened a stranger in a string of profanity-laden emails Wednesday night.
The man, a retired public relations professional in the western United States who asked not to be identified, read ProPublica’s story this week on Kasowitz and sent the lawyer an email with the subject line: “Resign Now.’’
Kasowitz replied with series of angry messages sent between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern time. One read: “What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I’ve been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills... If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little “clever” comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your fucking tongue. But you couldn’t, you didn’t, and now you’re paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will shit fury all over you and you will drown in it. You’re fucking dead, kiddo.
Amazing. If you need a chuckle, I highly suggest checking the article and the whole string of e-mails. It's... Well, proof that Trump certainly did not hire the best of the best.
He did eventually apologize. His excuse? It was late and had been a long day. At like, 10pm.
Kushner's reactions to these events demonstrates that he has never had to face any consequences for any actions in his life. He is privilege personified.
I think he's got some idea of what consequences look like.
Why don't foreign officials met while a Senator count? They're still foreign officials.
The understood reasoning is that if you're meeting them as a government official in an official capacity, the meeting is already recorded and on the books. The intention of that question on the form is to
1) Determine if you had non-government contact with a foreign government to ascertain if you could be in-debted or connected to a foreign government before joining the government. Basically to make sure that you aren't prime meat for foreign intelligence recruitment (also why you will, usually, lose clearance if you go bankrupt*)
2) As with every question on a request for security clearance; to see if you'll lie to the government to cover your own ass.
*However this administration apparently seems to slip by under the pretense that if you've gone bankrupt less often than the president then it's okay.
The Intercept podcast did a reading from the forged document that Maddow did her big story on, since the guy who did the forgery (he claims he did it in 10 minutes) got in touch and sent it to them. It sounded pretty hilarious. The funniest part is that the redactions are the word redacted. Like "John Doe was contacted by redacted on October" instead of using redactions.
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IlpalaJust this guy, y'knowTexasRegistered Userregular
...Not exactly an A-effort, you say.
FF XIV - Qih'to Furishu (on Siren), Battle.Net - Ilpala#1975
Switch - SW-7373-3669-3011
Fuck Joe Manchin
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SurfpossumA nonentitytrying to preserve the anonymity he so richly deserves.Registered Userregular
Is there any reason to believe that this person actually is the one who created the forgery (and/or they sent the same forgery)? Did they say any more about why they did it or anything like that?
If the goal of it was to discredit the mainstream media, presenting an obviously fake version would add to that narrative (ie why would any organization waste time thinking maybe it's real unless they were dumb).
Is 10,000 the cost of the hooker, or the quantity of hookers?
You get 10,000 hookers for a penny, then you have to buy five hookers at regular club prices.
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
Is 10,000 the cost of the hooker, or the quantity of hookers?
You get 10,000 hookers for a penny, then you have to buy five hookers at regular club prices.
That's how they get you.
Switch: SW-7690-2320-9238Steam/PSN/Xbox: Drezdar
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ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
I'd be amazed if none of Kushner's associates are annoyed by his insistence that other people besides him go on the offensive when he's practically never in front of a microphone.
Spoiler, by rhyming "collusion" with "conclusion?", "delusion" and "illusion." I don't know what to think when she's not even bothering to lie anymore, just talk to the Fox News audience like they're 5 year olds.
Let's give collaboration a try, guys. It worked out great for the Vichy.
:whistle: All that we're sayiiiing
Is give collusion with a hostile authoritarian foreign governments a chance :whistle:
Not sure there's enough syllables, needs work
Nah, it's pretty good as is. Trying to get all of that out while following the timing of the song also conveys just how fucked up this whole thing is. Especially if you think of the "collusion with a hostile authoritarian foreign governments" as being an out of place soundbyte from an end-of-commercial guy.
...Now I kind of want this to be made.
Veevee on
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AegisFear My DanceOvershot Toronto, Landed in OttawaRegistered Userregular
Another question is who will pay the legal fees for the president and administration officials involved in the Russia inquiries. Some in Trump’s orbit are pushing the Republican National Committee to bear the costs, said three people with knowledge of the situation, including one who euphemistically described the debate as a “robust discussion.”
Although the RNC does have a legal defense fund, it well predates the Russia investigations and is intended to be used for legal challenges facing the Republican Party, such as a potential election recount.
The RNC has not made a decision, in part because the committee is still researching whether the money could legally be used to help pay legal costs related to Russia. But many within the organization are resisting the effort, thinking it would be more appropriate to create a separate legal defense fund for the case.
RNC officials declined requests for comment. The White House has not said whether Trump, Kushner and other officials are paying their legal bills themselves or whether they are being covered by an outside entity.
I'm sure the RNC would be delighted to drain their legal defense fund, that otherwise would go to paying for, you know, getting Republicans elected.
