Sessions and Russia NY Times Story. He didn't tell they met twice.

So Obama is sitting on the evidence, and just waiting for the lying dipshits to dig their own graves. Sweet. That explains why Obama has that big grin on his face!

It doesn't matter. Trump is the next Reagan. 

Or the next Nixon

Old people forget stuff. 

Nixon was a quitter. Trump doesn't like quitters.

He lied to the US Senate.

Martha Stewart went to jail for less.

That's because she wouldn't traffic children for the global elite. Duh!

ancient Chinese curse: 

May you live in interesting times.

great party conversation stuff.

..

I dont know what worse. The fact all of this happened, or that those involved dont realize they were completely played by the Russians. Whoever said slavs dont have a sense of humor? 

For the love of weed fire him!

sesh is a 33rd degree reptile....

"Trump Attorney General Jeff Sessions under fire over Russia meetings"

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39136118

How are the slimy bastards going to wiggle out of this one?

Some peeps on this board love to spout..particularly about immigration..they are just following the laws on the books..well last time I checked lying under oath is one of those laws on the books..let's see those same peeps start back peddling..

>How are the slimy bastards going to wiggle out of this one?<

Sessions will continue to claim that he met with the ambassador as part of his role as a member of the Senate armed services committee, not as a member of the Trump campaign. I'm guessing that most Republicans will accept this explanation.

Is anyone in here concerned about the Awan brothers?

I think the powers that be are getting nervous where Seasons is going with human trafficking and sex slavery sof they will do everything they can to get him out.  There are already 2000 related busts in 2017 two months into his tenure...compared with the 400 or so in 2015.  Donand held a huge human trafficking meeting last week declaring to use the full force of the govt to investigate and eradicate this stuff.

The deadhead senators are all over this story Al Franken & Pat Leahy both questions have the rat Jeff Sessions cornered. Morning Joe's having a field day on this story. Best coverage!

So now we just need that pinhead Spicer to say today that Sessions has the full support of the president, and tomorrow the resignation comes.

>I think the powers that be are getting nervous where Seasons is going with human trafficking and sex slavery sof they will do everything they can to get him out.  There are already 2000 related >busts in 2017 two months into his tenure...compared with the 400 or so in 2015.  Donand held a huge human trafficking meeting last week declaring to use the full force of the govt to investigate and >eradicate this stuff.

Yeah, but that would mean he would have to send his wife back to whatever country from which he bought her..

good one ^

And today's spin will make you dizzy:

>Sessions says he was only speaking to the Ambassador in his official capacity as a Senator, but one of the meetings occurred at the RNC.

Sessions’ core defense is that he was only speaking about conversations he had as a Trump surrogate and that his meetings were in his official capacity as Senator. This was not a distinction he made in his answer to Franken, which was definitive and unqualified.

“There was absolutely nothing misleading about his answer,” said Sarah Isgur Flores, Sessions’s spokeswoman…

“He was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign — not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee,” Flores said.

https://thinkprogress.org/jeff-sessions-shifting-deceptive-explanations-...

Nothing to see here. OBAMA!!!

>>..Attorney General Jeff Sessions met Russia's ambassador during the election despite telling his confirmation hearing he had "no communications with the Russians".

The justice department confirmed he met Sergei Kislyak in July and September last year as part of his role on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Mr Sessions says he did not "discuss any political" issues with Russia.

Claims of Russian interference in the election have dogged President Trump.

The US intelligence community believes the alleged Russian hacking of Democratic organisations was carried out to help Mr Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Mr Trump's National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, was fired last month after he misled the White House about his conversations with Mr Kislyak, allegedly regarding sanctions against Moscow...

Attorney General Jeff Sessions met Russia's ambassador during the election despite telling his confirmation hearing he had "no communications with the Russians".

The justice department confirmed he met Sergei Kislyak in July and September last year as part of his role on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Mr Sessions says he did not "discuss any political" issues with Russia.

Claims of Russian interference in the election have dogged President Trump.

The US intelligence community believes the alleged Russian hacking of Democratic organisations was carried out to help Mr Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Mr Trump's National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, was fired last month after he misled the White House about his conversations with Mr Kislyak, allegedly regarding sanctions against Moscow.

Mr Sessions responded: "I'm not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians. And I'm unable to comment on it."

In comments to MSNBC's Morning Joe programme on Thursday, Mr Sessions reiterated: "I have not met with any Russians at any time to discuss any political campaign, and those remarks are unbelievable to me and are false, and I don't have anything else to say about that."

Did Mr Sessions mislead the hearing?

Justice department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said there had been "absolutely nothing misleading about his answer" at the confirmation hearing.

"He was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign - not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee," she said.

Mr Sessions was also backed by the White House, which condemned the "latest attack against the Trump administration by partisan Democrats"...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39136118

As bad as all this is his real crime was voter suppression while AG of Alabama.

Which was blocked from discussion by the Republican confirmation hearing.

Also not allowed was discussion of his racist comments and even allowing the reading of Coretta Scott King's letter.

Streaming facsist turd. 

So, what did they talk about?

turds.

the complicit GOP are  shitstains 

>what did they talk about?<

The issues discussed are irrelevant. While Sessions was under oath he stated that he had no meetings with any Russian official. He didn't state, "I did, but it was in my role as a member of the armed services committee."

He lied. 

Apparently bad memory is a non-partisan issue:

Claire McCaskill today:

and in 2013:

and in 2015:

The most charitable way to read McCaskill’s tweet is to assume that she was talking about meetings she attended in her capacity as a member of the Armed Services Committee. But if that’s the case, one wonders why she hasn’t extended the same method of interpretation to Jeff Sessions, whom she has called upon to resign on the grounds that he used similarly misleading and ambiguous language during his recent confirmation hearing.

