Trump's New Impeachable Offenses: Obstruction of Justice, Conspiracy, Abuse of Power

[L. Coyote]

There is absolutely no doubt Trump's motive in firing Comey was to eliminate the person investigating #TrumpRussia and to obstruct the FBI investigation. That is criminal action.

The action was taken be three persons, Trump, Sessions and Rosenstein, and therefore conspiracy statutes prevail:

18 U.S. Code § 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States - If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

18 U.S. Code § 372 - Conspiracy to impede or injure officer - If two or more persons in any State, Territory, Possession, or District conspire to prevent, by force, intimidation, or threat, any person from accepting or holding any office, trust, or place of confidence under the United States, or from discharging any duties thereof, or to induce by like means any officer of the United States to leave the place, where his duties as an officer are required to be performed, or to injure him in his person or property on account of his lawful discharge of the duties of his office, or while engaged in the lawful discharge thereof, or to injure his property so as to molest, interrupt, hinder, or impede him in the discharge of his official duties, each of such persons shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six years, or both.

The conspiracy began earlier, with truth-suppressing acts by co-conspirators Sessions, Flynn, and Kushner. Given perjury, false declarations, or assertion of a false affirmative statement by an individual testifying under oath accompanied by other obstructive, evasive testimony, such as a false denial of knowledge or memory, legal offenses exist. Sessions committed perjury in his confirmation hearing, Flynn lied to the FBI and about his Russia contacts, Kushner failed to disclose his Russia contacts in his security clearance. These acts and Trump's firing of Comey are part of a pattern of actions, a cover up related to the Trump campaign, and have been carried out for a unified purpose and in a concerted manner.

18 U.S. Code § 1621 - Perjury generally - Whoever—
(1) having taken an oath before a competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any case in which a law of the United States authorizes an oath to be administered, that he will testify, declare, depose, or certify truly, or that any written testimony, declaration, deposition, or certificate by him subscribed, is true, willfully and contrary to such oath states or subscribes any material matter which he does not believe to be true; or
(2) in any declaration, certificate, verification, or statement under penalty of perjury as permitted under section 1746 of title 28, United States Code, willfully subscribes as true any material matter which he does not believe to be true;
is guilty of perjury and shall, except as otherwise expressly provided by law, be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. This section is applicable whether the statement or subscription is made within or without the United States.

Obstruction and impeding any inquiry or investigation in Congress is also criminal. Director Comey was a witness before Congress in both public and classified hearings in the very days before his dismissal.

18 U.S. Code § 1505 - Whoever corruptly, or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication influences, obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper administration of the law under which any pending proceeding is being had before any department or agency of the United States, or the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which any inquiry or investigation is being had by either House, or any committee of either House or any joint committee of the Congress—

Shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both.

History repeats. The first charge in Nixon's impeachment resolution was obstruction of justice. Abuse of power and politics can continue to impede investigations. An independent investigation is an immediate imperative.

The best path forward remains unresolved. There were reasons to impeach Trump before this latest action, but political will was lacking. That too is changing, moreso behind the barriers of secrecy imposed by classified information. As more information from the multitudinous investigations is revealed, the demands to end Trump's despotic tenure will grow. I doubt partisanship will be set aside to restore justice and undo an election outcome that never should have been. However, we don't have all the facts yet and when we do, even that may happen. Meanwhile, let the impeachment begin.

[L. Coyote]

1. James Comey Firing An Abuse Of Power By President Trump

Last edited Thu May 11, 2017, 11:43 AM - Edit history (1)

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[L. Coyote]

16. Russ Feingold: Donald Trump acts like an illegitimate president for a reason

Donald Trump acts like an illegitimate president for a reason
Russ Feingold

The American people did not really choose Donald Trump. His presidency exists without the support of the majority of voters and, in turn, without a true mandate from the American people. Trump walks and talks instead like an authoritarian, and seems to believe he is above the people and the law, and need not answer to either. He wants to be untouchable. He behaves with impunity and acts as if legal standards like obstruction of justice don’t apply to him.

Firing the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Comey, demonstrates a whole new level of defiance of the rule of law and our foundational system of checks and balances. More bluntly, it proves just how dangerous an illegitimate president is to our democracy. His actions do not only undermine the legitimacy and credibility of his presidency; they are a direct threat to our constitutionalism and our democratic legitimacy.

Our democratic legitimacy comes from the “power of the people”. When a president is duly elected by the people, that person is accountable to those people. After a president is elected by a majority of the people, it is self-evident that the people who gave them power can also take it away. But when a president wins the White House while losing the popular vote, this accountability to the people is lost.

The president took power in defiance of the people, and expects to be able to do so again. So the will of the people becomes irrelevant in the mind – and decision making – of an illegitimate president. An illegitimate president can fire the FBI director in order to impede an investigation into his own campaign, and believe there will be no consequences. If he can fire the head of the FBI, what else can he do?

This seems like an obvious demand at this point ....................

[dchill]

51. That's what I'M saying.

"His presidency exists without the support of the majority..."

