# A Thread for the Mueller Investigation Results and Outcomes (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 28, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093 "2017-10-28T20:14:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 283
**Author:** ![BeenJammin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beenjammin/32/448_2.png) [@BeenJammin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeenJammin)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5642 "2018-07-18T17:09:56Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > A new court filing claims Butina was in contact with the FSB for her entire time in the US. Also, the document alleges that she “offered an individual other than Person 1 sex in exchange for a position with a special interest organization. Further, in papers seized by the FBI, Butina complained about living with Person 1.” Person 1 appears to be Paul Erickson, who now would seem to have earned the alt-right’s greatest insult, “cuck”. OMG! The Russians are spying on us, and have agents actively subverting our government and political system. What will they think of next?! :rolleyes: If it wasn’t such a popular topic for all the wrong reasons, I suspect some posters around here were completely unaware THIS TYPE STUFF HAS BEEN ON UNABATED FOR ABOUT 60-SOME FUCKING YEARS. My, oh my - what IS an FBI to do. Hmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5643 "2018-07-18T17:11:49Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I will also accept it. And I will paint my butt blue, move to the country and you can call me Ophelia. A vow of silence, chastity, and modesty, a diet of goat cheese and raw okra. > > Or bourbon. One or the other. Who gets to choose? ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5644 "2018-07-18T17:13:10Z")
Trump just said that Russia is not currently targeting the US, almost immediately after Dan Coats said the opposite. He’s actively covering for Russia (still). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5645 "2018-07-18T17:15:32Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > John Mullaney has almost the perfect illustration of this in his Radio City concert: > > (N.B. PARAPHRASED) > > _Half the people are saying “Why didn’t you care so much about it when the last guy did the same thing” And I say, “BECAUSE I WASN’T PAYING ATTENTION! I know. I’m lazy, but most people ARE lazy, and we don’t pay attention until there’s a HORSE LOOSE IN A HOSPITAL! Besides, I thought the last guy did a pretty good job; but NOW THERE’S A HORSE LOOSE IN A HOSPITAL!”_ Whoops, ninja’d by **Gyrate**. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5646 "2018-07-18T17:34:47Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > For example, in what way does Count Ten (conspiracy to launder money) equate to “not playing nice on Facebook”? > [@BeenJammin](#): > > It doesn’t. But on that general topic, I suspect there is alot of money laundering going on right now, for much larger amounts, which might actually hold real prosecutor potential. :smack: Well, this raises the question of why you would characterize the indictment that way. Please be so good as to not bother denying that you did precisely that. > [@BeenJammin](#): > > _ **So not playing nice on Facebook gets defined as defrauding the gubmit, etc, etc. by the special prosecutor. Riiiight. :rolleyes:** _ > > We’ll see how it turns out in court… > > Great way to get some attention from the right wing, at least. FUN FACT: When you have someone on “ignore,” you need to click “view post” if you want to quote them. FUN FACT #2: When the likelihood of someone ever posting something USEFUL and NECESSARY that will not be posted elsewhere approaches ZERO, the appropriateness of putting that person on “ignore” approaches UNITY. FUN FACT #3: Please don’t put quotes from people on my “ignore” list into your posts (you may PM me for a current copy of my “ignore” list \<– _this is the part that makes it a fact_). Fun Fact #4: If you’re already on my ignore list, you can’t effectively PM me – I don’t care who you quote. FUN FACT #5 ( **PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL to BeenJammin** ): Shut the fuck up, you fucking troll. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5647 "2018-07-18T17:37:54Z")
> [@BeenJammin](#): > > OMG! The Russians are spying on us, and have agents actively subverting our government and political system. > > What will they think of next?! :rolleyes: > > If it wasn’t such a popular topic for all the wrong reasons, I suspect some posters around here were completely unaware THIS TYPE STUFF HAS BEEN ON UNABATED FOR ABOUT 60-SOME FUCKING YEARS. > > My, oh my - what IS an FBI to do. Hmmmm… Last I checked, in the past 60 years they didn’t have so much aiding and abetting from members of the highest office in the land. And yes, while we did have Russians spying on us we tended to discourage it, not call for it openly in campaign speeches. ---
**Author:** ![BeenJammin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beenjammin/32/448_2.png) [@BeenJammin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeenJammin)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5648 "2018-07-18T18:09:08Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Last I checked, in the past 60 years they didn’t have so much aiding and abetting from members of the highest office in the land. You should probably check more often with your preferred high-ranking government officials. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5649 "2018-07-18T18:16:20Z")
> [@BeenJammin](#): > > You should probably check more often with your preferred high-ranking government officials. That is not an answer. But no surprise there. You make empty posts solely for the purpose of trying to look like you know what you are talking about despite obviously not having a clue. ---
**Author:** ![BeenJammin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beenjammin/32/448_2.png) [@BeenJammin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeenJammin)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5650 "2018-07-18T18:51:15Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > FUN FACT: … So you have lotsa fun ignoring people, huh? Must be a real hoot at parties. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5651 "2018-07-18T18:54:31Z")
Tfw you can make “if your friends jumped off the Empire State Building, would you do it too?” a credible rebuttal to the GOP’s arguments… ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5652 "2018-07-18T19:37:40Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I will also accept it. And I will paint my butt blue, move to the country and you can call me Ophelia. A vow of silence, chastity, and modesty, a diet of goat cheese and raw okra. > > Or bourbon. One or the other. Vodka would be more appropriate. Best get used to it. But I hear ya, I do. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5653 "2018-07-18T22:29:13Z")
