Um... so there's news here. 1) McGahn was interviewed by Mueller and "cooperated extensively" with Mueller's team. And 2) there's no way saying that Trump tried to ensure control of the Mueller probe is in NO WAY favorable to Trump. That's obstruction.
2. McGahn shared "detailed accounts" about episodes pertaining to the obstruction of justice investigation, "including some that investigators would not have learnt otherwise". Read: McGahn delivered Trump to Mueller on obstruction on a silver platter. Bloop!
3. This adds up to the previous report that dozens of WH aides, some of which working for McGahn, were interviewed by Mueller AND delivered key evidence for Mueller's obstruction case. The danger for Trump is NOT Mueller, it comes from HIS OWN AIDES who WON'T go to jail for him.
4."In at least three voluntary interviews with investigators that totaled 30 hours over the past nine months, Mr. McGahn described the president’s furor toward the Russia investigation and the ways in which he urged Mr. McGahn to respond to it." Oh. OH.
5. Raise your hand if you think that in three interviews for over 30 hours the ONLY thing McGahn discussed with Trump was obstruction of justice. I see very few. Good, bc there's no way Mueller needs 30 hours of interviews ONLY on obstruction.
6. Among personal details McGahn shared of his conversations with Trump is "Trump's obsession with putting a loyalist in charge of the investigation". You don't say? Who would have thought. By the way, this is abuse of power and obstruction of justice. Proves INTENT.
7. On top of it, McGahn told Mueller about Trump's firing of Comey and Trump's obsession with having Sessions oversee the Russia probe (LOL, seriously). McGahn was also "centrally involved" in Trump's attempts to fire Mueller. And he sang like a birdie to Mueller about it. Bloop!
8. "For a lawyer to share so much with investigators scrutinizing his client is unusual." You don't say? Except McGahn is NOT Trump's lawyer, he is the PEOPLE'S lawyer. Therein lies the difference. And NYT acts like this difference doesn't exist.
9. NYT then proceeds to explain how Trump's lawyers thought they should fully cooperate with Mueller AT FIRST (The first team of lawyers, that is, not the current one) bc they believed Trump had nothing to hide. Seriously? They KNEW he was guilty, but wouldn't lie for him, simply
10. In all this, let's not forget McGahn has the same lawyer as Priebus, so if one cooperates... the other must say the same things. Meaning: Mueller must have heard VERY interesting stories from Priebus as well. Bannon goes back and forth, so I'll leave him out.
11. Then wait in the following paragraph, without explanation, NYT wakes up to the fact that McGahn is NOT Trump's personal lawyer, and explains how Trump mistakenly thought so instead, and thought McGahn's purpose was solely to "defend" him fro the investigation. No, traitor.
12. "It is not clear that Mr. Trump appreciates the extent to which Mr. McGahn has cooperated with the special counsel." LOL, are we kidding here? Trump must have thrown a tantrum of epic proportions when he found out that McGahn cooperated extensively.
13. McGahn "cautioned investigators that he never saw Trump go beyond his legal authoritie, though the limits of executive power are murky." You don't say. Mueller doesn't care what McGahn THINKS of what Trump did, Mueller wants the fact. Conclusions are up to HIM, not McGahn.
14. McGahn and Trump, following all this, "rarely talk one on one" and Trump has "questioned his loyalty." HE IS NOT SUPPOSED to be LOYAL to you, Dondon. ONLY to the people. He represents the WH, NOT you.
15. Now for the comic relief: "In turn, Mr. Trump’s behavior has so exasperated Mr. McGahn that he has called Trump “King Kong” behind his back, to connote his volcanic anger." 😂😂
16. Naturally, Huckabee Sanders lies blatantly and is all "Trump and McGahn have a GREAT relationship!" I swear, once this is over, and it WILL be much sooner than she thinks, she is going to find herself completely isolated. Wise up. Stat.
17. "Though he was a senior campaign aide, it is not clear whether Mr. Mueller’s investigators have questioned Mr. McGahn about whether Trump associates coordinated with Russia’s effort to influence the election." I'm willing to make a bet on this DEFIINTELY being clear. He did.
18. "Worried that Mr. Trump would ultimately blame him in the inquiry, Mr. McGahn told people he was determined to avoid the fate of the White House counsel for President Richard M. Nixon, John W. Dean, who was imprisoned in the Watergate scandal." Oh, you don't say.
19. Not to worry, Mr. McGahn. You are NO @JohnWDean, in that you don't seem to have the same courage. However, you do have a sense of self-preservation and thus, not wanting to go to jail for Trump, you were forced to do the right thing and talk to Mueller.
@JohnWDean 20. “This sure has echoes of Richard Nixon’s White House counsel, John Dean, who in 1973 feared that Nixon was setting him up as a fall guy for Watergate and secretly gave investigators crucial help while still in his job,” said the historian Michael Beschloss." Well...
