The previous 2 posters are invited to reread the WC post I was responding to. It was not about what’s currently happening right now.
So Hope Hicks is out? Why do I sense Melania’s hands all over this one? I am willing to bet that she “suggested” that Hicks leave which is why she is going without a new job and yet being praised so highly by Trump and Kelly.
You ride to the defense of Trump and his cronies so often that you bring subtext with you.
Could be, though my guess would be that Melania welcomes anything that takes Donald’s attention off of her. (shudder)
Further, I’d guess that though Trump et al had no fears about Hicks’ appearances before Congress, her appearance(s) before Mueller are another matter. Trump has plenty to worry about, concerning what Hicks might be persuaded to divulge to Mueller.
Now that she’s gone, Sarah Huckabee Sanders is free to say ‘Hope Hicks was never part of the inner circle–the President doesn’t even really know what she looks like–she was basically the lady who brought the donuts.’ (Since ‘coffee-boy’ is already assigned to Papadopoulos.) If Hicks were still right there in the West Wing, the ‘she’s a minor figure and Trump barely knew her’ remarks that will be made would be MUCH more awkward.
I mentioned how Sanders and Stein need to be investigated too. Russia supposedly gave aid to them as well as black lives matter. But from what it appears, the GOP and Trump are pretty deep in Russia’s pockets. The GOP probably took millions in Russian money laundered through the NRA and other groups, and now they are obstructing justice and preventing investigations.
The GOP has been engaging in politicized prosecutions for decades, going back to Bill Clinton at least. They have no room to pretend to have any moral grounds to criticize prosecutions. Plus the FBI is meant to be impartial. and it was when it started investigating Trump.
The crimes being investigated against Trump are at least real. That is a step up from all that Benghazi, Vince foster bullshit.
I think Mueller wanted to be sure he knew the answers before he asked the questions.
My two totally WAG speculations
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She will get a new job very very soon and that it will take her somewhere far far away, I think they’re hoping if they do that Mueller won’t bother with her. Because I’m thinking of how this interview was scheduled 3 weeks or so ago and they got it postponed. They’ve been setting this up since then.
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The snake she befriended finally bit her. I mean, she’s observed Trump bully and intimidate his friends for a long time, but I bet she thought she was immune. So he either :
a. Sexually harassed her in some way but it got to her in a way she couldn’t ignore it. Wolfe’s book had reports of him saying crude stuff to her a few times but maybe he did worse. Even if she was involved with him in some way, this could still happen
b. He went off on one of his infamous rants at her. Probably because she admitted to telling “white lies” for him. Trump probably accused her of betraying him by calling him a liar. Because she was incapable of lying her ass off. Now this one would require her to tell a couple of her friends to tell the press she was planning it - which is not the same as talking about it — I talk about leaving my job pretty much every damn day, but I have no plans to quit.
- Hi Opal
President Kelly - I don’t think Kelly and some of the other grown-ups liked her much. I read a while back that McMaster and Mattis didn’t like her and one of them, I don’t remember which, called her a “high-schooler”. Maybe they feel Trump actually needs a real communications director.
There is a report that Trump berated her following her testimony to Congress for being stupid in admitting she tells lies for the president.
Could be those rumors about her and Jodie Foster. Nobody seems to know how these things get started.
As I typed my previous post, 2b was the one that felt right. I came up with the others before I heard about the “white lie” confession
However it could be otherwise.
In other words, it’s 2b or not 2b.
To be fair, it was a pretty dumb thing for her to say. True, Trump says 15 dumb things before breakfast, so he’s not really in the best position to criticize her. But, still, saying you lie on behalf of the President is quite stupid.
Well done.
That ship sailed 30 years ago.
T-shirt
Do you remember that is very similar to the Republican response to the Watergate scandal?
But it all comes down to one question - who is too stupid to say ‘spin’ instead of ‘white lie’?
