Trump’s Nightmare: Mueller to Testify Publicly on July 17th

Responding to a a subpoena, former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III will testify in open hearings of the House Judiciary and House Intelligence committees on July 17th. A notorious straight-arrow, he is not expected to divulge anything about his investivation of Russian involvment in the 2016 election and White House obstruction of justice that was not in his 448-page final report. That has not stopped President Trump from trash-talking him. Perhaps it is the thought of square-jawed Robert Mueller, decorated war hero, former Assistant Attorney General and FBI Director, testifying on television, in a Brooks Brothers suit, with all America watching, that is rattling our Reality TV President.

More:

“Robert Mueller to Testify to Congress, Setting Up a Political Spectacle,” Nicholas Fandos, New York Times

“Chad Pergram: Media coverage of Mueller testimony will be ‘off the Richter scale,'” Victor Garcia, Fox News

“Why do Democrats want to talk to Mueller if they know he won’t talk much?” Amber Phillips, Washington Post

__________________

Short Link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-tjE

Image (“Trump’s Worst Nightmare”) by Mike Licht. Download copies here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com.

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Robert Mueller Bids Farewell to the Troops

In a televised address, Robert S. Mueller III resigned as Justice Department Special Counsel and reiterated several points from his 480-page report on the 2016 presidential campaign. Most of his words emphasized Russia’s systematic interference in the election campaign, but he made a careful statement about the question of obstruction of justice by the chief executive:

“The order appointing me special counsel authorized us to investigate actions that could obstruct the investigation. We conducted that investigation, and we kept the office of the acting attorney general apprised of the progress of our work. And as set forth in the report, after that investigation, if we had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime.”

Trump’s Worst Nightmare

President Trump agreed to allow Robert Mueller to testify before the House Judiciary Committee until he didn’t. What changed his mind? The thought of square-jawed Robert Mueller III, decorated war hero, former Assistant Attorney General and FBI Director, testifying on television, in a Brooks Brothers suit, with all America watching, and becoming an instant TV star. That would really rattle our Reality TV President.

More:

“Trump Doesn’t Want Mueller To Testify Because It’ll Get Media Coverage,” Nicole Lafond, TalkingPointsMemo

Related:

“House Republicans want Mueller to testify despite Trump opposition,” Kyle Cheney and John Bresnahan, Politico

“AG Bill Barr believes special counsel Robert Mueller should be allowed to testify,” Katherine Faulders and Mike Levine, ABC News

“Trump’s Opposition to Mueller Testimony Poses a Test for Barr,”Charlie Savage and Katie Benner, New York Times

“Trump ‘no conceivable basis to stop Mueller from testifying,’ according to legal experts,”Alex Henderson, Salon 

__________________

Short Link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-t8i

Image (“Trump’s Worst Nightmare”) by Mike Licht. Download copies here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com.

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

One Liar Pardons Another

President Donald Trump, who makes six nonfactual statements a day, has pardoned convicted perjurer I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby Jr.  “I don’t know Mr. Libby,” said Mr. Trump, “but for years I have heard that he has been treated unfairly.” Evidently, golf clubhouse chatter is now a major force in our legal system.

The real message in this presidential act: Lie to Mueller for me and get out of jail free.

Keep track of Trump falsehoods here.

More:

“Trump grants pardon to former Bush official; some say he is using the law as a political tool,” Philip Rucker, Josh Dawsey and Matt Zapotosky, Washington Post

“Trump Pardoned Libby to Protect Himself From Mueller,” Marcy Wheeler, New York Times

Related:

“Donald Trump says it’s okay for him to lie since ‘people agree with me.’” Graham Vyse, The New Republic

“Trump is perfecting the art of the Big Lie,” Max Boot, Washington Post

____________

Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-ruo

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

Special Counsel Investigating Trump for Obstruction of Justice

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is now investigating President Donald Trump for possible obstruction of justice, reports the Washington Post. As in Watergate, investigation of the crime — in this case, Russian meddling  in the 2016 presidential campaign and possible coordination with the Trump campaign — has expanded to include the cover-up. Investigators are also looking for evidence of related money laundering by Trump associates.

By his own admission, Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey to obstruct the investigation into Russian links to the Trump campaign, and the president appears to have asked top intelligence officials to refute charges of Russian coordination with his 2016 campaign. On Thursday, an RNC statement and a tweet by the president confirmed the existence of the obstruction probe. The president’s personal legal team merely condemned the leak, not denying the obstruction probe itself. Mr. Trump conflated the issues of 2016 campaign coordination with the obstruction investigation, claiming it’s all a “witch hunt.”

More:

“Mueller Seeks to Talk to Intelligence Officials, Hinting at Inquiry of Trump,” Michael S. Schmidt and Matt Apuzzo, New York Times

“Even Trump’s Aides Blame Him for Obstruction Probe: ‘President Did This to Himself,'” Lachan Markay, Asawin Suesaeng, Spencer Ackerman, Daily Beast

“Trump thinks ‘they’ created his legal problems. He created his legal problems.” Ezra Klein, Vox

“Trump: ‘You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history,'” Rebecca Savransky, The Hill

“GOP Sen. Tells Trump: Investigation Is ‘Not A Witch Hunt, No,'” Matt Shuham, TPM Livewire

“What the law says about ‘obstruction of justice,'” Shannon Vavra, Axios

“Meet the all-star legal team who may take down Trump,” Rebecca Tan and Alex Ward, Vox

____________________________

Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-pQt

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

DOJ Names Special Counsel for Trump-Russia Investigation

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has appointed Robert Mueller as Special Counsel for the investigation of links between Russia and the Trump Campaign. Mr. Mueller served many years as a U.S. Attorney, and prosecutions he led included those of Manuel Noriega, crime boss John Gotti, and the Lockerbie Pan Am bombing case. He was FBI Director from 2001 to 2013. The current investigation encompasses President Trump’s abrupt firing of James Comey, Mr. Mueller’s successor.

More:

“Deputy attorney general appoints special counsel to oversee probe of Russian interference in election,” Devlin Barrett, Sari Horwitz and Matt Zapotosky, Washington Post

“What the Special Counsel Appointment Means,” Matt Ford, The Atlantic 

“Robert Mueller, New Special Counsel, Is Known for Independence,” Michael D. Shear, New York Times

“How presidents normally greet special investigators vs. how Trump does,” Jeff Stein, Vox

“Trump: Special Counsel Part of Biggest ‘Witch Hunt’ in U.S. History,” John T. Bennett, Roll Call

“How a Special Counsel Alters the Russia Investigation,” Charlie Savage, New York Times

___________________________

Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-pS6

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine