N E P T U N E N E W S ™ While popular memory today remembers Watergate as five DNC burglars leading inexorably to Richard Nixon’s resignation two years later, history recalls that the case and special prosecutor’s investigation at the time were much broader; ultimately 69 people were charged as part of the investigation, 48 of whom pleaded guilty or were found guilty at trial.
After three weeks of back-to-back-to-back-to-back bombshells by federal prosecutors and special counsel Robert Mueller, it’s increasingly clear that, as 2018 winds down, Donald Trump faces a legal assault unlike anything previously seen by any president—at least 17 distinct court cases stemming from at least seven different sets of prosecutors and investigators. (That total does not count any congressional inquiries, nor does it include any other inquiries into other administration officials unrelated to Russia.)
While the media has long short-handed Mueller’s probe as the “Russia investigation,” a comprehensive review of the cases unfolding around the president and the question of Russian influence in the 2016 campaign harkens back to another lesson of Watergate: Deep Throat’s dictum, “Follow the money.”
More than two years in, the constellation of current investigations involves questions about foreign money and influence targeting the Trump campaign, transition, and White House from not just Russia but as many as a half-dozen countries. Prosecutors are studying nearly every aspect of how money flowed both in and out of Trump’s interconnected enterprises, from his hotels to his company to his campaign to his inauguration. While President Trump once said that he’d see investigations into his business dealings as crossing a “red line,” it appears that Trump himself obliterated that line, intermingling his business and campaign until it was impossible for prosecutors to untangle one without forensically examining the other.
Obviously, some of these investigations below may—or will—eventually overlap. Many of the players, particularly those like Michael Cohen, may end up central to multiple cases. And the existence of an investigation does not necessarily mean convictions will follow.
There’s also plenty we don’t know about who else Mueller and other investigators might have in their sights, or who might be cooperating. There’s even a special mystery witness Mueller was fighting in court last week. Notably, most of the open investigations involve known cooperators, not to mention likely millions of documents, telephone calls, recordings, emails, communications, and tax returns assembled by the special counsel and other prosecutors.
Here’s a complete rundown of the various known investigations targeting Trump’s world from local, state, and federal prosecutors:
The special counsel moved aggressively to outline and charge the Russian government’s core attack on the 2016 election, which included both active cyber intrusions and data theft by the military intelligence unit GRU and the GRU’s attempted attacks on the US voting system, as well as online information influence operations by the Internet Research Agency, known by the moniker “Project Lakhta.” Numerous threads from this investigation remain unseen—including a possible cooperator inside the Internet Research Agency, Putin’s own involvement, whether any Americans contributed knowingly to the attack, the role of the FSB’s “Cozy Bear” hackers, and whether or how Russia’s expensive and multipronged attack coordinated with contacts between Russian nationals and the Trump campaign over the course of 2016, including the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting. Mueller has also reportedly been investigating the role of late GOP activist Peter Smith, who had apparently tried to locate stolen emails and make contact with Russian hackers. It’s also unclear what has sparked Mueller’s apparent continued interest in Trump’s campaign tech firm, Cambridge Analytica.
Status: 12 Russian military intelligence officers from the GRU indicted, 13 people indicted from the Internet Research Agency, alongside three Russian companies, and a guilty plea from one California man who unwittingly aided their identity theft. Manafort aide Sam Patten is cooperating with investigators.
Nathan Powell
Investigations by the Special Counsel
2. WikiLeaks:
Whether WikiLeaks’ publishing of the emails stolen by Russian hackers connects from Moscow to Trump Tower itself remains an open question. But a leaked aborted plea agreement from conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi makes clear that Trump associates had at least some advance knowledge of what WikiLeaks was planning to publish. How any of that may connect with looming charges facing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and another apparently abandoned deal for him to leave the Ecuador embassy in London is also unclear.
Status: Both Trump aide Roger Stone and Corsi have said they expect to be indicted. Unclear if looming charges against Assange relate to Mueller investigation.
Nicholas Hill
3. Middle Eastern Influence:
Potentially the biggest unseen aspect of Mueller’s investigation is his year-long pursuit of Middle Eastern influence targeting the Trump campaign, which the Daily Beast reported last week might become public sometime early next year. As the Daily Beast wrote, “The ‘Russia investigation’ is set to go global.” The investigation appears to center on the role of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, which were eager to help the campaign and, in some cases, have business ties to Trump or presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner. Kushner specifically appears to have been a key focus of these foreign efforts: The New Yorker and other news outlets have carefully traced how China, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia targeted the White House senior adviser.
Status: No public court activity yet, but two key figures are known to be cooperating: Middle East would-be power broker George Nader and Blackwater mercenary group founder Erik Prince.
Adrian Thompson
4. Paul Manafort’s Activity:
What began over a year ago with a sweeping money laundering indictment targeting Trump’s one-time campaign chair—and resulted in his conviction on eight felonies at trial before he accepted a plea agreement on other charges—continues to unfold. In court documents, Mueller has made clear that he’s investigating Manafort associate Konstantin Kilimnik, a Ukrainian tied to Russian intelligence. He may also have interest in Kilimnik’s interactions with another Trump associate, real estate investor Tom Barrack, who has also been interviewed by investigators.
Status: Manafort’s been both convicted at trial and accepted a plea agreement; lawyer Alex van der Zwaan pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about the Ukrainian work; Manafort associate Sam Patten has pleaded guilty to failing to register as a foreign agent; Kilimnik has been indicted for obstruction of justice. Known cooperators include Trump deputy campaign chair and Manafort business partner Rick Gates, who has also pleaded guilty to his own role in the money laundering scheme.
William Roberts
5. The Trump Tower Moscow Project:
Just days before Cohen was sentenced to three years in federal prison for the eight felonies he pleaded guilty to in August, Mueller surprised everyone with a ninth charge. Cohen admitted that he lied to Congress about the status of the Trump Organization’s pursuit of a Trump Tower Moscow, a proposed project that extended longer into the campaign and proceeded into more serious conversations than previously admitted. The special counsel also noted how the project would be worth “hundreds of millions” of dollars, far more than a normal Trump licensing deal, leading to questions about why it would have been so lucrative. The case also connects the Trump Organization’s business deals, and the campaign, directly to the office of Russian president Vladimir Putin, whose government was at the time busily engaged in the attack on the US election. Moreover, according to statements by congressional investigators and documents released from Congress’s own Russia investigation, other figures, including Donald Trump Jr., may face legal exposure about their own testimony on the Trump Tower Moscow project.
Status: Cohen has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the status of the project and is cooperating with investigators.
Ethan Ross
6. Other Campaign and Transition Contacts With Russia:
As journalists have pieced together, at least 14 Trump associates had contact with Russia during the campaign and transition, from foreign policy aide Carter Page to would-be attorney general Jeff Sessions. Questions continue to surround many of those contacts, not least of all the Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 that included Trump Jr., Kushner, and Manafort, and which involved hints that the meeting was only “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump,” as the email setting up the meeting first promised.
Status: Both national security adviser Michael Flynn and foreign policy aide George Papadopoulos have pleaded guilty to charges related to their campaign and transition contacts with Russia. Cohen and Flynn have both provided extensive cooperation to Mueller about the campaign and transition contacts.
Hunter Brown
7. Obstruction of Justice:
Robert Mueller’s appointment stemmed from Trump’s decision to fire FBI director James Comey and fears that the firing was an attempt to obstruct the initial stages of the Russia investigation. But recent court documents hint that Mueller might be assembling a broader obstruction-of-justice case against Trump, one that could potentially argue that the president’s public statements intentionally misled the public in an attempt to limit the scope of the Russia investigation. Even if Mueller decides there’s enough evidence to bring a case here, it seems more likely to get passed along to Congress for consideration of impeachment rather than prosecuted in court.
Status: No public movement yet, but court documents point to the fact that at least Manafort and Cohen have provided evidence useful to this case about their own contacts in 2017 and 2018 with the White House.
Isaac Bell
kys
Asher Carter
Investigations by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York
8. Campaign Conspiracy and the Trump Organization’s Finances:
Despite the myriad cases unfolding from the special counsel, the White House’s most immediate legal jeopardy increasingly appears to stem from federal prosecutors in New York digging into Trump’s alleged financial shenanigans. Perhaps the biggest political bombshell amid the last three weeks has been the new revelations around Michael Cohen, “Individual 1” (as court documents have identified Trump), and the hush money payments to cover up extramarital affairs in the final weeks of the 2016 election. Prosecutors have written that Donald Trump himself directed the payments—an indication that they have solid documentary evidence that hasn’t become public yet—and have apparently lined up nearly every other participant in the scheme as a cooperator.
Status: Cohen has already pleaded guilty, and National Enquirer’s David Pecker, its parent company AMI, Cohen, and Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg are all cooperating with investigators.
Grayson White
Investigations by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York
8. Campaign Conspiracy and the Trump Organization’s Finances:
Despite the myriad cases unfolding from the special counsel, the White House’s most immediate legal jeopardy increasingly appears to stem from federal prosecutors in New York digging into Trump’s alleged financial shenanigans. Perhaps the biggest political bombshell amid the last three weeks has been the new revelations around Michael Cohen, “Individual 1” (as court documents have identified Trump), and the hush money payments to cover up extramarital affairs in the final weeks of the 2016 election. Prosecutors have written that Donald Trump himself directed the payments—an indication that they have solid documentary evidence that hasn’t become public yet—and have apparently lined up nearly every other participant in the scheme as a cooperator.
Status: Cohen has already pleaded guilty, and National Enquirer’s David Pecker, its parent company AMI, Cohen, and Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg are all cooperating with investigators.
Robert Turner
blow me, Sassypants…….
you effeminate little bitch
Connor Evans
9. Inauguration Funding:
Late last week, The Wall Street Journal broke word that prosecutors were digging into the record $107 million raised and spent by the Trump inauguration committee, potentially with concerns about where that money came from and where it went, based in part on documents and evidence seized during the Michael Cohen investigation. Journalists have long raised questions about where the inauguration money went, and the FBI expressed concern about the Russian elites who appeared at the event. We already know that at least some shady money was involved: Manafort associate Sam Patten’s plea agreement includes that he helped a Ukrainian businessman funnel $50,000 to the inauguration.
Status: No public court activity yet beyond Patten, but he is cooperating with investigators.
Brayden Nelson
10. Trump SuperPAC Funding:
Related to the news about the inauguration inquiries was word that prosecutors are digging into the funding of a Trump SuperPAC, Rebuilding America Now, where Paul Manafort also played a role.
Status: No public court activity yet, but Manafort aide Sam Patten is cooperating with investigators.
Connor Jones
11. Foreign Lobbying:
Robert Mueller also handed off information he uncovered during the Manafort money laundering probe to prosecutors in New York. According to news reports, he referred questions about at least a trio of other lobbyists—Tony Podesta, Vin Weber, and Greg Craig—and whether they allegedly failed to appropriately register as foreign agents for work related to Ukraine. Podesta abruptly closed his eponymous lobbying firm last year, and Mueller had previously been interested in the work done by Mercury LLC, Weber’s firm, as well as the law firm Skadden Arps, where Craig worked until earlier this year. Skadden Arps also employed the Dutch lawyer Alex van der Zwaan, who pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his contacts with Rick Gates.
Status: Rick Gates is cooperating with investigators.
Jaxon Flores
Investigations by the US Attorney for the District of Columbia
12. Maria Butina and the NRA:
The guilty plea last week by Russian agent and gun-rights enthusiast Butina came with an extensive cooperation agreement, including the possibility of her meeting with investigators without lawyers present. While the most immediate next target of the investigation appears to be Butina’s boyfriend, Republican operative Paul Erickson—he was sent a so-called “target” letter by prosecutors recently—questions have also swirled about 2016 campaign funding by the National Rifle Association and the reach of Russia into the US conservative movement. Notably, Butina attended numerous conservative events—including the inauguration—and brought 11 Russians to the annual prayer breakfast, was photographed with numerous conservative leaders, and even asked candidate Trump a question at an event early in the campaign, giving him an opportunity to praise Russia.
Status: Maria Butina has pleaded guilty and is cooperating.
Henry Ramirez
Investigations by the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia
13. Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova:
The alleged chief accountant of the Internet Research Agency was indicted separately earlier this fall by prosecutors in northern Virginia and the Justice Department’s unit that handles counterintelligence and espionage cases, not by Mueller’s special counsel office. Khusyaynova was charged with activity that went above and beyond the 2016 campaign, including efforts to meddle in this year’s midterms. Why she was prosecuted separately remains a puzzle.
Status: Khusyaynova has been indicted.
Elijah Campbell
14. Turkish Influence: According to court documents, Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn contributed to two investigations beyond the Russia probe. While both were redacted in his court case, there are strong hints, including reporting by The New York Times, that one of those two cases includes a grand jury in northern Virginia focused on illegal influence by the Turkish government. According to the Times, “Prosecutors are examining Mr. Flynn’s former business partners and clients who financed a campaign against Fethullah Gulen, a cleric living in Pennsylvania whom the Turkish government has accused of helping instigate a failed coup.” Flynn’s own sentencing documents allude to the fact that Flynn handed over voluminous records from his own businesses.
Status: Michael Flynn’s plea agreement includes some details of the case. Flynn is cooperating with investigators.
Kevin Hall
Investigations by New York City, New York State, & Other State Attorneys General
15. Tax Case:
in the wake of a New York Times investigation that found Donald Trump had apparently benefited from upwards of $400 million in tax schemes, city officials said they were investigating Trump’s tax payments, as did the New York State Tax Department. Longtime lawyer and Trump fixer Cohen also reported in his own court filing that he met with investigators from the New York Attorney General’s Office, although the court filings didn’t explain what the investigation entailed.
Status: Unknown.
Hunter Powell
16. The Trump Foundation:
The New York Attorney General sued the Trump Foundation this summer, charging it with, as The New York Times summarized, “sweeping violations of campaign finance laws, self-dealing and illegal coordination with the presidential campaign.” A judge just ruled last month that the lawsuit can proceed. Now the incoming attorney general has promised even more wide-ranging inquiries in the Trump business world.
Status: Case is proceeding, having cleared initial court tests.
Eli Nelson
17. Emoluments Lawsuit:
The attorneys general for Maryland and DC sent out subpoenas earlier this month for Trump Organization and hotel financial records relating to their lawsuit alleging that the president is in breach of the so-called Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which appears to prohibit the president from accepting payments from foreign powers while in office. The lawsuit’s discovery phase could push voluminous amounts of information into public view about how foreign governments have funneled business to Trump’s organization, like how the Saudi government evidently purchased more than 500 rooms at Trump’s hotel in DC in the months after the election.
Status: Subpoenas have been issued.
Ryan Anderson
BONUS INVESTIGATION
Mystery Investigation Underway by Unknown Office
Redacted Case #2:
A second redacted Flynn investigation could be one of the other investigations mentioned here, could represent another as-yet-unknown unfolding criminal case, or could be a counterintelligence investigation that will never become public.
Status: Unknown.
