Some smart democratic woman was just on CNN.

[boston bean]

She says she wants to see Mueller Report so it can be determined if Trump & Co conspired with Russia.

The anchor says that the Barr Brief said there was no collusion or conspiracy.

The Dem lady says no it does not. SHE SAYS IT SAYS THEY DID NOT “KNOWINGLY” CONSPIRE.

BIG FUCKIN DIFFERENCE.

AND CNN ANCHOR IS LIKE OH.

[NewJeffCT]

1. Barr also said

there was no collusion with the Russian government. They did not say if there was collusion/conspiracy with Wikileaks (a cutout for Russian intelligence) or Russian mobsters/oligarchs with connections to Putin

[True Dough]

2. That's right

It was specified as Russian government. There could have been agents acting on behalf of the government. This isn't an open-and-shut case by any stretch of the imagination.

[world wide wally]

13. If Mueller was half as smart as we have given him credit for being, he would have anticipated

the semantics game and clarified it beforehand.

[KPN]

15. How do you know he didn't?

[JHB]

36. Mueller isn't the one who wrote that "summary"

[Chin music]

3. Funny how the words Russian Government started popping up as a qualifier,

all of a sudden. Kind of a fine point. I want to know if the elections were thrown....period, and I dont care by who.

[forgotmylogin]

35. Aha!

We know there are Russian oligarchs who aren't technically "government" but are likely Putin's cronies and have a say.
Just like we have big companies in America which have a direct line to the ear of lawmakers.
Governments like to have a say in how entities with big money spend it.
Collusion with powerful RUSSIANS. Doesn't mean the "government".
Just like how Trump is "the government" but manages in his flummoxing way to retain his plausible deniability because all the "collusion" was carried out by other people who want him to succeed.

[James48]

38. The Russian military isn't "the government"

Just saying- technically they are not civilian, they are separate from what you or I would call “the government”

[Chin music]

39. Huh.

[shanny]

4. can you say, "plausible deniability"...

[greyl]

16. No, he did not say that.

Your point about "Government" is spot on, but there is no definitive "there was no collusion" statement.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/03/mueller-report-barr-summary-obstruction-conspiracy-close-reading.html

[NewJeffCT]

30. conspired or coordinated

legal terminology for collusion.

[greyl]

32. Still, he didn't say "there was none". nt

[mcar]

29. That has gone right over the collective heads

of the media. This point really must be stressed.

[lagomorph777]

40. And we have no actual idea what Mueller says. We only know what Barr says about Mueller.

There is no Mueller Report. Barr is making the whole thing up from start to finish.

[MontanaMama]

5. Most of the MSM are tools for

Whichever way the wind blows. Most of them aren’t actually journalists with any investigative prowess.

[Maru Kitteh]

9. The exchange between Muduan and Dean was misrepresented here.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11962378

[INdemo]

24. Agreed and remember these MSM outlets are owned by the Corportate Mafia like

Comcast owns NBC/MSNBC and you can bet the hosts deliver whatever is in the scripts from their producers or they are gone.

[certainot]

37. that's kinda like saying they're all the same. they're not all pro trump... they might all leave

important shit out, and none of them would ever allow, for instance, that paul wellstone or samantha smith were assassinated by plane, but there's definitely a huge difference between the talk radio and fox propaganda operation that is all on the same page and got us to this point with one guy like limbaugh setting the tone for all the rest of the radio talk show hosts on 1500 radio stations, who really do know they will likely lose their jobs if they decide to diss trump or stop denying global warming. at the very minimum the local callers who listen to limbaugh earlier in the day will chew them and the radio management out until they get politically correct

[ScratchCat]

6. Barr's letter

Could be completely false and the only thing Congress could do is impeach him. The letter doesn't constitute sworn testimony. He can sit there and lie all day as long as he is not under oath. He was a "throw away" pick anyway. He was chosen for this purpose, and Trump doesn't care what happens to his reputation.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

20. We are told to not expect the actual Mueller report, but a summary of it prepared by DOJ.

That's why it's going to take "weeks not months" to drive the report less than a mile from DOJ to Capitol Hill. Gotta sanitize that sucker of anything that might compromise Fat Donnie.

In reality, printed copies of the report could be in Congress' hands by the end of the week, and an electronic copy could be there by the end of the day.

IQ45 didn't appoint Barr as AG solely because of his sterling credentials. He's another wall to protect the Orange One's huge ass.

[INdemo]

22. yes becasue apparently this reaction to the Report was set up weeks ago

Probably as soon a Barr walked from the Senate confirmation hearing it was given the GO

This report the and press release was probably pre-prepared and I think Barr instructed Mueller to submit report to him by the 23rd of march.
So within 48hrs all this shit came down..Im not believing it happen that quick

[radius777]

28. Exactly, this is political theater

orchestrated by Trumpco and the media fell for it hook line and sinker.

The report dumped on Friday, the hurried wrap up by Sunday.. all choreographed just as Trump touches down in time to claim victory.

[lagomorph777]

41. There is no Mueller report. Barr has fabricated the whole story.

[SWBTATTReg]

7. One point I think that is overlooked is that the Russian government and other Russian entities...

work as one when Putin says so, believe me. I know that they have a huge equivalent of a Russian mafia who basically works as one otherwise if they didn't when Putin wanted it that way, the mafia would be wiped out and they know it over there. So for all intents and purposes, they are still the same entity, all Russian and foreign, and illegal to work in conjunction with in interfering with our elections.

Also, how do you determine the difference 'knowingly' vs. 'not knowingly'? How in the heck do you tell the difference/determine the difference?

[Chin music]

26. By putting trump under oath and asking him questions like they did presidents Bill and Hillary.

Of course, it was never done.

[Maru Kitteh]

8. That's a complete misrepresentation of the exchange between Mulduan and Dean

Kate Mulduan (CNN) asked Rep. Madeleine Dean (D) Penn. "Despite the topline findings that there was not a conspiracy with Russia, Adam Schiff has told the Washington Post that undoubtedly there WAS collusion and the investigation will continue: Do you agree with Adam Schiff?" It was a very good tee-up allowing Dean to agree and expound upon why she agrees and make her points about the Barr letter.

Dean (D) something something "there was no knowing coordination, we need to find out if there was any coordination or any conspiracy, knowing or unknowing of any sort"

Mulduan: "but the report said there was no coordination, that part was quoted from the report, right?"

Dean (D) "yes but did you see in the Barr letter he put in the word knowing, it's interesting why he chose the word knowing."

Mulduan: "Likely we will all see soon enough, thank you Congresswoman for coming in."


I watched it twice. These may not be exact but they are close. Mulduan conducted a very good interview and doesn't deserve being portrayed as a dope or a flack. Dean did an excellent job of explaining why investigation will continue.

[boston bean]

12. I don't think so.

[renate]

17. Thank you for providing the details for those of us who didn't see it!

[paleotn]

23. This line....

Mulduan: "but the report said there was no coordination, that part was quoted from the report, right?"

The talking heads are quoting from Barr's summary like it's fucking gospel and a true representation of Mueller's report. We don't know that because we don't know what the report says. We only know what Barr SAYS the report says. The two ARE NOT interchangeable. The Helsinki suck up, the rush early on to drop Russian sanctions and the slow walk of additional sanctions passed by Congress doesn't jive with Barr's summary.

As I said in another thread...they're operating, innocently or lazily, under the misplaced assumption that one can trust whatever the US AG says implicitly. In the age of Trump, that no longer applies.

[Maru Kitteh]

31. When you are looking for every interviewer to be a Sean Hannity of the left, steel yourself

for continual disappointment in actual journalism and skilled interviews of quality.

A skilled interview is not meant to reinforce the bias of the interviewee, but to test it so that they can demonstrate the merits of their position based on evidence and fact. You will hear words and questions you don't like in a skilled interview. If you need only warm feels and comforting sentiments there are places to get that, and it certainly has its place, but don't mistake it for journalism. Those are opinion shows.

When a tree must face the wind, it sets down stronger roots. Arguments and positions that are not tested are by definition not proven. Echo chambers beget stagnancy and weakness.

Nothing Mulduan said was factually incorrect. She certainly didn't treat Barr's summary "like it's fucking gospel." Quite the contrary, she skillfully tested Dean in a way that allowed Dean to present the viewers with a truth they may not have previously considered.

I haven't seen a single, legitimate newsperson treat the Barr letter like "fucking gospel." I've heard some (R) guests and orange flunkies try to assert that, and I've seen the news anchors challenging the error in conflating the Barr letter with the actual Mueller report.

I just watched Brooke Baldwin reiterate the fact that the Barr letter does not equal the Mueller report. I know some people want everyone on their TeeVee to scream at every republican they see and say only things that make them feel good, but that's not what quality journalism is, and does the truth no service.

[paleotn]

33. Maybe I'm overly sensitive....

given recent events and what's at stake. I hope you're right. That's just not the vibe I'm getting. Lets hope it's me and not them.

[lagomorph777]

42. "Despite the topline findings that there was not a conspiracy..." - should have said:

"Despite Barr's claim that there was not a conspiracy..."

[gratuitous]

10. Keep harping on that simple point: WE HAVEN'T SEEN THE MUELLER REPORT

All we've seen is the four-page gloss put on the Mueller Report by Trump's hand-picked white-washer, who is on record as saying that the president is above the law.

[Maggiemayhem]

19. This

[lagomorph777]

43. There IS NO MUELLER REPORT. Barr made the whole thing up.

[George II]

11. This is why Congress and the public HAVE to see that report!

[pangaia]

14. And WHO CARES what IT(Barr) said.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

18. The Barr Brief is bullshit. I want the full report public!!!!

[paleotn]

21. Damn right!

Journalists.....DO YOUR FUCKING JOBS!!! Lazy asses! 6 and 7 figure CNN talking head jobs and they think they're bullet proof....Got theirs...Don't give a shit about anyone else.

[Chin music]

27. So true.

[sarcasmo]

25. 2019 CNN is 1995 Fox News.

[jimlup]

34. Yeah if you know anything about law you read the fucking language carefully

I did (my son is a lawyer) and I agree with her. That is what it said and it was telling. Barr spent all of Saturday trying to figure the very best language for Trump. It is up to us to see that it is just that. A snow job.