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/445407/claire-mccaskill-did-meet-ru...

^Thom, are you comparing a Twitter post with a statement made under oath?  You cannot be that foolish.

It's nice that you come to the defense of Sessions. 

Thom...

How about a comment on the mouthpiece for white nationalists, Steve Bannon's position on the national security council?   

Scurry away now, Thom

Sessions answered two questions on Russia for his hearing. The first question, in written form, was asked as part of the pre-hearing formalities:

SEN. PATRICK J. LEAHY: Several of the President-elect’s nominees or senior advisers have Russian ties. Have you been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election, either before or after election day?” the Vermont Democrat asked

SESSIONS: No.

The second was asked orally, during the hearing itself:

SEN. AL FRANKEN: “If there was any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this (2016) campaign, what would you do?,” the Minnesota Democrat asked.

SESSIONS: “I’m not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians.”

Leahy’s question was clear in its focus. He was asking about “contact” with “any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election.” Sessions answered that one bluntly. No controversy there.

Franken’s inquiry was more open, but given the context of his remarks, it seems clear that he was focusing on the campaign. Here is what Franken said immediately prior to his question:

"CNN just published a story alleging that the intelligence community provided documents to the president-elect last week, that included information that “Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump.” These documents also allegedly say “there was a continuing exchange of information during the campaign between Trump surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government.” Again, I’m telling you this as it’s coming out, so you know."

Question: If McCaskill’s “no call or meeting” was assumed to inherit her reference to the Armed Services Committee, rather than any other function she might perform, then why isn’t Sessions’s “I did not have communications with the Russians” assumed to inherit Franken’s references to the “campaign” and to “surrogates” (Franken never refers to the Armed Services Committee)? Certainly, Sessions could have been clearer (as could Franken). Arguably, as a lawyer he should know better than to fall into traps such as these. But it seems a stretch to jump from “he screwed that up” to the charges of “perjury” and “treason” and “lying” that we’re hearing now (being under oath doesn’t impart superhuman memory, nor act as a prophylactic against giving ambiguous answers to ambiguous questions).

To avoid any appearance of impropriety, Sessions should recuse himself from the Russia investigation. He should give a full account of his communications with Russia, too. But resign? Come now. Let she who is without sin cast the first tweet.

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/445407/claire-mccaskill-did-meet-ru...

>> To avoid any appearance of impropriety, Sessions should recuse himself from the Russia investigation. <<

Thom, does it bother you that there needs to be an investigation to begin with? There's an awful lot of smoke in here...

^so it's OK with you for the attorney general to to perjure himself during a Senate hearing?

Still nothing on Bannon? 

BTW, it would be nice if the left admitted that all of this Russian nonsense was nothing more than a coordinated attempt by the Obama "government in exile" to harm the Trump administration's agenda.  But of course, that would be a bit more honest than they're willing to be.  As well as admitting that an ex-President is actively working to subvert a democratically elected President and his administration.

The proper emotion for the left to all of this should be shame.  But as anyone who is honest knows, the left is incapable of shame.

CONFIRMED: Obama Admin Sabotaged Trump’s Transition To The White House

President Trump’s claims that the Obama administration sought to undermine his presidency received some support on Wednesday from a New York Times report on the Obama White House’s activities in the weeks before the inauguration.

According to The Times, Obama White House officials waged a campaign to procure, save and disperse classified intelligence regarding Trump associates’ contacts with Russians.

The campaign also involved curtailing the Trump team’s access to highly classified information and of lowering classification ratings on other information about the ongoing Russia investigation so that it could be more widely shared across the government.

According to The Times’ sources, the Obama officials waged the campaign out of fear that the Trump administration would cover up or destroy some of the information.

Read more: http://wilm.iheart.com/features/political-junkie-1077/articles/15/493917...

Yes, Thom, it's a shame that Trump administration couldn't destroy all evidence of it's contact with officials from the Russian government. 

Bannon?

Their actions seem not only reasonable, but patriotic.

Thom, I have always had respect for you, but you're losing it, dude. If there's nothing there there, then why does it keep popping up? And it isn't the evil fake news media, it's multiple intel agencies, FBI, etc.

And why is anybody opposed to having Trump's tax forms made public?

Nothing to hide, right?

Respect for Thom?

Thom is a gaping anal pore.

At least Obama's actions (or lack thereof) allowed for a relatively peaceful transition to the GOP's...

Let's receive the truth about the Russian-Trump dealio...

If there's nothing there, why are they lying about it?

Flynn and now Sessions.

When people feel a need 2 explain why they R not really lying, chances R that they indeed R.  

Senator Al Franken, Democrat from Minnesota, asked Mr. Sessions what he would do if he learned of evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of the 2016 campaign.

“I’m not aware of any of those activities,” Mr. Sessions answered, adding, “I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign, and I did not have communications with the Russians.”

trump was right about one thing

we need to drain the fuckin swamp

too bad he hired all the swampasses 

All this from a president that won by saying crooked hillary in a million tweets.

Thom, spiraling, Scary.  Is it because of financial troubles?  Sorry buddy.

Since you mentioned it all the time,  can i ask you to define "the left"?

Just read (NYT) that some republicans are also asking for Sessions to recuse himself.

All three ongoing investigations, FBI, House and Senate Intelligence Committees are compromised.  Sessions as AG overseeing the FBI, misleading confirmation statements, and Rep. Burr and Sen. Nunes chairs of the House and Senate Intelligence committees schilling (at the request of the white house!) in public for "nothing to see here"

Independent Investigation

Sean Spicer: Mr. President, Better Call Saul

President Trump: No worries I've reached out to Mr.Wolf

>>>   BTW, it would be nice if the left admitted that all of this Russian nonsense was nothing more than a coordinated attempt by the Obama "government in exile" to harm the Trump administration's agenda. 

OK.

Obama made Flynn and Sessions lie.

Feeling better now?

F recuse.

Keebler dude should resign.

Sessions spin session at 4pm.

One of the nice things that has come out of this whole Trump mess is that we no longer have to keep reading whenever we see these three words

President Trump’s claims

Thom mark my words the Republicans are going to regret the day they tied their brand to Trump, but in the meantime please keep it coming. 

Sessions press conference right know 1pm PST

Sessions = Certified PRICK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SESSIONS RECUSES HIMSELF FROM RUSSIA PROBES

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jeff-sessions-russia-trump_us_58b86f...?

Here comes the cover up republican style.

kislyak is the same guy involved with flynn

just a coincidence

>>>>>>> CONFIRMED: Obama Admin Sabotaged Trump’s Transition To The White House

But but did they rip the "T" key off all the keyboards?

This is gonna make Watergate look like a simple Burglary . . .

>>>>>>> CONFIRMED: Obama Admin Sabotaged Trump’s Transition To The White House

http://wilm.iheart.com/

This is a Wilmington, Delaware talk radio station.

I'd pony up my donation to the zone again to read Chance's comments on a U of Delaware "research librarian" sourcing a talk radio station.

A librarian who supports a president who calls the free press an enemy of the people is a disgrace.

thom has become a complete mess 

thom supports white nationalism 

poor thom really being taken to the wood shed here today.

But Thom gets to Zone all day @ work so apparently he has nothing to do @ work so he has Zero Job Stress in his life so I'd say he's doing pretty well for himself.

Gee, you think?  I mean, it wasn't just a huge coincidence?

But Joe Scarborough of Morning Joe suggested Thursday that the timing of the release of these details may not be so accidental on the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s widely praised joint session address to Congress, in which he earned at least some bipartisan support. Scarborough remarked, “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this came the day after Donald Trump got his best press conference ever.”

http://www.mediaite.com/online/scarborough-suggests-release-of-sessionsr...

The organized attempt of a silent coup by the left continues apace.

Oh yeah, great speech.

He read the telepromter and only snorted a few times.

He got over the bar.

thom has kids, thom is a racist

The news breaks when the news breaks. The media isn't very good at impulse control.

>>>  Scarborough remarked, “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this came the day after Donald Trump got his best press conference ever.”

heh-heh.

Why do you think Franken asked that question, Thom?

The question that Sessions lied responding to?

heh-heh.

This shit is just getting started.

e.g., http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/what-the-cia-and-fbi-knew-about-trum...

Thom, you're grasping here. This Russian shit is deep, and it's real. You're deluding yourself if you think it's just a Democratic plot to undermine the president. The call is coming from inside the (White) House.

Is Thom Eric Bolling? 

>>>>>“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this came the day after Donald Trump got his best press conference ever.”

Awhile ago, Anonymous instructed Trump to resign by 02/28/17: "You have been warned."

Does anyone else remember seeing that?  I think that it was on facebook.

Keep in mind the very first thing this GOP congress did was gut the ethics office to see if they could get away with it. They didn't!

House Republicans pull plan to gut independent ethics committee after Trump tweets

By Deirdre Walsh, Manu Raju and Stephen Collinson, CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/02/politics/office-of-congressional-ethics-ov...

And the OBAMA admin saw that coming, and took decisive action:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/03/01/obama_officials_report...

>>The New York Times published a staggering report Wednesday evening on the Obama administration’s extraordinary and extensive effort in the waning days of the Obama presidency to preserve and distribute intelligence it had uncovered on Donald Trump’s ties to Russia. As the links between Trump associates and Russian intelligence became clearer, and Russian influence on the U.S. election deemed more influential, administration officials worried that classified intelligence that would be vital to a future investigation could be easily destroyed or simply dismissed by the incoming Trump White House.

“At the Obama White House, Mr. Trump’s statements stoked fears among some that intelligence could be covered up or destroyed—or its sources exposed—once power changed hands,” the New York Times writes. “What followed was a push to preserve the intelligence that underscored the deep anxiety with which the White House and American intelligence agencies had come to view the threat from Moscow.”

As information piled up on Trump-Russia links, White House officials looked for ways to distribute the information that was often classified as widely as possible among those with the required security clearance. Officials also got creative in finding ways to enter portions of what they’d found into the record in various forms, making it harder to scrub. From the Times:

Some officials began asking specific questions at intelligence briefings, knowing the answers would be archived and could be easily unearthed by investigators — including the Senate Intelligence Committee, which in early January announced an inquiry into Russian efforts to influence the election.

At intelligence agencies, there was a push to process as much raw intelligence as possible into analyses, and to keep the reports at a relatively low classification level to ensure as wide a readership as possible across the government — and, in some cases, among European allies. This allowed the upload of as much intelligence as possible to Intellipedia, a secret wiki used by American analysts to share information.

There was also an effort to pass reports and other sensitive materials to Congress. In one instance, the State Department sent a cache of documents marked “secret” to Senator Benjamin Cardin of Maryland days before the Jan. 20 inauguration. The documents, detailing Russian efforts to intervene in elections worldwide, were sent in response to a request from Mr. Cardin, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.