Blake Carter
Unrelated Criminality Pursued by Other Offices
Identity Theft Cases:
The special counsel charged Californian Richard Pinedo with identity theft stemming from the efforts of the Internet Research Agency to create online fake identities. According to prosecutors, Mueller also uncovered through Pinedo other criminal activity, unrelated to Russia, which has been referred to other offices for ongoing investigation. This approach is consistent with Mueller’s conservative interpretation of his own mandate, only holding on to cases that directly inform the core questions of his case.
Status: Investigation ongoing.
Bentley Smith
TRUMP'S A STUPID FAG
Cooper Morgan
If you splatter shit against a wall, maybe some of it will stick. It certainly did when I chucked a pan of raw hamburger meat at my girlfriend as she stood next to a bird cage.
Parker Gonzalez
did you just suggest that somebody should splatter Trump against a wall ?
That's a threat….
That's a federal offense….
reporting your post
Hudson Miller
TRUMP: THE MOST STUPID, LEAST QUALIFIED, MOST EMBARRASSING, LEAST COMPETENT, MOST DISGUSTING CAVEMAN OF A PRESIDENT WE HAVE EVER HAD
Brayden King
Report this: he wouldn’t be president if he weren’t a potatomorph.
Hudson Clark
He's a fucking idiot
Evan Martin
We’ll see.
Nolan Phillips
Lol we already have
lemme guess : Santa Claus is real Jesus existed Pizzagate is legitimate Obama was born in Kenya
and Trump is actually a genius, who is just pretending to ba a complete fucking idiot
lol !!….. what a clever masterplan
you're a moron
Jordan Barnes
At least I don’t jump to conclusions before situations have had a chance to play out. He’s stupid if he’s no longer in power, if the hyenas keep nipping at his feet until he gives up and they have their meal. But that remains to be seen, doesn’t it?
Jayden Martin
FACT: he's been a fucking IDIOT for decades. I hated his stupid fucking guts since the 1980s, and I'm NOT the only one. Obviously you must've only become familiar with him during his embarrassing WWE appearances, or perhaps from The Apprentice……
he's a disgusting human
Hudson Collins
……….and by the way………..
If you can READ , you will notice that I never 'jumped to any conclusions'…………
I never said he's going to be indicted, nor did I say he was going to be impeached…………
(even though that's EXACTLY what the Dept. of Justice is currently considering)
he IS an as of yet unindicted co-conspirator in several violations of federal law.
The most important possible upcoming charge is the fact that he WAS a co-conspirator to the Russian Hacking of the Clinton Emails, Wire Fraud, and the release of hacked files by wikileaks in unison with his public announcement to Russia to release the files (which is what wikileaks did later that day)
I did NOT say he's going to be indicted…..
but you'd be an idiot if you think the Dept. of Justice and the Senate isn't weighing the possibilities, and preparing to bend his stupid ass over a barrel as soon as they're ready.
ALSO: get ready for his tax records to be made public, and watch him squirm like a fucking bitch to do exactly that
Chase Green
You keep making weird assumptions. Are you schizo or merely prone to hyperbole?
I’ve seen the press wage a relentless three year long campaign against Trump, and so far all it has done is assasinate his character. He’s not been impeached, or made a felon, removed from office..any of it. The threats are unceasing and the claims are grave. But it’s been coordinated white noise thus far. I’m not convinced they have something concrete. If they do, it hasn’t been much use.
Does that make Trump look like an idiot? Not exactly. Sometimes survival is simply a matter of choosing the right team. You may not think much of him personally, and he may not be much. But he was chosen over your side’s candidate, and to this day he remains in office. I don’t know what you expect, or why you place so much emphasis on one man’s character as if it bruises your titanic ego to have to see it.
Jonathan Nelson
All I’m saying is I’ll believe it when I see it. But also that the way these people are talking about his supposed crimes resembles activism, not execution of their official duties. Moreover, the press is glorifying this activism to an epic proportion, possibly in hopes that the court of public opinion will do the work that hard, damning evidence so far cannot. In any case, why should I think this is not a case of the gov being full of Communists like Joe McCarthy affirmed? Come on, there is nuance here.
