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Donald Trump 2019


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This seems less than ideal for Donald. Looks like Texaggy and tigerrant are gonna need to bump their "but muh whistleblower" threads....

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/at-least-four-national-security-officials-raised-alarms-about-ukraine-policy-before-and-after-trump-call-with-ukrainian-president/2019/10/10/ffe0c88a-eb6d-11e9-9c6d-436a0df4f31d_story.html

 

At least four national security officials were so alarmed by the Trump administration’s attempts to pressure Ukraine for political purposes that they raised concerns with a White House lawyer both before and immediately after President Trump’s July 25 call with that country’s president, according to U.S. officials and other people familiar with the matter.

The nature and timing of the previously undisclosed discussions with National Security Council legal adviser John Eisenberg indicate that officials were delivering warnings through official White House channels earlier than previously understood — including before the call that precipitated a whistleblower complaint and the impeachment inquiry of the president.

At the time, the officials were unnerved by the removal in May of the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, by subsequent efforts by Trump’s lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani to promote Ukraine-related conspiracies, as well as by signals in meetings at the White House that Trump wanted the new government in Kiev to deliver material that might be politically damaging to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

ose concerns soared in the call’s aftermath, officials said. Within minutes, senior officials including national security adviser John Bolton were being pinged by subordinates about problems with what the president had said to his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. Bolton and others scrambled to obtain a rough transcript that was already being “locked down” on a highly classified computer network. 

“When people were listening to this in real time, there were significant concerns about what was going on — alarm bells were kind of ringing,” said one person familiar with the sequence of events inside the White House, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. “People were trying to figure out what to do, how to get a grasp on the situation.”

It is unclear whether some or all of the officials who complained to Eisenberg are also the ones who later spoke to the whistleblower.

The accounts are sharply at odds with Trump’s depiction of the call as a “perfect” exchange in which he “did nothing wrong,” despite appearing to link U.S. support for Ukraine to that country’s willingness to investigate the family of the former vice president. On Thursday, Trump renewed his attacks on Twitter, describing the impeachment inquiry as a “Democrat Scam.”

But new details about the sequence inside the White House suggest that concerns about the call and events leading up to it were profound even among Trump’s top advisers, including Bolton and then-acting deputy national security adviser Charles Kupperman. Bolton and Kupperman did not respond to requests for comment.

Officials said that within hours of the 9 a.m. conversation, a rough transcript compiled by aides had been moved from a widely shared White House computer network to one normally reserved for highly classified intelligence operations. According to the whistleblower’s complaint, White House lawyers “directed” officials to move the transcript to the classified system. At the same time, officials were seeking ways to report what they had witnessed, an undertaking complicated by the lack of a White House equivalent to the inspector general positions found at other agencies.

As a result, one official who had listened on the call went “immediately” to Eisenberg. By the end of the next day, at least two others who had either heard the call or seen the rough transcript had also done so, said a person familiar with the matter.

It is not clear whether Eisenberg took any action either after the warnings he received earlier in July or after the Trump-Zelensky conversation. One official said Eisenberg vowed he would “follow up,” a message interpreted to mean that he intended to investigate the matter and perhaps relay the dismay up the ranks to White House counsel Pat Cipollone.

If that occurred, it would help explain how the White House was already aware of concerns about the July 25 call when contacted by the CIA general counsel weeks before a whistleblower complaint submitted by an agency employee had become public.... 

 

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11 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

Getting a letter from his professional school classmates cause they think he is a total fuck up at his job is hilarious. 

