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Vox: Top FBI officials could testify against Trump in Mueller probe

C

chadskin

Member
Shortly after the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller in May, Acting Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe told several of the highest-ranking managers of the bureau they should consider themselves possible witnesses in any investigation into whether President Donald Trump engaged in obstruction of justice, according to two senior federal law enforcement officials.

McCabe has told colleagues that he too is a potential witness in the probe of whether Trump broke the law by trying to thwart the FBI's Russia investigation and the investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government to defeat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

Two senior federal law enforcement officials have told me that the new revelations illustrate why they believe the potential case against Trump is stronger than outsiders have thought.

“What you are going to have is the potential for a powerful obstruction case,” a senior law enforcement official said. “You are going to have the [former] FBI director testify, and then the acting director, the chief of staff to the FBI director, the FBI’s general counsel, and then others, one right after another. This has never been the word of Trump against what [James Comey] has had to say. This is more like the Federal Bureau of Investigation versus Donald Trump.”
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https://www.vox.com/policy-and-poli...er-obstruction-case-stronger-trump-surrogates
 
Trojita

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
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C

Cake Boss

Banned
Two senior federal law enforcement officials have told me that the new revelations illustrate why they believe the potential case against Trump is stronger than outsiders have thought
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This gets me hard
 
S

SocksAndShoes

Banned
Two senior federal law enforcement officials have told me that the new revelations illustrate why they believe the potential case against Trump is stronger than outsiders have thought.
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Looks like we've upgraded from a nothingburger to a Nothingburger Royale with Cheese, with a side of Obstructionsauce.
 
L

lush

Member
Including Comey, as many as 10, and possibly more, of the nation’s most senior law enforcement officials are likely to be questioned as part of the investigation into whether Trump committed obstruction of justice, according to two government investigators with first-hand knowledge of the matter.
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Comey regularly spoke to the six high-ranking FBI managers, often right after a distressing conversation with Trump about the Russia probe.

Comey spoke to these FBI officials almost always within 24 to 48 hours after such a contact took place, according to two senior federal law enforcement officials. A person familiar with the matter told me that they know for certain there were at least eight such conversations — and likely more than a dozen — that Comey had with these high-ranking FBI managers, sometimes one on one, sometimes in groups of several officials. More than one such meeting was longer than an hour.
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Although it is unclear which FBI mangers took notes and which did not, at least one person familiar with the matter said that James Baker, the FBI’s general counsel, made detailed notes of virtually every conversation with Comey or others about the Russia probe.
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The FBI doesn't fuck around.
 
P

PantherLotus

Professional Schmuck
question for people who understand this: everything we've learned so far is that the FBI chain of witnessing is

1. trump gets fucky with comey
2. comey writes it down
3. come tells other people in FBI what he wrote down

now, i have no doubt a criminal act happened here -- and one in an attempt to cover up a near-treasonous act -- but my question is this: why is 'fbi officials could testify' that big of a deal when they're presumably [only] really just confirming what comey told them?
 
D

DonShula

Member
shnurgleton said:
Was this ever in question?
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No, I recall legal talking heads on CNN and MSNBC saying this at the time. I think Vox is putting a twist on it by saying they will testify "against" Trump. We've always known they would be considered witnesses and would potentially be called to testify. We just assumed their testimony would be damaging to Trump.
 
T

theWB27

Member
PantherLotus said:
question for people who understand this: everything we've learned so far is that the FBI chain of witnessing is

1. trump gets fucky with comey
2. comey writes it down
3. come tells other people in FBI what he wrote down

now, i have no doubt a criminal act happened here -- and one in an attempt to cover up a near-treasonous act -- but my question is this: why is 'fbi officials could testify' that big of a deal when they're presumably [only] really just confirming what comey told them?
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I'd think the more witnesses corroborating the better...no?
 
S

Steejee

Member
SocksAndShoes said:
Looks like we've upgraded from a nothingburger to a Nothingburger Royale with Cheese, with a side of Obstructionsauce.
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I've found the "They've found nothing so far! FAKE NEWS!" line of argument against the investigation baffling. They're basically saying that since nothing has leaked yet, clearly nothing has been found. It's almost like Trumpkins can't imagine an investigation proceeding like it's supposed to - quietly and thoroughly gathering info and following leads without spewing everything being done to to media. I wonder if they'll still call it a nothingburger if/when the probe goes from gathering to persecuting.
 
P

PantherLotus

Professional Schmuck
theWB27 said:
I'd think the more witnesses corroborating the better...no?
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but they're corroborating / witnessing an anecdote(s). which is fine for establishing that comey did the thing he said he did and not after he was fired.

it's just that i don't think they witnessed trump doing anything personally, so i'm wondering if the above is more than we knew about / something to actually get pumped for?
 
K

KHarvey16

Member
PantherLotus said:
question for people who understand this: everything we've learned so far is that the FBI chain of witnessing is

1. trump gets fucky with comey
2. comey writes it down
3. come tells other people in FBI what he wrote down

now, i have no doubt a criminal act happened here -- and one in an attempt to cover up a near-treasonous act -- but my question is this: why is 'fbi officials could testify' that big of a deal when they're presumably [only] really just confirming what comey told them?
Click to expand...

Multiple high level people with corroborating stories and contemporaneous notes is pretty air tight.
 
T

theWB27

Member
PantherLotus said:
but they're corroborating / witnessing an anecdote(s). which is fine for establishing that comey did the thing he said he did and not after he was fired.

it's just that i don't think they witnessed trump doing anything personally, so i'm wondering if the above is more than we knew about / something to actually get pumped for?
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They also have Trump admitting he obstructed justice on top of it.
 
C

Chained Prometheus

Member
PantherLotus said:
but they're corroborating / witnessing an anecdote(s). which is fine for establishing that comey did the thing he said he did and not after he was fired.

it's just that i don't think they witnessed trump doing anything personally, so i'm wondering if the above is more than we knew about / something to actually get pumped for?
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Actually, didn't Comey mention in his Senate testimony that one of the phone calls he got from Trump was heard by others at the FBI? I could have sworn he mentioned something along those lines.
 
T

TheRagnCajun

Member
KHarvey16 said:
Multiple high level people with corroborating stories and contemporaneous notes is pretty air tight.
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Not if they are based on Comey's word. If they aren't actually witness to anything Trump did or said they aren't proving a matter of fact. They are only proving that Comey said something or wrote something down.
 
S

SocksAndShoes

Banned
TheRagnCajun said:
Not if they are based on Comey's word. If they aren't actually witness to anything Trump did or said they aren't proving a matter of fact. They are only proving that Comey said something or wrote something down.
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How dumb do you think the FBI is? Do you really believe that experienced law enforcement agents don't know this and don't have any other evidence ready to present?

The pessimism is overriding basic logic at this point.
 
K

KHarvey16

Member
TheRagnCajun said:
Not if they are based on Comey's word. If they aren't actually witness to anything Trump did or said they aren't proving a matter of fact. They are only proving that Comey said something or wrote something down.
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Huh? If there are multiple people repeating a story they were all told and took notes about at the time it absolutely goes to proving the veracity of that story.
 
R

Randolph Freelander

Member
KHarvey16 said:
His base is tiny.
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Never underestimate the stupidity of the American voter.

Particularly, never underestimate the ends to which Republicans will go to never vote for a Democrat.

"I realize Donald Trump admitted on film to being the actual Antichrist, literally the son of Satan, but at least he doesn't want single payer health care."
 
T

theWB27

Member
Sephzilla said:
The pessimism levels in this thread are insane
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People conflating an investigation that is ongoing with the GOP choosing to do nothing to be as pessimistic as possible. What's funny is the GOP...while not impeaching him...have taken steps to limit what he can do. If the GOP feel like they can get another candidate in office over Trump I have a feeling they'd go that route 100%.
 
K

KHarvey16

Member
NyMartin90 said:
They will influence other republicans to vote for the party over anything else.
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Randolph Freelander said:
Never underestimate the stupidity of the American voter.

Particularly, never underestimate the ends to which Republicans will go to never vote for a Democrat.

"I realize Donald Trump admitted on film to being the actual Antichrist, literally the son of Satan, but at least he doesn't want single payer health care."
Click to expand...

Even if his numbers somehow manage to stay where they are there's a damn good chance the Republican Party won't even run him again. They could easily capitalize on "take our party back" separation, especially if midterms go as they usually do and the party in power is hit hard.
 
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