but i agree. he may have started out as a useful idiot (tho i doubt it) but you would have to work damn hard to stay that ignorant. esp after getting ic briefings.

He conspired, but he is still a useful idiot...for now.

What people like him fail to understand is that his usefulness will eventually run out, and when it does, he will be terminated of his functions as a useful idiot, and that termination can come in any different ways that Putin will decide when the time comes.

Another thing he fails to understand is that most of the time useful idiots fall into a comfort zone where they start making mistakes against their masters (Chavez, Noriega, etc.) and that is when they are terminated from their functions as useful idiots.

from the gop. No way could he do all this damage alone. There are other traitors in the government.

election was influenced by a hostile government is who he is and what he did.

Yes. In fact, it's not that I think he did ..... I know that he did.

Or else why did they lie so much and why did they have over 150 contacts with Russians during the election? There weren't 150 contacts with Teresa May or the Chancellor of Germany, there weren't 150 contacts with Sweden or Finland or Canada, why Russia? Why did FB retroactively pull hundreds of FB Russian pages intent on disrupting our county? Why did foreign spies comes up to us and tell us they overheard conspiracy in action? Nope, this is the imperial king & party asserting itself and sorry but if this stands we're totally fucked.

So they could not have "colluded"! (Oligarchs don't count.)

That is a footnote in Barr's summary letter - which no one in the media has chosen to discuss. Now the Washington Post and NYT are behaving as if the issue is over and done with - even though no one other than Barr and Rosenstein has yet to even read the Mueller report. The media has allowed Trump to win the PR battle. It is a sad and scary day for America.

signed and notarized by the offending parties or it didn't happen.

So don't believe your lying eyes even though it happened right in front of us for the whole world to see!

Release the full report!

Hell yes. It was done in the open, blatantly.

Did I believe tRump was willing to accept any help and assist in any way they could, when they could with any answers or directions? Yes. Barr's report reads like he was looking for an LLC that conspired together daily with meetings and progress reports. I believe it was just as we saw on TV. Russia, if your listening...

YES!!

never mind that there's evidence that we don't know about, what we already know about is enough to convict.

we know he and people answering to him have had repeated contacts with russia, we know they've talked specifically about things that would benefit russia (sanctions, magnitsky act), we know they've supplied elections data, we know they asked for dirt on hillary both privately and publically, we know he's solicited crimes from russia (publically asking them to commit espionage on hillary's servers), and we know they've repeatedly lied about it. and of course, we also know he has some business interests in russia, and strongly suspect russia has some kind of kompromat on him, too.

we also know he's done many things to interfere with the investigations.


there's really no other explanation for the facts we already know about.

...too much circumstantial evidence...

...too much 'no collusion' and 'witch hunt'...

...too many nefarious characters surrounding the cheeto…

...MAGA Man's been crooked all of his life, why would he stop now?

...corruption has given him the Presidency...

...how could you not believe...

With the oligarchs - a resounding YES. I would also argue they're the exact same thing but the Mueller report specifically said the russian government so I'm making that distinction.

We don’t know what the Mueller report said yet

I'm not sure if he was quoting the Mueller report at the time. I wont be satisfied until that report is public and until then every Dem should be shouting 'WHAT'S HE HIDING'?

.... and the Trump campaign was well aware of the help that they asked for the help
that they got from Russia. The Trump campaign had a computer server that was contacted
to a bank in the Ukraine that was linked to Putin, Cambridge Analytica, Wikileaks, and
Russian intel and cyber warfare units.

" ...but the Mueller report specifically said ... " how do you know that? The Mueller report
has not been released.

✌🏼️

Idk. He certainly encouraged help from outside the US.

However, he is also very easy to manipulate by flattery, so it is possible he was duped? Perhaps?

We are doing this because "you are the strongest best omnipotent person and only you can save the world" type talk from world governments that previously never would have given him the time of day or return a phone call from him, could get him to do practically anything for the possibility of being accepted in their league. Suddenly a publicity stunt to increase his brand image becomes a real possibility is his mind. Those around him like Bsnnon could have directed it and easily manipulated him. Hillary did call him a puppet which got him really upset.

The Hollywood and New York he as always wanted to be accepted by has always shunned and belittled him. You know his ego took a big hit when all A list performers turned down his request to perform st his inauguration. He skipped the media "roast" charity dinner because he cannot stand ridicule. His image and brand image are super important to him and he has no problems buying the appearance of friends and affection. Would he really care if he could be a secret puppet while using it to his advantage? In his world that is how things are done.

I'm thinking the core evil here is in his underlings that did anything possible to get the win - including collusion - and those guys know exactly how to use their narcissistic boss and father.

Republicans and Russian psychops are experts at manipulating emotions, brainwashing and tricking people into doing things they normally wouldn't do. Trump is their perfect puppet and he has the bully pulpit.

