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Devin Nunes's conversation with reporters is a good thing, no matter if he intended for it to be or not. The head of the House Intelligence Committee noted that he discussed reports he saw with House Speaker Paul Ryan this morning, although it is unclear of if Nunes shared information about the reports with Adam Schiff. Speaking to reporters about this may provide substance for the dwindling number of delusionals, who are outraged that President Obama wired Trump's phone
.but it also puts Trump on notice, very publicly.
Certainly, Trump and his carp will claim that this breaking news supports his wild lies. But the news does no such thing. Though I'm not a huge fan of mainstream news, I'd say that most of it has noted that Trump lied. That he changes the goal posts. And that his refusal to take ownership of his lies is not a positive character trait.
We all knew that Flynn was caught in discussions with the Russian ambassador the day that President Obama announced sanctions. We just had no idea of how many of the others were doing so. And the fact is that there are many, many connections being documented. It's still unknown how many times Trump was in contact with enemies of the United States. But the public may start finding out, sooner than expected.
So we can expect some blather from the alt-right. Rabid animals do foam at the mouth. But the average citizen knows that Trump is full of crap, that his presidency thus far is a failure, and that it is dangerous to allow him to continue. And Trump can be counted on to reinforce this in the next 24 hours. Big time.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,297 posts)Wow!
Well said and definitely worthy.
Trump's really REALLY good at undermining himself, so I expect your last sentences to be prophetic.
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)Kind of reminds me of the work my boy was doing, training for the finals next month. We discussed how a hurt opponent will throw a series of desperate punches. You just cover up, slip the shots, and then punish him when he's out of breath.
Things are good now. Nunes erred.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Schiff said Nunes did not.
he specifically said Nunes provided info. that not even the Committee had yet.
It was in a Schiff Tweet a few minutes ago...I will try to find it..been reading Twitter a lot today and absorbed much.
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)Schiff has been on fire this afternoon. Good man.
K&R
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)spanone
(135,633 posts)malaise
(267,808 posts)Cornered rats always squeal
Thanks
ms liberty
(8,478 posts)The smartest kids in the class. K&R. So good to have you back and posting!
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)I did not expect things to be moving at this pace. It's wild!
hamsterjill
(15,214 posts)What if the "incidental" information about Trump was collected in a way that it cannot be used against him? Trump is a treasonous bastard. There is no doubt in my mind that he's in bed with Putin. But what if Feinstein's (and others') frustration and anger stem from knowing that they have proof of Trump being in bed with Putin, yet it won't be able to be used to impeach him because of the way that proof was collected?
Thoughts, please????
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)The information already gathered can be used -- both in a civil action (impeachment), and a criminal trial in federal court. I expected things to take more time, but they seem to be moving very fast at this point.
hamsterjill
(15,214 posts)The Repukes were making a BIG deal of "unmasked" at the hearing.
Please understand. I want Trump behind bars! I just don't want to get my hopes up and have them dashed.
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)Especially if they have one of Trump thanking the Russians for their assistance in electing him.
hamsterjill
(15,214 posts)Okay. Thank you.
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)for the next few days. The administration is being seriously damaged. They will attempt to go on the attack. But they are getting tired, and more prone to making mistakes. This will continue to damage the administration.
hamsterjill
(15,214 posts)You don't know (or maybe you really do!) how much getting rid of Trump means to me. I want it to be swift. I want it to be legal. Not advocating any violence whatsoever. I want it to be airtight, and I want that SOB out of office and in jail.
dchill
(38,320 posts)Yes. It seems to me that some on the (R) side must have realized that this country doesn't have a lot of time to repair the damage done, and the imminent damage that probably will be done under the "deconstruction of the administrative state."
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)to quote Bush the Elder. It is intense.
dchill
(38,320 posts)that the evidence indicates a situation of a scope that no one is sure how to deal with it. Can you spell President Hatch?
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)and very ugly. And extremely dangerous.
I'm glads that the intelligence community has been encouraging Congress to do their job. This needs to be resolved by way of the Constitution.
dchill
(38,320 posts)by "fear and loathing." Incompetent party over country, ruling from a majority position with minority support. It burns.
