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Mueller asked for no charges …But he did NOT say things where right…Open Thread for July 24, 2019…

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He presented almost 500 pages of information….

He presented several cases that WOULD get anyone else in trouble…

But he has said repeatedly that Justice Department policy means he couldn’t change Trump with anything…

Former special counsel Mueller opened his session with the House Intelligence Committee pushing back against President Trump’s criticisms of his prosecutors’ work.

“It is not a witch hunt,” Mueller said, flatly, after he was asked by Schiff if Trump’s repeated statements about the special counsel investigation were accurate.

Mueller agreed that Russia interfered in the 2016 election and that the Trump campaign appeared to welcome that help. Trump, he agreed, had publicly called on the Russians to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails. Trump also pursued a business deal in Moscow while running for president. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, had responded “I love it,” when asked if he was interested in dirt on Clinton provided as part of a Russian government effort to help his father.

And Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos all lied to the FBI.

“A number of persons that we interviewed in our investigation did lie,” Mueller said….

…

Six aides and associates of President Trump were charged with crimes as part of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation….

…

Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) focused brief questions on the impact of false information provided to investigators looking into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“Let’s talk about lies,” she said, asking Mueller about his experience with witnesses who did not tell the truth. Mueller said he recalled a range of problematic witnesses “including those not telling the whole truth and those who were outright liars.”

Demings asked whether it was correct to say that “lies impeded the investigation.”

Mueller responded: “I would generally agree with that.”…

…

He also pushed back when Reschenthaler said the team had decided not to indict the president. “No,” Mueller said. “We made a decision not to decide whether to prosecute or not.”…

….

In one of the most notable moments of the hearing, Mueller seemed to contradict himself and his report with what appeared to be a bombshell admission to Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.). Asked if the reason he “did not indict Donald Trump is because of OLC opinion stating that you cannot indict a sitting president.”

“That is correct,” Mueller said.

That suggestion — that but for Justice Department regulations, Mueller would have indicted Trump — seemed a critical departure from what Mueller wrote in his report, which is that he never addressed the question of whether the president could be indicted because Justice Department regulations prevented him from doing so.

More…

Note….

The date for thread has been changed to July 24, 2019….

I have NO idea why I made it July 12 originally🙄

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  2. Just to stir the pot…

    FoxNews Poll from yesterday….Trump approval among Republicans?87%

    I reiterate Trump remains Overwhelmingly popular among GOPers and there exist no evidence that his approval among them is waning.

  3. Bill Weld called Trunp a “raging racist”.

    I would think that any Republican who wants to rid the party of Donald Trump would definitely line up behind Weld.

    Kasich, Romney, Ben Sasse?

    They ain’t running.

      • For those three? My guess is some hemming and hawing. I doubt any will outright endorse Weld

        • Yeah I agree.

          If any of them might,it would be Kasich who pretty much denounces Trump.Romneys criticism is fairly muted, while Sasse ,apparently after discovering that anti Trumpism doesn’t sell among GOPers in Nebraska ,is rarely heard from anymore.

    • Apparently one of those Republican women–Susan Collins–has not decided whether or not to run for reelection next year.

      Retirement might be preferable than an uphill battle to keep her seat.

      • I have absolutely no handle on Downeast politics, but remember that the GOP of Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and William Cohen is also the party of Paul LePage.

  5. Breaking:

    The Supreme Court handed President Trump a major victory by clearing the way for him to divert $2.5 billion from the military’s budget and use it to build an extra 100 miles of border wall.

    LA Times….

    post later

      • ElectionProjection finally did show up on my screen in Google Chrome (although unfortunately, I don’t think Apple has a Safari that works with Windows 10).

        It appears that neither RealClearPolitics, https://www.Electoral-Vote.com nor Election Projection have yet started their maps or tables for the 2020 Electoral College

  7. California has again passed a bill requiring a presidential candidate to make his tax return public in order to appear on state ballots.

    A previous measure to accomplish this was vetoed by then Gov. Jerry Brown.

    Now Gov. Gavin Newsome is deciding whether to sign the present act.

    While I think presidential candidates should release their tax returns,I don’t believe there should be a law requiring such.In my view, releasing ones tax return is a political move and that’s where it should stay.The voters can make their own judgment as regards a failure of a candidate to do so.

    • New York State has a LAW that offers Donald Trump’s state tax return to House Ways and Means committee head….

      Trump is already filed a suit against the law….

    • Trump and his father owned large apartment complexes in Queens back in the day…

      They where cited for discriminatory renting practices…

      He is a old pro at race problems…

  10. FLASH: Dan Coats sacked as DNI.

    I am pleased to announce that highly respected Congressman John Ratcliffe of Texas will be nominated by me to be the Director of National Intelligence. A former U.S. Attorney, John will lead and inspire greatness for the Country he loves. Dan Coats, the current Director, will….
    ….be leaving office on August 15th. I would like to thank Dan for his great service to our Country. The Acting Director will be named shortly.

    The Truth !! Trump can’t handle the truth !

    Tell the President what he doesn’t want to hear, and he may not keep you.

    I wonder if they’re trying to put a stop to investigations of continued foreign interference in U.S. elections.

    If so, that’s very troubling, even scary.

    Remember how fudging intelligence to suit Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney and John Bolton eased the path to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

    Maybe what sounds like a terrible replacement (Cong. John Ratcliffe, who has no intel experience or training, but is a ferocious champion of the President and the Party Line) will also tell Donald Trump, Jared Kushner and John Bolton what they want to hear about Iran, Israel, Palestine and Saudi Arabia. Rep. Ratcliffe may have a tough confirmation hearing by the still-bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee (chaired by Richard Burr of N. Carolina).

    • DSD?

      Are you worried that Donald J.Trump is quietly working to co-op ANY opposition to his ILLEGAL doings and actions?

      And doing so IN BROAD DAYLIGHT????

      • The scary thing is because his inside people are trying to keep things right?

        He’s systematically replacing them with lackies….

  11. I’m way too busy at work to comment here for a while, but I just have to post this.

    Patty Murray (D-WA) who once said Osama bin Laden was beloved because he built “daycare centers” finally has some company for the dumbest thing a Member of Congress has ever said.

    These comments about 9/11 come from Jim Jordan (R-OH)

    “While Obama and Biden were cowering in fear on Air Force 1, Mr. Trump was on the ground with first responders searching for survivors and pulling people to safety,” . “I remember seeing him on TV, running toward the danger.”

    • … and they let Jim Jordan help pass laws ??

      Coming from Illinois, I’m sure you’d know better than I, CG, but why would a backbench State Senator from Chicago be on Air Force One with the U.S. Senator from Delaware ?

      And historically speaking, the President was being ferried around on Air Force One out of concert about what might happen in D.C. (which did get attacked), while the Vice President stayed below ground in a Secure Place.

    • Not a fan of Jim Jordan at all but apparently that Twitter was a fake parody and NOT the official one for Rep. Jordan.

  12. The ‘independent’ Federal Reserve gives Trump what he wanted….
    A lowering in the interest rate for the banks…

    • post later on the rate cut that dropped the market….

      Trump is actually NOT happy with the rate cut by the Fed….

        • Oh, and Jack gets respect….

          The 2 debates have changed NOTHING….

          Although they ARE important….

          I’ll have a post on this later…..

        • Crazy story for the day….

          Corey Lewandowski is considering a 2020 run for a U.S. Senate seat in New Hampshire now held by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Reuters reports.

          “Lewandowski ran Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016 for a time and has remained close to Trump throughout the president’s first years in office.”

          Politicalwire…..

  13. While much is being made of the outsized liberal plans of Sanders, Warren and Harris one must remember the maxim of politics propounded by Richard Nixon.

    He always said that ,as a Republican,one campaigned for the nomination. From the Right .When the nomination was secured one galloped back to the Middle.

    Conversely a Democrat would run to the Left in the campaign,then gallop back to the center

    Sanders and Warren probably are incapable of doing that to a significant degree.Harris probably could though .

    No need to worry about rejecting past positions.Trump has proven that campaign promises and statements are nothing but campaign fodder,essentially meaningless.

    • Bravo Jack!….

      Right on Point on nomination politics!

      Biden has moved slightly to the left accordingly…

      But won’t have any problems in the middle….

    • I think Warren woukd be better positioned to pivot to the center than Sanders.

      I’m concerned about Warren’s viability in a general election. But I would be much more worried if Sanders got the nod. Of course I’d vote for either over Trump.

      • Scott?

        Bernie Sanders is NIT a center person…
        i case we forget ?
        He’s a indie socialist….
        His push on healthcare and other things are consistent with his life long feelings ….

