Top News Today –
Trump Scandal: Is This
The Beginning Of The End?
For the past several weeks, there has been one Trump scandal after another, with all roads continuously leading to the same destination: Russia. Could this time finally be the beginning of the end for Donald Trump?
Top News Today
As the old saying goes: “If it looks like a rat and smells like a rat, then it’s a rat!” Well, there’s definitely a rat stinking up the Trump White House — and it seems as though it’s about to cause the entire Trump administration to come crumbling down. Let’s take a look at the facts:
.
TRUMP SCANDAL #1: Michael Flynn
Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was forced to resign less than a month on the job, after it was discovered that he had regular secret conversations with the Russian ambassador to the US during the presidential campaign and prior to Donald Trump’s election. It was never clear why he felt the need to lie and keep conversations with Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak a secret. However, his actions only gave further credence to a questionable link between Donald Trump and a foreign entity. Although he has resigned, that doesn’t stop a full senate investigation.
.
TRUMP SCANDAL #2: Jeff Sessions
Calls for US Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign have grown louder after less than 3 weeks on the job, once it was discovered that Sessions also had multiple secret conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak. The problem for Sessions is that he lied under oath during his senate confirmation for AG, claiming he never had any contact with Russia, when in fact, he did. As attorney general, Sessions is charged with making sure everyone follows the law, however, it now appears likely that he himself did not follow the law. Although Sessions has since recused himself from any investigations into a link between the Trump administration and Russia, he will be forced to answer the charges levied against him in a special senate hearing today.
.
TRUMP SCANDAL #3: President Obama wiretapping
On Sunday, Donald Trump made the outlandish accusation that former President Barack Obama spied on him inside Trump Tower in New York. As usual, his claims were all without merit or an ounce of proof.
“Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!” Trump posted on Twitter.
In response, Mr. Obama took the high road and vehemently denied Trump’s claims that he ever requested any surveillance of Donald Trump at any time. However, IF Mr. Obama had in fact requested the monitoring of Trump, he would have had to convince a judge that there was probable cause Trump was a severe threat to national security in order for surveillance to take place. Now that Donald has opened his big mouth Pandora’s Box, he may have to explain why he would have been such a threat to force a sitting president to go to such lengths against a president-elect.
.
So, in case you’re wondering exactly how each Trump scandal relates to the other, here’s the deal:
For months, multiple government sources have made it clear they’re convinced that Russia interfered in the 2016 US presidential election, for the sole purpose of assuring victory for Donald Trump. Additionally, it is now public knowledge that various members of Trump’s hand-picked administration have now or have had questionable contact with the Kremlin. Further, Trump named the head of Exxon-Mobile and a close friend of Russian president Vladimir Putin as his choice for US Secretary of State. Ironically, Rex Tillerson has never held a government position in his life, yet he is now the top diplomat for the most powerful nation on the planet.
Coincidence?
Top News Today
Despite Donald Trump’s claims to the contrary, it looks as if he and several members of his administration have something to hide. Otherwise, Trump would cooperate and voluntarily call for a full investigation into his Russian ties in order to clear his reputation. Instead, he wants everyone to simply go away and stop asking so many questions. With that mindset, it’s easy to understand why the perception is just not that good and the optics are really, really bad.
In the world of Donald Trump, if you can’t tell the media to go away, you simply force them away via an old trick Trump has been utilizing for years: DEFLECTION.
With the heat of a Trump scandal getting hotter, Trump deflected by introducing the “fake news” story that former President Obama tapped his phones. Ironically, it’s the same tactic Trump used when NSA Director Michael Flynn stepped down and he introduced the “fake news” story that Mr. Obama was the cause of information leaking from inside The White House.
Calling Donald Trump the “Deflector-In-Chief,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke of Trump’s moves as “authoritarian tactics.”
“You make up something and then you have the press write about it, and then you say, ‘everybody’s writing about this charge,'” Pelosi said. “It’s a tool of an authoritarian, to just have you always be talking about what you want to be talking about.”
Pelosi then questioned Trump’s sincerity in a congressional investigation of wiretapping.
“And then to take it to the Congress and say, ‘you investigate this,’ when he’s not been in favor of Congress investigating anything, including what do the Russians have on Donald Trump, politically, financially, or personally,” Pelosi added, suggesting that Trump is not at all serious about his claims against President Obama and that it is a mere tactic of deflection.
So, wake up, America! Do not be fooled! Where there’s smoke, there’s fire — particularly regarding Donald Trump and his ties to Russia. Multiple findings of illegal contact with Russian officials by Trump and his cronies, while they were still private citizens is no accident. They were not in talks with various countries. They were only in talks with one: RUSSIA.
Something nefarious is going on and it’s time for the US to conduct a full investigation into Donald Trump once and for all. What is he hiding? Why won’t he show his taxes? What does Russia have on him that prompted multiple members of his team to hold secret talks with the same foreign adversary?
The answers to these questions and more could be the beginning of the end for Donald J. Trump.
.
.
TAKE OUR POLL:
DJ I had a feeling you were going to talk about this today. So I came in work early to check it out. Everybody knows Trump is tied to Russia but I can't believe Repubs would rather let a foreign country run us like that than admit they have a crazy person in the White house. How do you let Putin control Trump and you know it is happening just to brag you have a Repub president? There definitely needs to be a special prosecutor looking into this whole mess because that is exactly what it is. Like DJ said the whole thing about Obama spying on Trump is just his way of trying to change the subject. We should all be able to see through this trick by now. I vote start the investigation. I can't wait to see what happens when Sessions talks today
How do you elect a President who filed no taxes Who invites another country to check into your country internet system who makes statements with no truth to them is this a man that's running the United States
Now please keep in mind- WE (the majority of voters) did NOT vote for this dangerous fool. He won via the Electoral College count.
But it is a sad truth – 62,984,825 Americans considered him fit to lead this nation.
And via their votes they now own this mammoth-size *Clusterfiick.*
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” — H. L. Mencken
When I referenced H.L. Mencken's quote, last week, I knew it would not be the last time I would feel it fitting to do so. Not as long as Trump occupies the office of the president, anyway.
DJ gaves us the facts and he asked " Is This The Beginning Of The End?"
Given that the White House and our Congress (Senate and House) are infested with officials (elected and appointed) who are driven mostly by the 3 Cs – Craven, Calculating and Cynical- I'd say we're closer to the End of the beginning.
With the notable exception of very few people (like Ben Sasse, GOP Senator from the State of Nebraska who has been pretty consistent in (usually) NOT willing to tow the party when it comes to "good of country") there AIN'T a lot of *Profiles in Courage* to be found in D.C.on either side of the isle. There's mostly crooks, cowards, and just plain old rot.
I think this is going to be a slog. And the truth is, I'm okay with that because my biggest fear is this: if they get rid of this clown too quick he may be the only causality. I love my country. And I want to see Trump taken down. But I want his political end to come as a result of "death by a thousand {SELF-INFLICTED} cuts" so that he takes as much of the GOP down with him as possible.
Unfortunately, in order for that to happen, we must suffer this National embarrassment and total nightmare awhile longer.
In the end, – either "WE" the majority of the American people will demand that he be ousted.
Or WE deserve him and all the madness and shame that comes with having such a patently Unfit character as the leader of Our nation.
Sen. Ben Sasse on Saturday following Trump's explosive tweets:
"The President today made some very serious allegations, and the informed citizens that a republic requires deserve more information.
We are in the midst of a civilization-warping crisis of public trust, and the President's allegations today demand the thorough and dispassionate attention of serious patriots. A quest for the full truth, rather than knee-jerk partisanship, must be our guide if we are going to rebuild civic trust and health. […] Politico
And in response to Ben Sasse…..
Rod Dreher:
I agree with this a thousand percent.
President Trump has levied an extraordinary allegation against another president. If he’s going to say something that explosive, he has to show proof. If there’s proof, that’s massive news.
But if Trump is just airing conspiracy theories, then that too is massive news, though of a different kind. It means that the presidency is occupied by a reckless fool who thinks nothing of destroying the authority of his office and the institutions of government for the sake of gratifying his own ego.
Which one do you want to bet on?
I am sick of the drama. Sick of it. It’s all so unnecessary, and all generated by Trump’s lack of discipline. During the campaign, I wasn’t so worried about the policy goals Trump would likely pursue as president. I’m not a conventional conservative, and I was ready for disruption of the Washington consensus. What concerned me was Trump’s character, especially his thin skin, his quickness to anger, and his habit of rhetorical recklessness. These are dangerous qualities in a president, to grossly understate the matter. We see now what this can do. […] TAC writer
Slate Reader
In case anyone was skeptical that there are many millions of Americans who are eager to fall in line behind any person who confirms their biases — regardless of how demonstrably unstable they are — what more proof do you need?
This guy has a 40-something percent approval rating. Think about that. […]
TAC Reader:
The problem is that there seems to be nothing Trump could say or do that would make his base rethink their support of him. If it turns out to all be an invention, he will accuse the FBI of colluding with the fake news media, and like a dog returns to it vomit, Trump’s true believers will believe another lie. They’ll have to. They are tethered to this obese, megalomaniacal child forever now, because the cost- even just in terms of face- of admitting the awfulness of what they have saddled America- and the world- with will be too high to bear. […]
TPM Reader
The way things are going, his agenda is blocked because he's incoherent and the repubs don't know their elbows from their backsides. Plus their constituents hate them. I want it to continue till all of them go down together, sooner than later. […]
This asshat is the king of deflection. Soon as somebody calls him on something he changes the subject. He is not a real Republican. Get him out of there now!
America we are doomed.
Please forgive me DJ for going off topic for just a moment but THIS I really must share.
Ben Carson: Slaves Were Immigrants Who Came Here And Worked Really Hard ‘For Less’
WASHINGTON ― Ben Carson made his debut as secretary of Housing and Urban Development Monday by telling agency employees about the virtues of the “can-do” American society. Carson said this value system was best exemplified by slaves, whom he characterized as immigrants who came to the United States with very little and worked very hard.
“That’s what America is about,” Carson said. “A land of dreams and opportunity. There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for less. But they too had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great grandsons, great granddaughters might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land.”
Source: HuffPost
H/T: My cousin who alerted me to this absolute idiocy.