A Thread for the Mueller Investigation Results and Outcomes (Part 1)

[Colibri]

@Guest-starring_Id

Leak or no, I just want Bob to let it all (ALL of it!) hang out, testifying to Congress.

Once Mueller’s term as Special Counsel is over, he’ll no longer be a Federal employee. At that point, would there be any way for Trump to forbid him to testify to Congress?

[Chisquirrel]

@Aspenglow

And the thought that keeps running through my mind over and over: Mueller loves surprises.

I’m not sure it’s so much that he loves surprises than he abhors leaks. Everything SEEMS like a surprise, but it’s simply the result of not telling anyone anything about the investigation, indictments, or subpoenas.

[Superdude]

Did anyone see Andrew McCabe on Colbert’s show the other night? He was talking about what it was like to have Mueller as a boss, Mueller’s integrity, and about how Mueller absolutely LOVES investigating. Interesting interview.

Here’s a YouTube link to it:

Andrew McCabe Had Robert Mueller As A Boss

[jasg]

@Colibri

This is my favorite image that sums up the game Mueller is playing against Trump.

The cartoonist, Pete Fallon does a lot of good ones on Instgram. He wrote a short explanation on Medium.com.

[Aspenglow]

@Chisquirrel

I’m not sure it’s so much that he loves surprises than he abhors leaks. Everything SEEMS like a surprise, but it’s simply the result of not telling anyone anything about the investigation, indictments, or subpoenas.

I’m basing my comments on having read/heard a lot of information about Mueller from those who have worked with him closely through the years. Many have commented about his employment of surprise as a useful, strategic and favored tactic in his investigations.

I’m not saying he would engineer a surprise merely for the sake of it. However, I think it’s fair to say he is pleased with the results of using this tool. And you’re right that keeping everything mum until he is ready to spring his traps is the essential component of any successful surprise.

I would also suggest that his managing to keep everything so perfectly quiet is a testament to the loyalty he inspires among those under his leadership. At least one such former underling summed up the characterization of Mueller among his agents as a demi-god as “understatement.”

[ElvisL1ves]

One view is that the report is already public, contained in court documents in various cases.

The Russian trolls set up accounts that appeared to be associated with Black Lives Matter, the Tennessee GOP, Muslim and Christian groups and the American South. By late 2015, as Clinton sparred with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, her rival for the Democratic nomination, and as American media still saw Trump as a longshot to emerge from a crowded Republican field, the Internet Research Agency began secretly buying online ads to promote its social media groups.

By February 2016, they were ready. A memo circulated internally. Post content about “politics in the USA,” they wrote, according to court papers, and “use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump– we support them).”

The parts about Cohen, Manafort, Papadopoulos, Don Jr., Kushner, Stone, Bannon, Flynn, and the rest of the Trump Crime Family working for the Moscow Trump Tower project we all know.

As Trump clinched the Republican nomination, Manafort and those around him began preparing for a general election battle against Clinton.

The Russians did, too. The Internet Research Agency boosted its support of Trump — and disparagement of Clinton. Using stolen identities and bank account information, the troll farm also began buying political ads on social media services, according to Mueller.

“Donald wants to defeat terrorism … Hillary wants to sponsor it,” read one. “Hillary Clinton Doesn’t Deserve the Black Vote,” read another.

Over the next several weeks, WikiLeaks requested any documents related to Clinton, saying they wanted to release them before the Democratic National Convention when they worried she would successfully recruit Sanders supporters.

We “think trump has only a 25% chance of winning against hillary … so conflict between bernie and hillary is interesting,” WikiLeaks wrote.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

@Colibri

This is my favorite image that sums up the game Mueller is playing against Trump.

Love it - thanks!

[Defensive_Indifference]

Michael Cohen is expected to go nuclear in his Congressional testimony this week:

Cohen will tell Congress of alleged Trump criminal conduct, source says

During his much-anticipated public testimony before Congress, President Donald Trump’s former longtime attorney Michael Cohen will provide evidence of his old boss’ criminal conduct since becoming president, a knowledgeable source about what to expect told NBC News.

<snip>

Trump’s ex-attorney will detail what he will describe as the president’s lies, racism and cheating as a private businessman while Cohen spent a decade working for him, the source said.

Cohen will also reveal information about Trump’s financial statements and may actually provide the statements, the source said.

