BBO Discussion Forums: Has U.S. Democracy Been Trumped? - BBO Discussion Forums

The G-7 summit in Italy can be very short summarised . Mr NO came, said to all agendas NO and flew away.

https://www.youtube....h?v=sWlrauHGAbY

I don't understand the Kushner - Russia thing at all.

diana_eva, on 2017-May-27, 17:01, said:

I don't think it can be understood in anything but a nefarious light - the willing attempt to circumvent observation and engage in clandestine discussions with the Kremlin. There is no rational reason to do this for any legitimate reason. I think the most likely scenario involves loans from Russian-controlled FEB bank and Trump/Kushner associates and businesses.

I think Brennan pretty much spelled out in his testimony what has happened - in their quest for business profits, Kushner and Trump have been used by the Russians, and in their eagerness to capitalize have inadvertently wandered down the path to espionage, if not outright treason.

There were some mentions of Syria too, which is where I got confused. Business talks with the Russians sound like something any of the Trumps would do, but Syria talks, in secret? something doesn't quite add up.

diana_eva, on 2017-May-27, 17:01, said:

Here is one possibility:

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http://www.reuters.c...e-idUSKBN18N018

diana_eva, on 2017-May-27, 17:29, said:

Two versions of this story came out the same day/evening: one by the Washington Post, and the other by the New York Times. The Washington Post article was based on an unsigned letter sent to its offices in December, but the claims of which were not verified until recently through contacts with intelligent officers. So the Post confirmation of the story came from current and former intelligence officers - their story is the more sinister.

The New York Times also reported on this story, but their sources were from the White House - and that's where the Syrian claim came in - supposedly, according to the WH leakers, the reason for the back channel line was to discuss Syria and terrorism directly with Russia.

https://www.vox.com/...a-communication

As you have noticed, the New York Times story - with WH sources - does not pass the smell test.

Thanks. Didn't realize there were different sources and I couldn't understand why some papers would interpret information one way, and others in such a different way.

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After the Kushner-Russia news bombshell, if this is the best defense Trump can come up with (they're making it up!) he and his administration are in big trouble.

Winstonm, on 2017-May-28, 19:36, said:

He kinda has a point if these sources say conflicting things. All this is too messy, even if they were about to do business it's still utterly strange that they'd actually ask the Russians to set up a secret channel. They can't be this naive or stupid.

diana_eva, on 2017-May-28, 21:22, said:

They can't?!?

Rik

Winstonm, on 2017-May-25, 10:24, said:

Also, we need to take a very hard look at our Presidential nomination process to the convention on both sides of the aisle. I think part of the disillusionment and frustration stems from the realization of how unfair, unethical, and broken the process appears to be.

The Presidential campaign season should be a marketplace where the best ideas, solutions, and leaders win. . .not the best game masterminds.

Clinton had the political pedigree to win the nomination but her dynasty and her associates appeared almost always mired in scandal.

It took a slew of hacked leaks from The Democratic National Committee (DNC) to reveal how biased chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz was and how her committee staffers had deliberately tried to sabotage Bernie Sander's campaign. Please click link http://www.CNN.com/2...reer/index.html

Then, with another slew of hacked leaks we learn her replacement, Donna Brazile, funnelled inside information to Hillary Clinton before two debates with Bernie Sanders. At no point did the Clinton campaign blow the whistle on this clearly unethical behavior which signals complicity and reveals a seemingly rigged DNC nomination process. Please click here for link http://thegrio.com/2...ils-dnc-clinton

Then on 06/26/16, we have the unseemly, unscheduled 30 minute meeting on a Phoenix tarmac between Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton. His wife is under investigation by the FBI for the email server scandal which could derail her Presidential political campaign.

Who knows what, if any, political favors were exchanged especially since former President Clinton appointed Lynch to serve as United States Attorney General for the Eastern District of New York in 1999. He catapulted her legal career and paved the road for her ascendancy to Attorney General of the United States during Obama's administration. Hmmm.

In short order, FBI Director James Comey recommended on 07/06/16 to not file charges against Hillary for the e-mail server scandal. And the Department of Justice followed suit, of course. And the rendez-vous on the tarmac had absolutely nothing to do with these legal outcomes?

Christopher Sign the reporter who broke the story stated, "The FBI there on the tarmac said no photos, no pictures, and no cell phones." That means Comey knew or should have known of this clandestine meeting by the time the media broke the story because his men were right there outlining the rules of engagement! See link http://insider.foxne...n-lynch-meeting

Comey's integrity was on the line regarding this matter and his subsequent reopening of the email server investigation before Election Day seems to counterbalance any benefits Hillary might have gained from her husband's "obstruction" of the FBI investigation. But it's too little too late.

The optics of ALL of these story lines cast a horrible shadow over the integrity of the DNC nomination process for Presidential candidates, the Department of Justice, the FBI, and of course the Clinton dynasty. It doesn't help that the perpetrator of the last story line is Hillary Clinton's husband who had articles of impeachment filed against him for OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE and PERJURY regarding the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

The irony of it all. Could he be a repeat offender and does the apple fall far from the tree in the Clinton dynasty?

The DNC needs to conduct a postmortem on their processes because this last Presidential campaign season was a hot mess. They owe a level of intellectual honesty to Bernie supporters who were dished a very raw deal courtesy of the D.C. political establishment.

