Politics Thread

[Berzerker]

near the end of Greenwald's lengthy presentation he shows how the NYT won a pulitzer back under Bush for exposing govt surveillance but now criticizes Republicans for wanting to limit that power

[Jon Miller]

Maybe Biden's administration was out of line on some points, I haven't seen any evidence of this. If so, particularly abuses need to be addressed and prosecuted.

The US judge is clearly out of line in saying that the administration officials can not talk to social media companies in a broad and general basis.

JM

[Berzerker]

https://youtu.be/7EBFrtjs2sM

Gal Luft is on the run after jumping bail in Cyprus. He says the arrest was politically motivated because he exposed Biden clan corruption involving China and he gave the FBI the evidence months before they got Hunter's lap top to corroborate his evidence. Apparently his alleged criminal activity dates back to 2015 running weapons in/out of Libya. That was back when Obama regime changed Libya and shipped their weapons to Turkey to be fed across the border into Syria to arm ISIS to regime change Assad. Jailing whistleblowers and witnesses to Biden's crimes...meh, Orangemanbad

[Ming]

Yep... Many Republicans claim "political motivation" now whenever they get caught doing something wrong. Never mind that they broke the law, as Trump does all the time. Just scream politically motivated and it makes all your crimes ok.

Sorry... it doesn't work that way.

[Berzerker]

After all the investigations of Trump he has turned out one helluva lot cleaner than I was expecting back in 2016-18 when the media had me convinced he was blackmailed by Putin. I dont think the guy is a Republican, he's an Israeli involved in the Chinese business world who knows the Bidens got $$$.

[self biased]

quality antisemitism there.

[Berzerker]

wtf are you talking about, Willis?

[-Jrabbit]

Trump has lost to E. Jean Carroll in civil court.
He and his "organization" are facing a range of financial crimes, notably in NY.
He is under indictment for stealing presidential documents, with obstruction charges also clearly warranted.
Georgia is empanelling a grand jury for his election meddling there, guilty on the face of it with Raffensberger's tape.
And it turns out he did the same thing in Arizona.
Then there's that nagging little conspiracy to overthrow the the U.S. government, both the advance planning and the 1/6/21 event itself, with charges still to come.

That's off the top of my head. There's plenty more, but still, good to know this is "a helluva lot cleaner" than you expected.

[Ming]

Yeah... and The Repubs keep saying the Biden Crime Family, even though they are being led by the biggest con man of this century.

[-Jrabbit]

Hey, another Jimmy Dore video!

Gal Luft is on the run after jumping bail in Cyprus. He says the arrest was politically motivated because he exposed Biden clan corruption involving China and he gave the FBI the evidence months before they got Hunter's lap top to corroborate his evidence. Apparently his alleged criminal activity dates back to 2015 running weapons in/out of Libya. That was back when Obama regime changed Libya and shipped their weapons to Turkey to be fed across the border into Syria to arm ISIS to regime change Assad. Jailing whistleblowers and witnesses to Biden's crimes...meh, Orangemanbad

Sorry, but when your best witness is a criminal and a bail-jumper who works for the Chinese Communist Party, you have zero credibility.
If the Dems tried to use a witness like Luft, you'd be mocking them.

Here's a historian's perspective on yesterday's news:

Meanwhile, Gal Luft, a dual Israeli-U.S. citizen who is the key witness to what the Republican-dominated House Oversight Committee insists is President Biden’s corrupt ties to China, has been indicted by the Department of Justice for being a Chinese operative. Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Luft “subverted foreign agent registration laws in the United States to seek to promote Chinese policies by acting through a former high-ranking U.S. government official; he acted as a broker in deals for dangerous weapons and Iranian oil; and he told multiple lies about his crimes to law enforcement.”

On July 7, House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-KY) called Luft “a very credible witness on Biden family corruption,” who “provided incriminating evidence to six officials from the FBI and the DOJ in a meeting in Brussels in March 2019.” Luft also allegedly worked with a former Chinese government official to plant into Trump’s 2016 campaign someone who would push pro-Chinese policies and who then, for pay, funneled information to the Chinese. That person, who is not named in the indictment, was later under consideration for Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Homeland Security, or Director of National Intelligence.