Yeah, I was picturing the logistics of that with one guy taking the reigns, "My fellow classmates, it's been awhile.  I mean, most of us got together for Roy Smith's funeral a few years back.  What a wildman, rest in peace Smitty.  Anywho...for our 25th reunion, I am proposing a class gift instead.  We are going to give the Constitution back to the citizens.  We don't usually get involved in the legal careers of one another except for those of us that had to appear before the IL bar association to defend Smitty (brightest flames burn out the fastest, you beautiful soul).  But Pat Cipollone has gone too far and needs to be reigned in.  Most of you remember Pat from that cheating scandal in 2L Con Law where he somehow still landed a C- (oh, the irony Pat).  But he got his act together and went on to a great career in government and Kirkland & Ellis.  But he is now White House Counsel and attempting to dismantle several parts of our Constitution and needs to be reigned in.  I'll be circulating a letter to all of you outlining our concerns, I ask that you sign it, and return it to me so we can submit it to the media, as a class.  Phil the Phoenix is even signing it on behalf of all of the University of Chicago Law alumni.  Pat has got to be stopped.  Thank you.  And finally, I'm still waiting on checks from some of you for the Smitty Memorial scholarship fund given to one promising 1L student with a raging meth addiction."  

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1 minute ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

 

 


"Little" Bruce Springsteen? I thought he only used that insult for politicians? A sign of changing times. Reagan-the patron saint of the GOP-tried to kiss Bruce's ass to win votes. Now Trump's dissing any celeb not named Nugent or Kid Rock in order to rile up the base.

Makes sense his base is primarily made up of poor white trash.

 

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6 minutes ago, TexEx15 said:

it really is being done all out in the open now.

President Biden/Warren/Sanders/Harris is going to spend just their first 2 years fixing all the crap Trump and his sycophants have broken.  Every cabinet-level department has been gutted.  Not to mention some sort of months-long apology tour to our allies to fucking apologize for how they were treated from 2017-2020

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9 minutes ago, Js1 said:

President Buttigieg is going to spend just his first 2 years fixing all the crap Trump and his sycophants have broken.  Every cabinet-level department has been gutted.  Not to mention some sort of months-long apology tour to our allies to fucking apologize for how they were treated from 2017-2020

FIFY

Edited by TexEx15
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8 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

So we’re a full blown Axis power now all because some fucking misogynist racist assholes in the Midwest couldn’t vote for Hillary.

 

I think it would have only taken 40,000 Trump voters to vote for Hilary across Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania to turn the election. 

 

 

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5 minutes ago, TexEx15 said:

FIFY

I gotta admit it would be cool to hear, "Ladies and gentlemen, the President and the First Man." I also think he'd be a great President and I'd vote for him in a heartbeat, but I don't think we're ready to go there yet as a country, sadly. 

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9 minutes ago, Pasken said:

 

I think it would have only taken 40,000 Trump voters to vote for Hilary across Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania to turn the election. 

 

 

Trump "won" by a combined total of 78,000 spread across those three states.

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1 hour ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

 

I await with baited breath the Post it note from all the Former Students to Rick Perry. That's a lot of X's, though, so maybe a sheet of notebook paper.

 

Hey Rick,

What in tarnashins do ya think your doin?   Boy, if ya'll gonna fuck the sheep, ya'll gonna need to get the sheep ready first.  Caress them utters, pump that tail stump, tickle that prostate gland.   You stick your dick in a un-stimulated sheep, you gonna get whacked in the jingle berries!  Didn't you learn nothin in Fish Camp?  

And remember, don't lie, cheat, or tolerate anyone who does.  Now go out there and support Trump!

 

Whoop,

Your A&M classmates

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9 hours ago, Bruh Man said:

FYI, refugees are LEGAL immigrants because they're vetted, counted, and incorporated. They're not undocumented immigrants.

How these people claim to be Christians is beyond me. 

"No, see, we're only against ILLEGAL immigration!"

That right there is perhaps the biggest, most bald-faced lie the Trumpkin base ever tells.  Whenever ANYONE tells you that, know this -- they are 100% lying.  Immigration status is NOT what they are pissed about. People who aren't white by-God 'muricans is what they are pissed about.  That's it. It's just plain old xenophobia and racism.  Shit, they're not clever enough to think of anything else.  Just good old-fashioned knuckle-dragging assholery.  That's our official policy now.

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24 minutes ago, sachick said:

Just admitted he profits from people staying at his hotels, "if they pay me two months rent at one of my hotels. "  Let's see if he knows what emoluments is when it's one of the articles of impeachment.

 

 

Corruption issues aside, he goes off the teleprompter and mentions how he gives away his POTUS salary, but that he can only "direct" to one of his agencies/departments.  

Here's what's funny to me.   In a rick Perry-esque moment...he decides to list 3 examples of who can receive the funds and only uses the correct terminology with 1 of the agencies.  He refers to Dept. of Health & Human Services as "Health."  Nobody in government calls it "Health", it's always referred to verbally as "HHS", "Health Department" or by its full name.  Admittedly, he fucking nails "Transportation", you can physically see him congratulating himself in his head, but then he starts to get nervous again trying to come up with a third and he spectacularly fails at the Dept. of Defense.  It's always called, "Defense", "Defense Department", "the Pentagon", or "the Armed Forces."  so when referring to this agency, Trump says, "Or Military." 

I can't wait to hear his shorthand for U.S. Dept. Housing & Urban Development---"Blacks n' Shit" 

U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs---"Old Military"

U.S. Dept. of the Interior---"Parks n' Shit" 

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture---"Farms n' Shit" 

U.S. Dept. of the Treasury---"Money n' Shit" 

U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security---"Bombs n' Shit" 

U.S. Dept. of Energy---"Coal n' Shit" 

 

 

Edited by Lobo
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He probably does think that, even though UofC is arguably a better overall school than Penn, and its law school is probably the best one in the nation not named Stanford or Harvard.  

But if you ask Trump where his GC went to law school, he'll rant about how great University of Chicago Law is.  Then he heard that's where Obama taught, and he says something snide like, 'Meh, fake school.  Not that great, plus it's in a very black neighborhood.  bad for resale value, I know real estate.  I studied at Wharton."  

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2 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Weird how John Bolton leaves and within days all of this boils over.

I was watching CNN on Monday or so and they had a conservative guest who was familiar with Bolton in some kind of professional capacity and the interview was smooth sailing for the first 5 minutes and the moment the host floated the idea that Bolton was the whistle blower or at least aiding the whistle blower, according to some rumors, this guy blew his fucking lid. Rabble, rabble, rabble, I've known John Bolton for 20 years and for you to insinuate that is insulting, yadda, yadda, yadda. Touched on a nerve so bad that I think that is their greatest fear and deep down they know it is a very real possibility.

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1 hour ago, Bookman said:

Trump's base has plenty of middle class white trash and upper class white trash as well.

Yeah but you won’t catch any of that upper class white trash being riled up at his rallies.  They let others do their bidding.  Not saying that’s better - probably worse as it’s nice having the gremlins out themselves   

 

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On 9/15/2019 at 11:14 PM, Lobo said:

It is beyond fucking sublime that Bolton got shitcanned right before this Iranian attack on Saud.  

The confluence of those three events will need a decade to unpack.  

Or we can unpack it at a House Intelligence hearing later today.  Don't let that cartoon mustache fool ya' Mr. President, Mr. Bolton came to play.  As Bolton once said an AEI dinner, "There is no deep state.  It's basically me, John Brennan, and 3 guys out of a Coen Brothers movie."  

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16 hours ago, Bama Chick said:

Yes. I’m off every other Friday, hence my off day.

A day off is when I take a ETO day.

It’s my subtle distinction.

One is forced on me and the other is my choice.

~Working for a rural public hospital in a state with no Medicaid expansion so we’re hurting financially so we’re cutting hours problems~

tenor.gif?itemid=12651912

 

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18 minutes ago, Lobo said:

He probably does think that, even though UofC is arguably a better overall school than Penn, and its law school is probably the best one in the nation not named Stanford or Harvard.  

But if you ask Trump where his GC went to law school, he'll rant about how great University of Chicago Law is.  Then he heard that's where Obama taught, and he says something snide like, 'Meh, fake school.  Not that great, plus it's in a very black neighborhood.  bad for resale value, I know real estate.  I studied at Wharton."  

You forgot Yale's law school.

Edited by Dahobbs
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21 minutes ago, Eastwood said:

I was watching CNN on Monday or so and they had a conservative guest who was familiar with Bolton in some kind of professional capacity and the interview was smooth sailing for the first 5 minutes and the moment the host floated the idea that Bolton was the whistle blower or at least aiding the whistle blower, according to some rumors, this guy blew his fucking lid. Rabble, rabble, rabble, I've known John Bolton for 20 years and for you to insinuate that is insulting, yadda, yadda, yadda. Touched on a nerve so bad that I think that is their greatest fear and deep down they know it is a very real possibility.

