Trump Timeline ... Trumpocalypse

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Deutsche Bank has begun sending information about its dealings with Donald Trump to US investigators probing alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential race following a subpoena by Robert Mueller, the special counsel heading the federal inquiry.

A person with direct knowledge of the German bank’s actions told the Financial Times the production of Trump-related documents had begun several weeks ago. “Deutsche could not hand over client information without a subpoena,” said a second person with direct knowledge of the subpoena. “It’s helpful to be ordered to do so.”

The move is a signal Mr Mueller’s probe may be moving beyond contacts made between Mr Trump’s campaign and Russian officials and into the billionaire’s business dealings while heading the Trump Organization before entering politics.

 

[flenser]

Wow, 4.5 months of Mueller’s investigation only cost $3.2M. Bargain, especially considering that each one of Trump’s Mar a Lago weekend trips costs taxpayers 3.6M.

Apparently, some of the team was willing to work for free..

"Astonishing And Disturbing" Email Exposes Mueller Deputy As Anti-Trumper

 

[Swiper]

“BUSTED: Hillary aides Abedin and Mills LIED to anti-Trump FBI agent, but weren’t charged like Michael Flynn was”
BUSTED: Hillary aides Abedin and Mills LIED to anti-Trump FBI agent, but weren’t charged like Michael Flynn was

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

In this report, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the legality and effects of such a possible action. We conclude that President Trump cannot easily bring an end to the Russia investigation.

First, President Trump lacks unilateral authority to fire Mueller. While President Trump might compel others to do so on his behalf or instruct the attorney general to revoke DOJ’s special counsel regulations, the risks of doing so are prohibitive. History warns that he would be risking his presidency, not to mention increasing his exposure to charges of obstruction of justice.

Second, any firing would be subject to court challenge by Special Counsel Mueller, his staff, and possibly other parties.

Third, firing Special Counsel Mueller would not necessarily bring an end to the investigation that he is leading. In the absence of an order rescinding the appointment of the special counsel, the investigation and associated legal proceedings would continue.

Fourth, we explain the ways in which Congress might make it even harder for President Trump to end the Russia investigation by codifying the special counsel regulations and precommitting to a course of action that would deter interference with the Russia investigation.

…

VI. Conclusion

Based on what is known publicly, there is widespread agreement among legal experts that Special Counsel Mueller is running a “serious, deliberative, and far-sighted inquiry.” Within 5 months of his appointment, the special counsel has secured an indictment of former Trump campaign Chairman Paul Manafort and former Trump campaign advisor Rick Gates as well as the guilty pleas of Michael Flynn, former White House National Security Advisor and Trump campaign adviser, and George Papadopoulos, a former member of the Trump Campaign foreign policy team.

News accounts report ongoing document and testimonial requests between the investigation and key White House and other officials. The unveiling of the Papadopoulos plea several weeks after it had been filed and months after the arrest of Papadopoulos also underscored the ability of the investigative team to keep arrests and witness negotiations confidential.

Although there will no doubt be further speculation that President Trump will try to terminate the special counsel, we have demonstrated that this course of action is not as straightforward as it might appear, could likely be challenged in court, and would subject the president to legal and political risks that are prohibitive. Nonetheless, Congress has the power to enact additional obstacles to terminating Mueller and to commit to actions that would serve as an additional deterrent. It should do so.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

 

[Michael Scally MD]

As Seth Abramson tells it, Donald Trump’s alleged collusion with the Russian government is not in doubt, not hard to understand and happens to read like a crime thriller.

The University of New Hampshire professor has become virally popular by reframing a complex tangle of public reporting on the Russia scandal into a story so simple it can be laid out in daily tweets — and so dramatic his fans can’t stop reading, even if critics point out the plot holes.

It goes, in short, like this:

After trying for many years to expand his business empire into Russia, Abramson asserts, Trump visited Moscow in 2013 to personally meet agents of Russian President Vladmir Putin, using his beauty pageant as cover.

There, Abramson writes, a secret deal was struck: Putin agreed to open up his country’s rich real estate market to Trump, and Trump agreed to campaign for president while promoting pro-Russian policies.

Simple as that. And everything that has happened since — the election hacking, Trump’s improbable win and a special counsel’s investigation into his campaign and administration — follows from that deal, in Abramson’s telling.