'The president is threatening a witness': CNN analyst slams Trump's 'disturbing' Sally Yates tweets

[DonViejo]

BRAD REED
08 MAY 2017 AT 10:01 ET

President Donald Trump has drawn a lot of criticism for his decision to lash out at former acting Attorney General Sally Yates on Monday, just hours before she was scheduled to testify about former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Appearing on CNN to talk about the president’s tweet — in which he said that someone should “ask Sally Yates, under oath, if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to W.H. Council (sic)” — legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said that Trump’s behavior crosses the line of what we consider to be normal behavior for a politician in the United States.

“It just shows how much the norms of behavior have changed,” Toobin said. “The idea of the President of the United States essentially threatening a witness, he’s basically accusing her of leaking, we have never had that before. We’ve never had presidents who did this kind of thing. The idea that the president — the guy who’s in charge of the Justice Department — is threatening a witness is really kind of disturbing.”

Yates was fired from her role as acting attorney general earlier this year after she refused to enforce the administration’s proposed travel ban. She will reportedly testify on Monday afternoon that she gave the Trump administration warnings about Flynn possibly being compromised by the Russian government.

video:
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/the-president-is-threatening-a-witness-cnn-analyst-slams-trumps-disturbing-sally-yates-tweets/

[tblue37]

1. K&R for visibility. nt

[louis-t]

2. Yes, but he's a "different kind of president"

so it's ok. "Council" or "Counsel"? He doesn't know the difference. What a stoop.

[3catwoman3]

36. He's a different kind...

...of "can't-bring-myself-to-say-it" alright.

[The Wielding Truth]

59. He's a mob boss. He should be impeached asap.

[Achilleaze]

3. That's why decent Americans always refer to Comrade Casino* and

his republican Cabal of Crony Comrades as ReThuglicans.


* republican Draft-&-Truth Dodger-in-Chief.

[moriah]

4. But hey, the Tweet did tacitly acknowledge there's no privilege....

... she'd be breaking by testifying. And waiving future attempts to claim it. He just said they could ask her about classified material, even.

Idiotic in more ways than one, but if the Administration tries complaints to the Bar Association after their original attempts to keep her from testifying failed... that Tweet released any claims of privileged communications.

[FakeNoose]

45. Ha! Trump would make a clueless winless lawyer

... with a law degree from Trump University no less.

But we all know he has no law degree, so "anything he says can and will be used against him in court."

[J_William_Ryan]

5. It's not just

"kind of disturbing," it's extremely disturbing.

[CanonRay]

6. "is kind of disturbing"

How about totally unacceptable and probably impeachable.

[FakeNoose]

46. I'm sure the real lawyers would never allow him to tweet this stuff

Trump is just burying himself in more doo-doo.

Let's let him tweet and implicate himself in everything.

[Demtexan]

7. The white house is running scared.

The you know what is going to hit the fan.
The russian mess goes really deep.

[SunSeeker]

25. Of course. It was TRUMP HIMSELF who ordered the RNC platform changed on Ukraine.

The Steele dossier alleges that "the Trump campaign agreed to minimize US opposition to Russia's incursions into Ukraine." In July 2016, the Republican National Convention made changes to the Republican Party's platform on Ukraine: initially they proposed providing "lethal weapons" to Ukraine, but the line was changed to "appropriate assistance". J. D. Gordon, who was one of Trump's national security advisers during the campaign, said that he had advocated for changing language because that reflected what Trump had instructed.

[FakeNoose]

47. Yep! Sally Yates is gonna bury him

Trump knows it too. He's running scared. It won't be long now.

Let him tweet any garbage he wants to, he's just implicating himself.

[Demtexan]

67. Uncle Putin will throw him under the bus.

Putin played Trump.

I wonder what leaks Putin might leak.

[FakeNoose]

68. Pootie is in the catbird seat now

Let's ask the GOP if this was all worth it. They sold out their country - for what?

Disgusting people, every one of them.

[Demtexan]

69. Money.

Game is not over yet.

[Solly Mack]

8. There it goes again...people expecting normal from the deranged.

Judging a wanna-be tinpot tyrant as if he isn't a wanna-be tinpot tyrant.

Oh, no! There he goes not doing the normal thing again!

There's nothing normal about Trump or his presidency and we should treat the wanna-be tinpot tyrant exactly like a tinpot tyrant - take the gloves off and come out swinging.

Stop calling him president. Say instead Trump and Trump only.

Once again Trump is trashing our democracy by behaving in a manner consistent with wanna-be tinpot tyrants.

No one is doing anyone any favors by pretending the man deserves any respect.

And if it is the "office" of president people are worried about then normalizing a tyrant ain't helping with that either.

"the norms of behavior" change only with consensus. Stop building the consensus.

[VigilantG]

9. YES! Keep saying it Solly Mack!

There is absolutely nothing normal about that "man".

I wish he wasn't treated as such. The Presidency deserves respect. Trump deserves nothing.

[mnhtnbb]

10. "Trump deserves nothing". I disagree and will take it a step farther.

Trump not only does NOT deserve respect, he deserves contempt. He has trashed the Office of the President. And for that, he
deserves nothing but contempt.

[Solly Mack]

13. He does deserve contempt.

[VigilantG]

49. Agreed! I should have chosen my words more wisely!

Thank you!

[Solly Mack]

14. I will. :)

[gademocrat7]

12. You are absolutely correct, Solly.

[Solly Mack]

15. What I am is angry and fed up. :)

[Whiskeytide]

19. I used that point just last weekend,Sol...

Someone told me "even if you don't respect the man, you should respect the office of the presidency". I said "it is precisely because I respect the office that I so disrespect the Orange shit-stain squatting there". They waved a hand at me as they walked off. I don't think I made a breakthrough with them. Oh well.

[Solly Mack]

20. Bet they didn't think that when Obama was in office.

[Whiskeytide]

21. Didn't know them then, but I would not take that bet. n/t.

[iluvtennis]

27. Well said! ITA

[Plucketeer]

37. ACTing pResident

and a poor act at that. The media seems bent on portraying this mess as a kid's bunch of toy plastic soldiers. There's an expectation that the one carrying a bazooka is going to shoot at the opposing figures. But when the Bazooka toter turns and starts shooting at his own, the media simply takes this unexplained anomaly as just another day on the battlefield....... "Well! This is different. Our own guy has turned his weapon on his comrades - I'll bet that eventually, we'll all recognize his strategy and just accept it as the way a crafty comrade should conduct himself in the pursuit of a victory."

[Solly Mack]

57. Pretty well captures many in the press and how they spin it.

[BumRushDaShow]

39. Exactly. HE is the aberation and the M$M should stop normalizing his behavior.

Their musing of how things have "changed" is complete bullshit as they know that this behavior is completely inconsistent with the expectations of the Office of the President.

[Solly Mack]

58. I agree completely.

[uponit7771]

41. +1

[Angry Dragon]

50. LOL

[raccoon]

65. Great post! nt

[gratuitous]

11. President Trump's accusation makes no sense

Sally Yates knew what she was talking about, had classified information that she then shared with the White House counsel (someone as familiar with attorneys as Trump really should know which word to use). Then the information leaks. So, Yates has the information. Has it. Has it. Has it. Has it. Nobody knows about it. The media don't have any idea. Then Yates talks to the White House counsel, and hey presto! the information gets out.

What is the reasonable conclusion? That Yates had this information for who knows how long, but only decided to leak it after consulting with the White House? Or did the White House leak because the amateurs running the place didn't and don't have any idea how to handle classified information?

Interesting, though, that CNN isn't trying to convolute itself into some kind of logic pretzel to explain what Trump "really" meant by his Tweet. That's different from what has been going on for the last 100 days.

[NastyRiffraff]

23. Facts

are so inconvenient, says the administration that pushes "alternative facts."

I hope Sally Yates watches her back. I put nothing beyond this evil bunch.

"Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" --Henry II, referring to Thomas Becket.

[MFM008]

16. There is NO "normal" behavior

For this stain on humanity.

[niyad]

17. k and r

[NightWatcher]

18. and now he's doing it from the @POTUS handle in definite violation of 18 US Code 1512

Link to tweet

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1512

(b) Whoever knowingly uses intimidation, threatens, or corruptly persuades another person, or attempts to do so, or engages in misleading conduct toward another person, with intent to—
(1) influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any person in an official proceeding;
(2) cause or induce any person to—
(A) withhold testimony, or withhold a record, document, or other object, from an official proceeding;
(B) alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal an object with intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding;
(C) evade legal process summoning that person to appear as a witness, or to produce a record, document, or other object, in an official proceeding; or
(D) be absent from an official proceeding to which such person has been summoned by legal process; or
(3) hinder, delay, or prevent the communication to a law enforcement officer or judge of the United States of information relating to the commission or possible commission of a Federal offense or a violation of conditions of probation [1] supervised release,,[1] parole, or release pending judicial proceedings;
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

[Eliot Rosewater]

28. Thank you for this.

He owns the justice system so of course not a damn thing will be done.

We are in big trouble with these criminals.

[BumRushDaShow]

38. Better screencap it or it might disappear! nt

[Orrex]

22. If Obama had done the same, they would already have impeached him (nt)

[Eliot Rosewater]

30. If any democrat did any one of hundreds of things they would be hunted down by

deplorables and even the secret service couldnt protect them at that point.

Our country is completely over with. The media created two standards, one was the bottom of the garbage can behind the dirtiest restaurant in town, republicans, and one was a 5 star restaurant at the top of the mark, democrats.

All republicans have to do to be considered legitimate is not shit their pants while they talk.

[Orrex]

31. In point of fact, yes--you are completely correct.

From first word to last.


And if Trump farted when he talked, he'd blame it on Obama. Or probably Clinton, and the press would run with it:

"Opinions differ as to who actually farted, with the President insisting that it was Hillary Clinton."

