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A story about a pathetic man's downfall [34 Felony Convictions]

Francisco 2.0

By Francisco 2.0
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Scheiss Meister

Scheiss Meister 8407

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Posted
23 minutes ago, Lobo said:

It amazes me that the man lived in New York for 65 years within 5 blocks of 10 churches and never managed to become a member of a single one of them and yet is the darling of the Evangelical movement.  The 3 neighborhoods he lived in in his nearly 3/4 of a century in New York and D.C.......he never even accidentally entered a church.  But yet, I am told...he was chosen by God to lead us. 

I don't know how you can say this.  Last summer he caught all kinds of shit for walking to that one church in DC.  How do you expect him to go to church regularly when he is criticized for his first trip to church?

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Beau Vine
Beau Vine

To be fair, President Trump’s four years in office weren’t so bad, except when when he incited an insurrection against the government, mismanaged a pandemic that killed nearly half a million Americans

Bama Chick
Bama Chick

Y’all about to get a great visual representation of Cullman, Alabama. Only good things to come out of Cullman are the Britt brothers (Roll Tide!) and orange rolls from All Steak restaurant. That pla

ChiTownDoc
ChiTownDoc

You seem really pissed off for a nontrumper.  Just laugh at the trumpers, bro.  They’re really gullible dumbfucks who worship this orange blob…you know, people completely unlike yourself.  

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BrickHorn

BrickHorn 18232

Posted
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52 minutes ago, Lobo said:

It amazes me that the man lived in New York for 65 years within 5 blocks of 10 churches and never managed to become a member of a single one of them and yet is the darling of the Evangelical movement.  The 3 neighborhoods he lived in in his nearly 3/4 of a century in New York and D.C.......he never even accidentally entered a church.  But yet, I am told...he was chosen by God to lead us. 

It really is a miracle, isn’t it?

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Sawbonz

Sawbonz 27556

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, TXSG8R said:

The longer he holds these pardons, the worse I expect them to be. 

Pardoning himself is likely the only thing that would put him at risk of conviction in the Senate. I’m sure his advisors are trying to convince him not to do that and that is holding up the rest. I bet he pardons himself anyway and the Senate Republicans don’t do shit

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956 Worldwide

956 Worldwide 34714

Posted
Posted (edited)

It’s been blessedly quiet without Donald Trump on Twitter.

Something I have been thinking about— if Twitter had take a hard line on fake news and banned DJT for his birther shit, we’d never have had a Trump presidency. None of us realized how that would morph into a world where fully 1/3 of voting adults believe in a truly insane conspiracy theory, but Twitter could have realized that telling lies at scale was bad.

I admit to discomfort over the type of influence these companies yield, but at this point I’d be fine with a rule of “post a conspiracy theory three times and you’re off for life” rule.

Edited by 956 Worldwide
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washparkhorn

washparkhorn 9939

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17 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

It’s been blessedly quiet without Donald Trump on Twitter.

Something I have been thinking about— if Twitter had take a hard line on fake news and banned DJT for his birther shit, we’d never have had a Trump presidency. None of us realized how that would morph into a world where fully 1/3 of voting adults believe in a truly insane conspiracy theory, but Twitter could have realized that telling lies at scale was bad.

I admit to discomfort over the type of influence these companies yield, but at this point I’d be fine with a rule of “post a conspiracy theory three times and you’re off for life” rule.

Section 230 immunity is essential to free speech. The Free Speech facet of the nation is necessary.

Spoiler

Free speech is the pixie dust that allows democracies to excel. The marketplace of ideas is fundamental to this nation. And like any market - there are negative externalities associated with market distortions. The trumpers separated from traditional news sources. They trapped themselves in a silo of news information that fit tight narratives. They were manipulated horribly. The were commodified. 

We need an oracle of data and facts.

 

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956 Worldwide

956 Worldwide 34714

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, washparkhorn said:

Section 230 immunity is essential to free speech. The Free Speech facet of the nation is necessary.

  Hide contents

Free speech is the pixie dust that allows democracies to excel. The marketplace of ideas is fundamental to this nation. And like any market - there are negative externalities associated with market distortions. The trumpers separated from traditional news sources. They trapped themselves in a silo of news information that fit tight narratives. They were manipulated horribly. The were commodified. 

We need an oracle of data and facts.

 

Maybe was not being clear, I am in favor of 230 immunity remaining and also in favor of these firms taking a more aggressive internal approach to policing trolls and liars, especially high profile ones.

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Fastbreak

Fastbreak 3985

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Posted
3 hours ago, Lobo said:

It amazes me that the man lived in New York for 65 years within 5 blocks of 10 churches and never managed to become a member of a single one of them and yet is the darling of the Evangelical movement.  The 3 neighborhoods he lived in in his nearly 3/4 of a century in New York and D.C.......he never even accidentally entered a church.  But yet, I am told...he was chosen by God to lead us. 

He fucked Marla Maples in church plenty of times. He was doing God’s work by cheating on his wife on the altar. 

