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

[CTRLZero]

14 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

To accept this timeline is also to accept that Trump was deeply disturbed by Comey’s treatment of Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign, despite Trump’s repeated public statements to the contrary. In fact, Politico reported that what actually incensed Trump was Comey’s public statements about the probe of potential ties between Russian hacking and Trump’s campaign team, which prompted the White House to reverse-engineer a process by which Comey could be fired — decision first, justification second.

[Source:  Washington Post opinion piece]

So, Sanders as spokesperson for Trump is saying it's time to move on, but at every turn the administration continues pointing back to Hillary.  The thought of Hillary and her 3 million votes will always be annoying him, like a hemorrhoid.  Ironically, I have an ad on FJ that asks me to  "Sign our petition and help us demand answers on Clinton corruption."  When will they get it that this particular deflection tactic is not masking the bigger problems this administration faces?  Russia, Russia, Russia...

[JMarie]

1 hour ago, 47of74 said:

I was reading the old Star Wars book Isard's Revenge and the heroes were gonna send Imperial leader Isard to a very secure and isolated prison where she would have minimal human contact and cared for by droids.  That terrified Isard more than anything, being isolated in a place like that, alone and forgotten.

I think the US and other world powers should build a prison somewhere on Antarctica for detaining former world leaders who try to subvert democracy.  Have it be a very secure and isolated, with minimal human contact. 

It doesn't have to be a supermax on the inside.  Hell it would hardly need to be minimum security conditions on the inside.  Just these things: totally isolated with only a few people knowing where the prison is, and with prisoners having minimal human contact.  I think no matter how comfortable the prison is, being isolated in a place literally in the middle of nowhere and away from their devoted followers would be the absolute worst punishment for such people.  They feed off ass kissing and if there's no one around to kiss their asses and there's no way to communicate with their followers then they can't feed off ass kissing and cause problems.

And NO Twitter!

[47of74]

1 hour ago, apple1 said:

I wonder how many more people will have sold their souls (and their former respectability and morality) on the Trump altar before Trump is out.

Add Rosenstein (I didn't know him, just going by news reports) to this list.

 

Other topic: Apologies for typos in my previous post(s). I'm pretty critical of my own spelling and grammar and sometimes after I have quickly posted, especially if I use my phone, I cringe. (I'm sorry).

That son of a bitch Grassley sure as hell did.  He sold his soul to Donald McFucknugget.  I have no respect for him now.

Hopefully the ACLU will be able to keep said McFucknugget, Kobach, or anyone else from implementing their final solution. 

kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article149757479.html

Quote

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has lost his appeal and has been ordered to turn over documents from his meeting with President Donald Trump to the ACLU by Friday.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson on Wednesday upheld an earlier order from a federal magistrate judge requiring Kobach to hand over the documents to the American Civil Liberties Union as part of an ongoing voting rights lawsuit against his office.

Robinson, who is based in Kansas City, Kan., was appointed by President George W. Bush.

Kobach met with Trump in November and was photographed carrying a document labeled as a strategic plan for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

 

[sawasdee]

Watching tRump reminds me of watching Thatcher - although she was 1000 times more intelligent. But we watched her dismantle the country.

So many of the great achievements of the 1945-51 Labour Govmt were overthrown. Nationally owned energy, so prices were kept low - privatised. Nationally owned transport - especially rail - broken up, sold off, and made both more expensive and more unsafe. The NHS broken up into Trusts - a prelude to a privatisation that - praise heaven - didn't happen - but multiplied admin costs at the expense of front line doctors and nurses. Selling off most of the military and police housing, so real take home pay was slashed. Making a third level education something you had to buy, instead of a right if you reached the academic standards, which invested in the future of the country.

 We saw the same results as the US is experiencing now, and which is tRump's and the GOP's aim  - a transfer of wealth to the wealthiest, and a marginalisation of the middle and working class.

The UK has never really recovered, and Maggie was not as draconian as the GOP, under WHICHEVER president , mean to be. tRump is making it easy for them at the moment, which is why they are willing to let a complete incompetent stay in power - the rolling back of Obama era regulations, and the introduction of those much more friendly to the oligarchs, is passing under the radar because of the shitstorms he is stirring up.

There is no way I can see a GOP Congress putting a single obstacle in the way of this - until his numbers are so low he is a hindrance, they will continue on their merry way. And when we did get rid of the Tories, we got Blair - who did nothing to reverse these policies.

If the Dems get in - hold their feet to the fire to make them reverse the damage the GOP is doing - if you can.

I'm very depressed. Been reading Wapo too much.

[GreyhoundFan]

"Inside Trump’s anger and impatience — and his sudden decision to fire Comey"

Quote

Every time FBI Director James B. Comey appeared in public, an ever-watchful President Trump grew increasingly agitated that the topic was the one that he was most desperate to avoid: Russia.

Trump had long questioned Comey’s loyalty and judgment, and was infuriated by what he viewed as the director’s lack of action in recent weeks on leaks from within the federal government. By last weekend, he had made up his mind: Comey had to go.

At his golf course in Bedminster, N.J., Trump groused over Comey’s latest congressional testimony, which he thought was “strange,” and grew impatient with what he viewed as his sanctimony, according to White House officials. Comey, Trump figured, was using the Russia probe to become a martyr.

Back at work Monday morning in Washington, Trump told Vice President Pence and several senior aides — Reince Priebus, Stephen K. Bannon and Donald McGahn, among others — that he was ready to move on Comey. First, though, he wanted to talk with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, his trusted confidant, and Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, to whom Comey reported directly. Trump summoned the two of them to the White House for a meeting, according to a person close to the White House.

The president already had decided to fire Comey, according to this person. But in the meeting, several White House officials said Trump gave Sessions and Rosenstein a directive: to explain in writing the case against Comey.

The pair quickly fulfilled the boss’s orders, and the next day Trump fired Comey — a breathtaking move that thrust a White House already accustomed to chaos into a new level of tumult, one that has legal as well as political consequences.

Rosenstein threatened to resign after the narrative emerging from the White House on Tuesday evening cast him as a prime mover of the decision to fire Comey and that the president acted only on his recommendation, said the person close to the White House, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Justice Department officials declined to comment.

