re: Conservative Think Tank: Trump ‘Obstructed Justice’ When He Fired Comey

Airtight is when a judge says guilty not when the Brookings Institute releases a opinion paper.

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But like a few weeks ago, that doesn't address the fact that there are concurrent congressional and grand jury investigations intimately tied to Trump campaign principals--including one (Flynn) whom Trump specifically tried to have heat taken off.

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Trump tried to have 'the heat taken off' of Flynn. Because Flynn is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General, who served in the Army for 33 years until 2014. as well as assistant director of national intelligence in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. And then Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

There is no way that he is a double nought spy against the United States. There is no way he did anything any more nefarious than mix up paper work in clearance filings or filed his taxes late.

If he did anything that CNN, the democrats and the MSM have him painted as doing; he would have been in Leavenworth 10 years ago.

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Your OP and the 118 pages of facts all center around the firing of Comey. So that is limited to the FBI.

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You obviously haven't read all 118 pages. I understand, it's a long read.

They also make an argument that Trump asking Comey that he "hopes Comey can let flynn go" also qualifies for obstruction.

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Bottom line: The argument is going to boil down to whether the POTUS truly is the head of the executive branch (he is) and whether he is allowed to direct investigations as he sees fit. The constitution doesn't prevent him from doing whatever he wants with the FBI -- and indeed the constitution explicitly makes him the dictator of the executive branch. The FBI wasn't around in the 1780's, but the constitution did make provisions for administrative agencies (which the FBI is) The POTUS is the head honcho of all executive branch agencies.

All of the technical arguments as to whether this or that is or isn't obstruction is irrelevant to the POTUS. He is not Joe Sixpack.

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I could write the lead-off for the 9-0 decision on this one.

...blah blah blah essential element of the spirit of our constitution is that no man is above the law.

What you've proposed is a power English kings didn't have as of almost 400 years ago.

And while the unitary executive is a widely accepted principle in our government, it does not grant him unlimited authority over all executive functions. He can't [legally] order anyone to break the law. He can't dissolve statutory programs and agencies. He can't use the military to carve out and man a fiefdom that he declares himself ruler of. He can't even practically fire a lot of people in the government.

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Yeah, so the republicans who told Nixon they would remove him knew the answer to that question.

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learning all your political history in the movies is fun! isn't son.

that's not what happened even a little bit.

In his 2006 book "Conservatives Without Conscience," former Watergate figure John W. Dean wrote that the Capitol Hill trio "traveled to the White House to tell Nixon it was time to resign." A Los Angeles Times headline over Rhodes' 2003 obituary recalled that the longtime representative from Mesa "helped persuade Nixon to resign." A 2007 Politico column recalled the episode as "When the GOP Torpedoed Nixon."

Actually, Goldwater, Rhodes and Scott did not try to persuade or urge Nixon to resign in their meeting in his "working office" in the Old Executive Office Building. They just confirmed to the doomed president the extent to which his support on the Hill had evaporated.

"My dad kind of bristled at the idea that he and Goldwater talked Nixon into doing what he did," son Tom Rhodes told The Arizona Republic. "I don't think any one of the three of them took any pride in that moment."

LINK

what was obvious at that time had you been alive, was that nixon would be impeached in the house. of course he would have the democrats had a 150 seat majority. impeachment requires but a single vote majority in the house it remains an open question to this day whether or not the democrats could have picked up the 11 republican votes needed to convict in the senate.

at the time it was thought that just impeachment in the house would have been an irreparable blemish on the party. years later having seen that it had no effect on clinton's presidency or his party led howard baker to remark they should have counseled nixon to stay and fight.

now why don't you run along junior and let the grown ups talk politics!

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There is no way that he is a double nought spy against the United States. There is no way he did anything any more nefarious than mix up paper work in clearance filings or filed his taxes late.

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So you call taking money from Russia and lying about it a "paper work mix up"

You call taking money from Turkey and lying about it a "paper work mix up"

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Trump tried to have 'the heat taken off' of Flynn. Because Flynn is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General, who served in the Army for 33 years until 2014. as well as assistant director of national intelligence in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. And then Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. There is no way that he is a double nought spy against the United States. There is no way he did anything any more nefarious than mix up paper work in clearance filings or filed his taxes late.

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I was at DIA under Flynn. I don't need his CV or for you to vouch for his character. I don't think he's some traitor. But he got himself in trouble a time or two in the Army for being just a little too slick for his own good (including as a GO in AFG).

If there's nothing there in this case, I don't suppose he has anything to worry about. He was cleared of his prior dust-ups, but only just.

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So you call taking money from Russia and lying about it a "paper work mix up" You call taking money from Turkey and lying about it a "paper work mix up"

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Now these are some things I would be interested in learning more. Of course, to my knowledge, these don't involve Trump, so we are on a topic unrelated to the Brookings paper.

My understanding is that the money Flynn receives from Russia was for a speech he gave at a publicized event in Russia. One where he shared a table with Jill Stein. Is that the instance of lying about taking money from Russia you refer to?

The turkey issue is Monafort, right? He was a Turkish agent and didn't disclose. Is that the issue you are referring to? Any others?

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And I can legally go home, right now, and reformat my computers and my external hard drive. If I became the subject of an investigation into piracy or some other illicit activity and ran home and wiped those same systems, it would be a different matter.

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I would suggest bleachbit and a sledge hammer, I hear that is most effective.