MayabirdPecking at the keyboardRegistered Userregular
I am briefly tickled at the thought of the entire RNC being grifted to nothing, but they could make up for that easily with a couple mega-donations from their billionaire mega-donors.
Posts
My term life insurance offers it as standard, but it doesn't kick in for a year or two. They obviously don't want people buying it and then offing themselves. But after that I guess suicide is just the fatal complication of severe depression, so if that develops it should be covered.
This guy's death needs to be investigated to make sure he didn't die of Putin poisoning.
This is like the death throes of some washed up has been video game developer's career after they release a crappy product with sixty preorder bonuses and seven day one DLCs costing twice as much as the game itself. I mean, how many times have we seen this exact behavior in that kind of scenario? Except this is the person responsible for the legal affairs (the many, many, numerous, serious legal affairs) of the President of the United Fucking States of America.
I had a hundred times more sympathy for the Ocean Marketing guy.
He hired a lawyer who would be great for fighting city governments, threatening reporters, muscling over some zoning board schmuck, because that's the only world he knows.
Exactly. Trump is basically an 80s mobster real estate sleaze and he's never evolved out of that
He doesn't know how. He is incapable. All of his choices and the people he personally surrounds himself with reflect that.
He would basically be Chris Christie++
Best part is, reportedly, Trump has a history of scamming lawyers out of their due pay.
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-contradicts-himself-on-russian-lawyer-meeting-a73c7d9420b1
For context, the quoted bit comes after a bit where he said he hadn't heard about the meeting until a couple of days ago.
I don't even know what the truth is but I assume it'll be a day or two before Trump Senior is telling the press he knew all about it and thought it was great but really it was nothing so it's no big deal, right? Everybody thinks that.
Let's give collaboration a try, guys. It worked out great for the Vichy.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
I feel like that is the kind of behavior that not being an alcoholic doesn't really make any better.
Like the old apocryphal tale about a man who developed liver issues and had to quit drinking and then his wife divorced him 6 months later, when asked the reason why she divorced him so soon now that he was finally sober after putting up with his alcoholism for years, she said "well, honestly the whole time we were married I thought he was abusive because he was an alcoholic, once he quit drinking I figured out he was just an asshole".
At least the Vichy waited till after the original government took a military ass whooping to fully show their bellies. We're doing it for free.
~ Buckaroo Banzai
Kushner wants to be throwing more punches. Specifically in defense of Don Jr, but generally as well.
I'm kinda surprised he seems to even give a shit about Jr. They seem like natural rivals from the outside, and neither of them are exactly what I'd call profiles in team spirit.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
It's his reaction to everything. He pushed for Comey's firing and for an aggressive response to criticism of that too.
Not sure if this is because he's just really dumb, or because he can't stand for someone else to be the center of attention for even 2 seconds.
I couldn't resist
I think he's got some idea of what consequences look like.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
The understood reasoning is that if you're meeting them as a government official in an official capacity, the meeting is already recorded and on the books. The intention of that question on the form is to
1) Determine if you had non-government contact with a foreign government to ascertain if you could be in-debted or connected to a foreign government before joining the government. Basically to make sure that you aren't prime meat for foreign intelligence recruitment (also why you will, usually, lose clearance if you go bankrupt*)
2) As with every question on a request for security clearance; to see if you'll lie to the government to cover your own ass.
*However this administration apparently seems to slip by under the pretense that if you've gone bankrupt less often than the president then it's okay.
Switch - SW-7373-3669-3011
Fuck Joe Manchin
If the goal of it was to discredit the mainstream media, presenting an obviously fake version would add to that narrative (ie why would any organization waste time thinking maybe it's real unless they were dumb).
You get 10,000 hookers for a penny, then you have to buy five hookers at regular club prices.
Do they accept Bitcoin? Asking for a friend
That's how they get you.
:whistle: All that we're sayiiiing
Is give collusion with hostile authoritarian foreign governments a chance :whistle:
Not sure there's enough syllables, needs work
If you think that's insulting, you don't want to know how Kellyann Conway defended Trump Jr's e-mail yesterday.
Spoiler, by rhyming "collusion" with "conclusion?", "delusion" and "illusion." I don't know what to think when she's not even bothering to lie anymore, just talk to the Fox News audience like they're 5 year olds.
Nah, it's pretty good as is. Trying to get all of that out while following the timing of the song also conveys just how fucked up this whole thing is. Especially if you think of the "collusion with a hostile authoritarian foreign governments" as being an out of place soundbyte from an end-of-commercial guy.
...Now I kind of want this to be made.
I'm sure the RNC would be delighted to drain their legal defense fund, that otherwise would go to paying for, you know, getting Republicans elected.
Currently DMing: None
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[5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
Fox News is going to convince people to get violent and then it's going to get really fucking weird.
No, no, they mean the Democrats, of course they do, sigh.
Currently DMing: None
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[5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
They can really see the writing on the wall now but the fever will never break so instead they are gonna double down and it's gonna be bad.