The Times reporting is gleaned from more than a half-dozen current and former officials, who say the directive did not come from President Obama himself. The officials, who spoke to the Times anonymously because they were divulging classified information, said they were coming forward in order to bring attention to the need for further congressional investigation into the matter. The FBI is currently investigating Russia’s election meddling and Trump ties to Russia.

The vast left-wing conspiracy 

Truth and justice is a left wing conspiracy to the corrupt and compromised Trump regime  and GOP.

Truth and justice my ass.  More like a covert operation against a democratically elected government being run by Obama and his lackeys (I wonder why Valarie Jarrett just moved into his house in DC?) and abetted by a compliant press that can't stand the thought that Trump won the election.  If this type of activity (which actually does border on being treasonous) was being done by any Republican you would be screaming bloody murder.  But as always with the party whose motto is "by any means necessary", whatever it takes to destroy a political opponent is condoned.

Let's be clear; the only thing that the Russians did during this election was hack into the DNC server and John Podesta's e-mail and release embarrassing details of how the Clinton campaign was operating.  And Julian Assange (who was a hero to the left) says that not even that is true, that it wasn't the Russians behind the hack.  Interesting how suddenly he isn't worth believing. There is not one iota of evidence that there has been any collusion between the Trump campaign and any Russian entity whatsoever.  As the New York Times stated this morning:

"It also reflected the suspicion among many in the Obama White House that the Trump campaign might have colluded with Russia on election email hacks — a suspicion that American officials say has not been confirmed."

Conveniently buried near the end of the article of course, after doing all they could to make it seem otherwise.  This entire story relies on innumerable "unnamed sources" and supposed contacts in foreign governments.  Not one person has come forward, and not one shred of evidence has been produced, that verifies any of this story. 

The dossier that Franken was taking his points from was the same one that had the story about Trump hiring prostitutes to piss on a bed that Obama had slept on in Moscow.  That story was entirely discredited, but apparently it's okay for Franken to still use that material as a source in a Senate confirmation hearing.  If you watch the video you can see that he's embarrassed to even be using it.  But again, whatever it takes.

And if you insist of believing that an American would collude with the Russians to defeat a political opponent in a Presidential election, you might want to look at Teddy Kennedy's actions in 1984:

“On 9-10 May of this year,” the May 14 memorandum explained, “Sen. Edward Kennedy’s close friend and trusted confidant [John] Tunney was in Moscow.” (Tunney was Kennedy’s law school roommate and a former Democratic senator from California.) “The senator charged Tunney to convey the following message, through confidential contacts, to the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Y. Andropov.”

Kennedy’s message was simple. He proposed an unabashed quid pro quo. Kennedy would lend Andropov a hand in dealing with President Reagan. In return, the Soviet leader would lend the Democratic Party a hand in challenging Reagan in the 1984 presidential election. “The only real potential threats to Reagan are problems of war and peace and Soviet-American relations,” the memorandum stated. “These issues, according to the senator, will without a doubt become the most important of the election campaign.”

Kennedy made Andropov a couple of specific offers.

First he offered to visit Moscow. “The main purpose of the meeting, according to the senator, would be to arm Soviet officials with explanations regarding problems of nuclear disarmament so they may be better prepared and more convincing during appearances in the USA.” Kennedy would help the Soviets deal with Reagan by telling them how to brush up their propaganda.

Then he offered to make it possible for Andropov to sit down for a few interviews on American television. “A direct appeal … to the American people will, without a doubt, attract a great deal of attention and interest in the country. … If the proposal is recognized as worthy, then Kennedy and his friends will bring about suitable steps to have representatives of the largest television companies in the USA contact Y.V. Andropov for an invitation to Moscow for the interviews. … The senator underlined the importance that this initiative should be seen as coming from the American side.”

Kennedy would make certain the networks gave Andropov air time–and that they rigged the arrangement to look like honest journalism.

https://www.forbes.com/2009/08/27/ted-kennedy-soviet-union-ronald-reagan...

As usual, it is the left that is guilty of the very charges that they attack others with.  It's an old trick that totalitarian governments have been utilizing for years.  If any of you were to ever study the history of the progressive left over the past 120 years you'd know this.  But then, no one likes to watch sausage being made.

thom, are you afraid that white nationalist, Steve Bannon will be out of a job soon?

Buddies

^that sure proves it, eh Thom?  

Any comment on Bannon?

Re 1984... Kennedy's actions should have been investigated and relevant charges should have been pursued. 

Just as the actions of representatives of Trump's administration need to be investigated by an independent council, and relevant charges should be pursued.

Hey Orange, congratulations for stringing together a coherent sentence.  Simple thoughts for simple people.

I didn't know that this thread was about Steve Bannon.  Unable to defend the topic at hand or what?  Misdirection is another old trick of the hard left.  Keep trying, I'm sure that you can amuse yourselves.

Putin is holding that donut like it's a piece of plutonium.

Hard left? I'm a moderate Thom. I continue to ask you about Bannon because you refuse to offer your opinion. 

Much like you refused to offer an opinion about this guy...

And you are correct, i should do a better job of proof reading my posts. Or maybe I should follow your lead and just cut and paste my opinion

thom is a racist. he raised his kids to be racist. 

seadog fucks thom's wife while he is inside thom. haha! 

thom supports white nationalism. 

 

Thom, what are you gonna say when this all comes crashing down on you? You're building yourself up for a major fall here. Also pretty rich of you to accuse someone of misdirection when you first decided to inexplicably start talking about Ted Kennedy.

