Is it Mueller Time? I don’t know. I want the #TrumpImpeachmentParty to really get going by New Year’s, but I’m starting to get really worried that the next two weeks are going to be full of some really crazy shenanigans. The Republican Party is going “all in” with Donald Trump and his banana republic dictatorship. All of this will make an interesting case study for This Is How Democracy Dies. So, what’s happening? There are several interconnected stories, so let’s do bullet points:
But Their Emails. Mueller and his team have apparently obtained “tens of thousands of emails” from the Trump transition. We’re learning about this because Trump officials just figured it out, because Mueller has been using the emails as the basis of some of his questioning of Trump officials. Mueller got the emails from “the General Services Administration, the government agency that hosted the transition email system, which had addresses ending in “ptt.gov,” for Presidential Transition Team.”
Team Deplorable is so mad about the emails. Keep in mind, Don Trump Jr, Paul Manafort, Mike Flynn and Jared Kushner were all working with the Russians to get their hands on the DNC and Hillary Clinton’s illegally hacked emails. But lawfully obtained emails from the transition by Mueller’s team? OMG THIS IS THE WORST THING EVER. The Trump legal team is currently making a Fourth Amendment argument, as in Mueller is violating the Trump team’s protections against unreasonable search and seizure. The f–king audacity of it all, right?
Democrats are worried that Trump will fire Mueller soon. Rep. Jackie Speier and Adam Schiff (both Dems) are raising the alarm that there are significant rumors on Capitol Hill that Trump is going to fire Mueller “before Christmas,” as in by the end of this week. Schiff is also worried that the Republicans in Congress are going to find a way to shut down the congressional committees’ separate investigations before the New Year. I wouldn’t doubt it – the Republicans in Congress are just running Trump’s playbook at this point.
Trump & the pardons. As Trump was heading out of the White House on Friday, he bloviated about a bunch of sh-t, lied about how everyone knows there’s no collusion (he literally has no idea what the word “collusion” means) and then when asked if we would pardon Mike Flynn, he said, “I don’t want to talk about pardons with Michael Flynn — yet. We’ll see what happens. Let’s see.” Stay alert, peeps.
When asked if he would pardon Michael Flynn, President Trump said he doesn’t want to talk about pardons “yet" https://t.co/oRINKinMoM pic.twitter.com/XkNPVOJko3
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) December 15, 2017
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Yea we are in trouble. Also troubling is that senators lobbied for specific tax rewrites that benefit them to change their vote. Pretty sure that’s illegal but anything goes at this point.
Democracy for sale.
Corker can eat shit.
Nicole – I doubt that it’s illegal. That’s pretty normal practice. If something is in a bill that badly affects their constituents, they make their vote contingent on changes that do benefit their constituents. Bills are always in a state of flux until the final vote.
The stupid thing is anybody voting for this bill because Trump, Ryan, or McConnell made promises to fix the bill later so their constituents or everybody aren’t hit so hard by it. The Terrible Trio are unlikely to make an effort to honor those promises. And Trump doesn’t even understand how to fill out a 1040EZ form and certainly doesn’t understand the tax bill (except that it will save billions for him, his family, and friends), so he is always just blathering with no intent to do anything later
We really need a tax calculator online that people can use to figure out if they are going to be winners or losers by entering their own data. This was done when the ACA came along and helped people see if it would help them personally or not. Kaiser had a good one, whoever did that should be able to do a tax calculator.
The irony of this email business is just too much
I doubt 45 will fire Mueller, the political firestorm that would result is to big a risk after the stunning election result in Alabama. The midterm elections are fast approaching and the Republicians can’t afford to piss off any more voters. They will need every vote they can get to survive.
What I can see happening is some major distraction to turn the public’s attention away from the investigation.
I think they might actually use Christmas as the distraction. Who’s going to go to a protest with a turkey in the oven and 20 relatives sitting in living room? These people have no shame/ ethics/ principles/ spine and it’s so sickening I can’t stand it. The Rethugs seem to forget that they thought that Mueller was the “perfect” person to be special counsel and now they want his head? Mueller must be close to taking the entire Republican Party down from the way they’re acting. Fingers crossed….
@Chrissy I agree with you. I believe they will use the Christmas holidays to try to remove Mueller. I know the dotard is saying he has no intention of removing the Mueller team. I don’t believe one word coming out of the whitehouse, just saying.
