Some of my friends work for alphabet agencies, and every tidbit matters, so...

[LaydeeBug]

I am passing this along:

Tillerson going to Russia is a desperation move. They NEED to communicate with Russia on what to do next, but they have no covert method of communication that's safe. Secretary of state has plausible deniability even if it looks plainly suspect. Manafort and Page are the designated fall guys. They'll be firewalling themselves off from them. The good thing is, when Page realizes this, he'll be ready to talk.

You can post but please anonymize. I'm in the middle of stuff already.

[mercuryblues]

1. I think Flynn already flipped

I hope Pence goes before trump.

[Delphinus]

2. That would be helpful,

although leaving Ryan.

[davsand]

5. Ryan in the Whitehouse at least takes him out of play in the House.

Seems like that might limit the damage he could do.






Laura

[haele]

9. One less Randriod in the House.

Ryan won't try to interfere with the day to day of the executive branch, because while he has lobbyist concerns, he doesn't have actual business concerns that are impacted.

Since it's proven green energy will make more jobs and money in the future that can go into lobbyist hands to get to him, he'll be happy to promote it, once you point it out to the mendacious little bugger.
Another way to get policies, regulations, or bills passed, just make sure that the names "Roark" or "Taggert" is on anything you put in front of his nose.

Haele

[volstork]

30. Any speculation of who

would become Speaker if Ryan is out of the picture (for whatever reason: president, prison, etc.)?

[machoneman]

77. That blithering idiot Kevin McCarthy....

would be my best guess.

[machoneman]

78. That blithering idiot Kevin McCarthy....

would be my best guess.

[pinboy3niner]

79. Hey! You're disparaging my Representative!

Can I help it if I live in a red area of California?

The good news is that things are changing here and entrenched Republicans are getting more of a run for their money.

[Samantha]

71. But Ryan will not hesitate to privatize Social Security and Medicare

He has made no secret of this and has wanted to do it for years.

Sam

[Scarsdale]

73. Agghh!

His head is large enough now, imagine THAT as president??

[mercuryblues]

10. When the office of VP

becomes vacant the president nominates someone to take their place. The house and senate have to confirm.

I think trump will throw pence to the wolves, on his way down.

[Merlot]

46. You're right. And if trympty throws pense to the wolves

it will be the one good thing he does.

[hedda_foil]

72. True that. It's what Nixon did with Ford.

I've always thought that the Senate slow walked the investigation of Nixon until they could get rid of Agnew, who was an embarrassment to the party of that time. Of course,any replacement veep would pardon Trump on his way out, just as Ford pardoned Nixon

[KingCharlemagne]

87. Hunh? The Senate at the time was controlled by Dems, so

your theory doesnt make sense.

[hedda_foil]

88. True, but there was FAR less discord and there was actual bipartisanship in the Senate then

At that time, many of the Senate's most senior Democrats were Southern state Dixiecrat, and most Republican Senators were actual moderates. Nixon's Southern Strategy was just starting to have an effect in Congress.

For example, although Senator Sam Ervin (D. NC) was the chairman of the Watergate Committee, its Ranking Member, Howard Baker Jr (R. TN) was often seen as defacto co-chairman of the Committee. He was the member who asked witness after witness the big question: "What did the President know and when did he know it?"

Seniority determined who got the big permanent committee chairmanships, and once in the Chair, they stayed there until retirement, scandal or death unless the unthinkable happened and they lost an election or Republicans took the majority, which didn't happen until the 104th Congress (1995-1997).

So what makes no sense now made much more sense then.

[Merlot]

45. If forced to choose between ryan and pense I'd say ryan

ryan is just mean and people will figure that out. But pense is a whole different ballgame when it comes to weird. pense is really religious and it's the kind of religious that has no problem forcing itself onto everyone else.

I think he's one of those end-timers types.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

59. Purge Pence first. Ryan will decline. He wants 2020/24. Doesn't want to be short term Ford (74-76).

[ewagner]

75. Good Point n/t

[Delphinus]

83. Oh, hadn't

thought of that. Good idea.

[KittyWampus]

86. That is not how it works. If Pence leaves the VP is replaced.

[Vinca]

4. Doesn't Flynn seem too nutty to be a good witness in a case like this?

Manafort is also out because I think his crimes are probably too serious. I'm thinking the son-in-law flips in order to save his own, personal empire.

[DK504]

21. He seems to be to stupid for his own good.

Which could make a better witness. Saying a prayer.

[Scruffy1]

22. He may be vile and despicable, but he's not dumb.

You don't get to General rank unless you pass a lot of really tough classes. It's just that the military is it's own world.

[Sanity Claws]

61. He strikes me as really stupid

He is supposed to be a national security expert but did not know that the US listens to the Russian Ambassador's calls. He sounds like a supreme bull shitter.

[rivegauche]

85. I think he knew that, he just thought he could get away with it.

I think the inner circle around the orange fraud believes that his Teflon will rub off on them. Chump gets away with ANYTHING, so they assume they will too.

[nycbos]

8. I don't think he has flipped yet...

... but the fact they are throwing him under the bus might motivate him to talk.

[Qutzupalotl]

11. They caught him lying to the FBI.

I think it's reasonable to assume they would leverage him for testimony against his co-conspirators.

I haven't heard a peep out of Flynn for weeks. Makes me think he's talking, just not publicly.

[nycbos]

13. Indeed.

I was just saying the fact the WH is throwing him under the bus would provide extra motivation to talk.

[tblue37]

28. Plus he hired two lawyers recently. nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

60. You may be thinking Roger Stone. He hired 2 lawyers recently. 1 is prudent; 2 indicates complexity.

[tblue37]

69. You're right. Thanks. nt

[mercuryblues]

43. yup. That right there

would bust him down in rank at a minimum. Once they explain to him he is looking at jail time for what was discussed during the phone calls, he will start flipping. He was doing benedict Donald's bidding, is he willing to be demoted and/or jail for following orders.

The problem is Sessions in the DoJ. How far will he go to protect trump? Is he willing to lose it all covering for trump? He already knows he might be out of a job if trump resigns or is impeached.

[Merlot]

47. sessions could cut a deal

let him keep his job and he'll go after trympty. My guess is whoever the next in line for president is would make that deal.

[Amaryllis]

68. Sessions most likely part of the web.

[enid602]

44. Flynn

When he disclosed information while registering as a foreign agent for the Gov't of Turkey after the fact, he also disclosed that he made a $28K payment to FBI Agent McCaulley, the same who took part in raiding Houma Abedin's husband's laptop. Could bring down Giuliani, as well.

[mercuryblues]

57. Yes

There are so many players and all are hateful and vindictive enough to turn on each other. He who rats 1st gets the best deal.

This is going to be a yuge shit storm when it hits the fan. To me Sessions is the wild card. Everything has to go through him and he is involved in this up to his neck. The only way he for sure keeps his job is if trump stays. Which is why I think Pence might get thrown to the wolves. Session's goal is not to investigate, but contain.

This need an independent investigation.

[Hekate]

18. Gods, yes

[yardwork]

56. I fervently hope Pence goes soon.

Pence would be a terrible president. Trump can't last four years, so the VP will become president. We need a better VP.

On the other hand it might be Cruz.

[truebluegreen]

74. Given the danger of true believer Pence

I'd rather keep DFT in office, flailing, failing and f*cking up...and thoroughly exposing and discrediting the malevolent GOP.

We have to hold on for another 15 months, until the midterms loom: by then the pukes should be running scared and even less effective. And then if we can throw enough of the cretinous scumbags out of office the Republic may survive.

[tblue37]

84. Kinda my thinking, too. Pence would be more effective at pushing RW policies. nt

[librechik]

81. Any ideas how to get rid of Pence???

they've been protecting him-- for sure he shouldn't be president, but he must be in the target area to get pinched. Unless there's some other strategy...

[vlyons]

3. Fucking traitors

and all for the love of money.

1 Timothy 6:10King James Version (KJV) - For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

During the campaign and for a few weeks after, republicans were rubbing their greedy little palms together in Ebeneezer Scrouge fashion at all the money their brands would make and all the self-serving legislation they would pass. And where are they now? Hiding under the bed, pretending that they are innocent, trying to patch their leaky boat with chewing gum. They are so corrupt and stupid that no matter what they do, their incompetence will just make matters worse and worse and worse. They are simply not smart enough to keep their damn mouths shut and stop chasing after the next big money deal. God let's hope they don't start a war to change the dial on their reality show.

[Moostache]

12. The GOP does seem to recall the gang in "Goodfellas" after the heist..

Leave the getaway car out to be discovered? Check.
Buy big fur coats? Check.
Buy new Cadillac cars? Check.

Now we get to the part of the story where mysterious "accidents" start happening to key players...
If I were one of the guilty, I would be singing like a canary to the FBI in exchange for immunity and protection ASAP.

[vlyons]

42. Manafort looks like a Gumba mobster right out of Good Fellows

Paul Sorvino could play his part in the Traitor Trump movie. Ba-da-bing!

[byronius]

16. Nicely put.

[Hekate]

20. My doctor thinks they'll all go down for money laundering. Just saw him yesterday for my annual...

(Happy to report all is well, so no worries.)

I mentioned politics at the very end of our visit, knowing we are both liberals, and he's counting on money laundering being the provable crime that brings them down.

Remember how the feds got Al Capone: not murder, but tax evasion. In the end, it's what you can prove in court. Believe me, I'd love to see everyone connected with Benedict Donald go down for treason, but I'll be overjoyed if corruption is what does it.

[bigbrother05]

24. I'm thinking RICO with the money laundering

Could lead to some decent jail time for anyone late to the choir. Also, most of those on the inside come from a business world where the worst they can imagine is Martha Stewart time.

[pnwmom]

6. Sounds plausible. n/t

[Hortensis]

55. Appallingly plausible. Like Rump/Breitbart billionaire

backer Robert Mercer's yacht being joined alongside by Dmitry Rybolovlev's in the Virgin Islands. Rybolovev has of course been flying into cities as Rump is visiting them, and, as part owner of Bank of Cyprus, is part of a money-flow line from Russia to Rump, who's borrowed more than a billion dollars from Deutsche Bank, and of course picked up that cool $60M profit selling a property to Rybolovev. It's speculated that Rybolovev may be a courier for Putin.

And these and other people are, strikingly, keeping it up even as the world's increasingly focusing on their movements. Desperate may be the word, or arrogant. Whatever, for sure game's on for them. And I wish I could think of one good reason to believe Tillerson is not also a player in a highly illicit game.

[yallerdawg]

7. Removal of sanctions is the trillion dollar payoff!

We can't get Snowden from the Russians.

I expect a certain family will have sanctuary when the final deal is done!

[tblue37]

29. Not necessarily.Once the Trumps are no longer useful, there is no reason for Putin to protect them.

In fact, he has already disposed of Russians who actually were useful, so why would he care if the Trump family goes down?

[volstork]

35. Here's hoping.

I want to see them perp-walked

[KewlKat]

14. After watching Page on Chris' show........he'll cave, and cave BIGLY!

He could never survive any time behind bars............

[TygrBright]

15. And the reason he went to Asia w/o press was to establish precedent... n/t

[sarah FAILIN]

41. yes.

No cameras, nothing to see.

[Hekate]

17. AFAIK you get the smaller fry to flip by offering them a choice of decades in prison, or...

...co-operation. So Manafort and Page -- and apparently Flynn, now -- are the designated fall guys. If I read your friend correctly, Page must be the weak link.

What was it Malcolm Nance said the other night? "The target is getting buggy."

[Ilsa]

19. I think you nailed it.

Frankly, I'm surprised that putin's surrogates didn't show up in korea to meet Tillerson. Heck, maybe they did and this is a follow-up.

I wonder who needs a bodyguard now? Page? Manafort? Both?

[dgibby]

26. Maybe it wasn't fatigue.

Maybe it was because he had to meet with Putin's friends.

[Mme. Defarge]

23. Bookmarked!

[lisvard2]

25. Who else besides the usual suspects...

Are involved? Does anyone think any big money donors knew anything about what they were doing?

[Angry Dragon]

27. TRAITORS all of them

[TheBlackAdder]

31. I know a guy who worked for Campbell's, making alphabet soup. He only knew Cyrillic. They canned him

[randome]

49. What more need be said?

[cwydro]

51. Haha!

[pinboy3niner]

76. Poor guy was just pasta his prime

Well done!

[calimary]

32. I guess Tillerson feels the need to check in with his boss's boss. And seek direction.

I think you're right about Carter Page, LaydeeBug. Watching him, watching his behavior, suggests to me the demeanor of someone who DESPERATELY wants to be in with the in crowd, and is a small-timer who was brought in at the periphery to run errands and carry messages. He can SAY he's "in" with that crowd, but he isn't, really. He's just a hanger-on who wants to be able to swagger around and have people think he's a big shot. He'd be one of the first to be told to take one for the team, because he's the most expendable.

