"During the late afternoon of August 7, 1974, Senators Goldwater and Scott and Representative Rhodes met with Nixon in the Oval Office and told him that his support in Congress had all but disappeared. Rhodes told Nixon that he would face certain impeachment when the articles came up for vote in the full House. Goldwater and Scott told the president that there were not only enough votes in the Senate to convict him, but that no more than 15 Senators were willing to vote for acquittal – far fewer than the 34 he needed to avoid removal from office. They did not pressure Nixon to resign, but simply made the realities of the situation clear. Goldwater later wrote that as a result of the meeting, Nixon "knew beyond any doubt that one way or another his presidency was finished."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_process_against_Richard_Nixon
......folks; Trump is either the worst judge of character, or has the worst character (or both).
Nearly everyone in his circle is a criminal. As we all learned early in life "birds of feather fly together".
In a universe that had decency as a hallmark, Trump would resign today - instead, it is likely he will be indicted.
He grabs women at will, cavorts with dictators, destroys our environment, threatens the press, mocks the disabled, can't put two sentences together without looking in the mirror, and believes that corruption is the highest form of leadership. With all of this, his base will absolve him - pseudo conservative Christians, bent on only making a buck - they don't care about our country. The money to be made is being printed now.
They are all in line to Hell. And not for a moment will they feel shame at destroying the ethos of these United States of America.
121
Trump's hard core base may be no more than 30 percent of the electorate. Most of the people who voted for him are low information voters. When he is explicitly named as a felon and traitor, people will notice and he will be brought down. After that starts to happen, he will compound his felonies by overt attempts to subvert justice- firing high officials in the Justice Department, suborning perjuries, attempting to hide or destroy evidence, and yes, the pardon ploys. What's left of the Republican middle in the Senate, well over twenty will abandon him and he will be removed. They'll get primaried in 2020, and we will be left with a smaller, even more racist and xenophobic Republican party. The only lasting legacy of this presidency will be McConnell's judges.
54
This "presidency" has got to be annulled entirely. It is one thing to play the system to win the presidency, but then not to concede the election and persist with ignorant and illegal proposals, and using the most helpless and innocents as pawns in an anti-American agenda, making the U.S. a laughingstock around the world--well, we have to get through this and brave hearts must prevail to save the nation. Democrats and responsible Republicans (if they still exist somewhere)--boot this guy out of the Oval Office, into court, and then into federal prison where he has belonged for many an age.
54
I am truly, thoroughly tired of reading all this negativity from Democrats and liberals. It seems like every other comment says something along the lines of "Trump will stay out of jail, he will be reelected, the Senate will stand behind him". The trouble with all this negative prognostication is that it causes me to lose hope. And losing hope means giving up. I don't want to give up. I think that America as a whole will not allow Trump and his Republican cult to destroy what this country has always stood for. I am optimistic that we will win in the end. The good people outnumber the bad.
376
The leaks told us that the Hillary Clinton Campaign did all it could to preempt the Democratic Party's nomination for president, starting with the takeover of the Democratic National Committee in August 2015. See Donna Brazile's book, "Hacks," pages 97-98.
This Mueller process is heavy, too heavy, on innuendo. The Public's credibility is not earned by nitpicking, or intimidating potential witnesses with threats of prosecution for unrelated petty crimes, or trapping people in small lies or misstatements, or otherwise building on a "weak-force strategy."
That might work for trapping accountants who moonlight as petty embezzlers. It's not going to sell with voters.
We all knew Bill Clinton was not a saint when we elected him. Accusing him of bad taste and imprudent impulsiveness was never going to make the Public see him as an evil felon. Like Ken Starr, Bob Mueller is so over-invested in searching for individual-tree rot that he appears not to know he's in a forest at all.
Bernie Sanders and his supporters were badly treated by the entire Democratic establishment, and especially by the DNC the Clinton campaign took over nearly a year before Hillary was nominated.
If Bernie's campaign wasn't exactly cheated, it was deliberately undermined in a thousand ways. Whatever Bob Mueller finds, he is not going to exonerate Hillary
Clinton from that.
The Public knows it wasn't Trump that cost the Democratic Party its "street cred" with Party members. Mueller won't fix that.
10
Reading this article would indicate the end is near!
However, using one's own money is not campaign finance fraud.
Cohen's contacts in 2015 are not relevant. Ending a bad deal estate deal in Moscow is probably prudent. And the real "whopper" is interpreting the redacted portions of the recent Mueller filings as solid evidence of collusion and obstruction is unbelievable!I
And this is written by three attorneys, a prosecutor and the Chaiman for Citizens for Responsibilty and Ethics in Washington?
Wow the end must be near.
54
To my liberal friends, if this is the best you can do keep grasping at straws while the president keeps racking up wins for America
What will be entertaining is watching the liberal lynch Mob turn on Mueller when he finally reports that there is nothing there.
13
Most of the comments here seem to reflect a theme of collective resignation, that nothing Trump can possibly do will prevent him from serving out his term, regardless of how loathsome his behavior becomes.
I wonder if this has anything to do with the prospect of a President Pence.
7
Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley just commented after all the damning evidence in the last few days they are supporting Trump and running for re-election in 2020. Republicans remain complicit in this criminal enterprise so they must be part of it.
46
Americans: Resist!
18
Is this the beginnig of the end for Trump? God I hope so.
23
No one should forget about NRA/Russia connections...
https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article195231139.html
https://newrepublic.com/minutes/148961/evidence-emerges-nras-russia-connection
FBI investigating whether Russian money went to NRA to help Trump.
The NRA connection: A problem for the GOP in the midterms.
THE N.R.A. SPENT $30 MILLION TO ELECT TRUMP. WAS IT RUSSIAN MONEY?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2018/07/23/the-nra-connection-a-problem-for-the-gop-in-the-midterms/?utm_term=.b94baccfbd00
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/06/the-nra-spent-dollar30-million-to-elect-trump-was-it-russian-money
Do we even know how many republicans were involved in this treasonous enterprise.
Mueller does!
30
I feel like I’ve read this Op-Ed headline a thousand times *sigh*
175
The noose of justice is tightening around Trump, Inc., thanks to vigilant democrats like Mueller, who have pursued legal means to deal with a rank GOP criminal enterprise.
This article detailing new indictments against Trump's petulant lackeys Manafort and Cohen intimates anew that the stench that emanates from the amoral post-coital loins of Individual I have percolated to all levels of the incompetent GOP machine, from Trump and Co-hen to the dregs of the FSA infiltrating the USA through the NRA.
They also demonstrate that democracy has been at work in the intellectual branch of a muscular justice system, who have done the job of noble pack animals, showing themselves to be capable of pulling their dumb countrymen along an unpleasant murky slog through the fractious bracken of baleful Trumpyism, which fanged factions of the deranged have forced others to wallow in, to no apparent purpose other than self-aggrandizement.
This article demonstrates to me that the judicial must be joined in their legalistic efforts to exhume evidence of these sordid crimes by democratic media who will put their findings, however repugnant, on public view.
5
Always the same thing with Trump supporters: blind as a stump to civilized society and the rule of law. They’ve thrown all of the American values out the window, if they’ve ever held them in the first place (actually a very scary thought!).
29
"Campaign Finance Violations". Why is it not also a Federal Crime to defraud the American People?
23
it becomes more dangerous by the day. He has done the groundwork to sufficiently discredit the general news and media organizations as well as the judiciary. His base gets their news from Fox - the Pravda of our country. They won't back away from him - they are too invested. When the Senate majority leader continues to unabashedly support this corrupt fool of a man, my faith in our institutions to right the ship is reduced to virtually nil. Let the new Congress get his taxes. A tale will be told there.
20
Whatever the final outcome is for Trump, we will never hear the end from him even if he loses the use of his thumbs. He will just start using his toes. Portions of his base have already begun to peel away and this will most certainly strengthen the opposition to him. In the mean time the country will sputter along on auto-pilot, putting out Trump fires as needed. That's on the home front.
Out in the rest of the world, if you are a leader of a nation, you have already had to deal with a president that was damaged goods when he took office. A president that went out of his way to corrode our status on the world stage. "Yikes, we better give this guy what he wants" is not what they are saying. If you were a major world leader would you jump to Trump's tweets? They're just going sit back, let this episode of American history in the making unfold, do the minimum and get on with their game.
10
It could be the beginning of the end but the end may be in 2024. This is incredible that for two years NYT produces the same stories about an imminent demise of Trump. Do you really think that in 2020 Americans will vote for the candidates who compared ICE to KKK? Or the election will be won an the basis of DNA test confirming that another candidate is 1/1024 a native Cherokee?
Unless Miller produces some real goods on collusion, and the fact that Trump could not make the Moscow skyscraper happen it's not it, it will be immigration and economy. Trump may eventually self destruct with his stupid twitter comments , but that's another story.
6
I predict history will conclude that the beginning of the end was when he stood next to Vladimir Putin and sided with the Russians over his own intelligence agencies. Its been a downhill trip since then. I felt it then and I feel it now.
22
To recycle the the titles Jame's Stewart's book about Milken & Co, John Dean's book about this sickening state of things now and Fukuyama's recent book:
Den of Thieves + Worse than Watergate = The End of History (either of democracy or unparalleled government criminality: pick one)
5
I have been watching with rapt interest the first week of the Presidency of AMLO (Andrés Manuel López Obrador) in México. It is sad that his speeches and press conferences are not available in English. Painted as a "leftist" by practically the entire US Media (using "leftist" as a pejorative), AMLO has done the following:
• promised in his Inauguration Speech that he, as well as his family, will be subject to the law "like any other citizen" and that he would tolerate absolutely no corruption;
• promised that he would meet every morning at 6:00 am with his Security Cabinet, focusing daily on the violence and impunity that wracks the country;
• offered daily Press Conferences after his 6:00 am meetings, events that are characterized by thoughtful questions from the Press, and complete answers from the President;
• promised a jobs and apprenticeship program for 2 million youth, so that a path other than crime is available to them;
• promised an end to Impunity, Corruption, and extravagant life styles and salaries for high government officials;
• put the $200 million Presidential Jet up for sale, along with the fleet of planes and helicopters for high government officials, the President himself now flying coach on regular flights;
• spoken forcefully that POWER is humbling, and should be exercised HUMBLY and WISELY for the good of the citizens;
• has appealed to grandparents to be moral compasses for grandchildren.
That Mexican Lefty sounds pretty dangerous.
28
Trump seems to be arguing that none of this matters because Cohen and Manafort are liars.
But, obviously, Mueller knows they are liars, meaning he also knows the truth about what actually happened. It's not as though he were drafting charges against Trump by writing down verbatim what Cohen and Manafort tell him.
Trump's supporters should stop and think about the vast web of information Mueller's team must have amassed to determine the falsity of Cohen's and Manafort's statements. Stopping the thought process at "they're just liars" is like the captain of the Titanic thinking no further than "there's a little ice hump".
11
"Contrary to the president’s claim that all of this “totally clears” him, the danger to Mr. Trump, ...." says it all! Does he not have a lawyer or advisor who can help him read and understand the tea leaves? Is this something Giuliani ("truth isn't truth") can live with as the President's lawyer?
5
Others close to the president could face criminal charges.
5
To answer the headline's question: well, fingers crossed, yes. I never thought I would look forward to a Pence "Presidency" but there it is. Now perhaps all those 2016 GOP candidates that Trump systematically insulted and belittled will grow a spine. I'm talking to you, Rubio.
4
The end of Trump was way over due. The country deserves a much better leader.
8
"Is This the Beginning of the End for Trump?"
Yes! We The People hope so!
7
Wait... I thought this was supposed to be about Russia? Instead, this wide-net fishing expedition turns up evidence of something that we already knew (and most don’t really care about): Trump tried to cover up his affairs with women. Yawn.
4
I'd still like to see Trump linked to his clear knowledge of Russian tampering with the election. A documented, traceable payout would be a Christmas wish for me! In fact, I don't know why this hasn't happened yet???????? Very questionable.....and upsetting.
4
How does this constant stream of speculation serve the public good? Yes, it produces clicks. Is that enough?
5
Although Trump has his character flaws, what is clear to me is the Deep State narrative where democrats such as CNN, NYTs and many news outlets falsely reporting and putting breaking news out there that is false and it's truth being altered to depict the end of the world for Trump. While I'd hate to burst your bubble, none of the indictments and recent filings from Mueller and his Democratic team involve any sort of so called Russian collusion, simply read them for yourself. The only slap on the wrist would be a campaign finance infraction but at the very least this is nowhere close to the objectives set out by Mueller in the first place. They are simply shooting at straws, and it will backfire the Democrats at the pole. The worst part is many people's lives have been destroyed in this void of an investigation that was launched on a false premise and fabricated document. I think more will come out to disprove the Democrats and this will destroy them in the next election. The universe has its way to balance itself out all the time. All the bad the Democrats are causing to Society, the bad wrap on democracy and the freedom of the press, and their persistent conquest to derail this presidency by delusion and chaos will be offset by the truth that will soon come out of this 30 million $ investigation of a sham........and give rise to Trump in the upcoming election. Shame on the press, your jobs should be to report truthfully, without bias and this clearly has never been the case!
4
Three words ..... LETS HOPE SO!
4
"People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I earned everything I've got." Richard Nixon, 1973
People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I am a crook. I stole everything I've got. Donald J Trump
13
No, it's not the beginning of anything, because the only remedy for these criminal outrages is impeachment, conviction by the Senate, and removal from office, and that is not going to happen because conviction requires a 2/3 Senate majority, and nobody could reasonably expect such a vote even if this quasi-fascist rabble-rouser were caught with a hard drive full of kiddie porn. Does not the Majority Leader himself now deplore the Alabama vote against Jusge Roy Moore, who has been repeatedly and credibly accused of sexually assaulting underage girls? The Republican Party in general, ands Trump in particular, have made the idea of justice and limited government power a hideous joke.
7
Donald is toast. No legislation will be passed in next 2 years. Wall will not be built.Donald will be mired in the cesspool of his own corruption. GOP will be stuck right there with the Donald Crime Family. Max jail time for all. Ray Sipe
15
Since impeachment probably won't work, how about an annulment?
130
The opposite of the 'Midas Touch'. Everything and everyone he touches turns to rust.
9
If Americans could only look to Paris for inspiration, or to decide to stop buying anything that’s not absolutely necessary, or to call in sick to work en masse, or, in some other way, express our disgust powerfully. But we’re numb in our little comfort bubbles, or else, if we’re poor, so battered by our inconsequentiality, that at bottom we don’t care. We don’t even vote much, let alone risk anything. We have given it away, all of it.
9
"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?"
"It's, like, incredible."
- Donald J Trump,
Sioux Center, Iowa
January 23, 2016
Indeed, it is, like, incredible. And prophetic.
164
Trump immediately declared that he was vindicated. “Totally clears the president. Thank you!” he tweeted.
After which he placed his hands over his ears and chanted, "la la la la la la la la la la la la ..................."
10
It appears that there is an allegation of an illegal scheme to silence two women who claimed they had affairs with Mr. Trump. The claimed campaign law violation was that those unreported payments out of personal funds were made to influence an election.
But imagine if, instead, at Trump's direction, campaign contributions were the source of the hush money. Would that then have avoided the illegality? Imagine the popular and legal reactions that would arise if campaign contributions were so used.
Say a candidate for the Presidency spent money to improve their electability on: (a) cosmetic surgery; (b) commissioning someone to write a narrative about an aspect of the candidate’s life; (c) making a contribution to some interest group; (d) hiring a consultant to improve the candidate’s knowledge on some public policy topic or on the candidate’s presentation performance. Which of these would be deemed illegal if paid for from the candidate’s personal funds and would be an impeachable offense?
Yes Trump is deplorable. But remember that a significant part of the population supports him and any effort that appears to be an attempt to remove on him flimsy legal grounds that does not meet the high standards of removing a sitting President will create fierce pushback.
Do not let hyperventilation about Trump cloud judgment and lead to even greater polarization in our country.
1
One cannot escape the historical irony that yesterday, the day "that will live in infamy," when Japan attacked the U.S.. naval base in Pearl Harbor 77 years ago, was a new day of infamy where we learned through the "cooperation" of Michael Cohen that Donald Trump committed multiple felonies and worked with a foreign power, Russia, to undermine the 2016 election that made him President. The nation rallied to defeat the Axis powers in there attempt to overthrow western democracies. And, it needs to rally today as a much more sinister, insidious and ominous threat by Donald Trump and the Republican Party is trying to do the same. Donald Trump has been accused by his own Justice Department of engaging in a criminal conspiracy to win the election; and he was compromised by Russia through his attempts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. That is astonishing and frightening enough, but there is certainly more to come concerning the extent of conspiracy with Russia and Trump's ongoing attempts, including yeterday's nomination of William Barr as Attorney General, to obstruct justice. It's time for all Americans who salute the flag and sing the national anthem to demonstrate their true patriotism by rallying to the Constitution and demanding the immediate resignation of Donald J. Trump.
11
Democrats and the media had better hope they succeed in destroying Trump, because the price is going to be a loss of public trust in media and government for generations to come.
You burned down the barn to catch a cricket, my dear leftists.
4
@Anjasha Freed More Bernie primary voters (90 percent) voted for Hillary in '16 than Hillary primary voters (75 percent) voted for Obama in '08. Maybe if the corporate Clinton Dems hadn't burned down the New Deal to catch a few 'moderates.'
3
#villageidiot1
5
I despise our president and think he is a despicable bag of dirt.
That said, I don't see anything coming out of these filings that will be enough to bring him down.
He's broken so many norms of appropriate and ethical behavior, yet the GOP and his base readily stand beside him.
Unless Mueller has something big that we don't know about, I fear we will have 2 more, possibly 6 more, years of this madness.
The only bright side here is that most young intelligent educated people are turning away from the GOP and what it represents, thanks to Trump. So the party will eventually die. That will be a good day for America.
9
Would trump be entitled to Secret Service protection in prison?
4
Trump is dirty. There is simply no way around the facts.
8
Meanwhile the oceans are dying. Trump is just one more symptom of a dying patient. Its not the end for the orange clown, its the end for humanity. 7,8, 9 or 10billion stupid humans, eating and consuming everything in sight. But I would throw one hell of a party if that cabal of miscreants were incarcerated, along with HRC.
2
No because Democrats will not have the guts to go through with impeachment. They will try to contain Trump for two years hoping to coast to the next presidential election. Never in the history of the US has there been a more corrupt impeachable president, but it doesn't matter, Democrats are gutless and Trump sure knows it. Get ready for two years of hell. Trump will do anything to avoid the disgrace of impeachment. He cares the most about his image. If push comes to shove, he will start a war in the South China Sea for example and no one in the Congress will have the guts to to go after a president in times of war. The American electoral system was designed in the Federalist papers, in the days of no Facebook, Twitter, Massive lying spewed all the place. It cannot handle Trump. He's in. And he's gonna stay. Watch him!
6
Lying under oath, conspiracy, collusion, treason - try them all and lock them up if they are found guilty: Leavenworth.
4
As long as Fox (Trump propaganda) news, Rush Limbaugh and the right wingnut media are behind Trump, no matter the evidence against him, he will not get impeached. The republican senate will be complicit since their base has been brainwashed.
4
You guys are really pathetic and desperate. It’s been 2 years! There has been zero evidence of any Russian collusion by Trump. Just constant nothing stories by The NY Times saying essentially the same thing: “we have no evidence of any collusion but we are really, really hoping to find something regardless of legitimacy.” You are an absolute joke of a “news” organization.
5
"Is This the Beginning of the End for Trump"
Please God. Prove you're really there, and say yes it is.
3
The midterms were the beginning of the end of Trump. Impeachment won't happen. Frankly, I like the idea of Trump being soundly beaten at the ballot box and being greeted by arresting officers as he gets off the plane on January 20, 2021.
10
Some commenters suggest that in spite of Mueller's revelations Republicans will stand by Trump.
That is not so clear. Trump has created many enemies among Republicans. For example, his hand-picked cabinet were mostly Republicans who tried to help Trump advance the issues like stopping immigration he had emphasized in his campaign. For example, Attorney General Jeff Sessions was gung-ho on stopping illegal immigration, yet Trump held him up for ridicule. At some point this gets down to rank-and-file Republicans who realize that Trump has not been particularly effective in achieving his agenda because of bullying of his own cabinet and staff.
John Kasich has suggested that he might run in a 2020 primary, for example.
At some point, Republicans will begin to see that a softer approach, like that of George H W Bush is more effective than Trump's approach.
That would be a good development, since the country needs two viable parties. If Trump is impeached by the House his chances of success in the 2020 primaries are diminished and the US might be able to limit the Trump nightmare to one term.
This is not to say that Trump was not right about his signature issue, immigration. But the US needs a rational discussion of immigration policy. It is not advanced by Trump's inflammatory rhetoric.
The problem is not just Trump...it's our entire culture. Far too many Americans see nothing wrong with lying, obstruction, collusion, corruption, pay-offs, blackmail, extortion, or even 'erasing' people. It's the American Way to 'do whatever you gotta do' to get ahead...no limits, just don't get caught, screw the laws.
It's not enough to say that officials are breaking the law. Spell out for everyone WHY such things are so horrible, and why they're against the law in the first place! What happens when such behavior in government (or anywhere) is allowed to go unpunished? Why is this stuff bad? Everybody does it, right?
8
Morality, Legality, The Economy.
The past two years have shown us that the first two can collapse, and neither Congress nor a large part of the electorate give a damn.
You want the end of Trump? Wait for #3.
Of course, by then, we’ll all be in deep doo-doo and the fact that Trump is gone might be somewhat irrelevant.
2
Let’s vote the bum out in 2020 and then throw him in jail with the rest of his family and criminal associates.
9
Is this the beginning of the end for Trump? Ask Mitch McConnell. Even if we citizens decide that Trump's involvement in these crimes renders his presidency illegitimate, even if the new House of Representatives votes to impeach him, it boils down to whether King McConnell will allow the trial to take place unimpeded. After all it is his constitutional duty to support that action.
Will McConnell defend the Constitution? Ask Merrick Garland.
20
Let's keep in mind that it wasn't Trump who tried so hard to deny Bernie Sanders and his supporters a fair shot at winning the Democratic nomination for president in 2016.
This prosecution looks like it's feeding off of chump change. Deliberately trying to trap people into telling lies so they can be prosecuted for it, trying to criminalize paying someone not to potentially slander you , implicating one person in a true petty crime unrelated to the investigation so you can lean on that person to possibly perjure themselves as witnesses to another crime -- this is the "weak force" of prosecution strategy. It may work as intimidation,
Meanwhile, Mueller risks looking like a fanatic -- not much different from Ken Starr -- so intent on finding rot in individual trees that he loses perspective about what the underlying investigation was meant to uncover.
"Special prosecution" doesn't mean twisting arms and beggaring possible defendants with unpayable lawyers' fees -- it means making an independent investigation of the entire process.
That means getting to heart of what the leaks revealed -- the Hillary Clinton campaign's takeover of the Democratic National Committee in August 2015 and the Clinton campaign's subsequent rigging of the Democratic Party nomination for President.
Weak-prosecution nitpicking is not going to restore the Democratic Party's credibility as a team run for and by its members.
3
@mitchell: Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat. He is a socialist party of one man. Time and time again some silly distraction of a candidate gets deluged with dark money and flattery to win primaries and lose general elections in the vast polluted smokescreen of US politics.
1
@mitchell So your view is that Mueller forced Cohen and Manafort to lie so he could charge them?
Don't forget - they also told these whoppers to the face of Congressional committees. How did Mueller pull that off?
2
@mitchell
Mr. Mueller has this thingy called evidence, and when under oath you tell him something that he knows is a lie, you weren't trapped. You lied, and it's a crime to lie to any prosecutor.
Really need to get off this Hillary kick. She lost and isn't the subject of Trump's criminal enterprise.
6
The U.S Constitution's most salient feature surely must be to keep the United States united; any honest appraisal must conclude that DT and the Republican Party has done quite the opposite. Impeach the lot of them!
7
@Sam: The Republicans pit all of the states against each other.
1
Trump is comparing his campaign law violations to the fines imposed against Obamas campaign.
Just by making the comparison rather than denying the violations Trump is admitting the violations. The comparison is nothing more than a clumsy attempt to minimize the violations. More importantly "there is a world of difference between an honest mistake—such as the 2008 Obama campaign’s civil violations—and Cohen admitting to knowingly defrauding the federal government. The 2008 Obama campaign was never suspected of criminal intent; Cohen admitted to it."
The difference between Obama's paperwork errors and missed deadlines and Trump's deliberate cover up is nothing short of criminal intent. Trump is and always has been a criminal. It is high time he paid for his crimes and misdemeanors.
9
So much of Trump's apparent indemnity has depended on his ability to continuously change the subject and re-direct media and voter attention by dominating the news cycle. His individual lies and misdeeds eventually become lost in a vague sea of half-remembered outrages.
Democrats and any remaining patriots among Republicans need to make careful note of just what has been disclosed this week. They need to start talking about this one thing and never stop:
Donald Trump was courting the financial and regulatory cooperation of the government of Russia DURING his campaign, when he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars from the proposed Moscow real estate deal. Simultaneously he was publicly advocating a radical softening of US policy towards that same government, and changes to the Republican platform to that end. He lied continuously to the american people about his business ties to that hostile foreign government and intentionally hid the probable real motives behind his surprising pro-Russia stance.
This is straightforward and terrifyingly real stuff. Aaron Burr kind of stuff. Trump sold out his country and its foreign policy interests in the hopes of profiting financially, then covered up his motives. We need to pick this one thing and stay relentlessly on message about it until it sinks in.
There are still many republicans who love their country, and if we can penetrate their news bubble with this one truth, they may yet act to defend it.
12
So, "Bad press" still better than "No Press"? If so, "what's his name" has cornered the market on press coverage. Surely it would be far more effective to ignore him and let Mueller do his job. Maybe he'd resign if there were no headlines to gloat over.
3
America seems locked into a downward spiral with no apparent hope in sight.
Those lusting for power and money are now in control of all three branches of our government, with looting and pillaging as their only goals.
Throughout history, we have seen this show before, and it is astounding that it is happening again.
6
@Grove: It is millenarian mentality. The end of the world is inevitable, so party while you can.
No matter how much I would like to believe it, I don't see anything in any of this that would go beyond impeachment in the House, which could possibly happen, to conviction in the Senate, which will never happen. If Trump is impeached but not convicted, he will be inoculated for the rest of his term and will be able to mount a successful run for reelection. Republicans no longer care about corruption, morality or character. A clear case of treason might get their attention, but I don't see any of this rising to that level. What a grotesque situation this country is in, and the world is watching and slowly drifting away from America. A Fox News host for UN ambassador. Good Lord! What a travesty.
9
@David Sheppard: The US is a nation enslaved to the dead.
3
● Fantastic, Obama supporters celebrating before a Muller's final report. From the beginning of the witch hunt, they were jumping at every turn of events, this is it, finally an impeachment- for the 20th time now- and yet the final conclusion will be anything else but no smoking gun implicating the President directly to any Russian collusion. Leftists are running so fast on this one, they will hit their faces hard against a brick wall.
Trump's got great chances for another successful term.
5
Gosh, and here I was looking forward to dancing in a happy ring with the snazzily-dressed members of the Lollipop Guild, singing, “Ding, Dong, the Witch Is Dead,” as the chicken feet slowly shrivelled under the house and the ruby slippers fell off.
2
this is such a bogus indictment and guilty plea. It is not illegal to pay hush money. It is not illegal to pay blackmail. And it is not illegal to spend your own money on your political campaign. So if Trump directed Cohen to make the payments to the two women, he did it with the understanding that he would reimburse Cohen for the payments. He understood he would do that. And Cohen understood he would do that. So there is nothing illegal about it. Cohen obviously only agreed to admit it was illegal and plead guilty to it because that is what the prosecutors were demanding in exchange for reduced sentences on the crimes that he did in fact commit. And obviously the prosecutors were demanding it so that they could implicate Trump in some alleged illegality and build pressure for impeachment.
If anyone should be prosecuted for making an illegal campaign contribution it is Stormy Daniels. She got $150,000 but arguably what she gave Trump, her silence, was worth substantially more. At least the prosecutors are claiming that. And maybe going forward Congress should make it illegal for any candidate for political office or indeed anyone to pay or receive hush money with regard to sexual conduct or misconduct of any sort. Women should of course be entitled to compensation for the harm they suffer, but not to keep their mouths shut about what happens to them. Voters and other women are entitled to know who the sexual predators out there are.
1
@Bob -- if you spend your own money in a campaign, you must report it. Not reporting it is a felony.
Furthermore, the money that paid off MacDougal came from Pecker (National Enquirer). That had to be reported too. Trump, Cohen and Pecker conspired to violate the campaign finance law.
And yet further, Trump's method of paying Cohen was illegal.
5
I am impressed by Trumpists’ ability to make that poor word “obviously,” slave away like this.
4
The President of the United States is accused of federal campaign finance violations that are felonies. Since he won't be indicted while in office, the legal impact doesn't arrive until he leaves the White House. The taint of the charges begins immediately. Fewer "Good Republicans" will continue on this march to autocracy. The inevitable discovery of Trump's Russian business ties will cement his fate.
Witch Hunt? Methinks we found a witch!
3
This too will pass. Trump will not be re-elected. Trump talks about witch hunts. I think instead of being a witch (or warlock, the correct term for a male) Trump is best compared to the Wizard of Oz, the guy with the loud and deep voice, incredible media presence, who is exposed as a phony, a clueless old man hiding behind a curtain or in Trump's case, hiding behind tweets written in the language of a nasty boy on the playground. His recent response to Tillerson's thoughtful criticism showed a hurt child striking out, while Tillerson's comments were by an adult. Republicans only seem immovable. What surely got their attention was the mid-term elections. Trump committed crimes with Cohen that are sending Cohen to jail. Do we really want a criminal running the country? Ordinary Republicans with character will finally speak out at some point. Otherwise, they are encouraging their children to model themselves on the number one Republican and who would want that? The public will need to speak to Republican legislators and to the poll takers. When the numbers turn more negative as they did for Nixon, Republicans will come around. The R in Republican did not refer to racists in Lincoln's day and it doesn't need to imply that now, once Republicans drop their attempts to block voting by the growing number of human beings who are of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Have faith in America.
191
@Jim
Agreed!
Despite what Bret ( oh gosh, he's not so bad ) Stevens claims, Drumpf ( his real name till changed ) is going down and for legitimate and good reason.
Thank God!
18
@Jim
If the Republicans had any intention of "coming around" they wouldn't be changing laws to limit the power of Democrats who will be replacing them in January. They are a toxic stew of bitter, resentful, and vengeful people displaying their dysfunction for all to see.
50
@Jim
Great comparison, but I still fear he could be re-elected.
7
Quoting the article,
"If recent reports that Mr. Cohen floated the idea of giving Mr. Putin a $50 million luxury apartment in a future Trump Tower Moscow prove true, both the president and his company could face substantial jeopardy."
Indeed, as I have argued in previous posts, if Trump simply wanted to gain the presidency, there was little real reason to seek collusion with Putin, since Putin was already angry at Hillary Clinton for actions involving Bill Clinton during previous Russian elections. It appears that the US did in fact try to influence Russian elections, setting up Putin's motive to seek retaliation by leaking emails of Clinton's campaign chairman to Julian Assange. Why would Trump think that additional prodding was needed to get Putin to work for him? He could just stand back and let Putin act on his own.
But the revelation of Michael Cohen provides a darker motive for Trump. If he was actively seeking a deal on a Trump Tower Moscow while candidate for president, he appears to have been selling influence to Putin in order to enrich himself at the expense of the US. Offering Putin an apartment in Trump Tower sets up a huge conflict of interest. The US cannot allow its influence to be peddled to foreign heads of state in order to enrich the president. That is unacceptable in anybody's book.
If it turns out that Trump in any way sought to provide Putin with an apartment in Trump Tower, this could well be the kernel of a successful impeachment case.
5
The best scenario would be that this investigation stretches into the end of Trump's term, that he runs again, and that during the election process he is totally discredited ushering in a blue tsunami of Presidency, House and Senate. And this momentum needs to last through 2028. That much time is needed in order to recover from the 21st century right-wing power grab. A lot of legislation will be needed to overcome the Judiciary's overreach. Of course this presumes that the Democrats can put up a thoroughly electable candidate for President and VP. I think a ticket of Sherrod Brown and Beto might do it.
4
At this time, there seems to be no method to indict a sitting President. He has to be impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate. He may then be indicted. Will that happen? No, because his successor, the Vice President, will step forward and pardon the disgraced President for all crimes he may have committed. Look for Nixon’s example.
The Congress could pass a new law which excludes the President from a successor's pardon. The pardon may be allowed ten years after the person becomes the ex-President.
3
This is just what we know from a limited number of people. Imagine all that Mueller knows from many people and documents. These are matters that have not been disclosed.
For example, if you recall the Russia indictments, they included an unnamed congressional candidate who sought help from GRU. We haven't heard any more. My guess is that this crime was coordinated with someone in the White House and that indictments are forthcoming.
It means that people knew how to use GRU to influence an election AND how to get in contact.
6
Trump is finished, at least neutered.
5
Sure, this is bad stuff but maybe not as important as what is happening to democracy in Wisconsin, and Michigan and North Carolina. It is perhaps even less important than what AOC reported about the new freshman class of House of Representatives orientation at Harvard last week. It was full of Neoliberals and CEO's telling the new Congress people how to work the system. How about climate change? How about the fact that the protests in France are really about wealth inequality and the right wing tilt in Germany is really about wealth inequality. And a report citing work by Credit Suisse shows that for a typical American wealth inequality costs them around $120,000 over their lifetime. This can't continue. By all means, let's relish the Mueller report but the problems are so much greater than just Donald J. Trump.
14
Any forthcoming actions from the Mueller team against Trump can never be characterized as partisan because Mueller is leading and has the final say as a Republican versus the Republican Trump and additionally, Rosenstein who appointed Mueller is also Republican overseen by the former Republican AG Sessions. The Independent Investigation cannot be called partisan, end of discussion.
7
Love the understatement:
"If recent reports that Mr. Cohen floated the idea of giving Mr. Putin a $50 million luxury apartment in a future Trump Tower Moscow prove true, both the president and his company could face substantial jeopardy."
5
Are we seeing the beginning of the end of trump? Unlikely, but possible. Have we already witnessed the beginning of the end of liberal democracy in America? Yes.
10
Trump has deliberately hurt so many people, I wonder if the tipping point will come when all of these people rise up and say, "No more."
5
Its not the beginning of the end, but as Winston Churchill noted it is "the end of the beginning"
2
And I quote the great Mark Slackmeyer of Doonesbury fame when asked his opinion about Nixon and Watergate:
"Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!"
This national nightmare cannot end soon enough.
Remember this people. There is only one republican that would be worth of your vote at this time in our history: Robert Mueller III.
The rest of them seem to be worthless.
12
Donald Trump has more lives than a cat. He probably will not win reelection in 2020, but he will not spend a day in jail or even be fined so much as a dollar. The treatment of the liars, grifters, and outright crooks who brought us the Great Recession shows us that Trump need not worry about the consequences of his actions.
185
@Jack be Quick
Well said!
He also is justified in proclaiming "Fake news" when no one will acknowledge in print or on CNN and MSNBC, day by day, hour and minute after every new TV panel discussion on attempting to hasten his departure.The
How's would any of us feel?
3
@Frank Leibold
From your mouth to Trump's ear.
Don't be so negative. Nixon got brought down. Trump will go down in spectacular fashion.
19
@Jack be Quick
That Trump and the Trump Organization will be relegated to the dustbin of history and that he will be listed as one of our worst and most corrupt presidents might have to be enough.
30
Only in the fantasy alternative reality that progressives live in it this anything. It happened before service so no impeachment, it is a person thing so little to no connection to running, and of course this type of issue is settled with some cash. Wishful thinking at best. A massive joke at worst.
1
J.Waddell,
"The alleged campaign finance violations are pretty much the same as what John Edwards was indicted for, and he was acquitted. Charging Trump for something that a Democrat was acquitted of would look awfully partisan."
Just because Edwards was acquitted, it does not follow that Trump will be also. Either we are a nation of laws, where all are subject to the law, or we are not. I am arguing that we are.
2
I cannot see a starker contrast between the left and right leaning media on how this news is spun. The headlines in fox news still is talking about the Clinton email scandal, and how bad Obama was (that was 3 years ago). They are still going after muller investigation, and saying what President echos with no facts of this issue forthcoming.
What's happening to America? Our president is destroying all internal civility, and so are media organizations that appear to be supremely political in how they spin the news. I just hope that this is the beginning of the end of trump, and not the ideal of democracy in the country and that the institutions and people manning them rise up to the challenge. 2019 promises to be an year of tumult here. Buckle up everyone.
7
I want to believe that when all of the hard facts that Mr. Mueller has amassed are reported out, the Senate Republicans will have no choice but to impeach. If they do not, the demise of the rule of law and of our faith in our government institutions will be the blood that stains their hands.
9
@PracticalRealities
Even if the House has no choice but to impeach, it would still remain to be seen if the Senate has the integrity to convict.
1
Not sure if this is the beginning of the end or the middle of the end? Trump sows his own destruction every day. He is determined to self destruct whether the Republicans stand by him or not--maybe its his destiny. The republic deserves the truth and I want the lot. Whether our folks in Congress can stomach the truth...in another matter all together.
3
"Is This the Beginning of the End for Trump?"
"Sentencing memos reveal damning evidence about collusion and campaign finance violations."
"We don’t know the content of those contacts, but considering public statements about potential pardons, it is not hard to imagine they could implicate the president and others in a conspiracy to obstruct justice or witness tampering if, for example, they suggested a potential pardon if Mr. Manafort protected the president. "
From the time of Trump creating the "birther" campaign against President Obama, up through the2016 republican primary campaign and through the last two years, we have seen Trump for the poor excuse that he is in every respect. Whatever the negative term is that anyone would use fits Trump perfectly. His constant lies alone prove him to be a person without any morals nor dignity.
And what is equally distressing is that all of the high-tone, religion professing republicans have aided and abetted Trump, either by their public support and defense of him or by their silence when they should have been calling him out for each and all of his transgressions.
The end, whatever it might prove to be, as with Nixon in the Watergate scandal, can not come too soon. Trump is and has made America a laughing stock around the world and we the people must set our nation back straight on course as a leader of the free world.
5
Game over: Putin won. Barr will quickly eviscerate Special Council, Senate will not convict after House impeachment, thus the field is clear to manipulate the next election. Statute of limitations will expire. Alas.
6
@Ken Wynne
Correct. The game is already over. For too long we've lived in a fantasy world of hope that's already doomed. Better to face reality and take it from there - wherever "there" is.
1
If the special counsel's sentencing memos for Cohen & Manafort are problematic for Trump, how can these latest disclosures not also be of grave concern to the complicit Senate GOP, which at every turn has given unwavering support and protection to their president?
16
I wholeheartedly agree! They’re failure to act on the evidence before them looks like complicity and failure to fulfill their oaths of Office.
8
@Suzy: If they don't hang together, they know they will get hanged separately.
@Suzy
Criminal president!
1
Trump is certainly a sleazy character, but there's probably not enough here to support an indictment and/or impeachment. The alleged campaign finance violations are pretty much the same as what John Edwards was indicted for, and he was acquitted. Charging Trump for something that a Democrat was acquitted of would look awfully partisan.
Other than that, there is lots more sleazy, less than ethical behavior, but likely not a crime of any significance.
48
@J. Waddell....you know that the investigation is not over right? Whether Trump gets impeached or not is still too early. Even with all the information released in the last week I'm willing to bet is still the tip of the iceberg.
21
@J. Waddell
Me thinks your judgment a tad premature. What's public is the tip of an iceberg.
It appears the Democrats won't get suckered into impeachment proceedings. They need to focus on a credible candidate who offers competence and integrity and -- surprise -- actual, workable solutions to the nation's challenges.
23
@J. Waddell John Edwards was bribed by 725k, Trump Tower in Moscow was to the tune of hundreds of millions and with a adversarial foreign power, it's like comparing high school football to the NFL.
33
Since when is a Justice Department memorandum given the status of "law of the land"?
Trump has kicked the department of justice around, given little credence to its importance. Since there has been no case law or precedence established on whether or not you can indict a sitting president, I would like to see this president indicted - in office or not -- and let the courts decide whether the DOJ memorandum is the law of the land.
Trump is an ever-present threat to our democracy and we need to indict him when the appropriate evidence has been fully presented from Mueller's investigation.
6
@Donald Coureas: The courts may take a decade to establish which has jurisdiction.
2
End of Trump? That may not happen unless Fox News personalities abandon him. There is a way to motivate them, that is convince their advertisers to abandon them. Will someone take the initiatives to push that angle. Someone needs to take the lead, there are plenty of supporters, I am sure.
12
@Frank G The sycophants oligarch/dictators have been given a free hand for decades and thru legislation have increased their riches 1000%.
No accountability for the politicians, presidents and lawmakers for decades.
There has not been a government that represents all people of the US or world. We have a corrupted supremes, justice department and our spy agencies????????????
1
@Frank G: I'm surprised religious folks haven't abandoned Fox for showing too much décolletage.
2
On one side, I'm very curious about how this rumours of getting Trump out of the white house can take place. I was resigned a little bit when he gained presidency but I quickly realized that as many experts pointed out it took with him the opinions that a lot people had. I will be very happy if we find out more wrongs that he has done but I also have to say that unfortunately he is clever, and that he knows how to resist in spite of his discourse and actions. I think that no matter how long he stays, he can change, but he will remain known in the same way as this two years.
I'm not sure if something is really going to happen so that he does not stay for the full eight years of two terms, but I wouldn't discard it. If it happened with Nixon, it is not impossible with Trump. This May in Spain opposition decided to legally remove Rajoy from office for his treatment towards Catalonia and the corruption scandals that affected many people of PP, his party. And in Britain with May there are no clear prospects as well...
I think it is crucial to Democracy and to the US that at least these supposed actions are known, it will have a positive and healthier outcome and as Bush Jr said once, no one can govern only by himself/herself only.
3
The NYTs op ed. section continues to promote the idea that the end is near for Trump because of the meetings between various and sundry people trying to salvage the Moscow hotel deal that never happened. They purported that Putin could blackmail Trump. Of course there is no evidence, just signs, indications and might bes. There have been Russian crooks who have hovered around Trump but that is the way that Trump operates. The Russian gov't is portrayed as a country that committed aggression against the US election in 2016. And that Trump is a traitor. The NYTs has tried to laughably misrepresent what Facebook executives opined as a possible worse case scenario and the NYTs took this as if it were an empirical fact. Trump's election was a terrible set back for democracy in the US but the Russians didn't bring this about. It was US voters that gave him his upset victory over Clinton in the electoral college.
4
@c harris: Republicans aren't at all bashful about interfacing with gangsters and drug lords. I look forward to the release of "Vice" to movie theaters, to relive the days when Dick Cheney handled this interface for the Republicans.
3
I find the whole idea that "a sitting President can't be indicted or prosecuted" ludicrous. Would the Founders condone such a stance? Hardly! If they wanted the President to be different than any other citizen - which they emphatically did not - they would've specified that clearly.
No, our elected leaders were to be citizens first, and holding office was seen as a part-time endeavor. Of course, as matters became more complex, these part-time duties became full time, but that didn't override their role as citizens, and subject to the same laws as everyone else.
But even if were true that Trump can't be indicted, then there is impeachment, something which would already have been underway upon any Democrat's taking office in January, 2016. But somehow the Republican-controlled Congress has seen no need to even consider this idea! And even if the new House takes it up, is there any question that the Republican Senate will squash it?
Our system of elections and laws - our democracy - has been broken, and Trump and the Republicans are co-conspirators, indicted or not.
19
@Kingfish52: Why do we have to project what the dead thought to be credible when speaking about the issues now?
Imagine all the others who told the same prearranged stories to the various committees. Perjury plus. Seems they were all prepped by WH people to make sure the lie was consistent. Can't imagine Trump was not aware of all of this. The whole thing is getting deeper and deeper and then there will be those who will try and make deals and tell even more.
4
a fish stinks from the head.
Unfortunately as long as the GOP and its leaders like Mitch McConnell and his ilk protect themselves, their power and put their own interests before the interests of the country I do not see this as a beginning of the end for Trump. My other concern is Trump picking William P Barr as his Attorney General.
Barr already mentioned or minimally implied that the Mueller probe should ha ve never happened. What I read into this is that Trump hopes to get Barr confirmed and that he then will shut down the Mueller investigation. It is a well known fact that Trump thinks that the US Attorney General is there to protect him and him only. It shall be interesting to see if during Barr's confirmation hearing Senate Republicans will question Barr about about his belief of being there to protect the US and being independent as well as if he is prepared to protect the Mueller investigation.
8
@GECAUS: At least George Washington had the good sense to refuse to be made king.
2
As someone who has never "picked a party" to side with, I find most of the comments absurd. We either have one party or the other "just floating above the law", or we have eight years of someone who was mostly talk, and little action. The only accomplishments were those that were totally PC, and no risk. Obama's big claim to fame was no one in his administration landed in jail. (Although if you're from Chicago, that IS considered an accomplishment.) He was a fine president, but we had eight years of little growth, and minorities suffered financially. Not exactly a stellar run. What needs to be done? Find some candidates who actually have accomplishments in their careers, who will be in favor of term limits, and no gerrymandering. I'm hopeful someday soon we'll have 3, 4, even 5 parties to choose from. Perhaps then, we'll actually make some headway.
4
It would appear that Mr. McConnell and the rest of that republican tribe are going to eventually have to face the question of how much longer they can abide the leadership of an apparent unindicted co-conspirator.
These individuals really need to think long and hard about what kind of example they're setting for their children.
7
It looks like trump will have to run off to a rally in some depressed area where people actually believe him so he can feel better about himself.
8
The democratic House of Representatives could impeach Trump by a simple majority; however, they need a 2/3 vote of the Senate to convict. If all 47 democratic senators voted to convict they would need 20 republican senators to vote for conviction.
There will never be 20 republican senators who will vote to convict Trump no what Mueller's report says.
The democrats should start now to organize and fund raise to defeat Trump and his republican enablers in 2020!
7
We are all reading the tea leaves, it's time to stop. Wait for the Mueller report to come out and then look at the situation. The best strategy is still find competent people to run in 2020 and beat him there. The odds they will indict a sitting President over campaign finance is not likely. So focus on 2020 and not Mueller, let Trump sink himself he doesn't need any help. Impeachment was a loser for Republicans will be for Democrats.
4
"Is This the Beginning of the End for Trump?" We're not that lucky.
The horror is yet to come. It will be two years of him lashing out and destroying whatever he can because his fragile ego can't do anything else.
6
American citizens who still have love, faith, and pride in this country has a sworn, moral duty to their fellow citizens, to our political process, and to our history, to call, write or go directly to the offices and, if need be, homes of their elected representatives in both houses of Congress to demand the impeachment of Donald J. Trump. To do any less, or, worse, to do nothing, signifies that the United States and the values it was founded have become meaningless.
4
Since Trump will likely be charged with numerous crimes after he leaves office and may be subject to years in jail, it stands to reason that he would not want to leave office. Remember, he has the GOP in the bag and an army of well armed loyal followers who would do anything for their leader. I think we are looking at a Presidency for life.
1
@DSS Looks like I'll be packing my bags for Ottawa, then..
1
While the president may be able to avoid indictment and impeachment, the same protections do not apply to his family members. If Don Jr,, Ivanka, Jared, or Eric were to be indicted, what does he do? And as the president finds he won't be able to make tons of money will he fight to stay on?
My hope for now is that the president comes to detest being the president.
@Patrick Pine exactly - he may be protected by the "shield" of the office but no one else is. State of NY is also after Trump Org and he might just come out of office bankrupt? (again)
Everyone saw this coming but Donald. He still thinks he can lie (or buy) his way out of trouble.
Soon, he will realize there is more than his presidency that is crumbling. He still owes hundreds of millions of dollars in back taxes.
When it finally comes, the end of Trump will be anti-climactic.
2
Trump is here in Philadelphia today for the Army Navy game coin toss. the contrast between Trump and our founding fathers brings to mind former Philadelphia resident Benedict Arnold who traded the ideal of democracy for prestige and money. Trump is Benedict Arnold redux.
9
Bill Clinton was entrapped into lying about an affair he had with a consenting adult, and then impeached for this, even though it has nearly nothing to do with running the country.
If Trump were held to a similar standard, he'd be in prison by now.
11
"...President Trump may avoid a similar fate because the Justice Department is unlikely to indict a sitting president..."
If Individual 1 committed crimes BEFORE he attained the office of President, and these crimes enabled him to attain this office, why shouldn't he be indicted?
6
And to think we came so close to electing a president who used a personal server for email.
16
What was it that other guy said? Oh, right: "I am not a crook."
2
I hope when this is all over, someone will collect all the headlines saying it's the beginning of the end for Trump and put them on a timeline with the events that prompted the headline. Could make an interesting infographic.
4
Even British kings are not above indictment and conviction. Ask Charles I.
4
Good point!
Trump thrives in an environment of multiple lawsuits. He's the proverbial slippery eel who looks easy to catch until you try. He's been there, done that, and come out on top every time.
It would take enough evidence to convince the House to impeach him, and the Senate to remove him. The House, maybe. The Senate will be a harder nut to crack. He won't do like Nixon and resign when it looks hopeless to the rest of us.
This might bring him down, but I'm not betting on it.
2
Since Trump used his OWN money, according to Johnathon Turley,
there is NO campaign finance criminality. As a real estate developer there is also NO legal jeopardy involved in the failed Trump Tower deal in Moscow.
Indicating he had no "financial" implements in Russia is an accurate statement. Inicating, as some suggest, that he had nothing "to do with Russia" is inaccurate. What was said and was it a materia lie to the press. If he answered Mueller's wmritten questions accurately then he's CLEAR of the purgeory trapa
3
How does an unindicted co-conspirator to a federal felony crime maintain a Security Clearance that allows them access to Top Secret information and the Nuclear Codes?
10
@John Warnock I think as President they actually don't have to go through the clearance process??
Trump will end in 2020. The GOP will go down with him.
At this point, even if GOP try to throw him overboard, their brand will increasingly be synonymous with treason as the evidence rolls out about the dirty dealings of Trump with Russia and Saudi Arabia.
There is too much tape of nearly every remaining member of the GOP covering for and parroting his lies. He has made, and continues to make, those in the GOP co-conspirators in the public mind. The midterms were not the high-water mark of the backlash. 2020 is going to be the real wave. Not a just a blue wave, but a Red,White,and Blue wave.
In a few months, having voted for Trump in 2016 will become a communal skeleton in our national closet. Those who have been most vocal in their support will have to live with it for the rest of their lives, those whose support has been subdued will keep their mouth shut and hope nobody remembers.
3
Those of us who are frustrated a sitting president cannot be indicted are upset not with the founding fathers, but with the Electoral College failing to do their Constitutionally mandated duty: to cull out, even if the peoples choice (which Trump was NOT), those unqualified candidates either by lack of qualifications, or lack of sound temperament.
It was well known by any thinking person, prior to the election in 2016, Trump is a self-serving narcissist, grifter, with a string of failed businesses, and contractors stiffed (think Trump tower, Trump Casinos, Trump airline, Trump University, etc), on his third marriage to a trophy wife; all which scream a shallowness, emptiness, and to use his words "dumb as a rock".
The selection of Trump, a totally unqualified candidate (who lost the popular vote by 3 MILLION), by the electoral college, has made it abundantly clear it's time to abolish it. It has totally failed in it's Constitutional duty to the American people.
15
Spot on, all of these issues have been in plain sight since forever.
2
They were once "the best people" according to Donald Trump. Now, they're low-life liars you can't trust:
- Rex Tillerson
- Michael Cohen
- David Pecker
- Allen Weisselberg
- Omarosa Manigault Newman
And the list keeps growing.
4
Trump remains POTUS only so long as he is useful. When Trump becomes ‘bad for business”, he will be impeached and resign prior to a Senate trial. His resignation will follow “behind the scenes” conversations about his money, his children and his freedom. Sadly, the democracy-threatening issues of gerrymandering, voter suppression, electoral college, Citizen’s United, guns, wealth imbalance, climate change, and foreign political influence will not be addressed. Pence will be in place to pray away our troubles and the wounds to our Republic will continue to fester. A civil war is coming and we are in the Great Compromise stage right now.
9
Again?
3
Tick, tick, tick......
1
Unless campaign funds were used there is nothing illegal about the payments to the women. What if Trump owed money on an old debt he neglected to pay and decided to pay it from his own funds so it would not reflect poorly on him during his campaign The purpose would be the same and neither is a crime The stuff about Russia is absurd Cohen is a proven liar who says he sought out a meeting that never occurred and that building a Trump Tower was discussed. This is the big evidence of collusion to affect the election The left is increasingly desparate and out of control. I have a novel idea for the left which of course will never happen.Why not concentrate on promoting ideas and candidates that actually appeal to the American people and win the 2020 election and stop this idiotic witchhunt
3
@Harry .."the left .. concentrate on promoting ideas and candidates that actually appeal to the American people and win the 2020 election.."
When we do that, you'll probably be the first in line to complain about the results.
@Fred If a looney leftist was elected of course I would complain and be unhappy. I would not however spend all my time deligitmizimg and trying to destoy that person as is the case with Trump
The Kafkaesque experience of Trump with its denials, deflections and irrational perspective is what the Republican Congress and Senate have supported to this point. That in itself confirms the Kafkaesque administration. Trump's declaration yesterday that he is clear is yet another big lie to distract at lease his base, but is intended to build the narrative with anyone who will listen. Voter focus and participation in 2020 are probably the only way out or the presidential nightmare.
We can conclude and infer much from the Justice Dept. filings to this point, but Mr. Mueller very probably has further evidence and indictments and we must be patient. Yes, sanctions against Saudi Arabia seem to have broad bi-partisan support, but until there is legislation that Trump may veto, we cannot know. This suggests that disaffection with Trump among Republican legislators is at least nascent due probably to the mid-term election results. Perhaps when confronted by the Democratic majority in Congress in a few weeks Republicans may begin to assert their Constitutional oaths. I won't hold my breadth on that expectation.
Not even close to the end, but nice try.
Dems/ the NYT constantly underestimate him
5
I want to know why the NY Times refused to publish information about this Russian-Trump connection in the summer of 2016. Perhaps the editors can explain that to us.
5
"Is this the beginning or end..." How many times have we heard this phrase thrown out there? Are you guys simply swapping out the facts in the story, and plugging the same headlines?
3
Ummm read the article? Winter is coming.
2
@Anna B The left continues in their delusion. Ever hear of Alan Dershowitz? Last night he again said there is no crime here. He’s probably the greatest legal mind in America. This is truly a witchhunt.
1
Republicans would regather put Hillary in jail before they even consider impeaching Trump
5
“Totally clears the President. Thank you!”
Asking for a friend:
Who in Trump’s orbit will tell the stable genius that “Individual 1”—who is at the center of this investigation—refers to Trump himself?
Kelly is already out, so SH Sanders? Maybe R Giuliani? The first lady/third wife/immigrant Melania?
To that brave soul, kindly let Trump finish the bucket of fried chicken first before you tell him the news.
We don’t to spoil his dinner. It might result to 3 AM tweets. Oh wait...
1
MACA,FCPA,RICO, The Make America Corrupt Again red hats emblazoned with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act seal. They are accessorized and festooned with a Racketeering, Influence and Corrupt Organization stick pin.
White House stocking stuffers for the holidays. Get e’m while they are hot.
2
Although not explicitly stated, an exception to the Campaign Finance Law would be violation of the Law to award an election to the violator. Yes, having your enterprise illegally fund your personal victory by your direct involvement is not only shameful and illegal but constitutes “high crimes and misdemeanors” that are not possible for Congress to sweep away.
The timing of the memos releases is perfect and shows how the current political currents in the White House’s confused leadership allowed McGahn to tell Mueller’s team vast information on a network of the damned.
The Ship of State is ablaze and the “Rats” are jumping off with King Rat trying to offer a lifeboat of Pardons. There’s a stench coming from the Capital that worse than ever.
2
Simply answered, NOPE. If laundering Russian mob money doesn’t matter, then why would hush money? If lying publicly with impunity and openly committing conflict of interest doesn’t matter, then why would adultery and collusion? I believe he could point blank shoot someone on the White House lawn with full news coverage and a week later the headlines would have moved on to reflect the next 15 minutes of fame.
Hell in a hand basket.
Btw the world is burning.
5
Sadly, none of this matters if there aren't even 20 Republican Senators out of the incoming 53 who are willing to convict Trump of blatant and obvious myriad felonies against the United States. It just takes 20 to make Trump face the music for the crimes he's committed. Who could those 20 be?
Marco Rubio?
Susan Collins?
Lisa Murkowsky?
John Thune?
Joni Ernst?
Roy Blunt?
Mike Lee?
Mike Crapo?
Cory Gardner?
Chuck Grassley?
Ben Sasse?
Thom Tillis?
Richard Burr?
Rob Portman?
Pat Toomey?
Lamar Alexander?
Ron Johnson?
Ted Cruz?
Mitt Romney?
That's 19 and it's hard to find a 20th...Mitch McConnell? Lindsey Graham? John Cornyn?
I wouldn't count on many of these 19 + 3 voting to convict no matter WHAT crimes Trump is obviously guilty of! (plus all 47 Democrats and Independents) to reach the 67 needed to convict in an impeachment.
1
I haven't seen comments that say 'Lock him up, Lock him up'. That chant is not copyrighted by the Trumpers.
1
According to Betteridge's law of headlines, the answer is no.
4
Yawn...this is the 1023th times we counting down the end of Trump. I had believed it the first time though..
5
This president has shown his proclivity for the gangland approach. He switched his presidency to "boss" within minutes of his swearing in.
2
We wish you a Mueller Christmas
We wish you a Mueller Christmas
We wish you a Mueller Christmas
And Trump's out next year....
3
Look, you all really need to do better. Even a media organized coup needs some raw meat. This latest story is a joke. Seriously. He told his lawyer to pay some accusers for their silence. Or, he settled with them? So............what? Guys, this won’t cut it. I mean it will work on MSNBC and CNN but they gave up any shred, any shred of objectivity ages ago. Here is hoping you can do better in the future or as they say in media land, “going forward”.
6
The first 4 stories in your paper involved TRUMP making him possibly more popular than Jesus Christ. I have little choice but to vote for such a popular guy. And I will.
3
Is this the end of Rico?
Or is it the beginning of RICO for trump?
2
We, the people, will decide when President Trump is "finished." Not Hillary Clinton, the corrupt fed employees at the DOJ and FBI, not Obama, and certainly not that bunch of yammering socialists getting ready to set up their greedy global tents in the House.
5
@gametime68
Yes, Trump's critics are in a bit of a bubble. Trump has tens of millions of voters on his side.
1
@AACNY
You forgot the tens of millions of voters that aren't. Not to mention those that flipped in the midterm to oust the Republicans from the House.
2
Is this the beginning of the end for Trump? The NYT hopes it is in this highly speculative piece. How many times has it been the beginning of the end for Trump?
4
The people who are just as corrupt, amoral, just as treasonous to the principles of a democracy and our Constitution are those who shield and protect Trump. Yes, that is you, McConnell and company, and, you, the electorate at large who cling to your wicked and false idol in the name of fanatical religion, bigotry, and greed. This is akin to living in an alternate universe where the wrong is now the right (and Right). How long before this nation admits to the most adversely consequential political paradigm of modern times..electing a sociopathic being to the highest office in the land?
8
Impeach Trump at the ballot box.
3
@Diego
Agreed. It will hurt him the most.
Here’s hoping Cohen’s provided some dirt on Hannity too. Would love to see him and Trump sharing a cell!
3
Donald might relate to the shrimp he eats this weekend in Florida. Boiled and pink.
2
If we are seeing the beginning of the end of the Trump reign and if Pence is included the conspiracy as part of the transition team and they are both forced to resign we would then have Nancy Pelosi as next in line to ascend to the presidency.
Wouldn’t that be poetic justice, Democrat Nancy Pelosi first woman president!c
6
“The filing is a new example of Mr. Mueller’s low tolerance for misstatements."
Good thing Hillary had Obama's "There's no there, there." FBI dog-whistle and the tag-team Comey-Lynch,-Strzok working for her--or she'd be in Leavenworth for certain.
This all smells like more deep-swamp hate-Trump oozing into the American polis.
Would we all be better off if the government collapsed and we just started over? Seems so, so many rats, so many places to hide--behind the "holy" Langley wall seems a favorite place.
4
@Alice's Restaurant
Justice (versus the Justice Department) is coming for everyone involved in that FISA warrant. Emails between the FBI and Justice now show that there were reservations about the Steele dossier and knowledge of communications with the press prior to the FSIA warrant's issuance. And Comey was right in the middle of it all.
Fox News
Who cares about Russkies? Not Donald Trump
I’ll lay you good odds he don’t get the dump -
Impeachment, that is, we love him too much
To do him a Nixon, a lovable crutch
Who’ll kick start the cash and close out the regs,
Close out Obama, this engine’s got legs
To run up the profits, the jobs, and the wages -
No way Der Donald will sink in the pages
Of super indictments, he’ll bound away
If the peeps who love him have it their way.
2
I miss the old days - when the most impeachable offense a POTUS did was engage in consensual intimate acts sex with another adult, and then be too embarrassed to admit it under oath (whose business was it anyway?)
6
First, we must remember that Mueller works for the deep-swamp's RNC-DNC Politburos, both hate Trump as much as the NYT Editorial Board and both were hoping Hillary would to the White House with the famous NYT front-page 93% chance of sure-thing victory. Surprise, surprise.
Second, and most important, there is so much "redacted" from Manafort's filing that it makes all of this Kabuki Stalin absurd. Where's the truth--somewhere behind the "holy" CIA Langley Wall, the deepest ooze in the deep-swamp?
Third, and finally, if we'll never know the truth about Hillary's treasonous behavior and political malfeasance, what makes us think we'll learn anything about Mueller's and Comey's criminal collusion in this finely-tuned deep-swamp attack on Trump and those who elected him?
4
This isn't very Christmassy Mr. President, but I hope you go down in flames. You are not beyond the law despite what you may think.
Push on, Mr. Mueller. Push on!
4
@Cone, Snoopy and the Red Baron, my friend. (I know that's not your point but that's the imagery you gave me.) Anyway ... Onward, Onward, Mr. Mueller, Push on, ...
1
What a great gift on Pearl Harbor day!
1
@Keith Dow, And the next day, the US got mad and declare war ...but don't think that this 21st century do-nothing Congress is going to move that fast. Besides, I thinking Presidential Pardon for Individual 1.
1
Trump passed the biggest debt increase in history while simultaneously starting trade wars. His moronic policies are sending the markets into a tailspin that could very easily push an otherwise strong economy into a recession. This gross incompetence "managing" the financial health of the top 2% is what will cause his downfall. I see another Agnew here.
3
"Beginning of the End for Trump?" is wishful thinking. There exists no mass of popular sentiment to dump the president. The criminal activity legal evidence today is independent of popular outrage.
In addition, there are shameless politicians who will do anything to hold onto the power they have accumulated by supporting the worst and most unethical president in the history of the United States.
It will take more, a lot more, to dump the "idiotocracy" that has become the standard of political activity in the good old USA. One guy deserting the ship puts a hole in bow, but that is not enough to start a significant leak. When the rats start leaving en masse, that will be the sign that the beginning of the end is nigh.
5
Americans are not very smart. Anywhere else it would have been the end. But trump will prevail. He already said he could shoot someone and not lose voters. He has done more than shooting someone. And still makes a mess every day. And nothing happens
3
@Selcuk
So who were the geniuses who elected de Blasio and Ocasio-Cortez?
Trump should go on trial like any other American and if he is convicted, LOCK HIM UP. The French had to cut off some heads to get things right in their country, but our solution is just as effective and not so bloody. Try him in a court of law - he will be convicted - and put him away, then move on and put this ugly chapter behind us.
2
"Justice Department is unlikely to indict a sitting president",
ok let us go there:
During the violated, disreputable Trump Administration the head of the DOJ, lied to the Senate confirmation panel twice.
The felon Matthew Whitaker is being investigated by the FBI for abuse of power and scams.
Multiple Republican senators will support a Russian intelligence infested president Trump, despite clear evidence of Trump sleeping in bed with Vladimir Putin, placing our nation at significant risk.
Our Founding fathers never wrote against indicting a sitting president. Nor did Abraham Lincoln or a Roosevelt or Jesus.
So why should Robert Muller hesitate to indict a Russian Intelligence infested President, who does the bidding of an enemy tyrant?
3
I say indict Trump or anyone else if that is what is called for. His job title should make no difference. He is Citizen 1. He is subject to all the laws, just like the rest of us.
1
....let's turn the question around for a moment...let's consider what it would actually take [italics] for this President to be rejected by his Party and a majority of voters?? what would he actually have to have done, or do?? criminality is not the answer; blatant gleeful lyng is not the answer; racist sexist character is not the answer; adultery is not the answer; ignorance and incompetence is not the answer; so then what? what kind of crime and character is unacceptable? It is no longer absurd to consider that perhaps, now or in the future, negligent homicide, sexual assault, trafficing,...might not make an American President automatically impeachable or unelectable. That's what we're witnessing. The bar has shifted. It's a different game now, forever.
2
Mueller is acting in the most professional manner possible - avoiding the limelight and methodically carrying out his assignment. It is pretty clear in this household that Trump is as crooked as the day is long. I hope that justice is carried out.
3
This whole thing is a misguided attempt to discredit our president, who has the power to pardon and for whom the federal conflict-of-interest laws exempt him as president. The president has been defined by the Supreme Court as the “sole organ” in foreign relations and national security and is not subject to legislative or judicial constraints, legal scholars remind us. Further, it humiliates his supporters to discredit him and threatens our national security by airing our dirty laundry to the world. Problems at home should stay quiet and in the home for it is worse to point fingers and judge the hypocrite than to be the hypocrite himself, right Mr. Trump?
3
I would like to see a greater examination by the press and analysts of who comprise Trump's "base". This word is used a lot and it seems lazy on the part of the press not to look at what's in it. When you see his "rallies" the people behind him act like they're seeking their 15 minutes. They are jabbering and laughing and having a lark. Many of the people who voted for him regret it now. Are they still counted in his "base"? I would just like a better picture of what his "base" really is, that's all.
2
The public might have been more sympathetic when this White House of cards comes down if someone in the First Family had shown genuine humanity and generosity on any issue affecting the world beyond themselves.
3
Mr. Mueller has nothing vis-à-vis collusion or we would’ve heard of It by now. BTW, collusion is not a crime. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? As far as campaign finance violations go, they’re a dime a dozen. Just ask president Obama.
1
2018-12–08
"Beginning of the End for Trump?" is wishful thinking. There exists no mass of popular sentiment to dump the president. Legal evidence today is independent of popular outrage.
In addition, there are shameless politicians who will do anything to hold onto the power they have accumulated by supporting the worst and most unethical president in the history of the United States. One guy punching a hole in the bow is not enough to breach the bulheads.
It will take more, a lot more, to dump the "idiotocracy" that has become the standard of political activity in the good old USA. When the rats start leaving en masse from a sinking ship, that will be the sign that the beginning of the end is nigh.
Trump may have his blind followers still,
but he's appears to be morally and mentally in
decline. 2 years of campaigning and
mucking up everything will do him in.
3
Ok, but you know that when Trump goes, Hillary (Or Warren, Or Bernie, Or the new Messiah Beto) will not ascend. It will be Pence. Does the left want that? Just asking. As Libs don’t understand the concept of unintended consequences, I am performing a very selfless act by pointing this out. Have a good day!
1
I’m sorry Allison but Pence is a target also.
2
@My Aim is True
Please, leave Elvis out of this.
3
My comment prior to reading the article (and just from gleaning the headline) was "One can only hope...". Then I read he article. One can only hope.
1
Despite the ever mounting evidence against this lying, cheating, con man of a president, the Republican leaders kowtow to his every incoherent
tweet and dutifully lick Trump's boots.
Ultimately, who does the Secret Service report to?
1
In response to the question posed in the headline: Lordy, let’s hope so!
Can the President be indicted? Nothing in the constitution says that he can or cannot be. Section 4 of Article II says that the President "shall be removed from Office on Impeachment ..." There we are, assuming on our own that the President cannot be indicted. It is a precedent, not a constitutional or a statutory law.
We are stuck with a President who is known to be a serial liar, manipulative and dishonest. The House can impeach him. The Senate can convict him, which, so far, has never happened. Even if impeached and convicted, his successor is sure to pardon him. The President goes scot free.
The President is, de facto, unlike you and me. Under our current laws, he cannot be convicted.
2
@ALM
Hillary, perceived to be the next president, also benefited from these rules.
What's 'good for the goose, is good for the gander'
LOCK HIM UP...
...along with the complicit scoundrels that surround him.
the health of our great democratic system requires, and deserves, just jurisprudence. And, the sooner the better to finally clear the air.
2
2022? When he leaves office?......the leader of the Republican Party is more popular now than ever! .....I’m moving on to the Onion for reality.
Trump and his minions thought they could bring their style of corruption to the White House, and get away with it; just as Trump and his businesses have gotten away with fraud, larceny and tax evasion for years.
Trump thought, and thinks he's the smartest person in the room, his own narcissism creating his hubris. Trump should have stayed in New York and enjoyed his "billions", instead he thought and wanted to become the greatest American president (con artist) with the common folks worshipping him. He got it half right; he became president, but the majority of Americans are calling for him and his ilk to be 'locked up'.
1
In a sane world, this would be the end of the end for him.
But we aren't in a sane world. The members of his party who would need to act to remove him from office won't, because his legions of rabid followers won't allow it. We are all being held hostage to the made-up grievances of lazy, uneducated, easily manipulated fools.
That man could shoot someone on 5th Avenue, and they would line up to fight whoever came to arrest him.
Our democracy is doomed and us along with it.
1
The beginning of the end? Let's hope.
2
Heard something very relevant this morning via Michael Isikoff. Twenty years ago, Bill Clinton also lied and the Senate did not impeach him. If they do take up the deliberations against Trump who will they call as witnesses- Stormy Daniels, Michael Avenatti, Michael Cohen. These won’t be credible witnesses plus Senate will never impeach based on this scenario. So pls media stop talking about campaign finance felony as impeachable. Won’t happen. But in regards to Russia scenario, everyday new evidence that collusion and conspiracy took place is building.
2
All wishful thinking. Individual 1 will blanket pardon the whole lot, including himself, and the Senate will refuse to indict him come what may.
This place has turned into a corrupt banana republic.
3
Trump is oblivious to cause and effect because he believes that he is the center of the universe or God. Yes, God, or his anointed. However, ole Lucifer is smart and recruited Trump for evil intent. Trump might burn on a cross soon after the Christian community figures out that his Messiah is Lucifer, through-and-through.
No, this is not the beginning of the end anymore than it was when the Obama Administration criminally conspired to use evidence they knew was false to fraudulently acquire a FISA warrant in order to spy on the Trump campaign, and then sought renewal of said warrant in order to spy on the President of the United States!
The authors must have read some other memo because this one shows that contrary to the Democrat's hyperventilating mainstream media's belief, Cohen had no evidence to offer against President Trump in regard to Russian collusion, which is Mueller's raison d'etre.
Moreover, candidate Trump was perfectly within his rights to use his own money to pay off women for their silence, in order to protect himself and his family.
Furthermore, unless these authors can demonstrate a quid pro quo, which they have not, candidate Trump was also within his rights to continue operating his private business as a hedge against losing the election.
This is not the beginning of the end. This is the beginning of another short-lived mass hallucination by howling at the sky crowd.
4
Millionaires and billionairs in the US, and around the world, have the money that make their justice system to turn a blind eye on them.....
A slap on their hand and it's solve....
A poor guy who sells drugs on the corner will receive more time that any of the above....
1
With all due respect, it has been the beginning of the end for President Trump, since he was sworn in almost two years ago! The new Teflon Don't?!
1
You bet. 45th should NOT be running for USPOTUS given his background with that many skeletons in his closet. But the grandson of a barber from Kallstadt, Germany did that, because with USPOTUS wanted to make money for him and his family. But going to White House is PUBLIC SERVICE. Not for making money. But he is IGNORANT.
One can only hope...
The ongoing saga of the NYT making mountains out of mole hills. The Trump/Russia travesty is near completion with no sign of conspiracy with Russia over the 2016 election.
When it is over hopefully we can get to the bottom of the FBI abuses during the campaign, and who ordered them.
3
In the very same year, we have gone from the ennobling, uplifting story of Notorious RBG to the depraved, thuggish reality of felonious DJT. I refuse to see lawless Trump's tweeted prison image as anything but him looking out from his jail cell at the people he sought to prosecute.
Just a note: I just Googled ""the beginning of the end" trump" and, guess what? Articles with that title go all the way back to firing James Comey (and that's not counting the election). The guy is a Phoenix; he just keeps rising ftom the ashes.
1
@Dave
How does he do it? If anyone is having difficulty understanding how Trumps withstands everything, he/she needs only look at the Clintons. Trump is just like them. No matter how hard people tried to bring them down for reprehensible behavior, they just kept standing.
Exhibit A: Over 60 million people voted for Hillary, despite her record. Incredibly, feminists supported her after her having created a 'War Room' to go after sexual assault victims.
Democrats' support for the Clintons was the model for Trump's presidency.
Pray tell, what is the difference of a lowly bureaucrat slipping a Zip drive to a foreign adversarial government and this President colluding with the Russians?
"Is this the end of Rico?"
Hope springs eternal.
1
Trump should be impeached! Trump should be serving the same jail time as Cohen! If you put corrupt on a scale from 1 to 10...Cohen a 10...trump would be 3x that 10!
Is there anyone who doesn't know by this time that Trump and the people around him would do whatever they thought they could get away with?
This is the man, after all, who brags about not paying taxes because he's "smart". Trump has brought to the presidency the businessman-as-predator skills he's been using for years. It's how he rolls.
