Mike Pence, Star Witness

[DonViejo]

Source: NYR Daily



Murray Waas

News summary:

Despite strong recommendations from Vice President Mike Pence, then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and White House Counsel Don McGahn during a February 10, 2017, conversation that the president immediately fire his then-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, Trump still refused to do so, according to confidential White House records.

Earlier that day, Pence, Priebus, and McGahn had met in the Situation Room to read classified transcripts of Flynn’s conversations on sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. After reading those intercepts, the three men concluded that Flynn had lied to the American public, to the vice president, and perhaps even to the FBI. Pence, Priebus, and McGahn confronted Flynn before then recommending to Trump that Flynn be fired.

Trump would not undertake to do so—a refusal so inexplicable to the president’s men that they worried that he was protecting Flynn because he knew in advance of Flynn’s back-channel diplomacy with Russia, or had even authorized it, giving Flynn significant leverage over Trump, even the power to blackmail him, to keep his job.

Alarmed by Trump’s inaction on firing Flynn, two senior administration officials then arranged a leak to the press about Justice Department warnings to the White House concerning Flynn’s false statements in order to force the president’s hand.

Read more: https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/09/25/mike-pence-star-witness/

[Samspadesnark]

1. My first reaction to reading this was

Is this account one hundred percent true? Or is it merely a well-crafted leak designed to propel Pence into the presidency, while saving Pence, Preibus, and McGahn from negative public opinion (and in their minds prosecution, if they line their stories up well enough)? I would never believe this account unless it came out, documented and under oath, in one of the Special Counsel's trials. That is the degree to which I distrust Mike Pence.

[asiliveandbreathe]

2. Yes..seems to me SC Mueller has a very different STORY - from M Flynn

Pence defined - untrustworthy...lying sack of excrement....

[SWBTATTReg]

3. I also think Pence is hiding something and he reminds me of the serpent in the garden of eden...

Take a bite out of the apple, you'll enjoy...and revelations shall be revealed to you and you'll reap the glory of god!

Religious hypocrite. If he gave me a bible, I would burn it for he dirtied it while handling it...pardon my book burning analogy, I don't believe in burning anything (better yet, sprinkle holy water on it), but for Pence, I don't want to be in the same room w/ him for he is a bumbling, stumbling, political hack. You can't believe anything he says, plain and simple.

Rump got him a YES man, nothing complicated here, but then again, remembering the intelligence of these people (rump, cronies, etc.), it can't be anything too complicated, otherwise you'll be stirring up too much crap that they can't figure out anything, especially when you have to talk to rump at the 5th grade level.

[watoos]

4. Manafort picked Pence

that's enough to give everyone pause.

[mpcamb]

5. Pence is a no-talent, zero competence rat.

He was a Tea Party Caucuser. Under his watch as governor Indiana's economy was among the slowest-growing in the United States.
During Pence's twelve years in the House, he introduced 90 bills and resolutions; none became law.
Pence routinely used a personal AOL email account to conduct official business. In 2016, hackers compromised the account and used it to send fraudulent emails in an attempt to obtain money from Pence's contacts.

He ran trump's campaign. The chance that he didn't know about the Russian intrigue is zero.

[Blue Owl]

6. The Pantlodestar

n/t