Watching him bob 'n' weave and squirm in his seat and trip over his words while realizing what he said was live on-camera and On The Record. But still wanting his "bros" to think he was a big shot - the Alpha of the group because of his purported "connections" - and not say something that would expose how much of a disposable grunt he actually is.

I too think he'll be the first to sing. He's the low-hanging fruit they'll go after, first. And they'll make him a deal to tell all - maybe in exchange for keeping his ass out of prison for treason or something.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

52. I agree. Page goes down first.

He might not know much because he's just a little fish trying to be a big one, but he probably knows enough to leverage a deal and put pressure on an actual bigger fish, possibly Manafort.

[barbtries]

33. my theory

and i don't know anyone who works in the intelligence field, is that tillerson went to trump and said, you give me the state department, and i'll give you a place to shoot a nuke.

i think he's going over there to work out the details of stealing Ukraine's oil so him and putin can get even richer than they already are. these psychopaths can never get enough.

anyhow i hope you're right and one of the treasonous trump train rolls over soon.

[dumbcat]

34. What does "please anonymize" mean?

I'm a little slow today.

[onecent]

40. I'm a little slow this afternoon, what is "anonymize"?? Tks

[cwydro]

50. I've never heard it.

Has a nice sound to it...

[dumbcat]

53. I don't know, that's why I asked the OP

who used it in her OP.

You can post but please anonymize. I'm in the middle of stuff already.

[Kentonio]

80. As in 'don't reveal the persons identity'.

[melman]

58. It means

you can spread this (totally made up) tidbit around, but please don't credit the OP because the OP is already in 'the middle of stuff"

[cwydro]

70. Well said. nt

[librechik]

82. Hah!yesterday I was told that there was no case being made by Comey.

these small tidbits are not always fictional, you know.

[lisvard2]

36. Who else besides the usual suspects...

Are involved? Does anyone think any big money donors knew anything about what they were doing?

[lisvard2]

37. Sorry for double post :)

[MedusaX]

39. Schwarzman knows

And pretty sure the Mercers / DeVos families are complicit as well...

Schwarzman = Blackstone = Trump Advisor = former Advisory Board member of the Russian Development Investment Fund
Plus I think He gave big $ to McConnels PAC

Mercers have been yachting with Fertilizer King & another russian-American connected to Alfa bank

DeVos Brother the Mercenary is Trump Advisor and has ties .... DeVos family supported most repugs in congress $$$

[Xolodno]

38. The Kremlin will leave them holding the bag.

The FSB has "some" deniability and excuses. There was always "middle men" during their communications, a bank, wikileaks, etc.

Plus they got what they wanted and then some x10.

45 may be looking for help, but all they'll get are verbal assurances and will not follow through. The Kremlin isn't going to risk getting its hand caught red handed in the cookie jar when they already got what they wanted. They had no plan for a Trump Presidency and probably don't have one now.

At this point, an impeachment will actually help the Kremlin as it will throw more confusion in our political process and keep the US Government focus elsewhere.

Granted relations with Russia will go even further sour but they already calculated and expected that.

[mzteaze]

48. This administration

Is so sad, that the plot of the tv show, Designator Survivor, has pointed out how far down the line we would need to go to get a decent president that many of us could live with.

[AgadorSparticus]

54. That makes total sense why tillerson is going there and never wanted the press Corp with him

....shady bastard....

[Duppers]

62. Recommended

& kicked.

[coco22]

63. Kicked..

[zentrum]

64. Yes. Good point.

I agree how that's what's happening.

I read once that the way Bin Laden always communicated with his gang was by courier. Never on anything electronic.

[steve2470]

65. helpful hints

1- Your text is probably now captured forever by Google, in its cache.

2- Your text is tied to your username, which is tied to your profile and your posts.

3- If DU was successfully hacked, your username would be tied to any info they could gain.

See where I'm going with this ? I think a lot of your anonymity is already gone, unless you've been extraordinarily careful.

[alwaysinflux]

66. Can't we insist

That someone travels with him to keep an eye on him?

[Tatiana]

67. This actually rings true to me. They are being monitored 24/7.

They probably don't have direction and it is too risky for Putin to make a public statement of guidance.

A face-to-face meeting makes sense. The optics look bad, but Putin probably has them by the you-know-what.

Sad that these traitors are more afraid of a foreign leader than our own Congress and Department of Justice.