[malaise]

2. Off to the greatest page for thee

Rec

[BSdetect]

3. Only needs another 10 or so offences and the GOP may act!

[L. Coyote]

4. Refusal To Turn Over Flynn Documents Is The Criminal Cover-Up

http://www.politicususa.com/2017/04/25/refusal-turn-flynn-documents-criminal-cover-up-bring-trump.html
Jason Easley on Tue, Apr 25th, 2017

When the White House refused to turn over documents that were requested by the House Oversight Committee's investigation, they were engaging in a criminal cover-up that could be the beginning of the end of this administration.

[L. Coyote]

5. New FBI Director Andrew McCabe Compromised By Serious Conflict

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FBI Acting Director Andrew Mccabe Also Being Investigated Over Clinton Emails
By Max Kutner On 5/10/17

.......... The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General announced in January that in response to requests from members of Congress, organizations and the public, it was opening a review of the FBI’s handling of the Clinton matter. Among the aspects that the office said it would review were “allegations that the FBI deputy director should have been recused from participating in certain investigative matters.”

Those concerns came after revelations by media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, that a political action committee affiliated with Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, who has ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton, contributed almost $500,000 to the 2015 Virginia state Senate campaign of McCabe’s wife, Jill McCabe. (She lost the election.) She also received $207,788 from the Virginia Democratic Party, which is connected to McAuliffe, a Democrat. ..........

[LaydeeBug]

6. knr

[smirkymonkey]

7. K&R and Bookmarked!

[L. Coyote]

8. Sen. Warner asks Comey to testify Tuesday next week, moving tomorrow's hearing.

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[pbmus]

9. Going, going, GONE...

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[L. Coyote]

10. Trump thought he could order Comey to end grand juries - Meanwhile warrants served RICO

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[L. Coyote]

11. Mike Pence caught lying about Comey firing thanks to Trump telling the truth

Mike Pence caught lying about Comey firing thanks to Trump telling the truth for a change

In the latest of his blizzard of interviews, Donald Trump told Lester Holt that he was going to fire James Comey no matter what and that the decision was made before he got Jeff Sessions and Rod Rosenstein to trump up some excuses. That’s awkward for Mike Pence, since:

“Let me be very clear that the President’s decision to accept the recommendation of the deputy attorney general and the attorney general to remove Director Comey as the head of the FBI was based solely and exclusively on his commitment to the best interests of the American people and to ensuring that the FBI has the trust and confidence of the people this nation,” Pence told reporters Wednesday.

Was Pence that far out of the loop? Nope. He was lying! .........................

Meanwhile:

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[dixiegrrrrl]

24. 2 ironies here

1. "armada"
2. "black plastic"

Loving it....

[L. Coyote]

35. Doubly so with the Black Plastic Garbage Bags.

Taking out the trash day! Armada Sanitation Services ASS will haul away your trash. Just phone ASS-HAUL

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[dixiegrrrrl]

38. Do you remember when reporters were kept in a room

that had black plastic covering all the windows? This was at Mar-Loco when Trump did not want anyone seeing who he was talking to.

[Alice11111]

85. There is so much weird stuff going on all of the time,

like the red sirens flashing from the WH, that it is impossible to keep up w it. Obviously, he did not want any reporters seeing in to Mar o Lago, so we wouldn't know who was thete or who was talking to whom.

[Initech]

12. How many more shoes have to drop before something is done?

It's fucking maddening!!! If one shoe like this had dropped on Hillary's side, the republicans would be on TV 24/7 calling for Hillary's impeachment, arrest, and indictment, and they'd be calling for all liberal voters to be locked up. But Trump's got a full fucking walk in closet full of shoes that have dropped and they're doing nothing! And they'll accuse us of corruption tomorrow. And find some way to blame us for this, and weasel out of it. God damn them.

[L. Coyote]

39. Trump's admission of obstruction: The Lester Holt interview, full video, w/o Miranda warning.

Not many if Trump just keeps talking and tweeting. Someone should Miranda him.

President Donald Trump On His Firing Of James Comey

May 11, 2017
In an NBC News exclusive interview, President Trump revealed to Lester Holt that he was preparing to fire FBI Director James Comey regardless of recommendations from the attorney general and deputy attorney general.

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[Duppers]

13. K & R

[FSogol]

14. don't forget ethics violations....

[L. Coyote]

15. Sen. Jeff Merkley accuses Trump officials of 'false story' about Comey firing

'Where is your integrity?': Jeff Merkley accuses Trump officials of 'false story' about Comey firing

Senator Jeff Merkley gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor Thursday about President Donald Trump's firing of James Comey as FBI director. He called into question the integrity of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, insisting that their official explanations for backing Comey's removal were a "cover story."

The junior U.S. senator from Oregon demanded that an independent prosecutor be appointed to find out whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian hackers who sought to sow chaos in the 2016 U.S. election. He said the real reason Trump fired Comey was because the FBI's investigation into the matter was escalating.

