"These People Are Dead!": Marco Rubio Aggressively Tears Into Rex Tillerson Over Putin

[DonViejo]

Source: Mediaite


by Justin Baragona 10:57 am, January 11th, 2017


During the [link:http://www.mediaite.com/online/watch-live-secretary-of-state-confirmation-hearing-for-trump-nominee-rex-tillerson/Senate confirmation hearing] for President-elect Donald Trumps Secretary of State pick Rex Tillerson, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) aggressively questioned the former ExxonMobil CEO over his stance on Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin.

With Tillersons [link:http://www.mediaite.com/online/leaked-documents-now-show-tillerson-had-even-closer-ties-to-russia-than-previously-thought/close relationship in the past with Russia] serving as background, Rubio pressed Tillerson on whether or not hed advise Trump to repeal the sanctions that President Barack Obama has imposed over Russian hacking. When Tillerson pivoted to talking about the need for a solid cyber security plan, Rubio attempted to get him to give a direct answer.

After Tillerson said he [link:http://www.mediaite.com/online/rex-tillerson-refuses-to-call-vladimir-putin-a-war-criminal-during-hearing/wouldnt describe Putin as a war criminal] after Rubio asked him about that, the Florida lawmaker then spent the next few minutes explaining the atrocities in Aleppo and Russias involvement. When the hopeful SoS said those are serious charges to make and he would need to examine them more, Rubio informed him there are videos, pictures and info out there currently.

As Tillerson continued to deflect, Rubio grilled him some more, highlighting the charges that Putin has had opponents and critics murdered. When the oil giant said he couldnt make conclusions on what is publicly available, Rubio shot back


Read more: http://www.mediaite.com/online/these-people-are-dead-marco-rubio-aggressively-tears-into-rex-tillerson-over-putin/

[cilla4progress]

1. Really good to hear.

[haele]

2. WTF... Rubio?

Must still be upset about the primaries or trying to finesse a path to 2020 by seeming reasonable and concerned. His people didn't do their due diligence and all that juicy Trump information was just sitting out there ready to be used.



Haele

[DK504]

5. It would be nice to have Rubio continue to ripping a new one

Keep tRump trying to lie his way out of this position. I don't think Marko (Polo !) will be able to get any good press out of this. But I do ask him to keep digging into rTumps taxes and russian dealings.

[Dustlawyer]

14. Maybe it was Marco's campaign that started the MI6 agent's report?

[tenorly]

12. Narco Rubio's in-laws had the same problem with him.

The yeyo doesn't move itself, you know.

[JI7]

22. no. criticism of russia/putin was a common conservative position before trump

[Texin]

3. Tillerson's as kompromatted as Trump is.

Bet on it! Obviously, Tillerson's going to 'deflect' (or attempt to) statements like Rubio made, but the fact is, he's spent more time in Russia than Amerika's orange hitler - or perhaps the better characterization of the asshat is the orange Stalin. I'm willing to bet that Putin's got a dossier and photographs of every member of the Billionaire Boys' Club that's done business in Russia for the past twenty years. Tillerson is just another of RasPutin's useful idiots. He's a stooge every bit as much as the orange Stalin.

[Stonepounder]

4. While the news is good, I have trouble taking a news outlet seriously when they can't

be bothered to even proofread their stuff before they post it on-line.

"Rubio pressed Tillerson on whether or not hed advise Trump to repeal the sanctions"

"After Tillerson said he after Rubio asked him about that"

By right [they] should be taken out and hung,
For the cold-blooded murder of the English tongue.

[randome]

11. That bugs the hell out of me, too.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Birds are territorial creatures.
The lyrics to the songbird's melodious trill go something like this:
"Stay out of my territory or I'll PECK YOUR GODDAMNED EYES OUT!"[/center][/font][hr]

[PatSeg]

6. Wow

Didn't think "Little Marco" had it in him. That was quite impressive.

[mpcamb]

24. Good. Well timed response to deflection. Even tho M R said it. Didn't think he had it in him

either. Must be some left-over bad juju from the campaign.

[PatSeg]

25. Maybe from all those sleepless nights

"Damn it, I should have said..........."

Good for him.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. Dana Milbank: As Trump prepares his kissy face for Putin, a glimpse into the dictators soul

It was hard to limit myself to just four paragraphs.