Meanwhile, for anyone reading, the Valerie Jarrett story is bullshit (obviously): http://www.snopes.com/2017/03/02/valerie-jarrett-move-in-obamas/

I would also just note if that if all of this is as false as you say, would Flynn have resigned? Would Sessions have recused himself? Would Republican members of Congress be calling for a special prosecutor? The further you bury yourself into your right wing news hole, the more you lose touch with what's actually happening in your own party.

Thom, regarding simple minds...

I do believe that you equated a Twitter post with testimony given under oath during a Senate confirmation hearing. 

Pyramid, to be fair, Thom has not come out and explicitly supported White nationalism, he just refuses to denounce white nationalist, Steve Bannon.

It would be nice to think that someone around here could have the level of maturity to realize that being against a subversive attack on a legally elected administration by a former President (and if you don't think Obama is behind this your are incredibly naive) does not necessarily mean that you are in total support of that administration.  It would be nice, but alas, not to be expected from the likes of those who frequent the lunatic fringe of the far left.  Subtlety of thought is not your forte.  And as hard as it is for the left to understand, there are some things that are more important than ideology.

Anyone who has actually paid attention to my posts for the past year would know that I'm no great supporter of Donald Trump.  I'm also not, like the majority of those around here, tearing my hair out at the prospect of living in a country run by his administration.  Life goes on, but apparently not for the progressive left that has had it's "arc of history" interrupted.  Well, that's your problem, not mine.

But if you really aren't concerned about a shadow government subverting the elected leaders of this country, I can only say that you actually do have more in common with the totalitarians of the 20th century than I already assumed you did. Live and learn.

thom is trash

thom is a racist 

>>> a subversive attack on a legally elected administration by a former President (and if you don't think Obama is behind this your are incredibly naive)

Thom, I appreciate you sticking around to argue your position, but you just have no evidence this is the case. It's in no way naive to be skeptical of a very bold claim like this without seeing some basis for it. The leaks that have come out with information about Russian contacts seem to have been from career officials at DOJ and in the intelligence agencies. Those individuals might have personal political leanings against the current president, but that does not mean this is some calculated plot by Obama and Valerie Jarrett to undermine him. You have to come forward with some evidence (that's not from HotAir, the DailyCaller, TownHall, or Brietbart), or this sounds like a paranoid fantasy. 

^ Thom,  I know that you have not been an enthusiastic supporter of Trump, but you have defended several of his cabinet secretaries. Given your defense of those such as Sessions, I wanted to know your thoughts on having a man who provided a platform for white nationalists being given a powerful position in the administration. Your silence on the matter gives the impression that you are at the very least indifferent to Bannon's role in the administration.

>>> I'm also not, like the majority of those around here, tearing my hair out at the prospect of living in a country run by his administration.  Life goes on, but apparently not for the progressive left that has had it's "arc of history" interrupted.  Well, that's your problem, not mine.

This is a nice illustration of classic "fuck you I got mine" white straight male conservatism. Hate crimes against Muslims and people of color have been on the rise (not to mention the Muslim ban), ICE is deporting people with brain tumors and kids who have never lived anywhere besides the United States, the Republican Congress is trying to take health care away from millions, transgender kids are being told their lives have no worth, the new head of EPA is shutting down the agency, including the critical work it does protecting water supplies... the list goes on. This isn't the arc of history, this is people's lives, families, and futures. Your callous indifference is deeply regrettable.

thom is spineless.

he gets in line w/ the rest of the republicans (vast majority) and says nothing, or even refuses to acknowledge that the white nationalist platform has been given a powerful voice by trump appointing bannon, miller and michael anton.   

thom is pure trash. 

<<<would be nice to think that someone around here could have the level of maturity to realize that being against a subversive attack on a legally elected administration by a former President (and if you don't think Obama is behind this your are incredibly naive) does not necessarily mean that you are in total support of that administration.  

Been saying this since day one, minus the Obama part.

It's coming from the bipartisan globalist agenda imo, not solely "obama".

If the globalists wanted Clinton instead of Trump, what good does it do to oust Trump in favor of Pence?  Is he another high powered diddler?

And with all the talk about "1984" making the rounds I'd like to congratulate everyone who thinks that there's substance in this issue for displaying one of the main traits of totalitarian thought that Orwell was trying to point out, i.e. the willingness to believe what is obviously false in order to preserve a fatally flawed worldview.

> a legally elected administration

I don't accept that premise, which overlooks Russia's interference in the election.

>>> It's coming from the bipartisan globalist agenda imo, not solely "obama".

Equally as baseless. Did elite globalists (which by the way is historically a term with antisemitic undertones) make Flynn and Sessions talk to the Russian ambassador and lie about it? Did they make Trump sign an extremely poorly thought out executive order banning Muslims from the country? Come on.

>> one of the main traits of totalitarian thought that Orwell was trying to point out, i.e. the willingness to believe what is obviously false in order to preserve a fatally flawed worldview.

You mean exactly what you're doing here with these posts? Have some self-awareness, Thom.

 >>>   i.e. the willingness to believe what is obviously false in order to preserve a fatally flawed worldview.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/02/trump-teams-many-many-denials-contacts-russia/98625780/

...(many more denials)...

>>>>And with all the talk about "1984" making the rounds

You're the only one I've seen mention it on the zone.

And one last thing....

I'm not a white supremacist, but neither do I traffic in the ethnomasochism that is so prevalent on the contemporary left.

I'm as proud of my heritage and it's accomplishments as any other person.

Are you proud about the US history of slavery, or our history of removing democratically elected officials?

Please don't anyone complicate this:  'Anyone but Hillary!!! We can not accept her coronation!'    

>ethnomasochism

Lol.   Kill me black man, i'm whitey and im bad!!!!        Nahh...   

