What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[derspiess]

You must be very sensitive, getting burned by raindrops like that

Acid rain is a big deal.  Or at least it was in the 80s.

More seriously, what do you base the "there's nothing there" re: Pence on?

Um, absence of any evidence?

[Malthus]

Um, absence of any evidence?

For a lawyer in a courtroom, absence of evidence leads to the inevitable conclusion that there is no possibility of finding liability (if a civil case) or guilt (if criminal). Hell, for the former you need to demonstrate proof to the balance of probabilities, and for the latter, proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

For a scientist studying brainless primitive slime-molds, 'absence of evidence is not evidence of absence'. The reason: we know very little about primitive slime-molds, they don't preserve very well in the fossil record: it makes sense to postulate that they may have existed a long time ago, even though we have no actual evidence of it. The fact that there is no evidence of their primitive forbearers must be weighed against the fact that their modern descendants clearly exist now, in all their slimy glory; common sense dictates that they probably had ancestors, even though we don't know it for sure.   

I guess it depends on whether one views the Trump administration more as a crime being prosecuted, or more as a sort of brainless slime-mold.   

[Barrister]

But we have a fair bit of evidence about what goes on in the White House.  The place leaks like a sieve under Trump.

Look, here's my theory of the entire Trump-Russia connection.  There's no outright treason going on here.  Trump isn't a Russian plant (and the Russians aren't actively blackmailing him).  His crazy Russophile tendencies are just part of what makes Trump be Trump.  He probably however does have a whole bunch of Russian money invested in his business though.

But anyways.  So Trump isn't actively in cahoots with the Russians.  But he's a kind of hands-off manager who likes to see his underlings fight for his respect.  So knowing this, several of his underlings (Flynn, Manafort, Kushner, possibly Sessions) have reached out on their own to try and cut some deals with the Russians.  Which Trump is now trying to cover up and shut down any investigation into.

But look at the people doing it.  Manafort sold his soul to foreign interests long ago.  Mike Flynn, well hell he might actually be a Russian agent at this point.  He had the numerous RT appearances, sitting beside Putin at an RT gala.  And Kushner, who just doesn't know what the hell he's doing.

I dunno - Pence seems like he's smart enough to not go and start blabbing to the Russians.  He's a polished enough politician to know you just can't do that.

But we'll see.  There's nothing that will shock me at this point.

[The Brain]

Trump has swallowed so much Putin sauce he's now more Russian than American.

[Barrister]

Comey's written testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee is released today:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/i-expect-loyalty-trump-told-comey-according-to-written-testimony/2017/06/07/46413298-4bab-11e7-a186-60c031eab644_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_comeyremarks-210pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.a0bfcc652218

It's worth a read.

[CountDeMoney]

Trump has swallowed so much Putin sauce he's now more Russian than American.

Sounds like BB enjoys his share of fat, juicy Russian cock as well.  Mmm, mmm.

[Jacob]

Um, absence of any evidence?

Well, the investigation is only getting started so it's a bit early to draw any conclusions, I'd think.

[viper37]

Trump has swallowed so much Putin sauce he's now more Russian than American.

Sounds like BB enjoys his share of fat, juicy Russian cock as well.  Mmm, mmm.

Sometimes, do you reflect on your attitude and tell yourself "I think I've gone too far this time.  It's possible people might not take me seriously anymore." ?

[Zanza]

Um, absence of any evidence?

For a lawyer in a courtroom, absence of evidence leads to the inevitable conclusion that there is no possibility of finding liability (if a civil case) or guilt (if criminal). Hell, for the former you need to demonstrate proof to the balance of probabilities, and for the latter, proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

For a scientist studying brainless primitive slime-molds, 'absence of evidence is not evidence of absence'. The reason: we know very little about primitive slime-molds, they don't preserve very well in the fossil record: it makes sense to postulate that they may have existed a long time ago, even though we have no actual evidence of it. The fact that there is no evidence of their primitive forbearers must be weighed against the fact that their modern descendants clearly exist now, in all their slimy glory; common sense dictates that they probably had ancestors, even though we don't know it for sure.   

I guess it depends on whether one views the Trump administration more as a crime being prosecuted, or more as a sort of brainless slime-mold.   

Good post

[CountDeMoney]

Trump has swallowed so much Putin sauce he's now more Russian than American.

Sounds like BB enjoys his share of fat, juicy Russian cock as well.  Mmm, mmm.

Sometimes, do you reflect on your attitude and tell yourself "I think I've gone too far this time.  It's possible people might not take me seriously anymore." ?

Nope.  None of you assholes are worth that much effort.  You're all pretty much cunts I couldn't give two royal fucks about.

[Habbaku]

Um, absence of any evidence?

Well, the investigation is only getting started so it's a bit early to draw any conclusions, I'd think.

This is what gets me about the whole thing. People like DerSpiess and others who have no clue as to how these investigations usually work out have been screaming themselves red over there not being evidence...yet they are the same people that wanted multiple Benghazi investigations, ignore obvious signs of malfeasance in the Trump campaign, and essentially want an end to the entire Russia scandal before any conclusions have been drawn one way or the other.

If it were Hillary in Trump's position, we all know how they'd react, and it wouldn't be the same at all.

[garbon]

Trump has swallowed so much Putin sauce he's now more Russian than American.

Sounds like BB enjoys his share of fat, juicy Russian cock as well.  Mmm, mmm.

Sometimes, do you reflect on your attitude and tell yourself "I think I've gone too far this time.  It's possible people might not take me seriously anymore." ?

Nope.  None of you assholes are worth that much effort.  You're all pretty much cunts I couldn't give two royal fucks about.

Royal fucking sounds like a pretty staid affair.

[Barrister]

Trump has swallowed so much Putin sauce he's now more Russian than American.

Sounds like BB enjoys his share of fat, juicy Russian cock as well.  Mmm, mmm.

Sometimes, do you reflect on your attitude and tell yourself "I think I've gone too far this time.  It's possible people might not take me seriously anymore." ?

Nope.  None of you assholes are worth that much effort.  You're all pretty much cunts I couldn't give two royal fucks about.

CountDeMoney
Global Moderator
Neil
*****

Posts: 52167

[garbon]

Trump has swallowed so much Putin sauce he's now more Russian than American.

Sounds like BB enjoys his share of fat, juicy Russian cock as well.  Mmm, mmm.

Sometimes, do you reflect on your attitude and tell yourself "I think I've gone too far this time.  It's possible people might not take me seriously anymore." ?

Nope.  None of you assholes are worth that much effort.  You're all pretty much cunts I couldn't give two royal fucks about.

CountDeMoney
Global Moderator
Neil
*****

Posts: 52167

That doesn't prove anything. I don't think post volume is an indicator of how much one cares about other people.

[Jacob]

Analysis by Benjamin Wittes: https://www.lawfareblog.com/initial-comments-james-comeys-written-testimony

I will make three general observations based on this document alone.

First, Comey is describing here conduct that a society committed to the rule of law simply cannot accept in a president...

Second, we are about to see a full-court press against Comey. I don't know what it will look like. But the attack instinct always kicks in when a presidency is under siege. And Trump has the attack instinct in spades even when he's not under siege. It is important to remember what the stakes are here. They are not about whether Comey was treated fairly. They are not about whether you like him. They are not about whether he handled the Clinton email investigation in the highest traditions of the FBI or the Justice Department. They are not about leaks. The stakes here are about whether what Comey is reporting in this document are true facts and, if so, what we need as a political society to do about the reality that we have a president who behaves this way and seeks to use the FBI in this fashion. It is critical, in other words, that people not change the subject or get distracted when others try to do so.

Finally, it is also critical—though probably fruitless to say—that we eschew partisanship in the conversation. Tomorrow, this document will be the discussion text when Comey faces a committee that, warts and all, has handled the Russia matter to date in a respectable and honorably bipartisan fashion. It is not too much to ask that members put aside party and respond as patriots to the fact that the former FBI director will swear an oath that these facts are true—and was fired after these interactions allegedly took place by a man who then told Lester Holt that "when I decided to just do it [fire Comey], I said to myself ... this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story," and boasted to the Russians the day after dismissing Comey that "I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off."

Benjamin Wittes is editor in chief of Lawfare and a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of several books and is co-chair of the Hoover Institution's Working Group on National Security, Technology, and Law.