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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Mueller is a public servant, if he's half as honest as everyone (left and right) thinks he is, he leaves his politics at the door. And considering this is the guy who quit being a defense attorney because he couldn't bring himself to defend clients that he thought were guilty...
I do find it weird how senior level bureaucrats in the US are commonly registered to a party, whereas in some other countries maintaining any sort of connection to a party is discouraged for anyone in middle management or above. But that's mostly a product of party registration in the US system, more than anything else.
edited 15th Apr '18 9:54:41 AM by Rationalinsanity
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.He has a lot more independence than elected officials do.
Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.![]()
Attacking Robert Mueller's integrity. Really?
Robert Mueller is so upright and by the book, that he hated private practice because he can't defend guilty people, and practically begged to come back to the FBI, even for a much lower pay. In a speech, he once said the reason that he liked his job as FBI Director so much, is that it "provides all the benefits of public service, without the politics."
He's utterly apolitical, and couldn't care less if you were a Democrat or Republican. All he cares about is if you were breaking the law.
edited 15th Apr '18 9:57:31 AM by megaeliz
I don’t know how much I’d trust Mueller on a number of issues but he is an excellent special counsel who I doubt is overly willing to cover for crimes in the level of colluding with a foreign power to steal the election.
His actions with Manafort and Cohen are proof of this.
edited 15th Apr '18 10:00:35 AM by Lightysnake
I think the best endorsement you can get of him, is that when Obama asked him to stay an extra two years as FBI Director, it was confirmed with a unanimous vote in both houses.
From a speech he gave to a graduating class
It is, in my mind, what the archway inscription describes as the light of truth.
Every FBI employee takes an oath promising to uphold the rule of law, and the United States Constitution. And for us these are are not mere words, they set the expectation for our behavior in the bureau, the standard for the work that we do.
For the American people to respect the Bureau, we must be objective and percieved as objective, we must be fair and be perceived as fair. And it also means that we must be apolitical.
And that is one of the great things about my particular job. It allows me the benefits of public service, but without the politics.
edited 15th Apr '18 10:12:33 AM by megaeliz
X4 Everyone is subject to political pressures, Comey is proof of that, he was subject to the pressures as director of the FBI even though he couldn’t be primaried from that position. Not being a politican doesn’t mean one isn’t a political actor.
Mueller hasn’t been subject to pressures in the same way, he only has his own reputation to worry about and not that of the entire FBI, he has one job to do (investigate relevant wrongdoing) and not a whole host (Comey had a lot of competing priorities as FBI Director) and he has someone providing political cover for him (Rosenstein).
So far everything we know suggests that Mueller is more moral that Comey, values justice more and just strait up can’t stand working with/for people he knows to be immoral, so I think when he does face the same kind of test that Comey did he will pass, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Rosenstein is the only person to be tested and pass as I see it, because we know he’s facing political pressure and he’s refused to buckle, but if he gets fired all that pressure will fall on Mueller and I just can’t say I’m certain that he’ll do the right thing, on balance I think he will, but I’m not 100% sure.
The speech is great and speaks well of him, unanimous approval from Congress realy depends on ones opinion of congress, there are people in the US congress whose aproval one shouldn’t want.
edited 15th Apr '18 10:21:57 AM by Silasw
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
From a 2007 Los Angeles Times Article:
Ashcroft, weak from gallbladder surgery, was under pressure from White House officials Alberto Gonzales and Andrew Card to sign papers reauthorizing the domestic surveillance program secretly launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Ashcroft's wife was distraught about the visit from the White House counsel and chief of staff, according to testimony Comey later gave to a Senate committee.
She called Comey to stop the uninvited visitors. Just the previous week, her husband had agreed not to reinstate the program.
Comey called in help, asking Mueller, then the FBI director, and several top aides to meet him at the hospital.
It was the start of a battle between the Justice Department and the White House. According to Comey, the White House renewed the program the next day without his approval. Since the White House had ignored the department's legal advice, Comey, Mueller and several other officials made plans to resign. It was only when President George W. Bush agreed to listen to Comey and Mueller and restructure the program did resignation plans go away.
edited 15th Apr '18 10:23:37 AM by megaeliz
That’s a very different kettle of fish to what we’re dealing with today, it also means that Mueller signed off on the domestic spying program that existed after that point, which isn’t exactly something that has widespread aproval from people.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranI don't think anyone is attacking Muller's personal integrity. He's certainly a dedicated public servant and has acted with competence and integrity throughout a long career. Nobody is infallible, but he certainly seems like a decent guy. He headed up the FBI during a time it made some very questionable moves, but like I said nobody is infallible.