:
That should’ve been my TL:dr
I just had the TV on in the background and this story made me stand up and take notice
I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but my work brings me into the homes of many of the New York rich and powerful. The “names in the news” that I’ve worked for include Wilbur Ross, Gary Cohn, Carl Icahn, Len Blavatink and Oleg Deripaska, I haven’t met any of them personally but I know their staff and families. And I get checks from them - frequently from unusual LLC accounts.
Oh, and I’ve worked for Mnuchin’s parents and sister. Who I’ve spent time with, they are awesome nice and don’t like Trump.
But I also work for several high-up guys at Apollo - cause a builder I work for has an “in” there. And what is interesting about this story is that it shouldn’t be that interesting. Yes, it’s way bigger than other real estate loans they’ve made. But these guys thrive on high risk - their top guys made billions on big risky loans. This is how they do business.
But I realized that this is what going to take out Kushner. His family won’t be able to conduct business. Every transaction will be scrutinized. These companies aren’t going to loan to Kushner. Even if it’s a good project with high returns and low risk. Because every transaction will be put under the microscope.
And it will could open up other transactions to scrutiny. And NONE of these companies are clean. They all cheat to some extent and everyone knows it, but if the press gets onto you, you’re on your own. Look at that Shkreli asshole. What he did with the drug prices was amoral but legal - but he called attention to himself and investigators went through his company and found the stuff that was illegal but not necessarily amoral. And they all do it.
So Kushner will have to walk away. As will his wife. And that’s probably not happening. This is, I think, the worst thing yet in Kushners Worst Week Ever. And it’s only Wednesday.
Yeah, probably Melania was a bit concerned. I can see the America-hating fuckstick coming bask to their quarters, and Melania asking how his day went:
Oh, you wouldn’t believe it! Hope Hicks came to my office today and said she was worried about her appearance before Congress. I just told her that there’s not a thing wrong with her appearance, she’s a total babe! A real hottie! Congress is gonna love her!
I mean, except for the outlandish notion that Melania cares enough about how his days go to bother asking, it’s totally plausible!
Yes, things have managed to get even weirder.
A little background. A few weeks ago, Mr. Navalny, eternal opposition to Putin, posted a video detailing the links between a Russian oligarch Oleg Derispaka and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko, showing corruption in Putin’s government. As provided by a woman claiming to be Derispaka’a mistress. I’ve watched the video; he lays it out pretty well. (I don’t have a link handy, but it should be easy to Google)
Now this woman, who goes by Nastya Rybka, has been arrested in Thailand along with nine other Russians for claiming to be sex experts running a class.
But wait!
She is also fearful that she will be returned to Russia, where she expects her life to be short and full of incident.
She is also, somehow, posting to Instagram whilst in jail.
Oh, that name - Deripaska? Sound familiar? He was a business associate of Paul Manafort - paid Paul $10 million dollars, apparently to influence US politics to the benefit of Russia.
Swear to all the gods that never were, this is the weirdest point in history that I’m aware of.
USA Today story, pretty much identical.
Looks like General Beauregard is getting closer and closer to desertion.
There’s no way that was intended to be a clandestine dinner out. Beauregard wanted his boss to see that big middle digit.
Famous last words. :dubious:
Thanks for that perspective - I get what you are saying. The Kushners can’t do what real-estate requires - figure out ways to make deals that cross lines somehow look legit - if there is a big spotlight on them at all times.
And as for the woman in the Thai prison - that is just surreal - like she will live broadcast her story from inside the prison or something. This is a weird new age.
Yep. Get the evidence first, corroborate it with more evidence, and corroborate it again with interviews. Then use the interviews to find out what the evidence doesn’t tell you. It’s classic interviewing, research, detective work. That’s one reason why criminal investigations often start from the edges, so to speak, with mere acquaintances and gradually work their way toward the real meat in the center. By the time the real targets get questioned, there is a mountain of evidence and a neural network of corroboration.