We Must Show The Prez Nobody Is Above The Law!!!…
Whitaker is not Senate confirmed for any other position, so his appointment as acting AG should really be considered illegal & unconstitutional. And as his views in the past are clear he’s very much against the Mueller probe, it screams conflict of interest. It’s apparent that’s why Trump picked him, being a loud/corrupt signal from our prez he thinks he’s above the law. This whole episode is more clear evidence of obstruction of justice. The Dems when they take the House in January may need to clean up whatever damage Whitaker does, & they do hold subpoena power. If Mueller gets derailed, the House could interview Mueller, Sessions & others. And public pressure should force the facts from the probe to ultimately be revealed.
If Whitaker tries to bury the Mueller report (which he has said he wants to), which the final findings are reportedly being written now, that should not be the end of it. With his probe in trouble from Trump inserting a reckless/antagonistic acting AG, Mueller may elect to go bold. That final report which could be ready soon, Mueller might release it directly to Congress or the public. Or if he really wants to go big & bold if he has the evidence, maybe he’ll indict Trump. Mueller has had a sense this devious Trump maneuver was likely coming, so we can only assume he has all the important evidence stored away in a safe place. He’s also probably strategized with the FBI & various regional U.S. attorney offices to carry on the probe even should special counsel get fired, defunded or otherwise sabotaged. He may further have cases going before a grand jury & already have indictments under seal, sitting in the court system waiting to be unleashed.
The ethics office within the DOJ should also call out Whitaker’s obvious conflicts of interest & recommend he recuse himself. But that isn’t likely to happen since that’s the same reason Trump constantly berated Sessions. This Whitaker is a piece of work. His past statements sounded pure Trumpian, things like no collusion, Russia didn’t interfere, it was Hillary who actually colluded with the Russians, the probe should be limited, choke off the probe’s funding, & yada yada yada. It sounds like a Trump’s greatest hits album. This guy is obviously a far-rightwing echo-Trumpeter. He has a predetermined opinion on the probe before even seeing the evidence & he’s sure to fight Mueller tooth & nail. And what Whitaker does learn now that he oversees the probe, he could pass those secrets onto Trump. He’s also in place to fight any potential subpoena Mueller might want to issue to the prez. So he really isn’t qualified for AG, Whitaker is more an extension of Trump’s legal team. Whitaker is also close to Sam Clovis, a key witness. Amazingly, even prior to his appointment, Whitaker has actually been serving as a spy within the DOJ & sneaking his secrets into the White House. Everything about this is so wrong!
Of course, Trump is downplaying Whitaker’s views in giving his newly appointed AG some cover to start doing his damage behind the scenes. Our precarious circumstances have become an urgent emergency! Hear our selected song at bottom of page 3. Trump keeps proving he thinks he’s above the law, so the rule of law & democracy itself is now on the line here. Mueller must not be derailed, which the American people should demand to know the results of the investigation! This beginning to the article from trump-reviewing-answers-mueller is newsworthy, especially the report Mueller’s team has begun writing its final report. Whether that was brought about from pressure with Whitaker installed to oversee the probe, or the report was ready to be finalized anyway, it’s hard to say:
As he was preparing to remove Jeff Sessions as attorney general, President Donald Trump had already begun reviewing with his lawyers the written answers to questions from special counsel Robert Mueller. The move to replace Sessions with Matt Whitaker, who has been openly critical of the special counsel, comes as the White House braces for a return of public activity on the Russia investigation following a pre-election quiet period, according to people briefed on the matter. As acting attorney general, Whitaker also now takes over Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s role in overseeing the special counsel probe, which officials inside the Justice Department and lawyers representing witnesses believe is moving closer to a conclusion. Mueller’s team has begun writing its final report, multiple sources told CNN. Before that happens, one of the major questions in the Russia investigation remains to be answered: What happens to Roger Stone, a longtime Trump adviser who has been at the center of a whirlwind of legal activity behind the scenes even during the election-related public quiet period by Mueller.
