US Politics Mega-thread - Page 8344

On August 10 2017 02:48 Plansix wrote:
Yeah, search warrants are going to happen in this case, it is a criminal investigation. They don’t trust suspects to turn over all the evidence.


That is how search warrants work. There is nothing really suprising about this beyond it shows they have probable cause.

Mueller’s use of a search warrant tells us that he was able to establish on the basis of evidence, and to the satisfaction of a United States Magistrate-Judge, that there was probable cause to believe that evidence of a specific crime or crimes existed in the location to be searched. That standard is significantly higher than what is required to obtain a grand jury subpoena, which can be used to obtain any evidence that a grand jury (under the direction of a prosecutor) decides will be helpful to their investigation. Mueller’s resort to a search warrant shows, therefore, that his investigation has advanced, has identified specific potential crimes, and is zeroing in on key evidence. Since it was Manafort’s house that was searched, it is likely that he is implicated in the crimes, but that is not necessarily the case.

On August 10 2017 03:09 FueledUpAndReadyToGo wrote:
What is interesting however is that on the same day as the FBI raid Trump called for firing the acting FBI director

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890207082926022656

On August 10 2017 03:09 FueledUpAndReadyToGo wrote:
What is interesting however is that on the same day as the FBI raid Trump called for firing the acting FBI director

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890207082926022656

Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican who voted in favor of the GOP plan to repeal parts of Obamacare last month, suggested Tuesday that Sen. John McCain’s deciding vote against the proposal may have been related to his brain cancer.

“I’m not going to speak for John McCain, you know, he has a brain tumor right now, that vote occurred at 1:30 in the morning, some of that might have factored in,” Johnson said on the radio program “Chicago’s Morning Answer.”

The comments immediately raised eyebrows and prompted some rebukes on Twitter Wednesday after they were first reported by CNN. Julie Tarallo, McCain's communications director, also criticized Johnson's comments.

“It is bizarre and deeply unfortunate that Senator Johnson would question the judgment of a colleague and friend," Tarallo said in a statement. "Senator McCain has been very open and clear about the reasons for his vote.”

In the interview, the radio host asked Johnson to clarify — “Really?” the host asked him, “You really think that that played a factor in his judgment call?” — and Johnson did not recant the comments.

“Again, I-I-I don't know exactly what — we really thought that — and again I don't want speak for any senator,” Johnson said. “I really thought John was going to vote yes to send that to conference at 10:30 at night.”

“By about 1, 1:30, he voted no, so you’d have talk to John for what was on his mind,” he continued.

McCain was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor last month and underwent surgery to remove it; he’s now receiving further treatment at home in Arizona.

On August 10 2017 03:20 Doodsmack wrote:
It's just not an inevitable event. It's a big deal.

On August 10 2017 03:30 KwarK wrote:
"we really though the mentally ill man would vote in our favour, but he didn't, and so he shouldn't have been able to vote at all"

Before his sudden departure as communications adviser on July 31, Anthony Scaramucci implied in an interview that Mike Pence’s new chief of staff was hired to protect the vice president from the political turmoil roiling the Trump administration, perhaps to set up a bid for the presidency in 2020.

In an interview with the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza — the very same interview in which the Mooch said White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s self-regard was comparable to a stunning feat of bodily gymnastics — Scaramucci called attention to the man Pence announced as his new chief of staff on June 29, Nick Ayers.

“Why do you think Nick’s there, bro?” Scaramucci asked Lizza, referring to Ayers.

“Are you stupid?” Scaramucci continued. “Why is Nick there? Nick’s there to protect the vice president because the vice president can’t believe what the fuck is going on.”

Lizza published the quotes on Tuesday.

Ayers, a longtime political operative but a novice in government, was mentioned in a recent New York Times profile on Republicans — Pence, principally — who have engaged in what the Times called “a shadow campaign for 2020.”

“Mr. Ayers has signaled to multiple major Republican donors that Mr. Pence wants to be ready” for a potential presidential bid, the Times reported.

Pence slammed the New York Times’ reporting.

But Scaramucci’s quote to Lizza — and Scaramucci’s post-facto claims that he incorrectly believed the interview was off-the-record — lends some credence to the claim that Ayers’ presence in the White House is motivated at least partly by Pence’s political ambitions.

Scaramucci did not respond to Lizza’s requests for comment, so the reporter reflected on the comment with an open question: “Was Scaramucci suggesting that Ayers was meant to protect Pence from the fallout if and when Trump collapses politically, resigns, decides not to run for reelection, or is impeached?”