>>> Also pretty rich of you to accuse someone of misdirection when you first decided to inexplicably start talking about Ted Kennedy.  <<<

Yea, I caught that, too.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/jeff-sessions-used-political-funds-for-republican-convention-expenses-1488509301

https://twitter.com/JRubinBlogger/status/837430020725428225

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/03/02/exclusive-two-other-trump-advisers-also-spoke-russian-envoy-during-gop-convention/98648190/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/03/03/what-shoes-are-yet-to-drop-in-the-trump-russia-story/?utm_term=.1f978b050105

>> https://twitter.com/JRubinBlogger/status/837430020725428225

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/03/03/what-shoes...

Jen Rubin is, if I recall correctly, a hard-right conservative Israel hawk who was very intensely anti-Obama (her blog is called Right Turn for a reason). But obviously it's Obama and the globalists conspiring to take down Trump with fake news.

>  it's Obama and the globalists conspiring to take down Trump with fake news

UncleSam, I understand that you're not promoting this perspective, but I do have to mention that this conspiracy theory begs the question of why they didn't take down Trump before the election.

>>  this conspiracy theory begs the question of why they didn't take down Trump before the election.

Right, but typically when you ask that kind of question, the response is "Hillary should have campaigned in Wisconsin!" which is nonsensical, but seems to be the usual retort.

Hilary, sessions, bill. They should have all gotten the fan for perjury. None of them will though. Justice?

Thom, 

I want to talk about these kind of issues with you, and I like that you have in this thread, and I'm fairly mature. Yet, you make really blanket accusations against anyone who disagrees with your point of view as "The Left". You do it over and over. It really annoys me. The fact that you see such a tight knit block of folks with no nuance suggests you are not really interested in serious discussions. So that I can understand the context, what do you mean by "the left"? What is your specific definition?

>>>>>>> Did elite globalists (which by the way is historically a term with antisemitic undertones)

Wait, I thought the "elite globalists" WERE Jews.  Apparently I was taught the wrong Racism as a Yout.

>>>>>>> It's coming from the bipartisan globalist agenda imo, not solely "obama".

>>>>>>> it's Obama and the globalists conspiring to take down Trump with fake news

Conspiracy Theory Debunking 101:  If more than a Dozen people need to be "in" on it to pull it off, it's most likely not true, as someone would have already spilled the beans.

>>>>>>> I'm as proud of my heritage and it's accomplishments as any other person.

And Thom's especially proud of his day in & day out ability to Zone on the taxpayer's dime.

For those of you living in the Santa Fe area who have a desire to indulge in your white guilt and ethnomasicism:

“The main topic for discussion will be an ongoing one: How do we deal with the depravity of whiteness and the brutality of masculinity? How can we get to the root of this problem?” the announcement confirms.

The email goes on to explain that members of the study group will “read about and discuss the privilege of white people (especially white males), patriarchy, sexism, and racism in the neoliberal capitalist empire of the United States of America,” warning prospective attendees that “the discussions will be graphic and contain graphic material.”

https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=8845

It's going to be graphic so make sure that you have clean diapers on. No one ever said that virtue signaling wouldn't be messy.

Thom is not interested in discussing. Nor does he care about anyone but himself and his money. He is a trust fund silver spoon dork who does not have empathy for his fellow man. He lives off mommy's money and espouses the blueblood republican party line. simple.

Thom, What is "the Left"? and what did they do to you?

Thom posts political stuff on the zone because of his own masochistic tendencies.

>> And Thom's especially proud of his day in & day out ability to Zone on the taxpayer's dime.

You just posted today about sleeping through a work day in a toilet stall with an lsd hangover.

Proud of my heritage LOL. Made me think of this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsPDT5qHtZ4

thom supports white supremacists 

>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsPDT5qHtZ4

That's solid, haven't seen that one before. Here's another that's a favorite:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhjfxZHOT_o

If he said he didn't vote for Trump, what would you post? 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/disclosures/visitor-records

thom not a great supporter of trump but posts trumps trash tweets. lol.

thom is straight up losing it. he eats up everything trump throws in front of him. 

thom eats trumps trash

thom is a racist

Mannfred posts trump tweets also but he states that he's a fiscal conservative and doesn't agree with all the phobia rhetoric. If Thom said the same

would he still be "all up in yer dome"?

Thom is not here for a discussion.

Just links. Wonder if they have books at his library...

Oh look, Obama was planning ahead.....

Did the Obama Administration Try Stacking the Deck Against Trump at the Justice Department?

Except that if the Obama administration had its way, Dana Boente wasn't supposed be the U.S. attorney to handle these matters in the event that Sessions recused himself. On February 10, USA Today reported the following:

"Seven days before he left office, President Obama changed the order of succession without explanation to remove Boente from the list. Obama's order had listed U.S. attorneys in the District of Columbia, the Northern District of Illinois and the Central District of California."

That seems like awfully suspicious behavior. In fact the USA Today story noted this is pegged to the news that Trump quietly signed an executive order restoring Boente to the line of succession. The Obama administration chicanery was likely brought to White House's attention after Obama holdover and acting Attorney General Sally Yates tried to usurp the powers of the president and countermand his immigration executive order, actions for which she was summarily fired.

Why would the Obama administration make this eleventh-hour change to the line of succession at the Justice Department? "At the time, I was told it was done in consultation with Trump transition," Gregory Korte, the USA Today reporter who wrote the story quoted above, told me Thursday. "Looking back, that's clearly not the case."