The stated rationale for Comey’s firing delivered Wednesday by principal deputy White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was that he had committed “atrocities” in overseeing the FBI’s probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state, hurting morale in the bureau and compromising public trust.

“He wasn’t doing a good job,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “Very simple. He wasn’t doing a good job.”

...

But the private accounts of more than 30 officials at the White House, the Justice Department, the FBI and on Capitol Hill, as well as Trump confidants and other senior Republicans, paint a conflicting narrative centered on the president’s brewing personal animus toward Comey. Many of those interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to candidly discuss internal deliberations.

Trump was angry that Comey would not support his baseless claim that President Barack Obama had his campaign offices wiretapped. Trump was frustrated when Comey revealed in Senate testimony the breadth of the counterintelligence investigation into Russia’s effort to sway the 2016 U.S. presidential election. And he fumed that Comey was giving too much attention to the Russia probe and not enough to investigating leaks to journalists.

The known actions that led to Comey’s dismissal raise as many questions as answers. Why was Sessions involved in discussions about the fate of the man leading the FBI’s Russia investigation, after having recused himself from the probe because he had falsely denied under oath his own past communications with the Russian ambassador?

Why had Trump discussed the Russia probe with the FBI director three times, as he claimed in his letter dismissing Comey, which could have been a violation of Justice Department policies that ongoing investigations generally are not to be discussed with White House officials?

And how much was the timing of Trump’s decision shaped by events spiraling out of his control — such as Monday’s testimony about Russian interference by former acting attorney general Sally Yates, or the fact that Comey last week requested more resources from the Justice Department to expand the FBI’s Russia probe?

In the weeks leading up to Comey’s firing, Trump administration officials had repeatedly urged the FBI to more aggressively pursue leak investigations, according to people familiar with the discussions. Administration officials sometimes sought to push the FBI to prioritize leak probes over the Russia interference case, and at other times urged the bureau to investigate disclosures of information that was not classified or highly sensitive and therefore did not constitute crimes, these people said.

Over time, administration officials grew increasingly dissatisfied with the FBI’s actions on that front. Comey’s appearances at congressional hearings caused even more tension between the White House and FBI, as Trump administration officials were angered that the director’s statements increased, rather than diminished, public attention on the Russia probe, officials said.

In his Tuesday letter dismissing Comey, Trump wrote: “I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation.” People familiar with the matter said that statement is not accurate, although they would not say how it was inaccurate. FBI officials declined to comment on the statement, and a White House official refused to discuss conversations between Trump and Comey.

...

Within the Justice Department and the FBI, the firing of Comey has left raw anger, and some fear, according to multiple officials. Thomas O’Connor, the president of the FBI Agents Association, called Comey’s firing “a gut punch. We didn’t see it coming, and we don’t think Director Comey did anything that would lead to this.’’

Many employees said they were furious about the firing, saying the circumstances of his dismissal did more damage to the FBI’s independence than anything Comey did in his three-plus years in the job.

One intelligence official who works on Russian espionage matters said they were more determined than ever to pursue such cases. Another said Comey’s firing and the subsequent comments from the White House are attacks that won’t soon be forgotten. Trump had “essentially declared war on a lot of people at the FBI,” one official said. “I think there will be a concerted effort to respond over time in kind.”

While Trump and his aides sought to justify Comey’s firing, the now-canned FBI director, back from a work trip to Los Angeles, kept a low profile. He was observed puttering in his yard at his home in Northern Virginia on Wednesday.

...

Sam Nunberg, a former political adviser to Trump, said the FBI director misunderstood the president: “James Comey made the mistake of thinking that just because he announced the FBI was investigating possible collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign, he had unfettered job security. In my opinion, the president should have fired Comey the day he was sworn in.”

George Lombardi, a friend of the president and a frequent guest at his Mar-a-Lago Club, said: “This was a long time coming. There had been a lot of arguments back and forth in the White House and during the campaign, a lot of talk about what side of the fence [Comey] was on or if he was above political dirty tricks.”

Dating to the campaign, several men personally close to Trump deeply distrusted Comey and helped feed the candidate-turned-president’s suspicions of the FBI director, who declined to recommend charges against Clinton for what they all agreed was a criminal offense, according to several people familiar with the dynamic.

The men influencing Trump include Roger J. Stone, a self-proclaimed dirty trickster and longtime Trump confidant who himself has been linked to the FBI’s Russia investigation; former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, a Comey critic who has been known to kibbitz about the ousted FBI director with like-minded law enforcement figures; and Keith Schiller, a former New York police officer who functioned as Trump’s chief bodyguard and works in the West Wing as director of Oval Office operations.

“What Comey did to Hillary was disgraceful,” Stone said. “I’m glad Trump fired him over it.”

In fact, it was Schiller whom Trump tasked with hand-delivering a manila envelope containing the president’s termination letter to Comey’s office at FBI headquarters Tuesday afternoon. Trump’s aides did not appear to know that Comey would be out of the office, traveling on a recruiting trip in California, according to a White House official.

...

Within the West Wing, there was little apparent dissent over the president’s decision to fire Comey, according to the accounts of several White House officials. McGahn, the White House counsel, and Priebus, the chief of staff, walked Trump through how the dismissal would work, with McGahn’s legal team taking the lead and coordinating with the Justice Department.

Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, and her husband, Jared Kushner — both of whom work in the White House — have frequently tried to blunt Trump’s riskier impulses but did not intervene to try to persuade him against firing Comey, according to two senior officials.

Trump kept a close hold on the process. White House press secretary Sean Spicer and communications director Michael Dubke were brought into the Oval Office and informed of the Comey decision just an hour before the news was announced. Other staffers in the West Wing found out about the FBI director’s firing when their cellphones buzzed with news alerts beginning around 5:40 p.m.

The media explosion was immediate and the political backlash was swift, with criticism pouring in not only from Democrats, but also from some Republicans. Trump and some of his advisers did not fully anticipate the ferocious reaction — in fact, some wrongly assumed many Democrats would support the move because they had been critical of Comey in the past — and were unprepared to contain the fallout.

