U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley Resigns
[guest post by Dana]
It was announced this morning that President Trump has accepted the resignation of U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley. While this comes as a surprise to the public, Haley apparently discussed her departure with the president last week during a visit to the White House. She will leave the Trump administration at the end of the year.
Haley has obviously been a tremendous asset to this administration. And clearly, she has a bright future in the GOP.
As a reminder, back in September, Haley responded to an incendiary op-ed published in the New York Times. While the anonymous writer claimed to be a senior official in the administration, they chose not to go directly to the president with their concerns about any number of matters pertaining to this administration. Haley instructed that taking advantage of the direct access that senior officials have with the president was the proper way to proceed when disagreement arose, letting the chips fall as they might:
I, too, am a senior Trump administration official. I proudly serve in this administration, and I enthusiastically support most of its decisions and the direction it is taking the country. But I don’t agree with the president on everything. When there is disagreement, there is a right way and a wrong way to address it. I pick up the phone and call him or meet with him in person.
Like my colleagues in the Cabinet and on the National Security Council, I have very open access to the president. He does not shut out his advisers, and he does not demand that everyone agree with him. I can talk to him most any time, and I frequently do. If I disagree with something and believe it is important enough to raise with the president, I do it. And he listens. Sometimes he changes course, sometimes he doesn’t. That’s the way the system should work. And the American people should be comfortable knowing that’s the way the system does work in this administration.If the author truly is a senior administration official, then he or she has the kind of access to the president I described. If that is the case, this official has ample opportunity to try to persuade the president to change course. If the author is frustrated by an inability to persuade the president, then he or she is free to resign.
–Dana
This is very disappointing.
Dana (023079) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:06 amA major loss to DJT, the USA, and the world.
Ed from SFV (6d42fa) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:11 amWhat do you think the near future holds for her, Ed from SFV?
Dana (023079) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:11 ambut she just got new curtains
happyfeet (28a91b) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:13 amWell this is very curious. I hope there isn’t a disappointing back-story.
JVW (42615e) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:19 amBoth CBS and ABC say she will stay on through the end of the year, so that ought to preclude some sort of scandal.
JVW (42615e) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:21 amI hope she announces her candidacy for the 2020 GOP nomination tomorrow.
Dave (9664fc) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:21 amShe’s just a simple country girl. The big city, with its bright lights, fast men, and loose women (begging you pardon, ma’am), could attract her, but it couldn’t hold her.
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. By Elton John.
nk (dbc370) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:22 amI hope she announces her candidacy for the 2020 GOP nomination tomorrow.
That would be pretty awesome. And maybe the President will jointly announce that he has restored American greatness and therefore sees no need to run for a second term. He could go down with James K. Polk as the extremely rare successful President who accomplished everything he set out to do in a mere four years.
JVW (42615e) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:23 amThis:
Dana (023079) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:25 amShe has poor girls’ teeth. No braces when she was young. I find that very endearing.
nk (dbc370) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:26 amJVW, you might be onto something. DJT has any number of personal characteristics that don’t fit with government. But he has shown that it’s possible to fight back against progressive nonsense. I know that NH has picked up on it.
Maybe many others. I hope so.
Simon Jester (c8876d) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:26 am9, that would no doubt make many happy, I just hope the decision for just 4 years is not health related. In a sense DJT would outdo Reagan in the sense that he saw the signs and did not linger.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:28 amshe’s not presidential material she’s a squishy petunia-face and a virulent climate change hoax cheerleader (weak-minded lady)
happyfeet (28a91b) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:30 amNot even for her wedding? (which is usually the only acceptable time for adults outside of media careers to get braces)
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:31 ami had invisalign for like the last six years it took forever cause i moved and then we changed the plan etc
but now i’m beautiful and you can tell i know it
happyfeet (28a91b) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:32 amLOL. The difference being that Polk accomplished what he set out to do in the real world rather than merely in his own reptilian mind.
Trump’s unkept promises are too numerous/tedious to list (again), but everybody knows what they are, so I’ll simply incorporate them by reference.
Dave (9664fc) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:32 amthats a thing gonna be on the “instead of a quincenera” list for the daughter along with Jesuit H.S. tuition and the car I get to replace the one that I sell to her for a dollar on her 16th.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:39 amBut to the topic in the post, UN ambassador might be a good place to stash this goof:
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:42 am….http://www.businessinsider.com/kanye-west-white-house-meeting-trump-jared-kushner-2018-10
Heartache: “No, I am not running for 2020,” Haley said. She raised the topic unprompted, saying she knew it would likely arise.
Dave (9664fc) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:43 amTrump was way too calm about this. Katie Pavlich may be right:
DRJ (15874d) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:43 amWhen the world literally laughs in the face of your boss, it’s hard to take you and your advocacy of his positions very seriously. Should Master Thespian’s auditions win him the role of Attorney General, there will be a senate slot to fill in SC and Nikki would be available.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:45 am@21. Yep.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:46 amIts weird to think a lot of the young lady contingent (Pavlich, Loesch, even the barracks weir TL) among them back in 2015/early 2016 were Rubio fans.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:48 amGood Lord, folks. Is there any woman who HF likes? Not that there is anything wrong with that, of course. We celebrate his diversity.
But he is so very bitchy about women, it just made me wonder.
Simon Jester (c8876d) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:04 amDRJ at 21 may well be right though both pols-in-Q have recently denied things that are likely to happen. imo. Graham seems a likely pic for AG, and I have predicted for close to 2 years, that assuming DJT continues to be the disaster for the country that he so ably has shown himself to be, Haley was the top-best prospect for the GOP in 2020. Pretty, immigrant stock, sharp as a tack (a good 40-60 IQ points on Spanky), politically savvy, Southern, and ambitious as all get out. Oh, yeah, she’s got a womb, too. First woman president = GOP.
Q! (86710c) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:05 amI think you’re right, DRJ.
nk (dbc370) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:05 amI think that Nikki Haley can be a great “new” face for Team R.
Simon Jester (c8876d) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:11 amLOL. The difference being that Polk accomplished what he set out to do in the real world rather than merely in his own reptilian mind.