The thing is, it's not just about him. When it comes down to it, "the investigation" is a huge puzzle with lots of moving pieces and outside factors. To say it's massively complex is an understatement. It could go any one of a dozen ways, and lionizing Muller as a way to prove its legitimacy or efficacy doesn't do much.
edited 15th Apr '18 10:29:23 AM by archonspeaks
They should have sent a poet.There's no need to put Mueller on a pedestal, just acknowledge that for right now we have no reason to doubt he's trustworthy in this position, and seemingly many to believe he is.
If it turns out that some shady stuff happens it'll be disappointing, but not the end of the world. But I don't think you should go in assuming anything like that until given an actual reason to. And even at this point, I don't think "He's a registered Republican" is enough of a reason to, at least not for the situation.
The report claims that several chemical strikes were carried out in the Damascus suburb of Douma on April 7, and that symptoms experienced by the victims - skin burns, suffocation and other breathing difficulties, among other markers - were consistent with the effects of chlorine gas.
"Reliable intelligence indicates that Syrian military officials have coordinated what appears to be the use of chemical weapons containing chlorine on Douma, on April 7," the report, released by the French Foreign Ministry, reads.
The report also states that the Syrian government has carried out a number of chemical weapons strikes since April 4, 2017 - the same day a chemical attack in Syria's northern Idlib province left more than 80 civilians dead.
The U.S. issued an assessment on Friday night pointing to the Syrian government's role in the alleged chemical attacks in Douma.
That report cites "multiple media sources, the reported symptoms experienced by victims, videos and images showing two assessed barrel bombs from the attack, and reliable information indicating coordination between Syrian military officials before the attack."
The U.S. issued an assessment
on Friday night pointing to the Syrian government's role in the alleged chemical attacks in Douma.
That report cites "multiple media sources, the reported symptoms experienced by victims, videos and images showing two assessed barrel bombs from the attack, and reliable information indicating coordination between Syrian military officials before the attack."
The assessment also suggests that the Syrian government not only used chlorine in the attack on Douma, but that reported symptoms were also consistent with exposure to sarin, a deadly nerve agent.
The French and U.S. assessments came hours after leaders in Washington, Paris and London authorized "precision strikes" on targets in Syria believed to be associated with the country's chemical weapons arsenal.
So we know for sure that they used Chlorine, and there is evidence that they may have also used Sarin, as well.
edited 15th Apr '18 10:59:45 AM by megaeliz
Well, it seems that the USA has learned its lesson from Irak on not creating false flag operations, though I doubt that Russia will double down, maybe China will retract support but it could as well stay.
edited 15th Apr '18 11:02:27 AM by raziel365
Instead of focusing on relatives that divide us, we should find the absolutes that tie us.Barbara Bush is in failing health, with congestive heart failure and lung problems.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/15/politics/barbara-bush-health/index.html
Sounds like she's getting palliative care at home. Here's hoping that Cheeto shows some decency or at least silence when she and/or her husband do pass on.
edited 15th Apr '18 11:36:17 AM by Rationalinsanity
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.I don't particularly like or trust Comey; he proved himself either a fool with delusions of fairness, a fool with delusions of kingmaking, a short-sighted career grabber, a useful patsy, or a knowing accomplice with the But Her Emails story, and I don't think his standing up to Trump necessarily makes him a better person, especially now that he's essentially powerless aside from tweaking Trump's temper (which you can also do as a porn star or a high school student).
That said, he's fighting, and that's useful. I'm willing to extend him and his book deal the benefit of the doubt as long as his interference is targeted at Trump.
It's been fun.![]()
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It will certainly do something, although Trump himself might be more likely to go down on the New York stuff.
Remember, he has 19 indictments already
, and someone from "Mueller, She Wrote" mentioned that they've heard that he has more sealed indictments in waiting.
edited 15th Apr '18 12:07:13 PM by megaeliz
The serious test of Mueller is likely to come if Trump fires Rosenstein and appoints someone else with instructions for them to hamper Mueller.
In that case Mueller has 4 likely options:
- Resign stating that his investigation is being blocked.
- Keep on working and doing his best despite interference.
- Indict Rosenstein's replacement for obstruction of justice for their interference with him.
- Indict Trump for obstruction of justice for firing Rosenstein and replacing him with someone designed to hamper the investigation.

Unlike Comey I think that's completely warranted.
In-general I have noticed an unsettling increase in militancy post-Trump victory, it just electrified some people in the wrong way.
edited 15th Apr '18 9:53:02 AM by Fourthspartan56
"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang