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Mueller Confirms Russians Interfered in Election—We Can Do Something About That

I don’t want to spend all day talking about Robert Mueller, but it seems like lots of other people do. As a platform for your conversation, I spotlight the key passages in the statement the resigning special counsel made yesterday.

The most important parts are the rock-solid, indisputable point about which every politician in Washington and in state election offices, not to mention every responsible journalist and citizen, should be taking action on: Russia meddled in the 2016 election. Mueller began and ended with this most important point:

As alleged by the grand jury in an indictment, Russian intelligence officers who are part of the Russian military launched a concerted attack on our political system.

The indictment alleges that they used sophisticated cyber-techniques to hack into computers and networks used by the Clinton campaign. They stole private information and then released that information through fake online identities and through the organization WikiLeaks. The releases were designed and timed to interfere with our election and to damage a presidential candidate. And at the same time as the grand jury alleged in a separate indictment, a private Russian entity engaged in a social media operation where Russian citizens posed as Americans in order to influence an election.

…Now, before I step away, I want to thank the attorneys, the FBI agents, the analysts, the professional staff who helped us conduct this investigation in a fair and independent manner.

These individuals who spent nearly two years with the special counsel’s office were of the highest integrity. And I will close by reiterating the central allegation of our indictments, that there were multiple systemic efforts to interfere in our election [Robert Mueller, statement on Russia investigation, transcribed by Caitlyn Oprysko, Politico, 2019.05.29].

Regardless of your political affiliation or agenda, you should care about this central point. You can and should do something about a rival nation using lies and criminal activity to disrupt our elections. Even if you aren’t an elected official, you as a regular citizen can shut off your Facebook, ignore Donald Trump (seriously: the man has not made one edifying, enlightening, or even faintly useful comment from the White House), read real news, check your sources and your prejudices, and vote with your head instead of your gut.

*     *     *

Now let’s go to what will, alas, get far more attention: Mueller’s statements on the trustworthiness and prosecutability of Donald Trump. Mueller expresses something less than confidence in Il Duce‘s fitness for office:

And as set forth in the report, after that investigation, if we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime [Mueller, 2019.05.29].

Translation: Trump’s attempt to portray the special counsel’s report as “complete exoneration” has no validity outside Donald Trump’s head.

The introduction to the Volume 2 of our report explains that decision. It explains that under long-standing department policy, a president cannot be charged with a federal crime while he is in office. That is unconstitutional. Even if the charge is kept under seal and hidden from public view, that, too, is prohibited.

A special counsel’s office is part of the Department of Justice, and by regulation, it was bound by that department policy. Charging the president with a crime was therefore not an option we could consider….

First, the opinion explicitly permits the investigation of a sitting president because it is important to preserve evidence while memories are fresh and documents available. Among other things, that evidence could be used if there were co-conspirators who could be charged now.

And second, the opinion says that the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing [Mueller, 2019.05.29].

Translation: Unlike Trump, Mueller refuses to do what the Constitution does not permit him to do. The only Constitutional way to punish Trump for crimes right now is impeachment.

And beyond department policy, we were guided by principles of fairness. It would be unfair to potentially — it would be unfair to potentially accuse somebody of a crime when there can be no court resolution of the actual charge [Mueller, 2019.05.29].

Translation: Again, unlike Trump, the special counsel believes in strict fairness and due process.

*     *     *

You and I can’t do anything about impeachment. That’s up to 435 elected officials. You and I can do a great deal to stop the Russians and other malefactors from influencing our elections, simply by reading critically, voting intelligently, and not letting liars like Trump and Putin trick us into reëlecting someone who isn’t qualified to lead the United States of America.

55 Comments

  1. Donald Pay 2019-05-30 08:41

    I contacted my Congressman a few weeks ago to urge him to support the impeachment of President Trump. He announced a week later that he supported impeachment hearings.

    Each individual citizen can weigh in on impeachment, and should.

