Trump Asserts Executive Privilege Over Full Mueller Report

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,136
30,086
146
Not surprising you don't consider F&F to be criminal activity.

Who would, though? I'm sure if it were an issue, it would have been tested in the Bush administration, where it was first conceived and implemented.

...oh wait, I was told it was totally non-political to go after the Black people only when the white people initiated the program.

sorry.
 

hal2kilo

Lifer
Feb 24, 2009
24,228
10,878
136
Not surprising you don't consider F&F to be criminal activity.
You don't get it. This isn't just the Mueller report, he is forbidding anybody in his admin from testifying. Congress is now also contemplating fining various cabinets officials because they refuse to allow congress to do their over sight functions on a wholesale basis. Up until now, none of these best people have even claimed EP. This is not how government is supposed to function.
 

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
85,644
50,879
136
Not surprising you don't consider F&F to be criminal activity.

Well that shouldn't be surprising to anyone considering every nonpartisan investigation into it came to the same conclusion. Wouldn't that just be common sense at work?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Meghan54

Indus

Lifer
May 11, 2002
11,880
8,300
136
You don't get it. This isn't just the Mueller report, he is forbidding anybody in his admin from testifying. Congress is now also contemplating fining various cabinets officials because they refuse to allow congress to do their over sight functions on a wholesale basis. Up until now, none of these best people have even claimed EP. This is not how government is supposed to function.

Well it's the GOP mantra.. make government hurt people as much as possible and then rant about "less government".
 

glenn1

Lifer
Sep 6, 2000
25,383
1,013
126
You don't get it. This isn't just the Mueller report, he is forbidding anybody in his admin from testifying. Congress is now also contemplating fining various cabinets officials because they refuse to allow congress to do their over sight functions on a wholesale basis. Up until now, none of these best people have even claimed EP. This is not how government is supposed to function.

Let them get fined. Congress has what it needs to make a decision on impeachment and could proceed with the myriad other number of faults Trump has even if the Mueller Report never existed. If you think the man is unfit then remove his ass and stop dicking around with "we need one tiny more bit of evidence to add to the mountain we already have." I'd dance a fcking jig if you removed him since he's a manifestly terrible POTUS and could easily be convicted/removed on dozens of different counts that have nothing to do with "OMG Russia put up some Facebook posts". Reality is that impeachment isn't going to happen and the exercise (and current thread) is simply about fishing for something, anything to diminish his reelection chances.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zzyzxroad

umbrella39

Lifer
Jun 11, 2004
13,816
1,126
126
#fuckofftroll

... at this point you are just as complicit and have no redeeming qualities left. Just be like slow since you are really no different... Just your presentation.
 

hal2kilo

Lifer
Feb 24, 2009
24,228
10,878
136
Let them get fined. Congress has what it needs to make a decision on impeachment and could proceed with the myriad other number of faults Trump has even if the Mueller Report never existed. If you think the man is unfit then remove his ass and stop dicking around with "we need one tiny more bit of evidence to add to the mountain we already have." I'd dance a fcking jig if you removed him since he's a manifestly terrible POTUS and could easily be convicted/removed on dozens of different counts that have nothing to do with "OMG Russia put up some Facebook posts". Reality is that impeachment isn't going to happen and the exercise (and current thread) is simply about fishing for something, anything to diminish his reelection chances.
Except for our treasonous Senate leader and Senate. It would have been a done deal.
Majority Leader Grave digger of democracy
 
Last edited:

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
85,644
50,879
136
Let them get fined. Congress has what it needs to make a decision on impeachment and could proceed with the myriad other number of faults Trump has even if the Mueller Report never existed. If you think the man is unfit then remove his ass and stop dicking around with "we need one tiny more bit of evidence to add to the mountain we already have." I'd dance a fcking jig if you removed him since he's a manifestly terrible POTUS and could easily be convicted/removed on dozens of different counts that have nothing to do with "OMG Russia put up some Facebook posts". Reality is that impeachment isn't going to happen and the exercise (and current thread) is simply about fishing for something, anything to diminish his reelection chances.

To be clear in this case that 'something, anything' would be sworn testimony before the grand jury of criminal activity by the president.

"something, anything" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this post.
 

IJTSSG

Golden Member
Aug 12, 2014
1,122
278
136
Let's consult the completely non-partisan authority on his thoughts on a previous time EP was asserted (Obama/Holder during Fast and Furious) to see how this will all turn out. I'm sure he'll be consistent now that a president of a different party is in power.