When asked Tuesday night for an update on the unfolding situation, one top White House aide simply texted a reporter two fireworks emoji.

“I think the surprise of a great many in the White House was that as soon as this became a Trump decision, all of the Democrats who had long been calling for Comey’s ouster decided that this was now an awful decision,” Dubke said. “So there was a surprise at the politicization of Democrats on this so immediately and so universally.”

Trump’s team did not have a full-fledged communications strategy for how to announce and then explain the decision. As Trump, who had retired to the residence to eat dinner, sat in front of a television watching cable news coverage of Comey’s firing, he noticed another flaw: Nobody was defending him.

The president was irate, according to White House officials. Trump pinned much of the blame on Spicer and Dubke’s communications operation, wondering how there could be so many press staffers yet such negative coverage on cable news — although he, Priebus and others had afforded them almost no time to prepare.

“This is probably the most egregious example of press and communications incompetence since we’ve been here,” one West Wing official said. “It was an absolute disaster. And the president watched it unfold firsthand. He could see it.”

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich said Trump bears some responsibility for the turmoil because he kept the decision secret from some key aides.

“You can’t be the quarterback of the team if the rest of the team is not in the huddle,” Gingrich said. “The president has to learn to go a couple steps slower so that everyone can organize around him. When you don’t loop people in, you deprive yourself of all of the opportunities available to a president of the United States.”

For more than two hours after the news broke, Trump had no official spokesman, as his army of communications aides scrambled to craft a plan. By nightfall, Trump had ordered his talkers to talk; one adviser said the president wanted “his people” on the airwaves.

Counselor Kellyanne Conway ventured into what White House aides call “the lions’ den,” appearing on CNN both Tuesday night and Wednesday morning for combative interviews. “Especially on your network, you always want to talk about Russia, Russia, Russia,” Conway told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Wednesday.

Sanders went Tuesday night to the friendly confines of Fox News Channel, but Wednesday parried questions from the more adversarial hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Spicer, meanwhile, threw together an impromptu news conference with reporters in the White House driveway, a few minutes before he taped a series of short television interviews inside the West Wing, where the lighting was better for the cameras. The press secretary stood alongside tall hedges in near darkness and agreed to answer questions with the cameras shuttered.

“Just turn the lights off,” Spicer ordered. “Turn the lights off. We’ll take care of this.”

Hmmm, sounds like Spicey may end up getting fried by this.

[sawasdee]

5 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

“Just turn the lights off,” Spicer ordered. “Turn the lights off. We’ll take care of this.”

Wapo has had 'Democracy Dies in Darkness' under its banner now for months - did Spicey see it?

[formergothardite]

31 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Hmmm, sounds like Spicey may end up getting fried by this.

Spicey probably knows a hell of a lot of secrets and I sure hope he starts spilling them if he is fired. I really doubt he has a ton of loyalty to Trump. 

[Cleopatra7]

1 hour ago, sawasdee said:

Watching tRump reminds me of watching Thatcher - although she was 1000 times more intelligent. But we watched her dismantle the country.

So many of the great achievements of the 1945-51 Labour Govmt were overthrown. Nationally owned energy, so prices were kept low - privatised. Nationally owned transport - especially rail - broken up, sold off, and made both more expensive and more unsafe. The NHS broken up into Trusts - a prelude to a privatisation that - praise heaven - didn't happen - but multiplied admin costs at the expense of front line doctors and nurses. Selling off most of the military and police housing, so real take home pay was slashed. Making a third level education something you had to buy, instead of a right if you reached the academic standards, which invested in the future of the country.

 We saw the same results as the US is experiencing now, and which is tRump's and the GOP's aim  - a transfer of wealth to the wealthiest, and a marginalisation of the middle and working class.

The UK has never really recovered, and Maggie was not as draconian as the GOP, under WHICHEVER president , mean to be. tRump is making it easy for them at the moment, which is why they are willing to let a complete incompetent stay in power - the rolling back of Obama era regulations, and the introduction of those much more friendly to the oligarchs, is passing under the radar because of the shitstorms he is stirring up.

There is no way I can see a GOP Congress putting a single obstacle in the way of this - until his numbers are so low he is a hindrance, they will continue on their merry way. And when we did get rid of the Tories, we got Blair - who did nothing to reverse these policies.

If the Dems get in - hold their feet to the fire to make them reverse the damage the GOP is doing - if you can.

I'm very depressed. Been reading Wapo too much.

One of the many books I'm reading right now is "Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein, which I highly recommend to anyone who wants to understand why free-market elites are so eager to dismantle not just Western governments, but those in the developing world as well. Klein mentions how Thatcher used the Falkland Island War as a distraction to crack down on coal miners, among other "entitled" groups. Some Fjers may know how Katrina became an excuse to dismantle the New Orleans public schools and low income neighborhoods. Since Trump claims to be bringing the ethos of corporate America to Washington, I'm already expecting a crisis to come up that will provide an opening for more privatization. However, with all these scandals coming up, I wonder whether Trump will even make it to the next 100 days (not that Pence is a much of a consolation prize).

[GreyhoundFan]

4 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

Spicey probably knows a hell of a lot of secrets and I sure hope he starts spilling them if he is fired. I really doubt he has a ton of loyalty to Trump. 

I tend to avoid watching him because he annoys me, but I'd watch a Spicey "tell-all" to someone like Anderson or Rachel!

 

Yeah, right: "Trump says FBI director told him three times he wasn’t under investigation, once in call initiated by president"

Quote

President Trump said FBI Director James B. Comey told him three times he wasn’t under investigation - once at a White House dinner when Comey was seeking to remain in his post, and in two phone calls, including one initiated by the president, according to an interview with NBC News.

In the interview, Trump made clear it was his idea to fire the FBI director earlier this week. Trump fired Comey on Tuesday, after receiving a memorandum from the deputy attorney general criticizing Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation. “Regardless of recommendation I was going to fire Comey,’’ said Trump.

The president said Comey told him on three occasions that the FBI was not investigating Trump, offering more details of an assertion he made in his letter dismissing the FBI director.

