US PoliERA 2018 |OT13| And now the fun starts

[skullmuffins]

I was just reading an article today (Newsweek?) that was making fun of Rudy for continually pushing back and shortening the projected length of his response, which was originally bragged about being 100+ pages.

The Trump administration has been promising they would respond to any charges by Robert Mueller with a devastating point-by-point defense: a “counter-report” written by none other than attorney at law and esteemed cybersecurity expert Rudy Giuliani. Let’s check in on the progress of the response.

Rudy is so unprepared for the coming shitstorm.

 

[Box of Kittens]

Lauren Underwood flipped IL-14 and carried all seven counties in it even as Rauner won it by 8.

Strong candidate.

Underwood's ads, which largely focused on healthcare, were really good. I don't think I saw any ads from the Hultgren campaign itself (i.e., not counting PACs). Roskam at least was running plenty of ads. They were terrible, but at least he was running them.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

From the Atlantic article:

Giuliani said it’s been difficult in the past few months to even consider drafting response plans, or devote time to the “counter-report” he claimed they were working on this summer as he and Trump confronted Mueller’s written questions about the 2016 campaign.

“Answering those questions was a nightmare,” he told me. “It took him about three weeks to do what would normally take two days.”

I thought Trump said he answered the questions himself, very easily?

Attempting to plan “would mean you would have to have an honest conversation about what might be coming,” a former senior White House official, who requested anonymity to speak freely, told me.

Told ya'll, Trump can't tell the whole truth to anyone. His lawyers are in the dark.

“We haven’t heard from the White House at all on this. You’d think there’d be more of an effort to have a coordinated response,” one senior Republican aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to damage the aide’s relationship with the White House, told me. “Members want to help, but can’t if they’re not getting any information.”

He can't tell anyone.

 

[sprsk]

 

[Iolo]

"The first half of it is 58 pages, and the second half isn’t done yet" might be my favorite Rudy quote.

 

[Pooh]

Have yourself
A Mueller little Christmas
Let your cuffs be tight
From now on
There's every reason to indict

Have yourself
A Mueller little Christmas
All the papers say
From now on
Your crimes will keep you locked away

Here you are in Exhibit A
Old colluding days
Of yore
All your friends who were treasonous
Have revealed to us
Much more

Have yourself
A Mueller little Christmas
Tweet your last goodbye
Handing down your sentence:
The Central Park Five

Through the years the Trumps will be together
If the state allows
Maybe Hillary will sneak you in a Coke somehow
So have yourself
A Mueller little Christmas now

 

[Owzers]

From the Atlantic article:



I thought Trump said he answered the questions himself, very easily?



Told ya'll, Trump can't tell the whole truth to anyone. His lawyers are in the dark.



He can't tell anyone.

It was kinda hilarious when he said he answered them easily, you immediately know the opposite is true.

 

[RustyNails]

Did I find my new avatar?

It's clear that Rudy is a bigger grifter that's conning Trump out of money. He loves to go on news channels and say the craziest shit and Trump loves it as well, but clearly he's not there to form Trump's legal defense. All of the stuff he says on TV is not gonna hold anywhere.

 

[Takuhi]

Arguably, the senate can fuck more shit up than the House.

There were only 35 seats in play, and you didn't even win a third of them!

 

[Beer Monkey]

I'm old enough to remember when dumbfuck Rudy was going to have a rebuttal to Mueller.

Then he realized he didn't know what Mueller had against Trump.

Of course Trump could have told Rudy about all his crimes, but he doesn't trust Rudy enough for that.

 

[Taki]

Are you guys hyped for the extra-long friday special tomorrow?

 

[Beer Monkey]

Are you guys hyped for the extra-long friday special tomorrow?

Yes and no.

Encouraging signs right now, but Barr is concerning. Whitaker is neutered, that is obvious, but Barr will be less so.

Some legal analysis is predicting that Mueller needs until Fall 2019. Barr will take steps to try to shut everything down and bury it well ahead of that.