  2. John Dale 2019-05-30 09:10

    Presidents in my adult lifetime:

    1 – Clinton ushered in the Chinese retail storefront Wal Mart (Arkansas) that destroyed American manufacturing at the behest of global banking cartels who profiteer from war (and always have).

    2 – Bush, asleep at the wheel, allowed his oil cronies to kill 3k people in NY to foment a (global banking cartel sponsored) war in Iraq.

    3 – Obama empowered extremist muslims and a two-peckered domestic policy that created a massive rift between otherwise cooperative bodies. Also asleep at the wheel, his supporters tried their level best to usher in a civil war in The United States.

    4 – Trump wants to legalize Cannabis, bring back manufacturing, build-out a new infrastructure that benefits us tactically and financially, hit the cartels in the mouth, and tamp out the deep state unelected bureaucracy that extorts us all with their tax dollars and promulgates threats of violence. He also despises the intel-coopted main stream media that has been shoving bikini clad beer, fructose, and cigarette commercials down our throats for the last 40 years. Trump has also shown courageous restraint when it comes to the rollout of dangerous 5G networks (not just from China, but China is the biggest offender). Lastly, he is actually addressing the root cause of our trade deficit; bad trade deals. Dude’s not perfect, but he’s doing what he said he would do on the campaign trail and Russia really had very little to do with his election: https://PlainsTribune.com/trump

  3. jerry 2019-05-30 09:14

    John Dale, you’re a funny feller, thanks for the snark.

  4. Loren 2019-05-30 09:52

    John Dale is sourcing the Plains Tribune, a major news outlet from the back alleys of SPEARFISH? Uh… OK. ;-)

  5. John Dale 2019-05-30 10:27

    “I had nothing to do with Russia helping me get elected.” — Donald Trump

    Every election cycle, Russia “helps” somebody get elected. So does Canada, Mexico, and many other countries.

    But what I love about this statement from Trump is how quickly (AGAIN!!!!) Trump’s enemies jump onto a floating, soggy pallet mistaking it for a ship.

    All aboard!

    The correct analysis:

    1 – Trump is telling the truth. If Russia got him one vote of his 60+ million, technically it is “helping”, but it is a nothing burger.

    2 – He just typed things incorrectly.

    I continue to find it amazing how Trump can throw off the entire left wing from accomplishing anything on the agenda with a single tweet.

    He has the entire establishment shadow boxing, and it would be funny if we didn’t have some legitimate business to do (infrastructure).

    John Dale has followed President Trump since 2015, and paid attention to his campaign promises including the RNC acceptance speech (“sourced”).

    Loren – The Plains Tribune link is .. well .. my own summary of that RNC speech. So, am I sourcing Plains Tribune, myself, or the speech? FWIW, I source myself all the time. I identify as a binary male self-sourcer.

    Jerry – I’m glad the truth tickles you. I just have to laugh at what global banks get away with, too .. it’s thereputic.

    There is a reason Mueller tried fighting like the dickens, but isn’t anymore. The game is over, and it’s time to pay-up. One of many sources for the notion that Mueller covered up Israel’s execution of the 9/11 false flag (I like Bill Cooper’s book, Behold a Pale Horse).
    https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/item/28143-court-documents-show-mueller-involved-in-9-11-cover-up

  6. John Dale 2019-05-30 10:32

    Regarding Trump’s tweet – it will occupy the a-holes in the media for awhile (thankfully, keeps them from doing more cultural damage). Cia News Network (CNN), MSNBC, others .. they are funded by deep state intel. So are FaceBook, Google, etc .. kudos to Cory for retaining his legal recourse for spying on his audience, although I think upon examination there are quite a few third parties being made aware of your patronage here.