However, American Republicans have the flaw of not knowing when to stop or when they're going out of bounds. Their co-opting of our churches, never-ending attacks on Hillary and staying in bed with the NRA are good examples.

Remember, he encouraged it in one of his stump speeches.

Don't forget the gop is knee deep with others.

NO, he and Russia too devious and Mafioso-like to leave a trail.

Wish someone could have tapped his cell phone. He stays up late and yaks with his confidantes. Guess we can always hope one day, one of them turns.

BTW, whatever happened to us getting the translator at the Russian meeting to turn over transcripts?

Of over 190 nations, he addressed Russia. Why?

He speaks in code like a mobster would to cover his ass, legally.

Beyond the numerous crimes he committed before our eyes, he and his minions did a lot more behind the scenes. The US is ruled by an international mob.

There was certainly enough in the media for Trump to fire Comey and have Mueller appointed to look into it. You do not do that if no evidence is there.

It is a hard thing to prove beyond unreasonable doubt. In part because, at least half the perpetrators are beyond the reach of US justice - in other countries. In part because there was a concerted effort to cover it up with all the lying, etc. Even without those, it is not an easy thing to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a president was guilty - because of the reluctance of DOJ to indict and because of his ability to pardon those close to him.

If the question was a civil one - based on the preponderance of the evidence, it's a slam dunk. There's plenty of evidence of a conspiracy.

As for control of Trump, I think Putin already controls him - just like someone is controlling Lindsey Graham.

I believe he, his sons, Ivanka and Jared are all traitors.

After Barr did a shameful display of grovelling when Trump signed his first veto, he is not to be trusted.

And the laws just aren't very strict about something like this.

There were enough degrees of separation (like Stone not actually working for Trump in any formal way), the docs being stolen by an outfit (Guccifer) that purported to/appeared to be an independent actor, and then using Wikileaks (rather than ever taking physical possession of stolen goods) to distribute the stolen info ... who have a long history of doing exactly that.

And there's absolutely ZERO question that he'd lied to the public every time he claimed to not know who the hacker(s) were. His campaign admitted in their letter to the Networks yesterday that they were approached by multiple Russian actors trying to get them to 'collude', so there's zero chance he didn't damn well know it wasn't some 400-lb dude in a basement in Jersey ...

Before Trump and his cabal completely run away with the narrative of his perfect innocence and victim of a malicious witch hunt.

for president and staffed up.

Agreed to cooperate under duress after being compromised is another possibility, but if so I think we can reasonably assume he's long preferred to think of himself as partnering with his buddy Putin.

Either way, or any other way, with or without legally conspiring with Putin, Trump has been betraying America to the benefit of Russia and other hostile nations since well before he actually took office. There's no doubt about that.

Russia hacked the DNC emails...Mueller established that...

WIKILEAKS distributed and timed the release of those but there is no clear link between how WIKI received the emails from the Russians.

Remember this...the Barr memo says that the ...Special Counsel found no evidence that the Trump Campaign colluded or cooperated directly or indirectly with nobody in the government of Russia...

In the Stone trial..Mueller's folks will prove that Stone coordinated the release of emails with WIKI...not the Russian Government...

There is an indictment against WIKI that will never be acted upon until we get Assange back into U.S. Terrritory...only then will we get to the link between Russian Government and WIKI and then to Stone and then directly to Trump.

Did he launder money for the Russians before the election? Absolutely.
Did he meet in secret after the election? Treat Putin as his master? Absolutely.

Did Russia try to influence the election? Yes. With trump's brilliant (!) help - not so easy to prove.

Problem is Mueller was limited in scope. Did he trigger other investigations.... we'll have to wait and see.

But with traitors like Mueller and Barr in the mix, there's precious little hope the truth will ever be exposed.
These are not good days in America...

I hope this was a typo.

He gave Barr what he needed.
Welcome to DU, BTW.

There is a mountain of evidence that supports that conclusion. We're being gaslighted.

Everyone involved in the Mueller investigation and the Barr report is a rePuke and therefore a liar.
I honestly never expected anything BUT a whitewash. It's what rePukes do.

the national election against the voting majority of US citizens.

So, yes.

And is still doing so.

Of course. In Plain Sight.

There is evidence his campaign conspired with them by supplying voter data.
There is evidence the campaign attempted to conspire with them.
There is evidence the campaign coordinated with them through Wiki-leaks.

I've said for some time that there was a real chance that the Russians realized Trump himself was too stupid to actually involve him in their activities.

did the campaign benefit from their influence? No doubt, did the Democrat suffer from the interference, yes, did Trump have to know anything about it to be a useful buffoon? No, he was ripe for the exploiting, but the downside is that what happened is exactly what I expected meaning, it was easy to find Russian interference, but the bar for conspiring, is so much higher.

