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Ethics experts: Bannon-Trump communications may run afoul of obstruction of justice

Shard Shinjuku

Shard Shinjuku

Member
Oct 25, 2017
30,076
Tampa
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/03/bannon-contacts-trump-illegal-215783
The latest news in the saga of Steve Bannon is that the former White House senior adviser has reportedly been pushing President Donald Trump to be more forceful against special counsel Robert Mueller. Bannon's ideas allegedly include urging Trump to cut funding for the probe, telling Trump to withhold documents and pressing Trump to bring in more aggressive lawyers. These latest alleged Bannon-Trump communications come on top of other reported contacts between the two since Bannon left the White House. And it all raises serious questions as to whether Bannon is violating federal ethics laws and perhaps other statutes, including those concerning obstruction of justice.

Former White House staff members—whether encamped at Breitbart News or anywhere else—are constrained by 18 USC 207, which governs "restrictions on former officers, employees, and elected officials of the executive and legislative branches." One provision of this statute prohibits former senior executive branch officials from communicating with their former agency for one year on behalf of other persons, whether their current employers, persons who are targets of a government investigation or anyone else. And former very senior White House officials, such as Bannon, are subject to a two-year cooling off period, which bars them not only from making such communications on behalf of others back to White House staff, but also to other very senior people in the government, such as the attorney general—and also the president.
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EdibleKnife

EdibleKnife

Member
Oct 29, 2017
7,723
Just shows that excising Bannon was nothing but a show. Dude is still puppeteering Trump and no one else in this administration or the GOP at large is saying dick about it despite how risky it is. They could use this threat to lean on Bannon so that he never even looks in Trump's direction again but they're allowing it because they're desperate for any help they can get to destroy Muller, even from a slug like Bannon who's actively trying to split the Republican base.
 

Shoeless

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,000
XMonkey said:
It was tongue-in-cheek, but not entirely unwarranted given all the shit Republicans in Congress or people in Trump's cabinet are getting away with at the moment.
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I think even as a tongue-in-cheek statement, it's pretty accurate. Trump supporters and Republicans are now at a place in American society where they believe laws and democracy interfere with society, and that evil is the most effective way to get things done, especially if it's aimed at anyone not white, straight and Christian. The "threat" of racial and sexual equality is now bigger and more frightening than collapse of rule of law. Freedom loving America is now willing to toss freedom out the window to ensure that white privilege remains in place.
 

Deleted member 7051

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,254
So are all of our hopes pinned on Mueller coming out on top despite these apparent efforts to stop him?
 
XMonkey

XMonkey

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,827
Shoeless said:
I think even as a tongue-in-cheek statement, it's pretty accurate. Trump supporters and Republicans are now at a place in American society where they believe laws and democracy interfere with society, and that evil is the most effective way to get things done, especially if it's aimed at anyone not white, straight and Christian. The "threat" of racial and sexual equality is now bigger and more frightening than collapse of rule of law. Freedom loving America is now willing to toss freedom out the window to ensure that white privilege remains in place.
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Absolutely. The public reaction to Mueller's eventual findings are what I'll be looking at the most. If the rule of law no longer matters to citizens then I don't see much hope for this country ever recovering :(
 
Noroi_Kisaragi

Noroi_Kisaragi

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,711
Donald Trump is a Patho-centric individual
Ethos does not matter for him.

Barack Obama is probably the best example of a president that displayed equal amounts of Ethos/Logos/Pathos without being over-eccentric in any of the 3 areas, and is someone we desperately need again. That there is what we mean by "Presidential"
 
Taurus Silver

Taurus Silver

Big ol' Nerd
Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,813
Go Mueller, Go Mueller, Go!
Gonna rock the town without being seen
Have you ever seen a Special Counsel get down?


I wanna be the very best
Like no one ever was
To catch them is my real test
To prosecute them is my cause
I will travel across the land
Searching far and wide
Teach criminals to understand
The power that's inside
Mueller! Gotta catch 'em all
 
SemRockwel

SemRockwel

Member
Oct 27, 2017
507
Due to the Trump campaign investigation, I wonder if Mueller as a wire tap or informant on what communications Bannon has with Trump at the moment.
 
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