My money is still on Mueller.

Don't expect anything more than [REDACTED] tomorrow. If that's what happens, Mueller better have figured out a way to protect himself. The Senate will not.

 

[Grizzel Greedigut]

Lauren Underwood flipped IL-14 and carried all seven counties in it even as Rauner won it by 8.

Strong candidate.

My gf and I helped our new congresswoman and couldn't be.more proud. Congrats, Lauren!

 

[Titik]

I'm home sick so I guess I know what I'm gonna be watching all day Friday.

 

[OléGunner]

Rudy Giuliani: The Clown Prince of Law.

 

[Taki]

Yes and no.

Encouraging signs right now, but Barr is concerning. Whitaker is neutered, that is obvious, but Barr will be less so.

Some legal analysis is predicting that Mueller needs until Fall 2019. Barr will take steps to try to shut everything down and bury it well ahead of that.

My money is still on Mueller.

Don't expect anything more than [REDACTED] tomorrow. If that's what happens, Mueller better have figured out a way to protect himself. The Senate will not.

goddamn if you took random quotes from this thread and sent them back in time to 2014 no one would have a clue what we're talking about

 

[Weegian]

Mueller approval dipping down slightly because of increasing opposition among GOP voters.

 

[The Chosen One]

Just catching up...

Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?

Do you guys think this is related to Mueller tomorrow since the WH usually gets a heads up? Or NYT/Wapo is requesting a comment on a big story they're about to drop?

If it was Mueller related, Trump usually do his "highly conflicted Mueller and 13 Angry Dwarfs bit". But lashing out at the media makes me think it has something to do with an investigative story.

 

[Surfinn]

Have yourself
A Mueller little Christmas
Let your cuffs be tight
From now on
There's every reason to indict

Have yourself
A Mueller little Christmas
All the papers say
From now on
Your crimes will keep you locked away

Here you are in Exhibit A
Old colluding days
Of yore
All your friends who were treasonous
Have revealed to us
Much more

Have yourself
A Mueller little Christmas
Tweet your last goodbye
Handing down your sentence:
The Central Park Five

Through the years the Trumps will be together
If the state allows
Maybe Hillary will sneak you in a Coke somehow
So have yourself
A Mueller little Christmas now

Lol amazing.

 

[cameron]

Spoiler: Twitter Text

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

Robert Mueller and Leakin’ Lyin’ James Comey are Best Friends, just one of many Mueller Conflicts of Interest. And bye the way, wasn’t the woman in charge of prosecuting Jerome Corsi (who I do not know) in charge of “legal” at the corrupt Clinton Foundation? A total Witch Hunt...

 

[Surfinn]

Spoiler: Twitter Text

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

Robert Mueller and Leakin’ Lyin’ James Comey are Best Friends, just one of many Mueller Conflicts of Interest. And bye the way, wasn’t the woman in charge of prosecuting Jerome Corsi (who I do not know) in charge of “legal” at the corrupt Clinton Foundation? A total Witch Hunt...

Bye bye byeeee

 

[Chained Prometheus]

Just catching up...

Do you guys think this is related to Mueller tomorrow since the WH usually gets a heads up? Or NYT/Wapo is requesting a comment on a big story they're about to drop?

If it was Mueller related, Trump usually do his "highly conflicted Mueller and 13 Angry Dwarfs bit". But lashing out at the media makes me think it has something to do with an investigative story.

I mean, there was that other tweet recently where Trump tried to claim that he'd totally be at 75% approval if it weren't for Mueller's probe an-

Spoiler: Twitter Text

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

Robert Mueller and Leakin’ Lyin’ James Comey are Best Friends, just one of many Mueller Conflicts of Interest. And bye the way, wasn’t the woman in charge of prosecuting Jerome Corsi (who I do not know) in charge of “legal” at the corrupt Clinton Foundation? A total Witch Hunt...

There we go.

 

[The Chosen One]

Well that answers my question.

It's going to be a Merry Mueller Friday.