Supporters don't have a problem if their candidate loses an election. They want to know that the political dice aren't loaded from the start.

I will discuss Republican issues soon...

Finally someone from the left speaks out against university campuses mistreatment of conservative speakers.

http://www.cnn.com/v...segment-gps.cnn

diana_eva, on 2017-May-28, 21:22, said:

The Washington Post Editorial Board nails it concerning Trump's denials:

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I think Trump is a sociopath who will say anything to promote himself.

jogs, on 2017-May-29, 07:01, said:

It has never been clear to me why anyone would invite Ann Coulter to speak on anything, but putting that aside I largely agree with the remarks of Fareed Zakaria.. Perhaps I am insufficiently far to the left to count, but many of us believe in listening to people that we do not agree with.

RedSpawn, on 2017-May-29, 05:34, said:

You seem prone to easily accept conspiracy theories - you may want to expand the outomes from +/- to include all possibilities.

This:

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you ask as a rhetorical question when it is not. You are stating (as a believer) that: A) Bill Clinton is an evil superhero who has the ability, after office, to control the U.S. Justice Department and FBI because of a promotion given to a young attorney 17 years in the past, and B) that to cover up the crime Director Comey had the ability to tell his boss (Justice Department) what to do, or that somehow he went along with an order to violate FBI policy because Lynch told him to do so, and he was willing to commit perjury with his own explanation under oath in front of Congress.

And then you rhetorically ask, basically, what other outcome is possible when you are dealing with an evil genius who uses magic?

Maybe you want to reconsider.

Winstonm, on 2017-May-29, 08:21, said:

Probably, or he's just delusional and senile. I'm not convinced by his fantastic rhetoric that the sources must be fake

I'm thinking at the actual action that someone closely associated with a candidate, and then soon to be president would issue such a request to the Russians. I would totally believe it if it was trump himself to do it - he is that dumb to imagine he would convince the Russians to respect a deal since he's the deal maker. But I expected Kushner to be more in touch with reality.

Winstonm, on 2017-May-29, 08:25, said:

IMO it's not "conspiracy theory" to worry about inappropriate contact between representatives of suspects and the judiciary. Monica and Bernie are victims not conspirators. Is it "conspiracy theory" that

• Bill Clinton had a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinski but denied it.
• The Democrat committee undermined Bernie Sanders.

Republicans seem no better. Formally investigating plausible "Conspiracy theories" would reduce corruption, in most countries.

Winstonm, on 2017-May-29, 08:25, said:

I am on a tablet device and will put in the links regarding Donna Brazile and Debbie Wesserman later. You can click the link http://thegrio.com/2...ils-dnc-clinton to see where Brazile clearly says she acted as a Clinton operative and stepped over the line as vice chairwoman of the DNC and CNN commentator in her zeal to see Hillary as the first woman President. She expressed regret that she leaked topics and potential debate questions to the Hillary campaign before two debates with Bernie Sanders. This is just messy!

This is not conjecture. The DNC was fundamentally compromised this year and the hacking of the DNC and the subsequent e-mail leaks clearly show that the DNC had loaded the dice in Hillary's favor.

In fact, Debbie Wessermen and her staff e-mails were so scandalous that she could not preside over the DNC convention. She had to recuse herself, step down, and eventually resign from the DNC. The scandal became an unnecessary distraction to an already turbulent campaign season. See link http://www.CNN.com/2...reer/index.html

The DNC convention gavel was handed over to Donna Brazile but her hands were covered in "conspiratorial" blood too because she aided and abetted the Hillary campaign by supplying it with potential debate questions/topics before debates with Bernie Sanders, but her "heads up" emails hadn't been leaked yet.

Note: CNN was clearly disturbed by this revelation/betrayal and asked Brazile to resign as CNN commentator and she complied.

With respect to former President Bill Clinton's meeting with Attorney General (AG) Loretta Lynch on the Pheonix tarmac, optics matter in politics. I can't imagine what pressing family matters Clinton needed to discuss with the Chief Prosecutor of the U.S. in person when his wife is under investigation by the FBI and could be indicted.

Any lawyer who passed the bar knows this type of behavior during the course of an investigation is unethical and unbecoming of anyone holding office. Why? Because it creates the appearance that justice is being bought or obstructed, regardless of reality.

The Attorney General and Former President are held to a higher ethical standard; they should avoid any and all actions that could create even the slightest appearance of impropriety.

And they both failed that lithmus test miserably. The meeting on the tarmac should have never occurred or at least should have ended very abruptly if AG Loretta Lynch was blindsided by a "drive-by" visit from her former boss.

Former President Bill Clinton is the confidante and husband of a party the AG is investigating. Therefore, the AG should not be engaging in ANY ex-parte communications AT ALL. She should avoid any and all conversations with Former President Bill Clinton that could even create the appearance of an ex-parte communication taking place. Instead they allegedly discussed family and children in person for about 30 minutes and I guess they don't know how to use cell phones, text messages or email for such matters.

Sorry, but this is scandalicious and a breach of the public trust and a "facepalm" moment.

nige1, on 2017-May-29, 09:38, said:

AMEN! I went on record that I am a forensic political junkie who is not a party loyalist. There is enough "conspiratorial" graft, corruption, and unethical behavior on both sides of the aisle to fill "Law & Order" episodes for the next century.