It will only be the beginning of the end for Trump when his base begins to realize he and the Republican Party have been playing them for suckers, that they're the ones who are the real losers.
Don't hold your breath. As long as they believe Trump is sticking it to the people they love to hate, they'll stand by him. They can forgive a lot for that - hate is a powerful force.
It's the Dark Side of American politics, and the Force is still strong in this one.
363
@Larry Roth:Sheer nonsense as we still support his policies and not the 'open border' policies of the Democrats. So far the only seemingly offense they could tie the President to is these Non-Disclosure agreements he signed off possible campaign violations. They could also be excused as effort to keep these adventures in the sleazy casino world from Melanie. The Democrats don't care that illegal immigrants are costing taxpayers a mint and the crime that follows. The Democrats gave us offshoring, outsourcing, high taxes and load of nation building wars causing horrific death and destruction with no end in sight.
2
@Larry Roth Yes, but betrayal is also the dark side of *any* politics.
And furthermore, even though Trump seems to have a mass of people in his hands, you just can't speak for them yourself. Remember how the flying monkey thanked Dorothy for throwing water on the Wicked Witch of the West? They were more than happy to be released from the witch's spell. If someone can explain the spell that Trump has cast, in a non-threatening way, that will be something for the history books. My money is on Mueller doing just that.
16
@Larry Roth: Evangelism is a tautology that teaches people to propagate preposterous beliefs in life to gain eternal post-mortal rewards. It is a very tough loop to break, since nobody has ever returned from the dead to say it ain't so.
22
This is it? This is all you got from sentencing the big fish?
We knew these things. They've been factored into the politics of it for years. Trump paid off those two women. Yeah, and who did not know that?
It seems people are excited because they want to be excited, not because of anything actually happening that is new or different.
Sure, if these things are bad enough, it is the end of Trump. But we've known these things. If they were bad enough, they'd have ended him a long time ago.
6
Did senior executives at Trump Organization know or suspect that company "legal fees" were the hush money to hide Trump's extramarital affairs from the American electorate?
Do people connected to the White House have the skinny on the president and others as to possible conspiracy to obstruct justice or to suborn perjury?
Apparently, "Russian Hoax" is Trump's codename for a 50-million dollar penthoax offered to Putin for a hotel deal.
Finally, it seems that the sum of “political synergy” and “synergy on a government level” squared by Putin MAY NOT EQUAL "No Collusion" times infinity.
Republican leadership prepares to attack private citizen Hillary Clinton's email for the umpteenth time and to go completely mute on their duty to oversee an Executive Branch who will not indict The President.
The electorate is watching. Does Mueller get fired? His investigation made toothless? Will this Senate Majority Leader (already infamous for breaking his oath) and his complicit Whip - drive the same Republican Senators down the path of "Silent Obstruction" and into the history books as Partisan Defenders of Trump's Legacy of Crookedness?
Again, the electorate is watching.
1
The sweetest victory will be Trump losing to a Democrat in 2020, serve out his term, and then face the charges as a civilian, with no pardon possible. Instead of the helicopter taking him away on inauguration day, Federal authorities handcuff him and push his head into a service vehicle. Pence is also led away, having been revealed as a co-conspirator, also serving out his term.
3
All of these comparisons between what Trump is facing now to what Nixon faced after Watergate always seem to miss a critical X factor in the current situation that did not apply to Nixon:
Trump has a de facto state-run propaganda network in the form of Fox News and other right-wing media spoon-feeding more than half of the country the idea that he is perfect and has done nothing wrong.
Since impeachment is ultimately a political, not a legal, act, how in the world are you going to convince half of the U.S. that the president is indeed a crook if everything that they see and hear about him says otherwise?
It's interesting to watch Trumps attacks on investigators, etc. as he feels the walls closing in. I am anxious to see how rapidly his tweet fingers move when either Don Jr. or Ivanka is named in criminal proceedings. Maybe he will take "unhinged" to another level. As one of the talking heads stated on an MSNBC program a few days ago, and is accurate: The new revelations will mean a lot more POTUS tweeting, and none of it will present any kind of defense. Rather, it will just attack the credibility of investigators and opponents.
2
This may be when, to our chagrin, or elation, we find out what America ever meant.
2
When reading through the comments, it is fairly clear the majority believe the end should be near, but the obstacles of indicting/impeaching a sitting president are real, as is the stunning display of power by Mitch McConnell and his stable of GOP senators. Yes, Mueller the perfect pick to run the investigations of this corrupt and amoral president, and while the sooner the better Trump is out, the surety of getting Trump out of office must not be lost.
3
You are making me cry!
Be careful what you wish for. Oust Trump from the WH, then you get Pence, and Pence is no friend to the LGBT community and women's reproductive rights; he's no friend to the liberal agenda. I support President Trump, but I am not all that crazy about Mike Pence being the president. As I said, be careful what you wish for. Cheers!
2
I haven't read the documents filed by prosecutors or the special counsel. How many of the commenters on this thread have?
Until I read the filings, I can have no comment.
But I will note that the pro-Trump Laura Ingraham who was a defense attorney and clerked on the SCOTUS and her "expert" guests on Fox News last night had a 180 degree different view and reading of the Mueller filings than the New York Times reporters and opinion writers.
Pick your biases and believe what you will. For me, a Never Trump Never Hillary voter, it's too early to draw conclusions.
2
@Donald Johnson
This will become Pelosi's headache soon enough. She has already sized up the situation and realized "impeachment" was not a winning strategy for democrats during the mid-terms. She will have her work cut out for her not letting the leftwing define the Democratic Party. If that happens, they can kiss the presidency good bye.
2
The latest disclosures highlight conversations between Trump's fixer and a Kremlin fixer who proffered opportunities for "synergy" between the Russian government and the Trump campaign. And, president Trump immediately brays yet again about how this "clears him". Let's note that Trump likely didn't have the literacy stamina to read past the first few paragraphs in news accounts and might have not gotten to this part of reports. Still, once again, Trump proclaims "up is down" and "one is zero". He's like the demented Red Queen in "Alice in Wonderland". And I want to echo her favorite command.
1
Quelle horreur ! The 2016 election will be reversed because of a business deal that never happened?
Recall that impeachment is a political process, and voters knew that Trump was a little shady (he's a New York real estate developer !) before the election, in which he won 304 electoral votes.
Trump Derangement Syndrome in full flower, as always.....he'll leave office on Jan. 20, 2025, a little over six years from today.
3
Reminded that one of the opening lines of Goodfellas from Henry is "When I grow up I always wanted to be a gangster more than the president of the United States.",
The midterms just showed us that the country wants a Republican controlled senate. My theory to explain this is that voters wanted to be sure Trump will be protected so they kept the Republican majority in order to achieve that. A significant number of Americans still want Trump in office, no matter what he's done. They will minimize whatever charges are made against him. Even though cracks are showing in his MAGA promises, with the stock market rising and falling and his trade war creating hardships, his fans hold on. For some reason, otherwise law abiding, average, everyday citizens, who would never break the law themselves, accept that Trump should not be held accountable and that our laws do not apply to him. As another comment stated, we Americans have always loved our charismatic criminals. What's new is that we now have one in the White House.
1
@Ms. Pea: Acreage likes Trump. Millions of acres, about to be trampled for more oil.
@Ms.Pea
Charismatic, did you refer to Trump as Charismatic?
I do not like setting a precedent that a president - ANY president - is above the law, which is what many here seem to be advocating. Trump &co. have done us a favor by exposing a flaw in our system. Now we need to act to correct that flaw.
15
@Steve: A president is expected to demonstrate how to get things done through compliance with the law.
The most important law yet to be complied with in this infantile land is "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion".
1
If there are indeed disputes between the Southern District's investigators and the Mueller team, this serves no one. Last night I heard, on MSNBC, that the Southern District had a policy, hard as a rock, that a cooperator had to reveal all crimes, large or small, committed during his or her life, in order to get special treatment on the crimes to which they do confess, no matter how critically important their testimony or the information that they provide, is to an unlocking of hyper-important facts without which a decent case might not be solved and prosecuted. Michael Cohen provided such facts and audio tapes proving them, to the point where some of the President's illegal activity i.e. directing campaign finance violations which were felonies, has been somewhat elucidated. Who cares about the Southern District policy? How arrogant it is to imagine that they will get true dirt if they demand of a witness confession and revelation of all past crime? Cohen deserves a great deal of consideration on sentencing for crimes to which he has confessed if this investigation is to bear fruit. Let him take responsibility later for crimes to which he had not confessed.
The arrogance of putting "Southern District Policy" ahead of efficacious investigation can easily lead to lack of cooperation from other witnesses with the keys to the grand crimes against the country in their hands.
2
@Critical Thinker: Three years is a light sentence in the world's most incarcerated nation.
The real end will start when it involves his family.
So far there has been no clear sign of his family members being in absolute legal jeopardy.
When that happens things will change rapidly. Once federal prosecutors publicly indict one ( or all) of his children not even twitter will be able to contain the fallout!
DJT will become more belligerent and wreck less and the cracks in the GOP will widen- quickly!
The turbulent end to the worst presidency ever is upon us. When his kids are facing felony charges DJT will implode.
4
The sentencing document alleges the hush money Michael Cohen paid to silence with Trump were illegal campaign contributions. However, the document reveals that Cohen paid the hush money out of his corporate account and billed the Trump Organization for reimbursement, which the Trump Organization paid win installments. Cohen obvious wasn’t making a campaign contribution; he intended to bill the Trump Organization for reimbursement. And none of the money came from Trump campaign funds.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York obviously added the illegal campaign contribution allegation to the Cohen plea bargain agreement knowing Cohen would confess to it in hopes of obtaining a higher sentence on the more serious charges. So the allegation of illegal campaign contribution hasn’t been proven in court. The Federal Election Commission—not the FBI—has jurisdiction over campaign finance violations, and it hasn’t charged the Trump campaign with any campaign finance violations.
3
@William Case: The Federal Election Commission is a partisan farce, not an impartial arbiter of anything. It exists solely to protect the two established parties from third parties.
@Steve Bolger
Nonsense. The FEC brings dozens campaign violation charges ever year. The Bernie Sanders campaign recently admitted accepting illegal campaign contributions and paid a fine. If he FEC finds Cohen made an illegal contribution, he would have to pay a fine based on a percentage of the amount contribute.
@William Case
All of this is a negotiation. Justice has its methods, like threatening to go after family members and/or adding several charges with long prison sentences. Like the mafia, it makes you an offer you cannot refuse.
The truth is that it's impossible to discern facts from the charges, plea deals, etc. The only certainty is that the negotiation isn't over.
And so ends the career of a master confidence man and white collar criminal. Of course Trump is in legal jeopardy. If he loses the presidency in 2020, which is likely, he will certainly end up in prison. So might his loyal progeny, Don Jr., Eric, Jared and maybe Ivanka too. This is the ugly face of white collar crime royalty. It started with the patriarch Fred, whose children needed to commit spectacular fraud in the 1990s to save the family fortune from huge estate taxes. Fred built his real estate empire on hiding money, cheating tenants and everyone else. His son Donald and so many others just took the old man's playbook and expanded it with heavy dose of debauchery.
We should have comfort that everything that he and his crew have done over decades will now be investigated, diligently mined by the Democratic controlled House of Representatives. There will be justice.
3
High crimes? Misdemeanors? They are most applicable when subverting the election process... there is no more criminally indictable offense than this. Do the republicans have no honor? Have they no faith in democracy, that they should subvert it so... I am greatly sadden by my fellow citizens. I can only hope if it was a Democrat that I should feel the same...
4
@Kyle Samuels: The Republicans have faith that God will administer the US better when the interference of government is eliminated.
1
I wonder what kinds of information the former Trump Organization CFO (and Trump’s personal financial advisor) Weisselburg (sp?) has been giving under subpoena to Mueller investigators? Surely Weisselburg knows where many financial bodies are buried.
1
I remain confused over this "a sitting president can't be indicted" comment. Why on earth not? The fact that it hasn't happened before is because we haven't had a con man of these proportions in the office before.
If there is legitimate reason to suspect him of crimes according to our nation's laws, then he should be indicted and given a trial like everyone else. There is a first time for everything.
4
trump is toast you say ? Maybe but if it comes to that his supporters will quickly reach " fix bayonets mode " and rational people should be aware of that and ready for it
3
We should install a bayonet defusing app on our phones
It has been reported that Cohen has extensive audio recordings of many interactions with Trump,his family and close associates. Just like with Nixon this may be the linchpin that finally gets the Senate and half of our country to wake up to the highest levels of corruption in the highest office in the land.
At the very least just hearing on tape Trump, or one of his associates, offering Putin a $50 million penthouse, could be possibly enough to finally break through Trump's wall of malfeasance.
What is so repugnant is that Trump is not an outlier, he is the norm in the free market capitalist system,in corporate board room across the spectrum and sadly in the halls of Congress.
Honestly it is a sickness what these people do and we continue to enable them, along with voting them back into office each election cycle, by believing their lies and failed policies as they continue to flush our Republic down the proverbial toilet.
These men, and sadly many women, are not leaders they are narcissists and sociopaths who's main goal is to perpetuate deception, suffering and death all in the name profit and their own delusional egos.
“Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of Liberty.”
― Thomas Jefferson
5
What a mess! ... the sidedness of this country, for and against its president, as “justice,” arguably in shame for-sale, is pursued in open court. And making matters worse, a president who comes out with whining, little-boy comments that exhibit a level of weakness due to silliness when it comes to critical assessment. Knowing when not to comment is not exactly a virtue of his. And the victor with all of this, whose “gain” is yet to be even more realized? I’d say Vladimir. The nation has a problem with Trump as president, regardless of the way he’s considered by the nation’s citizens. But Trump serves as a pawn in the larger view, just the “tip of the iceberg.” When rancor over him subsides ... and it will down the road after he leaves office ... much soul-searching will still be required in this nation to achieve proper rhythm for American democracy to be truly effective. It’s easy to blame Trump for our woes; and doing so is what keeps Vladimir smiling. It’s more about what we’ve collectively allowed, in my view ... and that has to be honestly faced.
1
This is just another tale of his criminality. But so far as we have a spineless Republican majority in the debate nothin will come of this.
1
@Maurice Rodriguez, "...spineless Republican majority..." The Democrats have shown little spine these last decades, so it is hard to be optimistic.
2
As to an actually "devastating one-two punch," I hope so! And as to the "totally clears" comment from Trump, it's typical of his outrageously brazen, very primitive and enabled habit of "doubling down" (denials). He's the child who is caught with his hand in the cookie jar and says, "That's not my hand"--Cleared! Not! That habit is getting very old, as well as already having been fine for some people in the real estate business but not at all for anyone, ever, in the presidency.
1
The so called Justice Dept. rule of not indicting a sitting president, if carried to its extreme extension, would then allow a sitting president to kill somebody on the streets of NY, for example, and not be indicted!? Absurd!
Understanding that implication makes the entire concept of the JD 'rule' absurd...Maybe the theft of a candy bar would not result in an indictment but literal murder? The question is only where to draw the line.
2
It's becoming quite evident that the Trump Organization is nothing more than a criminal operation. And that our Clown-in-Chief is at the heart of Mueller's investigation has also been suspected for some time now. But cornered rats can be quite dangerous, which means it would bode well for us all to keep a close eye on both Trump and Mitch Mc Connell his "enabler and protector," to see what their next moves might be.
2
The faster he goes the better. He has done more than enough harm as it is and most of the nation is ready for his requiem, the sooner the better.
2
So republicans spent approximately $30 million dollars in show trial investigations of the Clinton State Department and Emails, all in a vein effort to frame her.
I swear to you, if this collusion and corruption investigation was Hillary and not Trump, they would have impeached her and thrown her in jail two years ago.
You know what absolutely floors me? You can’t talk to trump cultists: you can point this out, this patently obvious double standard, and they *cannot* accept it, see it, or acknowledge it.
Trump being a criminal sleazeball is no surprise: the cult he has built around him on the right is truly alarming. And the craven autocrats like McConnell and other members of republican office (“you have the right to vote for me, and if you don’t, I’ll gerrymander, dilute the powers of incoming democrats, or simply steal Supreme Court seats”) who actively do not care as long as they get the judges and the policy they want?
They aren’t just alarming: they are traitors to their offices and to the United States.
9
@In The Belly Of The Beast
Comey gave Clinton a pass thinking she was going to become president. They went after Trump because he had become president. Only one of them had the system on her side.
The end of Trump has been called since before the beginning of Trump.
183
@RA LA Yeah, well some people just have hunches that they just can't keep to theirselves. We shall see.
@RA LA Sad, but true.
1
It appears that there is an allegation of an illegal scheme to silence two women who claimed they had affairs with Mr. Trump. The claimed illegality was that those unreported payments out of private funds were made to influence an election.
But imagine if, instead, at Trump's direction, campaign contributions were the source of the hush money. Would that then have avoided the illegality? Imagine the popular and legal reactions that would arise if campaign contributions were so used. Reductio ad absurdum.
Yes Trump is deplorable. But remember that a significant part of the population supports him and any effort that appears to be an attempt to remove him that does not meet the high standards of removing a sitting President will create fierce pushback.
Do not let hyperventilation about Trump cloud judgment and lead to even greater polarization in our country.
1
@Leonard Miller: Trump's personal conduct is that of a movie Mafiosi.
It is very important that the President of the United States not be impeached because he used campaign funds to pay off a few women with whom he had affairs. I don't care about campaign finance rules in this situation. I didn't like it when the Republicans went after President Clinton for this and I don't like it now. Millions of Americans voted for President Trump and a democracy cannot continue if it is run this way. Their votes cannot be so casually dismissed. And I am a long-time Democrat who voted for Hillary Clinton. Collusion with the Russians to swing the election is a totally different story.
4
@HCS
Clinton was impeached for perjury about lying about a sex act, no campaign finance violations. Purposely and knowingly trying to influence and alter an election is a very serious crime. As an american citizen, I completely disagree with your assessment.
6
@HCS: Millions more voted for Hillary in an election where nobody won a majority, that had been poisoned by a grotesquely incompetent FBI Director. And we cannot even have a run-off election after a travesty like this. What a nation of frozen passivity this infantile land has become.
2
@Living In Greenwood I'm aware that the two "crimes" weren't identical. But they both involved affairs that both men tried to hide. I absolutely don't agree that hiding an affair from your wife is a serious crime, worthy of negating the voters' decision. And I am also an American citizen who votes every election and will remember the Democrats who pursue this non-democratic action.
1
Nixon said, "If the President does it, it's not wrong."
1. SDNY case against Michael Cohen states that he committed a felony with the knowledge of and as directed by Trump.
2. DOJ policy prohibits bringing criminal proceedings against a sitting president.
3. If Trump had lost the election, he would not be president and would face prosecution for a felony and jail time.
Thus, our system declares that Nixon was correct. One man is above the law. Trump is not merely President, he is King.
4
@Nat Ehrlich
Unfortunately, from a "practical" standpoint, it's beginning to look like Nixon was more right than wrong.
"Nobody is above the law" is an idealized state of judicial equilibrium, not something specifically stated anywhere within in our body of laws.
Over time, this idea has been nourished and strengthened by our aspirations of egalitarianism and the fact that "technically" we do not have an embedded monarchy.
As a result, most of us have internalized this idea as sacrosanct, despite significant evidence to the contrary. I'm sure many people actually believe that "nobody is above the law" is an actual law that can be found on the books somewhere.
If it were only so simple.
Our most brilliant legal scholars still seemed to be vexed by this issue, as some insist a president can be prosecuted and others argue otherwise.
The ones that argue "against" insist that "impeachment" is the only "lawful" remedy, so I suppose this "technically" satisfies the "nobody is above the law" idea that we have all accepted on faith.
I'm not a constitutional scholar or even a lawyer, but where does it specifically say you "can't" prosecute a sitting president?
We need to ask ourselves what kind of country do we want here, an authoritarian quasi-monarchy, or something better.
If Trump is not held accountable then our political system is truly broken and the president is above the law.
12
What's wrong with this picture: Comey and Obama knew of Russia's meddling before the 2016 election but even while telling us about Hillary's emails, didn't tell us about Russia. Now we learn some of what Mueller knew before the Midterms, but didn't tell us.
Why does the Justice Department, under both parties, keep meddling with election results by failing to warn us when they know something may be seriously wrong? Our judicial process is supposed to be public because of the Public's Right to Know in a democracy.
2
@Allfolks Equal
That’s a good question; ask McConnell why it never reached the public.
2
@Allfolks Equal: Whacking Hillary with the computer of the ex-husband of an aide of Hillary who had become notorious for internet exhibitionism to minors at the peak of early voting in the week before the election was a deliberate act of assassination.
1
@Allfolks Equal
Everything was different when Hillary was presumed to be the next president.
Months ago, Cohen allocuted to breaking election finance laws in coordination with Individual-1 (trump). Since that time, trump has been an unindicted co-conspirator, and America didn't blink.
The recent filings by the Southern District of New York (SDNY) show that the SDNY has adopted that allocution as part of their official/documented legal theory. So we have moved from a pronouncement of one of trump's henchmen to a pronouncement by the SDNY. The SNY would only make such a pronouncement if the office believed that it could make a legal case.
The SDNY is now officially on board with the theory that trump (Individual-1) cooperated in the commission of several felonies. I'm not an attorney, but I would imagine that this action would tie into several charges: conspiracy, subornation of perjury, solicitation of a felony (if that is a legal "thing").
All of this is closely tied to activity before, during and after the election to advance trump's personal economics interests and to do so by selling out American foreign policy.
Will we/America now blink? We have an unindicted felon for a president. Everybody knows this, yet it seems to have produced a collective yawn. Where is the outrage that trump has soiled himself, the presidency and our nation's stature on the global stage? While indictment of a sitting president is an action on which the legal opinions/authorities are split, if trump is not indicted shortly into 2020, America will have officially jumped the shark.
5
Lets keep in mind this is the same DJT that said he could shoot someone in broad daylight on 5th Avenue and get away with it.
He has publicly taunted and dared law enforcement to come after him and being (s)elected to the WH he has been even more emboldened.
I do think the end is near for his freedom. There is very strong evidence he will not survive 2019 but I see no way he does not get indicted on multiple crimes after being voted out of office in 2020.
So DJT is essentially (legally and politically) a lame duck for the remaining time in office.
With legal troubles pending he should not be be able to appoint any new judges or enact any new legislation while listed as a co conspirator in a series of federal crimes!
5
The Mueller memorandum accuses Manafort of “lying to the special counsel regarding his contacts with the Trump administration.” However, the memo does not alleged the contacts were unlawful. As the New York Times has reported, Manafort and Trump have a joint defense agreement, which allows them to pursue a joint defense strategy and share confidential information. Joint defense agreements are legal and protected by attorney-client privilege. Manafort and Trump can legally coordinate their responses fo questions related to unlawful collusion without being guilty of obstruction of justice.
1
@William Case
It appears that perjury is a crime for which Mueller gets to play judge and jury. No surprise, this was his technique of choice.
Can we all just pull back from the many trees for a moment and look at the forest? The entire 2016 presidential election was an illegitimate fraud.
From missing tax returns to hush money payments to undisclosed business interests to collusion with the Russians, vital, disqualifying information was withheld from American voters which, if known to them, would have changed the election outcome.
In all our detailed legal analysis, we cannot lose sight of this important fact.
14
For months now Mr Trump has been tweeting and publicly stating in unequivocal terms "NO COLLUSION". Now we see in Mueller's slowly dropping indictments that there apparently was "COLLUSION." I am so confused. Whom should I beleve? Surely our elected President would never lie to the American people. Would he?
4
Now is a good time for members of the media to turn their attention to what Mike Pence knew -- and when he knew it. He can't feign ignorance when he was enmeshed in this from the moment he signed on. Which begs the question: If both he and Trump are impeached for their role in this criminal conspiracy and cover-up, where will Speaker Pelosi -- next in line to the presidency -- choose to take the oath of office?
6
In a healthy democracy, Trump’s party would force him to resign before the end of the year. In a country where the president’s party is a cult of personality, the party doesn’t care how many crimes he’s committed and stays with him no matter what. Freedom, liberty, and justice in such a country take a second seat to ruling.
What are we?
7
I keep wondering how we ended up with Trump as President? Blame the Russians? Blame Comey 's last minute investigation of Hillary's emails? Blame the electorate's anti-establishment mood at the time? Then I think of Benjamin Franklin's response to a citizen who had asked him what had come out of the constitutional convention. He replied " you've got a republic , if you can keep it." It is our responsibility to stay alert , informed, and use our vote to put competent and ethical people into office.
9
The House proceeding with impeachment will result in no removal from office because the Senate is not ready to eliminate Trump from office. And removing him from office is the right thing.
The ugly evidence of Trump’s misdeeds should play out in Congressional hearings. Educate the voters and GOP base. Once Trump’s popularity slides to the 20s , then the Senate will turn on Trump.