Polk 1848
[x] Reestablish the Bank of the United States
[x] Settle the northern boundary issue with Britain
[x] Push Mexico back across the Rio Grande
Trump 2020
JVW (42615e) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:12 am[x] MAGA
Except Lindsey Graham came out this week and said not interested:
Dana (023079) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:14 ami like marsha blackburn at least til she gets elected
i revile martha mcsally (gross disgusting weirdo)
also i really like margo martindale (nice texas lady)
happyfeet (28a91b) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:15 amThe notion of a central bank has not proven particularly useful in suppressing panics, in fact one can say it contributed to this last One, with the escalation of teaser rates.
Narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:16 am@30 Dana. Yup. That’s what he said. There’s alot of theater in politics, I’ve noted though, and you can’t necessarily put too much stock into what’s said. Especially re: Dame Graham. imo.
Q! (86710c) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:18 amAlternative prediction: the scurrilous rumors were true, Third Lady Melania (age 48) will be put out to pasture, and Nikki (age 46) will take over her duties as Fourth Lady in the new year.
The writers of this show have proven they’ll do whatever it takes to maintain the ratings, however ridiculously stupid or implausible, so I wouldn’t put anything past them.
Dave (9664fc) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:18 am@30. “No, no, no, no, no… yes.” Playing ‘hard to get’ comes easy to The Master Thespian.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:20 amI’ve updated the post:
Thanks for the heads-up, JVW.
Dana (023079) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:21 amOf course, Q!, but it’s good to take it into consideration, nonetheless.
Dana (023079) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:22 amAwesome lady, great American. Good to know that Trump and Haley new this 6 months ago and they kept it a secret. Now that’s being adult.
mg (9e54f8) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:22 am‘Resigning at the end of the year’ is not ‘resigns’, and unfortunately creates the opportunity for more snippy power struggles and character assassination in lame duck sessions.
The weeping and gnashing of teeth among the Kristol/Shapiro axis is at least a friendly reminder that the neocon project is dead, dead, dead and the sooner everyone who made their careers on it can Move On (dot org) the sooner politics can at least return to honest fighting among national interest groups than dishonest posturing among international.
The real news of the day that should bring everyone together is that Venom got an 80 million dollar box office (with a 31% critic to 89% audience Tomatometer, truly the elevation of movie criticism was a mistake and Roger Ebert has a lot to answer for) it’s extremely well crafted and cast and actually accomplished the near-impossible task of making a San Francisco journalist a sympathetic figure (and heterosexual).
Pencil-Necked Pundit (41eb88) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:23 amA ‘glamorous’ job, says our Captain; don’t be surprised to see Ivanka named as UN ambassador… just a limo drive across Midtown.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:24 amRadical Left: We’re the most insane. We’re so insane that just try having dinner or a decent commute when we’re around!!
Radical Right: Lord Trump, peace be upon him, tweets unto us that we must be everything more than the left, that winning means not losing to left in anything, including in madness. We are insane in fealty to our Trumpiness. We are winners!! We are more insane!!!
2018: *snort*….Hold my beer….
Appalled (96665e) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:26 amHaley on the campaign trail will help the republicans and rinos.
mg (9e54f8) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:26 am“That would be pretty awesome. And maybe the President will jointly announce that he has restored American greatness and therefore sees no need to run for a second term. “
I’ve a lingering feeling for some time now that Trump would say four is enough. We could do a lot worse than NH as President.
I don’t like the timing, before the mid-terms. That she’s staying on till the new year doesn’t mean much.
For now though, will have to just entertain speculation on who he’ll choose and chuckle over ‘reptilian mind’ and who has a womb.
harkin (7f4688) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:27 am@34
Kim Jong-Un to be Best Man at the upcoming Trump-Haley nuptials?
You read it here first.
Dave (9664fc) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:27 am44- I.S.
mg (9e54f8) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:31 am@43. When in his life has Donald J. Trump ever said, ‘enough is enough!??’
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:31 amAyotte would nit be nearly as good a fit, gorka would be a good one, it might take a recess appointment though.
narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:32 am#46 — The last time he had an amount due on his taxes.
Appalled (96665e) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:32 amI still say he runs and wins just to resign at some time in the first half of 2021. Needs a Spiro Agnew plan if the braintrust really isnt into Pence.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:33 amYou could be right, DCSCA 40. Trump’s Presidency is consistent: One step forward, two steps back.
DRJ (15874d) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:36 amI honestly can’t see anyone who would like to take Sessions place at DOJ. I get that Trump is impatient for Mueller’s fiasco get wrapped up but publicly shivving your subordinate in the back does not inspire loyalty. Sessions has been in Washington a long time; he knows all about the close quarters bureaucratic knife fighting needed to get things done. With regards to Haley; I can see her taking over Graham’s seat if he decides not to run in 2020.
CygnusAnalogMan (9c66ec) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:42 amI must be living in a different world than you neocons. This country is 1000 times better with President Trump than it was with your Obama’s regime. Never in my life have I seen a president work so hard and help middle Americans so much. It’s a shame the neocons cant realize they are burnt toast. Thank You Jesus for allowing Trump to kick some media and hacks azz.
mg (9e54f8) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:43 amDon’t you understand what a coalition of various factors entails.
Narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:49 ammg – but their heroine is still there to shatter the glass ceiling:
CNN Politics
@CNNPolitics
Hillary Clinton: “You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for”
__ _
Stephen Miller
@redsteeze
Antifa Gam Gam
harkin (7f4688) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:49 amRobert Redford should get his azz the heck out of America. What a glass of iss
mg (9e54f8) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:50 amwomen lie about rape a lot that’s something you just have to kinda look past sometimes
but nikki haley definitely seemed to understand how Christine was running a rape hoax on everybody and she sounded pretty cheesed off about it
happyfeet (28a91b) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:57 amOther than Ted Cruz no one would have been able to get Kavanaugh on the court. Love the Fight of Trump.
mg (f0a1d2) — 10/9/2018 @ 10:01 amShe’s been an exceptional UN Ambassador. I hope she throws her hat in and challenges Trump in 2020. She’s ready, and I’d vote for her in a heartbeat.
Paul Montagu (28f6c3) — 10/9/2018 @ 10:07 amRobert Redford should get his azz the heck out of America. What a glass of iss
I thought he did. Didn’t he move to Utah?
nk (dbc370) — 10/9/2018 @ 10:10 amPresident Trump’s won my heart that’s for sure
these are the best days America has seen in our whole lifetime – even before that even
we should all do celebrate together and have a variety of food items plus an assortment of beverages but not all of them alcohol ones because our president, President Donald Trump, he never drinks alcohol
he’s a very good role model
happyfeet (28a91b) — 10/9/2018 @ 10:10 amBy her using present tense, I’m holding onto the faint hope that that’s a non-denial denial.
Paul Montagu (28f6c3) — 10/9/2018 @ 10:11 am“She’s been an exceptional UN Ambassador. I hope she throws her hat in and challenges Trump in 2020. She’s ready, and I’d vote for her in a heartbeat.”
You never know but I can’t see it. To challenge Trump goes against most of what she’s said.
Also, the challenge would fracture the base and hand the White House and the Congress to the people who encourage their base to hound opponents from restaurants and abandon all pretense of innocent until proven guilty (aka the lynch mob process).
harkin (7f4688) — 10/9/2018 @ 10:14 am@57 I would have loved to have Cruz as President -he and Scott Walker were my first choices due to their solid conservative bonafides and track record. I think Trump is doing a great job as Preident but its alot of the public statements, the poorly thought out tweets, etc that leave me shaking my head some times. Yes, I know the media will distort almost anything a Republican will say (binders full of women somehow becomes proof Romney’s a misogynist anti-women hater, etc)but Trump will sometimes step on the crank publicly and make you wonder if he’s all there.
CygnusAnalogMan (9c66ec) — 10/9/2018 @ 10:15 amPresident – my typing skills suck
CygnusAnalogMan (9c66ec) — 10/9/2018 @ 10:16 amKim Jong-Un to be Best Man at the upcoming Trump-Haley nuptials?
Nope. Haley to officiate at upcoming Trump-Kim nuptials.
nk (dbc370) — 10/9/2018 @ 10:18 amIf she’s dressed like this (or her dad is officiating), it would be a truly great visual, nk.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 10/9/2018 @ 10:20 amJust ignore the noise, look at the signal:
narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 10:25 amhttps://babalublog.com/2018/10/08/a-good-day-for-bolsonaro-in-brazil/
62 – Cyg:
Cruz and Walker were also my top two but Walker couldn’t muster the fire and Cruz cra**ed the bed in his Iowa victory speech.
I also have doubts on Trump being all there but I’d rather have his partial mind doing it’s best to the full destruct thinking of Chairman Zero or Madame Corruption.
harkin (7f4688) — 10/9/2018 @ 10:33 amFour years of laWfare via chisholm and his willing accomplesses in the press, did their business, also hiring Liz mair does no one any good.
narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 10:40 amJust not worldly enough, probably needed a US Senate seat or Cabinet post beforehand, only did one thing well (and that was because, unlike Kasich, he exempted the first responders).
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 10/9/2018 @ 10:44 amMisses the point:
narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 10:58 amhttps://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2018/10/the-kavanaugh-smear-and-the-fbi-a-connection.php
My best guess on the reason for the departure is nothing all that 4-D, those games were over and played long ago, back in 2016-2017. Nikki Haley, along with HR McMaster, were Neocon/Pentagon loyalists who needed placating and Trump went ahead and placated them (while getting rid of a South Carolina governor whose loud and divisive crusades against things like the Confederate flag was quite frankly a detriment to party unity and did nothing but encourage and embolden the iconoclasts and crazies on both sides to pointless culture war battles over historical symbols in Charlottesville and elsewhere.)
Two years, two abortive attempts at Syria escalations that saw them continually overreaching, reinterpreting, and all-but-countermanding the executive rhetorically and focusing on the Mideast instead of North Korea, one death of John McCain to remove the largest war personality the media could rally behind to meddle with his trade and foreign policy achievements, and one Lindsay Graham showing his spine, and Trump finally has the wins, the knowledge, the people, the reputation, and the clout to remove them quietly.
Suspect she was getting real lonely without her contacts on the NSC, the Senate, and the State Department to plan the next ANIMAL ASSAD MUST GO DUE TO TOMORROW’S CHEMICAL ATTACK AND WE MUST IMMEDIATELY DECLARE WAR ON PUTIN IF HE PROTESTS.
She says a lot of things I like. But her highly intemperate rhetoric, inability to make friends outside of her shrinking Washington clique, and subsequent failure to adapt to the new populist culture that serves as a bulwark against an escalating criminal Left meant that resignation without much love lost even among her erstwhile defenders was always in the cards.
Pencil-Necked Pundit (204754) — 10/9/2018 @ 11:39 amtrashbag liz mair’s the one that likes to send naked pictures of women to mormon chicks in utah
she’s kind of a dirty dirty freak
happyfeet (a037ad) — 10/9/2018 @ 12:10 pmI guess her possible abusive use of private jets does not bear mentioning?
Bob the Builder (9af831) — 10/9/2018 @ 12:19 pmNeverTrump once again projecting their wishes on a GOPer who has not shown even 1/10 the chops of getting actual conservative stuff done.
Like NeverTrump is totally all about style over substance.
Bob the Builder (9af831) — 10/9/2018 @ 12:21 pmDid she use private jets the same way as she used State of South Carolina SUVs?
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 10/9/2018 @ 12:27 pmI liked her. I’m sad to see her go. She did some good things and made it almost 2 years without getting trashed on twitter or having to be-clown herself. Puts her ahead of Session’s, Rex, or Pence.
My guess is she needs to go make some money (been in government a long time) and keep her powder dry for 2020/2024.
Time123 (306531) — 10/9/2018 @ 12:44 pm@75. She knows how to curry favors.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/9/2018 @ 12:44 pmOT: I finished the Woodward book last night. If you haven’t bought it, I suggest you save your money. The best bits are already in the online discussions & book reviews.
I have no doubt at all that Woodward has at least one source for everything in the book. In fact, it’s painfully obvious most of the time who his sources are, because large blocks of the book consist of self-serving tales told about — and pretty obviously also told by — Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, Lindsey Graham, Rob Porter, and Gary Cohn, in which they’re the clear-eyed heroes who’ve been saving the POTUS from himself and/or other WH competitors who aren’t nearly so clever as they themselves are. (The Bannon portions are as utterly insufferable as he himself is, and I actually pity Woodward for having to listen that that guy.)
Of course, that these people actually said to Woodward the things he wrote in the book don’t make them true. It’s gossip, not history. And while it’s entertaining gossip, there’s plenty more of that online for free.
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 1:06 pmRe Lindsey Graham as Sessions’ replacement: After he went ballistic (or just unfiltered) on the Dems during the last day of Kavanaugh’s hearing, he’s certainly getting no Dem votes to be confirmed. Could he still win a party-line vote, like Kavanaugh did? My Magic 8-Ball says, “Reply hazy; try again.” But seriously, why would any sane person volunteer for the abuse that Trump is inevitably going to heap upon whomever his AG is, if it’s anyone even slightly more principled than Roy Cohn? I think this particular purgatory is Jeff Sessions to live out, until his transition into Dobby-the-House-Elf is complete, and karma has gotten a full return-on-investment from Sessions’ decision to be the first U.S. senator to endorse Trump in the primaries.
I’m with Time123 (#76) in guessing that Amb. Haley “needs to go make some money (been in government a long time) and keep her powder dry for 2020/2024.” She now has conspicuous checkmarks for Domestic Policy and Foreign Policy on her resume, plus state and federal executive branch experience, plus she was a member of the S.C. House of Reps before she was governor. She’ll use the next couple of years picking up political chits — what Republican anywhere would not welcome her to come campaign with them? what CEO would not love to have her speak to his Board at their next meeting in Bermuda? — and securing her own personal finances. Plus, there’s only so long that you can be on the bomb squad without burning out. She’s picked the right time to bail, and that too speaks to her good judgment and future prospects.
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 1:19 pmAlso OT: Former SecState Rex Tillerson, sporting a big bushy white moustache that you’d expect to see on someone who likes to ride Harleys, was photographed making the march into DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium with the Longhorn football team before the recent home game against USC. He looked like Prometheus released from the rock to which he’d been chained so the eagle could gnaw at his liver. I’m hoping he’ll march with the Longhorn Alumni Band at this year’s game in late November. As I’ve mentioned before here, he was a percussion section leader in the early 1970s, and graduated in May 1975, just before I joined the band in June, so we didn’t overlap but have tons of common friends and KKY brothers. The Alumni Band usually celebrates on the Friday nights before the game we march at, usually over many pitchers of cold beer at Austin’s historic Scholz Garten a few blocks from campus. If he’s there, I might propose a toast, to doing one’s duty as one sees best, despite the f*cking moron at the top of the pyramid.
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 1:28 pmStudy: Economic Boom Largely Ignored as TV’s Trump Coverage Hits 92% Negative
“The results show that, over the past four months, nearly two-thirds of evening news coverage of the Trump presidency has been focused on just five main topics: the Russia investigation; immigration policy; the Kavanaugh nomination; North Korea diplomacy; and U.S. relations with Russia. The networks’ coverage of all of these topics has been highly negative, while bright spots for the administration such as the booming economy received extremely little coverage (less than one percent of the four-month total).”
[ABC, CBS and NBC broadcast news]
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2018/10/09/study-econ-boom-ignored-tv-trump-coverage-hits-92-percent-negative
__ _
Imagine that, it’s almost as if most involved are DNC operatives.
harkin (adce92) — 10/9/2018 @ 1:37 pmwhy would any sane person volunteer for the abuse that Trump is inevitably going to heap upon whomever his AG is
Bosses then to be abusive when you don’t do your job.
And for Sessions, he abstained like 2 days after confirmed?
As well as encourage the sham which is a corrupt FBI and corrupt DOJ to continue its ways lest it be embarrassed or have its “dutiful employees” imprisoned for a myriad of crimes.
But hey, it is Trump’s fault he was illegally targeted for a coup attempt.
Bob the Builder (9af831) — 10/9/2018 @ 1:39 pmI would gather to say not one person in either Party would have survived this coup attempt.
And with respect to regular folks posting here, they’d all be in the clink or in a rubber room under similar attacks of themselves or their families.
Bob the Builder (9af831) — 10/9/2018 @ 1:40 pmWell tillerson want a source nor mcmaster, as a historical artifact it lacks depth, it doesn’t even suggest how the brinksmanship of last year, ended in the apparent detente of this one, re the Kim dynasty, it gives John Brennan I
narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 1:43 pmUnmerited room to brag, cindidering his part in enabling Islamic state in its growth phase.
What safe words did I forget to spell out.
narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 1:48 pm@6. ‘Women and children first’ to the lifeboats; maybe she sees the iceberg, JVW.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 10/9/2018 @ 2:00 pmSo the name they’re floating to replace Haley is…Ivanka. Who’s floating it, DJT, but he doesn’t want to get accused of nepotism, or something.
Ivanka
Yup, back to kicking himself in the nuts, hard to do, but it must be a skill.
Colonel Klink (0e3d41) — 10/9/2018 @ 2:00 pmStill yelling at the sky, wait for general burkhalter to show up
narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 2:33 pmPOTUS opines today that Ivanka Trump would be a wonderful replacement for Haley at the U.N.:
What say you, Trump supporters? Shouldn’t Trump appoint his daughter, a moderate N.Y. Democrat, to take Haley’s spot at the U.N.? Do you agree that there’s not anybody more competent in the world?
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 2:34 pmI just missed your comment at #86, Col. K. I don’t have you filtered; credit for the scoop is yours. 😉
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 2:36 pmI’d have said “licking” instead of “kicking”, but that just makes it even more repulsive to watch…
Dave (ac2ed2) — 10/9/2018 @ 2:37 pmBob the Builder, thanks for your reply in #82, which I think I follow, but which prompts me to ask some follow-up questions:
(1) As you see it, sir, does the Attorney General of the United States’ job include acting in matters with respect to which the DoJ’s ethics experts have concluded, and advised him in writing, that doing so would be unethical?
(2) Are you in favor of a general rule that the Attorney General can ignore the canons of legal ethics?
