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WP: Sessions Met with Russia Twice Last Year, Didn't Disclose During Confirmation

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Even if true (it ain't those fuckers knew) it doesn't look good that you cant seem to pick people who aren't implicated in some form of a corruption scandal.

It's what happens when your giant orange ego crams yes men that surrounded you for gain instead of looking at qualified people that may disagree with you but will at least keep you ass out of scandals. The entire GOP are to blame as well for not allowing proper vetting.
 
Trump: "I have no idea why all of my cabinet members have been talking to Russia. I didn't know this was going on. Please pay no attention to the man behind the incredibly gaudy gold curtain."

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@ericgeller
Extraordinary rebuke of the FBI director by the top House Intelligence Committee Democrat. https://t.co/7YxFsk1teM
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@lrozen
Laura Rozen Retweeted Niels Lesniewski
does that suggest he is worried about conflicts of interest btw comm and trump associates being investigated?

@ericgeller
Eric Geller Retweeted Laura Rozen
This is key. Comey didn't want to tell WH about Flynn b/c he worried it might impair investigation. What if he has a similar fear w/ Nunes?​

Fascinating.
 
Trump's cabinet picks resigning won't mean he'll hire progressive ones to replace them. His policies won't change.

When Flynn went he got replaced by someone much better. You'd like to think a person like McMaster could make a difference in the room. Same here, while it might not change as much as people want just getting rid of the worst people has to be a positive.
 
Trump's cabinet picks resigning won't mean he'll hire progressive ones to replace them. His policies won't change.

Thats not really what people are hoping for here. I don't think anyone here is thinking Trump is going to change his colors, they are hoping the shit keeps piling up till its finally too much stink for the GOP to pretend its no tthere.
 
Yes I know. The media better be calling bullshit on their ass covering here.

Speculation is okay for editorials and message boards, but in this climate where everyone is crying out "fake news", I'd prefer they stick to the facts.

It certainly strains the limits of credulity that Trump had absolutely zero knowledge that 5 members of his campaign team or cabinet had dealings with Russia, but it's not a smoking gun until someone says he gave the order.
 
Trump's cabinet picks resigning won't mean he'll hire progressive ones to replace them. His policies won't change.

Trump has wasted what is usually the most rapid part of a president's term on scandal after scandal after scandal.

Just wasting Trump's time having to appoint someone new and endure the embarrassment is generally a pretty good outcome.

Also these dominoes keep falling, and eventually there will be just one, bright orange domino left to fall.
 
Trump's cabinet picks resigning won't mean he'll hire progressive ones to replace them. His policies won't change.

Uh... sure he won't hire "progressive" ones, but I don't think there's a sane person in the world that wouldn't say McMaster is absolutely a step up from Flynn. On the same token I'm not entirely sure we can do worse than a guy who was so racist he couldn't get a job in the 80s as our Attorney General. Sure it's not rainbows and kittens but it'd be better.
 
Who would've thought that somebody named Jefferson Beauregard would be a traitor to the United States?


@lrozen
Laura Rozen Retweeted Niels Lesniewski
does that suggest he is worried about conflicts of interest btw comm and trump associates being investigated?

@ericgeller
Eric Geller Retweeted Laura Rozen
This is key. Comey didn't want to tell WH about Flynn b/c he worried it might impair investigation. What if he has a similar fear w/ Nunes?​

Fascinating.

I'm becoming more convinced over time that this Russian conspiracy has ties deep within the Republican party, and Nunes is near the top of my shit list.
 
Uh... sure he won't hire "progressive" ones, but I don't think there's a sane person in the world that wouldn't say McMaster is absolutely a step up from Flynn. On the same token I'm not entirely sure we can do worse than a guy who was so racist he couldn't get a job in the 80s as our Attorney General. Sure it's not rainbows and kittens but it'd be better.

An Attorney General who isn't as friendly with Trump would also be useful if, say, Trump asked them to do something that was illegal.
 
I hope Sessions goes down but I don't see how this affects him. From what I understand he's on the Armed Services Committee and talking to Russians is something within his job description as a Senator and Committee member. Can someone explain how this could affect him negatively? I've been super busy at work and just browsing so maybe I'm missing something.
 
Hahaha jesus, on Tuesday the Right had this brief moment of thinking "Maybe this'll all work out, he read that teleprompter speech without calling Mexicans rapists a single time!"

Cut to Thursday, head of the DoJ is potentially the second major resignation less than two months in.

I hope Sessions goes down but I don't see how this affects him. From what I understand he's on the Armed Services Committee and talking to Russians is something within his job description as a Senator and Committed member. Can someone explain how this could affect him negatively? I've been super busy at work and just browsing so maybe I'm missing something.

This is the exact same excuse Flynn had in early January and that didn't hold water, on top of that it doesn't really stand up according to other committee members

Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, cast doubt on Mr. Sessions’s explanation that he had met with the Russian ambassador because of his duties as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, saying that was beyond the panel’s jurisdiction.
“I’ve been on the Armed Services Com for 10 years,” she wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “No call or meeting w/Russian ambassador. Ever. Ambassadors call members of Foreign Rel Com.”

And even ignoring both those things, he still lied under oath.
 
I hope Sessions goes down but I don't see how this affects him. From what I understand he's on the Armed Services Committee and talking to Russians is something within his job description as a Senator and Committed member. Can someone explain how this could affect him negatively? I've been super busy at work and just browsing so maybe I'm missing something.

In addition to breaking the story WaPo contacted all 26 members of the Armed Services Committee. 20 of them responded saying they had never met with Russian ambassadors as members of the committee in their time serving. It's not a normal thing for any senator to be doing.
 