In fact, it seems like it was quite obviously not the case. The man Obama placed at the head of the line of succession is D.C.'s U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips, who is quite cozy with President Obama and his attorney general, Eric Holder. He is a former senior adviser to Holder, and he stayed on to work under Obama's next AG Loretta Lynch before Obama appointed Phillips D.C.'s U.S. attorney in 2015. But Phillips goes way back with Holder—Holder first hired Philips in the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office in 1994. It's also safe to say that the AG offices in the Northern District of Illinois and the Central District of California are not hotbeds of Trump supporters.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/did-the-obama-administration-try-stacking-...!

Nothing suspicious here at all.  Move along.

https://twitter.com/JoeNBC/status/837638648472473600

I think Obama used his magic mind control powers to:

i) force the Trump people to meet with the Russians;

and then

ii) force the Trump people to lie about meeting with the Russians.

Obama making sure that the evidence of the collusion between The Trump campaign and Russia isn't destroyed is not a crime, Thom.

Flynn lying to the FBI is, and now Sessions is on record committing perjury. they should have told the truth instead of falling on their swords for Trump. 

The coverup is usually  worse than the crime, well except in this case where all the evidence point to treason. They're fucked either way, and they fucked themselves. Obama was happy to watch as they did so knowing that the evidence wasn't destroyed. 

When the Nixon admin was exposed, many in the GOP were on the wrong side of history, just like you are now.

Timeline

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday he will recuse himself from any investigations related to the 2016 presidential campaign,

Michael T. Flynn, then Donald J. Trump’s incoming national security adviser, had a previously undisclosed meeting with the Russian ambassador in December to "establish a line of communication" between the new administration and the Russian government.

 Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and now a senior adviser, also participated in the meeting at Trump Tower with Mr. Flynn and Sergey I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador.

Kislyak wasn't caught on CSPAN camera for Trump Tower meeting w/Kushner and Flynn in December, so was deliberately brought in the back way

Obviously we don't know what Sessions and Kislyak talked about, but is there any evidence at all linking their meeting to Russian hacking? Even something circumstantial?

5 days after Sessions-Kislyak meeting, guess what happened? Hacked DNC emails were released.

Well, I'm sure there's an innocent explanation for all this. Probably lots of senators chat with Kislyak now and again just to size up Russia's intentions, don't you think? Especially those with direct concerns about Russia, like Sessions' fellow members of the Armed Services Committee.

26 members of the 2016 Armed Services Committee were contacted to see who met with Russian envoy Kislyak in 2016. Sessions was the only one.

And Thom and the rest of the Republicans think Obama acted suspicious

Russia is a ruse!

http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/02/16/donald-trump-russia-sot-wo...

Oops double!

>>>>>>> You just posted today about sleeping through a work day in a toilet stall with an lsd hangover.

Ha ha I knew someone would pick up on my purposely planted Hypocrisy.

In early 1990 I made the mistake of taking a promotion into an Administrative unit, mainly because the chain of command in my old Highway Design unit were all harsh anti-hippie ex marine types (one of them ranted one day @ break about being stuck at an afternoon meeting in downtown Hartford the afternoon of a GD show "didn't we get rid of all these goddamned hippies - they should be locked up & the key thrown away").  So the Admin unit only oversaw consultants designing big projects, and my marching orders were "manage the contracts, don't get involved in design issues, that's the consultant's responsibility".  So managing the contracts, even with a half dozen or more, took about 10 min's a day, the rest of the day was mine, as long as I "looked busy".  The managers were nice guys but way more interested in soliciting free lunches from consultants & hanging out in Italian clubs in the south end of Hartford drinking Manhattans & eating fried calamari all afternoon.  Well this wore pretty thin on a type A adrenaline junky like me pretty quickly so I gladly transferred to the smaller & far less regimented Facilities unit in 1992 (building projects are WAY more complicated than strictly civil/site/highway jobs).  But during those 2 years of Idle time, yeah, I DO know what it feels like to be Thom & have nothing to do @ work all day, & back then there were no computers/social media.  I studied for my engineering license exam & brought my tape trading stuff in (creating my trading list in Lotus 123, perused other traders lists, etc).  And when tour got hot & heavy, sure, slept in a toilet stall.  I have no regrets.  At least I wasn't Banging the state for paid overtime @ 1.5 x my salary like all the other guys in the unit who had even less to do than me (they did recognize my abilities & gave me some of the more challenging projects).  I should write that "my life with Aspergers" book someday . . .

Lefties are a bunch of stupid hypocrites! They were in bed with Russia long before Trump was even a candidate.  

http://www.mediaite.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/flexibility-obama.jpg

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/nancy-pelosi-sergey-kislyak-meetin...

You all really want to keep playing this game?

https://twitter.com/DerSPIEGEL/status/837709411854450692

https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/837733741732610049

Yes democrats met with Russians. They didn’t meet with them during an election while the Russians were hacking their opponents emails and releasing them. They also didn’t lie about those meeting to the FBI (Flynn) and in a senate confirmation hearing.

Yes we will play this game all day long. They are sweeping out John Mitchell’s cell for Sessions as we speak. Just another Republican AG headed for jail.

They didn't LIE about meeting with the Russians.

You gonna play the antiSemite game as well? Cause the Russia game and the Hate game make you look stupid... Republicans are going to pick up 3-5 more Senate seats in 2018 because of this drivel...

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSKBN16A1OH

Nancy, you just look dumb and silly........ 

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Friday that she's never met with the current Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak.

"Not with this Russian ambassador, no," Pelosi told POLITICO's Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer during a Playbook interview, when asked if she'd ever met with the Russian envoy.