“I said, ‘If it’s possible would you let me know am I under investigation?’ He said ‘You are not under investigation’.’’

Trump said Comey came to eat dinner with him at the White House. “I think he asked for the dinner... And he wanted to stay on as the FBI and I said I’ll you know, consider and see what happens... But we had a very nice dinner, and at that time he told me ‘You are not under investigation’.’’

The exchange as described by the president is remarkable in that he says the FBI director was discussing an ongoing investigation with the president - something Justice Department policy generally prohibits - at the same time Comey was seeking assurances he would remain in his job. FBI directors are appointed for ten year terms, and Comey had been on the job less than four years. A president may fire an FBI director at any time for any reason, but it is very rare to do so because of the possible potential political blowback if the White House is perceived to be interfering with federal law enforcement work.

...

In the interview, Trump said he fired Comey because he had mismanaged the FBI and was an attention-seeker.

“Look he’s a showboat, he’s a grandstander,’’ the president said. “The FBI has been in turmoil. You know that, I know that. Everybody knows that. You take a look at the FBI a year ago, it was in virtual turmoil, less than a year ago, it hasn’t recovered from that.’’

...

 

Okay, that's priceless...the grandstander of all grandstanders saying that Comey is an attention-seeker.

[47of74]

There was this article about the local Branch Trumpvidian reaction to the Comey firing;

kcrg.com/content/news/Iowa-Trump-supporters-mixed-over-Comey-firing-422021744.html

Quote

"With his reputation that he has with Americans, and not everyone agreeing with his decisions, that he should have let the investigation go through before he made a decision like this," said Macey Kintzle.

"That's the way Trump is. He's quick on action. I don't think he should be that way. Sometimes its good. Sometimes its not good," said Dick Bockenstedt.

Nearby, former Dyersville Mayor Jim Heavens commended the President for making quick decisions in the White House.

""I think he walked into a tough situation there, and I would give him an 'A' for what he's done. As a former politician, when you start to clean up a mess like that, you're not going to be a flavor of the month with a lot of people," said Heavens.

 

[ViolaSebastian]

21 hours ago, 47of74 said:

Bitch would next be up for re-election in 2020. 

I hope the Democrats in Kentucky don't try to run what they consider to be a safe candidate against that SOB and get a hard, pipe hitting liberal to run against him instead.  We don't need any more safe or establishment candidates on our side.  We need aforementioned hard pipe hitting liberals, the kind who will plant their feet in peoples hindquarters and take names.

Ugh, I hate to say it, but I think Turtle is in there until he retires. Sorry guys, I tried to get him out in 2014 and the state wasn't having it. 

[RoseWilder]

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosentein is not very happy that Trump is trying to pin Comey's firing on him: 

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/trumps-deputy-attorney-general-threatened-to-quit-after-white-house-tried-to-pin-comeys-firing-on-him/

Quote

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein threatened to quit after the White House tried to pin Donald Trump’s decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey on him, the Washington Post reports.

The White House originally cited Rosenstein’s evaluation of Comey as the driving force behind Trump’s shocking dismissal of the man leading a probe into his own campaign officials. In a memo sent Tuesday to Attorney General Jeff Sessions (who had previously “recused” himself from Justice Department investigations into the 2016 presidential election), Rosenstein essentially provided cover for Trump to fire Comey, writing, “the FBI’s reputation and credibility have suffered substantial damage” thanks to Comey’s actions.

“I cannot defend the director’s handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton’s emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken,” Rosenstein wrote in that memo to Sessions.

But in contrast to the White House’s assertion that Rosenstein was the catalyst for Comey’s ouster, the Washington Post reports that Trump met with Sessions and Rosenstein on Monday and directed this attorney general and deputy attorney general to make a case against Comey for him.

According to the Post, when the White House narrative on Tuesday suggested Rosenstein was the impetus behind the president’s move, Rosenstein threatened to quit. Wednesday, the administration altered its timeline of Trump’s decision, but continued to cite Rosenstein’s role in Comey’s dismissal.

 

The Senate Intelligence committee met with Rod Rosentein today and this happened afterwards: 

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/senators-pledge-aggressive-russia-probe-after-meeting-with-u-s-justice-departments-no-2/

Quote

The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday vowed to press ahead with their investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election as aggressively as possible despite turmoil over the firing of the FBI director.

The panel’s Republican Chairman Richard Burr and ranking Democrat Mark Warner made the comments to reporters following a meeting with U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in the wake of President Donald Trump’s firing of James Comey this week.

 

I'm not sure if this is Trump-Russia related or not, but I think it might be, so I'm putting it in this thread: 

http://www.palmerreport.com/news/raid-fbi-annapolis-gop/2752/

Quote

After Donald Trump summarily fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday to try to fend off the bureau’s investigation into him, we predicted that the blowback against Trump would be fast and furious. Based on a report from a local NBC News affiliate in Maryland of a raid in progress, that pushback may already be underway.

 

 

[RoseWilder]

I have to leave for work in a few minutes, so I don't have time to post the article, but Palmer Report is saying that the FBI raid that's happening right now is the first of numerous Trump-Russia related warrants being executed!

 Damn, why do I always have to go to work right when exciting stuff is happening. 

[CTRLZero]

Sorry if I missed this up-thread, but did anyone else noticed that CNN's website is divided up with Trump-related articles on the top, and they've labeled it "Non-Comey News" further down (for everything else). 

[47of74]

1 hour ago, ViolaSebastian said:

Ugh, I hate to say it, but I think Turtle is in there until he retires. Sorry guys, I tried to get him out in 2014 and the state wasn't having it. 

That's exactly why we need to get a hard, pipe hitting liberal to run against Bitch McFornicatestick.  If our side is going to lose we might as well make a fight of it instead of just putting in a sacrificial lamb.  

[fraurosena]

19 minutes ago, RoseWilder said:

I have to leave for work in a few minutes, so I don't have time to post the article, but Palmer Report is saying that the FBI raid that's happening right now is the first of numerous Trump-Russia related warrants being executed!

 Damn, why do I always have to go to work right when exciting stuff is happening. 

I know what you mean, @RoseWilder! That's exactly what happened to me yesterday...

As it's evening here now, I've got time to take over the baton. Here's that copy of the Palmer Report:

Report: FBI raid in Annapolis is just the first of numerous Trump-Russia warrants being executed

Quote

In the wake of Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey to try to sabotage the Trump-Russia investigation, a number of political insiders predicted last night that the FBI would strike back in a major way today. Sure enough, the FBI just raided a GOP fundraising firm in Annapolis (link). But word is now that this is just one of numerous Trump-Russia warrants that are being executed.

One of the insiders whose sources correctly pointed to today’s FBI action is Democratic insider Claude Taylor. In the wake of the Annapolis raid, he’s now sharing the following: “Source in legal community reports large number of Warrants from Eastern District of Virginia being executed. By the FBI. Source reports frenzy of activity inside the EDVA, large number of agents, US Marshals. The battle has been joined”. He goes on to add more details about the goings-on at the Eastern District Court of Virginia, which Comey recently confirmed is working with the FBI on the Trump-Russia investigation.

“The basement of the EDVA was described as resembling a “judicial Armada” with a dozen or more FBI and US Marshals vans,” Taylor states. He goes on to add that the name of the GOP firm that was served with Warrant in Annapolis is Strategic Campaign Group”. Palmer Report has not been able to independently confirm that Strategic Campaign Group is the one being raided, and the original report of the raid from NBC affiliate WBAL did not mention the name of the firm being raided.

There are multiple Republican Party fundraising firms in Annapolis. But it is worth noting that Strategic Campaign Group has received scrutiny from the Federal Election Commission in the past. In any case, we now wait to see what these other warrants are and where they’ll be executed.

Holy strike back, Batman! 

 

[fraurosena]

Interesting. Very interesting, indeed.

About that White House claim that the FBI rank-and-file had lost faith in James Comey ...

Quote

One of the main reasons that President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday night was because the rank-and-file workers at the bureau simply didn't like Comey and, more importantly, didn't feel like they could trust him.

That was the line of argument coming from the White House on Wednesday via deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.[...]

During an interview with NBC on Thursday, Trump doubled down on the idea that Comey wasn't liked within the FBI. "He's a show boat, he's a grand stander, the FBI has been in turmoil. You know that, I know that. Everybody knows that," Trump told Lester Holt.

I'm not sure how that discussion of morale at the FBI went between Trump and McCabe. But at a Senate intelligence committee hearing Thursday, McCabe directly contradicted the White House account of how Comey was regarded within the FBI.

"Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the FBI and still does today," McCabe told senators. "We have a diversity of opinions about many things but I can confidently tell you the vast majority of FBI employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to Director Comey." He later added: "I don't believe there was a crisis of confidence in the FBI."

So, well, OK.

To take the Trump side of this for a minute: What was McCabe supposed to say? That people hated Comey? McCabe served as Comey's second-in-command and had been one of his closest advisers for years.

Sure.

But I think McCabe's comments were far more about him defending a friend who he -- and lots of people at the bureau -- believe has been treated poorly by the President and his senior advisers.

In fact, you can argue that sticking up for Comey is actually the least politically expedient thing that McCabe could do. If he wants to take away "acting" from his title -- and McCabe is one of the names floated as a possible Comey successor -- it would be in his interest to tell Trump, who you know was watching, that Comey was despised within the agency and that people are thrilled he is gone.

McCabe didn't do that. And by not doing it, he knocked down another of the foundational pillars of the White House's ever-evolving explanation as to why, exactly, Comey was fired.

 

If Comey hadn't really lost the trust and confidence of the FBI and this wasn't really about Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton investigation and it wasn't focused on Comey going around the chain of command or doing a bad job, then what was it about?

The answer, of course, is right in front of your face: It was about Donald Trump. Trump didn't like how Comey acted as though he had swayed the 2016 election away from Clinton. He didn't like that Comey kept pushing the Russian meddling investigation rather than focusing on the leaks coming out of the intelligence world. He didn't like that Comey didn't have his back on his unproven claim that President Barack Obama wiretapped him at Trump Tower during the 2016 election.

Trump just plain didn't like Comey. That's probably why he got rid of him. As McCabe's testimony Thursday makes clear, the idea that Trump's view on Comey was widely held within the bureau is simply wrong.

In light of that Palmer Report that @RoseWilderfound and I posted above, it seems that the FBI is standing firm and undivided. I believe that their investigation has found very damning and damaging stuff against the presidunce and his cronies, and it will only be a matter of time before the tangerine toddler is toppled.

Popcorn, anyone?  

[Cartmann99]

3 hours ago, apple1 said:

Other topic: Apologies for typos in my previous post(s). I'm pretty critical of my own spelling and grammar and sometimes after I have quickly posted, especially if I use my phone, I cringe. (I'm sorry).

I just assume that most folks are posting from their phone or tablet like I am, so I don't worry about any mistakes I see in the posts of others. I understand how hard it is to catch everything, especially if you decide to remove a portion of your comment before posting. 

------------------------

And now for something completely different...

When Devin Nunes recused himself as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, he asked my Congressman, Michael Conaway, to take over as the chair of the committee tasked with investigating Trump's ties to Russia

Anyway, Conaway had a town hall yesterday in my district. At the town hall, a constituent complained that his committee's investigation into Trump's ties to Russia didn't appear to going anywhere, asked him why she wasn't seeing any updates on the news about the committee, and to please tell us what was going on with the investigation. Conaway said that the investigation was continuing to proceed behind closed doors, and that we really shouldn't expect to hear anything until the investigation was completed. In answer to pleas from several people to please put country above party in regards to this matter, he said that he would, and that he just wanted to find out the truth no matter where it led.

I really hope he was being honest with us about putting country above party. I didn't vote for him, and we are complete polar opposites on the political spectrum, but as I've said before, I will definitely give him credit on this issue if he conducts this investigation as he said he would.  

Dammit, I can't find the fingers crossed emoticon, so here's some bacon .

 I'll post more about the town hall, aka Democrats participate in the political process, Republicans cry foul, over in the United States Congress of Fail thread later on.

