President Trump: Making America Great Again...

[Northwestcoug]

I know how it would be handled. Give us dirt on Hunter or we won't send aid.

[Uncle Ted]

I know how it would be handled. Give us dirt on Hunter or we won't send aid.

The GOP'ers don't need no stink'n dirt from the Ukraine... They have Hunter's laptop:

The question is can they impeach Joe twice before the 2024 election or are they rookies compared to the Dems when they ruled the house.

[falafel]

The GOP'ers don't need no stink'n dirt from the Ukraine... They have Hunter's laptop:

The question is can they impeach Joe twice before the 2024 election or are they rookies compared to the Dems when they ruled the house.

That same laptop they've had for years?

[fusnik]

Lol. This is absurd. Romney voted to impeach him - twice. The only senator to do so the first time around. Liz Cheney literally sacrificed her seat in congress to fight trump. Ditto for Kinzinger. If you consider them to be "draped in the stench of trump", you really don't have any credibility in this discussion.

Again, where were Liz and Adam for the previous 5 years?

The most obvious, of 50 ‘breaking points’ of the previous 5 years, was Helsinki and the drubbing the GOP took in 2018. If Liz and Adam, 3 years into the train wreck, would have grown a sack and said enough is enough and rallied support against him, 2020 doesn’t happen the way it did and Trump is out of our lives because of the first impeachment.

But we know what happened, they stuck with him, as did McConnell, as did NR, as did the Murdochs, as did the conservative intelligentsia, as did almost every single elected GOP official. It’s completely changed the makeup of the caucus and has deeply damaged the country.

Now we will get Hunter Biden investigations and impeachment talk instead of real work to combat inflation, the economy writ large and real work to help every day Americans.

[Uncle Ted]

That same laptop they've had for years?

They should bring in some of Hunter's hookers and maybe his crack dealer as well... It should make for good entertainment.

[Uncle Ted]

Again, where were Liz and Adam for the previous 5 years?

The most obvious, of 50 ‘breaking points’ of the previous 5 years, was Helsinki and the drubbing the GOP took in 2018. If Liz and Adam, 3 years into the train wreck, would have grown a sack and said enough is enough and rallied support against him, 2020 doesn’t happen the way it did and Trump is out of our lives because of the first impeachment.

But we know what happened, they stuck with him, as did McConnell, as did NR, as did the Murdochs, as did the conservative intelligentsia, as did almost every single elected GOP official. It’s completely changed the makeup of the caucus and has deeply damaged the country.

Now we will get Hunter Biden investigations and impeachment talk instead of real work to combat inflation, the economy writ large and real work to help every day Americans.

We have the Inflation Reduction Act, Bro... the fix is in.

[Maximus]

Again, where were Liz and Adam for the previous 5 years?

The most obvious, of 50 ‘breaking points’ of the previous 5 years, was Helsinki and the drubbing the GOP took in 2018. If Liz and Adam, 3 years into the train wreck, would have grown a sack and said enough is enough and rallied support against him, 2020 doesn’t happen the way it did and Trump is out of our lives because of the first impeachment.

But we know what happened, they stuck with him, as did McConnell, as did NR, as did the Murdochs, as did the conservative intelligentsia, as did almost every single elected GOP official. It’s completely changed the makeup of the caucus and has deeply damaged the country.

Now we will get Hunter Biden investigations and impeachment talk instead of real work to combat inflation, the economy writ large and real work to help every day Americans.

how would 2020 not have happened if there were 2 extra votes on first impeachment? no way they convince anyone else.

[falafel]

They should bring in some of Hunter's hookers and maybe his crack dealer as well... It should make for good entertainment.

I agree. Let's investigate the hooker and crack addiction of a civilian. Hopefully we spend billions on it, like we've done on all the other investigations you've liked so much.

[Uncle Ted]

I agree. Let's investigate the hooker and crack addiction of a civilian. Hopefully we spend billions on it, like we've done on all the other investigations you've liked so much.

Yeah... they won't bring in Hunter's hookers. Too bad. In the press announcement above they said this is all about Joe Biden and not Hunter. That's sucks.

[Bo Diddley]

If Liz...would have grown a sack...

At some point you have to recognize your criticisms are unrealistic.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Again, where were Liz and Adam for the previous 5 years?

The most obvious, of 50 ‘breaking points’ of the previous 5 years, was Helsinki and the drubbing the GOP took in 2018. If Liz and Adam, 3 years into the train wreck, would have grown a sack and said enough is enough and rallied support against him, 2020 doesn’t happen the way it did and Trump is out of our lives because of the first impeachment.

But we know what happened, they stuck with him, as did McConnell, as did NR, as did the Murdochs, as did the conservative intelligentsia, as did almost every single elected GOP official. It’s completely changed the makeup of the caucus and has deeply damaged the country.

Now we will get Hunter Biden investigations and impeachment talk instead of real work to combat inflation, the economy writ large and real work to help every day Americans.

I know you get bent out of shape when I accuse you of purity test thinking, but your response and double-down here re: romney/cheney/kinzinger is a quintessential, textbook case. Honestly, I can't imagine a more perfect example of the phenomenon. And I challenge you or anyone here to give me a more perfect example.

[beefytee]

At some point you have to recognize your criticisms are unrealistic.

[fusnik]

I know you get bent out of shape when I accuse you of purity test thinking, but your response and double-down here re: romney/cheney/kinzinger is a quintessential, textbook case. Honestly, I can't imagine a more perfect example of the phenomenon. And I challenge you or anyone here to give me a more perfect example.

Dude, if they voted for him in ‘16, supported some of his ‘conservative’ initiatives during the first year or two of his presidency and my retort was, not good enough they should have opposed him from the get go! Id take an L on this and leave it alone, but that’s not what happened.

These people sat through one impeachment, watched Helsinki, sat by while his kids raked in hundreds of millions while in the service of the country, watched him attack war heroes, immigrants, poor countries, lob paper towels to suffering folks, etc, etc, etc and said Im supporting him in 2020!

These folks aren’t to be celebrated. Romney sure, Flake let’s resurrect that dudes political life and I’ll strongly consider him on any ticket but Adam, Liz, the NR, Chris Christie, Larry Hogan, Doug Ducey, DeSantis, Abbott, Pence, McConnell, Heritage Foundation, Graham, McCarthy, etc can all pound sand for sitting by and rolling over for Trump.

[Commando]

Dude, if they voted for him in ‘16, supported some of his ‘conservative’ initiatives during the first year or two of his presidency and my retort was, not good enough they should have opposed him from the get go! Id take an L on this and leave it alone, but that’s not what happened.

These people sat through one impeachment, watched Helsinki, sat by while his kids raked in hundreds of millions while in the service of the country, watched him attack war heroes, immigrants, poor countries, lob paper towels to suffering folks, etc, etc, etc and said Im supporting him in 2020!

These folks aren’t to be celebrated. Romney sure, Flake let’s resurrect that dudes political life and I’ll strongly consider him on any ticket but Adam, Liz, the NR, Chris Christie, Larry Hogan, Doug Ducey, DeSantis, Abbott, Pence, McConnell, Heritage Foundation, Graham, McCarthy, etc can all pound sand for sitting by and rolling over for Trump.

I'm extremely interested to see where the rubber meets the road this next cycle. I think you're going to see Rupert Murdoch and his ilk just absolutely dump money into the primaries to defeat Trump. If that doesn't happen we can expect the exact same song and dance from the GOP as we heard in 2020. Democrats are going to absolutely decimate them in 2024 either way.

[wuapinmon]

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/11...ounsel-garland

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on Friday appointed a special counsel to take over two major criminal investigations involving former President Donald J. Trump, including his role in events leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and his handling of sensitive government documents.

Jack Smith, the former head of the Justice Department’s public integrity section, will oversee the investigation into Mr. Trump’s retention of sensitive government documents at his home in Florida, and key aspects of the separate inquiry into his actions before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, Mr. Garland said during a news conference.

Mr. Garland, who has sought to insulate the department from claims that the investigations into Mr. Trump were motivated by politics, said Mr. Trump’s announcement on Tuesday that he was running for president in 2024, coupled with the possibility President Biden would also run, prompted him to take what he described as an “extraordinary” step.

“Such an appointment underscores the department’s commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters,” Mr. Garland said at a hastily arranged news conference at department headquarters.

“I intend to conduct the assigned investigations, and any prosecutions that may result from them, independently and in the best traditions of the Department of Justice,” Mr. Smith said in a statement. He vowed that the investigations would move forward expeditiously “to whatever outcome the facts and the law dictate.”

Under federal regulations, special counsels like Mr. Smith have greater day-to-day autonomy than ordinary prosecutors but ultimately remain under the attorney general’s supervision and control. Among other things, if Mr. Smith were to eventually decide to seek Mr. Trump’s indictment, Mr. Garland would still have to sign off.

The order appointing Mr. Smith, signed on Friday by Mr. Garland, named Mr. Trump in connection with the documents case. It also authorized the special counsel to “conduct the ongoing investigation into whether any person or entity violated the law” in connection with the “lawful transfer of power” after the 2020 elections.

Mr. Smith, known as Jack, has served as the chief prosecutor in The Hague prosecuting war crimes in Kosovo since 2018. He was not present for the announcement because he recently injured his knee in a biking accident, a department official said.

As a prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York, Mr. Smith was known as a confident, charismatic person who did not shy away from difficult or controversial cases, former colleagues of his said.

“Jack is the consummate prosecutor and public servant: intelligent, balanced and fair,” said James McGovern, a partner at Hogan Lovells who worked with Mr. Smith for years at the federal prosecutor’s office in Brooklyn. “I have no idea what his political beliefs are because he’s completely apolitical. He’s committed to doing what is right.”

Special counsels are semi-independent prosecutors who by Justice Department regulations can be appointed for high-level investigations when there can be a conflict of interest, or the appearance of it. They can only be removed if they commit misconduct, and the department must tell Congress if an attorney general overrules some step a special counsel wants to take.

Mr. Smith, a graduate of Harvard Law School, had investigated war crimes for the International Criminal Court and helped prosecute police officers in a police brutality case in New York before taking on the role that most overlaps with his new assignment: running the Justice Department’s public integrity section from 2010 to 2015.

At the time he took it over, the section, which handles government corruption investigations, was reeling from the collapse of a criminal case against former Senator Ted Stevens. In his first few months, the section closed several high-profile investigations into members of Congress without charges. But in an interview that year with The New York Times, Mr. Smith denied that the section had lost its nerve on his watch.

“I understand why the question is asked,” Mr. Smith said. “But if I were the sort of person who could be cowed — ‘I know we should bring this case, I know the person did it, but we could lose, and that will look bad’ — I would find another line of work. I can’t imagine how someone who does what I do or has worked with me could think that.”

His tenure included the prosecution of the former governor of Virginia, Robert McDonnell, on corruption charges — he was convicted, but the Supreme Court overturned it. It also included the successful prosecution of former Representative Rick Renzi, Republican of Arizona, who in 2013 was sentenced to three years in prison. (Mr. Trump later pardoned Mr. Renzi.)

Mr. Smith then worked for several years as the No. 2 federal prosecutor in Nashville, Tenn., before returning to Europe for another round of working on war crimes cases.

For Mr. Trump, it will be a return to a familiar dynamic. The first half of his term he faced a special counsel investigation led by Robert S. Mueller III into the nature of myriad links between his 2016 campaign and Russia at a time when Moscow was carrying out a covert effort to help him win that election, and into whether Mr. Trump had obstructed justice.