  7. John Dale 2019-05-30 10:34

    Plains Tribune and “back alleys” – we broadcast from the corner of Canyon and Jackson. We front the second busiest street in town (for now, anyway).
    https://PlainsTribune.com/podcast

  8. Donald Pay 2019-05-30 11:23

    I notice Trump apologist and “Deplorable” Dale can’t stop tripping over himself as he tries to explain away Il Duce’s actions and pronouncements.

    None of his statements make sense to me, because we Wisconsinites witnessed what was happening up close. Russia’s pro-Trump propaganda was all over the Fox Valley and northern Wisconsin, while Russia and the state Republicans were involved in a contest to see who could do the most to suppress the minority vote in Milwaukee. Russia was also involved with the Jill Stein/Trump campaign in the effort to discourage Bernie’s supporters from voting for Hillary. Yes, it might be hard to tease out who did what, but that’s because all these campaigns were essentially working together to swing the state against Hillary. Whoever came up with the message, Russia figured out how to move it through bots, etc.

    Now Hillary also ran a bad campaign here, and that probably cost her the election. I think had she visited the UW campus and gone to Milwaukee, she would be President, overcoming the Russian effort. Had she stopped in LaCrosse and Eu Claire also, she would have won in a landslide. You have to show up to win. Russia showed up, and Trump won.

  9. bearcreekbat 2019-05-30 11:38

    John Dale, I am trying to grasp the meaning of your comments. Are you saying:

    (1) Trump committed no federal or state crimes at all;

    or

    (2) Since in the opinion of his supporters Trump has scored such positive policy positions and positive accomplishments that it should not matter to anyone whether he actually committed federal or state crimes, such as obstruction of justice, campaign finance conspiracy with Michael Cohen, perjury, fraud, money laundering or other financial crimes;

    or

    (3) even if Trump has committed one or more federal or state crimes (since you write “Dude’s not perfect”), his crimes should be ignored or forgiven because in your view recent former Presidents engaged in worse conduct and were not prosecuted?

  10. jerry 2019-05-30 11:55

    trump will go to the hoosegow after we impeach his arse. He and Cohen, sittin in a tree.

  11. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2019-05-30 12:00

    John Dale’s assessments of Obama and Trump are similar in that they both cite things that neither man has actually done.

  12. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2019-05-30 12:01

    Loren, the Plains Tribune comes from one guy in Spearfish. Dakota Free Press comes from one guy in Aberdeen. Discuss.

  13. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2019-05-30 12:01

    …and I would love the opportunity to broadcast from Canyon and Jackson. I’d do live shows from Barbacoa.

  14. o 2019-05-30 12:08

    I still feel that Mueller’s message is for Congress to do their job. That President Trump did bad things is confirmed in the report. However Mueller has made clear time and time again that he is sticking to the DOJ position that a sitting President cannot be indicted for crimes; the Presidents bad behavior cannot be criminal by definition (a bizarre stance to have, but . . .). HOWEVER, that does not mean that President Trump has not done bad things — just that those bad things MUST be processed through impeachment, not criminal courts.

    Clearly, Congress wanted to have their cake and eat it too. Congress (the House especially) wanted some other heavy to come in and say the President is a criminal. Mueller reminds them that this condemnation is THEIR job to take up. It is a question of who has the responsibility for the condemnation of this bad behavior. Mueller again reminds the US that it is not the courts’, but the Congress’ job to condemn (convict) the bad actions of any President.

    The longer the House (especially the Democrats) prolong their foot dragging to hold this President accountable for his bad actions, the longer the GOP and the President himself get to claim “innocence.” Meuller has handed the House the roadmap for impeachment; the House must now take up that responsibility.

  15. Porter Lansing 2019-05-30 13:25

    We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime [Mueller, 2019.05.29].
    Well, then I will.
    ~ Trump was offered stolen Clinton data by WikiLeaks (who got it from Russia) and didn’t go to Justice with his knowledge that a crime that had been committed against Clinton by a foreign power. That’s a felony violation of the Misprison of Felony law. Sentences can consist of a fine and up to three years in prison.
    *Even if reelected the statute of limitation won’t expire before Pres. Trump is out of office. A new Attorney General may certainly charge and convict him.
    *Trump is a common bully hiding behind his security. The way to handle bullies is to ignore them completely until the time you’re ready to punch ’em in the face. Trump hates being ignored. Let’s give him what he wants least.

