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DonViejo

(60,536 posts)
Fri May 26, 2017, 10:55 AM May 2017

David Frum: Trump Team's Russian Contacts 'Not a Crime' But a 'Loyalty Issue'

by Colin Kalmbacher | 11:22 pm, May 25th, 2017

On MSNBC‘s Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, guest host Joy-Ann Reid held a panel discussion on the late-breaking news that senior White House advisor and nepotist extraordinaire Jared Kushner is now a person of interest in the FBI’s ongoing investigation into Russian shenanigans during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Asked how it was possible that Kushner could be part of the White House’s so-called “war room” effort to push back against the fallout from the Russia probe, Frum, the former George W. Bush speechwriter and architect of the Iraq War, said:

<“The constant iteration of crime sets people up to look for what may be the very wrong thing. The things that may have happened here may be extremely serious and not criminal. It’s not a crime to be financially beholden to the Russians. It’s not a crime to tell them things. It’s not a crime to coordinate with them in your election effort if you aren’t involved in the hack. Those things aren’t crimes. They are loyalty issues. They’re reliability issues. They’re security issues.”>

For more, see the clip, via MSNBC:

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/david-frum-trump-teams-russian-contacts-not-a-crime-but-a-loyalty-issue/

15 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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David Frum: Trump Team's Russian Contacts 'Not a Crime' But a 'Loyalty Issue' (Original Post) DonViejo May 2017 OP
The follow-up, from a former Watergate prosecutor... regnaD kciN May 2017 #1
WRONG... He said that even if it wasn't a crime, it is an ethical issue. hlthe2b May 2017 #2
We're in pretty sad shape if conspiring with a foreign country BeyondGeography May 2017 #3
I heard this too...and was more confused than ever. bresue May 2017 #4
If they are "security issues"... kentuck May 2017 #5
"a grand jury would 'indict a ham sandwich,' if that's what you wanted." NoWheyJose May 2017 #7
But it is a step toward a jury trial. kentuck May 2017 #9
I imagine it would depend on the jury, NoWheyJose May 2017 #11
"It's not a crime to tell them things" NastyRiffraff May 2017 #6
Maybe he told them about . . . NoWheyJose May 2017 #10
bullshit. they're crimes. spanone May 2017 #8
Well, it appears President Trump is lawyering up. NoWheyJose May 2017 #12
Even if there were no crimes committed . . . NoWheyJose May 2017 #14
Keep downgrading it until it's normal dalton99a May 2017 #13
"Keep downgrading it until it's normal." LenaBaby61 May 2017 #15

regnaD kciN

(26,044 posts)
1. The follow-up, from a former Watergate prosecutor...
Fri May 26, 2017, 10:58 AM
May 2017

...was that, even if the initial offenses were disloyal but not criminal, the actions already taken to cover them up were both disloyal AND clearly criminal.

BeyondGeography

(39,374 posts)
3. We're in pretty sad shape if conspiring with a foreign country
Fri May 26, 2017, 11:00 AM
May 2017

to influence the outcome of an election isn't a crime.

bresue

(1,007 posts)
4. I heard this too...and was more confused than ever.
Fri May 26, 2017, 11:01 AM
May 2017

Also, doesn't the DOJ have to state what they are investigating eventually in a timely manner? Why all the secrecy? And how long will the American people have to wait in suspense for anything to be resolved?

kentuck

(111,101 posts)
5. If they are "security issues"...
Fri May 26, 2017, 11:08 AM
May 2017

and those are breached, it is a crime. It is not a question of loyalty but of a conspiracy to cover up.

It is treasonous. A grand jury may see it differently than these various Republican interpretations?

NastyRiffraff

(12,448 posts)
6. "It's not a crime to tell them things"
Fri May 26, 2017, 11:10 AM
May 2017

WHAT things, David? What they had for breakfast? The latest joke making the rounds in the West Wing? Classified information?

 

NoWheyJose

(39 posts)
14. Even if there were no crimes committed . . .
Fri May 26, 2017, 11:46 AM
May 2017

. . . Mueller could set some perjury traps and get some lower level Trump administration indictments for procedural crimes. Think Martha Stewart and Scooter Libby.

LenaBaby61

(6,974 posts)
15. "Keep downgrading it until it's normal."
Fri May 26, 2017, 12:14 PM
May 2017

There won't be any crime committed if what he's done continues to be down-graded IE: colluding with the ruskies.

Also, it's infuriating as HELL to see how LOW the bar has been set for this fool. For example, hearing most reporters cackle on about how "successful" his trip was abroad.

That putin-loving, treasonous, pathological clown installed into the White House with the help of GOP voter-suppression, ruskie interference and racism IE: dummies who hated the fact that we had Pres. Obama in the White House 8 mostly successful years even though blocked at every turn IS a disastrous MESS everytime he opens that fat, nasty, dumb-ass mouth of his, but when he strings a few sentences together and doesn't throw up on his shoes he's seen as being "successful."

Yeah, there is NO bar for this one to many in the media/press

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