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Blotto

Blotto 23501

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Posted
7 hours ago, Sawbonz said:

 I bet he pardons himself anyway and the Senate Republicans don’t do shit

I don't know...we're only 3years and 363 days into this thing. Not sure we've seen enough to predict how the Senate will fall on this one. That's a tough one. 

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Hookah Horns

Hookah Horns 3083

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

It’s been blessedly quiet without Donald Trump on Twitter.

Something I have been thinking about— if Twitter had take a hard line on fake news and banned DJT for his birther shit, we’d never have had a Trump presidency. None of us realized how that would morph into a world where fully 1/3 of voting adults believe in a truly insane conspiracy theory, but Twitter could have realized that telling lies at scale was bad.

I admit to discomfort over the type of influence these companies yield, but at this point I’d be fine with a rule of “post a conspiracy theory three times and you’re off for life” rule.

All the hand wringing about the control of the big tech companies seems excessive to me. I don't see how it's much different than the power radio, TV, and print media have had throughout history. They've all had the prerogative to amplify and muzzle voices as they saw fit.

And there are plenty of other ways for the lunatic fringe shitheads who've been banned by Twitter and FB to connect and share their vile nonsense (unfortunately, imo). It'll just be a bit more difficult for them. 

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horn4life

horn4life 3760

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10 hours ago, TexasEd said:

Trump is so devoted he can't cite a single verse of the Bible without a teleprompter.

He doesn't pray and has no need for forgiveness for anything he's done

His supporters think he is god.

His supporters think he was chosen by God, to save the white way of life!  Before all the brown (and even darker!!!) folks started being allowed to have their votes counted in the 21st century.  

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Francisco 2.0

Francisco 2.0 32389

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Swan's Episode 4:

Spoiler

Attorney General Bill Barr stood behind a chair in the private dining room next to the Oval Office, looming over Donald Trump. The president sat at the head of the table. It was Dec. 1, nearly a month after the election, and Barr had some sharp advice to get off his chest. The president's theories about a stolen election, Barr told Trump, were "bullshit."

White House counsel Pat Cipollone and a few other aides in the room were shocked Barr had come out and said it — although they knew it was true. For good measure, the attorney general threw in a warning that the new legal team Trump was betting his future on was "clownish."

Trump had angrily dragged Barr in to explain himself after seeing a breaking AP story all over Twitter, with the headline: "Disputing Trump, Barr says no widespread election fraud." But Barr was not backing down. Three weeks later, he would be gone.

The relationship between the president and his attorney general was arguably the most consequential in Trump's Cabinet. And in the six months leading up to this meeting, the relationship between the two men had quietly disintegrated. Nobody was more loyal than Bill Barr. But for Trump, it was never enough.

The president had become too manic for even his most loyal allies, listening increasingly to the conspiracy theorists who echoed his own views and offered an illusion, an alternate reality.

By the late summer of 2020, Trump and Barr were regularly skirmishing over how to handle the rising Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody. As the national movement unfurled, some protests had given way to violence and looting. Trump wanted the U.S. government to crack down hard on the unrest.

The president wanted to invoke the Insurrection Act and send the military into U.S. cities. He wanted troops in the street. Some hardcore outside allies, including Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton, were egging him on. The thankless job of pushing back fell to Barr.

At times, Barr was the heat shield between the president and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, both of whom strongly objected to Trump's fantasies of the U.S. troops descending upon Portland. 

The president regularly summoned a group of national security leaders to the Oval Office, and one mid-August meeting was particularly volatile.

From his seat behind the Resolute Desk, an agitated Trump told Barr to go and do something, and to do it right away — make an announcement, send in the troops, something. Just go in and resolve it, the president ordered. He wanted a devastating and provocative show of strength.

Barr disagreed. He thought the heat in the protests was gradually easing. He explained law enforcement strategy and his opinion that military intervention would backfire. Federal investigators were already hunting for the ringleaders in the protests.

Besides, Barr asked, what was the endgame for adding the military to the mix? Federal forces could end up stranded in a city like Portland indefinitely.

Trump grew more and more frustrated, but Barr pushed back harder, standing his ground in front of everyone in the room. He was ready, willing and able to be strong, he said. But, he added, we also have to be thoughtful. 

What would these soldiers do, Barr pointed out. Just stand around and get yelled at? Trump didn't care. We look weak and this is hurting us, he ranted. Then he slammed his hand on the Resolute Desk.

"No one supports me," Trump yelled. "No one gives me any fucking support."

Trump got up and stormed out of the Oval Office to his private dining room, leaving Barr and the others behind. Barr glanced over at a red-faced White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and joked, "Well that went well."

Constant head-butting over how aggressive they should be was a serious irritant in the relationship. Trump wanted televised displays of shock and awe, particularly in Portland and Seattle.

Barr was no pacifist, but he thought Trump's ideas were more aggressive than necessary. They fought all summer, and Barr later privately compared the experience to "Groundhog Day." It was always Groundhog Day trying to explain things to Trump.

Trump was ricocheting between the advice of experienced advisers like Barr and Cipollone and the growing coterie of outside instigators like Fitton who were steadily gaining clout.

Publicly, Barr lauded Trump. Privately, his head hurt. By September, Barr was doing everything he could to avoid the president. There was little direct contact between the two men, and Barr had stopped visiting Trump at the White House.

He was sick of Trump making public statements and having others do so to whip up pressure against U.S. Attorney John Durham to bring more prosecutions or to put out a report on the Russia investigation before the election.

By mid-October, as Rudy Giuliani was trying to publicize the alleged contents of Hunter Biden's hard drive, Trump allies started pressuring Barr to appoint a special counsel to investigate his opponent's son. Unbeknownst to Trump, the Justice Department was already investigating Hunter Biden. But Barr, in keeping with department policy, had kept the investigation a secret.

Barr maneuvered so that he dealt primarily with Meadows and Cipollone. Those around the two men could see Barr was annoyed and frustrated by the president's constant needling.

Avoiding Trump became easier as the campaign heated up. The president spent more time on the trail and less time stewing in the Oval Office.

But Barr's respite ended after Election Day, as Trump teamed up with an array of conspiracy theorists to amplify preposterous theories of election interference, arguing that Biden and the Chinese Communist Party, among others, had stolen the election from him.

On Nov. 29, Trump told Fox News that Barr's Department of Justice was "missing in action." Barr was furious. In fact, the attorney general had jettisoned department precedent to speed up federal investigations of election fraud allegations. The Justice Department wasn't missing in action — there just wasn't any evidence of major fraud. 

Barr gave an interview to the AP's beat reporter, Michael Balsamo, making this clear on the record. It would bring things to a head. 

As he headed to the White House for meetings on Dec. 1, Barr knew Balsamo's story might go live while he was there. He soon found himself in the president's private dining room, along with Meadows, Cipollone, Trump and others. They sat at a long table under a glittering chandelier, amid Trump paraphernalia that was framed by floor-to-ceiling windows.

Trump was positioned in his usual seat at the head of the table, facing a huge flat-screen TV with the sound on low. On the screen, the conspiracy-drenched One America News network was playing a Michigan Senate hearing on election fraud.

Trump had seen Balsamo's story, and he was fuming. "Why would you say such a thing? You must hate Trump. There’s no other reason for it. You must hate Trump,” the president charged, speaking about himself in the third person.

"These things aren't panning out," Barr told the president, standing beside his chief of staff Will Levi. “The stuff that these people are filling your ear with just isn’t true.” Barr explained that if Trump wanted to contest the election results, the president's internal campaign lawyers would have to do it. 

The Justice Department, he continued, had looked at the major fraud allegations that Trump's lawyers had leveled. "It's just bullshit," Barr told the president. Cipollone backed up Barr by saying the DOJ was investigating these claims.

Trump pointed at the TV and asked if Barr had been watching the hearing. Barr said he hadn't. "Maybe you should," the president said. Barr reiterated that the Justice Department was not ignoring the allegations, but that Trump's outside lawyers were doing a terrible job. 

"I'm a pretty informed legal observer and I can't fucking figure out what the theory is here," he added. "It's just scattershot. It's all over the hill and gone."

"Maybe," Trump said. "Maybe."

A week later, the New York Times reported that Barr was considering resigning. Barr's relationship with the president was becoming untenable, and the president was listening to Sidney Powell and Giuliani instead of his White House counsel and attorney general. 

Barr decided to quit before their private skirmishes spilled further into public view. Some speculated he had quit over the president's increasingly questionable pardons. But that had nothing to do with it. Barr had made it clear to Cipollone he did not want to be consulted on these post-election pardons. He did not need to hear about them until he received the official notices. The only pardon he made an effort to preemptively stop was for Edward Snowden.

On Dec. 14, Trump and Barr met one-on-one in the Oval Office. Others were there with Trump when the attorney general arrived. Barr asked for the room to be cleared so they could speak privately. He outlined his reasons for stepping aside early, explaining that while they'd had a good relationship, they now disagreed on key matters. 

They did not need a public blowup. It was time to leave while the departure could still be amicable. Barr later told associates the meeting was calm and rational and that he'd written his resignation letter — which effusively praised the president for his policy achievements — the day before. 

Trump appreciated Barr's loyalty and praise. But praise and loyalty were not enough.

On election fraud, Barr had told Trump what he did not want to hear and the president had stopped listening. It was time for Barr to go.

 

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Gardner Barnes

Gardner Barnes 1562

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Swan's Episode 4:
Spoiler

Attorney General Bill Barr stood behind a chair in the private dining room next to the Oval Office, looming over Donald Trump. The president sat at the head of the table. It was Dec. 1, nearly a month after the election, and Barr had some sharp advice to get off his chest. The president's theories about a stolen election, Barr told Trump, were "bullshit."

White House counsel Pat Cipollone and a few other aides in the room were shocked Barr had come out and said it — although they knew it was true. For good measure, the attorney general threw in a warning that the new legal team Trump was betting his future on was "clownish."

Trump had angrily dragged Barr in to explain himself after seeing a breaking AP story all over Twitter, with the headline: "Disputing Trump, Barr says no widespread election fraud." But Barr was not backing down. Three weeks later, he would be gone.

The relationship between the president and his attorney general was arguably the most consequential in Trump's Cabinet. And in the six months leading up to this meeting, the relationship between the two men had quietly disintegrated. Nobody was more loyal than Bill Barr. But for Trump, it was never enough.

The president had become too manic for even his most loyal allies, listening increasingly to the conspiracy theorists who echoed his own views and offered an illusion, an alternate reality.

By the late summer of 2020, Trump and Barr were regularly skirmishing over how to handle the rising Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody. As the national movement unfurled, some protests had given way to violence and looting. Trump wanted the U.S. government to crack down hard on the unrest.

The president wanted to invoke the Insurrection Act and send the military into U.S. cities. He wanted troops in the street. Some hardcore outside allies, including Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton, were egging him on. The thankless job of pushing back fell to Barr.

At times, Barr was the heat shield between the president and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, both of whom strongly objected to Trump's fantasies of the U.S. troops descending upon Portland. 

The president regularly summoned a group of national security leaders to the Oval Office, and one mid-August meeting was particularly volatile.

From his seat behind the Resolute Desk, an agitated Trump told Barr to go and do something, and to do it right away — make an announcement, send in the troops, something. Just go in and resolve it, the president ordered. He wanted a devastating and provocative show of strength.

Barr disagreed. He thought the heat in the protests was gradually easing. He explained law enforcement strategy and his opinion that military intervention would backfire. Federal investigators were already hunting for the ringleaders in the protests.

Besides, Barr asked, what was the endgame for adding the military to the mix? Federal forces could end up stranded in a city like Portland indefinitely.

Trump grew more and more frustrated, but Barr pushed back harder, standing his ground in front of everyone in the room. He was ready, willing and able to be strong, he said. But, he added, we also have to be thoughtful. 

What would these soldiers do, Barr pointed out. Just stand around and get yelled at? Trump didn't care. We look weak and this is hurting us, he ranted. Then he slammed his hand on the Resolute Desk.

"No one supports me," Trump yelled. "No one gives me any fucking support."

Trump got up and stormed out of the Oval Office to his private dining room, leaving Barr and the others behind. Barr glanced over at a red-faced White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and joked, "Well that went well."

Constant head-butting over how aggressive they should be was a serious irritant in the relationship. Trump wanted televised displays of shock and awe, particularly in Portland and Seattle.

Barr was no pacifist, but he thought Trump's ideas were more aggressive than necessary. They fought all summer, and Barr later privately compared the experience to "Groundhog Day." It was always Groundhog Day trying to explain things to Trump.

Trump was ricocheting between the advice of experienced advisers like Barr and Cipollone and the growing coterie of outside instigators like Fitton who were steadily gaining clout.

Publicly, Barr lauded Trump. Privately, his head hurt. By September, Barr was doing everything he could to avoid the president. There was little direct contact between the two men, and Barr had stopped visiting Trump at the White House.

He was sick of Trump making public statements and having others do so to whip up pressure against U.S. Attorney John Durham to bring more prosecutions or to put out a report on the Russia investigation before the election.

By mid-October, as Rudy Giuliani was trying to publicize the alleged contents of Hunter Biden's hard drive, Trump allies started pressuring Barr to appoint a special counsel to investigate his opponent's son. Unbeknownst to Trump, the Justice Department was already investigating Hunter Biden. But Barr, in keeping with department policy, had kept the investigation a secret.

Barr maneuvered so that he dealt primarily with Meadows and Cipollone. Those around the two men could see Barr was annoyed and frustrated by the president's constant needling.

Avoiding Trump became easier as the campaign heated up. The president spent more time on the trail and less time stewing in the Oval Office.

But Barr's respite ended after Election Day, as Trump teamed up with an array of conspiracy theorists to amplify preposterous theories of election interference, arguing that Biden and the Chinese Communist Party, among others, had stolen the election from him.

On Nov. 29, Trump told Fox News that Barr's Department of Justice was "missing in action." Barr was furious. In fact, the attorney general had jettisoned department precedent to speed up federal investigations of election fraud allegations. The Justice Department wasn't missing in action — there just wasn't any evidence of major fraud. 

Barr gave an interview to the AP's beat reporter, Michael Balsamo, making this clear on the record. It would bring things to a head. 

As he headed to the White House for meetings on Dec. 1, Barr knew Balsamo's story might go live while he was there. He soon found himself in the president's private dining room, along with Meadows, Cipollone, Trump and others. They sat at a long table under a glittering chandelier, amid Trump paraphernalia that was framed by floor-to-ceiling windows.

Trump was positioned in his usual seat at the head of the table, facing a huge flat-screen TV with the sound on low. On the screen, the conspiracy-drenched One America News network was playing a Michigan Senate hearing on election fraud.

Trump had seen Balsamo's story, and he was fuming. "Why would you say such a thing? You must hate Trump. There’s no other reason for it. You must hate Trump,” the president charged, speaking about himself in the third person.

"These things aren't panning out," Barr told the president, standing beside his chief of staff Will Levi. “The stuff that these people are filling your ear with just isn’t true.” Barr explained that if Trump wanted to contest the election results, the president's internal campaign lawyers would have to do it. 

The Justice Department, he continued, had looked at the major fraud allegations that Trump's lawyers had leveled. "It's just bullshit," Barr told the president. Cipollone backed up Barr by saying the DOJ was investigating these claims.

Trump pointed at the TV and asked if Barr had been watching the hearing. Barr said he hadn't. "Maybe you should," the president said. Barr reiterated that the Justice Department was not ignoring the allegations, but that Trump's outside lawyers were doing a terrible job. 

"I'm a pretty informed legal observer and I can't fucking figure out what the theory is here," he added. "It's just scattershot. It's all over the hill and gone."

"Maybe," Trump said. "Maybe."

A week later, the New York Times reported that Barr was considering resigning. Barr's relationship with the president was becoming untenable, and the president was listening to Sidney Powell and Giuliani instead of his White House counsel and attorney general. 

Barr decided to quit before their private skirmishes spilled further into public view. Some speculated he had quit over the president's increasingly questionable pardons. But that had nothing to do with it. Barr had made it clear to Cipollone he did not want to be consulted on these post-election pardons. He did not need to hear about them until he received the official notices. The only pardon he made an effort to preemptively stop was for Edward Snowden.

On Dec. 14, Trump and Barr met one-on-one in the Oval Office. Others were there with Trump when the attorney general arrived. Barr asked for the room to be cleared so they could speak privately. He outlined his reasons for stepping aside early, explaining that while they'd had a good relationship, they now disagreed on key matters. 

They did not need a public blowup. It was time to leave while the departure could still be amicable. Barr later told associates the meeting was calm and rational and that he'd written his resignation letter — which effusively praised the president for his policy achievements — the day before. 

Trump appreciated Barr's loyalty and praise. But praise and loyalty were not enough.

On election fraud, Barr had told Trump what he did not want to hear and the president had stopped listening. It was time for Barr to go.

 


Wow. This is like the middle school drama my 13 year old tell me about.
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Bateshorn

Bateshorn 9927

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16 hours ago, kevwun said:

They will work around Ellis and the first time he fucks up, he will get fired.  If he is so Trumpy, that shouldn't take long.  Civil service or not, when someone isn't good at their job, it's not hard to fire them when you are motivated to do so.

The civil service protections don’t mean he can’t be reassigned. Put him in the basement like Milton and tell him to count paper clips. It’s why the current NSA director fought so hard against him, because he’s just deadweight that the Biden administration will work around. 

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Goredho

Goredho 17405

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1 hour ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

Swan's Episode 4:

  Reveal hidden contents

Attorney General Bill Barr stood behind a chair in the private dining room next to the Oval Office, looming over Donald Trump. The president sat at the head of the table. It was Dec. 1, nearly a month after the election, and Barr had some sharp advice to get off his chest. The president's theories about a stolen election, Barr told Trump, were "bullshit."

White House counsel Pat Cipollone and a few other aides in the room were shocked Barr had come out and said it — although they knew it was true. For good measure, the attorney general threw in a warning that the new legal team Trump was betting his future on was "clownish."

Trump had angrily dragged Barr in to explain himself after seeing a breaking AP story all over Twitter, with the headline: "Disputing Trump, Barr says no widespread election fraud." But Barr was not backing down. Three weeks later, he would be gone.

The relationship between the president and his attorney general was arguably the most consequential in Trump's Cabinet. And in the six months leading up to this meeting, the relationship between the two men had quietly disintegrated. Nobody was more loyal than Bill Barr. But for Trump, it was never enough.

The president had become too manic for even his most loyal allies, listening increasingly to the conspiracy theorists who echoed his own views and offered an illusion, an alternate reality.

By the late summer of 2020, Trump and Barr were regularly skirmishing over how to handle the rising Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody. As the national movement unfurled, some protests had given way to violence and looting. Trump wanted the U.S. government to crack down hard on the unrest.

The president wanted to invoke the Insurrection Act and send the military into U.S. cities. He wanted troops in the street. Some hardcore outside allies, including Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton, were egging him on. The thankless job of pushing back fell to Barr.

At times, Barr was the heat shield between the president and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, both of whom strongly objected to Trump's fantasies of the U.S. troops descending upon Portland. 

The president regularly summoned a group of national security leaders to the Oval Office, and one mid-August meeting was particularly volatile.

From his seat behind the Resolute Desk, an agitated Trump told Barr to go and do something, and to do it right away — make an announcement, send in the troops, something. Just go in and resolve it, the president ordered. He wanted a devastating and provocative show of strength.

Barr disagreed. He thought the heat in the protests was gradually easing. He explained law enforcement strategy and his opinion that military intervention would backfire. Federal investigators were already hunting for the ringleaders in the protests.

Besides, Barr asked, what was the endgame for adding the military to the mix? Federal forces could end up stranded in a city like Portland indefinitely.

Trump grew more and more frustrated, but Barr pushed back harder, standing his ground in front of everyone in the room. He was ready, willing and able to be strong, he said. But, he added, we also have to be thoughtful. 

