Discussion: Franken: Reported Kushner Backchannel Is A 'Pretty Bad Breach' (VIDEO)

[littlegirlblue]

Kushner’s slimier than we realize, but truth will out. From a story that ran in NYT yesterday called Kushnerville (think fictitious Pottersville) in cooperation with ProPublica.

Tenants in more than a dozen Baltimore-area rental complexes complain about a property owner who they say leaves their homes in disrepair, humiliates late-paying renters and often sues them when they try to move out. Few of them know that their landlord is the president’s son-in-law.

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-beleaguered-tenants-of-kushnerville

[chlarry]

Yes, espionage, thank you. In common parlance, it seems treasonous to give our intel secret to a hostile foreign power, but I definitely wanted to convey that there must be a law against what they were doing. THey were not private citizens having a private chit chat with the Russians about nothing of importance.

[bradbennett]

I’ve always liked the guy, but it turns out he really is a damn fine legislator.

[caltg]

What Kushner did was to set up a secretive communication center on Russian facilities to have conversations with the Russians for the purposes of making those conversations secret.

Good point, but to clarify Kushner and his father-in-law’s intent, it was, "to have conversations with the Russians for the purposes of making those conversations secret from all American intelligence agencies, the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and State, as well as all the American People." . . . not to put to fine a point on all this!

[thunderclapnewman]

Call it what it is.

ESPIONAGE

[breakingdeadmen]

He is on the Grateful Dead Channel on Sirius XM all day today, if you are into that sort of thing

[daveyjones64]

Ok, here is the thing I see coming with regards to this. And why this particular argument from the WH is very, very bad.

Yes, other administrations have used backchannels for low level staffers. JFK even had his brother use a backchannel form of communication with the Kremlin.

But the point of all of those was…the information flowing back and forth was between the President, and the leader of the other country. Between the PRESIDENT and the other leaders.

Even if they were not speaking directly, whatever was being discussed made its way to the President.

So, this defense raises the question…was Kushner passing on information from Trump to the Russians, and from the Russians to Trump? Because, if this is just like every other back channel, then they are directly implicating Trump.

And if Jared wasn’t passing information, or intending to pass information, to and from the President, then Jared is in FAR deeper trouble than we realize. That IS treason, by any measure, because it means he was attempting to usurp the President’s authority behind his back.

This is a sticky widget that they can’t slice and have both ways. Either Trump WAS giving and receiving information, and is therefore directly implicated in the growing collusion scandals, or Jared was attempting to usurp the Presidency directly.

[charliedontsurf]

I’m glad Funny Al has finally been let off the leash.

It is more wry wit, many people would not understand it. I just read this interview.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
I had to ask people about this, because I couldn’t think of anything, and the consensus seems to be: a general lack of self-awareness.

[tsp]

As much as i value and appreciate Al Franken’s work in the Senate on behalf of ALL of this nation, i will admit that i miss the Al Franken from his previous life during his SNL days. Seeing him so serious and without his old sense of humor anymore is just…different. I hope we see the previous version again when his time in the Senate is past. In the meantime, keep fighting the good fight!

[fiftygigs]

Look, these guys, the administration, they’re not acting like people who have nothing to hide

The simple, obvious truth.

[tsp]

How an American slacker caught a Russian spy at a New Jersey Hooters

Review of “How to Catch a Russian Spy,” by Naveed Jamali and Ellis Henican

Real world story. I am not nearly this creative to make this up. Our local Hooters opened their place a few year’s back right next to Cox Communications’ office building. Across the street from Dick’s Sporting Goods.

[timbo]

Either Trump WAS giving and receiving information, and is therefore directly implicated in the growing collusion scandals, or Jared was attempting to usurp the Presidency directly.

Great insight. And a situation, it would seem, at which any good prosecutor would salivate. Jack McCoy sure would ;-).

[daveyjones64]

I will game it out a bit further. Lets assume they do try and go with the “Jared did this on his own”, much like the Flynn “lone wolf” framing. (And I think if they continue with this sort of defense, its going to be forced upon them eventually).

This is very bad for Trump, and actually may be the type of thing that makes his core supporters start turning away from him (and if you read Nate Silver, there are lots of indications that is already beginning). Because what we end up with is Flynn, Kushner (his own freaking son in law, and by inference, possibly even his own daughter?) and most likely everybody else that gets caught up in this that they try to throw away…was working to overthrow the President. He was/is facing a coup from his closest supporter…the “bestest” people. There are few things that can make an authoritarian look weaker than that. And a publicly weak Trump? His supporters have no use for that. This is made even worse when the statements showing continued support for Kushner and Flynn are brought back up.

Sooo…that seems to force them back into the “Kushner was working with Trump’s complete knowledge” track. And again, by inference, so was Flynn, Sessions and everybody else that will eventually be caught up in this. (Cohen, Manafort, Page, etc.). Which is going to force him to own every single act and statement made in this scandal. In other words, they are in the process of blowing up plausible deniability as a defense (as well as mental incapacity, which is what I personally believe is going to be their failsafe when it all blows up). Every attempt that is made, like KAC this morning, to publicly defend this, becomes more mounting evidence that they were indeed quite aware of what they were doing and actively trying to mislead and cover up…otherwise known as Obstruction of Justice.

[chlarry]

I hear that team trump is gearing up to spam social media with a kazillion bots targeting millions of people who have no problem with cognitive dissonance.

[daveyjones64]

Yeah, they’ve been reporting that all day on Twitter today. Tons of bots are being added to his follow list today. So the thinking is, something big is getting ready to pop from his tiny fingers. Which is probably a first.

[62fender]

Good call. Backchannel and backstabbing are two different things.

[squirreltown]

So the thinking is, something big is getting ready to pop from his tiny fingers. Which is probably a first.

Dumping the Paris Climate Accords. Not as good a trick when you can see the wires.

[tiowally]

That’s pretty priceless. Any way to get a photo with all three of their signs in it?

[tsp]

Difficult. Strip mall heaven out that way. Signs a mile high, or very low to the ground. Add in a 5-lane arterial in between, and a ginormous intersection right off the Interstate, and the mother of all parking lots in front of Dick’s…I’ll work on it.