I'm clueless. What would motivate Trump to try to squash Comey's investigation? — Mongrel

Possibly that he did nothing and he found it offensive that he was being investigated.

Sessions supposedly told Trump to fire Comey. I don't think Trump is the ring leader.

Sessions supposedly told Trump to fire Comey. — Mongrel

Citation please. Wouldn't want to add to the fake news that's already in circulation.

Look it up. :)

You cite it, you show it.

What would motivate Trump to try to squash Comey's investigation? — Mongrel

Just to recap, if you haven't been following, there is evidence of (1) some co-operation or contact of some kind, between 'persons involved in Trumps' campaign (a very motley crew) and at least some Russian operatives. Also (2) almost incontestable evidence that some Russian hackers penetrated confidential American systems, leaked information, like the Podesta emails, through Wikileaks, and also planted false stories to influence the outcome.

Why would Putin want Trump to win? Because he could see what a useless outcome it would be, that Trump was completely incapable, and would weaken the USA. And he hated and feared Clinton. Trump, he could work with, not because he *likes* him - as if 'liking someone' could come into Putin's calculations! - but because a Trump win would be bad for the US. Which it patently and obviously has been, and will continue to be.

You cite it, you show it. — Wayfarer

I think you misunderstood the intention of my post. It's just more leaked stuff; unconfirmed, but probably true (most of the leaked stuff has been true, I think.)

Hey I'm a pretty assiduous news reader, and am following the debacle of the Trump presidency, but nowhere have I seen the suggestion that Jeff Sessions 'told' Trump to fire Comey, nor do I think it's likely. I think Trump made the decision by himself, for his own reasons, mainly to try and get him off the Russia investigation.

My view is, I don't think Trump personally colluded with anyone from Russia, but that people in the Trump campaign machine might well have. But we will have to see. Mueller is, I'm sure, an incorruptible and dogged investigator, and his hiring was an unintended consequence of the Comey sacking. But Trump, aided and abetted by a craven GOP, has proven himself a bald-faced liar, and will continue to brazen it out.

smh

This is the problem - there is entirely no credible evidence for any of the Russia connection.

You will find that any evidence there is doesn't pass even basic scrutiny. The sources are either DNC itself or consultants and firms hired by the DNC.

Neither the NSA, CIA or FBI has supplied any of its own evidence to support the Russia claim. Given how long this has now been going on and the fact that the NSA records pretty much everything - it appears an almost stone cold fact that there is no collusion between Trump and the Russians.

This doesn't make Trump any less an embarrassing ogre - but it does prove that the Democrats and the MSM have abandoned any connection to reality when it comes to Trump. The daily salivating outrage and crisis reporting by CNN, WAPO and the NYT on all matters is insane.

So much so, that the MSM out trumps Trump.

there is entirely no credible evidence for any of the Russia connection. — yebiga

You know this how?

There are credible reports of Russian hackers leaking DNC emails, and demonstrated links between Paul Manafort and Russian money.

What has been shown already is worse than what everyone was howling 'Lock her up' about in regard to Clinton.

I have been reading some more about 'the Russia collusion'. Comey testified that he didn't think there was anything in the NY Times story that really put a rocket under all the speculation back in January. Consequently, it is quite possible that no significant collusion will be found. But - that is by no means certain. But I think it is reasonable to presume that Russian hackers of some description did make mischief during the Presidential campaign, that the Russian leadership was rooting for Trump (for whatever reason) and that there certainly were some business ties between some of the campaign staff and Russian business interests. And that is what needs to be investigated.

But I think the crucial point is that Donald Trump doesn't understand any of this. I'm sure he has a very vague idea of 'the Russia thing' and believes - falsely - that he himself has been accused of colluding with Russia. That's why he said he'd been 'vindicated' by Comey - it was because Comey said that Trump himself wasn't a target of the investigation. But - he never had been! I don't think the story was ever about that at all. It was about the possibility of some skullduggery involving some of the shady Alt Right types riding the Trump bandwagon, with some nefarious Russian activity, during the campaign (which Trump then exacerbated by making all these fawning statements about how smart Putin was).

But because he doesn't understand it, he's making it much worse for himself. If he really knew there was nothing to be found, then why sack the head of the FBI, and then come out on TV saying it was 'because of the Russia thing'? If you wanted to make people think there was nothing to hide, then this sure would do the opposite. And it makes the sacking much more politically contentious than it might have been.

So now the whole story has taken on a life of it's own. Conspiracy theorists, anti-Trump activists, all his many enemies in the 'fake media' are now piling on board 'the Russia thing' as a kind of anti-Trump juggernaut. And I don't think Trump himself has the foggiest idea of why, other than that it's all bullshit. He's wrong about that - it's not all bullshit. But there's a lot of bullshit, and this time it's coming at him, instead of from him.

No one outside of the intelligence agencies knows what evidence they have and/or where it is leading. Some folk consider the length of time the investigation has been going on and somehow conclude that there's no evidence of Trump team collusion with Russian officials simply because none has been shown. If there is evidence they would not show it. Rather, they would follow it... wherever it may lead. If there is not evidence of direct collusion, but there is evidence of some other high crimes and misdemeanors they would follow it.

So... if it is the case that there is no direct evidence tying Trump to collusion, and yet the investigation is broadening - which it clearly is - then it can only be the case that the investigation has turned up some other compelling evidence of some other sort of punishable offense.

A shout out to another aspect of the balance of power... the free press.

Speaking of which, there's an important NY Times editorial which re-focuses on the question of just what 'the Russia thing' was about in the first place. It points out that the really burning questions are around what Russian operatives tried to do, and were able to do, in the run-up to the US election.

Under direct orders from President Vladimir Putin, hackers connected to Russian military intelligence broke into the email accounts of senior officials at the Democratic National Committee and of Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, John Podesta. They passed tens of thousands of emails to the website WikiLeaks, which posted them throughout the last months of the campaign in an attempt to damage the Clinton campaign.

Even more disturbing, hackers sought access to voter databases in at least 39 states, and in some cases tried to alter or delete voter data. They also appear to have tried to take over the computers of more than 100 local election officials in the days before the Nov. 8 vote.

There is no evidence that these efforts affected the outcome of the election. But that’s beside the point. The Russians have engaged in behavior like this in other countries, and they’re getting better at it. An American presidential election may be their biggest target to date, but it’s hardly their first. In the last decade they have hacked computer networks in Estonia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, France, and Bulgaria — often stealing data. They have disseminated fake news stories and other disinformation to interfere with elections in other countries, as they did here.

It’s a global threat, and serious people treat it that way.

This is what the enquiry into 'the Russia thing' started off looking into, but then the story broke about alleged collusion between various figures involved with the Trump campaign and Russian personnel - that's when it got closer to Trump. But the point remains, I don't think Trump himself really understands what the investigation is about and why it can't be let go.

Yeah Wayfarer, you should be very careful, the Russians will take over the world, we're back in your Cold War days :-}

Seems like the Cold War propaganda has done its job... 40-50 years later >:O

not nearly so well as Vlad has done on some of our contributors. .

not nearly so well as Vlad has done on some of our contributors. . — Wayfarer

Vlad? You meant Vladimir? >:O

Cou-dit-sa

What the hell is that?

Russian for chicken.

Russian for chicken. — Mongrel

:s no it's not... At least you'd not pronounce it that way. There's no "d" sound in it.

My pronunciation has been officially checked off by numerous Russians and Russian speakers while playing the chicken/rooster game with grass stems. I certainly wouldn't take the word of a Mongolian over them.

My pronunciation has been officially checked off by numerous Russians and Russian speakers while playing the chicken/rooster game with grass stems. I certainly wouldn't take the word of a Mongolian over them. — Mongrel

Yea. Whatever. I don't play the videos you post.

Yea. Whatever. — Mongrel

What's the chicken rooster game?

It's hard to explain. It's a Russian thing.

I don't play the videos you post. — Mongrel

Why not?

'Cause you posted too many silly ones. :P

'Cause you posted too many silly ones. :P — Mongrel

And? At least you may have a little bit of fun watching them :P

http://nyer.cm/jxyPWEf

Indeed Jeep... The Russian investigation began with the intent of investigating any possible Russia interference. And look where it has led...

There are a whole plethora of seemingly disparate facts that all become coherent when tied to Trump and co. Of course, that's not the only possible explanation if it becomes one officially, lest - if there is evidence that leads directly to Trump - the appropriate authorities will be very very thorough in making that case. Trump is nervous and for very very good reason. His personal attorney(who has no security clearance and thus is not allowed to hear classified information) has hired his own personal counsel.

Interesting indeed.