I noticed in Flynn’s deal that he had to be willing to cooperate in “covert law enforcement activities”. In the case of Papadop, that made sense since no one knew what was going on with him and so he could infiltrate team Trump without raising any eyebrows, so I presume that there’s a similar requirement in his deal. But so I’m wondering whether there’s an actual desire for Flynn to do things (maybe use his contacts to try and contact people under a false identity, to ensnare them?), or that’s just boilerplate?
If pardoned, he is perhaps protected from testimony, but not forbidden.
A few days ago, Trump began announcing that the investigation was just about over. Then Kushner was called to talk about Flynn, by the Mueller team, asking if there was anything he could say to confirm/counter what Flynn was saying. Now it sounds like Kelly is rearranging Trump’s cabinet at his own whim.
I’m feeling like it may be that everyone at the White House has sufficiently determined that the jig is up. Trump is reacting to it by going into his own personal lala land, so that he can at least enjoy his Christmas before everything goes to hell. Kelly is reacting to it by excluding the President from the process - except that I don’t see Kelly usurping the chain of command, so I would have to assume that he’s getting orders from Pence or McConnell, or someone. I assume that Kushner is just trying to spend more time with his kids and wife (and bring peace to the Middle East).
Either Trump is suddenly about to become very subdued or go sufficiently batshit nuts that we’ll all be amazed that he could still surprise us.
I honestly hope for the former.
Trump himself just tweeted out something that indicates he is holding fast to Tillerson for now. Kelly may be trying to impose his own transition wishes, but he’s not that political of an animal. Not sure he fully understands the implications of what he is trying to do – or its potential for success.
I don’t think McConnell would wish for a Cotton appointment to CIA. Nor do I believe there are sufficient votes for that in a confirmation hearing.
Pompeo would be a terrible fit for State. He doesn’t believe in diplomacy. Both these appointments would be a furtherance of the Bannon/Trump goals to fully undermine our institutions of government. I don’t think McConnell would be supportive of those goals. Pence is in enough personal jeopardy, I don’t think he’s going to be directing much of anything beyond his own defense for awhile.
The Flynn plea is also important, because it will bring a lot more personal introspection to people considering making shifts toward the Trump administration. Even hardliners like Pompeo and Cotton will probably have second thoughts about joining the crew of a flaming, sinking ship.
Like you, I hope for subdued. But I think batshit nuts is far more likely. I’m very worried about what may be coming over the next few months.
That’s almost exactly what I was thinking (and mostly wrote in the other thread). It is bizarre. That’s why I was wondering if it is somehow tied to this. It just seems like such an obvious, “Kelly would never do that”, “Cotton would never get confirmed”, etc. that I can’t think of anything outside of sheer insanity - e.g., due to Russia - that it wouldn’t just be a random idea that Trump floated, but an actual thing being proposed, by someone other than Trump himself.
Hell, I’m stunned and amazed at the shit they cook up, can’t imagine the reaction from people who don’t take drugs. Maybe for the first time they view reality as being batshit, bug-eyed and full of spiders.
Is Kelly trying to be Himmler in this scenario? Or Goebbels?
I think he should try to be Hess. At least he lived to the ripe old age of 93 before hanging himself in prison.
Then he’s the **perfect **Trump appointment. Trump appoints people whose clear and stated aim is the destruction of the very department they are slated to head.
It’s pretty clear that Trump is aiming for the complete and utter destruction of the American political system. Why? There is no “why”. He’s a fucking toddler who likes to break things. He’s mentally unbalanced. There is no “why”.
A lot of people poo-poo the Logan Act as being worthless and many say collusion is not actually a crime. So I would appreciate it if folks could clear up a question for me
Beyond lying about talking to Russians, is it an actual crime for an incoming administration to work out deals with a foreign country that undercut the current administration? If so, what laws are being broken (Nixon for instance got the South Vietnamese to hold off on a Vietnam peace deal to hammer the Johnson Administration but Johnson decided not to push for whatever legal stuff he could have against Nixon)? I personally think it should be a no-no, but I don’t know if there’s an actual law against it
You really have to wonder why Trump and his people were so gung-ho about lying about their Russian contacts. What else is Trump hiding?
Holy Shit, Flynn Jr is going after Trump hard on Twitter:
Check out Michael Flynn Jr (@MichaelFlynnJr3):
https://twitter.com/MichaelFlynnJr3?s=09
Well. OK, then.
Are you sure it’s real? No blue “verified” checkmark, joined Twitter May 2017.
ETA: Why is it @MichaelFlynnJr3?
:smack:
You’re right. Dammit.
Yeah, here’s his real account. Been quiet except one tweet about family.
Barzini or Genovese?
Why? Well, it’s the sort of thing that makes his BFF Putin really really happy.
That may be a fake account. One reply to one of those tweets linked to a supposedly real Flynn Jr. account. At this point I have no idea which is real.
Ah, ninja’d. Never mind.
At this point it wouldn’t surprise me if we the Kushners suddenly went to Israel for Hanukkah, in a trip that was preplanned and totally not last minute at all. Cue Jared making Aliyah.
That almost got me hard for a second there.
On the Lawfare podcast, they’re making a rather interesting point:
Effectively, they’re saying that Flynn’s deal could have been good just to get some really juicy information out of him on someone higher up but also, given how much information everyone can expect Flynn to know, it sort of tells everyone that, “Hey, we’re pretty well ready to start letting this train leave the station. But look, at the moment, we’re still open for business and we’re still willing to cut a deal, if you want to run over and join us.”
And I feel like even if that analysis is giving Mueller’s team more credit than they deserve (I couldn’t rightly say), I feel like the lawyers for everyone else in the White House might start thinking along those lines anyways.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the calculus for the legal teams for everyone outside of Trump, Junior, and Kushner, is that they want to break the other direction. There could well be a stampede the next week or two. (A very subdued and secret-but-not-so-secret stampede.)
Mike! You come to Las Vegas and talk to a man like Mo Green like that!!!
Oh, wait…wrong line.
Keep in mind that this is exactly what people were saying a few weeks ago when that other guy pled guilty. Papadopolous?