Luft was indicted in absentia because he is a fugitive after jumping bail in April (which explains why Comer said he was “missing” in May). While Luft claims the indictment is retaliation for his revelations about Biden, in fact the sealed indictment was handed down on November 1, 2022, before he became a Republican witness. So he was charged first, arrested in Cyprus in February on related charges, and then became Comer’s star witness.

A little more about Mr. Luft, this from The Independent in the UK:

And though Republicans have now embraced his claims to have been speaking out against the president and his family since 2019, there’s no evidence that he voiced his alleged concerns to anyone, even though allegations — thus far unproven — about the president and his son have been a fast-track to stardom in GOP media circles since former president Donald Trump’s first impeachment kicked off in July of that year.

Based on that pattern, it might be reasonable for one to conclude that Mr Luft is hoping to garner himself enough goodwill among the GOP that should he remain a fugitive through the next presidential inauguration, a future Republican president — perhaps Mr Trump — will pardon him.

So yeah, that's the best witness Comer and Jordan could scrape up. Clearly just trying to demonize Biden ("Squirrel!") to keep the focus off the grifter.

I remain mystified as to how anyone could continue to support Trump when he basically admits his sole reason for wanting to be POTUS again is to end his many legal troubles. That looks like Gal Luft's motivation as well.

Also, please stop referring to Gal Luft as a "whistle-blower." That's a technical term, and Luft - not a US government employee - does not come close to qualifying.
I will, however, allow you to call him a "finger-pointer."

[PLATO]

Trump has lost to E. Jean Carroll in civil court.
He and his "organization" are facing a range of financial crimes, notably in NY.
He is under indictment for stealing presidential documents, with obstruction charges also clearly warranted.
Georgia is empanelling a grand jury for his election meddling there, guilty on the face of it with Raffensberger's tape.
And it turns out he did the same thing in Arizona.
Then there's that nagging little conspiracy to overthrow the the U.S. government, both the advance planning and the 1/6/21 event itself, with charges still to come.

That's off the top of my head. There's plenty more, but still, good to know this is "a helluva lot cleaner" than you expected.

It is an amazing statement on our society that Trump still stands a good chance of being the next President. I guess the people who vote for him get what they deserve.....

[Dauphin]

It's easier to con someone that it is to convince them that they've been conned. People want to believe and don't want to feel stupid/have the illusion broken.

[Berzerker]

Trump has lost to E. Jean Carroll in civil court.
He and his "organization" are facing a range of financial crimes, notably in NY.
He is under indictment for stealing presidential documents, with obstruction charges also clearly warranted.
Georgia is empanelling a grand jury for his election meddling there, guilty on the face of it with Raffensberger's tape.
And it turns out he did the same thing in Arizona.
Then there's that nagging little conspiracy to overthrow the the U.S. government, both the advance planning and the 1/6/21 event itself, with charges still to come.

That's off the top of my head. There's plenty more, but still, good to know this is "a helluva lot cleaner" than you expected.

Your goalposts move thru time, most of what you cited happened after 2016-18. I was talking about the investigations into Trump's collusion with Putin. Wasn't that context obvious in my goalpost? I assumed Trump Org engages in financial crimes and even that was over sold, they got his lawyer for getting under the table perks? That stuff is petty, like paying off the stripper. The Georgia thing is nonsense, Trump spent the entire call claiming the election was being stolen and ballots for him were hidden or suppressed and he wanted the guy in charge of the election to find the missing votes. If he was telling him to fabricate votes he wouldn't have bothered griping about election rigging. I was talking about the investigations while he was president, they predate your kitchen sink of allegations.

[-Jrabbit]

It's weird that you're so totally focused on the only election Trump won.

I'm living in the present. Clearly, you are not.