Johanathan Turley was on morning Joe this morning saying if he removes Mueller that would be suicide. I honestly believes the dotard and his family, and sicafans are trying to take over the country and make himself president for life. I honestly believes this. This morning Joe morning show was playing some clips of the dotard I had to walk away from the tv because he sounded so unhinged and crazy. I don’t know who can help, the republicans are following him like lost sheeps and the dems don’t have the numbers to do anything at this time. This is too crazy.
B n A fn, I also think firing Mueller would be crazy but as we well know Trump is not known for sanity. But I have to say the “president for life” fears may be going too far, even in Trumplandia. That’s what right wing nuts used to say about Obama and it used to drive me crazy since it was so patently false. I know these guys generally don’t give a crap about the Constitution or the rule of law but president for life seems a bridge too far, even for them.
Emerson, I know I’m not a left wing nut,😊but I honestly do believe he’s don’t care what anyone has to say or think he will do whatever he wants. Did you know Bannon believes they must tear down the country and all the rules and build the country to their likings. Have you seen the dotards tax returns, how do we know how the new tax plans is not a bananza for him, his family and rich friends. I see he has not given up his businesses while he’s president. I know under this new tax plan I will be worst off, I own my own home and the property taxes I usually claim will be eliminated, I live in the ny area and we will be hit hard ect.
I agree that this is the plan. They’ll try to oust Mueller on the 22d, assuming that no one will pay any mind since it is Christmas. And they well may be right, but if they do indeed go forward with the firing and Americans choose to put their heads in the sand, then this is truly the end of Democracy as we know it.
The emails were lawfully obtained, they were on government computers using government accounts, so they are the property of the U.S. government and are subject to inspection by law officials at any time. Trump had a lackey named Richard Beckler in the GSA whose job was to wipe the computers and make sure that the GSA never had access to them, but he sadly developed pancreatic cancer and died…………so Mueller got them all!
You can read about it here:
https://twitter.com/HoarseWisperer/status/942221228483469312
So now they’re mad. Because they are crooks, and Mueller has the receipts. If they end the investigation at this point, there should be a national outcry, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Thanks for that link, Tiny. It’s a great read.
Trump’s people have been telling anyone who will listen that he will go ballistic if the investigation doesn’t end this year. He may order Rosenstein to fire Mueller, but Rosenstein made it clear he won’t do so without good reason. So we’ll see what happens.
As an aside, I hope they reserve a spot in hell for Rupert Murdoch right next to Judas.
Ugh. I also worry that he might use Christmas as the distraction. Not only will the American people be busy and watching the Yule log on tv instead of the news, congress will be on break and all other government agencies will be closed for the holidays. Will they all file back and take action? Will they put it off until after the holidays and hope that by then there is a new crisis? Will they just blatantly not care and do nothing and say they’re doing nothing? They let him get away with SOOOO much already. We, the people, have let him get away with a lot. I keep seeing people say there will be a huge public outcry if he fires mueller but how large and how active? Many of us will be mad on Twitter and blogs. Many of us will express outrage to our friends and family. But how many of us will actually mobilize and head to Washington to do something? And if we do, will it help?
What do you guys plan to do if he fires mueller? What are our options? Protests? Petitions? Strikes? Honest question, does anyone here have a plan?
If he fires Mueller it will be a constitutional crisis, but Mueller is smarter than Tangerine 45 by lightyears. He knows 45 better than 45 knows himself. Going after the FBI and intelligence agencies, pissing off other countries has huge behind the scene implications. They have access to records he probably doesn’t even know they have and there is no way he can pardon anyone.
45 knows NY will step in and there may be connections to other states where he does business like New Jersey and Florida. If this goes to the states, New York, in particular, this will be epic on so many levels I can’t begin to tell you. New York doesn’t care what his base thinks, what Republicans think and know the voters in the state are all in and ready for it. You never want to fight an enemy who has nothing to lose, and they have tried to take him down for decades and there will be no political fallout for anyone’s career. There are most likely records here he never wants to see the light of day and evidence for a thousand crimes.
New Jersey is in Dem hands, and they deftly crushed Christie like a bug. It is different here, and he knows we know who he is. He has screwed over so many people, and all his past lawsuits and history is here. They aren’t afraid to bare-knuckle brawl with him, and that is the only reason Mueller is still there. It is why he went after Preet Bhara so quickly and why he is trying to stack the courts. His father’s nasty business ties will be exposed. There are mafia ties and of course the Rico act.
If he does, this DJ Fredo will die in prison along with Crooked Jared. They will dig hard into Melania, and he doesn’t want that because that leads back to Russia.
Russians don’t run this, and his enemies are powerful and much wealthier than he is. So go on 45. Please. Come home Donnyboy. *cackle*
He is definitely trying to stack the courts. He’s tripled or quadrupled the number of fed court nominees, versus BO in the same time period.
Regarding his wife — Some of us may never live long enough to see it happen, but methinks there may be a bigger backstory there. It may take 20 or 30 years to reveal all the complexities of the foreign ties he’s had. Then again, as seemingly dumb as the bunch is, it may only take another year or two!
Not everybody celebrates Christmas. And among those who do, some would be delighted to have an excuse to get away from their dysfunctional families for a while.
I’m hoping they will at least keep Congress continuously in session over the break, as they did previously when they were worried Trump would fire Sessions during a break. It just takes a few people to do it. And Hannukah came early this year rather than close to Christmas….
ITA with RBC. It’s too late to fire Mueller. The Trump Team has no clue which emails Mueller has nor do they know what specific charges Mueller’s team may be pursuing at the state level, which Trump cannot pardon.
It’s too late to pardon Flynn as well. As part of his plea agreement, he has already told Mueller everything he knew. He also agreed to cooperate with local and state officials (eg New York where the kidnapping plot occurred). If he does not cooperate and accepts a pardon, he loses 5th Amendment rights and could spend the rest of his life in a New York state penitentiary, along with his useless son.
All of which presumes the rule of law
Hmmm..firing Comey will be the tipping point; embracing Putin will be the tipping point; supporting the klan will be the tipping point; campaigning for a child molester will be the tipping point; demeaning the FBI will be the tipping point..and on and on. There is no tipping point..there is no behavior that the repubs won’t justify and accept..none.
And nothing has drawn the people to the streets en masse.
yep people believe too much in “tipping points”
I guess because they still believe people will do the right thing.
Newsflash they wont
All too often in the past, they haven’t.
It’s nice that Americans still have such enormous optimism but some of the kind of healthy pessimism that drew people to the streets in other countries might serve the country better at this point.
Also, if the economy were where it was in 2008-2010, people would have been in the streets. Glad employment is high, glad the market is high, but it’s masking serious weakness and lulling people into complacency. Great pain is, again, just around the corner.
This is so true. I feel sick…..
I think if he tries to mess with or rip up the constitution THAT will be what brings the people onto the streets. Am not American and even I know how dear to the American people the constitution is. Its a part of the fabric of who you, as a people, are regardless of political leaning.
Exactly! He’s not divested from his businesses. He didn’t show his tax returns. He’s a sexual predator. He has his family in the White House with security clearance and filling in for him at state events and international conferences. He put into action a Muslim Ban. He says horrible things about other world leaders and goads North Korea on Twitter. He breaks twitters rules of use every day and they don’t ban him. Why would his best friends forever in the GOP turn on him and oust him?
My God I hope American survives him and I hope the Republicans in Congress grow a spine and some balls ASAP.
I thought Rosenstein was the only one who could fire Mueller? And he indicated that he has no intention of doing so.
I am losing faith that this investigation will remove the orange nightmare. We have to vote in 2018 and 2020. The PEOPLE will need to take our power to the polls.
Think they discussed it at Camp David this weekend no doubt and hopefully he heard the word NO. Not that it matters with cream puff. Hopefully they scared the word no into him.
I agree — Camp David was show-down about Mueller. Cheeto looked low-energy and almost defeated in that pic of him returning to the White House. My best guess is that the transition team emails combined with Jared’s testimony (and Don Jrs, as well) point to serious prison time for Cheeto et al, and the best he can do is cut a deal with Mueller. That would be the rational thing to do — cut your losses — but that would imply some measure of sensibility, something which Cheeto lacks completely.
But having said that, I have no doubt he’s going to fire Mueller this weekend. Heads are going to roll once he’s in Florida — no one has been able to control him when he’s at Mar-a-Lago.
My only hope is that people will wake up to the fact that Cheeto is indeed completely comprised by the Russians.
Yes, firing Mueller would be bad news for the Republicans. But Trump doesn’t really care about the Republicans. He just cares about Trump. So if he feels safer firing Mueller, he’ll try to do it.