But a file photo from Pelosi's 2010 meeting with Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev shows Kislyak at the table across from Pelosi — then House speaker — and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). Medvedev had been in the country for a meeting with President Barack Obama a day earlier and stopped in on Capitol Hill to meet with congressional leaders as well.

Medvedev was only there to perpetuate the lineage of Bald/Hairy Russian leaders back to 1825:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald%E2%80%93hairy

>>>>Timeline

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/3/14792942/sessions-flynn-...

Typical distraction attempts. Session lied under oath. He needs to resign end of story.

Can we get rid of everyone over 65 that can't remember stuff or misunderstood stuff? 

Funny conversation I had with my 85 yr old Dad today.  We almost dropped out of touch over our political differences after the election.  Well, today he says:  "You know what, Bob, I think this Trump guy is totally full of Shit about everything all the time".  I replied "REALLY DAD, SO YOU REALLY THINK SO?"  to which he replied "Yeah Bob really I do think so".  Um, yup, my Sarcasm went clear over the center field fence . . .

This Young Turks article sums this mess up well.

https://medium.com/theyoungturks/the-basic-formula-for-every-shocking-russia-trump-revelation-e9ae390d9f05#.yj0uxowaj

Shhhhh, don't tell Mannfred and Nanzi that we're on to their playbook of hilarity. It's funny watching their marionette dances!

Pathetic to see Fafa cheerleading for the fascist Trump regime and the GOP again and again and trying to dismiss the facts, time and time again.

And at least one member of the Trump campaign reversing his earlier statement and admitting colluding with the Russians

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/reversal-former-trump-campaign-advis...

>Why it matters

Shortly after Sessions announced his recusal Thursday from any investigations into Russian interference, USA Today reported that two additional advisers to Trump’s campaign also spoke with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak last year during the election season.

READ MORE: All the ambassadors Jeff Sessions met in 2016

Former Trump campaign advisers Page and J.D. Gordon spoke with Russia’s ambassador during the Republican National Convention in July, the newspaper reported.

It’s not known what the two advisers specifically discussed with Kislyak. Page cited “confidentiality rules” when asked about the topics discussed with the ambassador.

Gordon also told USA Today that the meeting wasn’t unusual, saying it was “an informal conversation just like my interactions with dozens of other ambassadors and senior diplomats in Cleveland.”

Earlier in the evening, reacting to Sessions’ recusal, President Donald Trump said “this whole narrative is a way of saving face for Democrats losing an election that everyone thought they were supposed to win.”

Read more on how Washington is reacting to Sessions’ meetings with the Russian ambassador here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-truth_politics

Kellyanne Thomway.

Schumer helps child abuser enter US.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/indian-athlete-who-overcame-the-tra...

12 yrs old is Marriage material in Kashmir.  It's a war zone.

More gasoline on the fire.  Keep 'em coming.  I'm losing track.  But But it's the WaTimes, more fake news lol

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/despite-early-denials-growing-lis...

"It is unclear why the White House has consistently denied contacts with Russian officials if the meetings that took place were innocuous."

You'd think the lessons of Hillary's denials of ServerGate woulda been lesson enough.  He's gotta go full on Reagan Iran Contra & just put it behind him.  But he's too much of a Petulant Egomaniac to ever do so.  All the more Entertaining in the long run.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93Contra_affair

Reagan fessed up twice.  But he was a real man & a real leader & had character, unlike Cheeto in Charge:

"After the weapon sales were revealed in November 1986, Reagan appeared on national television and stated that the weapons transfers had indeed occurred, but that the United States did not trade arms for hostages.[9] The investigation was impeded when large volumes of documents relating to the scandal were destroyed or withheld from investigators by Reagan administration officials.[10] On March 4, 1987, Reagan returned to the airwaves in a nationally televised address, taking full responsibility, and saying that "what began as a strategic opening to Iran deteriorated, in its implementation, into trading arms for hostages"

Great link, Mulemuzik.

Spot on. 

It's on display right here in this thread.

These guys have not learned any lessons from history.

In Sessions case, the topic of Russia was a hot one during his time in front of Congress. He basically had the support and certainly had the response (I'm a Senator on the Armed Services Committee) at the ready to use. Why would he and they as a  team, not get out ahead of it and state it even before the questions were asked of him? If not then, when questioned, why not use the answer that they are giving today? Possible answers: 1) Peeps will never find out so keep quiet, 2) Peeps will freak, 3) Didn't even think about any of it really being an issue at all. Not sure if I missed any others. Either way, #1 is incredibly stupid and certainly ballsy. #2 is cowardice and again, if you had a response in the can for later, use it then, let the storm pass and move on. #3 is downright scary.

45's administration is building a very well documented case against themselves with public comments, tweets, etc.in terms of statements like "no one from the admin met with Russia" which was slowly being dismantled, but is now at a point where the question becomes "will anyone who DIDN'T meet with Russian officials please take a step forward"?

I would submit the following (again). The reality is NONE of us know what 45's tax returns might show. We all have our own thoughts which cover both sides of the spectrum. Could we all agree that 45 could certainly 1) shut those who believe that there is incriminating shit in there up (distractors) and 2) give those who think there isn't the ultimate "in your face" tool to use (his supporters)? Would assume the answer is yes. If anyone has a no to that one, would love to hear the rationale on why it would serve points 1 & 2. In any case, the question of why he has refused just keeps getting more and more suspicious. To that last point, please understand the audit piece is BS. He has years that have either cleared audits or weren't audited between the one from '95 we all saw through last year (to be clear, that would equate to a period of 20 years of potential tax returns to show us). If I'm him and I'm clean, I put them out there, shut peeps up with a grand FU.

He got paid for another year.