What would these soldiers do, Barr pointed out. Just stand around and get yelled at? Trump didn't care. We look weak and this is hurting us, he ranted. Then he slammed his hand on the Resolute Desk.

"No one supports me," Trump yelled. "No one gives me any fucking support."

Trump got up and stormed out of the Oval Office to his private dining room, leaving Barr and the others behind. Barr glanced over at a red-faced White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and joked, "Well that went well."

Constant head-butting over how aggressive they should be was a serious irritant in the relationship. Trump wanted televised displays of shock and awe, particularly in Portland and Seattle.

Barr was no pacifist, but he thought Trump's ideas were more aggressive than necessary. They fought all summer, and Barr later privately compared the experience to "Groundhog Day." It was always Groundhog Day trying to explain things to Trump.

Trump was ricocheting between the advice of experienced advisers like Barr and Cipollone and the growing coterie of outside instigators like Fitton who were steadily gaining clout.

Publicly, Barr lauded Trump. Privately, his head hurt. By September, Barr was doing everything he could to avoid the president. There was little direct contact between the two men, and Barr had stopped visiting Trump at the White House.

He was sick of Trump making public statements and having others do so to whip up pressure against U.S. Attorney John Durham to bring more prosecutions or to put out a report on the Russia investigation before the election.

By mid-October, as Rudy Giuliani was trying to publicize the alleged contents of Hunter Biden's hard drive, Trump allies started pressuring Barr to appoint a special counsel to investigate his opponent's son. Unbeknownst to Trump, the Justice Department was already investigating Hunter Biden. But Barr, in keeping with department policy, had kept the investigation a secret.

Barr maneuvered so that he dealt primarily with Meadows and Cipollone. Those around the two men could see Barr was annoyed and frustrated by the president's constant needling.

Avoiding Trump became easier as the campaign heated up. The president spent more time on the trail and less time stewing in the Oval Office.

But Barr's respite ended after Election Day, as Trump teamed up with an array of conspiracy theorists to amplify preposterous theories of election interference, arguing that Biden and the Chinese Communist Party, among others, had stolen the election from him.

On Nov. 29, Trump told Fox News that Barr's Department of Justice was "missing in action." Barr was furious. In fact, the attorney general had jettisoned department precedent to speed up federal investigations of election fraud allegations. The Justice Department wasn't missing in action — there just wasn't any evidence of major fraud. 

Barr gave an interview to the AP's beat reporter, Michael Balsamo, making this clear on the record. It would bring things to a head. 

As he headed to the White House for meetings on Dec. 1, Barr knew Balsamo's story might go live while he was there. He soon found himself in the president's private dining room, along with Meadows, Cipollone, Trump and others. They sat at a long table under a glittering chandelier, amid Trump paraphernalia that was framed by floor-to-ceiling windows.

Trump was positioned in his usual seat at the head of the table, facing a huge flat-screen TV with the sound on low. On the screen, the conspiracy-drenched One America News network was playing a Michigan Senate hearing on election fraud.

Trump had seen Balsamo's story, and he was fuming. "Why would you say such a thing? You must hate Trump. There’s no other reason for it. You must hate Trump,” the president charged, speaking about himself in the third person.

"These things aren't panning out," Barr told the president, standing beside his chief of staff Will Levi. “The stuff that these people are filling your ear with just isn’t true.” Barr explained that if Trump wanted to contest the election results, the president's internal campaign lawyers would have to do it. 

The Justice Department, he continued, had looked at the major fraud allegations that Trump's lawyers had leveled. "It's just bullshit," Barr told the president. Cipollone backed up Barr by saying the DOJ was investigating these claims.

Trump pointed at the TV and asked if Barr had been watching the hearing. Barr said he hadn't. "Maybe you should," the president said. Barr reiterated that the Justice Department was not ignoring the allegations, but that Trump's outside lawyers were doing a terrible job. 

"I'm a pretty informed legal observer and I can't fucking figure out what the theory is here," he added. "It's just scattershot. It's all over the hill and gone."

"Maybe," Trump said. "Maybe."

A week later, the New York Times reported that Barr was considering resigning. Barr's relationship with the president was becoming untenable, and the president was listening to Sidney Powell and Giuliani instead of his White House counsel and attorney general. 

Barr decided to quit before their private skirmishes spilled further into public view. Some speculated he had quit over the president's increasingly questionable pardons. But that had nothing to do with it. Barr had made it clear to Cipollone he did not want to be consulted on these post-election pardons. He did not need to hear about them until he received the official notices. The only pardon he made an effort to preemptively stop was for Edward Snowden.

On Dec. 14, Trump and Barr met one-on-one in the Oval Office. Others were there with Trump when the attorney general arrived. Barr asked for the room to be cleared so they could speak privately. He outlined his reasons for stepping aside early, explaining that while they'd had a good relationship, they now disagreed on key matters. 

They did not need a public blowup. It was time to leave while the departure could still be amicable. Barr later told associates the meeting was calm and rational and that he'd written his resignation letter — which effusively praised the president for his policy achievements — the day before. 

