Russia scandal goes well beyond Trump: GOP leaders definitely knew about hacking

[The_jackalope]

McClatchy also reported that the Justice Department is looking into “whether Trump’s campaign pointed Russian cyber operatives to certain voting jurisdictions in key states – areas where Trump’s digital team and Republican operatives were spotting unexpected weakness in voter support for Hillary Clinton.” That’s an issue I’ve written about previously here on Salon, based on some post-election investigative reporting by the New York Times.

This raises once again the question of just what was going on in the Republican Party during this period. After all, it wasn’t just Donald Trump who benefited from Russian hacking. The GOP-dominated House majority was a major beneficiary as well.

Remember, the congressional leadership knew in 2015 that it was happening. Reuters has reported that the so-called Gang of Eight (Republican leaders in Congress) was told that Russian hackers were attacking the Democratic Party but that the information was so top secret they could not share it. As we know, hackers attacked the Democratic National Committee and the personal email of Clinton campaign chair John Podesta. But they also hacked the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and information gleaned from that hack was put to use in some 2016 campaigns for Congress.

Also recall that one month before Donald Trump Jr. took that meeting with the Russian lawyer, House Majority Leader Kevin “loose lips” McCarthy was talking about Trump’s connections to Vladimir Putin in a room full of Republicans.

http://www.salon.com/2017/07/13/russia-scandal-goes-well-beyond-trump-gop-leaders-definitely-knew-about-it-and-went-along-did-they-benefit-too/

Everyone in the GOP organization deserves to be eviscerated. Literally.

[Zoonart]

1. I also expect that many GOP candidates...

wittingly or unwittingly accepted tainted (Russian laundered dollars) money from the GOP to boost their campaigns.

This entire election... top of the ticket to the bottom is illegitimate.

[Docreed2003]

2. I'm convinced their involvement is a major reason why

So many within the GOP are reluctant to push for an independent investigation. I think they're scared shitless of what an investigation would uncover. That's why I think the best outcome for them would be a Trump resignation, followed by a bs speech from Pence about the need to move on for the sake of national unity, and the GOP will sweep this all under the rug as if nothing happened.

[Squinch]

3. I hope it will soon become clear to them that they'd better throw Trump(R) to

the wolves because if they don't, they are all going down.

They may all go down anyway, and they should, but I'm watching for that cannibalistic self-preservation thing right about now.

[The_jackalope]

4. No, they need to keep a panic-grip on the boat anchor that is Donald Trump

And let him carry the entire party along on his plunge to Davy Jones' locker.

[Raster]

8. I think most of the more astute conspirators are well aware...

...they are trying to time their paradigm shift from worshiping the "golden calf" to throwing it to the wolves.

I saw a t-shirt once that read: "in the event of the zombie apocalypse, I am tripping your ass." It showed two stick figures running, one tripping the other to provide get-away distraction from the zombies. I think Congressional Rethuglicans --and others collaborators-- are figuring out who they are going to trip. So far the first "sacrifice" appears to be Mike Flynn. Now it looks like Fredo tRump* may be next.

[Squinch]

14. That is great. We should strategically send those T-shirts to Republicans who could

do Trump the most damage.

And McConnell and Ryan!

[global1]

5. This Is Exactly Why I Think Reince Priebus Is Now A Member Of The Trump Administration.....

as head of the RNC - they were knee deep in the collusion to get Trump elected. The Repug primaries were very contentious. Soon after Trump won the nomination - things got cozy with the RNC and Trump.

This is also why I think that the Repugs always circle the wagons and protect Trump. They know that he can take them down - if they try to take him down. This is what I believe he is holding over their heads.

They are lying for Trump to save their jobs and their Party. Cause if the real truths were revealed - the Repug Party would be dead.

[mopinko]

6. yeah, nothing like throwing a little bread on the waters.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. Ever wonder why McCONnell broke precedent and denied Merrick Garland a hearing for a year? . . nt

[dalton99a]

9. Precisely.

[Raster]

10. to the "faithful" Comrade McConnell presented it as keeping the Scalia faith....

...methinks it's to provide as much high-power legal cover if and when the borscht hits the fan.

[Quixote1818]

11. The midterms could be an absolutely disaster for the GOP as this continues to unfold. nt

[OliverQ]

13. Nah, they have the whole system rigged so it's tough for them to lose

[stopwastingmymoney]

12. The thing I keep coming back to...

Is that most of the states with fishy results were also states where we had R Senators in danger of losing their seats and those Senators also won. All of them, I think?

I don't hear much discussion of that.

[Raster]

15. after the tRump* "election," I would put NOTHING past the rethuglicans to retain power...

...NOTHING. There are not enough negative adjectives to adequately describe today's rethuglican party... they truly have sold their souls for their proverbial thirty pieces of silver. Nothing.