 

[Surfinn]

I still think his "Leakin' Monster of No Control" is his most Trumpian line ever

 

[Absent]

While it seems odd, maybe the reason is that Trump can't strategize with these members of his administration because he'd basically have to admit crimes to them.

Trump: "They're gonna say I did X, so.."
Official: "Wait... you did X?!"

But while most organizations, political or otherwise, might take the time to prepare for this kind of slow-moving train, the Trump White House is all but winging it. According to a half-dozen current and former White House officials, the administration has no plans in place for responding to the special counsel’s findings—save for expecting a Twitter spree.

here are numerous other reasons no response plan has been produced, White House sources said, including the futility of crafting a strategy that Trump will likely ignore anyway. There have also been few frank conversations within the White House about the potential costs of Mueller’s findings, which could include impeachment of the president or the incrimination of his inner circle. Those close to Trump have either doubled down on the “witch hunt” narrative, they said—refusing to entertain the possibility of wrongdoing—or decided to focus on other issues entirely. Former Press Secretary Sean Spicer has even taken to treating the probe like a game: On Wednesday he tweeted a (quickly deleted) link where followers could place bets on “how many tweets containing #mueller” the president will send “before the investigation is up.”

It’s not that White House officials are altogether unwilling to confront the topic. But many current and former White House staffers I spoke to stressed the problem that has plagued them since the beginning of Trump’s presidency: making plans and sticking to them when the “communicator in chief” will, inevitably, prefer his own approach.

“We would always put together plans with the knowledge that he wouldn’t use them or they’d go off the rails,” one recently departed official told me. “And at this point, with Mueller, they’ve decided they’re not even going to do that.”

“It’s like, ‘Jesus, take the wheel,’” the source added, “but scarier.”

The dearth of communication about the probe has left the president’s top lieutenants on Capitol Hill anxious about the fallout, according to multiple congressional GOP sources. “We haven’t heard from the White House at all on this. You’d think there’d be more of an effort to have a coordinated response,” one senior Republican aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to damage the aide’s relationship with the White House, told me. “Members want to help, but can’t if they’re not getting any information.”

The president has also devoted much of his energy to following Paul Manafort’s case rather than prepping for the full report. “The thing that upsets potus the most is the treatment of Manafort,” Giuliani said. When Trump learned that the former campaign chairman was in solitary confinement, Giuliani said, “he said to me, ‘Don’t they realize we’re America?’”

Fun, fun, fun.

 

[Hours Left]

Fun, fun, fun.

“It’s like, ‘Jesus, take the wheel,’” the source added, “but scarier.”

 

[Weegian]

Fun, fun, fun.

This sounds to me like they think they'll be able to ride it out. Probably because the GOP holds the Senate.

 

[shadow_shogun]

 

[The Chosen One]

Holy smokes, he's in rare form even by his usual tweet meltdown standards. I can't even comprehend, he sounds like someone on an acid trip.

 

[Taki]

 

[Hours Left]

Dump: “Great companies, like Enron.”

 

[cameron]

It took him an hour to write a string of 5 tweets.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

It took him an hour to write a string of 5 tweets.

A few weeks to answer a take-home open answer quiz, sounds about right.

 

[Thaedolus]

It took him an hour to write a string of 5 tweets.

Dude there are 17 ANGRY Democrats to detail conflicts about, how fast could you do it?

 

[BWoog]

Indictments and Avengers 4 trailer let's go.

 

[Hours Left]

lol

I just saw “bye the way”.

Also:

 

[OléGunner]

Yeah, that's a damn good meltdown.
Excited to see what has him freaked out today; obviously drumpf got a heads up last night/this morning lol

 

[Diablos]

So this Bill Barr fellow:

The former attorney general hasn't shied away from weighing in on Mueller's investigation. He expressed confidence in Mueller early on and suggested the investigation wouldn't devolve into a "witch hunt," but he also has shared some disappointment when asked by The Washington Post last year about the donations that some of Mueller's team members made to Democrats.

"In my view, prosecutors who make political contributions are identifying fairly strongly with a political party ... I would have liked to see him have more balance on this group," he said in July 2017.

Barr also defended Trump's decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey, who was criticized for flouting Justice Department protocols when he announced in July 2016 that he wouldn't recommend charges against Hillary Clinton for mishandling classified info during her time as secretary of state.

"I think it is quite understandable that the administration would not want an FBI director who did not recognize established limits on his powers," Barr wrote in a Washington Post op-ed in May 2017. "It is telling that none of the president's critics are challenging the decision on the merits."

Not exactly an inspiring pick tbh. Potential of being a hack is definitely there.

 

[nature boy]

NBC was SO right! So Toned-Down!

 

[RustyNails]

Ok, what time are we expecting Mueller to file his legal briefs? Trump got spooked.

 

[Wilsongt]

BYE THE WAY IN THE REPORT

 

[aspiegamer]

CNN: John Kelly is allegedly set to resign in the coming days; currently not on speaking terms with Trump.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Maybe this is a reaction to the Atlantic piece? The entire article makes the WH look incompetent, and suggests Trump has not given his people anything to work with for a counter report. So his idea is to do what the article suggests - ride it out on social media with no real plan.

This is probably the only defense of what's coming. "The report sucks, Mueller sucks, the FBI sucks, this is unfair." No specific denials of any acts of wrongdoing because we're past that point.

 

[cameron]

Spoiler: Twitter Text

Kaitlan Collins @kaitlancollins

John Kelly is expected to resign soon, I'm told. Trump and Kelly are essentially at a stalemate in their relationship and it's no longer seen as tenable by either party. They have stopped speaking in recent days, I'm told. Of course, it's all ultimately up to Trump.

Brian Stelter @brianstelter

Just in: WH chief of staff John Kelly "is expected to resign in the coming days," @kaitlancollins reports, citing two sources. Trump and Kelly "have stopped speaking in recent days." And "Trump is actively discussing a replacement plan."

 

[Gazele]

CNN: John Kelly is allegedly set to resign in the coming days; currently not on speaking terms with Trump.

Uh-huh, we’ve heard this for the last six months

 

[Pockets]

Have yourself
A Mueller little Christmas
Let your cuffs be tight
From now on
There's every reason to indict

Have yourself
A Mueller little Christmas
All the papers say
From now on
Your crimes will keep you locked away

Here you are in Exhibit A
Old colluding days
Of yore
All your friends who were treasonous
Have revealed to us
Much more

Have yourself
A Mueller little Christmas
Tweet your last goodbye
Handing down your sentence:
The Central Park Five

Through the years the Trumps will be together
If the state allows
Maybe Hillary will sneak you in a Coke somehow
So have yourself
A Mueller little Christmas now

Pretty...Pretty...good!

 

[Diablos]

Why is Trump so scared to fire Kelly? This is the billionth time we’ve heard their relationship is in the shitter. And now it’s really really bad.

I thought you were supposed to be
a BUSINESS MAN who wasn’t afraid to FIRE PEOPLE Mr. Phony President

I mean if you can’t even find the courage to fire your CoS after all this time, and it takes this long... I don’t think there’s another indicator that proves how weak of an executive you really are

 

[BowieZ]

Ok, what time are we expecting Mueller to file his legal briefs? Trump got spooked.

If it's another wait until like 9pm I won't be able to handle myself.

 

[aspiegamer]

Uh-huh, we’ve heard this for the last six months

This seems super-duper mega imminent though. Like, potentially today levels of imminent. Not "within the coming weeks or months." Like, today today, with a replacement already in mind. And not on speaking terms with Trump sounds ultra massively extreme.

 

[GrapeApes]

Why is Trump so scared to fire Kelly? This is the billionth time we’ve heard their relationship is in the shitter. And now it’s really really bad.

Kelly is the one who does the firing. If Trump tried Kelly would just say no. Kinda like Seinfeld when George tried to breakup with a girl and she didn't accept.