Trump 17: James Comey and the Goblin of "You're Fired"

[AuntK]

DEAR CONGRESS: How about we quit worrying about who is leaking to the fucking PRESS and worry about WHO is leaking to the fucking  RUSSIANS??

[Rachel333]

Ha, my last thought as I was going to sleep last night was to wonder if Trump would tweet something that would make things worse for him, the way he did with the Comey firing and as he has done so many times before. 

[onekidanddone]

1 hour ago, fraurosena said:

Hands up if you think that trip will be drama and crisis free... 

What? No hands? Sheesh!

 Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

[Rachel333]

For the first time, more Americans support than oppose Trump's impeachment. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-impeachment-poll-latest-majority-americans-remove-president-a7738891.html

This poll was conducted before last night's story of Trump leaking info to Russia, too.

I'm not counting on impeachment, but we can always hope.

[Mela99]

I wish impeachment was possible . I just don't see Republicans getting the votes for it

[sawasdee]

Jennifer Rubin really is on a roll - she's now contrasting the two parties reaction to the intelligence debacle.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/05/16/two-reactions-two-parties-two-ways-of-governing/?utm_term=.e1811bdd9834

Spoiler

Quote

A member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a former prosecutor, Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), speaking at a Center for American Progress policy conference, responded to the latest debacle involving President Trump. Calmly, without invective, she told the audience that if there is a transcript then there likely is a tape. “We need to get a hold of that,” she said. “Our job is oversight.” She explained the risks to our intelligence gathering, our alliances and our sources (“It’s putting people in danger”) caused by Trump’s disclosure. She called for that tape to be made available and then reiterated her call for a special prosecutor and independent commission. Citing former director of national intelligence James Clapper, she said, we are “simply emboldening Russia” when we don’t take these events seriously.

Meanwhile on the floor of the Senate, Minority Leader Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said of The Post’s report:

First, if accurate, a disclosure of this type could threaten the United States’ relationships with allies who provide us with vital intelligence and could result in the loss of this specific intelligence source. . . . Second, if accurate, such a disclosure could damage our interests in the Middle East. We do not collaborate with Russia in Syria or elsewhere in the Middle East for the simple fact that we have diverging interests. . . . And third, if the report is true, the president’s alleged carelessness with classified information will further damage the relationship between the White House and the Intelligence Community – an essential relationship to the security of America. The Intelligence Community needs to be able to trust the president, trust that he will treat classified information with caution, with care.

He concluded that “in one fell swoop the president could have unsettled our allies, emboldened our adversaries, endangered our military and intelligence officers the world over, and exposed our nation to greater risk.” He called for a transcript of Trump’s meeting with the Russian foreign minister and Russian ambassador available to go to the House and Senate intelligence committees. He concluded that “there is a crisis of credibility in this administration which will hurt us in ways almost too numerous to elaborate. At the top of the list are an erosion of trust in the presidency, and trust in America by our friends and allies. The president owes the Intelligence community, the American people and the Congress a full explanation. The transcripts, in my view, are a necessary first step.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was more direct at her appearance at the CAP conference. The disclosure of intelligence to Russia, she described as “Totally outrageous. Totally outrageous.” She continued, “If unwittingly, that would be pathetic and dangerous. If it was intentional, it would be . .  . worse.” She argued, “Here he is putting Putin on a pedestal, undermining NATO, questioning whether we should even have sanctions . . . That is not in our national interest.”

Meanwhile, several Republicans proclaimed themselves “worried” or “concerned.” Some even called for answers or a transcript. But Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) played down the importance of the issue. “I think we could do with a little less drama from the White House on a lot of things so that we can focus on our agenda, which is deregulations, tax reform and repealing and replacing Obamacare.” That in a nutshell is the problem with the GOP these days — a glaring lack of leadership on the most fundamental issue (the president’s fitness and attempt to interfere with the FBI investigation) so it can advance discrete policy issues. The latter is increasingly unlikely to occur given the chaotic, untrustworthy president and the widespread opposition to the party’s health-care bill. But more important, are they really so partisan and so small-minded as to refuse to defend the country from enemies foreign and domestic? It seems so.

 

I wish Republicans in Congress could be as honest and clear eyed as this Republican journalist - but then, she's not beholden to donors, lobbyists, special interests....

[onekidanddone]

22 minutes ago, Mela99 said:

I wish impeachment was possible . I just don't see Republicans getting the votes for it

Once the Republicans are looking down the sights at 2018 they might change their tune. It worked for Nixon.

[AuntK]

42 minutes ago, Mela99 said:

I wish impeachment was possible . I just don't see Republicans getting the votes for it

There may be some other names on those federal warrants, and that might give some of those GOPers second thoughts. McConnell has made a boatload of money in Congress and so have a number of others. I'm sure the Russians have their hands on others in our government.

[kunoichi66]

3 hours ago, onekidanddone said:

Somebody please wake me up and tell all this has been one long nightmare since the the 2016 started presidential campaign.  

While they're at it, can they give me a wake-up call too?

[nvmbr02]

Wow. Just Wow. Can we say obstruction of Justice??

 

 

[AuntK]

Wow! MSNBC is reporting Comey wrote a memo about a meeting w/Trump on Feb. 14 when Trump asked everyone else to leave the room and asked Comey if he couldn't "see his way clear" to let this investigation on Flynn go. . . 

[47of74]

5 hours ago, fraurosena said:

‘Crisis of Credibility’: Schumer Comes Out Swinging

The link contains the video of the whole speech.

All of the quoted points above would lead to a "vote of no confidence" in my country. Do you have something like that in America?

I just saw your question.  Unfortunately that doesn't really exist in the Federal system we have.  Congress has in the past passed symbolic motions of no confidence, such as with Dean Acheson back in the 50s, and tried to pass one against Alberto Gonzales back in 2007 but weren't able to do so.  I suppose Congress could pass such a measure but it wouldn't be binding.

Main reason we don't have binding no confidence provisions was that we wanted to be different than the parliamentary system that the UK uses.

[Destiny]

New thread a bit early: