Way. You can also deduct expenses incurred in the process.
There is some debate on the 5th portion of that but cases have generally fallen in that way without a firm bit of case law to make it official.
No way. From the Federal Income Tax section of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution illegally gained income reported can be used as evidence. If the criminal in question wants to invoke the 5th, it can be done so by entering the line item as "Fifth Amendment" on your tax return. If you listed, for example, embezzlement, then you could be charged with embezzlement.
Bannon is absolutely also corrupt, just probably not with Russia specifically.
If I recall there was a fair amount of connections between him and Russia. I have absolutely no problem believing he'd be in bed with them as a "sympathetic" nation in his desire to bring about (and win) conflict with the non Christian forces of the world.
Seriously though, someone needs to explain what the deep state is to the masses; it's not some shadowy cabal following a ten thousand year plan to manipulate society and steal your freedom, it's people who are federal employees in jobs that are largely apolitical positions trying to ensure that everything is moving along the same way it always has; taxes get paid, mail gets delivered, the soldier gets his rifle, the tour guide at the smithonian enunciates the names of the exhibits correctly...
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
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Waffles or whateverPreviously known as, I shit you not, "Waffen"Registered Userregular
Bannon is absolutely also corrupt, just probably not with Russia specifically.
That's what I was hinting at. He has other issues, but out of everyone in Trump Team and the whole Russia investigation he's most likely to be the least compromised/contaminated.
People didn't have anything like this much access to information during the Nixon stuff. It was probably a similar feeling, but much more creeping, whereas we're getting it all in a rush.
Also even if Nixon had Twitter he wouldn't be stupid enough to tweet about all the shit Trump does.
Record and log everything anyone tweets about him for his enemies list, sure, but he'd keep his fucking mouth shut about Watergate online.
People didn't have anything like this much access to information during the Nixon stuff. It was probably a similar feeling, but much more creeping, whereas we're getting it all in a rush.
Also even if Nixon had Twitter he wouldn't be stupid enough to tweet about all the shit Trump does.
Record and log everything anyone tweets about him for his enemies list, sure, but he'd keep his fucking mouth shut about Watergate online.
I read a biography of him recently and he actually did tend to blurt out things rashly, like a very bitter speech he made after losing the presidency the first time he ran for it, that gave him a rep for being kinda crazy.
Seems like those "tapes" would sure come in handy defending himself
I bet they predunked those in bleach already
I know that first and foremost that Trump is a liar, but didn't he say the other day that he would soon reveal something about those tapes and that people would be disappointed?
Seems like those "tapes" would sure come in handy defending himself
I bet they predunked those in bleach already
I know that first and foremost that Trump is a liar, but didn't he say the other day that he would soon reveal something about those tapes and that people would be disappointed?
We'll find out in 2 weeks.
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OnTheLastCastlelet's keep it haimish for the peripateticRegistered Userregular
Seriously though, someone needs to explain what the deep state is to the masses; it's not some shadowy cabal following a ten thousand year plan to manipulate society and steal your freedom, it's people who are federal employees in jobs that are largely apolitical positions trying to ensure that everything is moving along the same way it always has; taxes get paid, mail gets delivered, the soldier gets his rifle, the tour guide at the smithonian enunciates the names of the exhibits correctly...
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
S'the same thing that happened with fake news. It started as a term used to describe the bullshit articles leading up to the election, and was Co-opted by the individuals criticized to describe everything against them. All that mattered was that the base had heard the term 'fake news' already, so was primed to have that concept hijacked by propaganda.
Same thing with deep state, same for unmasking. Been in media lately, term is ripe for twisting into a misunderstanding.
If anything this message demonstrates that Trump doesn't understand the concept of consequences for his actions. He thinks the obstruction thing is made up, not understand that something he did (quite proudly somehow) is the key moment for starting investigation into that charge. He's fucked in the head.
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GoodKingJayIIIThey wanna get mygold on the ceilingRegistered Userregular
Seriously though, someone needs to explain what the deep state is to the masses; it's not some shadowy cabal following a ten thousand year plan to manipulate society and steal your freedom, it's people who are federal employees in jobs that are largely apolitical positions trying to ensure that everything is moving along the same way it always has; taxes get paid, mail gets delivered, the soldier gets his rifle, the tour guide at the smithonian enunciates the names of the exhibits correctly...
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
The "deep state" is literally "government employees doing their jobs."
Seriously though, someone needs to explain what the deep state is to the masses; it's not some shadowy cabal following a ten thousand year plan to manipulate society and steal your freedom, it's people who are federal employees in jobs that are largely apolitical positions trying to ensure that everything is moving along the same way it always has; taxes get paid, mail gets delivered, the soldier gets his rifle, the tour guide at the smithonian enunciates the names of the exhibits correctly...
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
The "deep state" is literally "government employees doing their jobs."
Quite so. It means government employees who are more loyal to the USA or their department than Trump or the Republican party (in that order.) Trump demands loyalty - quite literally, according to Comey.
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
This is exactly why so many people like Trump. Pointing this out only makes him more appealing. To someone who buys the "deep state" conspiracy rhetoric, the last 5 presidents were complicit in the growth and consolidation of government power (insert glib like about broadening executive powers here) and Trump is the first real populist candidate trying to disrupt the state's nefarious long-term plan (remove freedoms, control media, suppress the ability to revolt or resist, suppress the urge to resist, use far left socialist propaganda to consolidate power, etc). Past presidents have been part of whatever cabal of bankers, power brokers, bureaucrats, globalists and Satanists that the conspiracy theorist imagines to be the core of the deep state.
We see a floundering incompetent whose corruption, foolishness and possible senility are catching up to him; they see a self-made man and hero being smothered by the insidious defense mechanisms of a massive, world-spanning Illuminati analogue that is finding itself under threat.
If anything this message demonstrates that Trump doesn't understand the concept of consequences for his actions. He thinks the obstruction thing is made up, not understand that something he did (quite proudly somehow) is the key moment for starting investigation into that charge. He's fucked in the head.
It is, to this day, unclear if Nixon ordered the break in at the Watergate hotel.
It is, however, clear that he offered to pay hush money, and lied to the FBI, and maybe most relevantly, fired people that were investigating him and the break in.
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HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
Seriously though, someone needs to explain what the deep state is to the masses; it's not some shadowy cabal following a ten thousand year plan to manipulate society and steal your freedom, it's people who are federal employees in jobs that are largely apolitical positions trying to ensure that everything is moving along the same way it always has; taxes get paid, mail gets delivered, the soldier gets his rifle, the tour guide at the smithonian enunciates the names of the exhibits correctly...
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
The "deep state" is literally "government employees doing their jobs."
It's also a phrase started by Info Wars, so keep that under consideration. They weren't making any headway with the "new world order," plus that's a group in the WWE (wrestling), so I'm sure they were being mocked. They could've gone with the good ol' Illuminati but nobody believes in that, not even IW.
It's actually pretty telling that Gingrich is starting to use their rhetoric.
GOP congressman: Trump may lack language 'discipline' to avoid appearance of investigation interference
Republican Rep. David Schweikert said in a radio interview Thursday that President Donald Trump might lack the language discipline to avoid giving the appearance of interfering in an investigation.
Schweikert said Trump may not have learned the discipline because he's not from the "political class." Schweikert made the comments on NPR's "Morning Edition" during a discussion about possible obstruction of justice by Trump in the FBI's investigation into Russia's influence in the 2016 election.
"I'm at the point where we also have to be real careful from the standpoint that we have a President that's not from the political class," the Arizona Republican said. "The learning of the disciplined use of language and what certain words mean in our context -- if you're not from this world you may not have developed that discipline."
"Sometimes when you're as we were just hearing, saying, 'tell the world I'm not the subject of the investigation,' well the very fact of asking you to tell the world may be a violation of -- because you asked them to tell the world," added Schweikert. "I mean think about that circle."
[...]
Shorter version: ignorance is a defence against obstruction, right!?
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Mx. QuillI now prefer "Myr. Quill", actually...{They/Them}Registered Userregular
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
This is exactly why so many people like Trump. Pointing this out only makes him more appealing. To someone who buys the "deep state" conspiracy rhetoric, the last 5 presidents were complicit in the growth and consolidation of government power (insert glib like about broadening executive powers here) and Trump is the first real populist candidate trying to disrupt the state's nefarious long-term plan (remove freedoms, control media, suppress the ability to revolt or resist, suppress the urge to resist, use far left socialist propaganda to consolidate power, etc). Past presidents have been part of whatever cabal of bankers, power brokers, bureaucrats, globalists and Satanists that the conspiracy theorist imagines to be the core of the deep state.
We see a floundering incompetent whose corruption, foolishness and possible senility are catching up to him; they see a self-made man and hero being smothered by the insidious defense mechanisms of a massive, world-spanning Illuminati analogue that is finding itself under threat.
Which, in itself, is bizarre, considering he was born into wealth, handed a large amount of it for nothing, and has used it to pull off some absolutely vile shit like sexual abuse.
Seriously though, someone needs to explain what the deep state is to the masses; it's not some shadowy cabal following a ten thousand year plan to manipulate society and steal your freedom, it's people who are federal employees in jobs that are largely apolitical positions trying to ensure that everything is moving along the same way it always has; taxes get paid, mail gets delivered, the soldier gets his rifle, the tour guide at the smithonian enunciates the names of the exhibits correctly...
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
The "deep state" is literally "government employees doing their jobs."
It's also a phrase started by Info Wars, so keep that under consideration. They weren't making any headway with the "new world order," plus that's a group in the WWE (wrestling), so I'm sure they were being mocked. They could've gone with the good ol' Illuminati but nobody believes in that, not even IW.
It's actually pretty telling that Gingrich is starting to use their rhetoric.
Gingrich was always prone to this kind of thing. It's just the conspiracy theories on the right have gotten worse in the last twenty years.
Self-righteousness is incompatible with coalition building.
GOP congressman: Trump may lack language 'discipline' to avoid appearance of investigation interference
Republican Rep. David Schweikert said in a radio interview Thursday that President Donald Trump might lack the language discipline to avoid giving the appearance of interfering in an investigation.
Schweikert said Trump may not have learned the discipline because he's not from the "political class." Schweikert made the comments on NPR's "Morning Edition" during a discussion about possible obstruction of justice by Trump in the FBI's investigation into Russia's influence in the 2016 election.
"I'm at the point where we also have to be real careful from the standpoint that we have a President that's not from the political class," the Arizona Republican said. "The learning of the disciplined use of language and what certain words mean in our context -- if you're not from this world you may not have developed that discipline."
"Sometimes when you're as we were just hearing, saying, 'tell the world I'm not the subject of the investigation,' well the very fact of asking you to tell the world may be a violation of -- because you asked them to tell the world," added Schweikert. "I mean think about that circle."
[...]
Shorter version: ignorance is a defence against obstruction, right!?
Seems more like lacking skill in being able to lie effectively about his actions.
Or inability to accept there's something he can't/shouldn't do.
Impeachment, until further notice. So far this includes a lot of speculation with the investigation itself remaining unresolved, so we're leaving it off the table until a notable event happens.
When you mean we aren't talking about impeachment, do you mean discussion into the details into whether or not it will happen, or who would respond to it and how, and general intrigue around such speculation? Or do you mean that "impeachment" is a word from the black speech that shall not be uttered here?
Because a lot of the discussion of the legal ins and outs of the Trump Russian investigation some of the possibilities of various outcomes will have it ultimately come down to impeachment or something will ultimately depend on the Constitutional impeachment power of Congress. Because it makes sense to say that something will ultimately have to be dealt with or ignored on the grounds of impeachment, while it being verboten get real deep in the weeds speculating about if it will happen and how it will go.
In the end it's going to come down the question of impeachment, yes or no. But since impeachment is a deliberately ambiguous political process, and there are currently constant and almost daily developments in a concrete and well defined criminal investigation, we're keeping impeachment talk off the table so the theoretical political discussion doesn't drown out the investigation. For now we're not talking about the end of the process (impeachment) here, just the investigation of indeterminate length.
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
This is exactly why so many people like Trump. Pointing this out only makes him more appealing. To someone who buys the "deep state" conspiracy rhetoric, the last 5 presidents were complicit in the growth and consolidation of government power (insert glib like about broadening executive powers here) and Trump is the first real populist candidate trying to disrupt the state's nefarious long-term plan (remove freedoms, control media, suppress the ability to revolt or resist, suppress the urge to resist, use far left socialist propaganda to consolidate power, etc). Past presidents have been part of whatever cabal of bankers, power brokers, bureaucrats, globalists and Satanists that the conspiracy theorist imagines to be the core of the deep state.
"Does that include W?"
"Who?"
"George... George Bush. The second one."
"Ohh. You're one of them. We've never had a president by that name."
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
This is exactly why so many people like Trump. Pointing this out only makes him more appealing. To someone who buys the "deep state" conspiracy rhetoric, the last 5 presidents were complicit in the growth and consolidation of government power (insert glib like about broadening executive powers here) and Trump is the first real populist candidate trying to disrupt the state's nefarious long-term plan (remove freedoms, control media, suppress the ability to revolt or resist, suppress the urge to resist, use far left socialist propaganda to consolidate power, etc). Past presidents have been part of whatever cabal of bankers, power brokers, bureaucrats, globalists and Satanists that the conspiracy theorist imagines to be the core of the deep state.
"Does that include W?"
"Who?"
"George... George Bush. The second one."
"Ohh. You're one of them. We've never had a president by that name."
The Trumps will not concede to the Memory Hole like Bush did. That trick is not going to work anymore.
Seriously though, someone needs to explain what the deep state is to the masses; it's not some shadowy cabal following a ten thousand year plan to manipulate society and steal your freedom, it's people who are federal employees in jobs that are largely apolitical positions trying to ensure that everything is moving along the same way it always has; taxes get paid, mail gets delivered, the soldier gets his rifle, the tour guide at the smithonian enunciates the names of the exhibits correctly...
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
The "deep state" is literally "government employees doing their jobs."
It's also a phrase started by Info Wars, so keep that under consideration. They weren't making any headway with the "new world order," plus that's a group in the WWE (wrestling), so I'm sure they were being mocked. They could've gone with the good ol' Illuminati but nobody believes in that, not even IW.
It's actually pretty telling that Gingrich is starting to use their rhetoric.
Gingrich was always prone to this kind of thing. It's just the conspiracy theories on the right have gotten worse in the last twenty years.
Not just the right. Glen Greenwald et al. can be found ranting on Deep State pretty much every day.
If anything this message demonstrates that Trump doesn't understand the concept of consequences for his actions. He thinks the obstruction thing is made up, not understand that something he did (quite proudly somehow) is the key moment for starting investigation into that charge. He's fucked in the head.
It is, to this day, unclear if Nixon ordered the break in at the Watergate hotel.
It is, however, clear that he offered to pay hush money, and lied to the FBI, and maybe most relevantly, fired people that were investigating him and the break in.
Yeah. He set up a dirty tricks division, which did the break-in, but he kept a layer of deniability between them and him. But when it all came crashing down, the guys who got their hands dirty were not willing to go to jail for the rest of their lives for him. I don't think Flynn or Sessions are willing to go to prison for Trump, either. And maybe not Kushner, though he's got the added stake of certainly losing his wife and family if he squeals, so he might be willing to.
Seriously though, someone needs to explain what the deep state is to the masses; it's not some shadowy cabal following a ten thousand year plan to manipulate society and steal your freedom, it's people who are federal employees in jobs that are largely apolitical positions trying to ensure that everything is moving along the same way it always has; taxes get paid, mail gets delivered, the soldier gets his rifle, the tour guide at the smithonian enunciates the names of the exhibits correctly...
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
The "deep state" is literally "government employees doing their jobs."
It's also a phrase started by Info Wars, so keep that under consideration. They weren't making any headway with the "new world order," plus that's a group in the WWE (wrestling), so I'm sure they were being mocked. They could've gone with the good ol' Illuminati but nobody believes in that, not even IW.
It's actually pretty telling that Gingrich is starting to use their rhetoric.
Just to clarify, Info Wars didn't coin the term, but they put a nefarious slant on it and popularized it alongside Breitbart (and the rest of right wing media from there).
You saw a real uptick right at Trump's inauguration when it was unclear whether he was going to be allowed to play god emperor to its fullest potential.
Gingrich adopting it is irresponsible as hell because these people are being primed to view any action against Trump as a coup. Just go visit zoos and stop fucking up the world, Newt.
Seriously though, someone needs to explain what the deep state is to the masses; it's not some shadowy cabal following a ten thousand year plan to manipulate society and steal your freedom, it's people who are federal employees in jobs that are largely apolitical positions trying to ensure that everything is moving along the same way it always has; taxes get paid, mail gets delivered, the soldier gets his rifle, the tour guide at the smithonian enunciates the names of the exhibits correctly...
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
The "deep state" is literally "government employees doing their jobs."
It's also a phrase started by Info Wars, so keep that under consideration. They weren't making any headway with the "new world order," plus that's a group in the WWE (wrestling), so I'm sure they were being mocked. They could've gone with the good ol' Illuminati but nobody believes in that, not even IW.
It's actually pretty telling that Gingrich is starting to use their rhetoric.
Just to clarify, Info Wars didn't coin the term, but they put a nefarious slant on it and popularized it alongside Breitbart (and the rest of right wing media from there).
You saw a real uptick right at Trump's inauguration when it was unclear whether he was going to be allowed to play god emperor to its fullest potential.
Gingrich adopting it is irresponsible as hell because these people are being primed to view any action against Trump as a coup. Just go visit zoos and stop fucking up the world, Newt.
Gingrich is Trump lite-ish so that's not surprising.
Taking a quick, begrudging look at Gingrich's Twitter feed, it's pretty clear to me that Gingrich's tweets this morning are meant to serve a single purpose: Drumming up controversy to sell the book he got published 2 days ago.
I think everyone on the right learned from Al Franken that controversy = money.
I almost want to buy it just to burn it. Though I guess that would send the wrong message, too.
If anything this message demonstrates that Trump doesn't understand the concept of consequences for his actions. He thinks the obstruction thing is made up, not understand that something he did (quite proudly somehow) is the key moment for starting investigation into that charge. He's fucked in the head.
It is, to this day, unclear if Nixon ordered the break in at the Watergate hotel.
It is, however, clear that he offered to pay hush money, and lied to the FBI, and maybe most relevantly, fired people that were investigating him and the break in.
Yeah. He set up a dirty tricks division, which did the break-in, but he kept a layer of deniability between them and him. But when it all came crashing down, the guys who got their hands dirty were not willing to go to jail for the rest of their lives for him. I don't think Flynn or Sessions are willing to go to prison for Trump, either. And maybe not Kushner, though he's got the added stake of certainly losing his wife and family if he squeals, so he might be willing to.
Flynn asked for immunity in exchange for sqeualing at basically the first opportunity. So I'm pretty sure he'd talk at the first offer of a deal.
I did attend two dinners with groups of former Republican foreign policy officials and Senator Sessions
It sounds fairly innocent - Burt helped Trump with his first foreign policy speech as a candidate. But it is in direct opposition to Sessions' claims (provided one interprets "I don't believe so" as a "no").