(3) Do you perhaps think he should serve as Trump’s personal lawyer? After all, as George Washington famously declared, “L’état, c’est moi!” (The nation is me.)
Oh, wait. That wasn’t Washington. That was actually Louis XIV, the Sun King, describing his absolute monarchy. But I’m still interested in your answer to all three questions.
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 2:42 pmThere are better candidates like Dr. gorka, who was slandered almost as savagely as justice canaugh.
narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 2:49 pm“(1) As you see it, sir, does the Attorney General of the United States’ job include acting in matters with respect to which the DoJ’s ethics experts have concluded, and advised him in writing, that doing so would be unethical?“
Just curious. You may not know, and that’s fine. What specific “DOJ ethics experts”? Names?
Munroe (240e1f) — 10/9/2018 @ 2:51 pmThe most likely explanation is that she wants to make some money.
Rush Limbaugh noted how the cable news netwrks couldn’t wait for the news, but had to speculate on something they would find out in a very short period of time.
It had first been announced, about 10 am or shortly befoe that she would make an announcement that she is quitting.
The Trump tweeted at about 10:30 that she would be at the whote House.
So she wasn’t resigning in protest about anything.
Speculation was:
1) She would be promoted – but to what?
2) Lindsey Graham would be appointed Attorney General, and she would run for his seat. (wouldn’t Trump announce the AG nomination first?)
3) She was going to run for president in 2020 (that I suppose went with resigning because of some disagreement. About what? Too friendly to Saudi Arabia? Kavanaugh?? That’s what some people wanted to think.)
Rush Limbaugh, by the way, could not interpret a report right – that some organizstion of poll said Republicans were favored or leaning in 209 House seats. That’s ALL seats, not Republican held seats!! The idea was add half of the tossups and you have more than 218.)
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 10/9/2018 @ 2:54 pmOT…
Dopey Doxxer Jackson Cosko couldn’t remember where he’d stashed his yayo cuz he was high on teh gak!
“Prosecutors revealed investigators found cocaine and methamphetamine during a search of his things, and speculated he may have been under the influence when, according to police, he used his government credentials to post personal information of some lawmakers, and broke into a senator’s office while threatening to release other information.”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/oct/9/jackson-cosko-democrat-hill-staffer-doxx-senators/?cache
Colonel Haiku (1fcc64) — 10/9/2018 @ 3:12 pmHes of the Jason Leopold style of legislative administration.
narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 3:32 pmWhy personalize everything? Sessions refers to them explicitly, but not by name, in his recusal statement:
Dave (ff78ad) — 10/9/2018 @ 3:35 pm@ Munroe (#93): I was referring to the DoJ’s Departmental Ethics Office. Its website includes a link to a list of its lawyers, none of whose names I recognize. But since it involves the AG, I would be very, very surprised if the review & advice didn’t include the head of that office. The Departmental Ethics Office is headed by, and consists of, career DoJ staff, rather than political appointees confirmed by the Senate; these aren’t Obama political appointees, in other words. And it’s distinct from the DoJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which handles complaints about DoJ lawyers and motions to disqualify them in court, at least as I understand it.
I teach legal ethics for CLE programs and have been hired to represent lawyers accused of ethical violations, and I agree entirely with Sessions and with the DoJ “career people,” as Sessions referred to them, that 28 C.F.R. § 45.2 required his self-recusal or, failing that, his disqualification. This is not a close call, not a matter of interpretation: Sessions did, and is doing, the right thing, and Trump is a moron for demanding that he have done otherwise. This regulation is not a secret; Trump had other staff, including lawyers, whose job it was to vet his potential cabinet members. If Trump was surprised by Sessions’ recusal, he has no one to blame but himself and whoever he relied upon to vet nominees. Since Chris Christie was head of the transition team and a former DoJ lawyer, he certainly knew all about this regulation and the DoJ’s internal ethics procedures, whereas Sessions was just another Senator, and not in charge of vetting himself.
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 3:53 pmWith that, would you care to offer an answer to the question I asked Bob the Builder, Munroe?
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 3:54 pm(Or questions.)
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 3:55 pmIt just happen to enable the Mueller witchhunt like ashcroft did with fitz, just a concidence
narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 3:59 pmHere’s Trump bragging about being the world’s “most fabulous whiner” — but he’s not whining for the good of the country, he only whines about poor, poor Donald. It’s disgusting.
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 4:07 pm“With that, would you care to offer an answer to the question I asked Bob the Builder, Munroe?”
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 3:54 pm
My answers to the three questions you posed are Yes, No, No.
Strzok, Page and McCabe were career staff, yes? If you’re asserting a link between “career staff” and “unbiased”, that’s going to be a tough sell. But, perhaps advice colored by bias is outside the scope of DOJ accountability we’re allowed to insist on.
As Bob noted in his comment, few of us could withstand the full onslaught of an investigation without limits. Kavanaugh was saved only because there was a limit in time and scope — limits which have been denied Trump, in a typical example of rank hypocrisy.
Munroe (1dbf0e) — 10/9/2018 @ 4:18 pmKavanaugh was saved only because there was a limit in time and scope
kavanaugh was saved cause rape joker Christine ford’s dirty fbi friend monica mcclean had already slipped up and exposed how the dirty corrupt fbi had a hand in orchestrating this sick rape hoax
happyfeet (28a91b) — 10/9/2018 @ 4:44 pmJust like the house had a rule, that you had to step down from leadership, if you were indicted, wholla three grand juries later, they took out the hammer. There had been a trial run with gingrich , Christian Jeffrey was collateral damage.
narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 4:46 pmHaley calls Jared Kushner Trump’s ‘hidden genius’
“Departing U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Tuesday morning lauded White House senior adviser Jared Kushner as a “hidden genius” of the Trump administration.
Haley made the remark from the Oval Office as she announced her resignation at the end of the year.
“I can’t say enough good things about Jared and Ivanka [Trump],” she said. “Jared is such a hidden genius that no one understands.””
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/410552-haley-calls-jared-kushner-trumps-hidden-genius
harkin (adce92) — 10/9/2018 @ 4:48 pmSessions agreed with the Office of Professional Responsibility about his ethical obligations, Munroe. Whose legal judgment regarding his compliance with the rules of ethics do you think he should have followed, instead of his own and the OPR lawyers whose job it is to make these judgments, Munroe?
Donald J. Trump, Esquire’s?
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 4:49 pmA modest suggestion, she be waterboarded no reason:
narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 4:50 pmhttps://freebeacon.com/politics/new-yorker-reporter-suggests-ran-ramirez-accusation-show-true-pattern/amp/
Michael Cohen’s?
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 4:52 pmWhataboutism at play:
https://mobile.twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1049352318565711872
narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 4:53 pmOt, in the more sophisticated Europe:
narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 4:56 pmhttps://www.ft.com/content/1ce68966-bffe-11e8-95b1-d36dfef1b89a
“Whose legal judgment regarding his compliance with the rules of ethics do you think he should have followed, instead of his own and the OPR lawyers whose job it is to make these judgments, Munroe?
Donald J. Trump, Esquire’s?”
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 4:49 pm
I suppose he could’ve ignored the advice, in which case don’t you think the current flak he’s getting from Trump pales in comparison to the maelstrom that would result? And, yes, I believe it came down to a matter of path of least resistance. In his defense, I don’t think he thought the investigation would go where it has.
No, the AG is not the president’s personal lawyer. Let me flip your question #3.
To who is the AG accountable, and how exactly? Notice I said who, not what.
I look forward to your answer.
Munroe (09c8f4) — 10/9/2018 @ 5:25 pmThe AG is accountable to the president (a “who”), but like all senior officials, takes an oath to protect and defend the Constitution (a “what”), not any individual.
Of course Beldar will give a much better answer himself.
Dave (9664fc) — 10/9/2018 @ 5:49 pmThe Attorney General is accountable to the President within the bounds of the law. That means he ain’t got no duty to subvert justice for some badgerheaded buffoon or his cronies, and if some orange-skinned New York foopter don’t like it he can lump it or fire him.
nk (dbc370) — 10/9/2018 @ 6:54 pmBut until he does fire him, he has to pay him the government-mandated minimum wage for Attorneys General.
nk (dbc370) — 10/9/2018 @ 7:09 pmThe AG is a cabinet officer who serves the POTUS, in his official capacity as the head of the Executive Branch of the federal government; like other cabinet officers, he serves at the pleasure of the POTUS; and with his subordinates in the Department of Justice, he represents the United States in proceedings before the judicial branch as part of that responsibility; and he likewise works with, and for some functions also reports to, the Congress by virtue of statute and regulation.
The AG does not serve or advise or represent the individual who presently occupies the office of POTUS in that person’s personal capacity, and the AG likewise does not serve or advise or represent the White House (as a unique unit within the Executive Branch).
By expecting Sessions to be his personal fixer, Trump is conflating and confusing those very different roles, and his public statements routinely demonstrate that he neither knows or cares about these distinctions.
But Sessions and the DoJ lawyers subordinate to him, the White House counsel, and Trump’s personal counsel do understand those distinctions and have been careful to stay in their lanes even when it means they have to risk Trump’s wrath.
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 7:13 pm“The Attorney General represents the United States in legal matters generally and gives advice and opinions to the President and to the heads of the executive departments of the Government when so requested.”
DRJ (15874d) — 10/9/2018 @ 7:19 pmYes it’s this game of twister, where the attorney general, has to step aside and some deep state bureaucrat allows a war on the administration for two to four years.
Narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 7:24 pm“By expecting Sessions to be his personal fixer, Trump is conflating and confusing those very different roles, and his public statements routinely demonstrate that he neither knows or cares about these distinctions.”
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 7:13 pm
By agreeing to an investigation of limited time and scope, were Wray/Sessions acting as Kavanaugh’s “fixer”?
Munroe (0cb49a) — 10/9/2018 @ 7:29 pmNo, Wray was not acting as anyone’s lawyer. As Director of the FBI, he has his own lawyers to advise him in that capacity, and he’s not practicing law, but acting as a law enforcement officer. The AG, as nk, Dave, DRJ, and I have all tried to explain to you, represents the United States, and it is to the United States that his loyalties lie, regardless of who currently occupies the office of the POTUS.
Do you really not understand all this, Munroe, or are you flailing around for an argument for why Sessions was wrong to disqualify himself?
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 7:34 pm“Do you really not understand all this, Munroe, or are you flailing around for an argument for why Sessions was wrong to disqualify himself?”
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 7:34 pm
Kavanaugh became a problem for Trump. Sessions “fixed” it, for Trump. Better?
Clinging to a double standard would be a good example of flailing.
Once in a blue moon, David Frum has a point:
“We searched everywhere except where lawyers for the accused told us not to look. We didn’t find anything where we were allowed to look. So that proves there was nothing there.”
At least he’s clinging to principles, not double standards.
Munroe (b716e6) — 10/9/2018 @ 7:50 pmI once was hired to represent a Fortune 500 company whose stock was registered under the ’33 Act and trades on the NYSE — a publicly held, publicly traded company, in other words, subject to ongoing SEC regulation, including quarterly and annual reporting requirements — in civil litigation between that company and a former officer and director based in Texas. He’d been fired for cause, but in a very foolish manner (sort of like Trump’s firing of Comey) with an incomplete and partially conflicting paper trail. The reason for the “for cause” firing was the company’s discovery that he was involved in a kickbacks scheme, in which the companies vendors were being extorted for literal suitcases full of $100 bills by this officer as a condition for doing business with the company. But this guy had brass cajones, and hired a very high profile lawyer, and tried to beat us to the courthouse (a race he lost; we sued him first and established the venue we preferred).
His defense, as it turned out, was that the company’s general counsel — who had hired my firm and was directing us on a day-to-day basis — was also complicit in the scheme, as was the company’s CEO. And he expected that defense to work, but I already had on video sworn examinations of participants in the kickback scheme and a ton of documentation. Former FBI Director William Sessions mediated the dispute for us, but we offered nothing, and the ex-executive’s lawyer finally told me, “Well, sh!t, I knew this wasn’t going to be a home run, but I thought I could at least get to first base with it.” I told him that even the best lawyers hit pop fly outs and that he was lucky he hadn’t invested more time in the case.