  16. bearcreekbat 2019-05-30 13:52

    Although it is anybody’s guess what the new makeup of the SCOTUS might do in Trump’s case, the longstanding rule of law has been that a statute of limitations is tolled (stops running) during any time period in which a defendant cannot legalkly be charged or tried. When that status ends the statute of limitations begins running again.

  17. o 2019-05-30 15:45

    bearcreekbat, you have my deepest admiration for your thoughtful content and postings, and I share your beautiful image of President Trump doing a perp walk in cuffs, BUT doesn’t this purely criminal court remedy perpetuate the GOP/Trumpists exoneration rhetoric? Shouldn’t we all follow Mueller’s lead and push for the House to do its job: impeach the President of the United States for the misdeeds outlined in the Mueller report?

  18. mike from iowa 2019-05-30 16:08

    Wingnuts in the sinate have already staked their claim impeachment is DOA in their chamber.

  19. mike from iowa 2019-05-30 16:10

    ps if Drumpf is really illegally appointed potus by Putin, then the 2 bogus associate justices should be forced to recuse themselves from any decisions until this matter is solved.

  20. o 2019-05-30 16:11

    Mike, I get that; I get the political game being played, BUT why are the House Democrats giving the Senate GOP a pass? Make them record those votes. Let the hearings proceed with the charges outlined in the Mueller report and MAKE the GOP Senate put their names on record as rejecting the report’s findings.

  21. Scott Coyne 2019-05-30 16:46

    Mccturteface = Good one ! Mikey

  22. Robin Friday 2019-05-30 17:14

    From the Mueller and Co. final report:

    “As set forth in detail in this report, the Special Counsel’s investigation established that Russia interfere~ [sic] in the 2016 presidential election principally through two operations. [u] First, a Russian entity carried out a social media campaign that favored presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and disparaged presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Second, a Russian intelligence service conducted computer-intrusion operations against entities, employees, and volunteers working on the Clinton Campaign and then released stolen documents.[/u] The investigation also identified numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump Campaign. Although the investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts. . .”

  23. Robin Friday 2019-05-30 17:20

    The phrase I thought was underlineable : “First, a Russian entity carried out a social media campaign that favored presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and disparaged presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Second, a Russian intelligence service conducted computer-intrusion operations against entities, employees, and volunteers working on the Clinton Campaign and then released stolen documents. The investigation also identified numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump Campaign.” https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf

  24. bearcreekbat 2019-05-30 17:28

    o, I agree that the remedy of impeachment is needed. I didn’t intend to imply the only remedy was a criminal proceeding. Rather, I see criminal prosecution coming on the heels of an impeachment, or coming after a criminal president leaves office for some other reason, such as Nixon’s resignation or the loss of an election. Indeed, that fact would seem to have been the driving motive for Ford’s pardon of Nixon. Without that pardon Nixon clearly faced criminal charges.

    Phillip Bobbit provides some history in a Lawfare piece about the origins of the idea that the Constitution precludes criminal prosecution of a sitting president, quoting the formidable Joseph Story, an early American legal teacher, author and Supreme Court Justice.

    There are … incidental powers, belonging to the executive department, which are necessarily implied from the nature of the functions, which are confided to it. Among these, must necessarily be included the power to perform them, without any obstruction or impediment whatsoever. The President cannot, therefore, be liable to arrest, imprisonment, or detention, while he is in the discharge of the duties of his office

    Bobbit addresses the extreme case of a President actully committing murder – you know shooting someone on 5th avenue.

