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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#192276: Jun 7th 2017 at 12:11:32 PM

[up] Well, that's what they got Nixon on, but he was decent enough to resign before it became too embarrassing.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#192277: Jun 7th 2017 at 12:13:49 PM

Nixon was impeached with obstruction of justice as the grounds, but impeachment requires no formal legal charges. Once removed from office (by conviction in the Senate), the President may then be prosecuted in criminal or civil court.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#192278: Jun 7th 2017 at 12:45:53 PM

Of course, Nixon was pardoned, which will likely happen to Trump if he's removed as well.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
TacticalFox88 from USA Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Dating the Doctor
#192279: Jun 7th 2017 at 12:52:47 PM

If the Republican Party actually goes forward to impeach Trump, that means they're pretty much throwing him under the bus and will let him be prosecuted accordingly.

New Survey coming this weekend!
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#192280: Jun 7th 2017 at 12:56:37 PM

Assuming that Pence doesn't instantly pardon him upon assuming office.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
fruitpork Since: Oct, 2010
#192281: Jun 7th 2017 at 12:59:34 PM

I figure that the comey testimony will likely not be incredibly mind blowing, but if it is,itll be the news of the century.

[up] if he does, he'll be committing political suicide. Then again if he doesn't he'll get smacked with the most vocal tantrum ever.

edited 7th Jun '17 1:01:20 PM by fruitpork

ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#192282: Jun 7th 2017 at 1:07:57 PM

[up]

Honestly, I don't anticipate much in the way of new information with Comey's testimony.

What will be interesting are the questions about why he didn't release this information sooner, which I figure he may chalk up to either fearing for his job security, saying that the phrasing was ambiguous enough that it left Trump wiggle-room, or concerns that releasing this information might harm the overall investigation, whether by getting his ass fired more quickly (and thus leaving the investigation in limbo) or in the hopes of being able to pump for information while playing the patsy.

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
HextarVigar That guy from The Big House Since: Feb, 2015
That guy
#192283: Jun 7th 2017 at 1:25:42 PM

I can honestly the campaign slogan of one of the next presidential nominees being "Help Me Fix The Mess You Made".

Your momma's so dumb she thinks oral sex means talking dirty.
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#192284: Jun 7th 2017 at 1:31:52 PM

Make America Not A Complete Parody of Itself Again.

edited 7th Jun '17 1:31:59 PM by Rationalinsanity

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#192285: Jun 7th 2017 at 1:38:01 PM

[up][up]*he made. No slogan that implies fault of the public is gonna fly in politics.

And on the GOP being fascist: [Slate] The White House decision to reject any and all Democratic oversight requests is an unprecedented act of nullification. Basically: The White House staff is under orders not to cooperate with Democrats.

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
HextarVigar That guy from The Big House Since: Feb, 2015
That guy
#192286: Jun 7th 2017 at 1:48:17 PM

Doesn't that sort of defeat the entire purpose?

Your momma's so dumb she thinks oral sex means talking dirty.
IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#192287: Jun 7th 2017 at 2:24:26 PM

[up]Hypothetical: "You fucked up, now vote for me so I can clean your mess". Would you like somebody telling you that? Most people don't, so it wouldn't help a campaign.

edited 7th Jun '17 2:25:32 PM by IFwanderer

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#192288: Jun 7th 2017 at 2:28:56 PM

[up]what about: we made this mess, we can fix it.

The we makes it so it's not accusing anyone in particular, but shows that everyone played a part in it and everyone can help fix it.

edited 7th Jun '17 2:35:13 PM by megaeliz

HextarVigar That guy from The Big House Since: Feb, 2015
That guy
#192289: Jun 7th 2017 at 2:36:44 PM

Wasn't referring to that. The link.

Your momma's so dumb she thinks oral sex means talking dirty.
pwiegle Cape Malleum Majorem from Nowhere Special Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Singularity
Cape Malleum Majorem
#192290: Jun 7th 2017 at 2:42:13 PM

Orange is the New Stupid — Make America Sane Again!

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DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#192291: Jun 7th 2017 at 2:47:48 PM

Trumps Approval Rating hits it's lowest on Quinnipac; 34% Approval, 57% Disapproval. More important, everyone, including Republicans, think Trump is not level-headed enough.

Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#192293: Jun 7th 2017 at 3:24:14 PM

Maher is not only anti-vaccine but has, at various points, been an all-out germ theory denier.

Oh, God. That means he doesn't wash his hands after going to the toilet, doesn't it? sad

Edit: Page topper. Heh.

edited 7th Jun '17 3:24:44 PM by Wyldchyld

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
fruitpork Since: Oct, 2010
#192294: Jun 7th 2017 at 3:34:25 PM

Wait, so is he testifying today or tomorrow?

Proglottid Since: Mar, 2010
#192295: Jun 7th 2017 at 3:34:43 PM

Honestly Trump might as well be the first super-powered human because it's like he has actual real-life Plot Armor. Absolutely everything that could've brought down anyone pre-campaign he has shrugged off without a hitch, and i find highly unlikely we're seeing him leave until he's done the eight-year run

But at least seeing his fandom ever increasingly realize they've been conned and his gang of cronies tearing themselves apart with every passing day brings a little catharsis

edited 7th Jun '17 3:34:55 PM by Proglottid

nightwyrm_zero Since: Apr, 2010
#192296: Jun 7th 2017 at 3:35:36 PM

[up][up]Tomorrow, but Comey released a draft of his opening statement today.