As recently as a month ago, Mueller asked Trump’s lawyers to produce call and visitor logs related to Stone from Trump Tower in New York, according to a source briefed on the matter. The request at this late stage of the investigation came as something of a surprise to lawyers involved, given that the Mueller team has been focused for months on Stone and his activities before the 2016 election. Among the questions Mueller has asked the President to provide written responses on are queries about Stone and his communications with then-candidate Trump, according to a source briefed on the matter. Despite the change in leadership at the Justice Department, the Trump legal team believes it won’t affect its approach to the Mueller questions, according to one source familiar with the matter.
The President and his lawyers have been aiming to return answers to Mueller’s questions later this month, according to one source familiar with the matter. No final decision on an in-person interview has been made. But Trump’s legal team and other lawyers representing witnesses in the investigation expect that the President’s responses to Mueller could be one of the final pieces of the 18-month-long probe before the investigators present a report on their findings. Trump made clear once again in a news conference Wednesday he believes the investigation is a waste of time and money. “It’s a disgrace, it should have never been started because there was no crime,” Trump said. Even after Mueller completes his work, Tuesday’s midterm election results mean that House Democrats will also be in a position to expand investigations of Trump. That means Mueller will not be the end of Russia-related questions of Trump and his campaign.
Tons of News Reports the past couple days!
More reporting about Mueller preparing his final report comes from muellers-team-has-started-writing-its-final-report-cnn & also robert-mueller-drafting-final-russia-investigation-report. We’ve got a limit on outbound links, plus we have so many links to articles since this is a major headline. So we’ll list the news source & article titles here, which those you’d like to read you can do your own search. Peruse this massive list of news stories, with brief comments from me above many of the titles & some of these are live links. This is a story we must watch closely, & most importantly Mueller must be allowed to finish, with Congress & the American people being given access to the results! And a loud message must be sent nobody is above the law!
Appointment Unconstitutional: nytimes/trump-attorney-general-sessions-unconstitutional
Mueller’s findings may be safe, even if Mueller isn’t: nytimes/mueller–whitaker–sessions-trump
washingtonpost/cornered-and-raging-trump-begins-his-cover-up-heres-how-democrats-can-respond
washingtonpost/now-what-happens-to-mueller
washingtonpost/the-guardrails-are-off-trump-takes-aggressive-moves-he-resisted-before-elections
washingtonpost/do-gop-senators-have-the-courage-to-fight-for-our-democracy
washingtonpost/trumps-firing-jeff-sessions-is-another-comey-esque-moment
washingtonpost/manchin-ousting-sessions-was-a-big-mistake-that-puts-the-country-on-verge-of-a-constitutional-crisis
washingtonpost/in-matthew-whitaker-trump-has-a-loyalist-at-the-helm-of-the-justice-department
washingtonpost/matthew-whitaker-has-experience-advising-con-artists-will-he-help-more-under-trump
washingtonpost/matthew-whitaker-is-a-crackpot
washingtonpost/trumps-replacement-for-sessions-is-the-wrong-choice-at-the-wrong-time/
washingtonpost/the-mueller-probe-could-be-in-mortal-danger
washingtonpost/dont-freak-out-over-jeff-sessionss-departure–at-least-not-yet
thehill/protectmueller-trends-on-twitter-as-protests-break-out-in
thehill/sessions-replacement-can-destroy-mueller-probe-without-having-to-fire
thehill/schiff-house-dems-interested-sessions-testimony-about-firing-in-next
Conflicts of interests everywhere: thehill/5-things-to-know-about-new-acting-attorney-general-matthew-whitaker
And also completely unqualified: thehill/cnns-toobin-acting-attorney-general-matt-whitaker-is-obscure-and
Yep, he really isn’t qualified as told by cable TV legal correspondents: thehill/fox-news-judicial-analyst-trump-acting-ag-does-not-qualify-under-the
History repeating itself: bloomberg/trump-fires-sessions-risks-reliving-nixon-s-mistakes
A Trump puppet sounding the mantra of no collusion, no collusion: thedailybeast/matthew-whitaker-trumps-new-ag-declared-there-was-no-collusion-between-trump-and-russia
Congress must help navigate this tricky trail where Trump has put himself above the law: https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-is-gonna-end-the-mueller-probe-heres-what-democrats-should-do?ref=home
I can’t emphasize enough how important it was for the Dems to win the House: businessinsider/democrats-subpoena-power-house-russia-probe-sessions-mueller
huffingtonpost/george-conway-new-york-times-op-ed
Marches across U.S: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/protect-robert-mueller-investigation-protests_us_5be4c532e4b0769d24cb25bf
Time to brace ourselves: apnews/indictments?-final-report?-white-house-braces-for-mueller
Good buddies: salon/mark-whitaker-and-sam-clovis-trumps-new-attorney-general-has-a-major-conflict-of-interest
Sessions was never seen as loyal, although he was actually very loyal to Trump: theguardian/jeff-sessions-loyalty-office-trump
This should not be legal: slate/matthew-whitaker-jeff-sessions-replacement-illegal
axios/trump-acting-attorney-general-whitaker-legal-challenges
vox/matthew-whitaker-jeff-sessions-trump-mueller
This is a national emergency, but with Trump we’ve become numb to it: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/8/18073006/jeff-sessions-firing-democracy-erosion
A disciple of Trump who kept chanting no collusion: newsmax/robertmueller-nocollusion-mattwhitaker-doj
Those at risk of being charged love the interim AG pick: motherjones/russiagate-figures-are-thrilled-by-trumps-new-interim-attorney-general
motherjones/matthew-whitaker-the-new-acting-attorney-general-was-obsessed-with-clintons-emails
thinkprogress/matthew-whitaker-grotesque-incoherent
thinkprogress/matthew-whitaker-mueller-russia-investigation
Welcome to our madhouse: https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a24795336/president-trump-fires-jeff-sessions-attorney-general-matt-whitaker/
The rageaholic: mediaite/bernstein-rips-trump-we-need-to-be-concerned-about-a-rageaholic-president-with-no-understanding-of-rule-of-law
Trump loves large crowd sizes: https://www.mediaite.com/online/protesters-descend-upon-washington-and-new-york-trump-is-not-above-the-law/
Acting AG could do a lot of damage: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/acting-ag-matthew-whitaker-could-absolutely-foil-robert-muellers-backup-plans/
His team doesn’t leak, which is why Mueller could spring some surprises: https://www.gq.com/story/robert-mueller-master-of-silence
dailykos/-Trump-replacing-Sessions-with-Whitaker-isn-t-just-disastrous-it-s-unconstitutional
dailykos/-Whitaker-has-not-been-legally-appointed-the-acting-Attorney-General-should-be-Rosenstein
dailykos/-Trump-s-Final-Assault-On-Democracy-Begins
There is wrong in every way: washingtonpost/almost-everything-about-matthew-whitakers-appointment-is-problematic
A known con man: washingtonpost/matthew-whitaker-has-experience-advising-con-artists-will-he-help-more-under-trump
Yes indeed, we may be dealing with a prez who’s a madman: washingtonpost/trump-just-reminded-us-that-hes-still-a-dangerous-authoritarian-madman
And Whitaker is his crackpot: washingtonpost/matthew-whitaker-is-a-crackpot
There’s no mystery why Whitaker was chosen, since he’s been a critic of the Mueller probe & suggested ways it could be choked off: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/12/trumps-potential-new-attorney-general-once-mused-about-choking-off-robert-muellers-funds/?utm_term=.3e09c9016a23
The prez taking desperate measures in trying to save himself & his son: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/11/07/trump-just-seized-reins-mueller-probe/?utm_term=.8490cfd4e5e6
Whitaker takes over the oversight of Mueller probe over Rosenstein, so we must demand it’s not over: washingtonpost/the-real-loser-of-the-midterms-may-have-been-the-mueller-inquiry
Obvious conflicts of interest with the Whitaker appointment, but Trump doesn’t give a damn: nytimes/sessions-resignation-mueller
We sure hope so: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/09/opinion/trump-whitaker-mueller-watergate.html
And we need Mueller’s records protected: nytimes/mueller-whitaker-sessions-trump
We must protect Mueller: thehill/remove-whitaker-protect-mueller-defend-democracy
There’s no question Trump’s finagling is nefarious: thehill/napolitano-trumps-firing-of-sessions-looks-nefarious
Indictment fireworks coming: https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/415915-former-fbi-official-says-mueller-is-ready-to-indict-some-folks
Installing an acting AG for the purpose of stalling the Mueller investigation should be impeachable: thehill/sanders-warns-trump-interfering-with-mueller-probe-would-be-an-impeachable
That would be must-see TV!: thehill/dems-plan-to-bring-in-mueller-for-televised-hearings-if-trump-fires
huffingtonpost/matt-whitaker-attorney-general-russia
The Graham walk-back: huffingtonpost/lindsey-graham-holy-hell-to-pay
politico/matthew-whitaker-criticized-mueller-probe
Acting AG definitely an enemy to the probe: usatoday/matt-whitaker-acting-attorney-general-robert-mueller-special-counsel-investigation
usatoday/jeff-sessions-firing-poses-threat-robert-mueller-inquiry
Whitaker a GOP operative, extremely partisan: thedailybeast/jeff-sessions-replacement-matthew-whitaker-led-secretive-anti-dem-group
Whitaker considered a fool: thedailybeast/hes-a-fanding-fool-doj-vets-fear-the-impact-whitaker-will-have-beyond-mueller
Trump will only get more dangerous: theatlantic/jeff-sessions-resignation-donald-trump
Mueller probe in jeopardy: theatlantic/bob-mueller-jeff-sessions-firing-matthew-whitaker
An attack on accountability: theatlantic/trump-forces-sessions-out-and-attacks-accountability
We must learn what Mueller knows: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/10-reasons-whitaker-might-not-foil-mueller/575467/
businessinsider/nixons-white-house-counsel-jeff-sessions-ousting-like-a-planned-murder
Unbelievable it’s him who got appointed: businessinsider/matthew-whitaker-appointment-fbi-doj-reactions
He’s even been a scam artist (much like Trump): https://www.businessinsider.com/whitaker-attorney-general-scam-company-2018-11
Exactly the wrong guy to be in charge: slate/jeff-sessions-replacement-matthew-whitaker-mueller-probe
He’s not in line with DOJ values: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/11/how-to-read-the-justice-department-now-that-sessions-has-left.html?via=section_recirc_recent
Absurd comparison: https://www.axios.com/trump-whitaker-mueller-senate-confirmation-doj-a5734863-9426-47bb-9501-c93d53b76333.html
Mueller investigation critic: buzzfeednews/attorney-general-whitaker-criticized-mueller-investigation
Beware of starving it to death: https://www.salon.com/2018/11/07/acting-attorney-general-may-wring-mueller-probe-dry-of-funds/
Even GOP leaders are worried: theguardian/jeff-sessions-fired-us-attorney-general
Always been critical of probe: theguardian/matt-whitaker-jeff-sessions-acting-attorney-general-mueller
3 scenarios what it means for Mueller: vox/jeff-sessions-fired-mueller-trump-russia-whitaker
He also referred to probe as a witch hunt, just like any good Trumpeter: vox/matthew-whitaker-jeff-sessions-trump-mueller
He wants to hide Mueller report: vox/matt-whitaker-robert-mueller-jeff-sessions-resignation
Makes no sense: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/9/18079070/trump-matt-whitaker-jeff-sessions-mueller
These rash moves may have come from a fear/belief Donny (sonny-boy) Jr. may be facing an imminent indictment: vanityfair/post-midterms-trump-is-in-a-bad-mood
Another Hillary conspirator: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/11/matthew-whitaker-the-new-acting-attorney-general-was-obsessed-with-clintons-emails/
motherjones/trump-is-acting-like-a-mob-boss-how-far-is-he-really-willing-to-go
thinkprogress/matthew-whitaker-mueller-russia-investigation
As corrupt as they come: nymag/matt-whitaker-is-trumps-corrupt-partisan-attorney-general
Sonny-boy could be next & could be soon: nymag/donald-trump-jr-expecting-to-be-indicted-by-mueller-soon
Desperate moves: nymag/trump-is-trapped-and-trying-to-protect-himself-at-all-costs
Yet another lie: nymag/trump-denies-knowing-whitaker-who-he-met-a-dozen-times
newshounds/fox_judge_napolitano_matt_whitaker_appointment_acting_attorney_general_unlawful
esquire/president-trump-fires-jeff-sessions-attorney-general-matt-whitaker/
newsmax/trump-session-fire