All my friends and associates my age who are still alive keep shaking our heads, and saying, "This ain't the country we grew up in."
dchill
(38,320 posts)In 1969, I was 18 and therefore in the first Draft Lottery. It's the only lottery I ever won; my number was 300, which virtually guaranteed that I'd never be drafted. The relief that I felt was intense, but no more intense than the dread I felt for my friends who drew single digits.
These days I fear that the insanity of the Draft could be returning. That's a country I really don't want to live in again.
wishstar
(5,267 posts)hamsterjill
(15,214 posts)He may have referred to "legally" collected with respect to the intended target. Trump was "incidental". And if they can prove that Trump was unmasked in a way that isn't legal to do, therein lies my concern.
I want them to roast his orange ass!!!
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)is all good. There are no legal defenses to it.
ms liberty
(8,478 posts)If he, orange man, were caught on a wiretap or other recording with someone who was being legally investigated and it was due to surveillance of the other person, and he, orange man, made statements that showed knowledge of or participation in criminal acts, serious ones that included potential treason (not to mention high crimes and misdemeanors) then that would almost certainly be something that would be legal to use in prosecution of said orange man.
In other words, as long as the person he was speaking to was being legally surveilled, anything orange man says fair game. Generally. I'm sure there would be some caveats.
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)Trump is in trouble.
madokie
(51,076 posts)I want them to roast his orange ass!!!
Peace
murielm99
(30,656 posts)rulings can be used. I think Feinstein's frustration came from knowing that she could not discuss the damaging things she knew about trump. That may change now. Nunes went public with things about which he should have remained quiet. His actions may speed up any legal decisions against trump and his fellow conspirators.
hamsterjill
(15,214 posts)That dude was sweating like a pig when he was talking to the reporters, too. Could he have been threatened in some way? I mean, what he did is pretty unbelieveable.
I sincerely hope that things DO speed up. Tomorrow would not be too soon to see that orange ass impeached and in jail!
murielm99
(30,656 posts)I am doing the same thing you are doing: reading and listening to what others are saying about it. It is confusing.
Schiff his having a news conference in a few minutes. We may get some insight from him.
hamsterjill
(15,214 posts)I'm just "discussing" and I like others' viewpoints on things.
Yes, I'll be very interested in what Schiff has to say. I read his statement. Hopefully, he will have more information at the time he is on with Blitzer.
murielm99
(30,656 posts)were looking for a distraction from the disaster that the health care repeal is becoming. And of course, they may need a distraction from the Gorsuch hearings. The distraction, if that is what it is, has backfired.
hamsterjill
(15,214 posts)Normal parameters do not apply, that's for sure.
2naSalit
(86,048 posts)a culprit caught in the act. I bet he doesn't even know that what he just did could hang him. But I wonder if he was "fed" some "news" so he would go running to the boss, and maybe he was also threatened.
Either way, he's in big, deep doodoo. Maybe he was "informed" in order to push this thing a little harder for expediency since it's getting close to a "point of no return" with the damage being done to this nation. If you can get one scared rat to slit his own throat...
And I am wondering that, even as he (Comey) is not the most favorable FBI director we could want, he may be patriotic enough to go after these guys hard. And maybe letting them usurp the election had to be done to make the rest of the nation understand what happened and why whatever the result is had to come about... maybe.
lostnfound
(16,138 posts)Or he wanted to go whine to The Great Potumpkin about all the trouble Nunes was gonna be in.
kerry-is-my-prez
(8,133 posts)paid $10 million to influence people in Congress, etc. I'm betting he was one of the people who was "influenced."
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)Peachhead22
(1,077 posts)Nunes said it was incidental collections that got members of the transition. Probably not Trump himself is the way I understood it.
Guess who was a member of Trump's transition team? Nunes was! I'm guessing Nunes got wind of an intercept that included himself (possibly talking to someone he shouldn't have or saying something he shouldn't have) and it totally freaked him out.
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)There is some dispute regarding if Trump actually declassified information in some of his rants. Nunes either made a serious mistake, or he is sending Trump a clear message.
7962
(11,841 posts)littlemissmartypants
(22,418 posts)H2O Man
(73,319 posts)democrank
(11,052 posts)but I'm kind of outraged right now. This Nunes fella is a regular slimeball. I just listened to his CNN interview with Jake Tapper and all I could think of was....weasel.
Why would Nunes have briefed Paul Ryan today, but not Adam Schiff? Why would he hold a press conference before speaking with other House Intelligence Committee members?