        While i think Harris would be a better choice for VP?
        My wife feels Warren would be a better fit and better for consumers
        The wife makes a good point…
        But Harris i see as a attack person for Biden
        We’ll see

  14. Trump is saying he’s”not sure” he can stop chants of “send her back” at his Cincinnati Hate Rally tonight.

    In other words–be prepared for something worse to be yelled.

  15. Ted GOP Rep. Will Hurd –the only Republican representing a border district and a frequent Trump critic–hascannoinced his retirement.

    The Trump takeover of the Republican party has never been closer to completion.

    • I just saw that….

      the list keeps growing..

      And yea….

      He called out Trump
      GOP truth tellers are not wanted by the party right now…

  17. I’m extremely sorry to hear that: Will Hurd (an ex-CIA officer) always sounded very reasonable to me (as did J.C. Watts of Oklahoma).

    Of course, the Republican Party is just about ready to grasp and flaunt the Lily-White Banner of the old Democrats. The Republican Black Caucus in the House has (until Will Hurd retires) exactly one member, as does the GOP Caucus in the Senate (Tim Scott of S. Carolina).

    • Nobody will be more disappointed than me. Scott had to break the news to me as well. It’s bad enough the Cardinals are about to take two out of three from the Cubs..

    • There are persistent rumors in S.C. that Scott is pretty disgusted with Trump and DC in general and is talking about returning to S.C. to run for Governor in 2022.

      The Republican Leadership in the Senate is supposedly begging him to stay.

    • The idea that when Trump exits the scene the GOP will simply revert back to the George W Bush/Mitt Romney Party is looking dimmer by the day.

      Trump is now pushing it in an entirely new direction and ,by enabling the most extreme elements , Trump like candidates will become the new norm at all levels.

      • Mitt has proven to be a dud as any kind of anti Trump force in Congress.

        Just 2 years ago Politico hailed Hurd as the “future of the GOP”

        Nope.

  18. From 1870 to 1935, every Afro-American member of the Congress was a Republican.
    From 1870 to 1979, all three Afro-American U.S. Senators (Hiram C. Revels, Blanche K. Bruce and Edward Brooke) were Republicans.

    Should Tim Scott as well as Will Hurd retire from Congress, that putative Republican Black Caucus will revert to no one (zero).

    Apart from its anti-slavery origins and role in the Civil War, the GOP (as the champion of racial equality and the freedmen) was an especial target of the Ku Klux Klan. Every Republican platform (unlike almost all of the Democratic platforms) for most of a century contained a plank calling for a Federal law against lynching (since, despite Republican principles, the states were clearly unable to prosecute and suppress lynch mobs on their own.)

    Although they voted overwhelmingly for FDR in 1936 & 1940, just as many black voters in those years (40-42%) identified with the GOP as with the Democrats. In 1956, two out of every five black voters (39%) preferred Ike to Adlai Stevenson.

    But, as I pointed out in an earlier post, the GOP started an uneven but apparently irreversible decline in the Negro electorate beginning with Barry Goldwater & the Civil Rights Act in 1964 (passed only because it had the support of 27 GOP Senators, not including Goldwater or John Tower of Texas, out of 33). In the last election, only 3% of blacks identified with the GOP, and only 8% for Donald Trump.

    See the striking chart at
    https://blackdemographics.com/culture/black-politics/

    Beginning with the Republicans’ own self-critique (under then-RNC-Chairman Reince Priebus) following Mitt Romney’s defeat in 2012, there was (and perhaps still is) a long debate about whether the GOP should hold onto its white base and appeal to other white voters, or whether it should face a coming demographic surge by adapting itself and its policies more towards the non-white, non-Anglo voter. At least for the foreseeable future (and very much to the disappointment of Big Tent Republicans like CG), the choice has been decisively for the first strategy.

    See, for example but perhaps only for antiquarian historical interest:

    The GOP’s post-mortem in 2013 at either:
    https://www.gop.com/growth-and-opportunity-project/ or
    http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/624293-republican-national-committees-growth-and.html

    Sean Trende’s series of four posts about the Missing White Voter, beginning with:
    https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/06/21/the_case_of_the_missing_white_voters_revisited_118893.html

    Ross Douthat’s explication and critique of Trende at:
    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/11/opinion/sunday/the-white-strategy.html

    and the response to Trende by Alan Abaramowitz and Ruy Teixeira at Larry Savato’s Crystal Ball:
    http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/is-doubling-down-on-white-voters-a-viable-strategy-for-the-republican-party/

    [With this many links, this post is probably going straight into moderation.]