[fraurosena]

As a vegan, I think I'll give that bacon a pass.  But here's the  you were looking for @Cartmann99. I've noticed that the FJ emoticons are different when I'm on my laptop or on my Iphone, and quite often I can't find emoticons on the one that I do have on the other, so maybe that's your problem too?

Anyway, I'm hoping with you, with fingers and toes crossed, that all these investigations will finally lead to the toddler's downfall. Preferably taking down all his cronies and enablers with him. 

 

[JMarie]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-trump-voter-fraud-20170511-story.html

Quote

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday launching a commission to review alleged voter fraud and voter suppression, building upon his unsubstantiated claims that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 election.

The White House said the president's "Advisory Commission on Election Integrity" would examine allegations of improper voting and fraudulent voter registration in states and across the nation. Vice President Mike Pence will chair the panel and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach will be vice chair of the commission, which will report back to Trump by 2018.

Seriously, dude, give it up.  The election was six months ago.  We can't go back in time (unfortunately).  And what makes you think you'll still be in office in 2018???

-------------------------------------------------------------

And then there's this: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-maybe-i-ll-release-tax-returns-after-leaving-white-n757836

Quote

President Donald Trump now says he's open to releasing his tax returns — after he leaves office.

When asked in an interview published Thursday by The Economist, Trump found no reason to make his tax returns public even if it means Democrats would get on board with his tax plan — a bare bones version of which was unveiled last month.

"I doubt it. Because they're not going to … nobody cares about my tax return except for the reporters," Trump said. "Oh, at some point I'll release them. Maybe I'll release them after I'm finished because I'm very proud of them actually. I did a good job."

 

[fraurosena]

Oooh, apparently it's a multiple choice! 

How the White House Has Changed Its Tune About Why President Trump Fired James Comey

Quote

Two days after President Trump abruptly announced he was removing former FBI Director James Comey, the White House is facing tough questions over how the decision was made.

Originally, the White House said Trump fired Comey after reading recommendations from the top ranking officials in the Justice Department, to whom the director of the FBI reports. But by Wednesday, as contradictory information swirled around the internet and Washington, the White House de-emphasized the role of the Justice Department officials and put more responsibility with the President, a narrative Trump confirmed Thursday when he said it was always his intention to fire Comey.

Here's an evolution of how the responses coming from the White House have evolved.

Trump Fired Comey Because Attorneys General Recommended He Do So

The White House initially made clear that Trump was acting on recommendations from the top ranking officials in the Justice Department, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. "President Trump acted based on the clear recommendations of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said in the statement announcing the news.

The White House also released the letter Trump sent to Comey, in which he tells him he decided to fire him after accepting recommendations from Sessions and Rosenstein, and a memo of those recommendations, which included Rosenstein's argument that Comey should be removed because of the way he handled Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server.

The thrust of these messages was that Rosenstein and Sessions had independently developed this memo and given it to Trump—which Trump's surrogates confirmed later in the night on cable television.

"Today’s actions have everything to do with what Mr. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, who oversees the FBI director and he’s been on the job for two weeks, but he’s been in government for decades and most recently served for President Obama as the U.S. attorney in Maryland. " White House Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway told CNN's Anderson Cooper in an attempt to explain the ouster.

Sean Spicer, when asked explicitly by Fox Business' Lou Dobbs if these plans had been in the works for a long time, said they had not.

"Let me just lay it out for you," Spicer told Dobbs. "The Director of the FBI reports to the Deputy Attorney General ... he made a determination that the FBI Director had lost his confidence, made a recommendation to the Attorney General, the Attorney General concurred with that and forwarded that recommendation today on to the President, who agreed with their conclusions, and terminated the FBI director's position at the FBI."

Trump Had Been Weighing Comey's Ouster Since Election Day

But conflicting reports, including one Sen. Dianne Feinstein relayed to an ABC News reporter that Trump had directed Sessions and Rosentein to look into Comey's tenure and write these memos, began to cloud this argument. Late Wednesday night, the Washington Post revealed Rosenstein was enraged after the White House pinned the decision to fire Comey on him, information the Department of Justice declined to comment on.

The White House, dogged by questions, changed its tune at the daily briefing Wednesday afternoon.

Trump had been leaning towards ousting Comey, said Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and the recommendations from the Attorneys General were, essentially, just icing on the cake, the "final piece" in formulating Trump's decision.

"Frankly, [Trump] had been considering letting Director Comey go since the day he was elected," she said.

Trump did have a conversation with Rosenstein and Sessions Monday, Sanders said. The two officials had come to him with concerns about Comey, which he asked them to put in writing. But, she reiterated, the President had already lost confidence in Comey, insinuating that the memos weren't as influential as originally emphasized.

Sanders reiterated this explanation Thursday on the network morning shows.

"Is the explanation different today?" CBS News' Norah O'Donnell asked Sanders Thursday.

"Not at all," she replied. "He had been pushed to the point where he was ready to make that decision."

Comey Had Lost Confidence of the FBI

Sanders also said Wednesday that the "rank and file" members of the FBI had lost confidence in Comey, a comment she reiterated on Thursday. However, this was disputed Thursday by Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who told the Senate during a hearing that Comey had "broad support" within the FBI and still does.

"I can confidently tell you that the majority, the vast majority of FBI employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to Director Comey," he said.

Sanders stood by her claim when asked about it Thursday. "I've heard from countless members of the FBI that are grateful and thankful for the Presidents decision," she said. "I've certainly heard from a large number of individuals, and thats just myself, and I don't even know a lot of people in the FBI."

Trump Says He Acted Unilaterally

Surrogates can never substitute for the President's own words. And when Trump finally spoke about his decision, it was clear his answers didn't align with the ones the White House was initially providing Wednesday, where, after an unpublicized meeting with Richard Nixon's Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Russian Foreign , he simply told reporters, Comey "wasn't doing a good job. Very simply. He was not doing a good job."

On Thursday, Trump expanded upon these sentiments, telling NBC Nightly News anchor' Lester Holt he was planning on firing Comey regardless of the recommendations from Rosenstein and Sessions.

"Regardless of recommendation I was going to fire Comey," he said. "He's a showboat, he's a grandstander, the FBI has been in turmoil."

