The News Cycle was Crazy today (so far)

[_MeDotOrg]

It certainly feels like we are building up a head of steam and heading to a crisis. There is just some serious sh*t happening right now.

Who is one of the Republicans who has seen the background materials? Trey Gowdy, hero of the Benghazi investigation. So what does Gowdy do? He announces he will not run for congress in 2018.

We have a rather incomplete answer from Devin Nunez about whether or not the White House had any input on the memo.

“Did they have any idea you were doing this?” Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) asked Nunes of the White House. “Did they talk about doing this with you? Did they suggest it? Did you suggest it to them? Did you consult in deciding how to go forward with this before, during, and after this point right now?”

“I would just answer, as far as I know, no,” Nunes replied.

Quigley pressed again for confirmation that “none of the staff members that worked for the majority had any consultation, communication at all with the White House.”

“The chair is not going to entertain—” Nunes replied, before he was interrupted by crosstalk.

He didn’t offer further comment on the issue.

He said Quigley's time was up.

Meanwhile Hope Hicks is being quoted as saying that Donald Trump Jr.'s emails concerning the June Trump Tower meeting "would never get out". This is after the FBI was investigating the Russia story, so her statement can certainly be construed as an vow to obstruct justice. This information comes from Mark Corallo, former spokesman for the White House legal team, who resigned not long after the incident.

And just as a fun coda for the day's events. Trump's pick to run the Center for Disease control was holding tobacco stocks while running a Center for Disease Prevention. Disease from Tobacco products is the #1 cause of preventable disease in the United States. So cudos to Brenda Sullivan, hoping to profit off the tobacco industry she was supposed to be regulating. Only in Trumpland can the head of the CDC have a financial stake in tobacco.

[_Black Moclips]

For the liberals - If the FBI did do something wrong and obstructed justice in some way that damaged Trump and or Republicans, would you want to know about it? How would this information come to light? Who would you believe to bring you this news?

The fact that Hillary and team Clinton magically skated through the whole email mess without a scratch as they mishandled classified information (while others have gone to jail for far less (because you know "gross negligence" is the same as intent with most crimes)) tells me something stinks at the DOJ. I say release everything. Blow it all open. They work for us, remember? None of us should be afraid of facts coming to light (as long as they really are facts). The fact that the democrats are going ape to stop this memo shows there is something to it. Don't know what but it will be fun to watch if it comes out.


(edited to reword intent and gross negligence)

[_EAllusion]

After clearing Hillary Clinton, the head of the FBI has a press conference specifically to scold her behavior. Then on the eve of an election the FBI sends a letter to Congress announcing she is under investigation again for an issue that ultimately was nothing. At the same time, it is reported by the New York Times that the FBI sees no clear link between Russia and Trump or close advisors. This report was sourced by leaks within the FBI. As it turns out, there was an on-going investigation at that time the public did not know about because not only did the FBI not inform the public about it, but it did not correct a misleading blue chip report in the media stating the contrary.

These series of events are highly likely to have been enough to have tipped the election from Clinton to Trump. The theory you are going with Black MoClips is that the DoJ and FBI were so biased by fervor to help Clinton they hatched this dastardly plan to help her by kneecapping her election chances and ratcheting up investigation of Trump after he was elected president. Besides this being nuts, I think you should understand that you are proposing that the villains in your narrative are unfathomably incompetent.

Regarding your first question, I would like to see compelling evidence of it provided either through whistleblowing or Congressional investigation. The important problem with this question is the Nunes memo so clearly is not that. Maybe it would help if you made some effort to understand what people are going ape about. For starters:

None of us should be afraid of facts coming to light (as long as they really are facts)

Why is the more detailed counter-memo that purports to correct the alleged misleading picture of the first memo being party-line blocked by Republicans? Seems like if you favored actually releasing relevant information because what harm could come of facts?, this would be problematic.

P.S. You probably should recall that the official reason for firing Comey that attempts to deflect from the charge of obstruction is that his unfair behavior towards Hillary Clinton was egregious enough to justify termination. It's like you don't even believe that's true for some reason.

[_Black Moclips]

EA -

....that you are proposing that the villains in your narrative are unfathomably incompetent.

Yes, absolutely. Incompetence happens daily in Washington and in politics. Its one of the those things like death and taxes that is certain to happen and exist. Just because certain individuals may have protected her from going to jail, doesn't necessarily mean the aim was to help her win the election. I'm sure they absolutely preferred her over Trump, but there is only so much a supposedly unbiased law enforcement agency can do in the daylight. I think its pretty obvious Comey was trying to play both sides here - save Hillary from criminal charges at the same time appearing to be unbiased by his information releases close to the election. Both sides loved Comey and hated Comey at different phases of this game.

I submit the following article on the Hillary email debacle. I think it explains very well how Obama and his DOJ cronies gave her the pass. Dodges, head fakes, and word play to snow the masses.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/455202/clinton-email-investigations-trump-justice-department-revives-them

With respect to the memo, I would submit neither you nor I actually know what the Nunes memo is. You have to choose who to believe and what they say the memo is. You obviously believe the left wing propaganda machine as it tries to stop the release. I personally have no idea who to believe, but I'd like to see it. And go ahead and release whatever versions of it there are and let them come out. I have no problem with that. But I certainly don't trust liberals to care about releasing truths that might damage their party, and certainly don't trust them to be honest about it. Same way I don't trust the Republicans.

I hear a quiet investigation is being done by the Inspector General currently about these topics and hopefully that can shed light on what is really happening.

[_EAllusion]

The sources I cited in this thread aren't "left wing." The one article I quoted in full is from a CATO fellow. The most recent link on the subject from me is from Lawfare, which is centrist to center-right.

There is extensive evidence in public that the Nunes memo isn't on the up and up which I specifically cited and you appear to have ignored.

I will just have to leave your theory that the DOJ / FBI have been involved in a Democratic cabal to help Clinton and harm Trump as evidenced by them throwing the election to Trump as a touch ill thought out.

[_MeDotOrg]

In some ways this is a distant mirror to the 1960's. Back then the FBI was wiretapping a man who is now a National Holiday. Now we're wiretapping Carter Page, a man who has been known as a potential target of Russian espionage since 2013.

Funny, you never heard much from Republicans when King was being wiretapped. And yet despite their adoration for Carter Page, I don't think this country will ever celebrate a Carter Page day.

[_EAllusion]

Trump is tweeting this morning attacking the FBI and DoJ leadership appointed by him as corrupted in favor of Democrats. Villains monologueing their intent is only supposed to happen in stories.

[_Some Schmo]

Republicans are such deleted lemmings. If you had criticized any law enforcement officer even a year ago, every right wingnut would be going apoplectic. Drumpf starts to question them, and suddenly the FBI can't be trusted.

Deleted morons.

[_Res Ipsa]

I'm not sure there's a news cycle anymore. Just a giant firehose turned up to 11.

[_Themis]

You have to choose who to believe and what they say the memo is. You obviously believe the left wing propaganda machine as it tries to stop the release. I personally have no idea who to believe, but I'd like to see it.

The FBI and DOJ from what I know have tried to block it being released for various reasons they have given, but Black Moclips who picked the two men who head both of these organizations?