Ethan Watson
I know a guy in real life who is VERY smitten with Trump
This guy is adamant that Trump is a genius, and that he is simply pretending to be stupid as shit
This guy also insists that Trump is about to 'reveal the deepstate', that he's about to 'unseal 25,000 sealed indictments', etc etc etc
Back in early November, this guy told me with an air of arrogant self confidence, that I needed to "watch what happens on December 5th, because that's the day Trump is going to unseal the indictments', and reveal the pizzagate conspiracy"
But December 5th went by…. I called him that night, and reminded him what day it was
Oddly, he told me the exact same thing back in June, and in March, and in October of 2017…..
but those dates all came and went…..
Not Surprisingly, This Guy Only Became 'Politically Aware' during Obama's Second Term In Office
so he has no real experience with studying politics……
In fact, he doesn't know ANYTHING about politics ….
Trump supporters are the ones who jump to conclusions……… Unrealistic, naive conclusions… And they're willing to 'apply' their own fabricated imaginary bullshit scenarios, claiming Trump has a secret genius plan up his sleeve, that all of his idiotic mistakes are part of a genius agenda, or that they are all lies created by 'evil Democrats and mainstream media:…..
Bullshit……
B U L L S H I T . . . . . .
He's always bbeen an idiot He's always been a liar He's always been a cheater He's a fucking IDIOT who can't stop putting his foot in his mouth…. He's illiterate.
He sits in his bedroom posting misspelled Tweets, eating only McDonald's Quarter Pounders, and trying to convince himself that he's convincing us that he's not an idiot.
he's not even smart or savvy enough to be a used car salesman
Robert Bailey
weird assumptions like you erroneously assuming that I voted for the other side?
Wyatt Martin
FACT: it's not 'the media' who are prosecuting his co-conspirators
It's the Dept of Justice
Hudson Murphy
Erroneously? Was there some other Constitutionalist or Libertarian candidate you went for? Or did you go for Bernie or Jill? Please tell me you didn’t vote at all.
As for this MAGApede you know, he’s not paying much attention. Someone showed Trump the JFK video or something since he entered office, because what he and Bannon had going during the campaign was nothing like this presidency.
Thrn again, you’d be right if you said there were signs all along. I think most people who voted Trump did so because it couldn’t be her under any circumstances. But you can thank the DNC for that, unless Wikileaks posted fake info. There’s a rumor that organization is biased toward Zios.
Maybe you think you have access to better data. It’s possible, but I never liked the guy either. Happens to be the case that I like the Democrat Party even less is all.
Brayden Adams
RE: believe it when you see it
same here, sir……………………
after 55 years on this shitty planet one thing I've learned is that the system is corrupt, and the people in charge never get punished
I don't think he will ever be indicted or impeached……
That would be unrealistic for me to expect, because that's not the way things work in real life……………
I'm NOT a Democrat I'm not a Republican I'm not a libertarian
I'm none of those things
Jeremiah Phillips
Dept. of Justice is as vulnerable to infiltration and subversion as any other institution. Except you can’t even call it that. Globalism simply became America’s national value. And as such the country is getting torn to shit. I have to wonder if the overall situation has ever been worse than it is.
Daniel Hill
Oh, I voted alright………..
I voted for Ross Perot in 1992
and I'll NEVER vote again
Jason Edwards
So you’re telling me you don’t vote, or that you vote left, right or third party based on other criteria? I tend to think that beneath ideology are clear patterns of racial and religious identity.
Dominic King
I liked Ross too. I was a little kid but even then I could tell he, and he alone, was the real thing.
Mason Hall
Democrat, Republican, Independent, etc, etc….
That's a shell game… They created those false concepts to make people think they were participating
to make people think they were making a difference
to make people think they were part of something
we aren't part of anything
Jackson Sanchez
correct, sir…..
Perot WAS indeed the real thing it's a shame today's youth didn't have the chance to witness the Perot thing, because they are left with Trump's cheap imitation
They actually think Trump is the Perot opportunity
Aaron Diaz
Of course not, but who are “they”? Trump? You’re so livid that they put an imbecile in office, but what does it matter if the pres is not top of the food chain?
Jaxson Cox
again: I will never vote again after Perot
Easton Richardson
because we are living in a pivotal time in history, and we have EVERYTHING to lose….
Out of 360,000,000 Americans I find it nauseating that they haven't been able to produce even ONE amazing candidate in 26 years
Nicholas Hall
No need to vote for pres. Other representatives do the selecting. But what about local things? Taxes on groceries, sex changes for minors, and other crucial prerogatives?
Easton Ward
also, it's not just because he's an idiot….
There's only one thing I truly hate and that's STUPIDITY…..
but even though he's a complete idiot, that's actually not the main reason I hate him so much….
I 'read people' pretty damn well
and I simply find him to be an absolutely DISGUSTING human
Andrew Morales
I too find it puzzling. It’s either a brutal military general, a member of Intelligence, some paper tycoon, or a celebrity. Some people argue democracy produces this, others say it’s secularism, and still others claim it’s the shitfuck outcome of oligarchy/plutocracy. Remember, Plato said in The Republic that this kinda thing is what happens as a rule. Someone must have wanted it.
Luke Carter
Disgusting how? Unethical? Dishonest? A thief? A slaver? Childfucker? Gangster? Too fat? Too orange? Too New York mafia?
Hunter Sullivan
I have no reason whatsoever to believe they actually count votes
I'm NOT saying that I 'know they don't count votes', because that would be kinda like one of the crazy conspiracy theorists that plague society these days.
What I indeed AM saying is that I have no reason to necessarily believe that votes get counted.
You could say that George W. Bush's miraculous election after he lost to AL Gore, and the 'hanging chad' lie in Florida, where Jeb Bush was governor, and the Supreme Court stepping in, and putting Bush into office, and the '9/11 plan' being enacted, and the Patriot Act being signed, and the Constitution being flushed, and the war crimes we committed by invading Iraq & Afghanistan, all based on falsified intelligence, and the murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent men women and children in those countries, in the name of 'fighting Al Queda' (which was actually the Mujihadeen, who the CIA trained in 1979) ALL OF THESE THINGS reaffirmed my lack of belief that voting has any value
Caleb Kelly
Disgusting, as in: he makes me embarrassed to be the same species as him
Joshua Evans
DISGUSTING, as in:
I find him to be the most embarrassingly gross human I think I've ever seen, physically, mentally, emotionally, and morally.
I would NEVER hang out with him in a million years
Christian Jenkins
Disgusting as in: if I was a woman, I'd be nauseated by him… if I was a child, I'd be horrified by him, and as an adult male, he represents EVERYTHING that I can't stand.
Gavin Scott
I’ve come to a similar conclusion and stopped voting, but what is new for me in this day and age is the absolute diffusion of politics into every facet of intellectual, professional, and ordinary life that I’m almost forced to pay attention out of fear that it’s all going to blow up in my face one day soon. I’d rather be doing something else but my options grow more limited by the hour.
Still, I don’t know who is more disgusting: Trump or whomever it is that is actually in charge. What are they trying to accomplish here? Civilization itself is disintegrating. How is that in anyone’s interest?
Eli Campbell
ALSO: he's a cheater
he cheats on all of his wives
and unlike 99% of men, I personally think cheating on your spouse shows a lack of integrity and morals that speaks for itself
Easton Evans
It’s going to be a long two years for you.
Logan Robinson
that's Egg Zack Lee™ why I'm so disheartened by the fact that we haven't had an HONEST, BRILLIANT, UNBIASED, HONORABLE candidate since Perot….
Like I said, now more than ever, we've got everything to lose.
