F.B.I. Opened Inquiry Into Whether Trump Was Secretly Working on Behalf of Russia

[JohnHarthover]

If Trump is under Putin's thumb, then I'd sure like to know how Russia is coming out ahead. What have they gained or been able to do that could supposedly be attributed to having Trump under the thumb of Putin?

Their main reason for getting involved in the election was to undermine American democracy - both to weaken America and to make its democracy less enviable. Trump has consistently attacked the guardrails of American democracy. He has also weakened America's global influence. In both of those arenas, Russia got what it wanted.

Second, America has weakened its alliances since Trump took over. That gives Russia a lot more influence in its neighbouring region.

Third, has reduced America's influence in the middle-east, allowing Russia to exert more influence in places like Syria.

Fourth, although Trump has failed to remove sanctions against Putin and his friends, that could just be due to his lack of competence.

 

[Kenny'sID]

How do the Dems being sore losers explain the actions of the trump administration before the Dems even lost? Or all of this stuff:
https://themoscowproject.org/collusion-timeline/

They don't, why do they have to?

 

[camille70]

President Trump has gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal details of his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including on at least one occasion taking possession of the notes of his own interpreter and instructing the linguist not to discuss what had transpired with other administration officials, current and former U.S. officials said.

Trump did so after a meeting with Putin in 2017 in Hamburg that was also attended by then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. U.S. officials learned of Trump’s actions when a White House adviser and a senior State Department official sought information from the interpreter beyond a readout shared by Tillerson.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...usive__alert-exclusive--alert-national&wpmk=1

 

[Sparagmos]

They don't, why do they have to?

You said it.

 

[Kenny'sID]

You said it.

Why didn't you answer the question?

 

[Sparagmos]

Why didn't you answer the question?

You said: “It seems like some would put 2 and 2 together and eventually realize it might just be a mass issue of Spoiledsportism.” That doesn’t explain the actions of the Trump administration before the election, and before they even knew they were being investigated.

 

[Belk]

If Trump is under Putin's thumb, then I'd sure like to know how Russia is coming out ahead. What have they gained or been able to do that could supposedly be attributed to having Trump under the thumb of Putin?

You mean other then the worlds dominant super power having it's government shut down and in chaos?

 

[Radagast]

It was claimed that we went into Iraq to get their oil.

It's not like oilfields are something that you can pick up and take away. And oilfields come with a lot of fragile equipment that doesn't combine well with warfare (look at the Kuwait experience). Plus, as you say, the US is not actually short of oil.

 

[Radagast]

F.B.I. Opened Inquiry Into Whether Trump Was Secretly Working on Behalf of Russia

The fact that we know this shows that it was an attempt by elements of the FBI to influence politics.

If they seriously thought that Trump was a Russian agent, it would have been kept under the strictest possible secrecy until they had enough evidence to take action.

 

[EpiscipalMe]

The fact that we know this shows that it was an attempt by elements of the FBI to influence politics.

If they seriously thought that Trump was a Russian agent, it would have been kept under the strictest possible secrecy until they had enough evidence to take action.

That’s weird - your quoting a post attributed to me that doesn’t exist.

In any case, I prefer to wait until investigations are complete and the results available before drawing my own conclusions. But, I guess you can do what you want.

Don’t worry though - Mueller is still hard at work.

 

[Radagast]

That’s weird - your quoting a post attributed to me that doesn’t exist.

Fixed, but I have no idea what happened there.

 

[KCfromNC]

Hab

Having DT in office brings us way lower than any single scandal.

Plus releasing it means that it couldn't be used to get concessions out of Individual 1 favorable to Russia in exchange for keeping it secret. Examples might include :

2016 RNC Delegate: Trump Directed Change To Party Platform On Ukraine Support

President Trump may have been involved with a change to the Republican Party campaign platform last year that watered down support for U.S. assistance to Ukraine, according to new information from someone who was involved.

Diana Denman, a Republican delegate who supported arming U.S. allies in Ukraine, has told people that Trump aide J.D. Gordon said at the Republican Convention in 2016 that Trump directed him to support weakening that position in the official platform.​

Trump Administration to Lift Sanctions on Russian Oligarch’s Companies

The Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it intends to lift sanctions against the business empire of Oleg V. Deripaska, one of Russia’s most influential oligarchs, after an aggressive lobbying campaign by Mr. Deripaska’s companies.​

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

China, the world’s biggest soybean importer, almost tripled purchases from Russia amid a trade dispute with the U.S., the biggest producer.

Russia sold about 850,000 metric tons of soybeans to China from the start of the 12-month season in July through mid-May, according to Russia’s agriculture agency Rosselkhoznadzor. That’s more than during any season before and compares with about 340,000 tons sold during all of the previous period, Chinese customs data show.​

https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...ory.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.35566da0a1a6

President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week
​

Trump, at Putin’s Side, Questions U.S. Intelligence on 2016 Election

President Trump stood next to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Monday and publicly challenged the conclusion of his own intelligence agencies that Moscow interfered in the 2016 presidential election, wrapping up what he called a “deeply productive” summit meeting with an extraordinary show of trust for a leader accused of attacking American democracy.
​

Ignoring History, Trump Hands Russia Yet Another Win in Syria

Mattis’s letter of resignation rebuked the president’s fundamental rejection of collaboration with international allies and his failure to check authoritarian governments, such as Russia
​

Maybe this is all just a coincidence. Perhaps he is just really bad at his job. But there certainly seems to be a pattern here.

 

[KCfromNC]

The fact that we know this shows that it was an attempt by elements of the FBI to influence politics.

If they seriously thought that Trump was a Russian agent, it would have been kept under the strictest possible secrecy until they had enough evidence to take action.

Could be that this is the start of the action. Guess we'll have to wait and see who from Trump's team Mueller files charges against next.

 

[EpiscipalMe]

In what way?

Truthiness, of course.

“Truthiness is the belief or assertion that a particular statement is true based on the intuition or perceptions of some individual or individuals, without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts.”

Truthiness - Wikipedia

 

[camille70]

The fact that we know this shows that it was an attempt by elements of the FBI to influence politics.

If they seriously thought that Trump was a Russian agent, it would have been kept under the strictest possible secrecy until they had enough evidence to take action.

We didn't know any of this when it could have made a difference, which was during the campaign. If they were trying to influence things, which is the argument dems had when the info about Hillary's emails on Anthony Weiner's laptop was announced, it would have been leaked in real time.

That said, this coming out now could be an effort to mentally prepare folks for a report that DT and Russia conspired against the US in an attempt to lessen the shock. I don't know if Trump was personally involved or personally took actions, but afaik, Mueller hasn't made one accusation he couldn't back up, so if he says Manafort gave polling info to Russia, he has evidence.

 

[Aldebaran]

Their main reason for getting involved in the election was to undermine American democracy - both to weaken America and to make its democracy less enviable. Trump has consistently attacked the guardrails of American democracy. He has also weakened America's global influence. In both of those arenas, Russia got what it wanted.

Our "democracy" is no different than it was. The division you're seeing was going on even during the 8 years prior to Trump's presidency.

Second, America has weakened its alliances since Trump took over. That gives Russia a lot more influence in its neighbouring region.

When an alliance strongly favors the other country, it weakens America. There's nothing wrong with him trying to put things into more of a balance as far as trade goes.

Third, has reduced America's influence in the middle-east, allowing Russia to exert more influence in places like Syria.

You're talking quite a bit about "influence" that we have in other places. Other presidents were criticized for projecting too much of our power and wealth abroad when we have problems here at home that weren't being addressed. It's time to start taking care of those issues instead of focusing so much of our strengths elsewhere.

Fourth, although Trump has failed to remove sanctions against Putin and his friends, that could just be due to his lack of competence.

If he did remove those sanctions, you'd have condemned him for it. Since he didn't, you find another way to condemn him for the same thing. This pretty reveals your bias on your first 3 points.

 

[Aldebaran]

President Trump has gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal details of his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including on at least one occasion taking possession of the notes of his own interpreter and instructing the linguist not to discuss what had transpired with other administration officials, current and former U.S. officials said.

Maybe he remembers how embarrassing it was for a certain someone else to reveal things he says to the Russians:

 

[Aldebaran]

You mean other then the worlds dominant super power having it's government shut down and in chaos?

How long has the government been partially shut down? 20 days or so? I've been out each and every one of those days and haven't noticed any chaos. Perhaps you might consider moving to a place a bit more orderly if a shutdown of nonessential government services puts your location in chaos.

 

[Aldebaran]

It's not like oilfields are something that you can pick up and take away. And oilfields come with a lot of fragile equipment that doesn't combine well with warfare (look at the Kuwait experience). Plus, as you say, the US is not actually short of oil.

Saddam Hussein's army planted explosives on those wells to intentionally blow them up. It didn't happen because they were fragile. After they were repaired, they became the property of the Iraqi people, and then were taken over by ISIS, and then went back to the Iraqis again.

 

[Belk]

How long has the government been partially shut down? 20 days or so? I've been out each and every one of those days and haven't noticed any chaos. Perhaps you might consider moving to a place a bit more orderly if a shutdown of nonessential government services puts your location in chaos.

Are you the entirety of the federal government? If not then I fail to see how your personal anecdotes refute the government being shut down and that it is causing chaos.