Taking a quick, begrudging look at Gingrich's Twitter feed, it's pretty clear to me that Gingrich's tweets this morning are meant to serve a single purpose: Drumming up controversy to sell the book he got published 2 days ago.
I think everyone on the right learned from Al Franken that controversy = money.
I almost want to buy it just to burn it. Though I guess that would send the wrong message, too.
That's been his business model since he resigned from the House. Hell, it's why he ran for President in 2012.
Self-righteousness is incompatible with coalition building.
Seriously though, someone needs to explain what the deep state is to the masses; it's not some shadowy cabal following a ten thousand year plan to manipulate society and steal your freedom, it's people who are federal employees in jobs that are largely apolitical positions trying to ensure that everything is moving along the same way it always has; taxes get paid, mail gets delivered, the soldier gets his rifle, the tour guide at the smithonian enunciates the names of the exhibits correctly...
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
Conservatives are convinced reality itself is a conspiracy against them. Concerns about the "Deep state" is remarkably sane these days.
Seriously though, someone needs to explain what the deep state is to the masses; it's not some shadowy cabal following a ten thousand year plan to manipulate society and steal your freedom, it's people who are federal employees in jobs that are largely apolitical positions trying to ensure that everything is moving along the same way it always has; taxes get paid, mail gets delivered, the soldier gets his rifle, the tour guide at the smithonian enunciates the names of the exhibits correctly...
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
The "deep state" is literally "government employees doing their jobs."
It's also a phrase started by Info Wars, so keep that under consideration. They weren't making any headway with the "new world order," plus that's a group in the WWE (wrestling), so I'm sure they were being mocked. They could've gone with the good ol' Illuminati but nobody believes in that, not even IW.
It's actually pretty telling that Gingrich is starting to use their rhetoric.
Just to clarify, Info Wars didn't coin the term, but they put a nefarious slant on it and popularized it alongside Breitbart (and the rest of right wing media from there).
You saw a real uptick right at Trump's inauguration when it was unclear whether he was going to be allowed to play god emperor to its fullest potential.
Gingrich adopting it is irresponsible as hell because these people are being primed to view any action against Trump as a coup. Just go visit zoos and stop fucking up the world, Newt.
But if the zoo is run by the state, that makes it part of the deep state too. There's just no winning when you're a paranoid nutjob.
I really want to know who the WaPo has on their payroll here. Their repeated insider info tells me they have some high level sources.
I'm still convinced that within Trump's inner circle Bannon, Kushner, and an undisclosed third party are still devouring each other in order to continue having the President's ear. With the exception of maybe Steve Bannon, the rest of his inner circle are contaminated with collusion, and the slow leaks are these individual's way of putting the other groups down for a week before those groups leak to reclaim their spot on the throne next to Trumps.
Kellyanne Conway almost definitely the third party.
People didn't have anything like this much access to information during the Nixon stuff. It was probably a similar feeling, but much more creeping, whereas we're getting it all in a rush.
The public access to the Nixon stuff really revolved around two major leaks. This administration has been a torrent of leaks, constant scandals, regular legislative and administrative affronts, and it's just exhausting.
Deep State existed long before the Infowars crowd got their hands on the phrase, and it is a real problem in some countries because basically you have democratic reform, but everyone from the old regime stays in place so the reforms get stymied or a coup happens because the military officers want to return things to the way they've always been.
No bureaucracy is immune to at least the most superficial problems of the deep state. Everyone has preferences, and a 20-year worker at the State Department is going to get mad when a president comes in to throw out the bipartisan diplomacy playbook, and consciously or subconsciously, you're going to push back against that, but the system is professional enough to avoid actual sabotage and the military's got built-in regulations on officer-troop relationships to minimize the possibility of a coup.
Bannon is absolutely also corrupt, just probably not with Russia specifically.
This is an example of why the "and anything else they find" clauses in Mueller's job description are so terrifying to this administration. None of them are completely clean, and somebody just let the smartest fox they could find loose in their henhouse. Collectively, they're fucked. It really comes down to individual survival at this point, which almost inevitably means flipping on the people you're currently working with.
The White House is current the setting for the highest stakes game of Fiasco ever played.
Posts
A reminder that this is what he had to say about Mueller less than a month ago:
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
No way. From the Federal Income Tax section of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution illegally gained income reported can be used as evidence. If the criminal in question wants to invoke the 5th, it can be done so by entering the line item as "Fifth Amendment" on your tax return. If you listed, for example, embezzlement, then you could be charged with embezzlement.
This is an attack on Mueller, right? Because he is ultimately responsible for the decision to broadrn the investigation and all that?
If I recall there was a fair amount of connections between him and Russia. I have absolutely no problem believing he'd be in bed with them as a "sympathetic" nation in his desire to bring about (and win) conflict with the non Christian forces of the world.
Clearly he's speaking for the derp state :P
Seriously though, someone needs to explain what the deep state is to the masses; it's not some shadowy cabal following a ten thousand year plan to manipulate society and steal your freedom, it's people who are federal employees in jobs that are largely apolitical positions trying to ensure that everything is moving along the same way it always has; taxes get paid, mail gets delivered, the soldier gets his rifle, the tour guide at the smithonian enunciates the names of the exhibits correctly...
And frankly, if you are fucking up so much that a "deep state" in the conspiracy theory vein is moving against you, maybe you should be asking why that is when they clearly weren't doing so against the last 5 presidencies?
That's what I was hinting at. He has other issues, but out of everyone in Trump Team and the whole Russia investigation he's most likely to be the least compromised/contaminated.
Also even if Nixon had Twitter he wouldn't be stupid enough to tweet about all the shit Trump does.
Record and log everything anyone tweets about him for his enemies list, sure, but he'd keep his fucking mouth shut about Watergate online.
I read a biography of him recently and he actually did tend to blurt out things rashly, like a very bitter speech he made after losing the presidency the first time he ran for it, that gave him a rep for being kinda crazy.
I know that first and foremost that Trump is a liar, but didn't he say the other day that he would soon reveal something about those tapes and that people would be disappointed?
We'll find out in 2 weeks.
S'the same thing that happened with fake news. It started as a term used to describe the bullshit articles leading up to the election, and was Co-opted by the individuals criticized to describe everything against them. All that mattered was that the base had heard the term 'fake news' already, so was primed to have that concept hijacked by propaganda.
Same thing with deep state, same for unmasking. Been in media lately, term is ripe for twisting into a misunderstanding.
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
The "deep state" is literally "government employees doing their jobs."
Quite so. It means government employees who are more loyal to the USA or their department than Trump or the Republican party (in that order.) Trump demands loyalty - quite literally, according to Comey.
This is exactly why so many people like Trump. Pointing this out only makes him more appealing. To someone who buys the "deep state" conspiracy rhetoric, the last 5 presidents were complicit in the growth and consolidation of government power (insert glib like about broadening executive powers here) and Trump is the first real populist candidate trying to disrupt the state's nefarious long-term plan (remove freedoms, control media, suppress the ability to revolt or resist, suppress the urge to resist, use far left socialist propaganda to consolidate power, etc). Past presidents have been part of whatever cabal of bankers, power brokers, bureaucrats, globalists and Satanists that the conspiracy theorist imagines to be the core of the deep state.
We see a floundering incompetent whose corruption, foolishness and possible senility are catching up to him; they see a self-made man and hero being smothered by the insidious defense mechanisms of a massive, world-spanning Illuminati analogue that is finding itself under threat.
It is, to this day, unclear if Nixon ordered the break in at the Watergate hotel.
It is, however, clear that he offered to pay hush money, and lied to the FBI, and maybe most relevantly, fired people that were investigating him and the break in.