Meanwhile, sit back and watch Trump crumble. The only fear I have is Trump retaliating by declaring a “national emergency “, which can happen at a stroke of his pen. That being the case he has unlimited power. An earlier comment said voters in 2020 will rid Trump from office. That is if we are allowed to vote. This sounds extreme. Let’s pray we are never faced with what a wannabe dictator might do.
5
The best strategy for Mueller remains investigating those surrounding and close to Trump, not Trump himself. Each indictment of a Trump associate (and eventually, family members) is like knocking away one more pillar that holds up the entire corrupt enterprise.
Eventually, Trump will become so incensed that he will say or do something to implicate himself or will attempt something blatantly unconstitutional. At that point, the whole House of Cards will come tumbling down.
What's the old saying? Give a man enough rope and eventually he'll hang himself?
2
What kind of precedent does it set that you can cheat to win the presidency and then be shielded from prosecution until you serve out your term? If that sounds ridiculous, it is. Just because there's no precedent to indicting a sitting president doesn't mean there isn't a situation that calls for it. If they allow this to stand, federal prosecutors would be drawing up a blueprint for future tyrants or foreign governments to pursue the presidency of the US.
6
How often have we been tantalized by the same headline since the beginning of the Mueller investigation? Everything thing that could have been a "potential" knock-out for the Don eventually turned into just another close call. Compared to our real Teflon Don, John Gotti was The Epoxy Don.
“For all these reasons, the president is unlikely to have a restful, tweet-free weekend — or a calm 2019, for that matter.”
Thank you for succinctly articulating the downside for Trump (as even a legal illiterate like me sees it) to those who were expecting so much more.
Except my bet would be that Donald Trump probably sleeps quite well. And the realization that none of this is likely to result in him being removed from office OR ending up in jail? I bet he takes that and tweets it as a total vindication.
(Okay I cheated on that last point. Sorry!)
2
I think the time may finally have arrived where Trump can indeed stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and take someone out and get away with it — but only if it is himself.
1
I agree that Trump will never be convicted in the Senate. His constituencies in the slave and rural states hold a disproportionate sway. The populations in these states generally share Trump's contempt for non-whites. They see him a someone who will keep minorities in their place. While they acknowledge his poor behavior, they believe he might be the last hope of maintaining a white majority country. Not only are senators aware of it, many of them share this belief.
6
So apparently the best chance Trump has of being charged is if he leaves office after one term. I can already see his 2020 campaign slogan: "Vote for me so I don't have to go to jail, unfairly." The sad thing is, it might work.
2
in America right now, the only thing worse than Trump is Mitch McConnell.
The reason I say this is because Trump doesn’t know better whereas McConnell does but doesn’t act. The Senate is absent.
8
@Angelo
I would argue that the senate is complicit. Let's not forget that Mitch McConnell threatened President Obama if he publicly released the knowledge of the Russian meddling. Let's not forget that McConnell has many times stated that the only thing that matters is republicans maintaining power and keeping Democrats from gaining it. Traitorous they are.
2
Nowhere in our constitution does is state that a sitting president cannot be indicted and charged with a crime. Why should the president be above the law? This is insane. I hope that Mueller throws the book at Trump and his family and seeks the maximum penalty.
We are better than this as a country.
4
I do not know what Mueller is hiding behind his redactions, but if it is worse than what we saw today maybe it will be the Republicans who will want Trump impeached, just to get him out of their hair.
2
As viscerally nauseating as it is for us to be forced to see and hear Trump on a daily basis, if he isn't eventually coerced to walk the plank by McConnell it will probably be in our best interest to not attempt an impeachment.
Better to let the whole country marinate in the toxic sludge that oozes from every corner of this man and his corrupt administration.
By the time 2020 arrives, the GOP will have sunk their chance of winning another term.
It will be fascinating to see if McConnell has the guts to try to force Trump out when the heat really gets turned up by Mueller and the new congress.
An excellent argument can be made that Pence would be a much better partner than Trump, but this is the kind of decision that the GOP has a very hard time making.
Their incomparable arrogance, fidelity to lawlessness and scorched earth mentality is often incompatible with rational decision making.
This is the type of situation where they will inevitably choose the "cut of your nose to spite your face" path because they just can't ever bring themselves to show weakness.
3
The really frustrating thing about waiting for the Mueller investigation to end is that Trump's impeachable violation of the Emoluments clause could already been finished and Trump removed from office. Then since Trump would be out of office, Meuller could indict Trump rather than name him a unindicted co-conspirator.
2
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The Emoluments clause. Collusion with Russia to influence the election. All the instances, frequent and ongoing, of people paying to play in various disguised ways. Where does it say something about "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors"? Unfortunately none of that matters as long as the Senate is controlled by a party that has abandoned all patriotism and morality.
5
Regardless of whether Trump is forced from office, he is about to replace Nixon as the President most identified with unrepentant criminal behavior. When people think of Nixon they think of Watergate and the "plumbers", of his claims of "I am not a crook" and his ignoble fall from office. It will be the same for Trump, not that he has achieved anything of note anyway, that he will be mostly remembered as the President with the endless parade of scandals, some tawdry, some borderline treasonous. For a person who above all else wants to be adored and adulated, this is going to be a bitter pill.
I actually don't really care if he is impeached as long as the truth comes out. I want future wanna-be despots with shady pasts and lack of moral character to take note of what happened to Trump and realize that being the President does not grant a license for criminal, boorish behavior, that we have checks and balances that catch the bad ones that manage to hoodwink the electorate.
Given how the evangelicals react to trump's total disregard of the most basic tenants of faith, apart from those that do not effect him directly (abortion), we can expect them. and the republicans to rise to his defense. The right to life issue will never be a simple issue, the harm that trump and his republican enablers have done to the lives of Americans and to the planet is far more damaging.
7
What's astounding is that much of Trump's obstruction-of-justice antics have been done more or less openly—and yet his fans claim there's no evidence of wrongdoing.
If there's still justice FOR ALL in this country, he will be found guilty of obstruction at the very least. He's done it too many times and too openly for us to give him a pass.
I am so sick of him and his lies and his destruction of our country.
4
Excellent, Smithers. . .excellent.
1
May I humbly suggest that Trump won't face impeachment until Mitch McConnell's wife is fired by tweet as transportation secretary? She is his impeachment insurance. When she goes, he goes.
4
I think Mueller has crossed Donald's stated "red line" in his investigation.
@TWade Trune but I bet trump will do nothing. He is all hot air.
1
I have been looking for a turning point, but each time a new revelation, indictment or guilty pleas stirs the hopes of people who have recognized the clear and present danger to American democracy posed by Trump, it turned out to be a case of seeing imaginary robins when there is no spring.
Consequently, I long ago stopped looking for turning points, thinking that only steady accretion of evidence could wear away the stone in the brains of Trump's base. This set of events, however, is hard to ignore. It's not so much what appears to be conclusive evidence that Trump ordered Cohen to break the campaign finance law (his supporters are already claiming this felony is the equivalent of a parking ticket).
Rather it's the evidence the Trump Organization and campaign engaged in a corrupt scheme to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, about which the President lied to us or the entire first half of 2016. That the President was lying was known to Vladimir Putin (no stranger to such practices) which gave the Russian President material with which to blackmail Trump.
Follow the money has taken us to the heart of Russia's hold over President Trump. Many supporters will try to ignore the evidence, but some may find the Moscow Trump Tower a hotel too far.
1
It's not looking good Don, but then many of us are not surprised. In fact the only thing that's surprising is how some folks still support you.
I'm wondering if, as another poster elsewhere suggested, the current Presidency can be declared null and void--elected under false circumstances--rather than just getting rid of Don and letting Pence (try to) reign. It would be new territory but seems to me to be the right way to handle this.
5
Trump is already effectively an un-indicted co-conspirator and this is by no means the end of the legal jeopardy for Trump and his family, at least one of whom could well be indicted.
5
This is not the end. Nor is it the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
If so, 2022 seems awfully close.
1
@James K. Lowden
And 2020 is even closer.
1
Come on. How many times have we seen "the beginning of the end" for Trump? Ever since the start of his administration, there's been a new "beginning of the end" every three months or so, no? So forgive me for not jumping up and down with anticipation.
In any case, what exactly does "the end" look like?
I think by now it's fairly obvious that, even if the House were to impeach him, there is zero chance that the Senate removes him. And in the unlikely event that the president is indicted for any of this, does anyone care to take a guess whether a stacked Supreme Court - one in which its newest justice is famously of the view that a sitting president cannot be indicted - would consider such an indictment valid?
The "end" comes in 2020, if the people want it.
10
@Vin
The end = increasing paralysis over the next two years.
1
Wrong! There is zero chance Trump will make it to 2020. Like other criminals who skirted the law and at times seem invincible Trump is at the end of the rope. Even his deplorable‘s are tiring of him. And if you think he has lawyers now wait till January 3, 2019 he will need an army of them when the house comes after him. If you think the remaining Republicans will support a known criminal in another run for president you are not thinking.
3
So now the question is by what means does Trump leave office?
Not being a lawyer, he has no particular regard for the law, including the Constitution- so in his mind he’s committed no crime.
Not having any shame, he sees no issue in dishonesty or dishonorable conduct, so he’s not going to resign.
With the Senate in his complete control, he knows that impeachment won’t produce a conviction, so he won’t be forced out.
He’s packed his cabinet with a rainbow coalition of MAGA loyalists, so the 25th amendment is unlikely, and would likely create a legal challenge that would ultimately be ruled in in his favor by the Kavanaugh Supreme Court.
As the statute of limitations for the SDNY charged is 2022, his best move is to be re-elected in 2020, a good bet because of the vagaries of the electoral college, and his influence over Fox and Sinclair. No doubt he will challenge the legitimacy of any election where he doesn’t prevail.
Furthermore every day he stays in office, his companies earn more money, and he’s able to use his office to court new investors and opportunities - so he a strong financial disincentive to quit now.
As clarifying as these latest revelations are, I’m afraid the country will be stuck with Mr Trump for at least another two, and likely, six years.
7
@DoTheMath: Trump may not be a lawyer, but he sure knows how to get people mired down in the muck of US courts.
1
I think it would be better to frame the op-ed as a discussion of whether Trump should be impeached for this, not prognosticating over whether he will be. It's hard to predict what members of Congress will do in response to evidence of criminal activity on the part of the President. But it's easy and worthwhile to weigh in on whether what the president did is wrong.
You have Trump supporters saying that this isn't a big deal. It sounds like a big deal to me! But maybe a bunch of lawyers and heads of fancy ethics councils, not known for their particular expertise in predicting what Congress will do, should weigh in on why they think it is a big deal, so they can rationally persuade some people that it is.
@Pierce Randall: Tillerson's mind was blown when he discovered that Trump has complete disregard for any laws.
Right after the court filings, Trump immediately declared that he was vindicated. “Totally clears the president. Thank you!” he tweeted. When can he ever get real? He put on a brave face as the legal noose is tightening on him. He obviously seeks to defy Robert Mueller, convincing him that he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and still wouldn’t lose voters.
Despite relentless denial, Trump had implicit knowledge and involvement in a campaign finance crime, aiming to silence two women who had affairs with him.
He also had knowledge of a massive property deal that involved contacts with Russians linked to the Kremlin. The negotiations took place while he was running for president in an election that was rigged by operatives linked to the Russian military intelligence, the GRU.
The world is watching how long he can carry on in his world of delusions.
13
If anybody out there is surprised by today's revelations, I've got a hotel in Moscow I'd like to sell you.
8
Merry Christmas, President Trump.
2
Readers of the New York Times are often hyper-critical of Israel, as is the op-ed page. However, in Israel, a former Prime Minister has gone to prison for corruption and a former President for sexual assault. I wonder how those who despair that Trump will face any consequences can reconcile their hatred of the Jewish state with the realization that the Israelis, in fact, have the more effective democracy?
1
@Sage613: Israel operates under a parliamentary system. Everybody who deeply understands political psychology understands that multi-party politics is the inevitable result of different groups self-organizing to advocate for different issues under a democratic process. Israel is an extreme example of this. Talmudic people can take argumentative positions on anything.
Barry,Noah and Norman need to get a grip,the headline is on an opinion piece
worth exactly what all NYT opinion pieces are,not much,by the way,why so little
coverage in your paper of the anti Macron riots in France,I guess in your opinion
he is one of the good guys in politics doesn’t like Trump and is as progressive as you lot.
2
You'll need to get a grip on reality John. The Justice Dept. has just accused the President with a serious crime. You should be reminded that they won't accuse unless they are pretty confident they will win. The DOJ hardly ever loses in court. This is not opinion this is fact.
1
"I never said I didn't collude with the Russians! Never said it!!! And even if I did, which I haven't, it isn't illegal! Fake News! Fake News! Witch Hunt! Another Fake Story from angry Dems!! Sad. Really sad."
Wake me when he's in jail...
15
Little by little everything this bum has been suspected of doing is coming out as true, with lot more to come. Ain't it great!!
10
Ever read accounts of the Civil War?
What dismal reading it makes. Not only the bloodshed but the waste--the folly--the blunders. On and on it went--
--and eventually the south lost. The north won.
Well--sorry, New York Times. But reading (as we all have) about the Trump presidency day in and day out--
--it reminds me of reading about a war.
Most of us--even Mr. Trump's supporters!--knew: he brought enormous disadvantages to the job Public service record--nil. Reputation--dubious.
And during the campaign it became cruelly evident: he was foolish--petty--malignant.
And virtually from the get-go we were pining to be done with this man. A charlatan--an imposter--a demagogue. Peddling nostrums and panaceas--cheap, easy answers. Never saying anything wise--or good--or generous.
But the Mueller investigation (like the Civil War) goes on and on. A victory here--a victory there--but oh so slow. So slow! It breaks your heart.
BUT--
--we're still a country of laws, not of men. Let justice run its course. Patiently, assiduously, implacably--
--disclosing (say) THIS flagrant misuse of president power. Or THAT coldblooded violation of the law. Or THIS piece of pitiful chicanery. Or THAT piece of. .. . ..
. . . .it'll all come right, America--
--but it takes time.
"You must give me time," mused Sherlock Holmes at the close of one long tale.
Take your time, Mr. Mueller.
And get the job done--
--right.
8
I saw the headline and thought, "If only." Sadly, I have lost hope that fair treatment will ever touch this sub-human abomination called trump.
4
All I read here is a lot of "ifs" based on the testimony of a proven liar (Cohen) under extreme duress from Mueller. Regarding Manafort, all you give us is speculation on what he might have said. Until the report comes out, it's best keep your opinions to yourself.
3
@MCH - Nice try but Mueller has hard evidence to back up Cohen's testimony.
2
"Is This the Beginning of the End for Trump?"
The NYT has been breathlessly conveying this tired sentiment for, well, years now. Every day, every week, every month, every year. What else is old?
4
Politically, yes. His end is nigh.
Criminally, only if we can pressure elites to arrest him as he leaves the WH.
Don Jr. can be charged in a month or two.
Erik, maybe.
Ivanka, we need to learn more of her China connections
Milenia, nothing criminal today showing for her or her boy
2
The Mueller report is going to connect all the dots for obvious high crime and misdemeanor (treason) by this President and yet I am afraid nothing will happen because the GOP has no shame. They will pretend it is all fake news like the sycophants that they all are. America will have shown itself totally incapable of protecting ourselves against our own demagogues and despots. America will no longer be great. We will just be another banana republic.
7
"Is This the Beginning of the End for Trump "?
Dare to dream .....
4
so NYT, time to establish a daily 'countdown clock' of his poll numbers and the running consensus of what point it becomes politically feasible to commence impeachment
How many pieces have run with this sentiment?
Just from memory:
1. When Flynn got caught lying (the first time)
2. When Comey was fired
3. When Mueller was appointed
4. When the Trump Tower meeting news broke
5. When Manafort and Flynn were indicted
6. When the Stormy story broke
7. When Cohen was raided
8. When news that Flynn and Papadopoulos were cooperating broke
9. When Manafort was found guilty
10. When Manafort was caught lying (again)
11. When the anonymous nyt oped ran
12. Something about the pee tape sometime
13. When fire and fury came out
14. When Fear came out
I’m sure there are more — this has to be at least the middle of the end.
3
At what point do the intelligent sycophants leap for the shore?
5
This is a classic case of 'hubris' bringing down a human who would reach for the stars and be contemptuous of the earth.
If only the man was well read, perhaps he would've appreciated the final lines of Marlowe's Dr. Faustus:
My God, my god, look not so fierce on me!
Adders and serpents, let me breathe a while!
Ugly hell, gape not! come not, Lucifer!
I'll burn my books!
Alas, he has no books to burn. Just Twitter!
343
@AG
Oh, AG, not yet...
The only hubris here is your assumption Trump is going somewhere.
He is not. Not while Mitch stands guard, and Paul, and Susan.
These people have turned their backs on the political essence of their country, and they're not about to stand down now.
It may be Weekend At Bernie's II: In the White House, but Trump will never leave you.
At least not until 2020, if then.
So crowing about or lamenting or welcoming or fearing his departure is a very bad look at the moment.
Especially from Calgary, which makes it feel a little bit like taunting.
7
@AG Trump isn't gone yet.
2
Bringing down? This whole thing might result in a five- second longer blast of White House hairspray in the morning.
4
Lock him up
Lock him up
Before he destroys our democracy
7
Guantanamo. Putin. Guantanamo. Putin. Easy choice - Putin. Asylum.
2
It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.....
1
No, he is tge ultimate Kevlar quoted man.The senate Republicans under his spell,it seems. And his supporters,it doesnt matter. He is tbeir deliveror to old days of racism.
2
Trump supporters don't read the New York Times nor the Washington Post. They only watch Fox News. What do you expect to change?
2
Mr. Trump, it is time for you to resign.
Regards,
The American Voter
8
“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” He goes under the name of Robert S. Mueller, III, and the SDNYC attorneys, and all those who believe in truth, justice, and the American founding documents. Santa also knows if you’ve been naughty or nice, so be good for goodness sake, or you’ll have the book thrown at you as Manafort and Cohen have learned. Now it’s time for Donny boy to open his stocking filled with the coal that he loves and with subpoenas from Mueller and Adam Schiff. Ho ho ho!
3
With gracious thanks to Moeller, all the president's liars are being exposed one by one. Pretty soon, not a one will be left, save for the biggest liar of them all, and for whom all the others took the rap. When that time comes, and Mr. Trump goes to judge that big beauty pageant in the sky, the only volume in his Presidential Library -- naturally at Mar-a-Lago --will most assuredly be "The Art of the Deal," a book he never completely authored and probably never even bothered to read. It will be decades -- if at all ever-- before this great nation is free of the indelible stink he left behind.
5
"Is This the Beginning of the End for Trump?" Hope springs eternal in the human breast.
2
Yum.
1
Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow.....
.....This is the way the trump ends
This is the way the trump ends
This is the way the trump ends
....with a bang AND a whimper....AND a twit
with apologies to ts
1
The Trump stench is so overwhelming—
It even transcends the Washington swamp gas.
Christine McM says, in a favored comment, "My problem with all this is simply that, despite all the evidence Robert Mueller can amass, what if America yawns and says, we don't care?"
Yes, Ms. McM, that is of great concern. My son is not speaking to me because he's very smart and still says he supports The Con Don. I call him on it and now that the evidence is piling up he doesn't want to hear about it. To put it in Con Don jargon "it's sad".
However, as I told him - and as we must all tell those smart, usually socially conscious people we know who still say they support him - I can talk all day to people who agree with me. What good does that do? The Con Don and his International Mafia brethren want to start WW3 and NOTHING is more important right now than making people aware of it. I am not going to sit idly by while they try to destroy OUR lives. I am not going to sit idly by as long as they want my grandchildren - YOUR children - to die in their demented power wars.
Not now. Not ever.
13
This is all very interesting reading, especially if one loathes Trump. However, I think there’s little chance that he’ll be impeached , much less, convicted.
1. I the wake of the financial meltdown of 2008, we’ve learned just how difficult it is to charge/convict someone of white collar crimes. Most people regard what Trump has done as white collar crimes.
2. Even though Trump is likely a far more despicable and dangerous person than Nixon, these cases lack the “drama” that Watergate had. Most of our fellow citizens want to be entertained, and illegal payments, obstruction of justice, etc. require too much reading and thinking.
3. Since Watergate, political scandals of all kinds have become commonplace. Remember the Gary Hart scandal and its result? Contrast that with Trump”s personal shenanigans during the campaign....and, he was elected anyway. The attitude in our Country now seems to be “it’s no big deal”.
4. Most importantly, the GOP members of Congress are as amoral and corrupt a bunch as I’ve ever seen in my long lifetime. But, they’re good at reading which way the wind is blowing in the populace. If I’m correct about points 1-3, almost every Republican member of Congress will shrug and conclude “nothing to see here”.
6
@Patrick alexander:
1. Money laundering, lying to the feds, sexual abuse, illegal use of campaign funds and treason are all crimes that get you prison sentences;
2. Over half of our fellow citizens are tired of the chaos causes by Trump and his minions in the WH and Congress and want boring but reassuring stability and integrity restored in the WH and Congress;
3. Outrageous personal shenanigans are only "no big deal" if it concerns Republicans, Democrats would be impeached, hanged and quartered if they'd done less than 1% of what Trump gets away with;
4. Agree, plus GOP-pers engage in voter suppression, gerrymandering and recently, outright election fraud.
@Patrick alexander: Trumpism is the belief that being the biggest bully is the best protection, because everyone else is even badder.
This is the best line of the whole article: "he could be ... charged if he leaves office before the statute of limitations runs out (most likely in 2022)."
While the spineless Republican Senate will never convict Trump of impeachment charges, the fact that Trump can still be convicted and sent to jail after leaving office in 2020, makes me smile.
I don't believe I'm overconfident in thinking that enough people who voted for Trump in 2016 will not do so in 2020, so that he'll never win re-election. Add to it their dismay when woes plaguing the stock market reach them and they do their taxes this April and discover that wonderful tax break was merely an illusion.
3
@Trg: Yes, the wailing next April should be deafening. But the Republicans will still have finessed the Senate, and the federal judiciary will be a swamp from which nothing emerges.
So tired of pundits using the phrase---the bar has been set really low---No, the reality is there is no moral or ethical bar, none. We are all now in a moral/ethical free fall with only a very torn institutional safety net tangling below us.
2
@ACJ: Shooting first means never having to answer any questions.
LOCK THEM UP!!!
5
You libs crack me up. It’s Grondhog Day over and over again, but you all think it’s a new day. The Telfon Don isn’t going anywhere but to re-election. Stay tuned.
5
@TS: Yep, the faster events develop, the more the US sinks into the mire of its most backward beliefs.
1
we aren't all liberals
2
Oh my lord. You MEDIOTS just can't help yourselves. Sure, as often as not, Trump acts like a child. Sure, he's a crook...but so was every president.
But aren't you tired of the never ending countdown until Trump is impeached? It's never going to happen. Trump will easily last his first term, and judging by the empty shirts in the Dems, he will probably win a second term.
Besides, even if he was impeached or charged, the next Prez will pardon him, (even if it's a Dem...some precedents they don't want to set).
This is like GW all over again. He was soundly mocked and derided by the MEDIOTS, and he beat the Inconvenient Rube. 4 more years of nothin' but Bush jokes, and a draft dodger somehow makes an actual war vet look like a wimp.
Don't you guys ever learn? Pointing and laughing from your pedestal isn't nearly enough to beat Trump. There was no Blue Wave. What happened is the Dems brought in the far left version of the Tea Party, and there will probably be a backlash in 2020.
Most of the people in the middle are getting so damned sick and tired of the constant harping about Trump. You hate him. We get it. Report what he does and move on.
Unless the Dems and their cadre of journos come up with a viable candidate, be prepared for Two Term Trump.
9
@JoeTundra
GW 2000 beat no one. Installed by SCOTUS fiat, lost popular vote. Inconvenient truth...
1
@Joe Tundra
Kinda bothered by a Canadian chiming in here. Let me
Just say that I have lived thru Nixon, Clinton, and George W. Bush presidencies, and this feels so different. Scarier. The feeling is that our fundamental institutions are under attack and crumbling at the behest of this president. I think you cannot appreciate this from your place up north.
1
@JoeTundra: What a farce it was to watch all that money spent to swift-boat Kerry in favor of the AWOL pilot of obsolete jets over Texas.
1
Watergate ended flat. Protected by unindicted Senators and House members, Nixon never went to prison. We were told that it would bring down the government. That was nonsense and we should have stormed the castle on that one but we let that go. The exhaustion of the budget and the country on Viet Nam, the space race, the arms race, and the other excesses of the 60's and early 70's took it's toll on America.
After a generation of fighting a war we didn't need to fight, for allies (the Saudis and Israelis) who hate us, and a depression that ruined the stakes of the middle class, the energies of the country will want a rest. Trump will go free. He should go to prison and many of his circle will, but the Republicans will once more drag out the "protect the image of the office" card.
Damn shame. We need to show future holders of the office, and the elitists of both parties, that they are not above the law. Instead, we validates their privilege every day by our silence.
9
But where does this go if Mr. Trump is not indicted per Justice Department policy, as the authors accept? Here's my look at the crystal ball.
1. Mr. Trump will resign before his term is up, cutting a deal to save his skin. This will happen to protect his fortune and his children. We might even see son-in-law Jared Kushner turn against him and accept a plea.
2. Adding to the resignation pressure will be a Dump Trump movement that will build within the Republican Party. The midterm election results show that disaster awaits if Mr. Trump remains on the ballot for 2020 as the economy moves into recession.
3. There will be a Republican power struggle over Mr. Pence. He might be an interim substitute, but his collaborator status will make him damaged goods for 2020. Instead, waiting in the wings will be Paul Ryan and Nikki Haley, and perhaps a few others with weak or severed ties, such as Marco Rubio.
4. More indictments are coming. Trial dates will be set. Pardons will follow, further sealing Mr. Trump's fate. State prosecutions will continue, prompting more Republicans to cut ties to the crowd surrounding Mr. Trump.
5. The Democrats will need to distinguish themselves from the Republicans by focusing on infrastructure investment, climate change innovations, immigration reform, medicare expansion, and more. Impeachment can stay on the wait-and-see list until Mr. Trump is gone. The publicity will help.
6. Fasten the national seat belt.
14
"It might get a little sticky for Trump."
In Paris, the populace is rioting on Saturday again - closing the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, keep going - and vow to keep the chaos going until Christmas because of Macron's economic policies which are perceived to favor the rich over the working class. Macron is keeping a low profile.
Our president - who has clearly committed felonies including obstruction of justice, making illegal payments to porn-stars, conspiring with the Russians to receive funding from sanctioned banks and influence the outcome the election during his campaign - is strutting around, tweeting, busy wrecking our economy with his idiotic trade manipulations, fiscal irresponsibility (tax cuts for the rich), intimidation of the Fed, and in his spare time, destroying the environment.
And what are we doing? We're wondering if maybe the House - now controlled by the Democrats - could maybe do something, but the Senate will maybe do nothing, while we, the free and the brave, will keep the faith, wrap some presents, get a Butterball, and hope everything will work out OK.
Maybe...
10
Please, please, please, let Christmas come early!
10
Mueller and his team are doing a sensational job. Also, a tip of the hat to Sessions for his recusal, Rod for his oversight, and Flake for at last standing up in the Senate....
Stumpy is in flames and going down.... most likely, at this point, bluff aside, he's desperately looking for the ejection seat lever.
He'll likely end up broken and further deranged, remembered, with Benedict Arnold, as one of the most treasonous Americans, ever....
8
Keep dreaming democrats. America knows this is a witch hunt. Impeach him. I dare you. The base will be ignited. Stay tuned.
4
@Steve
Dream on. The MAJORITY of Americans didn't vote for Trump in the first place, and his base doesn't even represent half of the population.
3
Is this the end for Trump...well I sure hope so. His friends in the oil industry are about to start raping some of the most pristine parts of the planet, his lawyers are arguing a case that will take health care away from millions, he has withdrawn our nation from various international peace, climate and economic agreements, he is building a huge detention camp for immigrant kids in the desert, he promotes nationalism around the world and has no concern for the history of such movements, he respects Duterte and Mohammed bin Salam, he calls the free press the enemy of the people, he attacks the independence of our security and judicial services, etc....boy do I ever hope this is the end of Trump.
11
As a life long New Yorker I’m well acquainted with Trump’s propensity to grift. I never in a million years would I have thought the American electorate, albeit 40%, believed this con man was a successful business man based on a TV show. Sure many said “give him a chance” or “anybody but Hillary” but elections have consequences......
11
Despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary, President Trump will continue to say every damning piece of evidence vindicates him because he believes that if he says it enough people will believe it (he might be right). This is why responsible journalism and news reporting have to tell the American public the truth. Most importantly, they cannot report that there are 2 sides to the truth.
9
@Gary W
Exactly. As the late journalist John Hess used to say, "the truth is not in the middle." In the misguided attempt to give an equal voice to both sides, regardless of accuracy, the press is doing a disservice to the public by ultimately distorting the truth.
3
the timing of the impeachment hearing and the actual vote to impeach the tan man should coincide with the time he's active in his reelection bid. imagine his base (full of nimrods)perplexed and under the impression that impeachment means he's out of office will probably refrain from even going to the poll(s) to vote.
4
"God gave Noah the rainbow sign. No more water, the fire next time (James Baldwin)."
5
The beginning of the end of Trump? Not by a long shot. So long as he's keeping Republicans in power and giving them what they want - tax cuts for the wealthy, unobstructed exploitation of the environment, war against the needy underclasses and Canada, and God only knows what evangelicals are getting from this twisted relationship.
But watch out if any or all of that starts to crumble, the "useful idiot" loses his adjective, his former sycophants throw him to the wolves and endeavor through now well honed dirty tricks to crown the next one to that now thoroughly sullied throne.
Unless the Democrats can stop themselves from self immolating, that's the trajectory. The country is yours to lose.
4
The 5 bankruptcies and the constant lying were unfortunate but it's just embarrassing to have a president who is a felon.
7
How long can the GOP hold its breath?
5
The beginning of the end of Trump's mafia? Sure hope so, if there is the will to impart real justice...instead of just a slap on his little hands and a 'welcome' to his Vice's complicit silence (Ugh!).
3
Beginning of the end for Trump? Hmm. I'm confused. I just read that the report "Totally clears the President. Thank you!" on @realDonaldTrump
3
You couldn't make this up...
2
Can't indict a sitting president? America is a mediocre banana republic.
We ain't got no king, yet you tell me the president is above incrimination?
Mediocre banana republic.
9
Truth is bullet and Trump proof. It may take time, have darkness and have casualties but it rises like the dawn. Dawn is coming...
1
What boggles my mind are those that are still so blindly tethered to the president. Will they only give up when he has been found guilty?
Nope. Even then, it will be a "witch hunt by the liberal ________ ."
4
We're still looking at the tip of the iceberg. When the whole sordid tale is finally told, the House will have no choice but to impeach. The thinking seems to be that there's no possibility that the Senate will convict, but it really depends on the gravity of the wrongdoing revealed, and how the decision to vote against against impeachment will affect Republican re-election chances in 2020. Meanwhile, the stock market is tanking, the economy is beginning to crumble, Jared, Jr. and perhaps even First Daughter stand on the cusp of indictment. Hopefully soon, even the most hard-shell Trump apologists (McConnell, Graham etc.) will conclude that Trump has been transformed from "useful idiot" to "useless idiot," one from from which they need to get far, far away.
2
If paying off a porn star and insulting a legitimate war hero like Senator McCain didn't shake his supporters at all, then none of this will either. I have decided that Trump is right when he said that he could shoot someone in Times Square on camera and his popularity wouldn't drop a point.
5
From your mouth to God's ear.
2
"Is This the Beginning of the End for Trump?"
Good God, How many times have I had to read this statement?
6
When does "collusion" and "conspiracy" with a foreign power, in this case Russia, become treason?
3
Robert Mueller investigation is a witch hunt ?
Well, one independent advice to the (for now) president : buy a broom you might need it soon.
5
Golden letters, T-R-U-M-P, to adorn the top of the 100 story tower.
Putin to reside in the gilded suite on the top floor.
A sanctioned bank to provide the funding.
"Don't fret the sanctions" came the message from Trump thru Flynn.
Trump flies his jet of treason into the tower of US democracy, blaring his trumpet of self impeachment, while the overseers in the GOP scream "emails!".
Golden showers from the GOP on the Constitution.
6
The focus was Russian collusion. There is no evidence of such. The Mueller farce is over... send the bills to Clintons and the DNC
“Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
― William Shakespeare, Macbeth
Hopefully this administration will be over sooner than expected ridding us of htis man who has wreaked so much damage that perhaps in time we can reverse. Sooner rather than later.
4
Oh, wait... there.... was collusion after all?
You don't say.
2
My little blue vote already felt minuscule compared with a low-population red state vote. And now it feels even smaller than a “da” or “nyet” from Putin.
1
“Our long national nightmare is over...” The Sequel
Trump and a half-pence
Should get at least twenty years...
Mueller on Rushmore.
2
Another day of headlines about lies cheating threats abuse of power 1950s white male racist coal burning disrespect for the military and governance incompetence. ok...
But WHY AREN'T THERE DAILY MICROPHONES IN THE FACES of those SILENT 67 Senators... ?
if they are they are the check and balance disrespecting their roles and office...why aren't they being dogged every day for reactions explanations justification of this incompetent president?
8
Trump to WH legal team: "Is it global warming in here or is it me?"
3
Bring down the beast! Lock them up!
2
It's worth pointing out: if Mueller establishes a prima facie case of collusion or obstruction against Trump, presumably based largely on circumstantial evidence, most of Trump's tweets attacking Mueller and his team will (a) themselves constitute corroboration - as false denials demonstrating consciousness of guilt and (b) constitute separate instances of obstruction of justice.
It's always a high-risk strategy to attack a prosecutor.
2
Do you remember the "60 Minutes" sting a while ago where a man posed as a foreigner trying to launder a huge amount of money through NY lawyers?
The man went to six or seven lawyers and all but one admitted they had to be careful but there was probably a way to help him. One lawyer refused to even talk about it because it's illegal.
At the end of the segment when the lawyers were confronted that the man was just a "60 Minutes" plant none showed remorse. One even said, with a huge smirk, "Hey, WE make the laws and WE make them to suit ourselves".
Now we see how true that is. The Con Don and his Robber Baron brethren studied this whole scenario thoroughly and this was their plan all along. Legal schemes to use up OUR hard-earned taxpayer dollars and keep the crooks in office.
Listen up, boys and girls. This is OUR United States of America and WE THE PEOPLE - average people across the country - will not let this stand in OUR country. You might escape the judicial system you rigged but WE will follow you without mercy, bring massive civil lawsuits for treason against OUR democracy and make your lives even more miserable than you are trying to make OURS.
That is not a threat. It's a promise.
1
If Trump thinks that the latest developments,"totally clears" him, then he's totally wrong.
He's in fact a "toast" as many legal observers commented yesterday.
With his latest court filings yesterday, Mr. Mueller has made no secrets about who the "Individual 1" is?
It is Trump. And Trump alone constitutes the entire Russia Inquiry and the violations of Campaign Finance Law.
As per Mr. Mueller, Trump himself "directed payments to two women" to his fixer and lawyer Michael Cohen, as you mentioned here.
Now the challenge for us as the citizens of America is how to put this Russian stooge behind bars.
We all know that as per Justice Department's directive , "a sitting president cannot be charged with any criminal offence."
For that matter, Trump can only be charged after he leaves the office.
And with the statute of limitations expiring in 2022, Trump can only be impeached while he's still in office.
But with 53 Republicans controlling the Senate we cannot repeat the same justice that the Democrats could do in 1974 when they had control of both the House and the Senate.
So as we speak now, it'll be a herculean task of removing Trump from office for both violating the campaign finance regulations and conspiring with a foreign enemy, in this case our worst enemy of all time Russia, to turn a surefire win for his opponent Hillary into a victory speech by him in the Trump Tower on the night of Nov. 8, 2016.
But with another scathing report from Mr. Mueller, we can do it.
2
No, this is The End Of The Beginning.
We will have the 2020 election before an impeachment gets through the Senate, and meanwhile Trump will weasel every which way to keep the profits flowing while he scrambles for cover and distractions. Same as before. All this shows is that there really is some there there.
1
Trump sees himself as imperial, cannot be charged with a crime while in office. Senate in his pocket. And endless time to foul twitter with his nonsense hoping his base hangs on now matter how rough the ride. He has one hurdle to clear.
Mueller is thorough and his staff skilled at explaining granular detail, easily and persuasively so most grasp the meaning on one read. The AG represents his final line of defense. If Mueller's report becomes public Trump is toast.
1
After the beating Republicans took in November and now these revelations, I suspect they're desperately looking for ways to get Trump to step down in the next few months so Pence can be sworn in well before the 2020 elections. They know they're toast if he's still in office then. And if they don't know that, they're bigger fools than I think.
1
Trump's comment on "shooting someone on Fifth Avenue" comes to mind. He will finish his term. It doesn't matter what he has been caught doing. The Republicans have already supported every despicable action he has committed. They are with Trump to the bitter end. Party before country. My only comfort is knowing that he is halfway through his term and with the approval rating he has now, the chances of Trump being reelected are negligible (though sadly, I am not ruling that possibility out).
520
@Kristin I'm actually OK with that. The last thing we need is Pence as president and the Republican loyalists falling into line. While Trump has done incredible damage to this country, I fear the theocracy Pence would try to implement. And there could be little more satisfying than seeing Trump lose, whether to a republican primary challenger, or in a general election. For him, it's about winning and losing, nothing more.
36
@Kristin Yes I sadly agree. His end will come at the ballot box.
11
@Kristin There are those, in the know, who I have heard say that he could (still) win a second term...with the "unpopular" vote. Nothing is going to move his zombie supporters.
19
Without question, the reports issued yesterday were damning to Trump. However, based on his tweet of being cleared, I doubt he read them. Therefore, I have to conclude that he will continue on having rallies and issuing tweets, complete oblivious to the maelstrom he is entering. In other words, business as usual.
Mueller and the SDNY federal attorneys are clearly following the money. What is remarkable (and rarely mentioned) is that no one has heard a thing about testimony given the Special Counsel by Allan Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's CFO. Weisselberg has the proverbial keys to the kingdom and he has been granted immunity. His information will be relevant on federal, state and local level and about the operations of the Trump Family Foundation.
Taking into account what Mueller and the SDNY have revealed thus far, my suspicion is that "we ain't seen nothin' yet."
1
We have a ways to go and more to suffer berore this hound is caged. IMHO the deficit in the Constitution is that it assumes, but does not ensure, that those running for office do so in good faith. Trump did not. He ran for personal satisfaction, whcih in his limited world, means money and adulation. Lots of others did not run in good faith, although they swore to defend the constitution. Instead, Republcans pursue their own narrow, neanderthal ideologies, giving an imitation of the prayer of Augustine: "Make me pure, Lord--just not yet." Even the mild and hesitating Susan Collins bears her share of the responsibility for propping up McConnell and Trump. We see something similar all through society: cops ignore many who break the law, but shoot others on sight.
4
With all seriousness, Campaign finance violations? Are we kidding? Again, where's the collusion? Where are the actions that, according the Dems and the media, led to Trump's ascent and Hillary losing the election. Isn't that what this was all about? Or is it take anything you can get to bring down Trump and the GOP. I don't think voters will think too kindly to an investigation that hampered their president for two years and turned out to be far less than advertised, or hoped for by the MSM. Dems will suffer for it.
2
@Mattbk
I mean, here's one of the President's associates claiming, while admitting his own legal culpability, that Trump directed him to use campaign funds to pay off former mistresses. That's a pretty blatant and intentional violation of campaign finance laws. You really think that isn't a big deal?
Since Trump only won by an incredibly narrow margin, even as small scandal could have shifted the outcome of the election. It doesn't sound implausible at all to me that if Stormy Daniels was on TV admitting to an affair during the election, that would hurt Trump enough for him to lose. It might also bolster the credibility in the eyes of many of the various women who have accused Trump of sexual harassment.
But anyway, an act can be impeachable even if it didn't determine the outcome of an election. For instance, Nixon probably would have won in 1972 even if there had never been a Watergate break-in, but his connection to the break-in and cover-up constituted serious legal liability and would have ultimately led to his justifiable impeachment.
There's still an ongoing "collusion" investigation (the investigation is really over Russian criminal interference in the 2016 election and the extent to which Trump campaign officials knew about it and encouraged it), and it's not surprising that it hasn't yet issued in indictments against US targets. Several Trump associates have claimed they expect to be indicted over this, so it's hard to see why this shouldn't be investigated.
@Mattbk - Another way to think of it is this: the investigation is not yet complete; the full report unwritten. We're only seeing the real fire's smoke. Yet here you are, jumping to conclusions based on a combination of incomplete information, avoidance and denial, and overt partisanship. May we suggest you temper your indignation and rage until all the FACTS are out?
A criminal conspiracy occupies OUR White House. EVERY day that goes by brings us greater danger as a nation and to us as individuals.
1
So often living in the Trump era reminds me of the early days of the AIDS epidemic. There were few answers and all we had was a sliver of hope. This presidency has affirmed that the Federal government has no moral authority. Republicans lie, cheat and manipulate to maintain power. Evangelical Christians are neither. Representational democracy in this country varies from state to state and county to county. Racism and immigrants are easily used to manipulate voters in many parts of America. It's a sad state of affairs but the Trump house of cards may collapse thanks to Robert Mueller and the Justice Department. We have a long way to go and frankly I am cynical about the outcome. I do love my country so the ember of hope remains.
5
The real question should be:
Is This the Beginning of the End of Our Long National Nightmare?
4
If Pence and McConnell, along with a few assorted congress persons, a certain cabinet member, the trump kiddies and some lovely people over at fox should wind up in Mueller's net, or the SDNY's, along with the big fish himself, I might start believing in a divine being again.
Or Santa. Lady Justice.
Either one. Both. All three. I'm not picky.
It would be the first good night's sleep I've had in over two years.
2
You have to marvel at Trump's hubris in taking on the mantle of president. How could Donald Trump possibly withstand the scrutiny that comes with the presidency? The web of lies, the refusal to release his tax returns, the absurdly friendly posture towards Russia, the payoffs, the sleazy finances, the self-dealing. The constant denials and doubling down on obvious lies. The nearest comparison I can think of is William H. Macy's character in Fargo. That movie ends with Macy screaming like a maniac in his underwear as police officers pull him back from the motel window he is trying to escape through.
The ultimate irony of this pathetic tale of narcissistic overreach is that for his entire professional career the president has commodified his name. Trump Tower, Trump University, Trump Steak, blah, blah, blah. But when this is over, the name Trump will forevermore be synonymous with comeuppance and justice prevailing over imperiousness. Trump's precious name will always stand for the opposite of what he intended.
2
Of course it won't be the end.
Fools will still believe Trump and the corrupt and corrupted who are happy with him as a means to an end -- placing justices, shrinking government, privatizing everything, fulfilling strongman fetishes, sticking it to liberals -- are not about to admit to this Great American Fraud (GAF) until they have to.
And such people control the Senate.
The GOP has worked too hard and been bribed too much to give up their dream of destroying DC in order to rebuild it in their privatized image.
This is the GOP dream.
And we can't rest assured because their beta test was Dick Cheney's revision of Iraq.
Nope. Trump won't give up the lie, so it's still up to voters.
2
Before all is said and one, no matter the length of the process, Trump and his minions are going to pay a price for efforts to deceive the government and citizens of this country. For manipulating the election process and working the presidency for personal gain. And who knows how many other misdeeds.
At any rate something tells me that his fountain of wealth is about to dry up. He has been officially found out and his all important narcissist ego will have suffered the biggest blow of its lifetime. The grift is over and it is a good day in America.
2
Only when the donor class who control the congressional Republicans are sufficiently impacted by Trump’s utter incompetence and the fifth-rate people that rotate through his administration, will impeachment resulting in removal from office occur. One can only hope that the stock market crash due to Trump’s uninformed tariff war might motivate the donor class to motivate the Republicans to go along with the Democrats to remove this willfully ignorant simpleton.
Perhaps we have to wait for him to shoot someone on 5th Ave!
3
The wrongdoing is worse than what has been reported because the most egregious matters had been redacted in the SCO's filings.
1
The bottom line remains, are offenses cause for impeachment? The whole mess is quite representative of the Swamp, and it's occupants. With that said, what two choices will we be blessed with in 2020?
@Dan Green - regrettably, the alleged "swamp" has quickly been replaced with a cesspool. That's the opposite of progress. Thank you Mr. Trump, and your GOP sycophants.
Trump may be impeached by the House, but the Senate will never convict, so that leaves a possible charge when Trump leaves office, however, the statute of limitations runs out in 2022, and based on the geriatrics the Democrats will be running for 2020, Trump will most likely be president until 2024, so while those around him will fall (and eventually pardoned), nothing will happen to Trump.
2
@Tony - With a 42% approval rating, Trump's popularity is falling like a rock in the wind. There's no way things are going to get better for him. I long for the day he decides to skip the swearing in of our next president. Less of him is always more for our collective sanity.
1
"Is This the Beginning of the End for Trump?"
No, it's the beginning of the end for this democracy. That camp will not go down without a serious fight. In fact, the Trump loyalists take sadistic pleasure from contention, both verbal and physical.
They comprise nearly half of the population. They also have a lot of guns.
What better reason do the grass-roots "patriots" have to take up those arms in order to "Preserve the "?
Of course, a major war on multiple fronts would serve Trump et al even better than an armed insurrection.
Happy Holidays !!!
1
Much like the great W. C. Fields, recurring reports of Trump's demise are somewhat exaggerated.
1
Impeachment by the Senate? No, that is not going to happen. Impeachment by the American voter? 2020 is just around the corner.
“A sitting president cannot be indicted.”
What a joke.
What’s to stop him from ordering the death of all his opponents? I’m sure he would absolutely love to do that. And the GOP, as usual, wouldn’t care at all.
1
Trump will run for President in 2020. His single personal motivation will be to delay prosecution for another 4 years. Like the Environment, the Deficit, he will rationalize, "I will not be around after 4-6 years, so why do I care...?" The question Republicans and America need to ask is, do we want a Fugitive Sitting President? Someone using the power of the Whitehouse as a refuge to sit out eventual prosecution? God, I hope not.
3
The beginning of the end?
As this failing New York president has squirmed out of everything so far, I’ll believe it when I see it.
This is a very disturbed man.
This is a man who is now knows with certainty that Mueller has already collected sufficient evidence against him to obtain his removal from the Presidency.
This is a man who is now busy replacing the toadies, sycophants and legal obstructionists already in his administration with even greater toadies, sycophants and legal obstructionists
This is a man who genuinely believes that his genius and greatness place him far above -- if not, totally removed -- from ordinary requirements to obey the law.
This is a cornered man who will not hesitate to tear things down and strike out with impunity against anyone and everyone he fancies as an enemy.
This is a man who will now redouble his efforts to rouse his most extremist supporters to redouble their efforts in his behalf.
This is a dangerous man.
2
Is this the beginning of the end for Trump? Maybe, but the end will still be a long, hard time coming.
We forget that even after the money trail was revealed tying the Watergate break-in to Nixon’s reelection committee and the FBI disclosed it was just one small part of that committee’s massive political sabotage effort, Nixon was nonetheless re-elected in a landslide. It was not until sixteen months later—after the “smoking gun” tape tied Nixon to the cover-up with his own words—that Barry Goldwater and the GOP leaders of the House and Senate convinced him to resign. And they could not have done it but for the Democratic control of both houses and enough GOP Senators committed to conviction.
But even if there were video and audio of Trump and Putin shaking hands over a deal to exchange Russia’s election help for release of the Magnitsky sanctions, can you fathom Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy and, say, Lindsey Graham hieing over to the Oval Office on such a mission? Or a dozen GOP senators willing to put country over party to convict a traitor? Or Fox TV backing off its constant stream of alternative facts and Mueller debunkment, one that keeps Trump’s base revved to defend him regardless? “Oh, but the judges! Oh, but the browning of America!”
No, the end is not nigh. We still have a long, hard, bitter battle ahead—and a GOP willing to let the country be torn to shreds rather than part company with their man, regardless what he has done.
2
“Mr. Trump’s legal woes” are my four favorite words.
1
@Bob Bruce Anderson
The entire world already knows that our king, far from being elegantly clothed, is down to his skivvies. No need to grind through impeachment proceedings when multiple Democratic investigations will yank off his loincloth, and the, uh, facts will be fully displayed.
As for the GOP "leaders," it's obvious to all that they themselves are being led only by their craven personal ambition to keep their cushy sinecures and the power and perqs that go with. They seditiously attempted to spoil Obama's presidency; they have complicitly countenanced the Inmate-in-Chief's criminal and possibly traitorous behavior in order to stay in office and perhaps also to avoid drawing attention to the question of whether they themselves benefited from Russian funding, hacking, and social media activities.
2
The unnamed Russian’s offer to set up a meeting between Trump and and Putin does not speak to the “question of collusion.” Candidates often meet with foreign heads of state during presidential campaigns. During the 2016 campaign, both Trump and Clinton met privately in with the Israeli prime minister in a New York City hotel room. Clinton met with the president of Ukraine at the United Nations building while Trump flew to Mexico City to discuss campaign issues with the president of Mexico. Trump could have flown to Moscow and set down with Putin in the Kremlin without violating federal election laws. However, as we know from the George Papadopoulos investigation, the Trump campaign rejected proposals to arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin.
