2020 American Political Scene

[TopHatter]

Without evidence, Trump accuses Obama administration of treason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, trailing in opinion polls at a time of anti-racism protests and a surge in coronavirus cases, lashed out at the administration of Barack Obama, the country's first Black president, with a baseless accusation of treason.

The accusation, offered without evidence in an interview on Monday, was the Republican president's latest effort to tarnish Obama, a popular Democrat whom Trump has targeted for years, including falsely suggesting he was not U.S.-born.

Trump trails the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, who was Obama's vice president, by 13 percentage points ahead of the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Under Trump, the U.S. Justice Department is reviewing a probe that found foreign interference in the 2016 election he won. He previously accused Obama of spying on his campaign but not treason.

Asked what crime might have been committed by spying, Trump told the Christian Broadcasting Network: "It's treason. Look, when I came out a long time ago, I said they've been spying on our campaign ... Let's see what happens to them now."

"(William) Barr is doing a great job as attorney general, let's see what they come up with," he said. Barr has said he does not expect Obama or Biden to be charged.

Representatives for Obama, who was scheduled to appear at a virtual fundraiser with Biden on Tuesday, said he had no comment on Trump's accusation.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to boost Trump's candidacy. Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 21-month investigation documented a Russian campaign of propaganda and hacking to harm Trump's Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Mueller also documented numerous contacts between Trump campaign figures and Russians.
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Oh goody, this tired routine...again. This schtick is really getting old.

[TopHatter]

Trump's 'white power' retweet set off 'five-alarm fire' in White House

President Donald Trump set off a "five-alarm fire" in the White House on Sunday morning after he retweeted a video of one of his supporters saying "white power," according to two White House officials.

The video remained on the president's Twitter page, where he has 82 million followers, for more than three hours because White House officials couldn't reach him to ask him to delete it, the two officials said. The president was at his golf club in Virginia and had put his phone down, the officials said.

Aides also tried unsuccessfully to reach deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino to ask him to delete the retweet, officials said.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., added to the urgency when he called the tweet "indefensible" and demanded that the president take it down during an interview on CNN, the officials said.

Once officials were able to reach the president, he agreed to delete it, they said.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and senior adviser Jared Kushner were among those trying to contain the fallout. McEnany said Monday that Trump had watched the video before retweeting it but didn't hear his supporter say "white power."

Officials said the president gets a deluge of content from aides and allies, with one of them saying the "white power" incident was a "lesson to all of us in the White House to be more aware of what's out there."

In April, the president retweeted a posting that included the hashtag "#FireFauci." When asked at the time whether he had noticed the hashtag when he retweeted it, the president said, "Yeah, I notice everything."
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Yep, he notices everything...so either he knew exactly what he was doing or he's a fucking idiot.

We can safely assume "Both"

Oh yeah and there’s no way to contact any of the at least dozens of people who are with him at all times?

No way to contact anyone, least of all the president.

Meanwhile India and China have loaded and armed their nuclear arsenals over their border war; Putin's ordered another poisoning assassination; Kim Jong Un found The Button to his next missile launch of an ICBM, and Jared Kushner can't find the key to the White House men's room.


So glad there was no national emergency that needed his immediate attention during those three hours. Although, who in their right mind would call Trump if there was one?

[Bigfella]

So, Trump gets a written briefing in Feb that Russia is paying bounties for the murder of US & allies troops in Afghanistan. When does the UK find out? about a month ago. Not even sure Australia has been officially told. Of course, Trump denies even knowing about it, and there is no chance he was going to confront his buddy Vlad about it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/u...nty-trump.html

Remember GOP supporters foaming at the mouth over Obama giving Gordon Brown some DVDs or allegedly moving a bust of a dead British PM? Where is the outrage now? How utterly detestable.

I'm sure people better versed in the minutae of US foreign affairs will be able to find a President somewhere who has done more damage to America's foreign relations than Trump. It certainly isn't anyone in my lifetime, and I go back to Nixon. Can't see any obvious selections this side of 1933. Perhaps there isn't one. It will be the work of several terms just to unpick the damage.

[Albany Rifles]

So help me out here...did POTUS, in the same weekend, sign an EO to protect statues to traitors who took up arms against loyal Americans, an American Army lead by one of the greatest Republican Presidents, a traitor army that killed hundreds of thousands of those loyal Americans....also completely denied that a sworn enemy was currently paying bounties for the lives of American and Allied Soldiers in Afghanistan?

I’m confused....just what party is the current POTUS a member of?

Does anyone else see an issue here?

[Officer of Engineers]

So, Trump gets a written briefing in Feb that Russia is paying bounties for the murder of US & allies troops in Afghanistan. When does the UK find out? about a month ago. Not even sure Australia has been officially told. Of course, Trump denies even knowing about it, and there is no chance he was going to confront his buddy Vlad about it.

Trump Got Written Briefing in February on Possible Russian Bounties, Officials Say - The New York Times

From your own link, the intel is unverified and disputed even within American intel agencies.

I have my own doubts about this. Namely what do the Russians achieve with this bounty? It's not like the Taliban needed a reason to kill Americans. And do the Russians really want a Taliban Afghanistan on their borders?

The intel came from captured Taliban and ground sources within Afghanistan. Could be true or could be Russian Mafia (ie, drug trade). Either way, not solid enough for me to act on ... but solid enough for me to keep an eye on.

[astralis]

From your own link, the intel is unverified and disputed even within American intel agencies.

CIA confirmed the intel, NSA won't say.

but we know it ended up in the Presidential Daily Brief.

so Trump saying that "the intel agencies did not find this information credible" is -- to take the most generous reading-- if not an outright lie, then twisting the definition of "verified" intelligence. you can have a "high confidence" intel assessment even if some analysts may disagree with it.

just as him saying that he was "never told" about it is also a twisting, because while it may have been in the PDB, it's possible that he wasn't -told- its contents.

[Officer of Engineers]

CIA confirmed the intel, NSA won't say.

but we know it ended up in the Presidential Daily Brief.

That's like saying Trump keeps count on how much toilet paper he uses. We know the man is a walking clusterfuck on details. If you don't keep hammering the point, he ignores it.

[astralis]

so even the most sympathetic reading of Trump's actions was that he was not tracking at least the potential that one of the two US Great Power competitors was engaging in highly escalatory actions which ended with the death of American soldiers.

and now that he is informed that there's this possibility, his first instinct is to deny it and once again, accuse his own intel agencies of lying.

[Officer of Engineers]

so even the most sympathetic reading of Trump's actions was that he was not tracking at least the potential that one of the two US Great Power competitors was engaging in highly escalatory actions which ended with the death of American soldiers.

120,000 deaths later and you still think Trump is capable managing threats?

[TopHatter]

120,000 deaths later and you still think Trump is capable managing threats?

And people wonder why Trump "lives in my head" or why I "get so angry".

Yeah, it's a complete fucking mystery.

[tbm3fan]

So AP is now reporting top intelligence officials knew as far back as early 1999. Now this is AP and not some fly by night outfit like FOX or MSN.

https://apnews.com/fcf3ec359401c7575f5402b4da9b00a3

[TopHatter]

So AP is now reporting top intelligence officials knew as far back as early 1999. Now this is AP and not some fly by night outfit like FOX or MSN.

https://apnews.com/fcf3ec359401c7575f5402b4da9b00a3

You mean 2019, right?

[Albany Rifles]

You mean 2019, right?

Y2K kicking in HARD!

[Gun Grape]

So AP is now reporting top intelligence officials knew as far back as early 1999. Now this is AP and not some fly by night outfit like FOX or MSN.

Gotta do it

[tbm3fan]

You mean 2019, right?

I see everyone is on the ball with that little test of mine. BEAUTIFUL!