Indictment-O-Rama Megathread: Mueller indicts 13 Russians

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Mueller firing / pardons imminent?

Trump would be too late firing Mueller I think.

Doesn't matter to Trump -he'd still do it absent an act of Congress.  

And that would make things even more interesting.... 

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Words are cheap -last I checked neither the House or Senate has moved to pass bills protecting Mueller's investigation from White House interference.  

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Manafort just leaves evidence laying around...Don really does hire the best people...

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LOL!

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This is indeed the most frightening time of the year for Trump.  Mueller timed his releases well -I don't suppose it's a coincidence that when he announced his indictments, it was the week of Halloween, as well as the Mexican Day of the Dead.

Foreshadowing the end of Trump's Presidency, perhaps? 

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Trump says TODAY(!!!) that he still so feels so bad for Flynn, that "it's like lying to the FBI might have even ruined his life"...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-says-he-feels-badly-for-michael-flynn/

As if hitching his star to Donald Trump wouldn't tarnish him.

I wonder what the military thinks of former General Flynn now.

More importantly, have the rank and file changed their minds about not only Michael Flynn, but also Donald Trump since the last time they were polled back in January (I think)?  

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“Collusion” is not a crime or even a legal term

You're running behind. Even the deplorables are accepting collusion (or conspiring, if your prefer) with Russia. The new GOP defensive line is explaining why obstruction isn't illegal when the President does it. (Not much of a stretch for a party of apologists for pedophilia.)

No, I’m not.  Trump may very well get indicted for obstruction of justice by Mueller, indeed it’s more likely than not at this point, and Mueller will almost certainly recommend impeachment at the very least.  And Trump obviously colluded with Russia.  However, facts are facts.  Collusion is a political term, you’ll never see anyone indicted for “collusion” b/c it’s not a crime.  As for conspiracy, that word doesn’t quite mean the same thing legally as it does in common usage.  It certainly shouldn’t be used interchangeably with collusion although if new information/testimony comes out, they may end up overlapping in this case.

Conspiracy: An agreement between two or more persons to engage jointly in an unlawful or criminal act, or an act that is innocent in itself but becomes unlawful when done by the combination of actors.

Which is why Mueller following Trump's financial trail (including his tax records) is going to prove so important in this investigation, and determines whether or not Trump conspired with the Kremlin to alter the course of the 2016 election.  Trump obviously has something to hide.  And I wonder if Steve Bannon knows this, otherwise why counsel him to fight the investigation, alongside attempting to destroy the credibility of the Special Counsel?

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Most Americans doubt Trump on Russia probe

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Is this something that could destroy the Republicans if halfway proven?

Absolutely... though it’s still tinfoil territory for now. Outside of the Menschmobile there’s zero evidence the RNC got in on the action wholesale and that it wasn’t just driven by Trump’s motley gang of hacks and wierdos.

It wouldn't be unprecedented for the Republican Party to consort with other foreign governments for electoral advantage, as Richard Nixon did in 1968 when he interfered with peace negotiations with North Vietnam -essentially committing treason.  President Lyndon Johnson chose not to make an issue of it for fear of repercussions.

If that caliber of evidence does present itself, the next Democratic president shouldn't be so considerate.  

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Former Watergate prosecutor: 'Conspiracy,' not collusion, is main issue in Russia investigation

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Former Watergate prosecutor: 'Conspiracy,' not collusion, is main issue in Russia investigation

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Basically the issue is if the Trump campaign contracted out to the Russians to steal from and to spy on  the Democrats.  Wouldn't Wikileaks also need to be investigated? Could Mueller indict anyone from there with conspiring to commit cyber crime, espionage, and election fraud?

Every rock mentioned should be turned over, including Trump's past financial connections to the Russian government. 

Mueller needs to follow the money.... 

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If congressional Republicans prematurely close their Russian collusion investigations before the midterm elections this year, Democrats should reopen them the moment they take control of both houses of Congress, and redo those investigations the way they ought to have been done from the outset:

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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/10/trump-inner-circle-russia-hearings-329900?lo=ap_a1

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If congressional Republicans prematurely close their Russian collusion investigations before the midterm elections this year, Democrats should reopen them the moment they take control of both houses of Congress, and redo those investigations the way they ought to have been done from the outset:

Republicans have given Democrats a pretty good argument in restarting everything with substantially more resources, so I'm guessing Democrats will do that. They aren't going to let this go easily. Also I wouldn't be surprised if investigations start popping up for all sorts of other issues, such as the numerous conflicts of interests surrounding Trump and his family/associates. This is why losing any chamber of Congress would be a huge blow to Trump. His inner circle and a handful of cabinet officials would probably spend most of the 2 years between the 2018 and 2020 elections testifying in front of Congress, and aside from whether any of those investigations uncovers criminal actions, it'll hurt Trump in the 2020 election.

I'm counting on them to do what I hope they will do.  

Steve Bannon Plans to 'Fully Cooperate' with Robert Mueller: Report

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/steve-bannon-plans-fully-cooperate-robert-mueller-report

Smarter than I thought -rather than engaging in a tit-for-tat with Trump in a downward spiral of insults on Twitter, he hits back in a way he knows will hurt most.  

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Mueller just ensured his job security.  From now on, in light of all the evidence of Russian meddling, any attempt to remove him will be regarded as a treasonous act.  

Also, it could light the fire under the Republicans' ass to get going on combating their next attempt to meddle in our elections, beginning this November.

Hey, one can dream.....

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Lawfare once again has an excellent summary of yesterday's info-drop:

Russian Influence Campaign: What’s in the Latest Mueller Indictment

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Grumps (and other Trump supporters) would do well to read this.  

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In an effort by so-called "President" Deplorable Donald Trump (R-Moscow) to prove that there are no limits to how low he and the Republican Party can go, he's now using the murder of seventeen of our fellow citizens, most of them children, as a political shield while lying about the FBI's investigation of his own campaign's publicly demonstrated malfeasance during his latest crazed twitter rampage.

I already knew he didn’t care about the children because his initial speech sounded like the words of someone being held hostage but damn he can’t even fake it. I’m running out of bad names to call him.

I'm curious to see if any of his supporters here would care to defend him after this. 

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Conservatives urge Trump to grant pardons in Russia probe

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Rep. Dana Rohrabacher might be in trouble.

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I was hoping Devin Nunes' name would be showing up as well. 

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Fox News propaganda works!

Poll shows spike in GOP disapproval of Mueller

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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/07/poll-robert-mueller-republican-approval-444366

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It would be so satisfying if Mueller found Devin Nunes was tangled up in this Russian collusion scandal.  He is certainly doing his utmost to make it seem like he is guilty of something criminal.