This was published in the Atlantic on 9/10, by Graeme Wood and I keep coming back to the closing paragraph:

Quote

Most Trump appointees have left quietly, and have begun murmuring their discontent only after a decorous interval. Bolton’s dismissal has come after an unusually long prelude of disrespect, both by Trump and by favored allies such as Carlson. And the tweet itself must sting. Obviously it was intended to. Bolton might not observe the same period of silence. In talking to his former associates, I heard many marvel at his energy. He wakes up before dawn to plot against his adversaries. He accepts every invitation to write op-eds and go on television to ridicule those who disagree with him. Trump has, in firing Bolton, made an enemy of a man incapable of rest and letting grudges go. Tomorrow morning he will wake up and start plotting, as he usually does. It’s 3 a.m. Do you know who your ex–national security adviser’s enemies are?

 

Edited by Bozo_Casanova
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9 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

You forgot Yale's law school.

I wouldn't say, I've been forgetting it Bob.  

I'm sure some magazine has them rated up there, but I don't know a judge or big firm that doesn't hold their Top 3 as Stanford, Harvard, Chicago (in some order). Anyway, doesn't matter---they all pale in comparison to Wharton. 

"Uh, Mr. President...Wharton was your business school at the University of Pennsylvania.  It's not like its own college or anything.  It's not a law school or have its own law school or anything like that.  There's a Penn Law, but you didn't attend there..."  

FAKE NEWS! 

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12 minutes ago, Lobo said:

I wouldn't say, I've been forgetting it Bob.  

I'm sure some magazine has them rated up there, but I don't know a judge or big firm that doesn't hold their Top 3 as Stanford, Harvard, Chicago (in some order). Anyway, doesn't matter---they all pale in comparison to Wharton. 

"Uh, Mr. President...Wharton was your business school at the University of Pennsylvania.  It's not like its own college or anything.  It's not a law school or have its own law school or anything like that.  There's a Penn Law, but you didn't attend there..."  

FAKE NEWS! 

Of the 9 members of the current Supreme Court, 4 graduated from Yale law and 4 from Harvard law. Chicago is a very good school. But, it isn't Yale.  

Edited by Dahobbs
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44 minutes ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:



You know, I don''t believe Stone. I believe that the heavily armed Trump supporters are a bunch of wussies who don't love Trump as much as they love their lives and their families. 

 

If only .05% of them would actually turn violent that'd still be a shitload of people.

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40 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Or we can unpack it at a House Intelligence hearing later today.  Don't let that cartoon mustache fool ya' Mr. President, Mr. Bolton came to play.  As Bolton once said an AEI dinner, "There is no deep state.  It's basically me, John Brennan, and 3 guys out of a Coen Brothers movie."  

giphy.gif

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13 hours ago, Lobo said:

I keep thinking book burning is the next logical step in this character arc of Trump.  Then I realize, at least Hitler read and realized the power of books.....Trump proudly exclaims he doesn't read.  

Oh.....and as a quick update.....

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/465386-students-burn-copies-of-professors-book-after-she-asked-them-to-think

Lobo, please don't ponder another next logical step, like "Kristallnacht, but for mexicans."  Please.  Don't.

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When this is all done, the Democrats need to get down to the business of court packing.  And I'm not even talking about SCOTUS (though that can't be forgotten).  I'm talking about the lower courts.  The Western District of Texas could use at least three new district judges (one each in San Antonio, Austin, and El Paso).  And the Fifth Circuit could use at least three new circuit judges.

There's no need to wait for vacancies.  Just create new positions on the bench.

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1 hour ago, Message Board User said:

Crazy that Trump's approval is so far underwater with these economic numbers (right or wrong, the POTUS typically gets all the credit or blame for the economy).

 

the economy is baked into the overall numbers.

if not for the economy, he'd be in the low 30's.

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