As my firm’s engagement letter carefully reflected, however, our duty was to the company, and ultimately, through its board of directors, to the company’s shareholders. And to the general counsel’s astonishment, after fending off the ex-officer, we blew the whistle on both the general counse and the CEO by going to the board of directors, which promptly fired them both.
This company’s general counsel and CEO certainly should have known what would happen; they were both lawyers themselves, of course, and vastly smarter than Trump on matters of legal ethics and who owes what duties to whom. But like Trump viewed his own corporate “empire” (if you want to call it that), they’d grown used to thinking of this company as “theirs,” and of the lawyers whom they hired to represent the company as if we were their personal lawyers, loyal first to them. But in fact it wasn’t their company; they didn’t own it; they were just the top employees hired to manage it.
So I lost not a moment’s sleep over their firing, and would blow the whistle on them again in a heartbeat: What they viewed as a personal betrayal wasn’t, because I was never their personal lawyer, and my obligations both under our engagement letter and the canons of legal ethics was crystal clear.
The CEO and general counsel lawyered up and tried to fight their dismissals. Since I was now a fact witness on issues of disputed fact, my firm and I couldn’t any longer represent the company in those disputes, and they were filed in the company’s HQ state (NJ) anyway, where I’m not licensed. But I enjoyed cooperating with the company’s new lawyers, who likewise were very successful in fending off their claims. The board ended up having to disclose a lot of very embarrassing stuff in order to comply with SEC regs, but it did the right thing and the company ended up surviving and prospering under new top management.
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 7:56 pmBut what is the offense with whitewater it was clear, it was just susan McDougal clammed up.
Narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 7:58 pmMunroe, you realize that you’re buying into a meme — that Trump got Sessions to get Wray to get the FBI to do something other than, or different from, the job the FBI was already doing, or would have done, at the request of the Senate Judiciary committee when it (not Trump) asked for the supplemental investigation.
That’s incorrect. And if it had happened — if Trump had “fixed” this — that would have been wrong, and definitely not something for you, or Trump, to brag about.
If you have some source document which you think shows otherwise — e.g., an executive order signed by the POTUS, or some directive from within the DoJ or the FBI that’s been publicly released — give us a link and tell us specifically what you’re talking about.
Kavanaugh didn’t get confirmed because Trump or Sessions or Wray or anyone else in the executive branch “fixed” anything, but because enough senators concluded that he’s innocent of Ford’s accusations or, at a minimum, that those accusations have been insufficiently proved to be more likely than not true.
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:04 pmWhat you’re trying to brag about Trump doing, in other words, Munroe, is something the left is accusing Trump of doing.
This time he’s actually innocent, dude.
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:05 pmWho is the Minnesota version of Gloria alred oh right:
Narciso (d1f714) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:08 pmhttp://tennesseestar.com/2018/08/29/police-records-show-keith-ellison-abused-another-woman-in-2005/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
The time limit, in particular, came from Chairman Grassley, not Trump or Sessions or Wrap or anyone in the Executive Branch; and it was intrinsic to the deal cut at Flake’s insistence. My understanding is that the FBI took the Committee’s request and decided on its own who else to interview. If you’ve got contrary proof, post a link, Munroe.
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:11 pmBTW, Munroe, I’d advise against making that favorable reference to David Frum on any of the pro-Trump websites you frequent.
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:12 pmJames K. Polk
Who was followed by 4 of the worst presidents in history, and then civil war. Let’s not repeat that.
Kevin M (d6cbf1) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:15 pm“Kavanaugh didn’t get confirmed because Trump or Sessions or Wray or anyone else in the executive branch “fixed” anything, but because enough senators concluded that he’s innocent of Ford’s accusations or, at a minimum, that those accusations have been insufficiently proved to be more likely than not true.”
Pretty much. If this is too hard to comprehend, maybe go claw some heavy oak doors or disrupt diners with chants.
harkin (adce92) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:19 pmTrump’s unkept promises are too numerous/tedious to list (again), but everybody knows what they are, so I’ll simply incorporate them by reference.
It won’t matter. People believe what they want to believe. Historians rank Obama, Clinton and LBJ ahead of Reagan. They think Wilson was ahead of Truman and Eisenhower; they probably forgot the whole Klan thing.
Kevin M (d6cbf1) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:22 pmBeldar
Do canon of ethics say take job then don’t do job?
Do canon of ethics say write letter to fire Comey then hire Mueller to investigate why?
Point is these are not ethical people, none of them are.
So a group of compromised lawyers whose lives depend on corrupt lawyers ….. all bad.
Yes, Trump is 100% ethically ok in bad mouthing Sessions and describing him as mendacious.
Maybe if Sessions did his job and purged the politicians from DOJ and FBI intstead of covering up CRIMES ….
Cuz they lied and tried a coup.
And they did similar obstruction fbo Team Hillary.
Bob (9af831) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:23 pmSince when is loyalty to the USA not closely tied to respecting the outcome of an election and following the policy mandates of that duly elected President?
Seems to me that Venn Diagram is pretty overlapping.
But the argument I read present these as two/three competing interests.
Problem is AG and Deputy AG are neither loyal to the USA nor to the Will of the People …. they are loyal to their well being first and to their egos.
I did not pick them. I picked Trump.
And if I don’t like Trump … I get to pick again in 2020.
Sessions and RR are there to do what is asked of them. Period.
Don’t need 5000000 lawyers to advise me wrong from right. In fact, more lawyers = less justice on this one,
Bob (9af831) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:30 pmBob, I didn’t follow that (#134) at all, but I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree. Cheers, sir. Join me (metaphorically) in a cold adult beverage and toast with me to the confusion wrought upon the left by Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:34 pmBeldar,
Simple, code of ethics you hang your hat on is all bull because the people implementing it are all corrupted.
Sessions, if honorable man, resigns months back.
Rosenstein is beyond compromised.
And 90% of the upper echelon at DOJ thought it swell to frame a President.
Place is a cesspool.
Reminds me of Justice Systems in Banana Republics.
Bob (9af831) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:41 pmmoderation filter beyond bizarre.
Google China seems free-er
Bob (9af831) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:43 pm“If you’ve got contrary proof, post a link, Munroe.”
