Mueller just told the world Trump is a criminal. Now congress must impeach him
So there we have it: Robert Mueller went out in the style to which we have become accustomed – saying very little in public and being as professional as he can.

But the fact Mueller felt he needed to do those eight minutes behind the podium at all shows how he believes the words of his report have been twisted by the administration of Donald Trump.

He said that it is the “only time” he would speak like this and that he is returning to private life – and marked his only public statement on the report. If the special counsel sought this press conference as his mic-drop moment, he had one clear message to get across.
“If we had confidence that the president had not committed a crime, we would have said so.”

Mueller clearly wants the report to speak for itself, and obviously thought it would, until attorney general William Barr put out his own summary ahead of the redacted report.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/mue...1AQ9tB9k0lHixo4

Mueller’s Message: The Obstruction That Nearly Halted Criminal Case Against Russians
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s statement on Wednesday may reset the conversation about his investigation’s findings, and how Congress and the American public move forward from here. In deciding what points in the over 400-page document to highlight in under 10 minutes, Mueller gave Congress and the American public advice: Focus on two interlocking pieces.

1. The gravity of Russia’s actions
The Russian government, including through its military, engaged in a “concerted” and “systematic” attack on our political system.

2. The gravity of the obstruction
The President of the United States engaged in obstruction that “strikes at the core of the government’s effort to find the truth and hold wrongdoers accountable.”

Those two propositions do not have to do with evidence of collusion or conspiracy in the 2016 election, which is a separate matter and damning in its own right. The two propositions involve a fundamental national security concern for all Americans.

In that respect, it is helpful to reflect back on significant data points in the timeline. According to the Mueller Report, two of the clearest and most egregious acts of obstruction occurred in mid-2017:

● June 2017: President Trump’s efforts to fire Mueller

● June 2017: President Trump’s efforts to curtail the investigation so that it would focus only on future election interference

The president’s efforts to impede the investigation struck at the core of the government’s efforts. Consider the dates of two of the most important products of the investigation:

● February 2018: The Special Counsel’s Office secured an indictment of Russian individuals and organizations involved in the Kremlin’s social media influence operation.

● July 2018: The Special Counsel’s Office secured an indictment of Russia intelligence officers for the Kremlin’s hacking operation.

Mueller ended his brief statement on Wednesday by saying, “I will close by reiterating the central allegation of our indictments—that there were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election. That allegation deserves the attention of every American.”

Exactly. And had the president’s acts of criminal obstruction succeeded, the Special Counsel would not have been able to achieve the monumental success in understanding and charging the Russians for their wrongdoing. President Trump’s continued use of his office to mislead the American public about the Russian efforts is an ongoing abuse of power and violation of his solemn duties to the American people.

Mueller has done his job. The rest is up to the American people and their political representatives.
https://www.justsecurity.org/64362/muell...em-accountable/

Mueller Reminds the Nation That Trump Betrayed the USA
Treachery is not always a crime.

... Mueller’s remarks were also a reminder of the core elements of the Trump-Russia scandal: Moscow attacked the 2016 election to help Trump, and Trump assisted Vladimir Putin’s assault by claiming at the time (and afterward) that it wasn’t real. That is, whether or not Trump had criminally colluded with Russian operatives, he did side with a foreign adversary that attacked American democracy—and that’s treachery.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/201...nald-trump-usa/

Pathetic man-child: White House had Navy cover up name on USS John McCain for Trump visit to Japan
There’s not much to say about this, beyond noting that Donald Trump is a petty, pathetic little man who is an embarrassment to this country:

The White House wanted the U.S. Navy to move “out of sight” a warship named for the late Sen. John McCain, a war hero who became a frequent target of President Trump’s ire, ahead of the president’s visit to Japan last week, according to an email reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. [...]