[Eliot Rosewater]

32. LOL i changed it to "shit their pants"

but I like your scenario with both

[GeoWilliam750]

63. Ted Nugent apparently did shit his pants - perhaps while talking

And is still considered respectable in some circles - sufficiently so to be invited to the White House.

You may have to lower the bar a bit further.

[HurricaneWarning]

43. I think it was Bush who used to fart and blame it on someone else.

But the shitting in the pants thing can most likely be attributed to Trump since he is the one that appears lumpy in the rear due to ill fitting Depends.

[Turbineguy]

24. His base will eat this up.

For all their BS about Obama violating the Constitution, they really have no clue that it applies equally to everybody.

[Eliot Rosewater]

34. They no longer pretend but admit outright that most laws really only apply

to the "other."

[iluvtennis]

26. tRump with no critical thinking skills whatsoever doesn't know when to keep his pie hole shut. GAH

[workinclasszero]

29. LOCK HIM UP!!!

Dammit I'm tired of having a tinpot third world dictator in the white house!

[C Moon]

33. Not only does he sound guilty, he also sounds like a man who doesn't like women to have power.

[6000eliot]

35. Frankly, though, when does his behavior NOT cross that line?

[Perseus]

40. Comments like this should not be made:

“It just shows how much the norms of behavior have changed,” That is an acceptance to that kind of behaviour, first off these are not "norms", on the contrary it is all abnormal, and thus must be treated as such, it cannot be accepted.

[Alice11111]

54. I had exactly the same reaction...quit normalizing it!

It is like the media refused to use the term, "lie" for a year, when there were outrageous, damned lies, not misstatements. Geez, the Repubs are so much more aggressive, while we almost apologize for telling the truth. Then, DT threatens a witness, and instead of calling it what it is, well, standards are changing...amazing this is normal.
It is the angry pit bulls v the sweet little kittens. We all love the kittens, but they get taken advantage of.

[onetexan]

60. We need our Dems in Congress

And nonprofits such as the ACLU to file a lawsuit against this man for trying to figure intimidate ms. Yates & just him for good. Jeff Tobin is right, what he did is criminal.

[Alice11111]

61. Yep. We need to litigate them to death.

...including his family of little stupid mobsters.

[Initech]

42. Argh, I hate this administration. Fuck them all.

[benpollard]

44. Another impeachable offense

[tiptonic]

48. comrad

Comrad 'Benedict donald'.

[Cha]

51. This is what a perverted asshole does.

[Blue Meany]

52. If it leaked right after WH learned of it, the WH probably leaked it n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

53. To be fair, Nixon didnt have a twitter account.

But, yeah.

[jmowreader]

55. Someone should ask Donald Trump, under oath...

...to explain why he is so surrounded by people with ties to the Kremlin.

[Hekate]

56. Senator Grassley carried that water like a good boy, and asked those very questions of Yates

[Crash2Parties]

62. He can threaten whomever he wishes & get away with it because, Congress

The GOP Congress, that is, refuses to prosecute or investigate him for any transgressions, no matter how traitorous. Then again, it seems quite a few of them got their funding via Mitch McConnell's SuperPAC, which was funded by a Russian businessman.

[SergeStorms]

64. "Weve never had presidents who did this kind of thing".

Excuse me, "presidentS"? There is only ONE "president" that I know of, who threatened a witness about to testify. His name is Donald Trump. Of course 'Don-the-Con' believes he's above the law, and that "normal behavior" has no place in his lexicon.

We hear Trump's supporters proudly say, "he's a different kind of President". That starts with him being a different kind of "human being". He is completely devoid of compassion for others, incurious, (even for a normal human being, let alone the leader of what used to be known as "the free world&quot ,and dumber than a sack of hair. Yes, Trump is a "different kind of president" alright. Different doesn't actually mean BETTER, though. This type of "different," we (the U.S. of A. and the rest of the world) can do without.

[pangaia]

66. ".....kind of disturbing...."?

Hell, he should be arrested and charged with threatening a witness, and held in NYC with no bail....

[riversedge]

70. Once they got too close to uncovering the truth about #TrumpRussia, they were fired: 3 people....

Ignatz Retweeted
Kaivan Shroff? @KaivanShroff 3h3 hours ago

Once they got too close to uncovering the truth about #TrumpRussia, they were fired:

Sally Yates
Preet Bharara
James Comey

Link to tweet

[FakeNoose]

71. The Feds have the evidence already

It doesn't matter who gets fired, Trump is going down. They've got him 9 ways to Sunday.
The problem is politics, the GOP is still the party in power and they won't impeach him.

The FBI, NSA and CIA all have the goods on him. Trump's a criminal and a traitor. Comey wasn't such a great FBI director anyway. Trump is so desperate now, it's obvious even to the GOP that he's toast.

All the stuff that Sally Yates and Clapper couldn't talk about yesterday - they've got enough to bury him.
We need a special independent prosecutor post haste.