I would. But he keeps everything close to the vest.
2 Likes
We have a lot of great commenters here at TPM but very few are able (or willing!) to pull together a detailed post like you do, khyber! I hereby proposed that Josh dump John Judis and allow you to be a featured guest at the TPM Cafe. You and TPTB can invite others as well to be featured writers.
Now, back to the topic at hand: I wonder where Mr. Mueller is getting such detailed info:
Nader âmade frequentâ trips to the White House in the administrationâs early months and met often with former chief strategist Steve Bannon and adviser Jared Kushner,
Yes, I do wonderâŠ
14 Likes
Yeah he does. I would too - I am with you.
@cub_calloway Ewwkay, reason no. 2 why I love cats, donât care for dogs.
That is exactly what I think happened. He couldnât stand the pressure and he just popped. Now he wants to pretend he is honorable and acts with integrity. Too little, too late.
8 Likes
There is something almost naive about corruption this horrific. Guys like Kushner and Trump live in a world where no one is corrupt because everyone is. Or at least, thatâs their assumption. There was never a question in his mind that he couldnât bargain away foreign policy concessions for loans to save the business. Why else would you be in government?
We see corruption so monstrous yet brazen as to stretch our capacity to believe. They see just the same thing all the smart, savvy guys do. Thereâs something almost like naĂŻvetĂ© at work in the way he just assumed everyone did this, so no big.
16 Likes
I think youâre absolutely right. I think, too, that having had Roy Cohn as a mentor for a while meant that his understanding of government was formed by Cohnâs war stories of abuses of powerâwith the abusers as the heroes, and with ruthlessness the only true virtue for a politician.
When Fox started their fictional chronicle of the Obama administration, they probably simply confirmed for Trump that this was how government worked. I donât think he thought heâd win, but once he did, I think entered office trained to believe that he would get away with anything as long as he ventured it with enough audacity.
11 Likes
These guys are not smart and they have been manipulated by smarter people for the most part. Itâs not only that they live in a world where nobody is accountable, itâs that they are pretty damn stupid about what is and isnât ok and legal and that leaves them open to being used.
So naive is correct. They really are
7 Likes
Iâm pretty far on the sympathetic to Comeyâs situation end of the continuum. He was put in a very difficult situation. But he violated the procedures to announce that reopening and he seems to have done it to mollify some rogue agents in NYC. My admittedly very long distance read of Mueller doesnât suggest heâd have been as easy to influence or push around. I do hope he continues to have the luxury of time.
10 Likes
Havenât seen Contact in quite some time but, if I recall correctly, it didnât end well for the dear Mr. DumlinâŠ
3 Likes
Not at all well. 
3 Likes
Iâve been wondering about Guiliani, and I read that he had dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night. To see him finally get what he so richly deserves would be fabulous.
13 Likes
Given that every conspiracy but one that the Clintons were accused of seems to have been standard MO of the Trump campaign, it is pretty clear that bodies are going to start droppingâŠ
4 Likes
Heâs certainly been lying low, though, for a guy whoâs normally so visible and outspoken. Interesting.
11 Likes
Somewhat OT, just feeling a bit sick to my stomach about this article.
It ended with a line saying Trey Gowdy is now announcing (Sunday) that he is leaning toward setting up a 2nd special counsel to investigate, you know, things.
3 Likes
I made the same point up above on the thread. Gotta be making Kushner cray-cray.
4 Likes
Seriously, it beggars the imagination. I am waiting for bodies to start dropping. Seriously, I donât think manafort is going to to make it to the courtroomâŠ
4 Likes
Amen to that. On some days it feels like that will be near impossible. And then something like the Parkland kid-warriors comes along and gives me hope. They, along with my kid and his pals, are the very near future, thank goodness.
7 Likes
Another example of rock-solid moral compasses. Seriously.
And people recognize and are hungry for it.
9 Likes
When it was mentioned in the press that someone had shot themselves in front of the WH, I wondered if Manafort was accounted for. (Not reallyâŠ.but still, the guy must be in desperate shape, all things considered.)
2 Likes
Wonder if he was wired?
5 Likes