A tarp was hung over the ship’s name ahead of the president’s trip, according to photos reviewed by the Journal, and sailors were directed to remove any coverings from the ship that bore its name. After the tarp was taken down, a barge was moved closer to the ship, obscuring its name. Sailors on the ship, who typically wear caps bearing its name, were given the day off during Mr. Trump’s visit, people familiar with the matter said.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1861287

"Pathetic man-child" describes the malignant narcissist to a T. Die wirkliche Tragoedie liegt aber darin, dass diese Figur im Oval Office sitzt. Das wird das Land noch teuer bezahlen muessen.

On another note:
The ship was actually named after Senator McCain's father and grandfather. In a "re dedication" ceremony he was added to the list, but it was named after his father and grandfather, who were both admirals. Senator McCain's father and grandfather were also both Commanders-in-Chief, Pacific Command (CINCPAC).

Zitat von Willie im Beitrag #6754

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Pathetic man-child: White House had Navy cover up name on USS John McCain for Trump visit to Japan
There’s not much to say about this, beyond noting that Donald Trump is a petty, pathetic little man who is an embarrassment to this country:

The White House wanted the U.S. Navy to move “out of sight” a warship named for the late Sen. John McCain, a war hero who became a frequent target of President Trump’s ire, ahead of the president’s visit to Japan last week, according to an email reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. [...]

A tarp was hung over the ship’s name ahead of the president’s trip, according to photos reviewed by the Journal, and sailors were directed to remove any coverings from the ship that bore its name. After the tarp was taken down, a barge was moved closer to the ship, obscuring its name. Sailors on the ship, who typically wear caps bearing its name, were given the day off during Mr. Trump’s visit, people familiar with the matter said.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1861287

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Forever Logical 🖖@ForeverLogical
I'd like to know how we can hear over and over that Russia SUCCESSFULLY interfered in the 2016 election
and INFLUENCED the results and still call trump the legitimate President of the United States. HOW?
5:51 PM - 29 May 2019

Forever Logical 🖖@ForeverLogical
“The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion,” Mueller wrote.
This help “favored presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and disparaged presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.”

THE ELECTION WAS NOT LEGITIMATE!
5:51 PM - 29 May 2019

Federal prosecutors demand Cindy Yang records from Mar-a-Lago, Trump campaign
Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., this week sent subpoenas to Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, and Trump Victory, a political fundraising committee, demanding they turn over all records relating to Republican Party donor Li “Cindy” Yang and several of her associates and companies, the Miami Herald has learned.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politic...e230946518.html


Undisclosed cash flowed at Trump inaugural ball with ties to China, embattled Saipan casino
Thousands of dollars in donations flowed to an undisclosed source at a Trump inaugural ball with links to China and dubious donors, but no financial records.

In the decked-out ballroom of a ritzy Washington hotel the night before Donald Trump took office, thousands of dollars flowed from political donors and a questionable casino company to an undisclosed bank account.
The lavish Asian Pacific American Presidential Inaugural Gala — the first of its kind, with a buffet-style dinner, cocktail tables draped in white cloth and live entertainment — drew more than 900 people who paid at least $75 per ticket and a handful of sponsors who shelled out much more.

But there’s no trace of the money raised that night, as required by law, The Palm Beach Post has found.
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20190...d-saipan-casino

That possibility is always there:

https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t...000&oe=5D8E8C40

https://www.focus.de/politik/ausland/dar...WOT79rezjPSaoCg

Viel Spaß und viel Erfolg mit dem Impeachment... :-)
Die menschliche Dummheit muss wirklich riesig sein. Naja, passt zu den furzenden Kühen und zum rassistischen Weißkohl...

Justin Amash cuts through Trump’s baby talk with A+ Twitter eloquence
Justin Amash, Republican of Michigan, a staunch libertarian who for years has used social media to report his votes and explain his political reasoning, broke free of his party’s stifling talking points.

Amash laid down a 13-track LP — OK, a 13-tweet thread — that played like a particularly great saxophone solo. In the end, he advocated no less than the impeachment of President Trump for, as he puts it, “conduct that violates the public trust.”

The occasion for Amash’s thread (and for a couple of follow-ups on Monday and Thursday) was that he had, brace yourself, gotten all the way through the Mueller report on Russian interference into the 2016 presidential election. He had some opinions about it.

In contrast to Trump’s auteur approach to Twitter — no one tells me what impromptu war to start with my 280 characters — Amash emphasized off the bat that he had solicited ideas for the thread.
“I offer these conclusions only after having read Mueller’s redacted report carefully and completely, having read or watched pertinent statements and testimony, and having discussed this matter with my staff, who thoroughly reviewed materials and provided me with further analysis.”

Amash was not content to employ the president’s baby-talk distortion of the report, the laughable claim that the report cleared Trump of collusion and obstruction of justice. Instead, he had his own “principal conclusions,” as he tweeted, borrowing Atty. Gen. William Barr’s language, if not his truckling or his deceit.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la...0525-story.html

Aaron Rupar@atrupar
Trump calls members of Robert Mueller's team "some of the worst human beings on Earth." 😳
05:44 - 30. Mai 2019

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump
Robert Mueller came to the Oval Office (along with other potential candidates) seeking to be named the Director of the FBI.
He had already been in that position for 12 years, I told him NO.
The next day he was named Special Counsel - A total Conflict of Interest. NICE!
08:34 - 30. Mai 2019

Matthew Miller@matthewamiller
This is of course a lie.
But you don’t have to take my word for it, you can read Steve Bannon saying so on p. 81 of Volume II of the Mueller report.
08:41 - 30. Mai 2019

Andrew Feinberg@AndrewFeinberg
Mueller report, p 293:

“Bannon recalled that the White House had invited Mueller to speak to the President to offer a perspective on the institution of the FBI...although the [WH] thought about beseeching Mueller to become Director again, he did not come in looking for the job.”

08:38 - 30. Mai 2019

Trump said 'the Jews always flip' after Cohen agreed to cooperate with Mueller, book claims
President’s alleged antisemitism comes amid efforts to cast Democrats as anti-Jewish

Donald Trump complained “the Jews always flip” after a number of former Jewish associates agreed to cooperate with the Mueller probe, according to an explosive new book by journalist Michael Wolff.

The claim, in which Mr Trump accused Jewish people of lacking loyalty – an antisemitic trope, comes amid an effort by the president and his Republican allies to cast figures within the Democratic Party as being anti-Jewish and hostile to Israel.

According to The Guardian, which obtained a copy of Mr Wolff’s Siege: Trump Under Fire, Mr Trump made the remark after three former associates struck agreements to cooperate with Robert Mueller, who was investigating Russian links to the Trump presidential campaign.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world...obox=1559129676

The Corruption of the Republican Party
The GOP is best understood as an insurgency that carried the seeds of its own corruption from the start.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...sVFoQSIQNgHEClU

Five lies from Fox News figures about Robert Mueller’s press conference
https://www.mediamatters.org/research/20...MO7GJrv8DqVNKCY

They fit to each other perfectly.

Die Grundlage für das Impeachment ist, dass Mueller erklärt hat, er habe zwar keine Beweise für eine collusion Trumps mit Russland gefunden, habe aber auch kein entlastendes Material gefunden.
Toll, nach zwei Jahren Untersuchung liegt zwar kein belastendes, aber eben auch kein entlastendes Material vor. Und ich Dummkopf dachte immer, jemand würde auf der Grundlage von Beweisen seiner Schuld angeklagt und schuldig gesprochen und nicht auf der Grundlage, dass keine Beweise für seine Unschuld gefunden werden.

Noch absurder wird das Ganze, dass Republikaner im Senat auch für eine Amtsenthebung Trumps stimmen müssen. Ich möchte gerne wissen, welcher rep. Senator für eine Amtsenthebung stimmt und sich anschließend seinen Wählern zur Wiederwahl präsentiert. Das würde sicher spaßig für ihn werden...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ni8a2HZwhw

lol. So, die Geschichte vom obdachlosen, von seiner Familie ausgestoßenen Lebenspartner von Buttigieg ist also auch falsch. (So falsch wie die angebliche Diskriminierung Buttigiegs durch Mike Pence.) Es geht bei den Dems wohl nicht mehr darum, wer die am besten qualifizierte Persönlichkeit ist, das Land zu regieren, sondern nur noch darum, wer noch mehr Opfer ist...

