Day 1, Give the Storm a Chance to Grow..

[Stuart G]

Yes, this will take time. It always does. How it will end? Very Bad for Trump. How Bad? It will take time, and then we will all find out. One thing, we need more

[Thomas Hurt]

1. We haven't even gotten to the possible crimes outside the scope of the Russia probe.

[Stuart G]

2. Yes, you are correct. More to come. When? Where? What?..Ain't up to me.

I do believe it will get uglier. Why? It always does. (just an opinion) If there is more, it will come out. Why? It always does.

[delisen]

3. Can't let it go;the Roger Stones go back to Nixon

Some of these bad actors cut their political teeth decade ago.

We have let some serious democracy-haters remain in power for too long.

[Stuart G]

5. Yes, but these "bad actors"..are going to see their show end.

Yes, their show will end, but it will take time. As one bad actor eats another, and the show gets worse. Why? Cause bad actors eat each other thinking they can save themselves. One eats another, and another and another.....Perhaps this will not happen??
...Are these people selfish assholes?..That is what selfish assholes do. If they are, then they will eat each other and it won't be pretty. quite a show.....more....... ...two boxes..... please..

[ChazInAz]

32. I think of Berthold Brecht's song.

In Caucasian Chalk Circle, describing a royal coup in Azerbaijan.
"When sharks the sharks devour,
Little fishes have their hour."

[True Blue American]

4. Mueller gave plenty

And Indictments are still coming. Not to mention New York cases.

Even Christie said they were more dangerous to Trump than Mueller.

The House is just getting started.

[Stuart G]

6. You are correct,we are only at chapter 2.How many chapters??Many! Many More!

[True Blue American]

7. The exposure of the corruption of Republicans is fine with me. We have

Smart Leaders in the House.

[Stuart G]

8. Yes, the problem is simple. There is a lot of corruption..Why do I say that?

...simple: Republicans cheat. What the fuck is this about? If Trump did not lie and cheat, we would not be here. But that is who Trump is, was, and always will be.
...Now if Trump did not use the Russians to help get elected, then he would be innocent. Nothing to worry about, but that is not what it is.
... Trump uses all the cheating, dishonest tricks to win. He has always done that. One bankruptcy after another. One thing is different here: He cannot declare "bankruptcy with Mueller." or the district attorney in New York.............. and another one ...

[True Blue American]

14. I am counting

On the cases Mueller handed off. The press is going after Barr full tilt.

As one smart official said,” This is just the end of the beginning.!”

Trump walked right past Reporters today. After seeing how they agitated Barr I guess he figured he better keep his mouth shut.

[Hortensis]

9. Agree. This. We have a democracy "if we can keep it," and

removing the president elected by nearly a half of those who voted needs agreement of perhaps a third in order to protect our democracy.

I'm not exactly willing to dangerously destabilize our democracy to have a President Pence. Horribly poor return on investment, to put it mildly.

[anarch]

24. I see your point, but simply allowing this blatant lawlessness without any real attempt

to enforce the law seems like just another quick route toward losing our republic.

I don't think there's much risk of a President Pence, in any case, unless fuckface kicks the bucket. Impeachment would be for its own sake, and the sake of upholding some semblance of the rule of law, and further drawing a bright line for everyone to see where the Republicans stand as far as that's concerned. The Republican Senate will not vote to remove the asshole from office; it doesn't matter if someone finds a signed contract between him and Vlad or something, they still wouldn't. But then again just letting it slide doesn't exactly accomplish much either, aside from further reinforcing the idea that the rule of law is for suckers.

[c-rational]

38. +1

[Hotler]

10. Along with more popcorn we need shots and beers............nt

[Stuart G]

11. Ok here you go....

have a and a flag how about a glass party drums

[True Blue American]

15. Thanks for the coffee and donuts.:)

[LakeArenal]

12. A shot every time we hear "No Collusion"?

😳 🥴

[niyad]

65. our livers would give out by nightfall!

[MBS]

13. Good and sanity-saving advice.

Thanks, Stuart G.