msn/with-new-justice-official-fate-of-russia-probe-in-question
I said it was the most important midterms ever: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/democrats-victory-in-house-provides-crucial-protection-for-mueller/ar-BBPqSKr
yahoo/factbox-u-attorney-general-shut-down-mueller-probe
dailykos/-Sessions-gone-Rosenstein-sidelined-Acting-attorney-general-get-on-ending-Russia-investigation
dailykos/-Judge-Anthony-Napolitano-says-that-assigning-Matthew-Whitaker-as-Acting-AG-is-illegal
dailykos/-Trump-just-made-a-huge-miscalculation-in-firing-Jeff-Sessions
We’re in the danger zone: dailykos/-Acting-attorney-general-Matthew-Whitaker-isn-t-just-a-nut-he-s-a-dangerous-nut
The rest of these are from the Investigate Russia blog: investigaterussia/what-do-about-whitaker
investigaterussia/whitaker-mueller-faces-serious-authority-threat
investigaterussia/protecting-mueller
investigaterussia/giuliani-trump-wavering-written-answers
investigaterussia/whitaker-appointment-unconstitutional
investigaterussia/trump-lies-about-knowing-whitaker
investigaterussia/meet-matt-whitaker
investigaterussia/forced-out
Mueller likely has a lot of cards up his sleeve, but the question becomes whether Whitaker will let him play those cards: https://investigaterussia.org/media/2018-11-07/muellers-next-moves
Here’s more convincing evidence of Campaign Finance Violations!
And think about it, if Trump lied & tried to cover up these illegal hush money payments, it’s reasonable to think he also did that same thing over Russian collusion. Check this out: donald-trump-played-central-role-in-hush-payoffs-to-stormy-daniels-and-karen-mcdougal & also trump-wsj-payments-stormy-daniels-karen-mcdougal. Trump was actively involved in the payout cover-up, in coordination with his National Enquirer buddy. Any normal president in normal times, these payoffs alone would be an impeachable offense: report-feds-have-evidence-trump-orchestrated-hush-money-payments-to-stormy-daniels-karen-mcdougal.
The most dangerous times in nearly a century could soon be upon us!
Our prez is a bad apple & America would be far better off removing him from office. But first we need proof of crimes. That may be on its way. Not even a president is above the law. It’s truly terrifying what an emotionally-unstable, temperamentally-unfit president might do once backed into a corner. If proof of criminality does come to light that would cause his presidency to go down in flames, let’s hope his removal from the White House comes swiftly enough to prevent him from doing something catastrophic before being shown the door. As this conclusion from the-trump-show-is-in-serious-need-of-a-reboot indicates, to Trump it’s all about the ratings:
Of course, there’s a major difference between a presidency and an entertainment. It’s as difficult to switch presidents as it is simple to switch channels. Yet, as Trump himself assured me during his 2016 campaign, fundamentally — in his mind, at least — they are the same thing. “It’s not the polls” that matter, he said. “It’s the ratings.” Democrats will be making a mistake if they conclude that the way to win in 2020 is to become characters in the Trump show. Every day they spend talking about him is another day that he owns the ratings. America isn’t hungering for a left-leaning version of Trump’s shopworn drama. The spinoff is rarely as popular as the original. The country is looking for something new, something with a more upbeat plot, a fresh cast, a creative take on age-old challenges. Over the weekend, I heard the historian Michael Beschloss discuss his important new book, “Presidents of War.” He noted the number of times U.S. presidents have taken the country into conflicts on spurious or misleading grounds, and he worried openly that Trump might be tempted to do the same in an effort to (my words here) drive up his ratings as 2020 draws near. I hate to think so, but given his nakedly political use of U.S. troops in fanning border hysteria, it’s a reasonable concern. Trump is in a bind. He knows what happens to entertainers when audiences tire of their shtick. On the other hand, his core fans know what they want, and he loves giving it to them. We have no choice but to tune in for the next episode — for now.
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