Following the release of this interview Thursday, Sanders reiterated the timeline the White House had provided the day before, but also acknowledged she hadn't had the chance to have a conversation with Trump about when he had made the decision to remove Comey.

"I didn't ask that question directly, 'had you already made that decision," she explained. "I've since had the conversation right before I walked on today and he laid it out very clearly. He had already made that decision."

But, she insisted, when reporters continued to press her, no one in the White House was misinformed.

"Nobody was in the dark," she said. "If we want to talk about contradicting statements and people who are in the dark, how about the Democrats?"

Ugh. Not only do we have Stupid Spicer, now we have Insipid Sarah to contend with. 

[nvmbr02]

2 hours ago, RoseWilder said:

I have to leave for work in a few minutes, so I don't have time to post the article, but Palmer Report is saying that the FBI raid that's happening right now is the first of numerous Trump-Russia related warrants being executed!

 Damn, why do I always have to go to work right when exciting stuff is happening. 

I am trying to find the link again (it was a VA area news station), since I closed the window on accident but there is at least one article that is saying the raid is linked to the 2013 VA Governor race.  A little disappointing BUT who knows what other evidence will turn up.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/05/11/fbi-investigation-annapolis/

Quote

The president of the firm tells our media partners at The Baltimore Sun that the federal investigation ties back to a 2013 Virginia gubernatorial campaign.

The company’s work on the campaign of Republican Ken Cuccinelli led to a lawsuit after he lost the election to Terry McAuliffe.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

This is so true: "Trump’s new ‘voter fraud’ commission: A tool to help GOP win elections"

Quote

Today, President Trump signed an executive order creating a “presidential advisory commission on election integrity.” But no one should be fooled: the purpose of this commission is to provide ammunition for Republican efforts at the state and federal level to suppress the votes of Democrats.

...

But it’s as likely to find real evidence of voter fraud as O.J. is to find the real killers.

Like many things that come out of the White House, this commission has its roots in one of Donald Trump’s delusions. Plainly irked that Hillary Clinton won nearly three million more votes than he did, Trump said on Twitter in late November, “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.”

Trump kept repeating this bizarre lie no matter how often it was debunked. Apparently someone told him that millions of people are registered in more than one state, but failed to explain that it’s only because when people move they don’t write to the board of elections to cancel their old registrations. I myself may be registered in as many as five states; I couldn’t tell you what happened to my old registrations.

In any case, Trump somehow took from this factoid that 1) millions of people intentionally registered in multiple places, 2) they managed to be in both places on election day so they could vote more than once, and 3) they all voted for Hillary Clinton. As they are required to do, Trump’s staff had to go out in public and defend his ludicrous fantasy, and that defense soon turned into a pledge to create a commission to get to the bottom of things. So here we are.

That doesn’t mean that this commission won’t serve a practical purpose, because it absolutely will. The proof is in the person chosen to lead it. Vice President Pence will chair the committee, but given his other duties there’s no way to know how deeply he’ll be involved. The real power is likely to reside with the person who has been reported  to be the vice chair: Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state. Those of you familiar with the voting rights issue will no doubt say, “Of course it’s Kobach.”

That’s because Kris Kobach is perhaps America’s foremost purveyor of the myth of voter fraud, the false idea that huge numbers of people are voting illegally (especially undocumented immigrants; Kobach is also a fervent anti-immigrant crusader). He has gone on a years-long crusade to convince people that vote fraud is a gigantic problem that can only be addressed through measures that make it drastically harder for certain people to vote. Unlike other secretaries of state, Kobach has the power to prosecute people for voter fraud, and with that authority at his disposal and an absolute obsession with proving that this is a gargantuan problem, he has managed to obtain a total of 8 convictions for vote fraud. Exactly one (1) involved an undocumented immigrant.

This isn’t out of line with the evidence about voter fraud on a national basis. One comprehensive study found 31 cases of potential voter fraud in the entire country over a 14-year period during which over a billion votes were cast. Another study found 10 cases of voter impersonation in the entire country over 12 years. Republicans sweep that evidence away with a wave of the hand, and make this argument in response:

1. Without voter ID laws and other restrictions, it’s theoretically possible for one person to impersonate another person at the polls, even if it’s the most laughably inefficient way to steal an election.
2. We found this guy this one time who perpetrated that kind of impersonation.
3. Therefore, we need sweeping laws that make it harder for people to vote, particularly people who are poor, African-Americans, students, or others likely to vote for Democrats.

We can’t discuss this issue without acknowledging that the central pillar of the Republican vote suppression effort is making it harder for African-Americans to vote. The best you can say about it is that it’s likely motivated more by pure partisanship than by racism, but that doesn’t do much to make it less repellent. As a federal court wrote last year when striking down a law passed by Republicans in the North Carolina legislature, the provisions in the law “target African Americans with almost surgical precision.”

Republicans obtained voting and other data broken out by race, then used that data to design their law — requiring IDs most likely to be held by whites but refusing those African-Americans were more likely to possess, and eliminating the early voting days most used by African-Americans, among other things.

That’s just one state, but Republican vote suppression efforts have been going on across the country, and some of them are shameless in their discriminatory intent. Texas’ voter ID law, for instance, which has been repeatedly struck down in court, allows voters to use gun licenses but not student IDs from state universities as proof of identity. One Democratic study found that Wisconsin’s law likely kept 200,000 people — disproportionately African-American — from the polls in 2016, in a state Donald Trump won by less than 23,000 votes.

We should acknowledge that at this point the administration is paying a small amount of lip service to being bipartisan. They claim they’ll study vote suppression as well as voter fraud, but it’s a near-certainty that they won’t be addressing the organized, state-sponsored vote suppression that Republicans are engaged in. And they’re considering adding a couple of Democrats to the commission in addition to the Republicans who will dominate it.

We should also understand that there are plenty of problems with our voting system, because it’s spread across 50 states and thousands of counties and cities. There are lots of inaccuracies on voter rolls, but most of them don’t affect the integrity of the vote — if some joker fills out a registration form as Mickey Mouse of 123 Buttface Avenue, it might not be great to have that entry in the database, but it doesn’t present a profound threat to democracy.