21. "Mr. Mueller has told the president’s lawyers that he will follow Justice Department guidance that sitting presidents cannot be indicted." No, NYT, there's no way he said that out loud. THEY claim he did, which is a very different thing from Mueller having used those words.
22. "Unencumbered, Mr. Burck and Mr. McGahn met the special counsel team in November for the first time and shared all that Mr. McGahn knew.
To investigators, Mr. McGahn was a fruitful witness, people familiar with the investigation said." Well, no freaking kidding.
23. "As the months passed on, it became apparent that Mr. McGahn and Mr. Burck overestimated the amount of thought that they believed the president put into his legal strategy." I am BAFFLED by how many of these supposed professionals overestimate Trump's intellect. WAKE UP!
24. "Mr. Mueller, armed with Mr. McGahn’s account, is still trying to interview witnesses close to the president." Actually, he has already interviewed heaps of them. For how and why, see below.
25. Per the story quoted above (my thread from July 31) there are TWENTY WH aides who spoke with Mueller and delivered him Trump on obstruction. So, new WH lawyer Emmett Flood contesting Kelly's possible interview with Mueller? ZERO help. Bc #MuellerIsComing /END.
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1. Simon Kukes, a Houston-based oil executive, sent an email to a Russian official in Moscow in July 2016, boasting of his connections to Trump campaign and requesting a face-to-face meeting. The official is Vyacheslav Pavlovsky, a former Russian ambassador to Norway.
2. NBC HAS THE EMAILS. Kukes wrote to Pavlovsky" I have been actively involved in Trump's election campagn, and am part of the group on strategy deveopment. I will be in Switzerland July 20 to Aug. 2. Let me know how you are doing and whether you want to meet." Oh. OH.
3. NBC obtained emails through a London-based investigative project funded by MIkhail Khodorkovsky, a Russian opposition figure. The Dossier Center gathers information to try to expose high-level corruption in Moscow. NBC reviewed the emails in conjunction with The Guardian.
1. MANAFORT AGREED TO PLEA DEAL WITH MUELLER. Politely bear in mind, no matter what we actually SEE of this, given the evidence Mueller has, there's NO WAY Mueller entered a plea deal without meaningful cooperation. The cooperation part? Can easily be sealed.
2. This means Manafort could easily do the same as Cohen. Just plead guilty to n. counts, and we don't see any "cooperation" agreement. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist. The two can easily be separated, with the cooperation agreement sealed for obvious reasons here.
3. I absolutely don't think the news about the "joint defense agreement" is current and I also think it is being put out for a specific reason. It's clear that there's been coordinated effort to make everyone think Manafort won't "flip" . That's the easiest way to protect him.
1. Manafort is INDEED in talks with prosecutors (MEANING MUELLER bc HE is the prosecutor in this case) about a possible plea deal. BLOOP, people. BLOOP!
2. Two people familiar with the matter "cautioned that the negotiations may not result in a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller". Naturally, bc there won't be a deal unless Manafort sings like the birdiest birdie that has ever sung.
3. "But the discussions indicate a possible shift in strategy for Manafort" No kidding. When the prospect of the rest of his life in prison materialized, Manafort finally saw that oopsie, he was cornered and if he ever wanted to enjoy life again? Best to talk to Mueller, stat.
2. The details of the story are BEYOND disgusting but pay attention to this detail that former Playmate Shera Bechard cites in her LAWSUIT against Broidy: "Bechard recalled Broidy telling her that he admired Trump’s "uncanny ability to sexually abuse women and get away with it.""
3. "Among Bechard’s allegations are that Broidy refused to wear condoms and didn’t disclose to her that he had genital herpes until years after their sexual relationship, according to a court filing. "
Not even going to comment.
1. Bruce Ohr is the Justice Department lawyer who was told by Christopher Steele that Russian intelligence believed it had Trump "over a barrel". Start seeing why Trump is going after him?
2. These details pertain to a breakfast that happened on July 30, 2016. Ohr described the breakfast to CONGRESS this week in a private interview. And that's how the GOP Trump lackeys went to tell Trump, he found out and decided he can't have a witness at DoJ.
3. So if Trump so much as THINKS of touching Bruce Ohr, that is direct obstruction of justice, and his tweets already constitute witness tampering. AND everyone in Congress who was present at the interview KNOWS that. Just so you know who to hold accountable.
1. What Cohen's actually explosive knowledge of facts covers, that can make the entire house of cards crash: the hacking and the Trump Tower meeting, both of which TRUMP KNEW about and in the hacking case, an event Trump even encouraged.
2. In the case of the hacking, there's a $50,000 mysterious payment Cohen made to an undisclosed tech company to help the Trump campaign, that awfully sounds like the arrangements the Steele dossier says Cohen made to pay off Russian hackers "without it being traced".
3. Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis specifically said on @maddow that Cohen has knowledge about the hacking that is of interest for Mueller. And the detail of the tech company payment emerged from the indictment. If the connection is accurate (and it seems like it is), this is huge.