Critical Context for the FBI Probe of Trump - By Josh Marshall

[DonViejo]

January 12, 2019 12:29 pm

So many things have happened over the last two-plus years that simply defy belief that it can be essential to review them, to see what light they shed on new developments when arranged in order. Last night the Times reported that in the immediate aftermath of James Comey’s firing the FBI launched a probe into “whether Mr. Trump was knowingly working for Russia or had unwittingly fallen under Moscow’s influence.”

It’s worth reviewing the precise chain of events.

Trump fired Comey on Tuesday, May 9th, 2017. The following day, May 10th, Trump received Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak in the Oval Office. US press was barred from the event. But the Russian state news agency TASS was invited to cover the meeting. The photos that were later released came out of Russia.

The White House later confirmed that Trump had taken this meeting because Vladimir Putin had personally asked him to on a phone call a few days earlier. “He chose to receive him because Putin asked him to,” a White House spokesman told Susan Glasser the following day. “Putin did specifically ask on the call when they last talked.”

At the meeting, Trump told Lavrov and Kislyak that he had just fired Comey and that this had removed the “pressure” he was under because of the FBI investigation into possible Trump campaign collusion with Russia. “I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job. I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off,” Trump told the two men according to an internal US government summary document based on notes taken during the meeting.

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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/1189294

[uppityperson]

1. K&R, thank you

[dalton99a]

2. After seeing the evidence:

[tblue37]

4. And yet Grassley continued and continues to run interference for Trump and support him. nt

[dalton99a]

6. The GOP leadership is 100% complicit.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

5. Looks to be carrying a mighty heavy load.

We all are at this point. The Pretender in Chief ALMOST got away w it.

[Hamlette]

14. Feinstein in that meeting still haunts me

even Grassley looks disturbed but she looks to be in shock and depressed.

Someone posted earlier Hillary saying at a debate that Trump was Putin's puppet. At that point she was getting national security briefings but couldn't say too much. Those two events make me think the FBI could have bombshells left to drop.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

3. Screwed the pooch (Americans) then

invited them to Americas House. I can only imagine what they spent time doing. Did they wire the oval w secret russian listening devices tht are easy to deploy? Is the Oval forever tainted and unable to be used based on some device the russians may have planted there while dt was on his knees doing some lip work? Wonder what marching orders he got on usb or on hard copy?
And, where's these 'back channels" now? Just some questions that arise when thinking of the topic of the OP.

[SMC22307]

7. No US press allowed.

Alarm bells, indeed.

[CrispyQ]

8. He was so full of himself that day, thinking he was playing with the big dogs.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

15. A harrumphers with double-chin contest!

tRump didn't stand a chance with those two pros.......

[ffr]

9. Dammit! Start a day earlier, May 8th and you'd have this juicy tidbit.

Stephen Miller's May 8th memo

Mueller Has Early Draft of Trump Letter Giving Reasons for Firing Comey
Mr. Trump was back in Washington on Monday, May 8, when copies of the letter were handed out in the Oval Office to senior officials, including Mr. McGahn and Vice President Mike Pence. Mr. Trump announced that he had decided to fire Mr. Comey, and read aloud from Mr. Miller’s memo. - NYT

Trump, McGahn and VP Mike Pence were all in on the act of firing James Comey, to impede the investigation into Russian election interference.

[chimpymustgo]

10. Wow. Keep digging, folks. It's all there. nt

[Ford_Prefect]

11. ... And what was McConnell up to at the time?

[stuffmatters]

13. Great info.

.

[orangecrush]

12. KICK

[suffragette]

16. I think the chain of events with Flynn should be included as well.

Flynn spoke to Kislyak in Dec 2016 about Russian sanctions.
Flynn resigned on February 13, 2017.
On Feb 14, 2017, Trump tried to get Comey to drop the investigation against Flynn.
On May 8, 2017, Sally Yates testified to the Senate about Flynn, the FBI and Russia.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Flynn

Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, in May 8 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, said the FBI interviewed Flynn, on January 24, 2017. Based on the results of that interview, she made an "urgent" request to meet with McGahn.[102] She met with him on January 26 and again on January 27.[103] She informed McGahn that Flynn was "compromised" and possibly open to blackmail by the Russians. Yates told McGahn that Flynn had misled Pence and other administration officials about the nature of his conversation with the Russian ambassador.[104][91][105] She added that Flynn's "underlying conduct", which she could not describe due to classification, "was problematic in and of itself," saying "it was a whole lot more than one White House official lying to another."[103][102] Former United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called the possibility of Flynn being blackmailed "kind of a stretch," while acknowledging that his false statement was "a problem ... that I would tell the president about."[106]

On January 22, 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that Flynn was under investigation by U.S. counterintelligence agents for his communications with Russian officials.[107] On February 8, 2017, Flynn flatly denied having spoken to Kislyak in December 2016 about the sanctions placed on Russia by the Obama administration; however, the next day, U.S. intelligence officials shared an account indicating that such discussions did in fact take place.[108] Following this revelation, Flynn's spokesman released a statement that Flynn "indicated that while he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn't be certain that the topic never came up".[109]

Dismissal and investigation

Michael T. Flynn resignation letter
On February 13, 2017, Flynn resigned as National Security Advisor, following news reports about his communications with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak and additional reports that he had misled the Vice President about them.[110] Flynn's 24-day tenure as National Security Advisor was the shortest in the 63-year history of the office.[14] Those communications he had with the Russian ambassador were subsequently leaked to the press.[111]