The far, far, bigger problem is the things that make voting harder and tabulation vulnerable — the long lines on election day due to insufficient equipment (which somehow never seems to be a problem in wealthy white neighborhoods), the electronic systems that don’t create paper trails to enable recounts, and the laws that make it more difficult to register and get into the voting booth.

Let’s be clear: from President Trump to Vice President Pence to Attorney General Jeff Sessions (who famously prosecuted a former aide to Martin Luther King for helping elderly African-Americans fill out their absentee ballots), this is an administration absolutely committed to the use of vote suppression as a means to advancing the Republican Party’s fortunes. This commission will be a tool in that effort.

Exactly how, we don’t yet know. Perhaps they’ll find a few dramatic anecdotes (An illegal alien rapist cast a vote in Podunk County!) which will then be breathlessly repeated as justification for a new round of state vote suppression laws. Or perhaps they’ll come up with a national voter ID bill to impose on the whole country (which would be legally possible as long as it only applied to federal elections).

One thing I can promise you is that the commission won’t be taking an objective look at what really ails our voting system. For that, we’ll have to wait for a different administration.

Yeah, pretty much as expected.

3 minutes ago, nvmbr02 said:

I am trying to find the link again (it was a VA area news station), since I closed the window on accident but there is at least one article that is saying the raid is linked to the 2013 VA Governor race.  A little disappointing BUT who knows what other evidence will turn up.

Here's a link.

Quote

Federal authorities on Thursday searched the offices of a political consulting firm in Annapolis that has worked with Republican candidates nationwide and was sued in 2014 on allegations of fraudulent fundraising practices.

The Strategic Campaign Group says it supports Republican candidates on a range of services including mail, fundraising and telephone town halls. Its principals are GOP strategists Kelley Rogers and Chip O’Neil.

The firm has close ties to Republican consultant Scott Mackenzie, a treasurer for multiple political action committees that have drawn scrutiny for spending little money on candidates and instead steering donations to consultants, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Rogers said in an interview that he helped lead one of those groups, the Conservative Strike Force.

On Thursday, six FBI agents showed up at the third-floor office of Strategic Campaign Group to gather computer files and documents related to the firm’s direct mail and fundraising practices, Rogers said.

Lindsay Ram, a spokeswoman for the FBI field office in Washington, confirmed that agents were “conducting law enforcement activity in Annapolis, off Main Street.”

Rogers said agents appeared interested in records of his firm’s work on former Virginia attorney general Ken Cuccinelli’s 2013 gubernatorial campaign. Cuccinelli (R) sued the Strategic Campaign Group and the Conservative Strike Force in 2014, alleging they raised almost $2.2 million to support his campaign but steered little of the money to him.

“Our suspicion is that this is just a carryover from that,” Rogers said. “I think the facts speak for themselves, and we tried to give the agents all the information they could possibly need.”

The Conservative Strike Force agreed to pay Cuccinelli $85,000 to settle the lawsuit, and Strategic Campaign Group said it would turn over donor information.

The Conservative Strike Force has paid Strategic Campaign Group nearly $500,000 for services since 2011, according to federal records. The Strategic Campaign Group also received nearly $190,000 from the Conservative Majority Fund, another political action committee listing Mackenzie as its treasurer.

...

Cuccinelli -- a name that makes me shudder. I was so glad he was not elected.

[nvmbr02]

Wait...What? I am losing track of all the reasons Comey was supposedly fired. It doesn't seem too intelligent to me for the White House  to mention Comey fired and Russia investigation in the same sentence but...

White House: Removing Comey will help bring Russia investigation to end

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/11/politics/comey-fbi-investigation-russia-sarah-huckabee-sanders/index.html

Quote

(CNN)The White House said Thursday that removing FBI Director James Comey from his post may hasten the agency's investigation into Russian meddling.

"We want this to come to its conclusion, we want it to come to its conclusion with integrity," said deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders, referring to the FBI's probe into Moscow's interference in last year's election. "And we think that we've actually, by removing Director Comey, taken steps to make that happen."

The statement was a surprising admission from the White House that Comey's sudden dismissal on Tuesday may have an effect on the Russia probe. Officials have insisted the removal came because of Comey's handling of an investigation into Hillary Clinton's email server, and was unrelated to his oversight of the look into Russia's election hacking and possible ties between Trump advisers and Russian operatives.

Sanders said Thursday that Trump would "love nothing more for this investigation to continue to its completion."

But Trump himself has cast doubt on the investigation, suggesting any question of ties between his campaign and Russia are a "hoax."

Earlier in her briefing Thursday, Sanders claimed that Comey's firing had not altered the Russia investigation at all.

"Any investigation that was taking place Monday was taking place today," Sanders said, suggesting that was an indication that Comey's firing would not impact the ongoing probe.

 

 

[fraurosena]

Did Insipid Sarah just make an oopsie and reveal the real reason for firing Comey?

White House: Removing Comey will help bring Russia investigation to end

Quote

The White House said Thursday that removing FBI Director James Comey from his post may hasten the agency's investigation into Russian meddling.

"We want this to come to its conclusion, we want it to come to its conclusion with integrity," said deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders, referring to the FBI's probe into Moscow's interference in last year's election. "And we think that we've actually, by removing Director Comey, taken steps to make that happen."

The statement was a surprising admission from the White House that Comey's sudden dismissal on Tuesday may have an effect on the Russia probe. Officials have insisted the removal came because of Comey's handling of an investigation into Hillary Clinton's email server, and was unrelated to his oversight of the look into Russia's election hacking and possible ties between Trump advisers and Russian operatives.

Sanders said Thursday that Trump would "love nothing more for this investigation to continue to its completion."

But Trump himself has cast doubt on the investigation, suggesting any question of ties between his campaign and Russia are a "hoax."

Earlier in her briefing Thursday, Sanders claimed that Comey's firing had not altered the Russia investigation at all.

"Any investigation that was taking place Monday was taking place today," Sanders said, suggesting that was an indication that Comey's firing would not impact the ongoing probe.

Now how are they going to spin this one?