He's been playing footsie with various Russians since the late '80s in order to gain a foothold in Moscow for a vanity-branded hotel there. The one thing I know for sure is this: Putin wanted those Obama-imposed sanctions against the Russians who hacked the U.S. election process and hacked into the Democratic National computer servers lifted. Putin's useful servant got those sanctions to go away. The simple truth of the matter is that tRump and virtually all rethugs aspire to the kind of wealth and impunity that the oligarchs have in Russia (and members of corrupt royals like the Sauds). They'll do anything to get it - and indeed, they have done and will continue to do it until every natural resource is stripped, the coffers bled dry and the planet is left a desolate, worthless heap, and uninhabitable. The only mystery to me is where they think they'll find to escape in the aftermath.

But Mueller, as a prosecutor, is looking at what he can currently prove.

No doubt in my mind. You named some very strong instances.

For me, it began with the change in the GOP platform just prior to the RNC Convention. No one admitted doing it, but everyone denied having a hand in changing it. This solidified to me why Trump had very friendly views of both Russia and Putin.

Then foreign agent, Manafort arrived out of thin air, who then "chose" Pence as a possible VP. Pence's political career was in the trash heap trying to get reelected in Indiana. Remember Manafort faked plane trouble so he could introduce and convince Trump to choose Pence. Pence was in on this fakery as he and Mother were waiting for their arrival. I believe pious Pence is as dirty as they come.

The rest is history.

There were too many Russians mixed up with too many Trump advisors to be natural or normal.

There were/are too many lies and too many denials to be natural or normal.

I also believe many in the GOP, outside of Trump, (elected, or otherwise) who have colluded with Russia/Putin. We can begin with the Senate Majority Leader's unwillingness to work with President Obama to alert the American public once Intel brought Russia to their attention in 2016. He is still willing to look the other way to not only protect Trump, but his own hide.

I could go on, but I'm only upsetting myself ... literally.

Trump, his kids, cronies, the GOP, and many others are dangerous to our nation.

Our country, and the world, is full of good, highly intelligent people. I am certain these people outnumber the evil gangsters. But why does it seem they have the upper hand?

Is it because The Good believe in and follow the rules and the law, whereas evil does not?

Is it because The Good believe in and follow our Constitution, whereas evil uses our Constitution against us?

Sigh ... I'm just rambling ...

For whatever reason, probably money, he is in Putin's pocket.

The Republican Senators and Representatives--definitely for money--have ignored their oaths to support and defend the Constitution.

They are all traitors.

Are we going to get in the streets? Are we going to remove these traitors?

It remains to be seen.

I don’t know what to believe anymore! Belief is not a safe way to think. I think that there is so far much evidence of collusion but I would have to read the Mueller Report before firmly establishing an opinion. Sometimes I don’t know who to believe about this. I wish that MSNBC had focused more on what Democrats are going to do for our people once they are elected.

I want to see all the evidence! I want to know facts! I want the pee pee tapes out in the open too. I want to hold reality based opinions, but that is becoming harder.

1000 times over.

Of course tRump connected, colluded, and conspired with the Russians. In fact, he's probably still doing so.

Lock him up!

No doubt in my mind.

so did a lot of other people

and, yes, I do believe the tangerine tyrant conspired with russia. we have seen the evidence for ourselves.

fuck yeah!

But not too many to prove a direct link. All the rest was just grunt work and heavy lifting.

Most of the contacts were between the campaign and operatives that were at least degree separated from the Russian Government. Any contacts with perpetrators (WikiLeaks, etc.) were conducted with people like Roger Stone that weren't officially linked to the campaign, but were longtime associates of multiple campaign principals (Manafort, Trump, etc.)

Given Putin's experience in the KGB, this smells like "The Americans" on steroids and that's why Strzok had to be slandered to remove him before he connected the dots.

If Watergate gave us "All the President's Men", this will yield a 3 season deal on Netflix to capture"Byzantium on the Potomac". (Moscow on the Potomac).

There's plenty of public evidence and I'll try to make it brief.


From President Pinocchio asking Russia for Hillary's "missing" emails, his praise of Putin and the Helsinki meeting.


The story changed at least 3 times about the trump tower/russia meetings.


The American people have the right to know what's in Mueller's Report.

yes

Trump met and talked with Putin more than Pence. That is all the proof one needs.

However DOJ will let Trump skate through. Barr & Rosenstein will see to that. Rosenstein postponed his departure until the Report storm ends.

On to 2020 and vote early & often. Best opportunity to dump Trump.

This is like a newspaper correction. Follow along.

Monday’s Daily Bugle publishes a story Page 1 above the fold that says John Jones was seen in a sex shop buying three dildos and a whip three hours before the horrific rape in which the victim was found tied up with whip marks all over her and dildos stuck in all her orifices.

Two days later the Daily Bugle publishes on Page 11 (of a 12 page A section) a tiny “correction” that says John Jones went on vacation in Vietnam a week ago and he’s still there.

John Jones’ life is now ruined permanently.

In the instant case, the AG basically cleared Trump without reading the report. The real report might say Trump was in this shit up to his eye shadow, but no one’s gonna care.

and, OF COURSE Barr will cover it up. Of course Miss Huckster Sanders will lie for him, and Graham, and Republicans. They lied to get their SC beerster, and lied to get their tax windfall.

The dismay is the press believing this charade and NPR sadly shaking their head over Democrats huge "mistake" comparing it to Benghazi.

Of course they are now attacking Obama, and want Clinton investigated again.

That Dems didn't see this coming shows our faith in the rule of law, and are not yet prepared as hardened enemies of authoritarianism, dictators, and ruthless corruption of our democracy.

Support Dem candidates like never before, GOTV as if for your lives, your Mother Earth and all her innocent animals.

Amd should not be swept under the rug for politicsl reasons. Instead, it should be reason to keep investigation open until the facts are known. With what is known already, the investigation should not be closed.

Well said, CharleyDog!

I have never not believed it.

That, and a whole bunch of other crimes.

and given that there are still 50+ sealed indictments and 17 *ACTIVE, ONGOING* investigations of the White House, we've got miles to go before we sleep

We agree that Trump is a con man, a loud mouth, a braggart and is, at best, very ignorant of many, many facts, or, at worst, just a really unintelligent man. I've always wondered if the Russian government (or their agents/oligarchs, etc.) would be stupid enough to deal directly with him on anything. I find it more believable that his handlers, after either being paid (Manafort) or promised millions, did the dirty deeds, knowing that, with a little flattery and the hint of future deals, they could persuade Trump to reverse the Magnitisky Act and go along with Russia exerting its influence in other parts of the globe.

Did Trump KNOW about it? That's a hard one. I can't see how he didn't get some hints, but he does not strike me as a detail man. He is mentally disorganized. There are so many things he does not know (how to spell, what uranium is, that a Christmas SNL running in March must be a rerun). Does KNOWING mean he conspired? I don't know the legal definition, but I doubt it does. Did the Russians interfere. YES! Did the Russians interfere FOR Trump? Yes. The questions are a) Why? and b) Will they be stopped in 2020? I don't feel too good about either answers.

Because of what we DO know for a fact:

1. Russia operative contacted a Trump team member to say the Russians had, or were getting, some illegally obtained dirt on Hillary Clinton and/or the Democrats, and was the Trump team interested in a meeting about it?

2. Trump team member did email to Don Trump Jr. relaying that and asking if he wanted to attend a mtg w/the Russian operative. Trump Jr. responds "I LOVE IT!" and agreed to the meeting.

3. The meeting with the Russian operative was held in the summer of 2016 in Trump Tower, with at least Trump Jr., Kushner, and Manafort attending all or part of it. During hte meeting they discussed the adoption policy of Russia for Americans adopting Russian babies (that is, a U S sanctions matter, called The Magnitsky Act...which the U S instituted blocking Russia's ability to use certain global banks, in response to actions by Russia....and in retaliation, the Russians blocked the adoption of Russian babies by the U.S. The Magnitsky Act was a big pain for Putin such that he was very ticked over it, since that was a main source for Russian money globally.)

4. It is documented that Gen Flynn had promised the Russians that the administration would work on canceling The Magnitsky Act and maybe other sanctions.

5. When the summer 2016 meeting came to light, Trump Jr. was asked (forget by whom) the purpose of that mtg. It is learned that Trump was on AF 1 at the time the question was asked, and it was Trump who prepared the response to that question. The response was represented to come from Trump Jr., and said there was a short meeting about adoptions.

6. #5 shows that Trump mislead the authorities of the purpose of that meeting, as did Trump Jr. and Manafort & Kushner.

7. Trump team members had lied on their security forms multiple times in not disclosing that meeting (and other apparently more casual meetings).

8. It is later learned that there were over 100 communications between the Russians and the Trump team members before the election, none of which were disclosed by any team member of their security forms.


Because of the above, it is indisputable that Trump knew the Russians were working on helping Trump win or Clinton lose, whichever way you want to look at it. Apparently that doesn't rise to the level of conspiring with them or aiding and abetting? We haven't seen the report, so we can't say for sure at this time, but there will be no indictments for it.

But he KNEW. That's indisputable, based on known facts.

I think, if you read my post, you're not saying anything too different from what I said, other than you are more confident than I am about Trump's mental capacity to "know" something. Trump seems so stupid when he's required to speak off the cuff that I really don't know what he knows (or understands). I just know it's not much.

waiting for some facts to come out.