[Guest-starring_Id]

@Defensive_Indifference

Michael Cohen is expected to go nuclear in his Congressional testimony this week:

Cohen will tell Congress of alleged Trump criminal conduct, source says

But how much is he gonna just lie his ass off again, as per usual?

[Fear_Itself]

@Guest-starring_Id

But how much is he gonna just lie his ass off again, as per usual?

If he provides documentation or recordings, it doesn’t matter if he lied in the past. He knows where the bodies are buried, and a corpus delecti cannot be hand waved away.

[Guest-starring_Id]

Also, I completely and utterly fucked up - I was thinking of Manafort.
Not that Cohen would be any particular paragon of ethical goodness, himself, but yeah, this should proceed a bit more squarely…

[Steve_MB]

@Defensive_Indifference

Michael Cohen is expected to go nuclear in his Congressional testimony this week

Epic Twitter tantrum from Individual One in 5… 4… 3…

[Defensive_Indifference]

Yeah, I don’t place any particular trust in Cohen, but if he brings documents I’ll spin around on the floor going “Whoo-hoo!” for most of his testimony.

ETA: I go back and forth on Cohen. Sometimes I think he’s just a vindictive asshole who happens to be targeting an even bigger asshole, so he’s merely the enemy of my enemy. And other times, I think he’s Doc Ock at the end of Spider-Man 2, shouting, “I will not die a monster!” as he brings the whole thing crashing down with him.

[Happy_Lendervedder]

I love how Trump’s defensive maneuver against Cohen is that he’s a “rat” and a “weak person.”

Yeah? He also went to what’s regarded as the worst law school in America. So why’d you keep this festering turd employed as your top attorney for more than a decade? And whats more, I’ve only ever heard criminals use the word “rat” to describe someone that talks to the authorities.

[Ann_Hedonia]

@Defensive_Indifference

Michael Cohen is expected to go nuclear in his Congressional testimony this week:

Cohen will tell Congress of alleged Trump criminal conduct, source says

And I’m looking forward to it. I arranged my schedule for the week so I’ll be working from home tomorrow.

There is some indication that “Flip” Cohen has provided the prosecutors with additional information on the Trump Organization, maybe regarding insurance fraud. Now that the prison walls are closing in, it seems he has more songs to sing.

[Hamlet]

@Happy_Lendervedder

So why’d you keep this festering turd employed as your top attorney for more than a decade?

Because he was, and likely still is, stupid and willing to break the law to do what you tell him to. He was, and likely still is, an amoral toady who will do what he’s told, regardless of the legality or morality of the action. Trump loves people like that.

[jsc1953]

@Defensive_Indifference

Yeah, I don’t place any particular trust in Cohen, but if he brings documents I’ll spin around on the floor going “Whoo-hoo!” for most of his testimony.

ETA: I go back and forth on Cohen. Sometimes I think he’s just a vindictive asshole who happens to be targeting an even bigger asshole, so he’s merely the enemy of my enemy. And other times, I think he’s Doc Ock at the end of Spider-Man 2, shouting, “I will not die a monster!” as he brings the whole thing crashing down with him.

Yeah. His motivations are primarily of interest to his shrink and historians. For now, I’m ecstatic IF he’s telling the truth this time, and pulls another block from the Jenga pile of the Trump crime family/administration.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

@Hamlet

Because he was, and likely still is, stupid and willing to break the law to do what you tell him to…

“I don’t want a lawyer who’ll tell me what I can’t do. I want a lawyer who’ll tell me how I can do what I *want *to do.” - J.P. Morgan

[tripthicket]

@Defensive_Indifference

Yeah, I don’t place any particular trust in Cohen, but if he brings documents I’ll spin around on the floor going “Whoo-hoo!” for most of his testimony.

Might just be a sign of my age, but I was expecting to see Curly at the link instead of Homer. :o

[aurora_maire]

Just a congressman intimidating a witness. Or another Tuesday in Trump world.

https://twitter.com/mattgaetz/status/1100503846386835456?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1100503846386835456&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fforumserver.twoplustwo.com%2F41%2Fpolitics%2Fpresidency-donald-j-trump-state-emergency-1731987%2Findex365.html

We really need to come up with new words because scumbag, asshole, etc. are just not enough any more for these folks.