It's actually pretty telling that Gingrich is starting to use their rhetoric.
https://cnn.com/cnn/2017/06/15/politics/kfile-gop-congressman-trump-discipline/index.html Shorter version: ignorance is a defence against obstruction, right!?
Which, in itself, is bizarre, considering he was born into wealth, handed a large amount of it for nothing, and has used it to pull off some absolutely vile shit like sexual abuse.
Gingrich was always prone to this kind of thing. It's just the conspiracy theories on the right have gotten worse in the last twenty years.
Seems more like lacking skill in being able to lie effectively about his actions.
Or inability to accept there's something he can't/shouldn't do.
In the end it's going to come down the question of impeachment, yes or no. But since impeachment is a deliberately ambiguous political process, and there are currently constant and almost daily developments in a concrete and well defined criminal investigation, we're keeping impeachment talk off the table so the theoretical political discussion doesn't drown out the investigation. For now we're not talking about the end of the process (impeachment) here, just the investigation of indeterminate length.
@Savant
"Does that include W?"
"Who?"
"George... George Bush. The second one."
"Ohh. You're one of them. We've never had a president by that name."
The Trumps will not concede to the Memory Hole like Bush did. That trick is not going to work anymore.
Yeah. He set up a dirty tricks division, which did the break-in, but he kept a layer of deniability between them and him. But when it all came crashing down, the guys who got their hands dirty were not willing to go to jail for the rest of their lives for him. I don't think Flynn or Sessions are willing to go to prison for Trump, either. And maybe not Kushner, though he's got the added stake of certainly losing his wife and family if he squeals, so he might be willing to.
Just to clarify, Info Wars didn't coin the term, but they put a nefarious slant on it and popularized it alongside Breitbart (and the rest of right wing media from there).
You saw a real uptick right at Trump's inauguration when it was unclear whether he was going to be allowed to play god emperor to its fullest potential.
Gingrich adopting it is irresponsible as hell because these people are being primed to view any action against Trump as a coup. Just go visit zoos and stop fucking up the world, Newt.
Gingrich is Trump lite-ish so that's not surprising.
I think everyone on the right learned from Al Franken that controversy = money.
I almost want to buy it just to burn it. Though I guess that would send the wrong message, too.
Flynn asked for immunity in exchange for sqeualing at basically the first opportunity. So I'm pretty sure he'd talk at the first offer of a deal.
Also today there's this:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/15/lobbyist-russian-interests-jeff-sessions-testimony
It sounds fairly innocent - Burt helped Trump with his first foreign policy speech as a candidate. But it is in direct opposition to Sessions' claims (provided one interprets "I don't believe so" as a "no").
That's been his business model since he resigned from the House. Hell, it's why he ran for President in 2012.
Conservatives are convinced reality itself is a conspiracy against them. Concerns about the "Deep state" is remarkably sane these days.
But if the zoo is run by the state, that makes it part of the deep state too. There's just no winning when you're a paranoid nutjob.
Kellyanne Conway almost definitely the third party.
The public access to the Nixon stuff really revolved around two major leaks. This administration has been a torrent of leaks, constant scandals, regular legislative and administrative affronts, and it's just exhausting.
No bureaucracy is immune to at least the most superficial problems of the deep state. Everyone has preferences, and a 20-year worker at the State Department is going to get mad when a president comes in to throw out the bipartisan diplomacy playbook, and consciously or subconsciously, you're going to push back against that, but the system is professional enough to avoid actual sabotage and the military's got built-in regulations on officer-troop relationships to minimize the possibility of a coup.
This is an example of why the "and anything else they find" clauses in Mueller's job description are so terrifying to this administration. None of them are completely clean, and somebody just let the smartest fox they could find loose in their henhouse. Collectively, they're fucked. It really comes down to individual survival at this point, which almost inevitably means flipping on the people you're currently working with.
The White House is current the setting for the highest stakes game of Fiasco ever played.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.