Trump appreciated Barr's loyalty and praise. But praise and loyalty were not enough.

On election fraud, Barr had told Trump what he did not want to hear and the president had stopped listening. It was time for Barr to go.

 

Tl;dr Trump is not only the President of the Hate Club for Men, but also a client.

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Eskimohorn

Eskimohorn 5635

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All the hand wringing about the control of the big tech companies seems excessive to me. I don't see how it's much different than the power radio, TV, and print media have had throughout history. They've all had the prerogative to amplify and muzzle voices as they saw fit.
And there are plenty of other ways for the lunatic fringe shitheads who've been banned by Twitter and FB to connect and share their vile nonsense (unfortunately, imo). It'll just be a bit more difficult for them. 

Big Tech is fighting to have their media assets not be classified as media, and the regulations and accountability that go along with it.
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Superhero

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4 hours ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

Swan's Episode 4:

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Attorney General Bill Barr stood behind a chair in the private dining room next to the Oval Office, looming over Donald Trump. The president sat at the head of the table. It was Dec. 1, nearly a month after the election, and Barr had some sharp advice to get off his chest. The president's theories about a stolen election, Barr told Trump, were "bullshit."

White House counsel Pat Cipollone and a few other aides in the room were shocked Barr had come out and said it — although they knew it was true. For good measure, the attorney general threw in a warning that the new legal team Trump was betting his future on was "clownish."

Trump had angrily dragged Barr in to explain himself after seeing a breaking AP story all over Twitter, with the headline: "Disputing Trump, Barr says no widespread election fraud." But Barr was not backing down. Three weeks later, he would be gone.

The relationship between the president and his attorney general was arguably the most consequential in Trump's Cabinet. And in the six months leading up to this meeting, the relationship between the two men had quietly disintegrated. Nobody was more loyal than Bill Barr. But for Trump, it was never enough.

The president had become too manic for even his most loyal allies, listening increasingly to the conspiracy theorists who echoed his own views and offered an illusion, an alternate reality.

By the late summer of 2020, Trump and Barr were regularly skirmishing over how to handle the rising Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody. As the national movement unfurled, some protests had given way to violence and looting. Trump wanted the U.S. government to crack down hard on the unrest.

The president wanted to invoke the Insurrection Act and send the military into U.S. cities. He wanted troops in the street. Some hardcore outside allies, including Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton, were egging him on. The thankless job of pushing back fell to Barr.

At times, Barr was the heat shield between the president and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, both of whom strongly objected to Trump's fantasies of the U.S. troops descending upon Portland. 

The president regularly summoned a group of national security leaders to the Oval Office, and one mid-August meeting was particularly volatile.

From his seat behind the Resolute Desk, an agitated Trump told Barr to go and do something, and to do it right away — make an announcement, send in the troops, something. Just go in and resolve it, the president ordered. He wanted a devastating and provocative show of strength.

Barr disagreed. He thought the heat in the protests was gradually easing. He explained law enforcement strategy and his opinion that military intervention would backfire. Federal investigators were already hunting for the ringleaders in the protests.

Besides, Barr asked, what was the endgame for adding the military to the mix? Federal forces could end up stranded in a city like Portland indefinitely.

Trump grew more and more frustrated, but Barr pushed back harder, standing his ground in front of everyone in the room. He was ready, willing and able to be strong, he said. But, he added, we also have to be thoughtful. 

What would these soldiers do, Barr pointed out. Just stand around and get yelled at? Trump didn't care. We look weak and this is hurting us, he ranted. Then he slammed his hand on the Resolute Desk.

"No one supports me," Trump yelled. "No one gives me any fucking support."

Trump got up and stormed out of the Oval Office to his private dining room, leaving Barr and the others behind. Barr glanced over at a red-faced White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and joked, "Well that went well."

Constant head-butting over how aggressive they should be was a serious irritant in the relationship. Trump wanted televised displays of shock and awe, particularly in Portland and Seattle.

Barr was no pacifist, but he thought Trump's ideas were more aggressive than necessary. They fought all summer, and Barr later privately compared the experience to "Groundhog Day." It was always Groundhog Day trying to explain things to Trump.

Trump was ricocheting between the advice of experienced advisers like Barr and Cipollone and the growing coterie of outside instigators like Fitton who were steadily gaining clout.

Publicly, Barr lauded Trump. Privately, his head hurt. By September, Barr was doing everything he could to avoid the president. There was little direct contact between the two men, and Barr had stopped visiting Trump at the White House.

He was sick of Trump making public statements and having others do so to whip up pressure against U.S. Attorney John Durham to bring more prosecutions or to put out a report on the Russia investigation before the election.

By mid-October, as Rudy Giuliani was trying to publicize the alleged contents of Hunter Biden's hard drive, Trump allies started pressuring Barr to appoint a special counsel to investigate his opponent's son. Unbeknownst to Trump, the Justice Department was already investigating Hunter Biden. But Barr, in keeping with department policy, had kept the investigation a secret.

Barr maneuvered so that he dealt primarily with Meadows and Cipollone. Those around the two men could see Barr was annoyed and frustrated by the president's constant needling.