Adrian Hughes
No doubt about it. I mean, he’s married to Melania, wife number three, but bumping fuglies with Stormy Daniels, or whatever her name is? At 60some years of age? And we can be sure there were many more. Also, his friendship with Epstein. Say what you want, but there is no way Trump didn’t know what business he’s in. The money must come awfully easy for both. I remember a time when it was unthinkable to let such an immoral person even be considered to lead the country.
So, sure. I see all that. But I’m powerless to see it go down any other way. I can’t even unsee it.
Isaiah Thomas
Not really, compared to the 55 years of accepting the fact that I'll never see it done right….
I'm quite accustomed to it by now
and what's going to happen iin two years that will make things any better?
nothing will change
Aiden Martinez
See ?…. You and I aren't at odds at all. We see eye to eye
Grayson Foster
If you can't even be trusted by your wife, you certainly can't bbe trusted by anybody else
He's disgusting
Colton Perry
Doomsayers have even grown tired of predicting recessions, depressions, and wars. Now it’s the death of Western civ, of mass extinction, phytoplankton disappearing. Mars.
Probably I’ve seen too much propaganda. Let’s burn a bunch of oil and coal and see what happens. Acceleration hurts less than the slow burn.
What do you make of the idea that the People need one last reminder of how awful nationalism can be before they take on the Eurasian powers?
David Barnes
all I know is even though Mueller recommended no jail time for Flynn, US District Judge Emmet Sullivan wanted to know why he wasn't being charged with treason
And trust me, that's exactly what he and Trump are guilty of
Connor Russell
It could be theater between them. Regardless, there are more stable financial and other ties between them.
I have to posit well warn conspiracy theories to get near something like an explanation of the geopolitical dynamic, but then am forced to sit here and wait for future events to confirm whether it is explanatory. If you take the petrodollars lens there is reason for real conflict. But then you have technological and intellectual property theft and/or transfer, BRICS bank, and so on. The number of hypotheses are staggering.
Cooper Reyes
A: I think the powers that be no longer need the public's approval, nor do they need to manipulate public opinion anymore.
Shit….. These days, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't realize 9/11 was an 'inside job'.
They don't even try to hide their secrets anymore. They don't care what we know or think. nobody's going to stop them, no matter what their agenda might be
Levi Rivera
Dooes that suggest something about Muller to you?
Jose Evans
Then we have all got to get down to South America and sire some biracial babies and make more Facebook posts. It’s already over.
Hunter Morales
It's all of those things, and many more that we would never expect
Mueller was involved in the 9/11 scam, and many other nefarious activities. I don't necessarily trust him, because I don't trust any of them.
But I actually DO think Trump's guilty of treason and worse
Cooper Bell
It's been 'over' for decades
fuck, I don't even recognize the world anymore
Samuel Foster
The end is not an event. It's a process. And the 'beginning' of the end is long behind us. We are past the middle of the end.
Not the end of the world, but the end of life as we recognize it
Jason Peterson
Guilty he may be, but I don’t see a politician with any future who doesn’t already reek of sexual or criminal kompromat. That’s why earlier I was wondering why you were so vocal about Trump when virtually all of them walk out on stage with blood on their hands. Vast, criminal networks of competing interests all hoping to stage a coup in order to personally benefit from the kleptocratic machine that is the US empire. The political news arena is sort of the evolution of the true crime novel.
Robert Thompson
It has been an honor and a pleasure conversing with you, sir.
And now I must go to sleep because I have a 7:00 AM appointment.
goodnight
Kevin Myers
Same to you. I have labs at 8. Night.
Joseph Turner
I know, I know………..
I guess it's because, like I said, I've been repulsed by Trump since the 1980s
Brayden James
No. that's you Iknew someone like you once
I had to change his diaper
Levi Edwards
I'm Canadian Trump was some one at the peripheral of my view.
He seems to be an average american, with more experience in hucksterism