    If the president shot and killed someone on Fifth Avenue, I have little doubt he would be swiftly impeached by the House of Representatives and convicted by the Senate forthwith, after which he would be tried for murder.

    https://www.lawfareblog.com/indicting-and-prosecuting-sitting-president

    So, bottom line – you are right – an impeachment ought to be coming. But if none occurs no one should blame only Democrats since both parties share an equal bipartisan obligation to protect the Country from a criminal president.

  25. mike from iowa 2019-05-30 18:01

    If Dems don’t attempt to impeach, they may as well hand the country over to Drumpf and Putin. No one will ever believe in Democrats again. They showed their unwillingness to reign in dumbass dubya and paid a heavy price for it under Drumpf and arrogant SOB McCTurtleface1

  26. Robin Friday 2019-05-30 20:25

    Rob Reiner and Bob DeNiro are putting something together for tv of “Mueller” reporting his report in detail. Rob thinks the visual is important because people won’t read the report, but they will watch DeNiro explain it. (Saw it on Ari Melber today on MSNBC) i’LL be anxious to see it. Can’t wait. I’ll even pay to see it.

  27. Robin Friday 2019-05-30 20:36

    The “game” isn’t over. It’s just been passed by the Activities Director to a different team.

  28. o 2019-05-30 22:20

    Mike, I agree that any impeachment procedure is DOA as soon as it hits the Senate because McConnell will pull a Merrick Garland procedural to not even let it come to a vote.

    The political cover is the Mueller report: Democrats HAVE to adhere exactly to that roadmap.

  29. Debbo 2019-05-31 00:18

    IMO, Chinless Wonder McTurtle is more heinous even than president Wilted Weenie.

    Wilted Weenie is nuts, and has become much more so in the past 2+ years. I’m pretty sure he believes many of his lies. McTurtle, on the other hand, is an evil psychopath with no moral structure. He’s simply evil, maybe worse than Stephen Goebbels Miller.

  30. Debbo 2019-05-31 00:22

    In the meantime, I respect Pelosi, but I think she’s wrong to deny even an impeachment investigation. I believe that would be an effective tool to sway public opinion in support of following that with an actual impeachment itself.

    It worked very well against Nixon. When impeachment began polls showed strong opposition, but as the real Nixon ugly came to light the national mood changed.

  31. jerry 2019-05-31 01:51

    Ruh oh, Republican’s have had enough, it looks like? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmR6ooHCieA So where oh where are our 3 Russian lovers? When will the 3 elected congressmen speak truth to power? They got their abortion thingy going, so now, who needs the illegitimate president and his vice? Time to impeach and remove the whole lot, starting with trump and working our way down the ladder for freedom and democracy.

  32. kj trailer trash 2019-05-31 13:21

    Mr. Dale needs to sprinkle different psychedelics on his Cheerios, because the ones he’s ingesting ain’t doin’ the trick. If trump has ever had a plan, other than to undo (because he’s a petulant little 4-year old mentally, socially, ethically, and emotionally) anything Obama did, if he’s ever had any actual infrastructure plan other than “we will do something great for infrastructure,” then I’ve dated a steady string of supermodels who’ve each left a million bucks on my nightstand before jetting off to their next photoshoot. If anyone other than trump or a powerful Republican had acted the way trump does or done the harm he has done to this country and to the world, right-wingers would hate that person as appropriately as they should. His entire goal is to milk his time in office for as much personal economic gain as possible, and to get the adulation he could never get from his worthless dad. He has never been of any value whatsoever; instead has always been a blight on the world, something that, for some reason, the world has had to carry for 70-some years now.

  33. kj trailer trash 2019-05-31 13:26

    Debbo, 2 huge thumbs up for your descriptions of McTurtle and Goebbels-Miller. No one, not even trump (despite his best efforts) has done as much damage to this country since 1776 as McTurtle has. And I’m absolutely sure that Miller has a full Nazi uniform that he dresses up in on Friday nights in his bunker.

  34. Debbo 2019-05-31 13:37

    Mr. trailer trash, referring especially to your first comment, I like your style.

  35. Debbo 2019-05-31 13:40

    (I don’t mind receiving compliments either.😊)

  36. Porter Lansing 2019-05-31 13:41

    kj trailer’s assessment of Don the Con is fully accurate.
    Note to America … let’s not elect any more Presidents from Texas or spoiled, rich kids who don’t know how to share, trade, or get along with others.

  37. jerry 2019-05-31 14:09

    Note to all, don’t elect anyone who engages in criminal activity. EB5 is criminal activity, just sayin….

  38. Donald Pay 2019-05-31 16:11

    I think we’ve got a barely functioning government. The Article I Branch has been a basket case for a couple generations. Congress can do some things well when there is a competent Article II Branch showing them the way. Sometimes on small issues they can find a way to pass legislation. Sometimes they can serve as a check to Executive overreach on one or two issues. Otherwise they behave more like the Weimar Republic. They seem to be caving into to fascism, as they piddle away their Constitutional power.

    The framers of the Constitution never imagined that Congress would be such a milquetoast operation. The framers had come through a war of independence, and they didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past. McConnell and Pelosi are good political calculators. That’s fine leadership in normal times, but these aren’t normal times. This is more like King George III times, and that calls for a different kind of leadership. Neither are really up to the task, at least so far.

    I can’t figure out why impeachment didn’t happen long ago with this guy. That is the “rule of law” way to handle a criminal would-be dictator who was installed by a foreign power. I think one of our political parties, the one that controls the Senate and thinks money in politics is just fine, is essentially a subsidiary of the multi-national oligarchy.

    I also think conservatives have understood for generations how to grind this government to a halt, make government appear incompetent, set up a few internal enemies to scare the dumb crowd and then lead them to install a dictatorship. They were on the way to doing it in 1939-1940, but the reality star of that time (Charles Lindburgh) felt he was not ready for the 1940 election, and wasn’t quite ready at that point to go all-in for fascism. So Republicans were left with Wilkie, not an anti-Semite, who lost partly because he wasn’t willing to appeal to the growing US fascist movement. Lindburgh would steep himself in fascist and anti-Semitic politics over the next year, and got to the point of turning on Jews in a way not too dissimilar to Hitler, and in the way Trump has turned Arabs and immigrants into “enemies.” “America First” was the group that was pushing “non-intervention” in World War II in Europe. By 1941 it had become infiltrated by many of Hitler’s US toadies. Had Japan not jumped the gun at Pearl Harbor, Hitler may have been able to crush the US from the inside. Putin has been following Hitler’s example, and he’s got the Republican Party as his dupes.

    It’s not like the problems with our form of government haven’t been painfully obvious for generations. Whatever the framers thought would be the case, we have pretty much run but the problems have been The Article I Branch has been dysfunctional for decades. It was the first branch that broke. Until Trump, the Article II Branch

  39. Donald Pay 2019-05-31 16:14

    I meant to conclude with…”the Article II Branch kept the government functioning.”

  40. Debbo 2019-05-31 16:25

    Good comment Don. I don’t like your conclusion, but I think it’s correct. This too:

    “McConnell and Pelosi are good political calculators. That’s fine leadership in normal times, but these aren’t normal times. This is more like King George III times, and that calls for a different kind of leadership. Neither are really up to the task, at least so far.”

    Chinless Wonder McTurtle is worse than Wilted Weenie imo, because he’s much saner and much more evil. I don’t think Pelosi is a psychopath at all, but she’s got to put the nation before the DP. My only question about her is, What is her long game?

    Does Pelosi think Democrats can win the Senate and WH in 2020 only if they do not impeach? And thus reset a functioning government, perhaps overhaul the constitution?

    There’s so much work to do to set this country back on its feet. Democrats will need all of DC to do it.

    I favor beginning an impeachment inquiry NOW. Right NOW.

  41. jerry 2019-05-31 16:39

    Robert Mueller says ” “The constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing.”

    Mueller could not have been clearer about impeachment if he had stepped before the cameras with a scarlet I pinned to his suit.”

    trump and pence are illegitimate, let the impeachments begin. Billy Barr, you’re up for it as well.

  42. Debbo 2019-05-31 17:03

    That’s quite the link Mike.

    “if… there’s information that. .. implicates the President.”

    “If”? I F?!?!?! Obviously there is something pretty nasty, else they would not be fighting so hard to hide it.

  43. Roger Cornelius 2019-05-31 17:03

    Debbo, Pelosi’s long game may well be to let Trump self implode or impeach himself.
    Impeachment is a process that is long and tedious, I do support Pelosi to start an immediate impeachment inquiry.
    The other factors to consider are the three House investigations going on and the court fights to gain access to Trump financial information.
    It bothers me that the only thing blocking an immediate impeachment is a Nixon era DOJ memo that says a sitting president can’t be indicted, that is not a law, that is a DOJ memo and needs to be changed. The president is not above the law, regardless of what Trump thinks.

  44. bearcreekbat 2019-05-31 17:40

    Roger, the Justice Department Memo does not block immediate impeachment. Instead, it blocks immediate criminal prosecution. If Congress had the will the House could vote to file articles of impeachment today, and the Senate could vote to remove Trump from office next week, after which federal prosecutors could obtain an indictment and criminally prosecute Trump to the full extent of the law. If Congress and the Justice Department immediately exercised their power Trump could be in jail seeking bond by the middle of June, or even earlier.

    But given the publicly declared refusal of the majority party in the Senate to even consider removal after an impeachment, none of the above will happen regardless of the Justice Department Memo.

    And it appears that the Memo reflects, in fact, an actual principle of constitutional law rather than a Nixon era policy decision by the Justice Department. See an article I posted earlier for more info:

    https://www.lawfareblog.com/indicting-and-prosecuting-sitting-president

  45. Roger Cornelius 2019-05-31 17:49

    bear, thanks for the clear response and explanation, but I was talking about being able to indict a sitting president which the DOJ is using to stall the impeachment process.

  46. bearcreekbat 2019-05-31 18:03

    Roger, I was trying to say that the DOJ cannot either stall or encourage the impeachment process. An indictment or lack of indictment is not part of and does not affect the impeachment process. That process is entirely out of DOJ’s hands and is totally up to Congress to start.

  47. Moses6 2019-05-31 20:33

    Slick Mike and empty suit Thune afraid to stand up for values to impeach the draft dodger, trump.

  48. leslie 2019-06-01 08:45

    A big part of this in these days is timing. Many solutions Mueller discarded require huge investment in legal horsepower and timeframes mooted by quickly impending elections. Trump calculated his $$ survival before he ran as a last gasp lifeboat. And then Russia, Mercer, Bannon, Murdoch and Limbaugh stepped in saving his a**, temporarily. Pelosi is faced with the same timing mess.

    Trump is a madman who never should have gotten close to an important political position. Thanx thune ect. Politics is often a shortcut for nonachievers in the normal world. A “beauty contest” capitalizing on peoples basest desires. carny operators all.

  49. Debbo 2019-06-01 16:09

    Even if you’re not wondering, I think this is hilarious. It’s a hashtag name for Wilted Weenie’s Dead Eyes hire– #SatansSnotRag.

    His given name, before the Omens appeared, was Stephen Miller.

  50. Clyde 2019-06-18 06:28

    Impeachment proceedings definitely need to be initiated against Trump but not for the “Russia, Russia, Russia” crap that this country got going. The “no guts in bed with the same people” Democratic leadership won’t do it though. Of course the Repub’s wouldn’t allow the impeachment to go through but at least we could get them on record.

  51. Clyde 2019-06-18 06:40

    If you are stuck on another country interfering with our election’s you had better be looking at Israel!

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