This all depends on how much Trump feels personally threatened. He may still think he’s protected by the Presidency. His lawyers may not have the knowledge or courage to tell him it’s not so absolute. Trump seems to think he can just pardon anybody, including himself. He might not realize that state charges will be ready to go also.
But my guess is that Mueller already has indictments ready to go. He knows how volatile Trump is, so he wouldn’t make it contingent on him still being on the payroll. Doesn’t the Grand Jury have something to do with that?
I also imagine Mueller will go to court and to Congress if Trump tries anything. If the Republicans weren’t being so stupid right now (Fox News is likely following their lead rather than the other way around), Mueller would be well protected. Trump will have to fire people at the FBI first, though. Don’t know how far he will have to go to get someone willing to carry out his orders. Nixon only had to fire two people to get to the one lackey.
The guy who was head of the government ethics office but resigned a while back, Schaub, has been openly calling for everybody to march on Washington if Trump tries to fire Mueller. That’s an interesting development.
Even if said emails were obtained illegally, I could care a less in this case. Not because of my utter disdain for Trump & Co., but because he stood at podium And asked Russia to hacking Clinton’s emails and find any missing ones. So don’t get up in arms about legality at this point.
Emails were obtained legally. We can obtain them too through a public record request
trump people are lying. As usual.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/amphtml/chrisgeidner/the-trump-campaign-claims-a-federal-office-illegally-turned?utm_term=.cj4A12gEe&__twitter_impression=true
My understanding is the Trump administration thought they had a guy connected to Guiliani, who would help cover the emails up but the guy passed away and Mueller was able to able to get to them. They’ve been talking to Mueller’s team not realizing he knew what was in these emails.
It’s legal the lawyers are hoping to throw out the idea that they were illegally obtained because they know they are in trouble. There’s rules and laws about anything used during transition and on govt servers. My parents had to sign a crap ton of docs just on the use of their computer, phone and laptop before they started their jobs. Believe me it’s legal.
And trump can fire Mueller but my guess is he is already prepared and has been turning everything he can over to NY because pardons don’t extend to state crimes.
Government workers are told that if you don’t want your personal information on the front page of the local newspaper or beyond, don’t put it on your government computer. They’re given all the rules about usage of government IT and they sign acknowledging it when they’re given access.
Trump’s lawyer is grandstanding for show AND making himself look like a fool to anyone with even minimal knowledge of public records.
I must admit that I am deriving some joy from thinking that Princess Nagini put some really personal stuff on that server that some FBI agent has had to read through and that she is now mortified at the thought. But then I remember it is Princess Nagini who is totally clueless.
Anything on a government device (phone, computer, server) is a public record subject to the Freedom of Information Act except for items exempted by statute or privilege. Government employees are told that they have no expectation of privacy when they use a government device and those devices are not for personal use. Any “privilege” exemption on the GSA server would pertain only to GSA policy development in process, which ends when policy discussions stop, some communications with the then chief executive Obama and “attorney-client” communications between GSA staff & GSA attorneys or DOJ attorneys representing GSA on specific cases. It would not extend to Trump’s attorneys- Trump waived that privilege using the GSA server. Standard operating procedure for FBI to get those records immediately. No duty for FBI to tell Trump, notice went to GSA, which also had no duty to tell Trump.
All of us can request those emails through a FOIA request.
Exactly. Even regular citizens have no expectation of privacy when using company email addresses, so for Trump and pals to claim otherwise shows yet again how ignorant they are.
Although, the general public can’t get access to a company’s electronic records, but the company can release them in any way it wants. But GSA records must be maintained and archived for years and anyone of us can ask to see them.
Yes, makes sense. I guess my point was that nothing is personal and private unless it’s your personal email. And even then not necessarily.
Why hasn’t the press requested these emails yet? Or in the past? If they’re subject to FOIA, you would think they would be requested, written about, and published by newspapers much more often.
I hope Mueller has a mechanism in place so that if trump fires him, ALL the information is public record – like every. single. e-mail. All of Flynn’s testimony. Tapes of interviews. Whatever they have. Comey was was taken by surprise when he was fired – and he was fired in L.A. as well, so not even at FBI headquarters – and he was able to use documents and the NY Times to point to obstruction. Mueller has been on the verge of being fired since he took on this job. And he’s as smart as the administration is stupid.
Muller isn’t dumb and know there is a big risk of being fired. Bet he does have a plan to hand it over to state AGs. It would be funny if Trump ends up being prosecuted through the NY AG. New York alone could down Trump.
If he fired Mueller after all of these guilty pleas, arrests , and more proof being found every day, it would show how scared Trump really is.
Of course he’s going to fire him and of course the GOP will do everything in its power to kill every aspect of what he’s found so far. They’re all too deep in it to let it continue and I’m willing to bet that 45 is going to drop that bomb as soon as the bill masquerading as tax reform is shoved through.
I’m hopeful that Mueller is smarter than the GOP is treasonous and deceitful and has plans in place for the inevitability of his firing.
I don’t think Trump can fire Mueller directly. Rod Rosenstein is in charge of Mueller. Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation. Trump would have to fire Sessions, appoint a new or interim AG, and that AG could fire Rosenstein and Mueller, as I understand it. It’s important to pay attention, though, because Christmas is a perfect time for any shenanigans and I definitely expect the Trump admin to take full advantage. Move On.org is organizing immediate protests if Mueller is fired and you can sign up for alerts with them.
I believe the dotard will fire Rosenstein and appoint someone who is willing to fire Mueller like what Nixon did at the Saturday night massacre. Fax news are going crazy asking for mueller’s Head this woman Pero is screaming for a Mueller to be arrested. Whatever Mueller found on those emails must be bad because all of them are running around like they are on 🔥. Strange they don’t want Mueller to have the dotard’s email but the dotard was on the campaign stump begging Russia for Hillary’s 30,000 emails.this thing is so crazy 😜 I have to cut down watching most of what is reported so I can keep my sanitary.
Anyone heard that Putin called the dotard twice in two days to thank him for giving him the info from the CIA to prevent some a hit in Russia. Btw, when did Russia gave us a tip to stop a massacre in the USA? This is my opinion, I believe Putin has compromise the dotard and he’s a Russian agent. I don’t put anything pass this man.
He is but doesn’t comprehend that he is compromised and sincerely believes he is not quilty of anything. He has been laundering money for Russia for decades. This is all going to come out because I imagine enough people hate working with, just plain hate Trump & they want to see him go down. Ryan and Pence have setup Trump like it’s a godfather movie pretty soon he gonna wake up with the horses head next to him as he screams away.
Putin did that not as a real Thank You but as a move behind a move. He hated Obama because he couldn’t outmaneuver him.
Putin isn’t the boogeyman he likes to seem and he is the puppet of others. He thinks 45 is an unhinged lunatic and not a good investment and I wouldn’t be surprised if he weren’t tired of him. None of their big money plans have worked out and he keeps publicly announcing what they talk about and do.
He knows 45 will be gone one day and he still needs to deal with us.
“This report examines why President Trump cannot easily bring an end to the Russia investigation by firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Authors Noah Bookbinder, Norman Eisen, and Caroline Fredrickson explain that Deputy Attorney Rod Rosenstein, not President Trump, is the one who has authority to fire Mueller. While President Trump might compel others to do so on his behalf or instruct the attorney general to revoke DOJ’s special counsel regulations, the risks of doing so are prohibitive. History warns that he would be risking his presidency, not to mention increasing his exposure to charges of obstruction of justice. In addition, we explain that any firing could be subject to court challenge by Special Counsel Mueller, his staff, and possibly other parties. Mueller’s dismissal also would not necessarily bring an end to the investigation that he is leading. Finally, we review the ways in which Congress might make it even harder for President Trump to end the Russia investigation by codifying the special counsel regulations and pre-committing to a course of action that would deter interference with the Russia investigation.
This memorandum was prepared for the Presidential Investigation Education Project, a joint initiative by ACS and CREW to promote informed public evaluation of the investigations by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and others into Russian interference in the 2016 election and related matters. This effort includes developing and disseminating legal analysis of key issues that emerge as the inquiries unfold and connecting members of the media and public with ACS and CREW experts and other legal scholars who are writing on these matters.”
https://www.acslaw.org/acsblog/let%E2%80%99s-recap-why-trump-cant-easily-remove-mueller%E2%80%94and-what-happens-if-he-tries
Trump is so computer illiterate that he probably hasn’t thought about the fact that many of us have little web-enabled computers in our pocket that can receive e-mail and texts as well as phone calls. Plus we can check things online and on Twitter any time. Word travels very fast these days. Even the former government ethics office guy Schaub says we should all hit the streets if Trump fires Mueller.