"the White House called it "political theater rather than legitimate congressional oversight"

Sounds familiar but somehow is no longer relevant.
 

interchange

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
8,022
2,872
136
Let's consult the completely non-partisan authority on his thoughts on a previous time EP was asserted (Obama/Holder during Fast and Furious) to see how this will all turn out. I'm sure he'll be consistent now that a president of a different party is in power.

Yeah @fskimospy has bupkiss to do with Trump. Pointing out hypocrisy in his position is no defense of the President. But the situations are also much different. The Mueller report is not an internal executive document. The purpose of the investigation explicitly was oversight of the administration. Restricting Congress from their duty to provide oversight is problematic.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DarthKyrie

umbrella39

Lifer
Jun 11, 2004
13,816
1,126
126
Again, can you fucking imagine the uproar and the Constitutional Crisis that conservatives and Fox would be running 24/7 of Reno and Clinton were pulling ANY of this shit.

The only difference, democrats would have held Clinton and Reno's feet to the fire. It's a shame modern day conservatives are worse than muslim terrorists...
 

cytg111

Lifer
Mar 17, 2008
23,993
13,519
136
And now on to the SCOTUS. It didn't work for Nixon but now we're dealing with worse Republicans than back then and an administration that Nixon would be ashamed of owning, and yes I know Nixon's moral center which as orders of magnitude higher than Trump and Barr as well.
Oooooh wouldnt it be FUN if Kavanaugh was the deciding vote? I mean ... talk about comedy :):):).
 

cytg111

Lifer
Mar 17, 2008
23,993
13,519
136
"the White House called it "political theater rather than legitimate congressional oversight"

Sounds familiar but somehow is no longer relevant.

You know, if the boat is sinking, you are going down too... Just an observation from the sidelines :):) Hahahahahahahaha
 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
50,879
4,266
126
Oooooh wouldnt it be FUN if Kavanaugh was the deciding vote? I mean ... talk about comedy :):):).

I think Kavanaugh and the Thomas would be turncoats in a heartbeat, but not Gorsuch. There are things about the man I dislike but I will always remember how he risked his nomination by calling out Trump and his comments regarding "That Mexican judge", which was surprisingly harsh. As a conservative in what is now a mostly obsolete sense, he would most likely understand the enormity of Trump's actively subverting Constitutional rule as well as the principle of co-equal branches.

I've been wrong before so I might be wrong but if I had to bet I would take Gorsuch being unhappy with this farce foisted upon us all.
 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
50,879
4,266
126
I guess you have to be a betting man these days, put your money down on one of two horses and hope you get it right ... lose and you are fucked :).

Above everything the SCOTUS hates it is being commanded to revisit past decisions and getting between other branches of government. That it happened at all in the past was because a deadlock or catastrophe needed to be dealt with and no they don't always get it right, but a Presidential election is an example of the order of magnitude necessary to get them to take helm and define to other branches what their inherent powers are.
 

hal2kilo

Lifer
Feb 24, 2009
24,228
10,878
136
I think Kavanaugh and the Thomas would be turncoats in a heartbeat, but not Gorsuch. There are things about the man I dislike but I will always remember how he risked his nomination by calling out Trump and his comments regarding "That Mexican judge", which was surprisingly harsh. As a conservative in what is now a mostly obsolete sense, he would most likely understand the enormity of Trump's actively subverting Constitutional rule as well as the principle of co-equal branches.

I've been wrong before so I might be wrong but if I had to bet I would take Gorsuch being unhappy with this farce foisted upon us all.
Well I sort of got bamboozled with Barr's sweet talk, until I looked at his actual history. And he proved himself to be what he is. Same goes for Kanvanaugh in my book.
 

glenn1

Lifer
Sep 6, 2000
25,383
1,013
126
Probably as concerned with the Republicans getting the IRS tax returns of Acorn.

As others have pointed out the Congress expressly gave themselves the power to obtain any tax return whatsoever and I'm the one opposing that on privacy grounds. Trump's obvious problems with the Emmoluments clause don't invalidate the larger point. Admittedly the Trump case WRT tax returns is the extreme end of the spectrum along the lines of the "would you torture a terrorist to prevent an attack even though the law and our moral code say torture is wrong" sorta deal but that's why the principle needs to be very carefully defended except in the very most emergency situations. ACORN's tax returns and probably everyone else in the country's should never typically qualify.