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#192297: Jun 7th 2017 at 3:46:59 PM

[up][up] It's called charisma. Throughout history, there have been many an instance where a politician demonstrated that having max ranks in charisma can override just about everything and anything imaginable. Distressing though it may be, many people will overlook and/or forgive countless things if the person who said or did them is likable by society's definitions.

We see this in the small scale all the time, but rarely is it so visible on the large scale. To many, a person's guilt or innocence can be decided by one question: would I like to have a beer with this person?

edited 7th Jun '17 3:47:49 PM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#192298: Jun 7th 2017 at 3:51:49 PM

CNN Exclusive: US suspects Russian hackers planted fake news behind Qatar crisis

US investigators believe Russian hackers breached Qatar's state news agency and planted a fake news report that contributed to a crisis among the US' closest Gulf allies, according to US officials briefed on the investigation.

The FBI recently sent a team of investigators to Doha to help the Qatari government investigate the alleged hacking incident, Qatari and US government officials say.

Intelligence gathered by the US security agencies indicates that Russian hackers were behind the intrusion first reported by the Qatari government two weeks ago, US officials say. Qatar hosts one of the largest US military bases in the region.

The alleged involvement of Russian hackers intensifies concerns by US intelligence and law enforcement agencies that Russia continues to try some of the same cyber-hacking measures on US allies that intelligence agencies believe it used to meddle in the 2016 elections.

US officials say the Russian goal appears to be to cause rifts among the US and its allies. In recent months, suspected Russian cyber activities, including the use of fake news stories, have turned up amid elections in France, Germany and other countries.

It's not yet clear whether the US has tracked the hackers in the Qatar incident to Russian criminal organizations or to the Russian security services blamed for the US election hacks. One official noted that based on past intelligence, "not much happens in that country without the blessing of the government."

The FBI and CIA declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the Qatari embassy in Washington said the investigation is ongoing and its results would be released publicly soon.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed what he called CNN's "fake" reporting Wednesday.

"It's another lie that was published," he told reporters. "Unfortunately, our colleagues from CNN again and again publish references to unnamed sources in unnamed agencies, etc, etc. These streams of information have no connection with the reality. It's so far away from the reality. Fake is a fake."

The Qatari government has said a May 23 news report on its Qatar News Agency attributed false remarks to the nation's ruler that appeared friendly to Iran and Israel and questioned whether President Donald Trump would last in office.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told CNN the FBI has confirmed the hack and the planting of fake news.

"Whatever has been thrown as an accusation is all based on misinformation and we think that the entire crisis being based on misinformation," the foreign minister told CNN's Becky Anderson. "Because it was started based on fabricated news, being wedged and being inserted in our national news agency which was hacked and proved by the FBI."

Sheikh Saif Bin Ahmed Al-Thani, director of the Qatari Government Communications Office, confirmed that Qatar's Ministry of Interior is working with the FBI and the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency on the ongoing hacking investigation of the Qatar News Agency.

"The Ministry of Interior will reveal the findings of the investigation when completed," he told CNN.

Partly in reaction to the false news report, Qatar's neighbors, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have cut off economic and political ties, causing a broader crisis.

The report came at a time of escalating tension over accusations Qatar was financing terrorism.

On Tuesday, Trump tweeted criticism of Qatar that mirrors that of the Saudis and others in the region who have long objected to Qatar's foreign policy. He did not address the false news report.

"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off," Trump said in a series of tweets. "They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!"

In his tweet, Trump voiced support for the regional blockade of Qatar and cited Qatar's funding of terrorist groups. The Qataris have rejected the terror-funding accusations.

Hours after Trump's tweets, the US State Department said Qatar had made progress on stemming the funding of terrorists but that there was more work to be done.

US and European authorities have complained for years about funding for extremists from Saudi Arabia and other nations in the Gulf region. Fifteen of the 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudi citizens.

Last year, during a visit to Saudi Arabia, Obama administration officials raised the issue of Saudi funding to build mosques in Europe and Africa that are helping to spread an ultra-conservative strain of Islam.

US intelligence has long been concerned with what they say is the Russian government's ability to plant fake news in otherwise credible streams, according to US officials.

That concern has surfaced in recent months in congressional briefings by former FBI Director James Comey.

Comey told lawmakers that one reason he decided to bypass his Justice Department bosses in announcing no charges in the probe of Hillary Clinton's private email server was the concern about an apparent fake piece of Russian intelligence. The intelligence suggested the Russians had an email that indicated former Attorney General Loretta Lynch had assured Democrats she wouldn't let the Clinton probe lead to charges.

The FBI came to believe the email was fake, but still feared the Russians could release it to undermine the Justice Department's role in the probe.

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#192299: Jun 7th 2017 at 3:51:55 PM

I mean, if Trump's approval ratings remain the way they are (let alone get worse) and the Democratic candidate is halfway decent, he's done in 2020 (barring fraud or massive voter suppression).

[up]I mean, their neighbors have been getting annoyed with them for years. The Russians just provided an excuse/the last straw. Things have been bad since the coup in Egypt, and have gotten worse with the ISIS crisis and the Iran standoff.

edited 7th Jun '17 3:53:16 PM by Rationalinsanity

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
pwiegle Cape Malleum Majorem from Nowhere Special Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Singularity
Cape Malleum Majorem
#192300: Jun 7th 2017 at 3:54:16 PM

[up][up][up]Yeah, but what sort of person would consider Trump likable, and want to have a beer with him? I didn't like him way back in The '80s, and I despise him now.

edited 7th Jun '17 3:54:53 PM by pwiegle

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