Mitch McConnell is inviting Putin to hack our next election
Now that Individual 1 has confessed on Twitter that Russia helped get him elected by typing out the words “I had nothing to do with Russia helping me to get elected,” maybe it’s time to get serious about making sure Russia doesn’t do it again in 2020.

In fact, Robert Mueller made it clear that Russia’s interference in 2016 is absolutely indisputable and its attacks on the U.S. “I will close by reiterating the central allegation of our indictments—that there were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election,” he said Wednesday. “That allegation deserves the attention of every American.”

It deserves a response from Congress—elections officials at every level and the nation’s intelligence community are demanding it. Even Senate Republicans are demanding it. Sen. Lindsey Graham, Trump’s bff in the Senate, has used his Judiciary Committee to unanimously approve two elections security bills to the floor. But one key figure is standing in the way.
Mitch McConnell.

By the admission of his own Rules Committee Chairman, Sen. Roy Blunt, McConnell will not allow those bills—or any other—to come to the floor. The Missouri Republican said that McConnell had stopped his committee from advancing one bill, the Secure Elections Act, on the very day last August that it was supposed to be marked up and sent to the floor. These are all bipartisan bills—the ones from Judiciary passed out unanimously, but Blunt says “I think the majority leader just is of the view that this debate reaches no conclusion.”

It’s not a debate. Russia meddled in the election. We know it hacked into voter databases in Florida counties. There’s no debate. Our election systems are vulnerable to hostile foreign interference and McConnell is actively inviting that.

Let that sink in. The Majority Leader of the United States Senate is telling a foreign adversary that it’s fine with him if it wants to hack our elections, if it wants to install its assets at the highest levels of our government. What’s more, he’s being rewarded for itwith a $200 million investment in his home state from one of Putin’s best buddies.
https://www.alternet.org/2019/05/mitch-m...-next-election/

U.S. Economy slips from first to third Place in global Competitiveness Ranking amid Trump's Tariffs.
The United States lost its spot as the world's most competitive economy amid an ongoing trade war with China, according to an annual ranking from the IMD World Competitiveness Center.

Both Singapore and Hong Kong had more competitive economies than the U.S., per the report, which evaluates 63 countries on 235 measures. High fuel prices and fluctuations in the dollar's value diminished the confidence-boosting impact of Trump's tax policies, said the center.
"We need to distinguish between competition and competitiveness," Arturo Bris, the director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center, said while speaking Wednesday on CNBC's Squawk Box Asia.

He voiced agreement with President Trump's claims that China is hurting the ability of U.S. companies to compete globally.
“But China is not hurting American competitiveness, which refers to prosperity, the ability to generate growth in the economy, to create business, jobs, and for people to make a better living," he said. Bris also described Trump's ongoing trade war with China as "a tantrum in the sense that it is hurting companies in the United States more than in any other country."
https://www.newsweek.com/us-economy-slip...ranking-1439659

Trump's latest Mexico tariff gambit is reckless and mindbogglingly stupid
First, in the most direct way, raising tariffs on Mexico will mean a tax increase of up to 25% on American families and businesses purchasing any products from Mexico, one of the U.S.' leading trade partners. In 2018, Americans imported $346.5 billion in goods from Mexico, so on that basis it would amount to a nearly $87 billion tax increase. It also will punish industries that will be affected by inevitable retaliatory tariffs.

Secondly, this threat comes as the Trump administration was jump-starting the approval process for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that Trump previously touted as a major trade victory, but that has yet to be officially ratified. This will surely disrupt that process.