Doesn't it seem a bit suspicious that Chairman Nunes, former member of the Trump transition team, would run over to the White House faster than you can say "aid and abet", even before contacting Adam Schiff?
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)Those are extremely important points. Nunes is a human weasel. But, neither he nor Ryan will sacrifice their "reputations" by defending Trump beyond a certain point. They are both panicked right now. Taking major steps while panicked is not a wise thing.
Jarqui
(10,110 posts)had a rush to judgement before deliberating, having all the facts and getting several inputs of advice.
To me:
1. His partisan actions brought us one step closer to an independent prosecutor
2. His evidence suggests the net of info they're tracking goes beyond Russia
3. Schiff followed up with comments to the effect that they now have evidence to establish Trump-Russia beyond circumstantial
4. His actions seem to be by a group who is on edge and covering up
Like the "Obama wiretapped me" allegations, I suspect this is going to blow up in their faces.
George II
(67,782 posts)....but he spoke about that information with both Ryan and trump BEFORE he spoke to anyone else on the Committee itself.
Schiff is livid, and is excoriating Nunes right now (5:01 PM EST)
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)stepping up to the plate these days. I like that.
hamsterjill
(15,214 posts)Good going, Schiff! He's awesome!
HoneyBadger
(2,297 posts)H2O Man
(73,319 posts)Again today, training my son for next month's Golden Gloves finals, we reviewed how wounded opponents will try to fight back. Ride with it with your hands up, and let him shoot his wad. Then destroy him.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)certainot
(9,090 posts)all week. and that's the real purpose of the whole thing, along with feeding increasing attacks on obama.
while the left /dems ignore talk radio it will make this kind of shit real to 10s of million
these assholes will get the teeabggers screaming about obama and the gop will use it to threaten an investigation on obama and they will use it as leverage to get deals and compromises.
all because dems and the left ignore talk radio.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)H2O Man
(73,319 posts)that we are right.
japple
(9,773 posts)If it's the Palmer Report isn't a reliable or acceptable source, please let me know.
According to the Los Angeles Times he has $50,000 of his own money tied up in the winery, which is remarkable considering that the same report lists his total net worth at just $51,002. In other words, the winery is all Nunes has.
https://www.palmerreport.com/news/russia-devin-nunes-donald-trump/2019/
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)with the Palmer Report, but on face value, it's interesting. Certainly, something spooked Nunes.
Kentonio
(4,377 posts)The levels of stupid are quite remarkable.
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)there will be a few "leaks" to the media in the next 72 hours!
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)1. To taint his own investigation before it could pick up momentum
2. To tell the WH just how heavy the evidence is against them so they can be prepared, and more likely to warn them that this scandal will be too big for containment
But ironically by doing this, Nunes made the ice under Trump's feet that much thinner...
Chemisse
(30,793 posts)I've been struggling to understand why this all happened today.
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)I agree fully.
ancianita
(35,812 posts)H2O Man
(73,319 posts)democrank
(11,052 posts)a few days ago that some interesting information would be coming in a week or two about his Obama/ surveillance claim? I can't remember where I heard it but I know I did.
Just like magic and pretty much right on schedule, Nunes produces such information.
kentuck
(110,950 posts)Just as when he told Russia to make Hillary's emails public.
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)janx
(24,128 posts)Thanks for the reminder.
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)His legal staff had been informed weeks ago.
zentrum
(9,865 posts)My impression was that Nunes was trying to help the cover up in any way he could and was giving a life raft to the Repugs and their media.
But your words make sense.
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)It is very possible that he was shown evidence that his name came up during the transition. (Actually, it's more than likely.)
zentrum
(9,865 posts)So they're all in on it?
Shades of Rosemary's Baby---"It's all of them! All of them!"
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)Nunes to have been an informed part. For example, if the Russuan ambassador called Boris Badenov and said, "I just spoke with Flynn about those sanctions. He assured me not to worry. He said that in time, he can count on an idiot named (masked), from the House, who is assisting on the transition, to help us on future deals," it would spook him. Nunes was freaked by "masked" names that he easily identified.
duncang
(1,907 posts)This is a quote from the Hill.
"Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) criticized Nunes for his surprise announcement earlier in the day that he had seen intelligence intercepts that showed authorities had incidentally gathered information on members of the Trump transition team during investigations that the chairman said were not related to Russia."
