I threw a few cards and did a quick reading and got the following results:
How does RM feel about making an announcement: does not like it, but will do his duty
Will he testify in public? He is torn and it will cost him friendships
Will justice be set in motion by what is happening today? Yes
How will we feel after his announcement? We will have to manage our expectations and be patient. Certain things have to happen before the ultimate outcome is set in motion.
Will this further justice under the circumstances? There is imbalance, impatience and lack of harmony. We have to be patient and strive towards restoring balance.
Will our democracy survive the current situation? Yes, all will be well
How does T feel about this? stressed, will lose money
I decided to make use of the nervous energy that the upcoming announcement caused and use this as practice.
Thanks for weighing in, baba. You have been a huge help during these hard times. Patience is the greatest virtue.
When I read Mueller I see he feels he’s done his job and is leaving us with the report. Cards on the AG are that he has urged the press conference and he feels it will help his position.
Yes I also see from my cards that the Orange Con hates when the subject is raised because he knows he’s a crook. So he is not happy about any reminders.
The information showing some of his crimes is in the report although when, if ever, we will see the unredacted version remains a mystery.
I hope Pelosi impeaches.
Well, so much for that.
Key points of Mueller's statement:
- Unconstitutional to indict a sitting president [it's actually DoJ policy, never established by SCOTUS].
- The report speaks for itself.
- Retiring.
- Will not testify, in fact does not want to discuss this publicly ever again.
- He reiterated that his office could not establish that the president didn't commit a crime, but that it wasn't his office's job to make that determination.
- Russia did interfere in 2016 elections but collusion could not be established.
Poor Bob just went from hero to zero. This leaves the mango and his minions open for an all out autocracy. Bob just demeanded in my eyes the House of Representatives. He is a true Republican soldier and Billy Barrs main man. History will not be kind to him.
That’s not how I interpreted what he said. He basically said, everything that you need to make this right is in the report. They didn’t choose their words lightly. He indicated that he did everything that he could given the constraints of the DOJ policies and that the only group with the power to act now is congress. He also openly reiterated that he did not clear the president. Congress needs to act now.
Baba, I think you're spot on. This will continue to unfold and develop into something devastating for Twitler. Maybe that's wishful thinking on my part but I don't think so.
Also, remember the judge-ordered release of the Flynn material.
I interpreted what he said differently too Baba. He clearly noted the constraints he faced, and the parameters he had to work within. He wasn't allowed by DOJ rules to indict a sitting president, and it is not fair to say someone committed a crime when they won't be able to defend themselves via due process. He is playing by the rules he was hired under. He clearly said "If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not committed a crime, we would have said so."
Yes, it is not in the constitution that you can't indict a sitting president, but he presented the DOJ stipulation that it is. He's working within the framework he was constrained by. He's now no longer a DOJ employee. He has no intention of speaking again on the matter as he's a private citizen. What is needed is in the report. However, I believe that if he were to be subpoenaed, he would comply, as it is in his nature to follow the law.
He's telling congress there's some there there, and they need to act, as it is out of his jurisdiction to do so. He's telling those that haven't read the report, that they need to. He's refuting their talking point that he said there was no collusion, no obstruction. It's a sound bite they can't erase and twist to their own meaning. Listen to how he says they indicted co-conspirators, because that was permissible under DOJ rules and regs.
I get the feeling that he's reticent to do more for a few reasons. First he'll be at the center of a firestorm, which is not how he envisioned his golden years. He was head of the FBI and had faded into the background before being asked to undertake this job. He wants peace that back-yet he stepped up to the mike to make himself heard-read the report-he didn't indict because he wasn't allowed, not because there was no case. He states in the report that no one is above the law. Second, he has had friends -like Barr- who have played fast and loose with the issues, and once everything is exposed, he'd rather not be the one swinging the axe. He knows that when the chips fall, there will be a number of his party that will not fare well. I think he'd prefer that Congress police their own instead of having to play the heavy himself.
He's not only telling congress that they need to take up the mantle, but that they need to pass laws so that no crook can be in the Oval Office, and no one has the right to shield them from the law. I get that the laws in place are there to protect the president, and for valid reasons. No president who has to make the decision to send troops into battle should be able to be charged with murder. This is one of the reasons such laws exist. However, these same laws shouldn't be used as loopholes for an individual who believes that it means they can do whatever they want and not have to worry about being charged with a crime. By clearly stating that his hands are tied -he's allowed to investigate as special council-but not indict- he's telling congress that it's time to close those loopholes legislatively. What good is it to have a new sheriff in town if they aren't allowed to charge criminals with crimes?
He could have closed the office, and resigned quietly (tho it still would have been in the news), but he's telling his fellow party members that they need to take note of what his work encompassed. He knows the Dems read it.
That’s not how I interpreted what he said. He basically said, everything that you need to make this right is in the report. They didn’t choose their words lightly. He indicated that he did everything that he could given the constraints of the DOJ policies and that the only group with the power to act now is congress. He also openly reiterated that he did not clear the president. Congress needs to act now.
Baba, agree with you. It's in the report. I read the report. It shows impeachable offenses. It doesn't show everything. It doesn't follow Trump's money, as far as I could tell. Buit it shows clear obstruction of justice by the President. I don't know how much clearer it could get. It also shows circumstantial evidence for coordination with the Russians. Perhaps Mueller felt he didn't have enough to indict on conspiracy. But then again, he never interviewed the president or his kids.
And this is the redacted version.
The Trump campaign met with the Russians. The Trump campaign shared polling data with the Russians. The Trump campaign members welcomed damaging information from the Russians on Clinton. They never interviewed Trump or his kids so the report is incomplete. They never studied his tax records and bank records so the report is incomplete. But there's enough in there to convict Trump of obstruction of justice.
Pelosi needs to move forward with impeachment. If she does not, I feel she will regret it. It won't be pretty for the dems whether they do or do not impeach, because the Rethugs will be out there firing in their ugly fake news way.
But the House needs to use the report the way it was meant to be used -- to bring charges forward. The Senate won't convict, but at least Trump's crimes will be in the news throughout the whole proceeding. FOX will block and spin it, but at least half the country will have the full story in the news.
It's not that Mueller is a zero. They made the decision that he isn't going to be the president's prosecutor. He took a limited view of his job, the view he was handed by the AG - that he was the investigator . And well, he's not the hero we need right now. We need Pelosi to do her job.
Here's the Mueller statement. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/29/us/politics/mueller-transcript.html
I was with a client when it was released so I am just reading it now. I thought he was speaking at 5 pm EST, but I think that was supposed to read 5 pm CET (Central European Time).
I just heard that because Mueller was hired as special counsel, not as special prosecutor, he saw his job strictly as an investigator. Just gather the facts, and bring those to Congress. However … Mueller’s special counsel investigation was able to bring about indictments of 34 individuals. Eight have pled guilty to or have been convicted of felonies, including five Trump associates and campaign officials. But of course, we’re constantly reminded of the DOJ rules -- ConDon can’t be touched. And even though there were indictments of T’s associates, there’s no proof of a conspiracy, according to Mueller.
And to make things even more swampy, what about ConDon’s kids?
I’m speechless. Pelosi had better get moving.