"To call the times we find ourselves in right now 'interesting' would be certainly an understatement," Merkley said. "The fact is we find ourselves in our country at a moment that is profoundly testing the rule of law here in America, profoundly testing the strength of our democratic institutions."

Merkley, a Democrat who supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign last year, said President Trump is "engaged in a pattern of removing individuals from office who are executing their responsibilities under the law," citing Trump's firing of former Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates, former New York U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and Comey.

................

[VOX]

17. Big thanks for pulling this all together.

It's much appreciated.

[L. Coyote]

18. 'Mr Comey was fired because he was leading an active investigation that could bring down a president

Donald Trump fired James Comey to stop FBI investigation that would lead to impeachment, says New York Times

Donald Trump fired FBI director James Comey in order to stop an investigation which could have "potentially ruinous consequences for the administration," the New York Times has said in an editorial.

The paper said that by firing Mr Comey, the President has cast doubt on further investigation into the Trump campaign's potential links to Russia, which could become "one of the biggest political scandals" in American history. ..............

[thesquanderer]

19. They always say it's not the crime that gets you, it's the coverup.

It would be ironic if they ultimately impeached over his conspiracy to oust Comey if, in fact, Comey wasn't necessarily even on to anything impeachable.

[L. Coyote]

20. Trump scraps visit to FBI headquarters. "It would be like turning himself in!"

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[dixiegrrrrl]

42. Flabbergasted that he even thought it was a meeting to have.

He knew for a couple months he was going to fire Comey, yet the meeting was scheduled.
He knew, and yet did the theatrical charade of having Sessions and what's his name write a supporting recommendation.
( yes, Sessions was stupid to write that letter, which is now proof he violated the recusal)

[L. Coyote]

21. Comey infuriated Trump with refusal to preview Senate testimony: aides

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-comey-decision-idUSKBN1862WP
Steve Holland and Jeff Mason - May 11, 2017

The anger behind Donald Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday had been building for months, but a turning point came when Comey refused to preview for top Trump aides his planned testimony to a Senate panel, White House officials said.

Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had wanted a heads-up from Comey about what he would say at a May 3 hearing about his handling of an investigation into former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.

When Comey refused, Trump and his aides considered that an act of insubordination and it was one of the catalysts to Trump’s decision this week to fire the FBI director, the officials said.

"It gave the impression that he was no longer capable of carrying out his duties," one official said. Previews of congressional testimony to superiors are generally considered courteous.

.................

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[L. Coyote]

22. Schiff Op-Ed: Why did Trump fire Comey? Had nothing to do with Clinton, everything to do with Russia

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[L. Coyote]

23. Dismissing FBI Director Comey didnt make the Russia problem go away, it made things worse

This Can’t End Well for Trump
Dismissing FBI Director Comey didn’t make the Russia problem go away—it made things worse
John R. Schindler • 05/11/17

President Donald Trump’s surprise firing of FBI Director James Comey late on Tuesday took Washington and the whole country by storm. The White House cashiering the man in charge of investigating the president’s connections to the Kremlin hardly constitutes a normal turn of events in our nation’s capital, and Trump’s high-stakes gamble brought inevitable comparisons to President Richard Nixon’s infamous Saturday Night Massacre in late October 1973.

Where this all ends now is anyone’s guess, though Trump’s firing his secret police chief unavoidably will bring scrutiny to issues—above all his links to Russia—which the president is desperate to make disappear. Indeed, it was Comey’s refusal to ignore Team Trump’s Russia problem that led to his brusque dismissal by Trump’s bodyguard-turned-factotum. In Los Angeles when he got the news from television, the FBI director was so stunned that at first he thought it was a prank.

However, the White House was deadly earnest about defenestrating Comey, whose refusal to toe the Trump line on the Kremlin proved his undoing. In particular, his unwillingness to say three magic words—“There’re no ties”—and thereby take the heat off the president regarding Russia drove Trump to distraction. Press reports portray a White House in crisis over Kremlingate. ....................

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[L. Coyote]

25. State AGs representing nearly 150 million Americans demand independent Russia probe

http://shareblue.com/state-ags-representing-nearly-150-million-americans-demand-independent-russia-probe/

After Donald Trump followed through on his previous threats and fired FBI Director James Comey, in the midst of that agency’s investigation into Russia’s interference in our presidential election — and possible collusion with Russia on the part of Team Trump — the calls for a special prosecutor immediately grew louder.

And now 20 state attorneys general, representing nearly half of the country in both red and blue states, have signed a public letter to the deputy attorney general for the United States, Rod Rosenstein, urging the appointment of a special counsel to continue the FBI’s probe ...................

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[L. Coyote]

26. Something seriously wrong with potential target of an investigation firing man in charge

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[L. Coyote]

27. Laurence Tribe: A series Of High Crimes And Misdemeanors "Obstruction of Justice"

May 11, 2017
President Donald Trump says he asked former FBI Director James Comey if he was under investigation. Constitutional expert Laurence Tribe takes issue with that and other Trump actions he says are likely impeachable offenses.

[L. Coyote]

33. Firing Comey when and for the reasons Trump did is "worse than illegal"

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[L. Coyote]

58. Laurence Tribe:‏ Why I say the time has come to launch an impeachment investigation

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May 13
Laurence H. Tribe is Carl M. Loeb University Professor and Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School.

The time has come for Congress to launch an impeachment investigation of President Trump for obstruction of justice. ....

......... the country is faced with a president whose conduct strongly suggests that he poses a danger to our system of government.

Ample reasons existed to worry about this president, and to ponder the extraordinary remedy of impeachment, even before he fired FBI Director James B. Comey and shockingly admitted on national television that the action was provoked by the FBI’s intensifying investigation into his campaign’s ties with Russia.

Even without getting to the bottom of what Trump dismissed as “this Russia thing,” impeachable offenses could theoretically have been charged from the outset of this presidency. One important example is .....................

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[TheFrenchRazor]

28. sure seems like it, but who is going to do anything about it? that is the problem... nt

[Cha]

29. Just drop this here FWIW.. thank you, Coyote

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[L. Coyote]

30. The irony runs deep here, Trump fires the hard-core Republican who got him elected, all

because the guy is too honest to tolerate his crimes. How many pissed off Republicans at this point?

And now Trump threatens Comey with secret surveillance? Has a civil war begun in their own ranks?

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[Cha]

31. Is that trump throwing a pre-emptive strike

against comey for anything he might have to say in the future?!

Thanks for the Tweet for KO.. they support him because they think he's going to get them everything they've always dreamed of.

They don't care that he's a hideously insane idiot.

[L. Coyote]

32. Acting FBI director contradicts White House on James Comey -- Trump Implies Recording

Last edited Fri May 12, 2017, 10:08 AM - Edit history (1)

President Obama must be ROLF'ing about now, first Trump falsely accuses him of a "wire tapp" and now Trump implies he wire tapped Comey.

The guy in the White House is totally bonkers at this point, so in all seriousness, Obama is probably crying, not to mention Hillary.

Hey Comey, one voice can change the world.

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[L. Coyote]

34. VIDEO Keith Olbermann: You Cant Fire the Person Investigating You

Not yet on YouTube, out in a tweet:
You Can’t Fire the Person Investigating You
This is either the end of Trump or the end of our democracy

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[L. Coyote]

36. How The White House and Trump Blew Up Its Own Narrative On Comey

Last edited Fri May 12, 2017, 11:30 AM - Edit history (1)

The Buck Stops With Who? How The WH Blew Up Its Own Narrative On Comey
Caitlin MacNeal, Esme Cribb and Matt Shuham Published May 12, 2017

.... Trump contradicted his entire communications staff on the rationale for Comey’s dismissal during a highly-anticipated Thursday interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, in which he revealed he had the FBI probe into his campaign on his mind when he decided to go through with bringing the hammer down.

Here’s how the White House narrative evolved in the aftermath of the shock firing.
Rosenstein’s memo was the catalyst

In the initial aftermath of Comey’s firing, the White House pinned his ouster on a three-page memo from Rosenstein. The deputy attorney general .............

You just can't fix stupid!

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[L. Coyote]

37. Trump angry Comey would not back wiretap claims about Obama

Trump angry Comey would not back wiretap claims about Obama: report
Mark Hensch - 05/10/17

President Trump was angry that former FBI Director James Comey would not back his claims that former President Obama wiretapped him, according to a new report.

Comey’s lack of support partially led Trump to fire him, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

The Post said that Trump was also angry Comey publicly revealed the breadth of counterintelligence into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential race.

Trump also disliked Comey paying more attention to the FBI’s probe of Russian election interference than leaks from administration officials to journalists.

The Post said it confirmed its report of Trump’s growing animosity toward Comey with more than 30 officials, including from the White House

Meanwhile, the most significant week in recent political history continues to unfold unpredictably as Trump's presidency crashes and burns at breakneck speed:

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[Alice11111]

40. Coyote, thanks for your post.

[a kennedy]

41. and tRump isn't intelligent enough and NOT aware that he did anything wrong......

oh right, he's not a politician, he's a businessman, and give him time to get up to speed.

[L. Coyote]

43. Most WTF Moments From Trump's WTF Week

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/most-wtf-moments-from-trumps-wtf-week-w482058

When Trump crossed his 100-day threshold, many of us hoped we had survived the most jaw-dropping saga in modern American politics. Then this week happened. ............

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[L. Coyote]

44. Mr. President, if there are "tapes"... you made them and they should be provided to Congress.

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[L. Coyote]

45. The New Yorker: The Threat in President Trumps Interview with Lester Holt

The Threat in President Trump’s Interview with Lester Holt
By Amy Davidson May 12, 2017

President Trump is a selfish liar, and a vain one. Those traits, together, can cause chaos, as they did on Thursday, when, in an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, Trump undermined his own alibi for firing the F.B.I. director, James Comey. The official story had been that Trump was moved to act on Tuesday only after the Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, and the Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein, came to him with concerns about Comey’s competence—specifically, his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s e-mails. Trump’s letter firing Comey said that he had “accepted their recommendation.” Vice-President Mike Pence and other dependents repeated this story all day Wednesday, with Pence portraying the President as solemnly resolved to follow the best advice he had, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the deputy press secretary, throwing in some smears of Comey, who she said had committed “atrocities” while at the F.B.I. and was disliked by its rank and file. Speaking to Holt, Trump stood by the smears: “Look, he’s a showboat, he’s a grandstander”; “I just want somebody that’s competent.” But, when Holt asked him about heeding Sessions and Rosenstein, Trump seemed to bristle. Could Holt think that he, Trump, needed to hear what anyone had to say—that he had his mind changed by subordinates?

“What I did was, I was going to fire Comey,” Trump said. “My decision.” One could almost see the thought bubble over his head: Me, me, me.

HOLT: Because your letter, you said, “I—I accepted their recommendation,” so you had already made the decision.

TRUMP: Oh, I was going to fire regardless of recommendation.

Trump also said that although Rosenstein was a “very smart guy,” he, Trump, was actually thinking about something not mentioned at all in his memo “when I decided to just do it”—that is, to fire Comey: “I said to myself, I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story; it’s an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won.” His aides, needless to say, had spent the day saying that Comey’s firing had nothing to do with Russia.

............. Trump would rather raise the possibility that he’d had an improper, if not actually illegal, conversation with Comey than leave anyone with the impression that he couldn’t instruct the people who worked for him to do anything he desired. ..............

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[oberliner]

46. He is not going to be impeached

No Republican has even hinted at possibly of supporting such a thing (and it can't happen without Republican support).

[L. Coyote]

48. I was wrong to disagree with people who said that about Nixon. Trump will resign too.

Nixonian Deja Vu: "No Republican has even hinted at possibly of supporting such a thing (and it can't happen without Republican support)."

His new private attorney has probably already advised him to resign, just after advising him that he has the right to remain silent. The 26 new attorneys hired by the White House must be pulling their hair out as their client keeps digging a deeper and deeper hole.

So why does Trump have a new private law firm? The implication seems to be that he knows he is under investigation for crimes before entering office. White House counsel cannot represent him for previous crimes!

[L. Coyote]

47. Inside Trumps War with the F.B.I. Agents are pissed off ...."

Inside Trump’s Coming War with the F.B.I.
“Agents are pissed off at the way he was fired, the total disrespect with which it was handled. It was a slap in the face to the F.B.I., to everybody in the F.B.I.”
Chris Smith May 11, 2017

............ a year. That’s the amount of time it was likely going to take the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General to probe Comey’s actions in handling the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s e-mails. If President Donald Trump was looking for a pretext to fire the F.B.I. director, a critical inspector general’s report could presumably provide it. Next year.

Clearly, Comey underestimated Trump’s impatience—as well as the president’s pathological inability to allow anyone to question the legitimacy of his election, let alone keep pressing the investigations into the Trump campaign’s possible ties with Russia. Comey is now puttering in his yard in Northern Virginia. But the political and legal whirlwind that his firing has set in motion is just beginning to spin, with the White House and the F.B.I. subject to the greatest damage. Even pro-Trump agents are horrified and furious at how Comey was treated. “It shows us, the career people who care only about justice, that there is no justice at the top,” one agent says. ................

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[L. Coyote]

49. Gorsuch RECUSED by Chief Justice? So much more is going on behind the wall of secrecy.

More news breaking every day, a pace difficult to keep up with, even without the behind the scenes news. Gorsuch RECUSED?
With a secret FISA court having jurisdiction, the Supreme Court is involved and Roberts is the lead jurist. It seems Gorsuch cannot be in the loop.

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[Guilded Lilly]

50. K & R ...my head is exploding attempting to wrap around all this...thank-you.

[2naSalit]

52. Thank you! and K&R

Bookmarking for future refs.

[L. Coyote]

53. PENCE is Looking Like a Liar or a Fool: What It Means to Work for Trump

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[L. Coyote]

54. Sens. Feinstein and Durbin call on Deputy AG Rosenstein to resign if no special prosecutor

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[L. Coyote]

55. Feinstein asks WH counsel to take steps to ensure recordings of Trump/Comey are preserved.

Just a reminder, Comey was fired after Comey's classified briefing to the Intel committee. What did the Republicans tell Trump?

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[L. Coyote]

56. Five Reasons the Comey Affair Is Worse Than Watergate

Five Reasons the Comey Affair Is Worse Than Watergate

A journalist who covered Nixon’s fall 45 years ago explains why the current challenge to America may be more severe—and the democratic system less capable of handling it.

James Fallows May 12, 2017

............. For me, Watergate is anything but hazy. I’d left graduate school and begun my first magazine job, with The Washington Monthly, in the fall of 1972, as news of the scandal emerged. Over the next two years, until Richard Nixon’s resignation, I was living in D.C. and tracking the daily progress in clue-following and domino-toppling via stories in The Washington Post and elsewhere—and then the riveting, televised Watergate hearings that made national celebrities of politicians like Senators Howard Baker and Sam Ervin, and of White House aides like Alexander Butterfield (who revealed the existence of Nixon’s secret system for taping White House conversations) and John Dean (who as White House counsel had told Nixon, “there is a cancer on the presidency”). Anyone of conscious age in that time can probably remember the jolts to national sentiment that the near-daily revelations evoked.

So I’ve been thinking about comparisons between Watergate and the murky, fast-changing Comey-Russia-Flynn-Trump affair. As with anything involving Donald Trump, we have no idea where this will lead, what is “true,” and when the next bombshell will go off.

But based simply on what is known so far, this scandal looks worse than Watergate. Worse for and about the president. Worse for the overall national interest. Worse in what it suggests about the American democratic system’s ability to defend itself. Here is a summary of some reasons why: ...............

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[Locutusofborg]

57. Impeachment is a political process

No way the Republican controlled House would vote out a Bill of Impeachment and no way 19 Republican Senators (plus all 48 Democrats/Independents ) would vote Trump guilty of any offense.

[L. Coyote]

59. Criminal investigation is a judical process.

And if Trump and his campaign are charged with egregious crimes, the Repulicans will impeach him or he will resign.

[gordianot]

60. Well not counting chickens or concurrent or consecutive sentences?

[L. Coyote]

61. EXCLUSIVE: Sealed Indictment granted against Donald Trump

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029060738

[shraby]

62. This is one hell of a thread L. Coyote!!!

Kudos to you for starting it. K & R

[L. Coyote]

63. Paul Krugman Just Accused The Entire Republican Party Of Treason

Paul Krugman Just Accused The Entire Republican Party Of Treason
Benjamin Locke- May 12, 2017

What has happened to the party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt or even Ronald Reagan?

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has some answers and they are terribly disturbing for all of us who are patriotic and not among the very richest Americans.

He shows why Republicans, who for generations claimed to be the party of patriots, now refuse to consider an independent investigation of Trump and Russia despite unrefutable evidence that a foreign power is gleefully tampering with our country.

Krugman’s answer is that the 2017 Republicans are more interested in serving the desires of the rich and powerful who give them huge donations and when they lose their positions, hire them for wildly over-compensated jobs – instead of doing what is right for all Americans.

.............

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[L. Coyote]

64. Flynn Intel Group associates were hit with Grand Jury Subpoenas hours before Comey was fired.

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This thread and the new thread are very much converging into a single story. The same Grand Jury issued the sealed indictments on Trump. Manafort, Flynn, and others.

Those doubting the Mensch and Taylor reporting should avail themselves to the public record!

EXCLUSIVE: Sealed Indictment granted against Donald Trump

[L. Coyote]

65. Lester Holt Cold Open - SNL

[L. Coyote]

66. Be surprised if Comey did not write memos after every contact he has had with Trump.

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Former White House Counsel To Nixon Doesn't Think Trump Has Had A Massacre Yet
5:02 Heard on All Things Considered
May 13, 2017

Amid comparisons between President Trump's firing of FBI Director Comey and the Watergate scandal's "Saturday Night Massacre," John Dean, a White House Counsel to Nixon, shares a historical view.

[L. Coyote]

67. Newsweek: Trumps hour of reckoning -- Taylor: upwards of 70 individuals/entities targeted.

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[L. Coyote]

68. Trump bragged about obstruction of justice

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[L. Coyote]

69. DNC chairman: I'd use Trump's tweet about firing Comey as evidence in an obstruction case

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[L. Coyote]

70. ACLU Demanding Records on Comeys Dismissal.

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[L. Coyote]

71. Heres How Trump Could Already Be Prosecuted The Resistance with Keith Olbermann

May 15, 2017
A case can now be made based on what Donald Trump did last week.

[L. Coyote]

72. BOMBSHELL - #ComeyMemo says Trump asked him to let Flynn investigation go

James Comey and the F.B.I.
A Times Exclusive: Trump, Comey and the Russia Investigation
By A.J. CHAVAR | May. 16, 2017 | 1:36

VIDEO: Michael S. Schmidt, a New York Times reporter, explains new revelations from a memo written by the fired F.B.I. director James B. Comey. The memo showed that President Trump may have tried to halt the agency's investigation into Michael T. Flynn.

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[L. Coyote]

73. Lawrence To Donald Trump White House Staff: 'Lawyer Up' The Last Word MSNBC

May 16, 2017
Donald Trump fired James Comey after asking him to drop the FBI investigation of Michael Flynn raises the spectre of obstruction of justice. Lawrence O'Donnell discusses with former federal prosecutor Samuel Buell, Tim Weiner, and Joy Reid.

[oasis]

74. Impeach the Imp. nt

[L. Coyote]

75. House Democrats hold news conference on Comey memo - petition independenty commission

Streamed live
House Democrats are holding a news conference on a reported memo by former FBI director James Comey, which claims President Trump obstructed justice during Russia probe

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[L. Coyote]

76. Rep. Al Green on House Floor "I rise today ...to call for the impeachment of the President ..."

May 17, 2017
Rep. Al Green (D-TX): "I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to call for the impeachment of the President of the United States of America for obstruction of justice."

Trump's New Impeachable Offenses: Obstruction of Justice, Conspiracy, Abuse of Power

[L. Coyote]

77. With Mueller as #TrumpRussia special prosecutor, the White House has every reason to panic

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[L. Coyote]

78. Things couldn't get any worse? Trump Tell Russians HE Fired 'Nut Job' Comey to ease pressure.

TRUMP: I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job ...

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[L. Coyote]

79. Rosensteins memo shows Rosenstein acting to help Trump and Sessions obstruct justice

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[L. Coyote]

80. Trump asked intelligence chiefs to push back against FBI collusion probe

Washington Post: Trump asked intelligence chiefs to push back against FBI collusion probe after Comey revealed its existence

Trump asked two of the nation’s top intelligence officials in March to help him push back against an FBI investigation into possible coordination between his campaign and the Russian government, according to current and former officials.

Trump made separate appeals to the director of national intelligence, Daniel Coats, and to Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, urging them to publicly deny the existence of any evidence of collusion during the 2016 election.

Coats and Rogers refused to comply .............

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[L. Coyote]

81. Special counsel Mueller reviewed private Comey memos on Trump

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[L. Coyote]

82. Allan Lichtman on predicting Trump's impeachment

May 15, 2017
The American historian accurately called every U.S. election outcome since 1984, including Trump's win. Now he's laying out reasons why the president could be impeached.

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[Scurrilous]

83. K&R

[L. Coyote]

84. Did Jeff Sessions recommend firing Comey to stop an investigation into whether he committed perjury?

The conspiracy just gets ever more complex and intertwined as more reports surface, adding evidence and co-conspirators as well as conspirator motives.

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[L. Coyote]

86. Comey's prepared remarks show "a president who knows no limits in terms of a proper relationship"

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Comey Says Trump Pressured Him to ‘Lift the Cloud’ of Inquiry
By MATT APUZZO and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDTJUNE 7, 2017

WASHINGTON — From his first days in office, President Trump repeatedly put pressure on his F.B.I. director, James B. Comey. He demanded loyalty. He asked that an investigation into an adviser be dropped. And he implored Mr. Comey to publicly clear his name.

As Mr. Comey described Wednesday in written testimony prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mr. Trump’s entreaties continued for months, in unexpected phone calls and awkward meetings. As Mr. Comey’s discomfort grew, so did the president’s persistence and his frustration with Mr. Comey’s unwillingness to help.

..... “He asked what we could do to ‘lift the cloud,’” Mr. Comey wrote after a March 30 phone call with Mr. Trump. “I responded that we were investigating the matter as quickly as we could, and that there would be great benefit, if we didn’t find anything, to our having done the work well. He agreed, but then re-emphasized the problems this was causing him.” ...............

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[L. Coyote]

87. Rep. Ted Lieu: Incredible Disrespect For Rule Of Law By Trump

Jun 7, 2017
Rep. Ted Lieu weighs in on new reporting from the Washington Post that a top intel official told associates the President asked him to intervene with fired FBI Director Comey about the Russia probe.

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[pnwmom]

88. Laurence Tribe says to add bribery to the list --

dangling the FBI job over his head in exchange for his promise of "loyalty."

[L. Coyote]

89. Legal Threat To Comey Could Lead To Charges Against Trump

Bullying Blows Up In His Face As Legal Threat To Comey Could Lead To Charges Against Trump
Jason Easley on Sat, Jun 10th, 2017

George W. Bush’s ethics lawyer is warning that Trump’s threat to legally come after James Comey could result in new charges, including obstruction of justice against the President.

Former Bush ethics lawyer Richard Painter told NBC News:

“The Department of Justice reports to the President of the United States. And the President of the United States is saying, ‘you’re going to be a witness against me? I’m going to open an investigation against you’ — that’s clearly witness intimidation, and that itself is obstruction of justice,” Painter said.

“So they’re going to compound the problem,” he said.

Every solution that Trump comes up with to make himself feel better only serves to add to his troubles. Going after James Comey for an act that wasn’t a crime is a horrible idea. Instead of moving on after Comey’s testimony, the President is trying to intensify and personalize the conflict. Trump’s motivation for attacking Comey isn’t to save his presidency, but to punish the former FBI director for testifying before the Senate.

Trump has used bullying and legal threats throughout his entire adult life, but he is in way over his head as president. Donald Trump is getting a hard lesson in the realities of presidential power ...............

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[L. Coyote]

90. Special counsel is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/special-counsel-is-investigating-trump-for-possible-obstruction-of-justice/2017/06/14/9ce02506-5131-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html?utm_term=.28bd08b43523
Devlin Barrett, Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima and Sari Horwitz June 14

The special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice, officials said.

The move by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III to investigate Trump’s own conduct marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Investigators have also been looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes among Trump associates, officials said.