    • Somewone looking at the history of the parties would shake their heads at the role reversal that occurred in American politics over race….

  19. Much of the Black support for Eisenhower in 1956 was the result of his use of federal troops to enforce court ordered desegregation in Little Rock Arkansas which was the original southern battleground in the post Brown era.

    Nixon’s support among Blacks in 1969 was the result of his work in pushing the Civil Rights Acts Of 1957 and 1960.Neither one of these are mentioned much anymore after the landmark and much more powerful Civil Rights Act Of 1964.

    Still these measures were significant at the time.Nixon,
    along with Eisenhower’s AG Herbert Brownell ,were instrumental in shepherding these measures through Congress.

    Another factor helping Nixon was anti Catholicism which was at the time an issue in many African American churches.Originally, Martin Luther King St was a Nixon supporter, but switched to Kennedy late in the campaign.

    Nixon was the last Republican presidential candidate to garner significant Black support.

  20. Meanwhile,Trump ,after making fun of Rep.Elijah Cummings home being broken into, announced that he would not nominate Republican Congressional backbencher John Ratcliffe for DNIto succeed Dan Coates.

    As usual, Trump blamed the media.Apoarently reporting what even some Republicans were saying is now off limits.

  21. Breaking….

    There is a report of a mass shooting in a mall in El Passo Texas….

    There are reports of fatilies….

    There are unconfirmed reports of multiple shooters or a shooter that moved from one building to another ….

    • Update….

      Police report only one shooter
      3 suspects…
      Local and Federal cops on scene…
      Those person’s in custody …
      Several DOA’s….
      Several injuries…
      Different locations…

    • Update….
      Up to 19 possible Dead…
      40 injured…
      One shooter…
      The shooter is alive and in custody…

      This update is fluid …
      Things change as confirmations come in…

      The incident may have been domestic terrorism…against immigrants…

      While Trump complains about terrorists coming across the border …this maybe a ‘white peoples ‘ driven form of terrorusm…
      it HAS been pointed out that if this was a “oversea’s driven attack’?…..

      The response would be MUCH MORE strident…

      There have been numerous incidents just THIS year…

      • It has been pointed out that Mexican’and Americans travel back and forth between Curez and El Paso and THAT might have been a factor in the shooting..

        We will see how Trump handles THIS..

  22. I think you meant (Ciudad) Juárez, the twin city of El Paso, as Tijuana is to San Diego or Mexicali to Calexico.

  23. “…the race will not be decided by a few intemperate debate answers in the summer of 2019.”
    Veteran political writer Walter Shapiro on the 2020 presidential race

    • Good Morning….

      Agreed….Not JUST the debates

      But it actually IS framing who the serious contenders are….

      It’s about the public media perceptions and the ground game in the first half a dozen states….

      My view?

      If Biden can sustain his 2-1 polling lead for another 5 month’s and he wins Iowa , Nevada, Ca and SC?

      He WILL b e the nominee….

      I have leaning towards a Biden/Harris ticket…

      But a Biden/Warren ticket is looking better …..

      • I disagree.

        The “ debates” have done Nothing to “ frame” who the serious contenders are.

        They are exactly the same as they were before the first ‘ debate.”

        • Actually, the Only thing the “ debates” have done is supply a few sound bites for some news entertainment shows and here presented an opportunity for you and CG to dicker over some useless minutiae that,as Shapiro says, will have no effect on anything.

          • Here’s the Shapiro Politicalwire link…..

            Walter Shapiro: “After covering the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign, I better understand the value of inspiration and the danger of consultant-driven caution. Remember, it was just seven years ago when Joe Biden got ahead of Barack Obama by endorsing gay marriage. Should the Democrats really have stuck with the seemingly safe 2012 moderate position of backing civil unions?”

            “Fifteen months before the 2020 election, it is nearly impossible to know the best way of wresting power from Donald Trump. But it is safe to predict that the race will not be decided by a few intemperate debate answers in the summer of 2019.”

            • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was briefly hospitalized after suffering a fractured shoulder from a fall outside his home in Louisville on Sunday, his office said in a statement.

              “This morning, Leader McConnell tripped at home on his outside patio and suffered a fractured shoulder. He has been treated, released, and is working from home in Louisville,” McConnell spokesman David Popp said in a statement….

              More…

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