So is the plan to just catch all the cabinet red handed doing something shady and replacing them with military for when they finally go after Trump himself? /conspiracy
 
I hope Sessions goes down but I don't see how this affects him. From what I understand he's on the Armed Services Committee and talking to Russians is something within his job description as a Senator and Committee member. Can someone explain how this could affect him negatively? I've been super busy at work and just browsing so maybe I'm missing something.

It doesn't matter if it was his job to talk to Russians. He committed perjury.

I am a software developer. If I was asked, under oath, if I had used a computer in the last month, and I said no, I'd be committing perjury, it wouldn't matter that it was my job to be on a computer.

He had a chance to explain that he talked to Russians as part of his job, and he did not say that. He said he had no contact with them.
 
I hope Sessions goes down but I don't see how this affects him. From what I understand he's on the Armed Services Committee and talking to Russians is something within his job description as a Senator and Committee member. Can someone explain how this could affect him negatively? I've been super busy at work and just browsing so maybe I'm missing something.

One on one closed door meetings like this are apparently not terribly normal and on top of that it's not the meeting that's the problem, it's that he said there wasn't any meetings. He said under oath that he did not meet with the Russians. It's not illegal for a Senator to meet with an ambassador, so why cover it up?
 
Speculation is okay for editorials and message boards, but in this climate where everyone is crying out "fake news", I'd prefer they stick to the facts.

It certainly strains the limits of credulity that Trump had absolutely zero knowledge that 5 members of his campaign team or cabinet had dealings with Russia, but it's not a smoking gun until someone says he gave the order.

It also doesn't really matter from an image standpoint. Even if you accept that Trump had no knowledge of any of this (not that you should), that just paints him as an incredibly ineffective leader. Mr. Extreme Vetting can't stop hiring people who are colluding with Russia? If he's not malicious, he's incompetent, and that's not a look Trump has any interest in wearing. His entire shtick has literally been "we'll hire the best people." So even if he turns out to be completely uninvolved in any of the Russian dealings, it still shows he is wildly incompetent for the Presidency.
 
Trump has wasted what is usually the most rapid part of a president's term on scandal after scandal after scandal.

Just wasting Trump's time having to appoint someone new and endure the embarrassment is generally a pretty good outcome.

Also these dominoes keep falling, and eventually there will be just one, bright orange domino left to fall.

Seriously, we're over a month in and the GOP hasn't passed a single substantial piece of legislation. They can't even agree on a budget.
 
I hope Sessions goes down but I don't see how this affects him. From what I understand he's on the Armed Services Committee and talking to Russians is something within his job description as a Senator and Committee member. Can someone explain how this could affect him negatively? I've been super busy at work and just browsing so maybe I'm missing something.

Because he lied under oath. He didn't say he spoke with Russian officials, but as an ASC member and not a campaign surrogate. He said, full stop, he did not discuss the election with the Russians during the campaign.
 
I hope Sessions goes down but I don't see how this affects him. From what I understand he's on the Armed Services Committee and talking to Russians is something within his job description as a Senator and Committee member. Can someone explain how this could affect him negatively? I've been super busy at work and just browsing so maybe I'm missing something.

He lied about it during his hearing. He volunteered the information.

Pretty simple.
 
In addition to breaking the story WaPo contacted all 26 members of the Armed Services Committee. 20 of them responded saying they had never met with Russian ambassadors as members of the committee in their time serving. It's not a normal thing for any senator to be doing.

I see. Do they have the details of the communications? I'm sorry I'm behind on this.
 
I hope Sessions goes down but I don't see how this affects him. From what I understand he's on the Armed Services Committee and talking to Russians is something within his job description as a Senator and Committee member. Can someone explain how this could affect him negatively? I've been super busy at work and just browsing so maybe I'm missing something.
He lied about the meeting under oath.

During his confirmation hearings, he said that he didn't meet with any Russian officials during the election. Lying under oath is illegal on its own, and a strong indicator that he has something serious to hide.
 
So is the plan to just catch all the cabinet red handed doing something shady and replacing them with military for when they finally go after Trump himself? /conspiracy
At this point, it wouldn't be surprised if the IC is primed to try and upend the prez and certain members of Congress if they have certain connections to Russia.
 
I see. Do they have the details of the communications? I'm sorry I'm behind on this.

They don't because Sessions' aides say there were no notes taken. Which is extremely uncommon. Sessions said he can't remember what was discussed. But he can apparently remember that the election was not discussed. Sooooo basically he's obviously lying. And he lied under oath because he clearly stated that he had NO communications with the Russians, not specifically as a trump campaign official or member of the ASC.

Yes, they are this incompetent at covering up their own corruption.
 
Seriously, we're over a month in and the GOP hasn't passed a single substantial piece of legislation. They can't even agree on a budget.

The GOP have never been good at legislating period scandal or not. They spend their time passing bills like anti flag burning and other bullshit then go on recess it was the same thing under Bush.
 
Trump's cabinet picks resigning won't mean he'll hire progressive ones to replace them. His policies won't change.

I think it's very unlikely he could find someone as bad or worse than Sessions for AG. I don't know all of the state AGs but hard to think of someone that could be worse. Chris Christie, John Cornyn, and Trey Gowdy are some possibilities that would be a step up from Sessions. Hell, I might even take Rudy Giuliani over Sessions.
 
Does it look like this is gaining any traction at all or is there still too little for any significant pressure to be felt?

Seems like the only concrete thing we have is that Sessions "misled" or outright lied during his Senate confirmation hearing, but it would be hard to prove intent.
 
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