1
When the consigliere flips, a gang or mob is generally done for. Let us hope this is the case here.
1
And this doesn't even scratch the surface as to the extent of Trump's criminality and traitorous behavior. Waiting for charges of money laundering, tax evasion, and treason, Etc.
2
For the first time since Donald Trump won the presidency of the United States, I am cautiously indulging myself in the slow letting out of breath.
The damning testimony that Michael Cohen turned over to the Special Prosecutor--that "Individual I" directed, ordered and commanded payments to be made to a material witness of his personal, private conduct--is the clearest proof yet that Donald Trump is in office only because of his willingness to circumvent the (campaign finance) laws of this country.
Cohen, too, put the lie to the fiction that the Trump campaign ceased any and all communications with the Russians in early 2016. Not so, says the "fixer." And Cohen is witness to the eagerness of the Russians to buy favor with a possible American president. And since Trump won and Mother Russia's dream came true--leverage over Trump in the White House, no one in this administration can claim that there was no "collusion."
However, my relief at the revelation of these court filings is tempered by the hard realization that even if this president were indicted by the House, the Republican Senate would never, in a million years, vote to convict him of lies and deceit and dishonesty and, yes, collusion with a hostile foreign entity so that he could enrich himself and his family while putting the country he "swore" to serve in its gravest danger in precisely 77 years to date.
If the roll call of Trump enablers in the Senate does not begin to break ranks now, worse is yet to come.
2
The key point is the statute of limitations. If Trump loses in 2020, he will face the wrath of Justice regardless. If he wins, he'll skate unless there are massive defections in the GOP Senate. I would not rely on Republicans for Justice. They are still busy talking about Hillary Clinton's emails.
While impeachment is certainly plausible, the only way to "remove" Trump is to make him politically untenable to sustain Republican support. That hasn't happened yet. In this backwards crazy world, impeachment is more of a liability for Democrats than it is for Trump right now.
That said, a slow persistent body of evidence is being built in the case against Trump 2020. Democrats can finally aid Mueller in this effort come January. If the job is done correctly, Republicans will abandon Trump in the primary before an impeachment can ever run its course.
The alternative is utter decimation at the polls. We'll need to call it Tuesday, bloody Tuesday. The GOP is going to get destroyed. Like a corner badger though, you can expect a brutal fight. If there's a way to abandon Trump while still causing damage to the Democratic Party, that is the path McConnell will choose.
The best interests of our nation are not of concern to the GOP.
3
It would be sheer gold if Time magazine named Robert Mueller "Man of the Year".
1
Trump really is a mafia-boss, he demands absolute loyalty from his people. As the mafia bosses do, he also attempts to preempts and “eliminates” anyone that he perceives as disloyal.
2
How, in seriousness, can this be posed as a question? We are a nation of laws or we are nothing. I will concede that Trump and his band of appalling grifters are “nothing” in a moral sense and a stain on democracy. The lack of clarity in the headlines about Trump, as this slow motion revelation of felonies and treason emerges, is extremely disturbing . The curious passivity of this headline contributes to a numbing of journalism rather than the fearless sunlight that we need from a free press.
1
Please pick up on how Fox News and other virulently pro-Trump outlets present this information as disinformation.
At least we have freedom if the press for now.
Sometimes I wonder if I'll live long enough to see the end of this odious Trump era. It's pathetic when the moment of greatest dignity during this administration was the farewell to another president.
1
More like the beginning of the mother of all constitutional crises.
1
Perhaps someone should deliver copies of Faust to the US Senate for the Holidays- with an extra copy for Mr.McConnell.
2
When you have a lawless president, citizen voters, there is nothing you can do about it. Just sit on your hands and wait for the next election? How much more harm could be done in two years? A lot.
Why in this age of electronics are the citizens virtually powerless to do anything? March peacefully in the streets by the hundreds of thousands, waiting for the moment when the assembly is declared disruptive, illegal, and the police smash it, turning a political point into a symbol of citizen lawlessness, giving Trump lovers a thrill up the spine? What's the point?
We are stuck with this mess for the time being because all of the power to take action was vested in the Congress by the founders. They could not have imagined a world in which one can travel from coast-to-coast in a few hours, nor one where messages zip around cyberspace finding their rightful destination oceans away in seconds. The world changed, our Constitution was left unattended, as if everything were alright. Now, starkly, we see it isn't.
Let this be the last time we are mere spectators sitting on the sidelines, watching our values crushed and our laws and standards of decency treated like jokes. If the people truly have the power to select and elect a leader, we must also have the power to remove one, forthwith, in the face of such outrages. If we had that now, Trump would soon face the full fury of the law as a private citizen.
4
The sooner the better for our beloved nation.
1
Those of you on the left had best not get your hopes up that any campaign finance charges related to Trump's payoffs will ever produce impeachment fruit. After all, it hasn't been all that long since you claimed that as long as lies are about sex, they don't really count as lies.
1
If the prosecutors and certain media sources (such as the NYTimes) want to avoid apathy on the part of the general (indifferent) public, they should present the evidence against the administration in a clear and succinct way in a single online source. Build a "data room" that is highly shareable across social media, and if the evidence is easily understood and damning enough, the American public will come around. Keeping up with the mounting evidence is very difficult, and this will ultimately be played out in the court of public opinion. Republican congressman will only respond if they feel their base is sufficiently incensed.
Most Americans cannot and will not follow this story if it is convoluted (and clearly it is a complex case). That's just the reality. It's on the journalists to distill the facts here.
Disclosure: I still don't personally know if anything so reported so far constitutes clear violations of the law by President Trump, but like most other Americans I could be very easily reasoned into that view if the evidence was clearly presented.
2
Shady businessmen do not belong in governance. When will we learn that?
5
The headline makes a lot of assumptions. It is not at all clear that a sitting President can be indicted. And even if President Trump is indicted, impeachment is a political process, not a legal one. Should the President be impeached in the House, that would still leave the Senate. Perhaps there are still Republican senators willing to abide by their oaths to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, but they won't if they still see President Trump as political viable. That's a lot of variables and "if's."
In short, no matter how damning these charges might be, we are still, unfortunately, a long way from impeaching the most corrupt, venal, anti-democratic, authoritarian President this nation has ever seen.
2
I guess that depends on what the definition of the word ‘is’ is...
The almost constant scowling, the glare, the fire from his eyes, the clutching of his body, tells me all i need to know; he's guilty, he knows it. T he rage that anybody would dare attack the great Donald is singing to the world that he's guilty and will be proven guilty. Good. I hope he has nightmares. And for certain he now knows that when he dies, his funeral will be nothing like what he witnessed a few days ago. It will be rushed, and outside people will be smirking and cheering. And he will be seen for what he is, a loser, A loser in all things through out his life. Really it's beyond sad for all of us.
2
Payments to Stormy Daniels, plans for real estate dealings in Russia and lies by others for their own reasons are not collusion with Russia and not justification to impeach the President and it is not going to happen. These are manufactured crimes intended to harass the elected President.
2
Let us pray the end comes quickly for trump and the trumpers.
2
Mueller is signaling two things. 1) Trump is guilty of committing crimes. 2) This is the tip of the iceberg.
As long as the investigation continues there is no need to start impeachment proceedings. Wait until the Republicans are begging for impeachment.
4
There was a pervasive political song in Communist East Germany:
"Die Partei, die Partei, die hat immer recht, die Partei, die Partei, die Partei."
("The Party, the Party is always right, the Party, the Party, the Party)
This should be the theme song for the Republican Party. It is always Party over nation, no matter how criminal, how heinous, how incompetent Trump is, it is always "protect the Party" because "it is always right."
We started the job of rooting out this disgusting political weed--the Trump Republicans--in this year's mid-terms. We must finish the job in 2020 and get rid of all of them once and for all, or we are lost.
3
“Pride goeth before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
-Proverbs 16:18 (KJV)
2
It is Trump's party. With 80+% support, any GOP representative who votes for impeachment will end their political career. This is why no one dares to stand up despite private grumbling. Power is so addictive, no one is willing to give up in the swampy jungle of Washington DC.
2
Almost doesn't matter; the ruling plutocracy/oligarchy and their politically powerful minions always held him in contempt but regarded him as a useful idiot. They weren't wrong. Now that they've got their tax cuts, judicial appointments, business and environmental de-regulation, et cetera, he can be jettisoned and readily replaced with a new stalking-horse with a smoother veneer.
3
Let's be honest, logical, and direct...three things this country has struggled with since the advent of DJT. If this is not the beginning of the end of him, it's the end of the country...of our international reputation, of norms of decency, of rule of law, of a collective will to strive to be, on the whole, more kind than cruel.
As things stand (more like lie inert on the floor) we've allowed a craven criminal who was a criminal as a candidate * to get away with lying, bullying, threatening, obfuscating, colluding, obscuring, and committing crimes. Opportunistic pundits and the GOP may want to continue to play blind, but everyone else knows that this man is irredeemable and dangerous.
Think what it takes to keep him in the WH. Once again, we'd have to pretend that he's not ignorant, stupid (they're different) belligerent, self-serving, uninformed, narcissistic, nasty, divisive and corrupt. The force of will that takes cripples us even as it makes us the laughing stock of the world. To sustain this immense crime, takes millions of micro-crimes. We're dying by degrees and why? So that a corrupt man can take us to the cleaners?
This story's end was written the day he stepped into the ring. It could only ever end here. Impeachment.
-------
*How many times does it need to be pointed out that he had already committed and been found guilty of and penalized for five crimes BEFORE entering the ring before it gets through that this is who he always was and could only be?
3
It's probably too early to predict what happens in 2020 but when your potential campaign slogans are "Re-elect Individual I" and "Vote for Unindicted Co-conspirator" you're not off to a great start.
1
Of course, 40% of Americans just read Bob Mueller hates Trump because he's a secret Democrat.
1
Time for the GOP to start looking for a different candidate in 2020.
1
Can someone please explain to me why a sitting president cannot be indicted? This is a man not an emporer. Not a god. Aren’t we supposed to be a nation of laws? All people equal?
This is a very disturbed man.
This is a man who is now knows with certainty that Mueller has already collected sufficient evidence against him to obtain his removal from the Presidency.
This is a man who is now busy replacing the toadies, sycophants and legal obstructionists already in his administration with even greater toadies, sycophants and legal obstructionists
This is a man who genuinely believes that his genius and greatness places him far above -- if not, totally removed -- from ordinary requirements to obey the law.
This is a cornered man who will not hesitate to tear things down and strike out with impunity against anyone and everyone he fancies as an enemy.
This is a man who will now redouble his efforts to rouse his most extremist supporters to redouble their efforts in his behalf.
This is a dangerous man.
1
... place him far above ....
1
All the redactions are Trump or Trump world. What else could they be.
1
Americans voted for Nixon for two terms and now Trump may get a 2nd term even if shown to be a criminal.....Guess history shows how gullible and uninformed many Americans are.
Under Trump and his sycophantic Republicans, we now have the United States of Sleaze everywhere you look.
Environmental and consumer protection? That's history. The national debt? Trump says it won't be his problem when it blows up. MBS and Putin murdering journalists? Trump says maybe they did, maybe they didn't.
What a shame that the United States has come to this.
No one is above the law. If Mr. Cohen and co. are indicted and sentenced to jail, like all citizens who commit such crimes as he has, Individual #1 needs to go to jail too. The shoes are dropping fast and yesterday's news should alarm the WH. This illegitimate President needs to be impeached, indicted and jailed.
Collusion isn’t a crime, but why bother with reality if outrage is more fun?
If the president is corrupt and criminal and committed felonies to get elected and received the aid of hostile foreign power, he should be indicted. Trump breaks all the other rules; let’s make sure he breaks the one about sitting presidents can’t be indicted.
Neither Trump’s reliance on his core believers, nor convincing them that Trump has broken a number of laws and therefore must be tried for crimes, both Federal and State courts, is of any relevance to justice. Similarly, this country does not care whether Jeffrey Dahlmer has the support of the Dismemberment Society. No, the steady pursuit of justice in trying crimes against the citizenry and upholding the laws of United States, is indifferent to how many political rallies Trump and his staff organizes for himself.
When I heard that Donald Trump said that when the Deficit “blows up” he will be long gone. This is certainly the expression of the most cowardly commander-in-chief, who not only is grabbing all he can for himself, regardless of what mismanagement and lack of any leadership he represents, but is the truest form of the coward who pushes women and children out of the way so he can jump into the lifeboats. Feckless craven coward, that he is.
When he said he would have ‘gone in and saved the students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas from the lone killer’, we have to look at this bald faced liar and say, no you Tweeting Coward, you have never done a courageous or selfless thing in your entire self-centered life.
In Prison, May you find your peers who listen to you then, and may we as a country close out your miserable tenure, and really begin the selflessness of public service. But I do hope that you get two scoops of vanilla ice cream on the Annual Warden’s Birthday.
1
Would the Trump base have voted for him if they had known Daniels and Ms. McDougal and Trump's illicit affairs with them? They would have labeled it boys will boys and go on with their slavish devotion to him. The sheer moral impropriety of this situation by this man is astonishing, but it is of course the money payoffs and breaking of election laws that will be his undoing. As with Nixon it is the cover up that matters. The sleaziness of this man bogles the mind and that 'righteous ' evangelicals would continue to back him is equally disgusting.
Isn't it obvious that the whole Russia scandal, cover-ups and lies will boil down to money that Trump wanted and the price he had to pay to get it? He's been in bed with the Russian mob for years and now tried to double down on another stupid hotel that only uber-wealthy people would be willing to pay for. The people who deserve jail time, however, are the 60 million+ who gave their precious votes to this narcissist con-man.
1
It is infuriating that the Republicans dedicated a massive effort in an attempt to crucify Hillary for breaking an email server rule that even her predecessors disregarded yet are willing to turn a blind eye to Trump's violation of election finance laws and his treasonous collusion with Russia to help him gain office.
Trump is a con artist and proven fraud (remember Trump U?), but the biggest hypocrites are the Republicans in Congress who bend over backwards to protect Trump.
1
Trump is a criminal he was one when this country elected for president,how this country did elected a person like him, yes he is/was rich and was telling to America what she wants to hear, but when a Co, hire a person, they look to his/her pass and the we are reading now hie pas a criminal before he was electe, but country was so sick of from Clinton's they just close their eyes and elected him and now our country is paying for this mistake, putting him in jail will not clean this mess, we have to pass new laws that this will never happen again, this is bigger than Watergate or Mr.Clinton sex life or Mrs,Clinton's emails, we have to clean the house and this is not a republican or democrat issue, but it is our future
The fog around Mr. Trump is well known. Such mindless dedication to him looks like a cult type situation. The question now seems to be how to address this issue and to give the cult members a way out of their dedication to his toxic influence on them and our Country. There are historical cults in the recent past which caused mass poising of members with Koolaide and a cult which whose leader convinced it members that they would be transported away as the last comet came close. Most of us know friends who fit the cult like dedication. They don't believe that there is a problem with the rosy picture Mr. Trump lays out for them. Confronting a Trump cult member by Just restating the facts of the issues is discarded as fake news, or lying by the media. This effort will need expert guidance to unravel the cult's influence.
Trump knew he was going to jail so he hold his soul and our country to be the president taken away in handcuffs.
Truth Is Freedom. POTUS V Assange will erupt........
Its easy to believe Assange has evidence of collusion between Trump & Russians to interfere in the USA elections which enabled 'the most hated one' to gain power'. Unbridled POTUS does not believe in the law so wilfully misuses the law for foul reasons.
Should Trump imprison Assange to save himself, surely meticulous Mueller will maintain the power to interview Assange.
An increasingly isolated person who raised awareness, as have many others, to highlight evidence systemic global corruption and governments who believe the truth is bad for their citizens.
Just wondering..............
I thought working with or for the enemy - RUSSIA - and not for the good of America is TREASON. WE need to see ALL REAL tax returns, we need to know , we NEED to know about his dealings. He has no right to sell us to RUSSIA for his gain. He should just leave and so should the republican cowards in Congress. ( Who should be ashamed of not standing up for this Nation ) Anything, even selling out our country to get their big tax breaks, roll back environmental gains, leave the Paris Agreement and say anything negative about anything good and decent in the world or certain people. This man is a DISGRACE to our country.
1
Trump is a con man, a crook, a grifter. Why Republicans continue to defend him is at the very least, perplexing, at the very worst, complicit in all of Trump’s crimes.
1
Trump was the Model -T of white collar crime. Standing on the courthouse steps and feeling satisfied when Trump is led off in handcuffs would be like sitting on your horse at the far end of the Ford plant and feeling relieved after the first Model - T rolled out - "Whew! I'm glad that's done! Now we can all buy new saddles for Christmas!"
The USA manufactures white collar crime like a huge assembly line. The Presidency, The Congress, The Church, The NRA, The Banks, The Medical Corporations, The Tobacco Companies, The Oil Companies, .... These will pump out more and more Trumps; smarter Trumps, richer Trumps, faster Trumps, violent Trumps...... What then? How do we raise a family in a crooked house?
1
This question remains: will the duplicitous Republican Party do anything.
After all they put " their boy" in their to do their bidding. Anyone with half a brain can see what a hard core criminal trump is.
It doesn't take Mr. Mueller to reveal this.
It's the final test: do we have the vestiges of a functioning democracy or not.
The intent of the American revolutionaries was not to create a government where the leader was free to commit any crime without consequences.
They'd had enough of that as colonists with a king.
Let's see...Trump attacks Rex Tillerson after being called out in an interview for being inept. Trump's tariff strategy blows up in his face and the Dow tanks more than 1400 points in 3 days. Trump's now directly implicated in manipulating the 2016 election with the help of Russian Military Intelligence. That's COLLUSION Donny! Trump picks an Attorney General who has Presidential pardon experience. Trump is officially named COLLUDING with Cohen to pay off "indiscretions" with campaign finances. Trump tweets he's vindicated by results of Mueller press release; in what universe Donny? Then Trump is back on Twitter venting his narrow minded view of the world and complaining about European countries not contributing to NATO, and Bolton's liking. Oh, and Trump selects a news reader as the Ambassador to the UN. WOW Donny, that was a spectacular Friday fail.
1
So a known liars testimony is now truth? Please. How can a paid perjurers evidence be seriously considered? Sounds like this man will say anything, sign anything, do anything to save his own neck. Can we have some real corroborated evidence please instead of what the FBI have bullied out of some guy who's involved in other unrelated matters that has now under pressure decided to try and throw POTUS under the bus for some made up infringements that this guy while sweating made up to save his neck. For those of you of the hard of thinking I will make it simple. Being involved in tax evasion personally and then smearing a client unrelated to said evasion does not amount to evidence. Please go and catch some real criminals FBI .....
Several reasons why this will be just a blip.
1. Collective national outrage fatigue.
2. Democrats won't touch this, because if they do, people might like them.
3. "The Bachelor" is on tonight.
1
At 81+, I long to live to be under the direct governing “Presidency” that is no longer Sociopathic Personality Disorder.
Please listen to the Sanity of Tillerson, etc.
2
Nothing new, just a waste of time,energy and money. Trump already did and said worst thing before the election, but the people voted him like that. Mueller is just another jobless old man that should get busy with other serious issues. This executive harassment must stop!!!!!
I fear that the information concerning President Trump's actions will have to be MUCH more damning to provoke any move by the Republican party against President Trump.
The 2020 election outcome will depend on how extreme the damning information is, and it will have to be uniquely extreme to provoke Trump's base into voting against him or not voting at all.
If only this could be the end...Trump will have to be removed by force.
Yes, Virginia, Santa is on his way.
1
I'd rather it was the end of the end. There's a trash bin of history awaiting Mr. Trump.
I never dreamed I'd see the day when Congress sat on its hands when the president, by all appearances, is a felon who committed crimes to win election to the White House. And we've known this for months, since Cohen pled guilty.
Cowards. Despicable cowards. Now is the time for civil disobedience. If Congress won't defend democracy and our Constitution, we should take to the streets. Occupy courthouses and federal buildings. Fill the atriums at the Capitol. Demonstrate peacefully, but in force, loudly and constantly. The Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves.
Mueller Christmas, Everyone- Samantha Bee.
And THAT, says it ALL.
@ David Gottfried
The Saudis gave to the Clinton Foundation for matters unrelated to politics. But Trump and Cohen used campaign finance funds to pay off / silence women from selling their stories to the media, which would have impeded their chances of winning the election.
At the same time Cohen and Trump we’re negotiating with Russian government officials ( because everything goes through government in Russia) to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. What did Trump get in return? Maybe the Russians helped him by meddling into our elections. Many high level Republicans believe the Russians did interfere.
1
I like to think most Americans believe in America, I sure do. I think even though the Founders weren't perfect (at the very least) they came up with a great country.
If Muller has real hard proof and testimony the US Senate will do the right thing. "Americans will always do the right thing after they have exhausted the alternatives." Winston Churchill.
Conviction even makes sense politically. My folks were hardcore Reagan fans, they would not approve of actual Collusion and all the other crimes. The R Senators in Pink and purple states will know the if they free a criminal to run the country they are gone. A real impeachment with proof of real understandable charges of crimes not just perjury.
But what do I know I still cry when I watch "The Longest Day." Hold on folks it is going to be a wild 2019.
How was he allowed to get this far and with all the corrupt knowledge about this man; he is sitting in the White House, he is embarrassing us globally, he is still cutting deals and all but destroying our democracy. When does this end.
2
Until the Republicans turn on him, he will survive. In Nixon's case, it took a while. Let's hope for the sake of the country and Trump and Pence both go where they belong.
2
Ummmm, no. As others have stated, It’s not the beginning of the end. The end will occur when either of two things happen: the Senate convicts him after impeachment by the House, or he’s not re-elected. The likelihood of the Senate convicting him is VERY low. Frankly, one of the reasons he’s gotten as far as he has is that Democrats, centrists, and progressives have put more energy into protest than they have into encouraging and facilitating voting. Resistance is fine, but the most effective resistance takes place at the ballot box.
2
It's the beginning of the end for trump only if the Democratic House does what must be done given the documents filed yesterday. And the Republicans in the Senate will either convict trump and he will be removed, (not as far-fetched as it once seemed) or the Republicans in the Senate will not convict but they will not support him for a second term. This is the beginning of the end for a one-term trump presidency.
If it is not, there is something deeply wrong with this country. The country is going through a transition in that we are not the only thriving country in the world. The planet has fully recovered from World War II. China is successfully implementing it's 100 year plan. Japan and South Korea are prospering as is India, Iran. Other countries are headed in the right direction. Africa is showing signs of growth and prosperity.
Trump was carried into office by those who are desperate to see the United States as an unchallenged leader of the world. It is not going to happen and we should be celebrating for it was us that led the comeback from the eve of destruction called World War II.
The United States cannot afford to have an evil, self-centered leader at this moment in history.
10
@sbanicki
Trump was carried into office by the same people who are protesting in France.
1
So 2020 voting, if Trump is on the ticket, will be focused on whether Trump is in the White House or indicted for possible jail time during the period that will be, or would have been, his second term?
4
When I saw the headline on this article, I thought, how many times are we going to say this and then absolutely nothing happens? We know what it is like to not only have a mob boss installed as president, but to have have him supported by a political party that wants to keep its power--regardless of the cost to America and its citizens. I will believe this is the beginning of the end when something happens that truly signals that which would be Republicans speaking up and demanding that Trump be impeached and/or resign. Nothing can change until that happens. I have little faith that it ever will. The GOP has its orange goose that is laying its golden eggs. I can't imagine them giving that up.
16
I don't believe any President has spent even one day or even one hour in jail after becoming President. Trump may be the first to break that tradition. To avoid that possibility Trump might consider resigning so that Pence will be in a position to issue a pardon for Trump in regards to his federal charges. I don't know how Trump will avoid the State charges he is facing however, he might seriously consider moving his residence to Moscow once and for all.
6
With these sentencing memos, the broad outlines of criminality are coming more into focus. At some point there will be a final legal reckoning and hopefully appropriate parties held accountable. I'm more worried about what happens in the aftermath. How do we get the soul of the country back. The country seems to have regressed so much in just two years, I wonder if all those people who gave their lives in the Civil Rights movement will be allowed to have died in vain. In the aftermath of Trump, will all the ugliness he awakened and enabled simply be allowed to recede back into the dark spaces it inhabited or will enough people of goodwill of all races, religion, non-religion, professions, nationality, political affiliation collectively say no more and demand a country that really does heed its better angels, that shuns bigotry and racism, that really is a melting pot, not dominated by white male privilege, a country where everyone has a voice that is heard and respected. I wish I could be more hopeful, but will challenge myself to do more to help my country be its best. If ever there was time for all good people to step up, this is it.
8
@ARH Well said. I’m going to a training session today at the League of Women Voters to learn how to encourage people to register to vote. It’s one way I think I can help, along with emailing legislators at all levels, signing petitions, making calls, staying informed and just generally trying not to lose heart.
5
And how do you predict “the end” comes to be? Let me propose an alternative scenario for how this all shakes out. The Senate refuses to impeach (and McConnell refuses to put anything related up for a vote). The Supreme Court rules Trump cannot face criminal proceedings while in office. FOX News ramps up its propaganda machine and Trump maintains his 42% base. Trump continues on his merry way, scorching our present and future, and basically hits the campaign trail for almost two years, with the media covering his every move. And the Democratic base fails to unite because too many Millennials, minorities, liberals and independents continue to seek the perfect candidate. Whereas all on the right continue to be just fine with a flawed candidate, as they were in 2016. At that point, the fickleness of the Electoral College I leave to others.
13
"Is This the Beginning of the End for Trump?"
Maybe, but I doubt it remembering Watergate and what it took to drive that insecure, ego obsessed despot.
The Congress is as feckless as it was back then and after January the Senate will hunker down and do more nothing no matter what Mueller or the House come up with.
38% of the public are under the hypnosis of Fox. They have been "Foxised" and will believe nothing thing else come hell or high water.
The better question is: Is this the beginning of the end of America as most of us know and cherish and, in many cases, have worn the uniform in Harm's Way.
15
Dumbo Donnie will not last through 2019. McConnell is already turning the screws on him by allowing the senate intelligence committee to make referrals to mueller. This was clearly stated by Warner and burr two weeks ago when Cohen plead guilty to lying to Congress. McConnell wants to save himself only. He no longer needs dumbo. And knows the republicans will lose the senate in 2020. Dumbo Donnie is finished. His business will be gone. His kids indicted. Pence won’t last either. He is up to his neck in all of this. And, the house needs to look at Nuñez to see how much money he has gotten from Putin.
10
"Is This the Beginning of the End for Trump?"
Let's not get ahead of our skis here.
It's been said that the beginning of the end of a Presidential term is the inauguration. For Trump, that was especially true.
That said, all Mueller is doing now is clearing out the underbrush of minor charges for Trump's inferiati. We don't know what is underneath the redactions in his public documents. But once he's done with the chaff, he'll be ready for the big kahuna - Trump. And all those he drags into this, too, like Jr. and the rest of the Trump "family". And then the criminal enterprise of Trump Inc.
We're seeing the very tip of the iceberg here. There are a few intimations included in the paperwork to keep the public interested and the Mueller team safe. But the avalanche is about to come crashing down on The Apprentice President.
It could be a very Merry Christmas after all. Or at least a genuinely Happy New Year.
18
In a word: no. The Republican Senate will never, ever, ever, EVER vote to impeach him, no matter what he does or is found to have done. There is nothing that could ever make them do that.
The only thing that could happen --- possibly --- is that the actual voting population in this country gets off its collective butt and votes for someone else in 2020.
We got a little taste in the midterms of what can happen when the electorate wakes up and realizes that voting matters. We'll see if whatever happens during the next two years make enough of a difference for those of us who still couldn't be bothered.
The other question is if voting will still be possible in 2020. (Think I'm exaggerating? Ask Stacey Abrams.)
756
I have more faith in our Constitution and the American people. He indeed will be forced to resign or impeached. Our moral standing in the world demands it. As Mueller unfolds the evidence the resistance will prevail.
It seems I have more confidence in us citizens than you do.
16
They don’t impeach. The House impeaches, the Senate removes from office. Looks like he will be impeached, I’m 50-50 on chance of removal. If a completed, and underacted report is released to the public that carries this train wreck to where the tracks are leading Republican Senators are in trouble with their base or the rest of America.
38
@Bruce
According to Joe Stalin power does not reside with the people who cast the votes but with those who count the votes. The Republicans have gerrymandered and legislated so that they maintain power. In the November election millions more voted for Democrats but Republicans still control the Senate by virtue of the undemocratic electoral system. And see what the Republicans have done in Wisconsin and Michigan.
Unltil the USA changes its electoral system and gets corporate money out of politics, power will reside with those who adhere to the golden rule. Them who have the gold rule.
106
Many people may not care, but places that do--like the court for the Southern District of New York--are likely to get a shot at our president after he is out of office. Take another look at Article II, Section 2 of the US Constitution.The sorts of crimes headed for state court are not ones that can be pardoned. This is not Nixon redux.
As for impeachment by the House, who knows? Everyone is waiting to see what Mueller has, but until Republicans break ranks, Trump would not be convicted by the Senate. As far as the beginning of the end for him, some of that will depend on how far along Mueller really is--a source for endless speculation.
Is it naive to think the legal systems--federal and/or state--will eventually catch up with Trump? Maybe not, even if things drag on past the 2020 election, when he is (hopefully) no longer president.
8
@JSK: SDNY is a federal court.
1
@Lew
Sorry about my wording, but the Southern District Court of NY can look into Trump's businesses for criminal activity: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-08-26/southern-district-of-new-york-will-tear-into-trump-organization .
As I understand it, Trump could still be vulnerable under state criminal law that was not federal: https://www.vox.com/2018/4/18/17252554/trump-cohen-new-york-state-laws .
I am not an attorney, but my main point is that the president is not invulnerable, even if pardoned for federal crimes. I am optimistic that sometime in the next 4-5 years, the law will find a way to get at him, particularly if he is not reelected in 2020.
1
I think there is a parallel to Mueller’s filings and the Watergate hearings. Both are unfolding publicly.
I am deeply grateful that Mueller has chosen to speak to us firmly, directly, and sparely through indictments. I remember my mother, rapt, watching the Watergate hearings, hour after hour of testimony. And when the filings drop from the Mueller team, I scour them. Frankly, they are riveting in a horrifying way, given what the players involved have done. But when I finish, I can’t help but think, thank god for this team of men and women who are compiling all of this evidence in painstaking detail and presenting to us, ordinary Americans.
Because in the end, ordinary Americans will be the ones that have to end this. Donald will always have steadfast supporters, but the tide will turn with all of this information. This new information is out there now and its existence cannot be undone. Knowledge is power. Most people don’t want a criminal in the Oval Office.
18
Now is the time for Liberals/Progressives/Dems (and everyone else) to quit focusing on Trump and concentrate on 3 major things:
1) Re-capturing local and state political positions. The long game here is to neutralize the power of republicans and put an end to McConnell's traitorous reign. Give civics lessons at public forums to educate people about how things should work in government.
2) Voting registration: The Dems need to set up centers throughout the country funded by their wealthy benefactors and get people registered AND EDUCATED about voting. They need help people who have been disenfranchised via the dirty tricks the republicans have played to keep them from voting.
3) Grooming the next anti-Republican presidential candidate for 2020. This is critical and most difficult because it seems it doesn't take competence or effectiveness to impress half the voters in this country.
At this point, it's senseless to think that Trump is going anywhere. He will continue his incompetent reign of terror until his term is over. The damage is done. Time for smart, ethical and hard-working people to wage an all-out, take-no-prisoners campaign against the traitors who are now running our government.
26
You must be new here. Nobody cares, no matter what the man does. He could shoot somebody in the middle of 5th Av. and nobody would care. So maybe, we should all relax and try to enjoy the next 6 - or 16 - years. There are some good shows on TV this season.
2
As long as the Senate remains controlled by Republicans, Trump will still be in the White House for a second term. The only solution is the ballot box.
Meanwhile...yet another Canadian friend has just cancelled their annual visit to the States 'because of Trump'. I can't believe how many well-educated Canadians who should know better now regard the US as a no-go zone. They'd rather squeeze into an economy-class seat for an overnight transAtlantic flight, than cross the U.S. border. It's nuts.
9
Lets' at least hope this is the beginning of the end!
3
I am highly skeptical of the content of these memos, largely because federal prosecutors regularly engage in highly questionable methods to achieve their goals, and as Andrew Napolitano sadly notes, the courts are allowing such skullduggery to continue.
it all sounds good when prosecuting drug lords but starts to look like politically motivated prosecutorial abuse in situations like this.
That Cohen plead out to a campaign finance violation doesn't necessarily mean he actually commited such a crime.
It may well be that the action is arguably illegal - or - legal.
And it may well be that he couldn't afford to fight it, or that members of his family were under threat of investigation, who knows...
But the fact is, that anyone can buy the silence of a paramour.
It isn't illegal.
So, just because it happened during a campaign, it's suddeny different ?
Baloney.
It seems to me to be quite a reach to claim a campaign finance violation for such activity, and I wonder if Cohen was allowed a pass on some other charge for a plea on this one.
The memo also states that - this is the kind of activity that Congress intended to stop by enacting campaign finance laws.
That is also baloney. They were intended to stop big money from big donors from working its way into the coffers surreptitiously.
This subtle warping of the sentencing memo is suspicious.
3
@Objectivist
While I am not certain of your claim that it is legal for anyone to pay hush money, let's stipulate that it is true. When you say that it is baloney for it to become illegal in a political campaign you fail to acknowledge that it is, in fact, against the law.
Anyone can drive 50 miles per hour down a highway. Perfectly legal, and cars are designed to travel at such speeds. Just because a person decides to do so in a school zone on a street with posted speed limits of 25mph, does that now make the "crime" of driving this fast "baloney"?
The laws were on the books when the alleged crimes were committed, they were not created ex post facto out of thin air. If these people did these things, they broke the law and are guilty.
14
You are highly skeptical of laws as written and regularly interpreted: welcome to Trump World.
3
@totyson
Again, I am unconvinced that such activity violates campaign finance law. Neither of us have all the details so we speculate, right ?
So speculate that Cohen may have - stupidly - run money through a political account, making a link that should not have been made, and not intended by "Individual 1"...
And also recall that in the case of the porn star, there was a contract in place that she violated. Buying the content of a magazine article from a willing seller (The National Enquirer) in order to keep something that was never supposed to become public, hidden, is also not illegal.
Trump’s brain is down to his last functioning neurons .
He has demonstrated histrionic instability from the beginning of his election campaign that has progressively worsened .
His voters appear to appreciate his buffoonery, but don’t see the demential instability under the surface .
If this character is not overthrown soon the Country will suffer considerable lasting damage .
GOP do you get it ?
12
The evil empire (swamp) fights back. It seems that no one ever will be able to drain the swamp. The forces of evil (elites, globalists, media, socialists, etc.) are just too strong. Well, at least Luke (Donald) tried.
Which is a greater stain on the presidency: a crook in residence or an indictment of said occupant?
4
I surely hope that this is near the end for this unscrupulous narcissist.He is doing unreparable damage as he chastises our allies,cozies up to dictators and launches costly trade wars.He will eventually have to answer to the law but in the meantime it is obvious that he has flunked every standard for presidential behavior set forth in the Constitution.For the majority of the country who did not vote for him,it is more realizing that every day is Groundhog Day!
5
Two more years. I wonder what will be coming down the pike from this sorry administration during that time? Nothing good, I imagine. The thing is, in the face of a corrupt government from the likes that we have never seen, with climate disaster heading our way in a decade (a decade!), and other horrors against humanity, what will it take for people to really rebel against these cowards?
8
We all knew this about DJT but it is good to see Mueller making it real by sharing corroborating evidence in public.
What we will now see is the completely immoral mitch mcconnell sit back and do nothing.
At this point mitch is a bigger threat to our democracy than DJT.
We all knew/know DJT is compromised by a foreign government- it is mitch that is knowingly letting him stay in office.
Constant, unrelenting, never ending pressure must be applied in every political and legal manner to expose mcconnell for what his is. More dangerous than DJT!!!!
13
“When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”
Smart man, Donald Trump. So, no, this is not the beginning of the end. Republicans will let him do anything. The Senate will let him do anything. Vicious and nihilistic white voters will let him do anything. The Justice Department, hewing to its inexplicable rule that a sitting president can’t be indicted, will let him do anything. He’s a celebrity.
15
Donald trump is pugering himself not in court as yet but as a President every single moment.He is getting entangled himself in the weave Bobby Mueller laid in front of him.
His me first and cruelty toward any human being is catching up with him.
Cohen is the perfect example how much loyalty means to trump.
3
What a laughable nothing burger. "Resistance" is grasping at straws as Mueller is wrapping up his "investigation" without having found anything. End of Trump? More like long-awaited end of this circus. And not a minute too soon.
1
From your lips to God’s ears!
"... how the Russian government could provide the Trump campaign with “political synergy” and “synergy on a government level.” Does anyone honestly believe President "T" did not jump at this "deal" as it would be synergistic with his devious, corrupt underhanded way of operating. Does anyone for a minute believe "crooked Hillary" would have been party to this type of treasonous plan? Mueller's methodical, detailed investigation leaves little doubt that Trump had his ugly little hands in this mess... but that he will for the moment dodge a bullet while his cronies (i.e.. hopefully Stone, Kushner and Donny Jr.) take the fall.
4
If this is "the beginning of the end" for Donald Trump, it is the 10th or 11th beginning of the end by my count.
Let justice be done.
None of your readers want the beginning of the end. They want the End. Period.
13
"Is This the Beginning of the End for Trump?"
It should be. But in normal circumstances, Donald trump would never have been elected POTUS. So, now, in this twilight zone we are in, who knows?
Let's just take a step back and consider: While Trump isn't the stable genius he proclaims to be, he's no Gomer Pyle or Forrest Gump. Let's give him a very slightly higher IQ than average, say 105, which is very generous.
What makes him think he's a genius, is that he has always been surrounded by adoring sycophants that are, as a matter of fact, all dummer than he is. And that includes the family but excludes the military. But they profess to love him so!
So with the help of his enablers, Trump worked the hundreds of millions of dollars he inherited from his father into 4 or 6 business bankruptcies, 3 failed marriages, 3500 plus lawsuits including the fraud charges related to Trump "University". Some deal making!
In the underworld of bottom feeder slum-lords, Trump and his dummies were able to survive. But up against world-class law enforcement Agencies like the FBI, the CIA and the Muller team, Trump and his third rate immoral advisers are out of their league. And it is now starting to show, for all to see.
So yes, it really is the beginning of the end for trump. At long last.
Enjoy the unravelling if you can stomach the gore.
9
In the space of a few weeks, Trump has saved the country twice. He kept a disease carrying caravan out of the country in spite of intense pressure from the SJW's to let them in, and he kept us out of the fake Paris Climate Agreement, that even the French people are rioting against.
@Matthew: Trump has saved the country only twice? Is that enough?
I've been wondering about the diseases being carried by that caravan. As Fox News has reported, those diseases include smallpox and rabies. I'd like to know what the Trump administration is doing to keep smallpox viral particles from hitching a ride on wind borne grains of Mexican sand bound for US cities? Are they aware that they need to build the border wall so that it hermetically seals our people against illegal viruses?
1
The end for Trump is a scary proposition since death is the only way he'll go quietly.
3
There are two elephants in the room. 1) Statute of limitations and 2) Pardons
1) As I understand it, if Trump is charged after January 20, 2019 and he loses the next election, he is still in jeopardy since the two year statute of limitations will not have expired.
2) Pardons can erase any federal convictions of Manafort, Don Jr., Stone, Kushner, Ivanka, etc.. However, there are still potential State of New York and other states where charges can be filed which are immune from Presidential pardons.
2
There's a reality that The Times and the news media generally fails to explain in their reporting. Cohen has been convicted of some apparently lesser crimes (Congress members lie to Congress every day, as does Trump, is what I mean...) but what the media fails to emphasise is that he is charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, and the crime of Conspiracy - to do anything illegal - is up there with the crime of Treason.
Throw the word "conspiracy" into any indictment and everything changes. You pay off a woman you had sex with to stop her going public, you use campaign funds, that's one thing. You conspire to do that, you bring another person into the transaction, you create a little criminal enterprise, then you are regarded by the law as having committed a crime on another order of magnitude on the criminality Richter scale.
The real crime that Cohen conspired with Trump to commit was the corruption of a presidential election. If the Stormy Daniels story had broken in March, 2016 and Trump had been indicted for conspiracy to commit campaign financing law offences, then he would not have been elected president. Trump's presidency is, in fact, fundamentally illegitimate as it is the result of a criminal conspiracy, no matter what happened with the Russians.
The crimes are not"campaign finance violations", they are "conspiracy" which, as reflected by sentencing guidelines, is probably five times worse. Trump's presidency is fundamentally illegitimate. He must be removed.
24
Not yet. Regardless of the merits of an impeachment proceeding, it is a highly political matter, and finding him guilty will require plenty of Republican concurrence. Let's not get distracted by this Lorelei, and let's focus on beating him at the polls in November 2020.
6
Paying a pornstar who is threatening to go public with an affair to keep quiet -- while perhaps technically a violation of campaign law - doesn't remotely strike me as impeachable.
As Pelosi and Nadler have pointed out, there will be a very high bar for impeachment because, unless a good share of Republicans agree he must go -- impeachment will tear the country apart.
There will therefore have to be ironclad (in writing or recorded conversations) evidence of 'collusion' -- which I would define as trading X for Y with Russia. 'You hack Clinton's emails and release them and we'll lift sanctions', for example. Or 'you give us a the greenlight to build a Trump Tower in Moscow and we'll ease up on supporting Ukraine'
2
This debacle is as much a function of a crippled system as it is of a corrupt individual. The intersection of no campaign finance laws, an antiquated electoral college and what has become a monarchy instead of a presidency (he won’t/can’t be indicted) has given us this mess. It’s time to consider ditching our system because it’s clearly not working. A parliamentary system would clean this up well before 2020; a vote of no confidence and new elections or at least a new prime minister.
3
POTUS thinks his ex State Secretary was dull and lazy. I am sure that he knows that his voters are the same and worse. So, he will just plod on with his rhetoric and cliche`. I am afraid Americans are totally de-sensitized, are resigned and waiting for a savior from somewhere.
I am no friend of Trump, but certain aspects of the Mueller investigation make me ill.
Does Mueller and Company really think I will be furious at Trump for the cardinal and horrific sin of giving money to women to buy their silence about their sexual flings. I know that the tender of money to the women is considered an unreported campaign contribution, and thus indicative of breaching campaign finance laws, but if you want to complain about that why don't you mention the millions of dollars Saudi Arabia tendered to the Clinton Trust. Oh, but I am supposed to believe that the Saudis gave that money to Clinton because they applauded her feminism.
Also, I am getting tired of hearing so much stuff that is devoid or real content and that is based on unnamed sources. This investigation at times seems like a saga in which A says that B says that C says that Trump was doing something wrong.
And BTW, although I certainly denounce Trump's assertion that the media is disseminating fake news, I will say that the media is disseminating incomplete news.
For example, the press would have us believe that Michael Flynn is just some big bad wolf colluding with the big, bad Russian bear. The press rarely reports that Michael Flynn sought a reallignment in geo politics in which America would ally itself with Russia against Jihadists and Muslim extremists, an arguably worthwhile goal.
2
While always a struggle between the expedient, the powerful, and part, we are a country that has aspired and to a large degree set the high bar for holding our political leadership to legal and ethical standards we could be proud of. It's our culture, our Press, our Courts, and the messy but usually effective negotiation of what is right and wrong in our public forums. If we and in particular the Republicans fail to act against Trump, we become like so many corrupt democracies. Recall Silvio Berlusconi, media titan former PM of Italy, who as also tied to the Mafia, bribed people, was corrupt, linked to the mafia, had multiple sex issues, and was ultimately re-elected. His stayed corrupt and in power for years. Benjamin Netanyahu - under investigation for corruption (multiple times and his wife), clearly corrupt but uses his power base and his ability to manipulate the public and politics to remain in power. A final example in Turkey, a Democracy with a strong arm leader in Erdogan who jails rivals, members of the press, and who has usurped the democratic process. It is not too much to suggest that we are a crossroads as a nation where this is no longer about Trump but about the cultural foundation of our Democracy. Will future leaders, along with parties in power, have free reign to break laws, to flaunt our principles to maintain power because we may "hate the man but like his policies"? I truly pray not
7
Closing in? According to Fox News hosts and guests today, the only people guilty of anything are the FBI, DOJ and everyone living in the United States except Fox employees, coal miners and the Trump family. Case closed.
4
The very long Independent investigation seems to have rolled over many rocks to find the bugs.
He’s finished. It just hasn’t sunk in yet.
1
December 7th 2018, a day that will go down in infamy.
1
Should not Trump’s passport be revoked because he is a flight risk?
This too shall pass. Like a kidney stone but it will pass.
sr
2
To my non-lawyerly mind, failure by the Republican-controlled Congress to pursue impeachment amounts to a form of collusion and should directly threaten them with indictment and imprisonment as well. These guys have to pay for their betrayal of the country.
1
If this is the "Beginning of the End" as the title suggests, I can't wait for the End of the End! It would be a wonderful holiday gift!
6
oh please. "potential" , "possible" qualify every one of these risks. he is not indictable. McConnell will not say or do anything. his supporters think his corruption of everything he touches is the Midas touch. no end in sight here.
English is a second language for Donald Trump.
When he's said, "No collusion," he really meant, "Collusion, no?"
1
To address the headline question directly, no it isn’t. It should be excruciatingly clear by now that Trump’s existence, in the White House or otherwise, depends on perception, not facts. And that perception is dictated in the pseudo mainstream essentially through a single outlet: Fox News. The beginning of the end for Trump is when the thin red line of his propaganda cracks, and when that happens the rats will abandon the sinking ship faster than you can say “no collusion”.
In other words, the beginning of the end is Sean Hannity saying “there may be something to this”. If that happens, the Trump presidency ends within hours. If it doesn’t, the nightmare continues: a handful of malignant, unrepentant narcissists will keep on holding the country hostage and squandering our birthright democratic principles in service of their oligarchic ambitions.
1
Is this the beginning of the end for Trump? Maybe, but the end still may be a long time coming.
We forget that despite press reports of the money trail between Nixon’s reelection committee and the Watergate burglary and the FBI’s disclosure the break-in was part of a massive political sabotage effort by that committee, Nixon was nonetheless re-elected in a landslide. It was not until sixteen months later—after the “smoking gun” tape was released tying the president to the cover-up with his own words—that Barry Goldwater and the Republican leaders of the House and Senate convinced him to resign. And they likely would not have been successful but for a Democratic House and Senate and enough Republican senators willing vote against the president in an impeachment trial.
Even if video and audio were released of Trump and Putin shaking hands over a deal to exchange campaign help for release of the Magnitsky sanctions, does anyone think Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy and, say, Lindsay Graham would hie themselves over to the Oval for such a talk with Trump? Or that twelve Republican senators would disdain party for country and favor conviction? Or that Fox TV would not continue its steady stream of alternative facts and Mueller debunkment to keep Trump’s base revved to fight in the streets? “But the judges! The browning of America!”
There’s still an awfully long, bitter battle ahead—and a GOP more than willing to let the country be torn to shreds as it plays out.
3
Fox news needs to be indicted as an active participant in the scheme to defraud the voters of the United States. Last evening their coverage (when I checked) was all about the Comey hearing and there were crickets regarding the filings. I assume that this was so they had time to craft their narrative of how Trump is innocent and the witch hunt continues. They are as guilty of treason and conspiracy as any of the henchmen in the white house or campaign that met with Russians or lied publicly.
5
I am keeping my fingers crossed...
or Is this a Recipe for Cake?
It isn't the end until it is.
Three basic facts:
1) The president is a criminal with a long criminal past.
2) The president is using his office to assist his family crime organization to fleece the nation and avoid prosecution.
3) He will get away with his crimes because Republicans in Congress don't care and their voters like having a crime boss for their president.
Questions:
Do you think the Founding Fathers intended presidential pardons to be used to obstruct justice?
Do you think a president who commits crimes while in office should not be indicted? Would indicting and prosecuting Trump distract him from,
A) playing golf.
B) going to campaign hate rallies.
C) running the nation.
Okay, answer C was a joke.
7
There never was a “beginning” for me as far as Donald Trump. From the day after his inauguration, his role as president meant nothing to me. I marched with hundreds of thousands of others, women, men, kids, babies, disabled in wheelchairs, everyone, the Women’s March in DC. We protested his presidency from Day One.
Since that day we have witnessed him turn on our allies, join forces with those we should fear, dismantle protection for our country’s natural resources, try to decimate public schools, do nothing for housing for the homeless and mentally ill, threaten the sanctity of our democracy - by the people he chose to also lead - his cabinet and his relatives. No president I call my own does that.
We have spent endless funds on an investigation that never needed to happen if Donald Trump had not gotten involved with our country’s innards. Why didn’t he just do his business on his own, away from me and my fellow American citizens? No one asked him or begged him to run for POTUS - except maybe the Russians!
The man is convoluted, corrupt, irresponsible, untoward. We can see him on the news or anywhere - but I will never call him “my president”. He’s a man who misled millions of people, continues to do so, and gathered momentum. He hooked the gullible.
I know individuals who will not watch or read the news since Trump took over. They’re not dumb. They’re just saving their sanity. They truly go on like he doesn’t exist. I say - kudos to them.
4