Avoiding Trump became easier as the campaign heated up. The president spent more time on the trail and less time stewing in the Oval Office.

But Barr's respite ended after Election Day, as Trump teamed up with an array of conspiracy theorists to amplify preposterous theories of election interference, arguing that Biden and the Chinese Communist Party, among others, had stolen the election from him.

On Nov. 29, Trump told Fox News that Barr's Department of Justice was "missing in action." Barr was furious. In fact, the attorney general had jettisoned department precedent to speed up federal investigations of election fraud allegations. The Justice Department wasn't missing in action — there just wasn't any evidence of major fraud. 

Barr gave an interview to the AP's beat reporter, Michael Balsamo, making this clear on the record. It would bring things to a head. 

As he headed to the White House for meetings on Dec. 1, Barr knew Balsamo's story might go live while he was there. He soon found himself in the president's private dining room, along with Meadows, Cipollone, Trump and others. They sat at a long table under a glittering chandelier, amid Trump paraphernalia that was framed by floor-to-ceiling windows.

Trump was positioned in his usual seat at the head of the table, facing a huge flat-screen TV with the sound on low. On the screen, the conspiracy-drenched One America News network was playing a Michigan Senate hearing on election fraud.

Trump had seen Balsamo's story, and he was fuming. "Why would you say such a thing? You must hate Trump. There’s no other reason for it. You must hate Trump,” the president charged, speaking about himself in the third person.

"These things aren't panning out," Barr told the president, standing beside his chief of staff Will Levi. “The stuff that these people are filling your ear with just isn’t true.” Barr explained that if Trump wanted to contest the election results, the president's internal campaign lawyers would have to do it. 

The Justice Department, he continued, had looked at the major fraud allegations that Trump's lawyers had leveled. "It's just bullshit," Barr told the president. Cipollone backed up Barr by saying the DOJ was investigating these claims.

Trump pointed at the TV and asked if Barr had been watching the hearing. Barr said he hadn't. "Maybe you should," the president said. Barr reiterated that the Justice Department was not ignoring the allegations, but that Trump's outside lawyers were doing a terrible job. 

"I'm a pretty informed legal observer and I can't fucking figure out what the theory is here," he added. "It's just scattershot. It's all over the hill and gone."

"Maybe," Trump said. "Maybe."

A week later, the New York Times reported that Barr was considering resigning. Barr's relationship with the president was becoming untenable, and the president was listening to Sidney Powell and Giuliani instead of his White House counsel and attorney general. 

Barr decided to quit before their private skirmishes spilled further into public view. Some speculated he had quit over the president's increasingly questionable pardons. But that had nothing to do with it. Barr had made it clear to Cipollone he did not want to be consulted on these post-election pardons. He did not need to hear about them until he received the official notices. The only pardon he made an effort to preemptively stop was for Edward Snowden.

On Dec. 14, Trump and Barr met one-on-one in the Oval Office. Others were there with Trump when the attorney general arrived. Barr asked for the room to be cleared so they could speak privately. He outlined his reasons for stepping aside early, explaining that while they'd had a good relationship, they now disagreed on key matters. 

They did not need a public blowup. It was time to leave while the departure could still be amicable. Barr later told associates the meeting was calm and rational and that he'd written his resignation letter — which effusively praised the president for his policy achievements — the day before. 

Trump appreciated Barr's loyalty and praise. But praise and loyalty were not enough.

On election fraud, Barr had told Trump what he did not want to hear and the president had stopped listening. It was time for Barr to go.

Yeah... but still... fuck Bill Barr.

If he hadn't been such a bootlicker and mischaracterized Mueller's report, then Trump may have been convicted at this first impeachment. Doesn't matter that he grew a conscience towards the end, but he defended Trump, and along with all the enablers, deserves to die a slow painful death.

 

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GopherRock

GopherRock 1765

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53 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

 

 

They need to feed him and only him certain misinformation. When that misinformation shows up in Putin's daily briefing, then charge him with treason.

 

 

Midway's freshwater condenser is out. 

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BrickHorn

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2 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

Lulzy.

 

I can’t think of a better example of the weird nostalgia driving the right wing nonsense in this country than that list. There’s this idea among MAGA dumb-dumbs of a mythical past America where Albert Einstein, Babe Ruth, Elvis, and Antonin Scalia ran things and everything was peachy keen and there wasn’t any abortion or any Chi-comm Antifas telling god-fearing American kids they can’t pray in or open carry an AR15 to school.

The whole thing is so muddled and sloppy and goofy, but these mush brains are inspired to do real-life stupid shit by their desire to return to a hazy, imaginary golden age. They oppose progressive advances because they believe any step forward is a step further away from the days when Benjamin Franklin, Johnny Appleseed, Amelia Earhart, and Ronald McDonald worked hand-in-hand to make sure America was the freest, richest, star spangledest, bald eaglest, most Christlike country in the world. 

I know patriotism is neat and shit, but teaching schoolchildren an infantile, whitewashed, simplified version of American history that is more fairy tale than historical account has really done this nation a huge disservice.

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