The FBI investigation has operated on the assumption that Trump & Russia are coconspirators

[kpete]

The Washington Monthly article by Martin Longman is breathtaking. Here is the nut graf (dt'd) and the concluding graf:

The firing of Comey was interpreted as an effort to kill the Russia investigation for a simple reason. President Trump explained his decision in those terms. He did it in a memo he wrote that was spiked by his own White House counsel, Don McGahn. He did it in the Oval Office with the Russian ambassador and foreign minister. And he eventually did it on national television in an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt. It wasn’t just an effort to obstruct an investigation of himself. It was an effort to prevent the FBI from investigating Russia.

It has been fairly easy for people to contemplate that Trump might be trying to cover his own tracks, but there has been a widespread mental block when it comes to envisioning the American president as working to cover Russia’s tracks. The FBI overcame that hurdle after the firing of Comey. Ever since, the investigation has operated on the assumption that Trump and Russia are coconspirators both before and after the fact.

...

I’ve been arguing for a long time that people are underestimating how strong the case for impeachment will be and that even the Senate Republicans will not be able to shrug it off. With this new reporting from the New York Times, you’re beginning to get a sense of what I’ve been talking about.

It’s gratifying to see things starting to come to fruition, but it’s still frustrating to see people acting surprised after all the effort I’ve put in to make the case that this is an inquiry that began as an investigation into Russia but has long sought to prove, and will prove, that the president is acting as an agent of a foreign power.




https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019/01/12/the-intelligence-community-has-long-suspected-trump-of-being-under-russian-influence/

[Pachamama]

1. Traitor Trump Russian Asset

I just want our Nation to be rid of these foreign assets destroying our democracy

Indict and Impeach

[SWBTATTReg]

2. Smart and on the money. rump is so stupid I can't believe that the Russians picked him of all ...

people to be an 'asset'...actually, to be honest w/ you, I'm kind of laughing because I don't think even the Russians realized how stupid rump really is. His stupidity is clearly due to STDs, which wouldn't surprise me one bit, being that rump has lied about what his doctors have said about his health ('most healthy president ever').

Pathetic.

[colorado_ufo]

7. It's not a matter of his being smart enough.

It's a matter of finding someone corrupt enough and also visible enough at the same time to be a viable candidate for president.

[Texin]

8. I suspect even the Russians have been surprised at how stupid he is.

[GetRidOfThem]

14. Agend Orange is a liability, not asset, to Putin & co... n/t

[NastyRiffraff]

15. to Putin, Trump's stupidity is a feature

not a bug. But as you say, the Russians didn't realize just HOW stupid he is. Of course, balancing that out, his base is even stupider so they believe every moronic tweet and every bellowed talking point at a rally. Putin is good with that.

[tblue37]

3. If you don't follow Longman's blog, "Booman Tribune," you should. nt

[tblue37]

4. Oh, and Seth Abramson has been detailing the Trump-Russia connection

and providing reams of evidence on his Twitter page and in his essential book Proof of Collusion.

[Bayard]

5. One of my main concerns

How much Top Secret info has he fed to Putin over the past 2 years?

[dalton99a]

6. Coconspirators and coworkers

[Honeycombe8]

9. Oh, dear. An "assumption" isn't helpful.

Investigations are supposed to be fact finding. Not looking for evidence to support an assumption. To present it this way just feeds into Trump's "witch hunt" claims.

[C_U_L8R]

10. I don't know why this is such news

Haven't we known most of this stuff since before and just after the election?
Sure we're getting a big confirmation now but this Russian
conspiracy was floating around the convention, the Mayflower Hotel meetups,
the Trump Tower data links, the meetings with Russians (around the world),
shady characters like Manafort, Page and Stone, ties with Russian gangster
fave Bank of Cyprus, Erik Prince's nefarious meetups, 1st daughter's BFF
with Putin's girlfriend, and on and on and on.

[Gothmog]

11. We were warned

Link to tweet

?s=20

[shockey80]

12. No shit.

[samnsara]

13. mitch is involved as well..somehow he is...

[NastyRiffraff]

16. So is Pence

Remember, Manafort wanted him as VP. There had to be a reason.

[Solly Mack]

17. K&R

[ffr]

18. "spiked by his own White House counsel, Don McGahn" & Pence was there & knew too.

Remember, at the heart of Comey's firing was Stephen Miller's May 8th memo

Mueller Has Early Draft of Trump Letter Giving Reasons for Firing Comey
Mr. Trump was back in Washington on Monday, May 8, when copies of the letter were handed out in the Oval Office to senior officials, including Mr. McGahn and Vice President Mike Pence. Mr. Trump announced that he had decided to fire Mr. Comey, and read aloud from Mr. Miller’s memo. - NYT

Trump, McGahn and VP Mike Pence were all in on the act of firing James Comey, to impede the investigation into Russian election interference.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211659812