> [@JB99](#): > > It is mind-boggling. But it just proves what we’ve known all along. These people have no interest in freedom, or democracy, or sovereignty, or the Constitution. They care about “winning” - however they define it - and if “winning” means giving up their freedom and their democracy they are okay with that. These people are enemies of human freedom. > > It never enters into their tiny pea brains what will happen when their authoritarian leaders inflict something they don’t agree with. They’ll put up with pretty much anything, so long as those authoritarian leaders assure them that they’re inherently superior to non-whites. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5654 "2018-07-18T23:30:48Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > A new court filing claims Butina was in contact with the FSB for her entire time in the US. Also, the document alleges that she “offered an individual other than Person 1 sex in exchange for a position with a special interest organization. Further, in papers seized by the FBI, Butina complained about living with Person 1.” Person 1 appears to be Paul Erickson, who now would seem to have earned the alt-right’s greatest insult, “cuck”. I can understand why she might need to vent a bit after finding that the mission required tedious and uninspiring “lie back and think of Russia” duties, but putting it in writing was probably a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5655 "2018-07-19T00:01:08Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > I think [this](https://www.gq.com/story/what-putin-has-on-trump)is a pretty good analysis from _GQ_ of “What Putin has on Trump”. > > (italics in original. ETA: which you’d be sure to see if the Quote box hadn’t italicized everything for me ☹ ) > > I’ve gone back and forth on whether the notorious “pee tape” exists, or whether Russia has Trump by the financial balls, or a variety of other explanations. But Ioffe’s explanation strikes me as pretty persuasive. If Putin could, at his whim, destroy Trump’s legitimacy, that would be a powerful motivator for Trump to kneel before Zod in Helsinki. The simplest explanations aren’t **always** right, but I’m thinking it coul well be in this case. Legitimacy isn’t a component of our Constitution. If you cheat your way in, but get the requisite number of votes, then you’re President despite all of the evidence in the world proving that you’re a cheating bastard. Unless and until the House and Senate decide to impeach you, then you’re the President, end of story. Not to mention that, back in January 2017, he could always have said to the nation, “There were irregularities in this election, which I did not control and had no hand in. I regret if this helped me to gain the role, and I will step down should Congress determine that they cannot conscionably work with me, but my hope is that I will be able to fill this role and to do it justice, to see that those who committed this transgression are punished, and ensure that the next election is unimpeachable even if it is to my own political demise.” If he had said something like that, and seemed genuine, then everyone would think, “Well, that’s reasonable. What a swell guy. Let’s give him a chance.” For the record, here is my take: > **[A Likely History of Donald Trump & Vlad](https://publius2point0.wordpress.com/2018/07/16/a-likely-history-of-donald-trump-vlad/)** > > I’d like to present two small tangents before continuing to the main topic. The First A couple of years ago, I found an interesting entry on the Wikipedia, the Mitrokhin Archive. These are a … ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5656 "2018-07-19T00:42:48Z")
Sage Rat, your hypothetical speech was beautiful, and exactly what we’d expect from a statesman and leader. Unfortunately, they’re in short supply. And certainly we won’t hear those words from someone who had a hand in those “irregularities.” And I bet no one has EVER referred to Donald J. Trump as a “swell guy”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5657 "2018-07-19T01:30:46Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Sage Rat, your hypothetical speech was beautiful, and exactly what we’d expect from a statesman and leader. Unfortunately, they’re in short supply. And certainly we won’t hear those words from someone who had a hand in those “irregularities.” > > And I bet no one has EVER referred to Donald J. Trump as a “swell guy”. 🙂 I think a lot of people refer to him as a deadbeat, and the rest call him sexual abuser. There’s just no end to the win with this crappile. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5658 "2018-07-19T02:00:55Z")
That’s only one of thousands of opportunities to say something statesmanlike and grammatically correct that he has squandered. So, basically, if he was an entirely different person, we’d be willing to give him a chance? Yeah, I guess so. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5659 "2018-07-19T02:08:04Z")
How many Republican people have known about [this](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/18/world/europe/trump-intelligence-russian-election-meddling-.html) since January 6, 2017? New York Times: > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON — Two weeks before his inauguration, Donald J. Trump was shown highly classified intelligence indicating that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had personally ordered complex cyberattacks to sway the 2016 American election. > > The evidence included texts and emails from Russian military officers and information gleaned from a top-secret source close to Mr. Putin, who had described to the C.I.A. how the Kremlin decided to execute its campaign of hacking and disinformation. > > Mr. Trump sounded grudgingly convinced, according to several people who attended the intelligence briefing. But ever since, Mr. Trump has tried to cloud the very clear findings that he received on Jan. 6, 2017, which his own intelligence leaders have unanimously endorsed. Womp, womp. Getting pretty stinky these days. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5660 "2018-07-19T02:11:17Z")
I read this article too. Is someone willing to testify on this? Maybe Comey? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/5661 "2018-07-19T02:12:53Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Sage Rat, your hypothetical speech was beautiful, and exactly what we’d expect from a statesman and leader. Unfortunately, they’re in short supply. And certainly we won’t hear those words from someone who had a hand in those “irregularities.” > > And I bet no one has EVER referred to Donald J. Trump as a “swell guy”. 🙂 I’ve often thought of him as a swollen-headed asshole. Does that count? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093.md?page=282) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093.md?page=284)