“People don’t become better when they’re dead; you just talk about them as if they are. But it’s not true! People are still assholes, they’re just dead assholes!”. – Lemmy
Funny thing is that nobody around here claims to be for Trump. Just trying to be fair and balanced, liberals just as bad, “both parties are exactly the same”, something something. But while they’re carrying water in the “both sides” bucket, seems like they’re always carrying it for Republicans no matter who or what is in charge.
Ooooo! I love that!
Oh goody! That made my day!
One presumes that there is a difference between being asked to come give a deposition to Mueller and his team, and being subpoenaed to a grand jury. I would assume that the latter is bad.
Does it spell bad things for Bannon, Trump, or both?
Criminal suspects are not usually subpoenaed to testify at their own grand juries. So if Mueller does suspect Bannon of something, this subpoena probably isn’t related. Federal grand juries cast a wide net; they’ll subpoena everyone and everything and see what sticks.
I don’t think Bannon knows much, if anything about Russia. He certainly won’t have any insights into the Trump family’s pre-campaign dealings with shady figures, and he wasn’t involved in the infamous Trump Tower meeting and subsequent shenanigans with Manafort and Trump Jr.
We know that after Fire and Fury Bannon is dead to Trump. The question is whether the feeling is mutual. If so there is probably not much of a down side for Bannon to spill his guts.
The book itself is evidence that it is. Except that Bannon may be dead in Trump’s eyes, but Trump definitely needs some revenge in Bannon’s eyes. He’s gonna give Mueller everything he can think of - and the timing of the subpoena just may be related to the book’s publication, whaddaya think?
Bannon’s dedication to his xenophobic, Leninist agenda would appear to have him still supporting Trump. Trump is the guy who could destroy the state, and that’s Bannon’s dream. He has no interest in a real politician sitting in the Oval Office.
I believe Bannon joined the campaign subsequent to that meeting.
I think Bannon was out for Kushner, not Trump.
It would have been predictable that a quote saying that the Trump campaign engaged in treasonous activity would enrage Trump himself. But it’s very likely that Bannon did not expected to be identified as the author of that quote. (Wolff has admitted to burning many of his sources in the book.)
Then he wouldn’t have cooperated with Wolfe, unless he’s more bent on personal outrage than ideology. I don’t see Bannon as being naive enough to think Trump is really an agent of nihilism rather than just an old toddler.
Bannon being out for Kushner would still be bad for Trump by extension, I would think.
Bannon’s exposure in the investigation is through his connections to Cambridge Analytica, the Mercers, WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, who appear to be quite entangled with data manipulation and targeting of specific voters by the Russians during the election. Bannon also worked closely with Kushner through that phase of the election. I’m sure much finger pointing will occur over the next several months with respect to these relationships and who was responsible for what criminal activity. Happily, Bannon doesn’t know what Mueller knows. I doubt Mueller’s subpoena in this instance relates to that activity. But who knows? Maybe Mueller has decided he’d rather have Kushner than Bannon and needs Bannon’s testimony to make it stick.
Re Bannon’s questioning today by the House Intelligence Committee, that’ll just be more muddying of the waters. Bannon is already trying to return to Trump’s good graces, and the House committee is so tainted and corrupt, they’ll just be trying to shill for Trump through Bannon. Adam Shiff and others will do their best, but I’m not expecting much beyond attempts at misdirection by Devin Nunes and his cronies.
On the bright side, Bannon is constrained in what he can say to them by his need to stay consistent with what he tells Mueller. He can’t lie for Nunes in order to make Trump look good, and then perjure himself when confronted by Mueller. That will muzzle Bannon quite a bit today, I expect.
I wonder what lawyer Bannon will dig up to help him with the Grand Jury? The lawyer representing him today with the House committee made it clear that his representation extended only to today’s hearing.
The speculation is that the grand jury subpoena (vs just an interview) was in order to have Bannon answer questions without his lawyer sitting next to him. In the grand jury, apparently, you don’t get to have legal representation in the room.
I just posted this in the CF thread, but it is appropriate here, in context with the above:
ROFL!! Too funny!!
Looks like Bannon will be discussing another attempt at obstruction charge by the White House with the committee, too. And eventually, Mueller. They will never learn!
That’s true, which is why I said “help” him. I understand the lawyer can’t be in the room with him. But if he’s smart, he will surely hire someone to assist him in how to answer questions to a grand jury and how to avoid perjury traps. (Easy enough. Tell the truth!)
He’s dead meat, then.
I agree. They’re all dead meat, eventually. So much lying.