Anybody able and willing to go to D.C. for this needs to treat it like being in the late stages of pregnancy, liable to go into labor any minute. Have your little bag packed and your transportation ready wherever you will be.
Every day this nightmare get worse
I doubt Mueller is going to get fired but even if he does the FBI investigation continues. It doesn’t stop with his firing. I think most of the people commenting are forgetting this. And investigations like this take years, not months.
I’m guessing that Mueller has all of his ducks in a row. He’s been 10 steps ahead of Trump this whole time, I’m sure he has a clearly detailed plan for how his team would move forward in the case of his firing.
Exactly.
Everyone.
Relax.
Mueller’s got this. He has contingency plans. Layers, donkey, layers.
Fear not because Emperor Zero is royally f$#ked.
Yes, thank you.
People are so used to Dump getting away with everything and all the division, that they’re expecting for of the same.
I don’t think he will get away with this one. Fox News peeps can scream all they want.
Eric, you’re always a voice of reason and I pray you’re right. It’s hard to sustain optimism when Every. Single. Day. brings a shitstorm.
Thank you, Eric. I’m not kidding, just reading your words made my rising hysteria dissipate a little bit. It reminds me of the Obama meme that went around during his campaigns, which calmed me like nothing else:
https://tech.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Ben-Huh-Obama.jpg
Eric, I cling to what you say. Sending up silent prayers that you are right, but in the meantime, your words are a comfort.
Mr Mueller has been planning for this week since he took over the investigation from Comey and the FBI. Mind you, it’s going to be the mother of all Super Bowl showdowns this week but Mueller will drop a royal flush while trump and his lawyers drop two deuces. As in #2.
Keep your heads up!
Eric, by #2 are you referring to Pence? Thank you for keeping us informed and dare I say it optimistic…..
Say a few prayers for good weather so people can get it Washington DC quickly and safely if needed. I imagine private vehicles will be needed since everything is likely to be booked solid for the holidays. People in the local area could fill in for the rest of us as immediate action.
Now there’s a thought. Have designated poster holders for people elsewhere. “I’m here for x number of people in Podunk, Illinois” kind of thing.
Eric thankyou for your continued optimism, I hope you are correct.
TV talking heads have to fill their shows with “what if’s”. I guess that also helps keep us on our toes.
Yet RM and his team are far smarter and well versed than all of Tweeto’s gang, who clearly aren’t the brightest bulbs and are months behind on what is going on. RM has kept an airtight lid on what’s really happening.
Thank you, dear Eric. 🙂
Okay. I’m starting to channel Cersei.
LOL!
For those who say Mueller can’t get fired, if he does get fired, what would happen? Americans will get hysterical for two weeks and life would go on. When the ‘Muslim ban’ happened, many states took the ‘FG to court but the ‘FG won at the Supreme Court. Now the Muslim ban is in full effect and the heavens didn’t fall. Fox has the highest ratings on Cable News i. US and sites like Brietbat has increased subscribers. What does that tell you? The Republicans control Congress, so If Trump fires Muller, he wont be impeached.
Not really. Their ratings have slipped, and the other two networks have gained. Remember that my fellow Millenials get a lot of news online and watch those shows online and segments on Yout Tube. If Fox were successful 45’s popularity wouldn’t be so low. Fox is a joke, and if things happen like they are saying very soon, some allegations may burn their shixshow in the arx. There is a lot of misery behind the scenes, and they had better hope their secrets stay secret.
Please, Lords of gossip grant us this scandal!
I hope he goes for it. Fire Mueller, show how scared you are.
I was getting nervous based on all the text messages I was getting about what to do if this happens, but I really don’t think he can fire Mueller this week. Wouldn’t he have to fire and then replace Rosenstein first as he has made it clear he would not fire Mueller. This would take more than 4 days.
Or does trump have another options? Another way of firing Mueller?
Do you believe anything this dotard has to say? I don’t.
As far as I know, it’s through the Attorney General, who has recused himself from anything Russia, or the Deputy AG, Rosenstein. Trump could replace either, and get a new AG whose history does not require recusal, or a new Deputy AG.
Meanwhile, doing their best with the help of Fox et al. to at least discredit the FBI and Mueller, to make it easier for Republicans to look the other away.