[kimbutgar]

16. I remember in 1974 Nixon looked untouchable and things went quickly down from there

Fat Donnie has made a lot of enemies in the media and he is messing up trade in this country with his tariffs and the tax cuts are not going to save him
.

[Wednesdays]

21. Also, the economy is showing signs it will go south

over the next year. That alone could doom him.

[Ligyron]

43. I remember that as well.

Damn old age.

[kimbutgar]

51. I was a senior in high school and the teacher talked about it everyday In social studies

She used to keep us up on the daily newspaper and Newsweek magazine articles. It looked like Nixon was untouchable then after I graduated things started really going south for him. My Dad Hated Nixon and we were forced to watch the evening news every night after dinner.

[leftieNanner]

40. Did he head south already this week?

In more ways than one, certainly. But it's just Thursday. Did he ask his boss for Friday off or something?

[Stuart G]

44. Yes, he headed South to FL. But he didn't say nothing.. He waved at reporters..At least,

that is the picture that I saw. Trump was walking with Mrs. Trump across a pathway. That is what I saw.

[Honeycombe8]

18. Like what? What do you think is going to happen? Don't leave us in suspense.

As I see it, the Muller investigation was IT. So, no accountability for wrongdoings from that source.

Secondarily, there is impeachment. Democratic political leaders have not expressed a taste for impeachment. And we don't own the Senate, so we can't remove Trump from office. So there just an impeachment in the House, for history's sake. But it's an election year, so that might impact the Dem. Party's chances.

So what else is there?

[maxsolomon]

20. It might impact Asshole's re-election chances more

Just because Clinton got stronger after Impeachment and Acquittal doesn't mean Asshole will. Its not necessarily precedent. Clinton wasn't going to run again, and his Impeachment was over a perjury trap.

Americans are stupid, but they weren't stupid enough to buy that bullshit.

On the payoffs to women alone he's Impeachable. Put that black mark on his Presidency, if only for History's sake, to show we didn't lie down and take it.

[RobertDevereaux]

22. We're on the same wavelength.

[Honeycombe8]

23. The Dem leaders have not expressed a taste for impeachment.

We are now in the Presidential election cycle. I think impeachment proceedings may be seen to be hurtful to the Democrats' chances. But in any case, no leader has expressed a desire to impeach.

We can't remove him from office, because we don't have the Senate. So it would just be an impeachment for historical purposes.

I'm not sure I see the point of pursuing anything, if they're not going to impeach him in the House, or go for removal from office. What's the point? It costs a ton of money and uses a lot of resources, and our Dem. politicians will be spending a great deal of time on that instead of health care and such.

But apparently they are going to pursue investigations. We'll see what happens. I fear they'll be used just for political purposes without any accountability for any wrongdoing that's found.

[maxsolomon]

25. There's plenty of time before the "Election Year".

2020 is 7 1/2 months away.

Dem Leaders are expressing sober thoughts now, but they are going to allow Committee Chairs to proceed. Investigations will reveal that Asshole is richly deserving of Impeachment.

The black mark of acquittal will adhere to a GOP Senate as well.

[Stuart G]

33. Yes, that is the key...2020 is 7 1/2 months away...Anything can happen. I don't know nothing..

but anything is anything...???...no I don't no nothing...(except Trump is a crook)

[cannabis_flower]

34. 14 cases

beyond the scope of the Mueller Investigation were handed off to other procescutors.

[Honeycombe8]

37. Not for Trump or the kids. That's what I was talking about.

They got away with it all.

Oh, well. Like Scarlett O'Hara said, "I'll think about it tomorrow."

[leftieNanner]

42. Maybe. Maybe not.

I don't think Junior and Javanka are necessarily completely out of the woods yet. There are some snazzy prosecutions happening in other jurisdictions that just might tap them too.

We can only hope. Although, I would be happy if they lost all of their money and had to get minimum wage jobs and live in Jared's stinky apartments.

[Honeycombe8]

45. Not meaning to put too fine a point on it...I was speaking of conspiracy & obstruction ...

by Trump and family.

They got away with everything. No accountability.

The only avenue, that I know of, is impeachment on the historical record, which doesn't actually do anything, except put it on the record. By Democrats only. Don't know if the leaders will decide to do that, or what effect that would have on the election, or whether the public has any taste for more drama.

[leftieNanner]

46. I understand

The fact that Mueller determined that Junior was too stupid to know he was committing crimes says a lot!

[Honeycombe8]

48. Yep. Sadly. (And while I think Jr is stoooopid, he KNEW it was a crime.....)

since he lied about it.

Besides...is it a defense to a crime that you didn't know it was a crime? NO. Try using that the next time a traffic cop stops you for speeding. It doesn't matter that you didn't know the correct speed limit.

That would be a neat trick. Every time we're caught committing a crime and then lying about it, we just say, "I didn't know it was a crime." Case resolved. No charges.

[cannabis_flower]

63. Actually

12 of them were completely redacted, so we don't know who they were.

[Honeycombe8]

71. Mueller made it clear...end of conspiracy investigation for Trump ....

I think that includes family. Finito.

He states in the report...Trump Jr. is too stupid to conspire.

That conspiracy thing among the Trump family is over, from what I can tell. I suppose Congress can open that, but I'm not sure. Congress CAN open and investigate the obstruction case, since Mueller left that open for a checks and balances thing.

This is my understanding.

We go forward from here, if the politicians in the House want to, to investigate and impeach for obstruction, and to investigate Trump for other wrongdoings, such as tax evasion. But conspiracy is finito, is my understanding. He's not cleared of it; Mueller said the evidence doesn't rise to the "beyond a reasonable doubt" level, for indictments.

[cannabis_flower]

74. We don't know

These cases were referred to other jurisdictions and we don't know who was involved.

[Honeycombe8]

76. We know from the Mueller report that the Trump family...

won't be indicted for conspiracy with the Russians. That's over.

It's possible the kids will be indicted for other crimes, like lying on their security forms and such. But the conspiracy? It's over. Unless Congress wants to take it up.

[cannabis_flower]

73. We don't know

If these redacted items are about Trump or his kids or not. They've been referred to other jurisdictions.

[Honeycombe8]

75. No...not for conspiracy w/the Russians.

That issue is over. He even implied that Jr. is too stupid to conspire.

The Trump kids aren't involved w/the issue of obstruction.

[Ligyron]

47. "But it's an election year, so that might impact the Dem. Party's chances."

Do you mean impact them negatively?

Because those other assholes will never vote for a Dem anyway.

Under any circumstances. Ever.

[Honeycombe8]

49. Not Trumpers.

But all those people in the middle that will vote for either party, depending. And even some Democrats.

And it doesn't mean they'll vote for Trump. Maybe they'll just stay home.

Maybe it will. Maybe it won't. But it will be considered by the Democratic leaders, I'm sure. You know the saying, "It's the economy, stupid." People usually vote for their pocketbook. That would include health care. Things that affect their daily lives.

This would be an impeachment by Democrats only. So it will be viewed by some as a partisan thing.

I don't know. But it's something to consider.

[Ligyron]

57. Yes, that's the political consideration.

But are we a nation of laws or not? If Trump is allowed to get away with this then he is untouchable and our problems, political or otherwise, have only just really begun.

It's up to the House to do something about it and that means it's up to Democrats. Mueller has basically laid out a map for impeachment along with the evidence, hidden though much of it currently is.

I don't say we have to start impeachment tomorrow but that avenue may be the only way to obtain that evidence.

[Honeycombe8]

58. That's true. That's how I DID feel, and sort of still do, tho not as sure.

Then there's the flip side to political considerations: what if the Democrats DON'T impeach, and true blue Democrats are so disgusted that they don't vote or vote third party? And impeaching COULD have a good political impact, all the way around.

But yes...it's true that it's their job to pursue this, if a crime was committed. OTOH, does it do more harm, ultimately, if it causes us to lose the election? Imagine four more years of Trump and a Republican Senate. National Parks being ruined, our environment seriously damaged, global warming, working and middle class losing even more ground monetarily.

It's a big decision. I imagine there will a difference of opinion among the Democrats in the House. There are going to be a few heated meetings, I would guess, and looking at different scenarios, before they decide what to do.

They can count on my vote. But they need more than the ones who are going to vote Democratic reliably.

I care very much about the environment and global warming. Impeaching Trump on paper vs that.....it's a hard decision.

[GulfCoast66]

60. Impeachment is political. No 2 ways about it.

My fear is we take our eye off the ball. We won the house in a midterm based on issues. Healthcare mainly.

If we impeach, then that becomes the election issue. Because it won’t be wrapped up until late this year at best. And there will never be a conviction.

I say keep our eye on the policy ball. Investigate, of course.

But I want the majority of the news to be about the audacious bills the Democratic House is passing to watch them die in the Republican Senate or be vetoed by the president.

The 2016 election was about Trump and I don’t want to do that again.

[rkleinberger]

72. Impeachment

I believe that the House Democrats should hang impeachment over Trump and the corrupt Republicans through the 2020 Presidential elections and not let it leave the country's consciousness. In the meantime, Democrats (House and Senate) need to take control of the narrative and show the American people how corrupt the administration and Republicans are through hearings, etc. AND stay in the media. The right wing is already spinning this and they are much better at this then Democrats who are awful on offense with all the platitudes all the time. Go after the Republicans, Fox, and the administration nonstop. I already see Republicans winning in terms of the impeachment in the media. You cannot take a feather to a gun fight. This is how Democrats and Progressives fail.

[maxsolomon]

19. "Death needs time for what it kills to grow in"

-William Burroughs

[gldstwmn]

26. The only thing I can think of at this point is

that Congress is going to continue to build their case and then about 6 months before the election drop in on him like a brick.

[Blue_true]

27. I am of a similar mindset. This is not blowing over.

There are other things that can blow up for Trump. The case involving Dersowitz fucking underaged females, one of whom did massages at Mar A Lago underaged. Trump always seem to be around sexual perversion and two of his big supporters are neck deep in sexual slavery trouble.

At the minimum we need to use Trump's perversions to shut the religious right the fuck up, they adore an adulterer, liar and potential serial rapist, including raping underaged females, they cannot lecture ANYONE on what the moral high ground is and if they try, we should be in their damned faces.

[Stuart G]

28. You are correct."This is not blowing over".Trump is a crook, was a crook and will always be a crook!

...Trump has lead a crooked life, hurt lots of people and believes more than anything..."That he can get away with anything and everything.."

...Now he has gotten away with a whole lot. He had lawyers who helped, and still has lawyers that are helping. But, this game is different. This is a national political show..tied in with a criminal show. The two are together..
.......... And it looks like Trump has broken the law.......that is ..."the criminal law"
.... And it seems that there is proof of this.... If there is "proof" then... Trump will be done....

The criminal law is not the lawsuit law. These are not the same. People settle law suits..
.....If you break the "criminal law" you are a ..."criminal" This has happened before. Nixon said, "I am not a crook"..........but...Nixon was a crook.
...As said in the original post.. "Give the storm a chance to grow"... and what I meant is this..If there is material there for the storm to grow, it will grow. Is the essence of storm there? Is there the essence of crooked behavior there? Can that behavior be found and exposed? Is there something there we have not seen yet? ...One fact stands above all others: Trump is a crook, was a crook, and will always be a crook

[calimary]

29. Okay, but how much time? I think we better get something done and soon

because the bad guys are busy scheming how they can steal the House of Reps b ack and then all that accountability will just fade right away.

[Stuart G]

30. How much time?...I don't know. Enough time I believe.. the "bad guys" have left evidence.

Some is in the Mueller report, some is to be found, some has been found in New York..??

[Evolve Dammit]

41. Don't understand in light of Mueller report, why it benefits Dems to not impeach? Hoyer, Pelosi,

please explain why, just like when W launched an illegal Iraq war, torture, etc. it's "off the table" again?? And the GOP impeached for an extra-marital affair. Are Dems that spineless as to not advance this? The public deserves the truth. File impeachment proceedings and let's start the work. Enough already.

[Honeycombe8]

50. The truth is in the Mueller Report.

Impeachment won't change that. Impeachment would be just a declaration by the Democrats in the House that the obstruction behavior warrants impeachment, for the historical record. We can't remove him from office.

Accountability is worthwhile. I did think we should impeach, but now I'm not sure. The public is pretty drained from all the drama. It's exhausting...and expensive.

It would take months to get to an impeachment decision, probably. They're going to try to speak to Mueller in May.

I'm sure the leaders will huddle and make a decision. It will be a hard decision.

[Evolve Dammit]

77. Thanks for the reply. It has to be done. Accountability must be restored. We can't wait and hope.

[Kurt V.]

31. day one. Brilliant 👍

[FakeNoose]

35. I'll be reading this report all weekend

There's so much here and I'm not a lawyer! Not complaining, I'm just glad I have the time to do it. Some of these legal terms are new to me, but I want to make sure I understand so I'm going slow.

Also I'm getting distracted by DU posts.

[DallasNE]

36. Too Early

When I heard Jerry Nadler say that to a question on impeachment I said "perfect". The redacted Mueller report was only the first step. Many, many more steps to go. Remember, you only get one chance - no do overs if you mess it up. Nothing wrong with letting it slip closer and closer to the 2020 election either.

[Stuart G]

39. Yes, Much Too Early..and just as important, more information to come out.

Ok..Do you (who are skeptical) think that more information will come out?
... About this and that and things that we do not know about?... Will leaks happen? Is there more crooked stuff to be found?.. Does Trump have that kind of crooked thinking that goes beyond what we have seen and know about?
......Does it rain in Seattle ?...Does it snow in northern Alaska? one more...
........... Is it dry in the Sahara Desert?

[Lars39]

52. And help the storm grow!

Letters to the editor, letters, faxes , phone calls to reps.

[spooky3]

53. I agree. And I believe that Pelosi, Nadler, and Schiff

Are thinking very strategically about what they want to achieve and how to get there.

[Stuart G]

55. I think that it isn't a question of what...but .."WHEN"

If the 3 of them are indeed going to impeach, the question is .."when". This report is new, when is the best time to do things based on the report. So, we will see.

[spooky3]

56. Impeachment is not the only possible end goal. Nt

[ecstatic]

54. No. He commits impeachable crimes daily. It's been 2 years FFS!

People are becoming physically ill from the stress. Marriages and all kinds of relationships are ending from the stress. Do something NOW how much more reading needs to be done at this point? ACT NOW! We're all in danger!

[GulfCoast66]

61. Oh please. So we impeach. He is not convicted. What changed?

He is still president and his power is most likely increased.

We must face the facts: like in 2016 we will only win at the polls. And we do that by being laser focused on the issues. Because that is where we win.

Trump is not being removed from office except by the vote of the American People.

[jimlup]

62. I think that is why they stalled until Easter Weekend

The hope was that the worst would blow over and people would be distracted.

Then when business opens again on Monday morning people will feel it is "old news"

They are hedging because they know how bad it actually is for them.

[uponit7771]

67. +1, looking at Red Don's response this morning it doesn't look like its working out for them

[Blecht]

64. I love this framing

Today is Friday, Day 2.

[niyad]

66. watergate started with an incompetent burglary.

[spanone]

68. K&R...

[Nitram]

69. Time is not with us. The administration did a good job getting in front of the report's release

and trying to limit its impact. People lose interest so quickly. Democrats need to jump on this and craft a strategy right now.

[machoneman]

70. Think he's waiting to see the next set of polls, hoping his numbers go up, not down.

We'll see but if they go down as I think and hope they will, then he'll launch more broadsides, more lies and more b.s. in an effort, in his mind at least, to boost his numbers. Oddly, I think if he, his WH staff and kids just shut up for some weeks on end they would be better off.

Ah, but oh no, they aren't that bright! Every salvo they unleash only brings the report's findings back into the spotlight, where this kind of 'sunlight' is really bad news for these clowns! They're as useless as a battery-dead dildo!

[UTUSN]

78. Wish I could *double* kr