# 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:** 457
**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:** [January 18, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9123 "2019-01-18T20:01:27Z")
Hoover was a disaster as a President Nixon was a disaster as a President Trump is a disaster as President They’re about 45 years apart They’re all Republicans Got it? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9124 "2019-01-18T20:24:40Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Nice avatar/post combo! Hope you feel better. Yesterday I blew chunks so hard I pulled a muscle. True story. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9125 "2019-01-18T20:30:15Z")
How did Chunk’s feel about things? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9126 "2019-01-18T20:40:46Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Well, well, well… what have we here](https://apnews.com/7ebe25d613a745b18404c41980511eac/Jailed-Instagram-model-wants-to-trade-secrets-for-freedom)? I posted a follow-up to this in an Elections thread: > [@Trump associates may have coordinated with Russians, according to US officials](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians-according-to-us-officials/782799/5520): > > I just noticed [this headline](https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/russia-seizes-model-who-made-trump-claim/ar-BBSqP1i): > > > [@](#): > > > > A Belarusian model [Anastasia Vashukevich, aka Nastya Rybka, who was deported by Thailand and placed on a flight transiting Moscow] who said she had evidence of Russian collusion with Donald Trump’s election campaign is now in Russian police custody. … A woman resembling her and looking sedated struggles as four men push her into a wheelchair [at Moscow’s main airport], then carry her. > > … [She] had planned to get a connecting flight to Minsk, the Belarusian capital, but had been seized and dragged from the transit zone on to Russian territory, then whisked away to a police station. > > … While in custody [in Thailand], Rybka and Kirillov sought help from the US embassy, fearing extradition to Russia… > > **Rybka said she had evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election campaign** , allegedly obtained through an acquaintance with Russian billionaire industrialist Oleg Deripaska. > > Russia didn’t want that evidence to get out? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9127 "2019-01-18T21:05:25Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > Assuming this is true, I’m setting aside another bucket of popcorn for the reaction of CFSG’s base. Yes, a great many of them will man the Fake News barricades to the bitter end; on the other hand, second only to a woman scorned is the fury of a True Believer who comes to realize — as some do — that (s)he has been led down the garden path. The belated recriminations and crocodile tears should be a sight to behold. > > (Notwithstanding the above, should CFSG resign or be removed from office I expect that my reaction will be what I felt when Nixon departed: not gloating, but the same sense of relief that descends when one stops hitting oneself on the head with a hammer.) [You can start chowing down on that popcorn](https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=783962228603938&set=a.328265507506948&type=3&eid=ARAoEMLXhYtsQdGRWEva37R8Cf91Cr2011OXEjRhBJeCjz6uK4eVcl-eNIglfQ4Hkw8YjQt6PQbynsdF). One of my brothers-in-law just reposted this tripe. Yeah. Those barricades won’t fall due to lack of manning. There are sone pretty good comments blasting the original post, but sadly more than a few reposts/shares of it. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9128 "2019-01-18T23:00:12Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > More like black hole, I think. I’m hoping that as a nation, we have not passed the event horizon and are thus invisible to the rest of the world.Is your daughter under voting age? I’m sure even Clemson footballers would regard Mickey Dee as fuel, not food. Was there anything about what their reaction was when they walked in on a pile of gelid quarter-pounders? There was an online video I saw (didn’t save the link) where one of the kids said “I thought it was a joke” and another who said “I was expecting steak and lobster.” Most 20-somethings aren’t that impressed by McD’s – even when served by candlelight. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9129 "2019-01-18T23:28:58Z")
Agreed, but my daughter is eight. Hopefully she will have better taste when she is older (although I can’t deny that some of McD’s food tastes good when it’s fresh, as I’m sure it wasn’t at the WH). > [@JKellyMap](#): > > Excellent summary — thanks. Seconded. > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > You left out Dubya and Nixon. Maybe they’re not just coincidences, and there will be others in the future, too. It’s true, and I’d argue that Reagan was worse than Dubya. The Gipper sold arms to the Iranians (in violation not only of the law but of the important principle of never paying ransom for hostages) to illegally divert the proceeds to some horrendous right wing terrorists (“contras”) in Nicaragua. GHWB appears to have been involved in that affair as well. Gerald Ford, for that matter, seems to have made a corrupt bargain with Nixon, based on the neat little resign-and-get-pardoned deal. > [@Crotalus](#): > > Gidley also tried to demean Buzzfeed’s credibility by lying about the Steele dossier. I seem to recall reading many comments by credible people that so far, nothing in the dossier has been proven wrong, and much of it has been corroborated. Yes, and for my money if the Steele dossier is accurate, that’s actually a much bigger story than 9/11. Is that just me? I mean, “Manchurian Candidate” used to be a wildly fantastical piece of fiction! > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > As bad as this is, it’s probably not bad enough to budge the GOP senators who all fear a primary challenger if they cross Twitler. I wouldn’t be so sure. They are stuck between a rock and a hard place, but there are several swing-state Republicans up for reelection in 2020 who are facing the following choice: (1) Stand up for what’s right, possibly get primaried, but go down in history as someone with principle; (2) Cowtow to Trump, avoid a primary challenge, go down in history as a pathetic toady, and probably lose to the Democratic candidate anyway. It definitely requires a kind of “gulp” moment of fortitude to choose option (1), but OTOH option (2) is not incredibly enticing. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9130 "2019-01-18T23:49:48Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I wouldn’t be so sure. They are stuck between a rock and a hard place, but there are several swing-state Republicans up for reelection in 2020 who are facing the following choice: > > (1) Stand up for what’s right, possibly get primaried, but go down in history as someone with principle; > > (2) Cowtow to Trump, avoid a primary challenge, go down in history as a pathetic toady, and probably lose to the Democratic candidate anyway. > > It definitely requires a kind of “gulp” moment of fortitude to choose option (1), but OTOH option (2) is not incredibly enticing. Option 2 means that when republicans rise again after four years under a non-shitbag and people have time to forget what it’s like to be under a republican, you can run again and reclaim your seat. You have to take a break but your overall career is intact. Option 1 means the RNC will blackball you as a quisling, the DNC will never look at you because you’re a republican, and you’ll never work again. These people have bought their careers from the republican cause, and the cost was their soul. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9131 "2019-01-19T00:42:04Z")
Buzzfeed’s twitter account indicates that a Senator has asked if Kirstjen Nielsen lied to congress. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9132 "2019-01-19T00:58:03Z")
Maybe some [cold water](https://twitter.com/JasonLeopold/status/1086421048206053376)thrown on that buzzfeed story? ---
**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:** [January 19, 2019, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9133 "2019-01-19T00:58:16Z")
Mueller disputes the Buzzfeed story. Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9134 "2019-01-19T01:01:59Z")
They declined to comment in the original story, and the dispute appears to be about the “characterization” and “specific statements”, so I’m inclined to believe that they want to tamp the story down for now. ---
**Author:** ![Dacien](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dacien/32/5663_2.png) [@Dacien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dacien)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9135 "2019-01-19T01:04:35Z")
There is a lot of language about “characterization” and “descriptions of specific statements”, meaning, it’s not an outright, “This is a false story and you’re being irresponsible by publishing it” the way they did in the past. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9136 "2019-01-19T01:09:12Z")
I’m guessing some of the emails and texts that seemingly prove obstruction aren’t as slam-dunk as they were portrayed. And Republicans in the Senate will take 1% doubt to excuse their lack of action. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2019, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9137 "2019-01-19T01:21:32Z")
Masterfully written statement which can be construed almost any way one wants, imho. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9138 "2019-01-19T01:29:58Z")
[Ronan Farrow](https://twitter.com/RonanFarrow/status/1086425618802241536), noted journalist and person I’m most jealous of in the world (I mean, fuck you. You’re good at everything, so you should fucking look like a troglodyte),notes that he didn’t run with the story because of problems with the source, but that the lying to Congress part is indisputable. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2019, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9139 "2019-01-19T01:37:13Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > [Ronan Farrow](https://twitter.com/RonanFarrow/status/1086425618802241536), noted journalist and person I’m most jealous of in the world (I mean, fuck you. You’re good at everything, so you should fucking look like a troglodyte),notes that he didn’t run with the story because of problems with the source, but that the lying to Congress part is indisputable. I love this post. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9140 "2019-01-19T01:51:05Z")
Sounds like Mueller wants to scream:“Why can’t you motherfuckers just wait until I’m finished already?!?” ---
**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:** [January 19, 2019, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9141 "2019-01-19T01:59:58Z")
What if Mueller is ready to rock and roll, but Whitaker has ordered him to halt his investigation until Barr is confirmed/not confirmed? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2019, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093/9142 "2019-01-19T02:48:39Z")
Remember, there are two separate investigations into Cohen, Mueller’s and NY’s. This recent statement seems to be parsing out that the BuzzFeed article is incorrect with respect to the Special Counsel, but it doesn’t speak to its overall incorrectness. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093.md?page=456) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-1/800093.md?page=458)