Trump had received private assurances from former FBI Director James B. Comey starting in January that he was not personally under investigation. Officials say that changed shortly after Comey’s firing.

Five people briefed on the requests, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said Daniel Coats, the current director of national intelligence, Adm. Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, and Rogers’ recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett, agreed to be interviewed by Mueller’s investigators as early as this week. The investigation has been cloaked in secrecy and it’s unclear how many others have been questioned by the FBI.

The NSA said in statement that it will “fully cooperate with the special counsel,” and .......................

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[L. Coyote]

91. Merkley: Donald Trump Absolutely Tried To Intimidate Comey

[L. Coyote]

92. H.Res. 438 Articles of #Impeachment of Donald J. Trump for Obstruction of Justice

Congratulations Donald! One for the history books. So far 9,329 Retweets and 16,548 Likes.

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[L. Coyote]

93. Sessions Will Be A Witness Against President Donald Trump

Jul 19, 2017

In an astonishing interview with the New York Times, Trump said if knew Sessions would recuse himself in the Russia probe, he'd have picked a different Attorney General. Lawrence O'Donnell explains this is a "signal" from Trump about the unfolding investigation.

[L. Coyote]

94. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury in D.C.

Exclusive: top FBI officials could testify against Trump

Mueller’s Grand Jury: What It Means

The Hill: Mueller's grand jury: What it means

The news that special counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury has shaken Washington, fueling speculation that the investigation into Russian election meddling is growing in scope and seriousness.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Mueller, whose team of prosecutors has swelled to 16 in recent weeks, now has a dedicated pool of 23 grand jurors charged with examining subpoenaed documents, listening to witness testimony and ultimately deciding whether criminal charges are warranted.

A spokesman for the special counsel declined to confirm or deny the existence of the grand jury. ............

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[L. Coyote]

95. Mueller is casting an even wider net as he probes Trump for obstruction of justice

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[L. Coyote]

96. The Brookings Institution Report: Presidential obstruction of justice: The case of Donald J. Trump

The Brookings Institution Report: Presidential obstruction of justice: The case of Donald J. Trump
Barry H. Berke, Noah Bookbinder, and Norman Eisen -- October 10, 2017

Note: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a party (and is providing representation to other parties) in active litigation involving President Trump and the administration. Noah Bookbinder is the executive director and Norman Eisen is the chair and co-founder of CREW. Barry Berke and Kramer Levin are outside pro bono counsel to CREW.

..... In this paper, we break down and analyze the question of whether President Trump may have obstructed justice and explain the criminal and congressional actions that could follow from an obstruction investigation. Addressing the possibility of criminal behavior by President Trump and the complicated issues it raises is not a task that we take lightly. Dissecting allegations of criminality leveled against an individual who has been duly elected president and who has sworn to preserve, protect, and defend our Constitution is an inherently solemn task. But it is our hope that by presenting a rigorous legal analysis of the potential case against the president, we will help the American people and their representatives understand the contours of the issues, regardless of whether it is eventually litigated in a court of law, the halls of Congress, or the court of public opinion.

Our paper proceeds in four parts. In Section I, we summarize the relevant facts and allegations that can be gleaned from witness testimony and credible media reports. In Section II, we explain the law governing obstruction of justice and how it applies to the apparent facts and allegations as currently known. In Section III, we lay out the options available after Special Counsel Mueller has completed his investigation. These options include referral of the case to Congress, indictment of the president, holding the case pending removal of the president, and closing the case without indictment. Finally, in Section IV, we discuss the actions that Congress could take concurrently with or in addition to Mueller’s investigation. We explain that although Congress’s decision to take those steps is ultimately governed by both political and legal standards, there is precedent for impeaching a president .....

Discuss: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029693845

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[L. Coyote]

97. Mueller sends wide-ranging request for documents to DoJ and Trump Campaign.

http://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/special-counsel-sends-wide-ranging-request-documents-justice/story?id=51261366
By MIKE LEVINE -- Nov 19, 2017

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating whether President Donald Trump sought to obstruct a federal inquiry into connections between his presidential campaign and Russian operatives has now directed the Justice Department to turn over a broad array of documents, ABC News has learned.

In particular, Mueller's investigators are keen to obtain emails related to the firing of FBI Director James Comey and the earlier decision of Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from the entire matter, according to a source who has not seen the specific request but was told about it.

Issued within the past month, the directive marks the special counsel's first records request to the Justice Department, and it means Mueller is now demanding documents from the department overseeing his investigation.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein played key roles in Comey's removal. And Sessions has since faced withering criticism from Trump over his recusal and Rosenstein's subsequent appointment of Mueller.

Mueller's investigators now seek not only communications between Justice Department officials themselves, but also any communications with White House counterparts, the source said. Before this request, investigators asked former senior Justice Department officials for information from their time at the department, ABC News was told.

The latest move suggests the Special Counsel is still actively digging into, among other matters, whether Trump or any other administration official improperly tried to influence an ongoing investigation. ....................

[L. Coyote]

98. Impeach Trump: Sign the Petition

https://www.needtoimpeach.com/
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