[Ming]

The biggest crime family of all time... The Trumps.
And the Georgia "thing" isn't nonsense. It now seems like he tried the same stunt in Arizona, and don't forget Jan 6th.
He is a con man and crook. FACT.
And his legal problems don't seem to be going away. And it's NOT POLITICAL. He is simply a criminal.

[Berzerker]

Hey, another Jimmy Dore video!



Sorry, but when your best witness is a criminal and a bail-jumper who works for the Chinese Communist Party, you have zero credibility.
If the Dems tried to use a witness like Luft, you'd be mocking them.

Here's a historian's perspective on yesterday's news:



A little more about Mr. Luft, this from The Independent in the UK:

And though Republicans have now embraced his claims to have been speaking out against the president and his family since 2019, there’s no evidence that he voiced his alleged concerns to anyone, even though allegations — thus far unproven — about the president and his son have been a fast-track to stardom in GOP media circles since former president Donald Trump’s first impeachment kicked off in July of that year.

Based on that pattern, it might be reasonable for one to conclude that Mr Luft is hoping to garner himself enough goodwill among the GOP that should he remain a fugitive through the next presidential inauguration, a future Republican president — perhaps Mr Trump — will pardon him.

So yeah, that's the best witness Comer and Jordan could scrape up. Clearly just trying to demonize Biden ("Squirrel!") to keep the focus off the grifter.

I remain mystified as to how anyone could continue to support Trump when he basically admits his sole reason for wanting to be POTUS again is to end his many legal troubles. That looks like Gal Luft's motivation as well.

Also, please stop referring to Gal Luft as a "whistle-blower." That's a technical term, and Luft - not a US government employee - does not come close to qualifying.
I will, however, allow you to call him a "finger-pointer."

Looks like the Biden family worked for China too. I wouldn't mock Luft, he made claims about Chinese $$$ and Biden to the FBI before Hunter's laptop showed up to corroborate his accusation. What is there to mock? According to the video the FBI sent several people to London to interview Luft about the matter. Apparently it was filed away to gather dust.

[-Jrabbit]

So, your (=Dore's) claim is that the FBI investigated a lead -- as is their job. They took it seriously, interviewed the witness, and decided it wasn't actionable. There is literally nothing odd about that, but you (=Dore) seem to think that it proves the lead was legit. Stunning backwards logic.

Sorry, I won't be joining you down that rabbit hole.

[-Jrabbit]

A nice, quick summary of Wednesday's news:

In Washington, D.C., today, the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), questioned FBI director Christopher Wray for six hours to try to prove that the FBI is attacking Trump Republicans while giving Hunter Biden a free pass. It didn’t go particularly well. Wray is a lifelong Republican and member of the right-wing Federalist Society and was appointed by former president Trump. “The idea that I’m biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me, given my own personal background,” Wray said.

Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin summed up the day’s news when she tweeted: “3% inflation. NATO growing and more solid than ever. Huge investment in tech and infrastructure. And Republicans? Screeching about Hunter Biden's laptop and defunding the FBI. Simply pathetic.”

[Berzerker]

I've been watching more of that testimony, Wray is hiding information from us. I want to know how many govt assets were inside and outside the capital and when during the Jan 6 riot. Course the larger the crowd the more bold it gets so having 100-200 tough looking men appearing to support the cause magnifies the motivation of rioters. If those govt assets had joined the cops to suppress the riot they would have succeeded but it looks to me like they wanted it to happen, to discredit Trump/Maga. We do have the Whitmer case for comparison, 13 kidnappers with 9 being feds and that was entrapment so thats our FBI's mindset.

[PLATO]

I do have to say that Wray was rather evasive on what assets the FBI had inside the Capital. He didn't say he didn't know...he just would not answer the question. Is there possibly a legitimate security reason he wouldn't let that info out?

[pchang]

Sure. Helping to identify informants and undercover agents poses no security problems at all. As long as you don’t care about throwing those people under a bus.

[EPW]

But Biden crime family !!