Dana Milbank: As Trump prepares his kissy face for Putin, a glimpse into the dictators soul

Opinions

As Trump prepares his kissy face for Putin, a glimpse into the dictator’s soul

By Dana Milbank Opinion writer

@Milbank
http://www.facebook.com/danamilbank

December 27 at 12:32 PM 

“Spare us the kissy-face.” ... It was June 2001 and I was covering President George W. Bush’s trip to Slovenia, where he had just met Vladimir Putin for the first time. I and others were struck by Bush’s praise for the Russian leader as “trustworthy.” Said Bush: “I was able to get a sense of his soul.” ... But back in Washington, my editor had no interest in such talk. He rewrote my lede with other news — a tidbit about missile defense — and he moved the “kissy-face” stuff about Putin’s soul down to Paragraph 18. ... Now it’s Donald Trump’s turn for kissy-face, and the president-elect is practically groping the Russian dictator. After Putin gloated Friday that Democrats need to learn “to lose with dignity,” Trump tweeted Putin a sloppy kiss: “So true!” he said of Putin’s comments.
....

{I}t would be useful for Americans to have at least a cursory sense of the man our new president proposes to embrace. Here’s a quick glimpse into Putin’s soul to get us started:

Opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was killed outside the Kremlin as he walked home one night last year. Putin’s regime blames Chechens, but Nemtsov’s is one of a dozen high-profile murders of opponents widely thought to have been sanctioned by Putin’s government.

Another Putin opponent, Alexander Litvinenko, was killed in London by polonium poisoning in 2006. The British government said Putin “probably” approved the hit. That same year, opposition journalist Anna Politkovskaya was shot and killed outside her apartment.

In 2009, lawyer Sergei Magnitsky died in prison after being denied medical care. Others working on his investigation of corrupt Russian politicians also died suspiciously.

Among the many business leaders imprisoned or ousted under Putin are Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was head of the oil giant Yukos, and associate Platon Lebedev. The Russian human rights group Memorial says there are 102 people held in Russian prisons for their political or religious beliefs.
....

This, Mr. President-elect, is the man you are embracing. Please spare us the kissy-face.

[Duppers]

10. This would be a good OP.

Thanks for posting it.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

13. It originally appeared at DU on December 28, 2016, I believe. NT

[Guilded Lilly]

9. The people that the Cretin is surrounding himself with ARE

Lethal and treacherous.
They are well versed in duplicitous avoidance of direct questioning, no matter how pointed it becomes (and a slight nod to Rubio for attempting to go there).
As characterless, empty and brain deficient as the Cretin continually proves himself to be every time he opens his mouth or tweets inanely from the bowels of his tower, these nominees KNOW exactly what the game is...and it is their treasonous practices we must fear and fight the most.

[leftynyc]

15. Only matters if he votes against him

Otherwise we only saw the opening salvo to the GOP 2020 primary.

[yallerdawg]

16. Rubio, McCain, Graham...Cruz very soon.

"An elephant never forgets."

[Hortensis]

23. :) Right now Trump's media is lionizing Cruz as

in his camp. Doesn't mean anything, of course. Even Trump wouldn't expect a scorpion to be loyal to anything but itself.

[IronLionZion]

17. Oh yeah, I hope Trump has made lots of enemies in his party

and they tear him a new one and hold his feet to the fire. It should be interesting to watch



But i'm sure Rubio is grandstanding trying to prove his relevance for future elections

[nadine_mn]

18. I think many GOP 2020 hopefuls are seeing the Trump backlash

There are some members of the GOP who just assume they can control Trump and get their agenda across (McConnell and Ryan) and others who know Trump holds grudges forever (esp against his former rivals) and know that it may be better to distant themselves from the shit show - oops sorry piss show.

It would be nice if they were pushing back out of duty to their constituents, but nahh

[DonCoquixote]

19. I do not trust Marco

but frankly anything that makes T rex , Trump, and his buddy you know who sweat is a good thing. I hope that by the midterms the GOP becomes like something out of West side story with a bunch of gang members tried to stab each other useful switch blades and looking very goofy in the process.

[DavidDvorkin]

20. Those insults Trump flung about during the primaries

are coming back to bite him.

[okasha]

21. I don't care why Rubio is doing this,

as long as he follows through and votes against Tillerson.

[Docreed2003]

26. In no way is Tillerson reasonably qualified to be Secretary of State...

This guy's Russia connections alone should be a disqualifier, not to mention the fact that he is unqualified for the position, as was clearly shown by his answers yesterday. Anyone who doubts Trump's russian connections should look no further than his appointees. While I strongly dislike Rubio, I applaud his work yesterday, even if he does have alterior motives.