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/325298-schiff-i-have-grave-concerns-over-nunes-surveillance-claims
One of the things I have wondered about through out the talk of ties to russia was there other things going on with dipshit and or his group. With this group it seems no chance of furthering themselves with power or money would be left behind. If they saw a child with a quarter and no one around I think it would be in their pocket fast. Illegal finances? Influence peddling? Mob ties? Ties to other governments? (Such as Flynn and Turkey.) A lot of possibilities.
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)And you are on target with Flynn and Turkey.
I'm amused that some folks still believe Flynn was fired for lying to Pence. The only "evidence" of that came from the White House. As always, it was a lie.
NastyRiffraff
(12,448 posts)Slowly but inexorably the enormity of the Russian interference is coming out.
Good to see you, H2O Man.
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)Good to see you.
gademocrat7
(10,623 posts)Thank you, H2O Man.
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)McCamy Taylor
(19,240 posts)Foreigners do not have any right to privacy. Which means that any American communicating with a foreigner has to know that the NSA is almost certainly listening in.
The fact that Trump and Co. seemingly did not know that U.S. intelligence had a legal right--no, make that a duty under the law--to keep track of foreigners, their actions are worse than treasonous. They reveal a level of ignorance that is disturbing. No one as dumb as Trump should have his finger anywhere near the red button.
So, is Trump gonna plead ignorance with his ignorant base? Will they buy it? Probably. But they still won't buy losing their health insurance so health insurance companies can get a bailout. That violates the outlaw code.
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)Trump may try an insanity defense.
AntiFascist
(12,792 posts)is Trump's base popularity even 37%?
mchill
(1,015 posts)So was this dog and pony show by Nunes the news? If so, they are conspiring together.
Nunes has betrayed his position on the intelligence committee. He is a disgrace.
LuckyLib
(6,814 posts)rushing over to deliver this important new information. So Trump was already in on the theater.
Crazy times.
Sancho
(9,065 posts)I hope he keeps it up.
He really has.
Vilis Veritas
(2,405 posts)You have made this old dude a little happier...
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)I keep hearing Jim Morrison singing, "Strange days have found us ...."
Vilis Veritas
(2,405 posts)H2O Man
(73,319 posts)intense video!
coeur_de_lion
(3,663 posts)Is Nunes really that f-ing stupid?
How the hell did he think making his little speech was going to help Cheetoh?
I want to ring him up and ask him -- what color is the sky in your world?
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)way over his head. He lacks any background in actual intelligence issues. That shows.
It would be almost funny, if this wasn't so serious.
creoledna
(40 posts)I'd be interested in your (everyone's) opinion on
the thought that the antics we have seen with the "wires tapped" are simply attempts by Trump's lawyers to flesh out what the intelligence services (including foreign)
actually know. I think Nunes agreed to having Comey we come before the intelligence committee for just that purpose. The entire unmasking line of questioning was simply to find out how wide spread is the knowledge.
Comey threw an off speed curve ball by confirming to the public there is enough evidence to pursue and expanding the universe to include The Entire Campaign Apparatus. The investigation would necessarily include the post election time period since anyone's actions to cover up what was done would be included as all conspiracies do.
I am also of the opinion that Friday night in Florida is when he was advised by his "real" lawyers and the results are the Saturday morning "fishing" excursion.
(I know the Nunes prank yesterday was lifted straight out of a Professional Wrestling script)
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)I think that a number of people -- including Trump -- thought they had pulled it off without detection. But that confidence has been shaken, starting most obviously when Trump cut Flynn. That wasn't due to Flynn's "lying" to the white worm.
Trump's outburst wasn't simply to focus the alt-right's hatred on President Obama.
suffragette
(12,232 posts)K&R
H2O Man
(73,319 posts)Peachhead22
(1,077 posts)Another question that @EricGarland on Twitter brought up that I hadn't thought about:
Why did Nunes personally go to the WH to see Trump? If he needed to talk to Trump that bad why didn't he just pick up the phone? I'm sure there must be secure phones between the Capitol Building and the WH to discuss classified stuff in a hurry.
Is Nunes that paranoid that he or Trump is currently under surveillance? If by any chances Nunes is correct and they are being surveilled. Then they are surpremely screwed. A FISA or criminal judge wouldn't approve it, especially against them, unless they were already profoundly screwed.