The Russia Investigations and other Trump-related cases

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I'm not a big fan of Avenatti's. He is the type of lawyer that I think gives my profession a bad name, willing to do or say anything to advance his own cause (and, possibly his client's, thought that is clearly secondary to him). He may prove to be a thorn in Trump's side, but I think he is just as likely to prove to be a distraction and might actually end up interfere with the genuine investigations. Just my opinion, for what it is worth.

Meanwhile, the big new news is that the Democratic National Committee has filed a lawsuit against the Russian government, the Trump campaign, and WikiLeaks, alleging that the three conspired to disrupt the 2016 presidential election and tilt it towards Trump. Wow! My initial reaction is that that it is incredibly stupid move, as it takes the claim of election interference from a threat to the country as a whole and turns it into a purely partisan issue. I don't think this will help the Mueller investigation. It may well doom it. Again, just my opinion, for what it is worth.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... spartanntp

[Frelga]

Democrats are proving to be amazingly incapable or unwilling to take up leadership in times when the other party is doing its best to alienate voters.

[Dave_LF]

Seems awfully dumb unless they know about slam-dunk evidence from Cohen that hasn't been made public yet.

[RoseMorninStar]

I'm not a big fan of Avenatti's. He is the type of lawyer that I think gives my profession a bad name, willing to do or say anything to advance his own cause (and, possibly his client's, thought that is clearly secondary to him).

I have a friend who has a law degree (but does not practice) and she feels the same way about Avenatti. I have no clue regarding his tactics, but I wouldn't want to be on the opposite side of the courtroom from him. As sharkish as he may be, he seems very confident that Trump will not serve out his term. What does he know? Is he bluffing?

Democrats are proving to be amazingly incapable or unwilling to take up leadership in times when the other party is doing its best to alienate voters.

I agree, but I also think this is a somewhat bizarre & unique situation. It is confounding what narcissists do and it is nearly impossible to counter them successfully. One usually has to wait until maximum damage has been achieved and then begin the process of rebuilding.

Republicans have long considered themselves the 'grown-up' party of morality and family values but the man in the WH is far from any of those things. Trump is not a religious man no matter how much he lies about it.. yet 80% of Evangelicals continue to support him. Republicans often hold themselves up to be the most 'Patriotic', yet Trump is tearing down the foundations of this country and treating the constitution (and other branches of government) like toilet paper. He has little to no concept of the rule of law. I honestly don't think he realizes he was not elected King to do as he pleases and he has no idea how our government operates.

I was pondering this morning about the danger our democratic institutions are in (Supreme court, FBI, CIA, Justice Dept, Free press, etc..). Trump demands personal loyalty (not loyalty to the country or to the constitution) meaning anyone who doesn't support him and do his bidding 100%, are treated as the enemy of the state, more so than Putin! Our own citizens and institutions are publically humiliated, denigrated, and discarded. No, not just discarded, destroyed to the best of his ability. Personal vendettas. He's very good at it, as narcissists tend to be. I cannot imagine any other President getting away with the behavior he has displayed; the name calling, constant lying, the childish, foolish, and dangerous tweeting. The erratic & rash decisions, the vulgar behavior. The incompetent bumbling and downright dangerous staff picks. The back-channel business deals, hiring family and others who cannot get security clearances. The deals benefitting his family businesses. The xenophobia and racism. His propensity for conspiracy theories and seeming inability or desire to read serious experienced & educated information (including his own security briefings) in order to make informed decisions is truly frightening. What a nightmare.

[Jude]

I'm not completely convinced I haven't stumbled into some sort of psychological experiment I agreed to back in college and forgot about.

I think this is the most brilliant summing-up I've read on this or any message board or article.

[Frelga]

The Hill

Trump legal team preparing for Cohen to flip, cooperate with prosecutors: report https://t.co/ew1eUelB5M

It's fascinating that not a single source, including Trump's closest supporters and Trump himself, ever said that Cohen has nothing to flip about because all his dealings with Trump have been perfectly legitimate.

[Túrin Turambar]

Seems awfully dumb unless they know about slam-dunk evidence from Cohen that hasn't been made public yet.

Particularly when they're on track as it is to win back control of the House. It looks like utter madness to me - there must be something in the water in DC these days.

[Cenedril_Gildinaur]

Well, on a far more leftward board I frequent, they are comparing this to the suit the DNC filed against Nixon during Watergate, but they have an advanced case of Trump Derangement Symptom there.

I finally figured out Trump, I finally got an analysis of his character that makes sense to me. The DNC? The only way I can think that their behavior makes sense is to assume mental instability, and I don't want to go there yet.

[River]

I think they're trying to blow something open during discovery. Or depose Trump and catch him in a lie.

I also think there are better ways for the DNC to spend time and money.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

But they also make themselves vulnerable to discovery by not only the Trump campaign bit also the thoroughly unscrupulous Roger Stone and Julian Assange.

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[Cenedril_Gildinaur]

Julian Assange is an idealist who wants to bring to light dirt people want hidden. He's not unscrupulous.

Well, technically. He was all well and good embarrassing Bush, that's idealism, but then he embarrassed Hillary and that unscrupulous. You're supposed to pick a side, team red or team blue, and he picked team truth, which is completely unscrupulous.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I've been critical of Assange and Wikileaks from the very beginning so you can take your unfounded accusations of hypocrisy somewhere else.

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[Voronwë the Faithful]

On a brighter side, I ended up reading through an entire 8 year old thread on WikiLeaks that had some incredibly insightful and thought-provoking posts from some old friends.

[Primula Baggins]

Could you point me toward that? I need it right now.

[RoseMorninStar]

I just posted in the thread I think Voronwë is referring to Prim! This link should get you there.

[Primula Baggins]

Thanks, Rose!

[Cenedril_Gildinaur]

Wikileaks has stated the intent to counter-sue the DNC. Discovery is going to be fascinating.

Sometimes it isn't Red vs. Blue. Sometimes it is something else. Truth is treason in the empire of lies.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

WikiLeaks is not actually countersuing the DNC (even they know they don't have any basis to do so). What they are doing is soliciting donations from gullible people by claiming they are looking into countersuing. However they don't need to countersue in order to cause mischief through discovery.

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[Frelga]

[url=httpp://thehill.com/homenews/administration/384915-cohen-to-plead-the-fifth-in-stormy-daniels-lawsuit]Cohen to plead the Fifth in Stormy Daniels lawsuit[/url]

Something about testifying in the civil trial that might affect the criminal investigation???

Meanwhile, Trump kindly offered to review materials seized from Cohen and tell the investigators whether they are privileged.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Neither of those things are surprising. It would be bordering on malpractice for Cohen's attorneys not to advise him to take the Fifth in a civil matter involving something that has been reported to be one of the prime subjects of a criminal investigation. And since Trump is Cohen's main client he is the main person who would be claiming the attorney-client privilege (which is designed to protect the interests of the client, not the attorney). So it would make sense for him to review material to determine whether he is claiming the privilege. Assuming that he can find the time between golf games, twitter explosions and whatever else it is that he does.