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/9/2018 @ 8:11 pm
I have nothing that needs proving. I don’t think Sessions fixed anything for Trump in the Kavanaugh matter.
Nor would I think Sessions was fixing anything for Trump if he imposed similar limits on the Mueller nonsense.
It seems you disagree, which is fine.
As for Frum, he’s at least taken NeverTrumpism to it’s logical conclusion, which happens to coincide with a nonsensical conclusion. I bring him up only for that reason.
Munroe (548ab6) — 10/9/2018 @ 9:05 pmQuestion for Beldar – if 28 C.F.R. § 45.2 mandates a recusal for an employee or director of an executive branch office where a political and/or personal relationship would exist, why was there no demand for a recusal/special counsel for Holder and Lynn? They both are registered Democrats, I believe they gave money to the Obama election campaign, etc and they were involved in Benghazi, Fast and Furious, the email server fiasco, etc. Why does it seem like 28 CFR 45.2 only applies to one side of the political aisle? In my opinion, the DC media/political swamp used differing interpretations of whether Sessions misspoke about his contacts with Russians either in his Senatorial capacity or during the transition to pressure him into recusing, thereby allowing Rosenstein to appoint a special counsel and creating this fiasco.
CygnusAnalogMan (9c66ec) — 10/10/2018 @ 5:03 amThat’s the way it looks to me, just like jettisoning general Lynn just geed the aharks
narciso (d1f714) — 10/10/2018 @ 5:27 amFed the sharks, it worked with ashcroft.
narciso (d1f714) — 10/10/2018 @ 5:30 amJeffy Sessions is corrupt and weird
i think the dirty FBI fed Rosy some really gross disgusting dirt on Jeffy
to where Jeffy’s not his own man anymore
just a twist in the wind puppet with dirty secrets
happyfeet (28a91b) — 10/10/2018 @ 6:25 amDoubtful Happy – dirty secret bad enough for blackmail? They’d happily feed that to the press at his confirmation to embarrass Trump. J Edgar’s DC really doesn’t exist anymore.
CygnusAnalogMan (9c66ec) — 10/10/2018 @ 6:32 amSessions is a man concerned with his own propriety, holder and lynch don’t care what they have to do, render a six year old flack for oxycontin.
Narciso (d1f714) — 10/10/2018 @ 6:48 amthe dirty corrupt Chris Wray FBI can’t afford a real Attorney General looking at them Mr. AnalogMan
they’ve done a LOT of crimes
happyfeet (28a91b) — 10/10/2018 @ 6:58 amRep for got no detainees, ain’t no thing.
Narciso (d1f714) — 10/10/2018 @ 6:59 amsee nobody tells me anything and then i look it up and black rot is involved
happyfeet (28a91b) — 10/10/2018 @ 7:38 amAll right back on your heads:
https://www.weeklystandard.com/eric-felten/a-conspiracy-so-vast
Narciso (d1f714) — 10/10/2018 @ 8:17 amThe concern over Sessions seems unnecessary. The DOJ is moving along fine and it looks like he’s doing an acceptable job on everything not related to the Russia probe. I think what has happened has been the best option for the country. If he resigned after he was confirmed I think we would still have McCabe, Strzok, and probably Comey at the FBI. If he wouldn’t have recused himself from the probe it would have just made things worse. He may not be cleaning house to the degree that you want but he is having an effect.
Getting worked up about the FBI probe also seems unnecessary at this point. If the FBI had anything they would have released it. The BK confirmation all but ensures there is nothing in Mueller’s ammo box. Something would have been leaked “anonymously” if it existed.
It’s looking more and more like the FBI probe is some sort of tar-baby/briar-patch situation.
frosty48 (6226c1) — 10/10/2018 @ 8:53 am@ CygnusAnalogMan (#140): If you’re looking for someone to defend the legal ethics of Eric Holder, you’re asking the wrong guy.
But nothing Holder may have done wrong would be justification for Sessions also doing wrong.
Beldar (fa637a) — 10/10/2018 @ 9:15 amWhat did he do wrong like 30 Democratic senators he spoke to kislyak.
Narciso (d1f714) — 10/10/2018 @ 9:19 amIt was Sessions who announced the immoral policy of separating illegal immigrant parents from their kids, and he’s terrible on policies such as civil asset forfeiture.
Paul Montagu (28f6c3) — 10/10/2018 @ 9:25 am@Beldar – just noting that it seems a bit off for these career/civil servant DOJ employees to be interpreting 28 C.F.R. § 45.2 in a way that opens the door for a special counsel appointment. One wonders if a FOIA request for their interpretation of ethical matters during the Obama Admin in the same situation would shed some interesting light. My personal opinion is that Sessions got bamboozled by some “career” DOJ ethics lawyer into recusing himself.
CygnusAnalogMan (9c66ec) — 10/10/2018 @ 12:07 pmThe following reminded me of reading about a European’s visit to the Capitol in Washington DC in the late 19th century and his being disgusted by the amount of popcorn and tobacco spit on the carpet.
“”The House of Commons provides offices to MPs and their staff to enable them to carry out their parliamentary duties,” a spokesperson for the chamber said in a statement provided to The Washington Post. “Any use of such facilities must be in support of those duties, as specified in the Members’ Handbook and Code of Conduct. Any reported misuse of facilities will be taken seriously and investigated.”
Commons authorities are weighing a new “service agreement” enforcing standards for the use of professional space, and applying penalties for the “worst culprits,” the Times reported.
“It’s the type of behavior you would expect from students enjoying freshers’ week, not MPs and their staff,” a senior source told the newspaper, referring to the week-long, alcohol-fueled rite of passage for new students at British universities. “But cleaners are being confronted with vomit and used condoms in offices used by MPs and their staff. The cleaners are not there to clear up after their debauchery and this is not an appropriate use of office space.””
https://www.lmtonline.com/news/article/In-Britain-members-of-Parliament-told-to-clean-13295342.php
I heard London was going third world but I had no idea.
harkin (adce92) — 10/10/2018 @ 5:16 pm@140 There were requests for Holder to recuse. He said, “No.” And the press didn’t care.
Ingot9455 (82c9ce) — 10/11/2018 @ 9:40 amIf, say, Sessions had chosen not to recuse, you’d have heard of it every day for a year.