He has other options, but there is no way out.
I think that the Trumpkins are boxed in. The Law is clearly on their heels. They are going down. I read a comment from someone the other day saying that this new GOP/FoxNews attack on Mueller’s credibility is their attempt to discredit his work–and a tell that they do not have the power to stop the investigation. When I feel discouraged, I just remember that the leaks we are seeing now are things that Mueller and his team have been doing many months ago. This is not Mueller’s first rodeo. He knew all about Trump before he became Special Prosecutor.
Yesterday’s AM Joy was very disturbing. Joy and her guests gave a very grim picture of what we should expect, and it’s even worse than I thought.
I think they had a plan in place to fire Mueller before the Alabama election. I think it was-Roy Moore was expected to win and then wouldn’t be seated. Jeff Sessions would then resign as AG and go back to his Senate seat. Trump would then appoint Rudy G,Chris Christie,or Jeanine Pirro as AG who would’ve then fired Mueller.
This Tweet thread clearly articulates what’s been in the back of my mind about the media coverage:
https://twitter.com/docrocktex26/status/942780227176017920
In short: Stop showing him the way and start stating that if he even dares try, it’s obstruction of justice & worse.
Ratings.
God, I love Doc Rox. Or Propane Jane – it’s unclear to me by which handle we address twitterers.
She’s so clear headed and righteous. I also wonder when she finds time to do her job!
I mean, go ahead and try, Donnie, try as if Mueller hasn’t got a number of dead man switches built into the machine.
The Special Counsel spox actually made a single sentence statement this weekend. It involved the word “criminal” twice. I believe that was a “pipe down and let us do our damn job” shot across the GOP bow.
The level of vitriol directed at this man by his own party should tell you everything you need to know about the current Republican party. Mueller is a dedicated Republican who came to power under Bush, and he’s a decorated veteran with significant military experience. All of this fits into the narrative of what a “good and respectful” American citizen should be, but because he threatens their status quo, they’re ripping him apart. They call Democrats divided? These people eat their own.
Michael Flynn is taking his lumps because he wants to keep his kid out of jail. Trump’s putintive, er, I mean, putative pardon will mess that up but only on a federal level. Mueller seems to have several state AGs in the loop ready to go if he gets fired.
I trust Mueller’s got this.
Sorry, could someone please clarify for me:
Is the fact that Session recused himself the reason Trump cant have Mueller fired? Like, he has to replace Sessions to get his way? Isnt there someone below Sessions who’d have the authority? I mean, its difficult for me to imagine that someone is unfireable.
(I tried googling “why cant trump have mueller fired” but it doesnt provide helpful links.)
Yes–Sessions would be the one to fire Mueller, but since Sessions had to recuse himself (because he’s neck deep in all of the Russia stuff), he can’t. At the moment it would be the next guy down from Sessions, Rod Rosenstein. But as recently as Dec. 13th he testified before Congress that he sees no reason to fire Mueller and that Mueller is doing his job as he should be. It’s widely suspected that Rosenstein would refuse to fire Mueller if Trump ordered him to do so (and would either resign or Trump would axe him). So Trump could fire Sessions and appoint an interim Att’y general in his place who would be a Trump minion and do his bidding. Or he could go down the chain of command and fire assistant AGs until he finds one who will fire Mueller.
Thank you!
Sounds like getting rid of Mueller would be a lot of work, and it wouldnt stop the investigation I assume. So it seems a bit unlikely that Trump would be cabable of pulling that off 😝
Sessions is in deep trouble, and he most certainly DOES not want the attention. I do not see him lasting much longer. BoJeffrey will have time soon to mend his family collection of retro and vintage original klan robes.
Mueller had better hurry up and expose the goods on Trump before Trump and his putrid enablers lock up Mueller instead.
I just want to add something to this to think about Roger Stone’s plot to get rid of key people. Franken sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he is the one that forced the lie out of Sessions that made him recuse himself. If 45 fires Mueller we will need his voice there, and no replacement will have the seniority or the audience to make sure the answers are heard. Push back on this; I promise this was a conspiracy.
They have made other attempts that have failed and not been heavily reported and found to be false. This is real, and they are trying to win with Nixonian tactics. Demand investigations so they can’t take our movement and sully it with their power grabs, and we have to rid ourselves of this deranged lunatic.