Thirdly, the whole justification for the previous administration's tariffs has been that they were all part of a broader strategy to negotiate better trade deals. Yet in this case, Trump is trying to lump trade in with cracking down on illegal immigration, which is a separate issue even if it could be argued there is a relationship between the two.

Fourthly, it's difficult to see how this would facilitate containing illegal Mexican immigration. The surest way that Mexico has to reducing the desire of Mexicans to leave for America is to improve the Mexican economy, which would be immensely more difficult in the midst of a trade war with the U.S.

Fifthly, it's unclear what the metric will be for determining whether "the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied." Does that mean no illegal immigration from Mexico? A reduction by a certain percentage? I suppose we'll have to leave that to the White House staffers tasked with translating Trump's insane tweets into official policy language.

In a White House statement expanding on the tweet, Trump said, "If the illegal migration crisis is alleviated through effective actions taken by Mexico, to be determined in our sole discretion and judgment, the Tariffs will be removed."

But that does not clarify exactly how it would be "alleviated."

The statement says, "If the crisis persists, however, the Tariffs will be raised to 10 percent on July 1, 2019." The timeline is ridiculous. What sort of serious alleviation of the flow of illegal immigration could be achieved within three weeks, even if Mexico were eager to act? It gets even more insane after that, escalating to "15 percent on August 1, 2019, to 20 percent on September 1, 2019, and to 25 percent on October 1, 2019. Tariffs will permanently remain at the 25 percent level unless and until Mexico substantially stops the illegal inflow of aliens coming through its territory."

Congress should immediately intercede to block this reckless policy by reclaiming its traditional power over tariffs. House Democrats should pass something and force Senate Republicans to either rebuke Trump's policy, or answer for their cowardice.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opini...gglingly-stupid

Und das von einer Trumski/GOP suck up to Publikation. Erstaunlich.

Russian trolls fueled anti-vaccination debate in U.S. by spreading misinformation on Twitter, study finds
Russian Twitter trolls have attempted to fuel the anti-vaccination debate in the U.S., posting about the issue far more than the average Twitter user last year, a study out of George Washington University has found. The "sophisticated" bots shared opinions from both sides of the anti-vaxxer debate, which took the U.S. by storm and prompted tech companies to crack down on the spread of misinformation surrounding vaccinations.

In the study, professor David Broniatowski and his colleagues say the Russian trolls' efforts mimic those used in the past. Such trolls ramp up controversial issues in the U.S. by inflating different viewpoints, the study says.

The U.S. is in the midst of the worst measles outbreak in the country in 25 years. Health officials say misinformation and anti-vax messages have led more people to avoid vaccination, allowing the disease to spread....

According to Axios, however, misinformation about vaccines is not the only threat, as Russia is focusing on spreading misinformation around health care issues ahead of the 2020 election.

Not only did Russia fuel the anti-vaccination debate, they have also spewed unverified information about 5G wireless technology. RT, a U.S.-based Russia-backed TV network, reported that new 5G technology was linked to cancer, autism, Alzheimer's and other health issues, The New York Times reports. This had a real-world effect, with smaller blogs and websites picking up RT's false stories and sharing them as fact, the Times said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anti-vax-mo...-twitter-study/

Und Putin lacht.

Fox News Host Laura Ingraham Defends White Supremacist and Anti-Semite
Laura Ingraham defended a famed white supremacist known for brazen racism and anti-Semitism as a “prominent voice censored by social media”
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/laura-ingrah...rominent-voice/

Nazis.

Jake Tapper Calls Out Fox News After Laura Ingraham Promotes White Supremacist: ‘Defending’ a Racist
CNN host Jake Tapper called out Fox News after the network’s host Laura Ingraham promoted an avowed white supremacist who was banned from social media platforms for posting violent, racist content.

“Just a reminder that Paul Nehlen is a racist and if you’re defending him that’s what you’re defending,” he tweeted along with a screenshot of a Nehlen post that included a racist depiction of Meghan Markle, who is of mixed heritage.
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/jake-tapper-...nding-a-racist/

And Jake said it rightly so.

‘A gross misuse of historical facts’: Scholars tear apart conservative Justice Thomas’s latest anti-abortion screed
In that latest sign that at least that the Supreme Court conservative is eager to start tearing down abortion rights, Justice Clarence Thomas issued a decision this week trying to link the pro-choice movement to eugenics.

He drafted a concurrence in the case of Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, where the Supreme Court upheld Indiana’s fetal remains disposal law and declined to review the state’s law banning abortions on the basis of race, sex, or disability, which the Seventh Circuit had struck down. In the opinion, he argued that there was a strong historical connection between abortion and the eugenics movement. To support this claim, he cited Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger and her defense of eugenic aims.

But scholars are rounding rejecting Thomas’s historical claims and legal arguments.

The Washington Post reported that it spoke to seven scholars of the eugenics movement, and none of them believed Thomas got his facts right. That included two scholars who Thomas even cited in the opinion.
https://www.alternet.org/2019/05/a-gross...bortion-screed/

Ein luegender Verbrecher, oder nur ein Luegner -oder einfach nur dumm?

Carmakers See $18 Billion Wiped Out by Trump’s Mexico Threat
The automotive industry is bearing the brunt of trade-war crossfire again as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to slap tariffs of as much as 25% on goods from Mexico, a key production hub for carmakers from Mazda Motor Corp. to General Motors Co.

Mexico is the largest source of U.S. vehicle and auto-parts imports, meaning tariffs would increase costs for virtually every major manufacturer. In late night tweets Thursday, Trump warned tariffs would start at 5% on June 10 and increase to 25% on Oct. 1 unless Mexico stops immigrants from entering the U.S. illegally.

A dozen of the world’s largest automakers -- including Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen AG -- lost about $18 billion in market value by the start of regular U.S. trading Friday. The Bloomberg World Auto Manufacturers Index slumped as much as 2.2% to the lowest intraday since July 2016.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...co-tariff-tweet

Ein Resultat von fortschreitendem Wahnsinn.

GOP lawmakers, business groups slam Trump's Mexico tariff threat
The president's tariff threat was "hurried out the door" by White House aides to appease him, an administration official said, with no guidance on how to explain the move to the business community.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congres...threat-n1012441

Der Preis der ueblen Tat. You dumb fuckers carry and protect him. It is your fault and responsibility. I hope that time will make you pay for this.

Stop Trump on Trade
Congress should rein in the president’s trade-policy powers before it’s too late.
By Michael R. Bloomberg
May 31, 2019, 7:50 AM CDT

President Donald Trump’s approach to trade policy had set new benchmarks of incoherence and irresponsibility even before his threat to impose escalating tariffs on imports from Mexico — but this latest maneuver takes the cake. The administration plans to harm businesses north and south of the border, and to impose additional new taxes on U.S. consumers, not to remedy a real or imagined trade grievance but to force Mexico to curb migration to the U.S.
This is a radical and disturbing development. ....

... The prospects for global trade and output were already uncertain. Now, Trump is risking not just a slow and steady reduction in investment thanks to heightened anxiety over trade, but a sudden collapse in confidence that could roil financial markets and bring on an outright recession. It’s increasingly urgent that Congress curb this president’s ability to conduct a potentially ruinous trade policy.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articl...de-is-dangerous

Michael Bloomberg knows exactly what he is talking about. And when he is alarmed then it is time to be also alarmed.

Trump Still Hasn’t Condemned Russia for Meddling in the 2016 Election
The president has denied wrongdoing, played the victim, and refrained from criticizing Russia’s role in the election.

President Donald Trump had plenty to say on Twitter in the run-up to Attorney General William Barr’s news conference, and then after the publication of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Thursday. He reiterated what he’s said from the start: “No Collusion - No Obstruction!” One thing he didn’t do? Acknowledge what his intelligence agencies, as well as their counterparts in Britain and Germany, congressional investigations, and even Barr himself, have said—that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
https://www.theatlantic.com/internationa...iPyohsXVbGe7VcQ