I have a tough time getting excited about the Stormy Daniels case.

[kentuck]

For me, it seems rather inconsequential in the big picture.

It's possible there may have been campaign violations in the hush money pay-off, but the sexual part of the story seems like nothing more than a deflection from the events of the Russian scandal.

Everybody knows that Donald Trump is a sleazebag, whether they admit it or not. These sex stories are nothing new. Especially one where she says they had sex one time about 12 years ago. I'm sure there are many of these types of stories out there but the media is focusing on the Stormy Daniels one.

It doesn't grab me as being a story of great importance. It's mostly a "blah" for me.

[IluvPitties]

1. I kinda feel the same way.

I am trying to see it's importance beyond Trump trolling.

[spanone]

2. it could get him deposed under oath which could cause him to perjure himself

it's what brought down bill cllinton

[Hoyt]

10. Except it didn't get Clinton removed from office, and won't remove trump. Voters knew he's a cad

when they elected him, and that's sad. I think most people said, then, that who is going to tell the absolute truth in a messy sex scandal, especially one that has a lot of political overtones.

I do agree that campaign contributions could be an angle. But even that is all too common.

I despise trump and deplorables, but I'm not sure the Daniels junk will make a difference with most of his supporters or the GOP majority in Congress.

[spanone]

46. we'll see.

it's all just so crazy

[Hoyt]

49. It is crazy, and I hope to heck I'm wrong.

[NCTraveler]

3. I see only one area of importance.

In-kind campaign contribution off the books. It's kind of a big deal.

Other than that I don't see much there outside of fun. I don't say it often as I don't want to ruffle feathers here but it seems to me that Trump has met Trump on the social media playground. I have zero love for Stormy or her attorney. I simply think it's poetic justice that he is being so relentlessly attacked by money grabbers like himself.

I don't even see Stormy's lawyers as being that good. He is just out-Trumping Trump on social media. His filings seem to be all over the place and of little consequence outside of him then getting to trot them out on social media.

[ksoze]

4. Except...

By being riddled with affairs he is trying to keep tamped down, he is exposed and a national security risk.

Its not the actual act, it's the fact it is an act which is the most blackmail inducing act. The discussion should not be about the morality or ugliness of sleeping with porn stars, its about the fact he is exposed to blackmail and likely is already compromised, an example being his Russia amnesia.

Unless he is willing to have the affairs openly and publicize them, he is creating a breeding ground for payoffs, hush money and hidden agreements all of whose exposure create the perfect storm of blackmail.

[kentuck]

6. Good point.

About his exposure to blackmail. That may be the strongest point in the argument?

[magicarpet]

38. Open to and ripe for blackmail, exploitation, extortion....

..... a clear and present danger to national security. This is a clown who you do not want near or in the people's White House.

Is there any wonder why he habitually act in the best interests on Russia's behalf. Putin has a good firm grip on our president's balls, and leads him around by yanking on his testicles.

$130,000.00 then $150,000.00 who knows how many more payments tRdump made ?How many NDAs our out there ? This is a man who has a disgusting sexual appetite and goes to great lengths to conceal it. Russia must have tons off incriminating kompromat on him. He puts himself in awkward situations where he is wide open to blackmailing if someone is so inclined to hold something nasty he has done over his head to exploit him and gain an advantage over him.

[brush]

5. Forget the sex, it's about hush money 11 days before the election, the same day as the Comey letter.

IMO that's not a coincidence. "T"s were being crossed and "I"s dotted at the last minute to steal the election.

It's all tied together.

[pangaia]

28. That's the important part to me also.

The hush money...
the bribery, threats,

[madaboutharry]

7. It isn't about sex.

It is going to end up a story about campaign finance laws.

[kentuck]

8. If it ends up being about campaign finance laws....

nobody's hands are clean. Unlimited money in campaigns are destroying us more than anything else.

[jberryhill]

9. But nobody gives a shit about the DoJ and FEC actions initiated by Common Cause on that

Daniels' attorney has raised over $300k for a lawsuit over a private contract dispute.

Common Cause filed complaints with the DoJ and FEC back in February over the payments to Daniels and McDougal.

Nobody gives a shit about the Common Cause actions, but keeps saying things along the lines of "it's about the campaign finance law violation" in relation to this media event over a contract dispute.

[LeftInTX]

50. Thanks for this

I had thought maybe there were some campaign finance laws violated.


While I have the ear of an attorney, there was discussion of the NRA moving their funds from NRA to their PAC. This is what I found:

The NRA has twice been challenged by the FEC for illegally moving corporate funds to its PAC. In 1983, the NRA signed a consent decree declaring that it would “no longer spend corporate funds in connection with any federal election” and would limit its “partisan communications” to members. Eight years later, in 1991, U.S. District Court Judge Stanley Sporkin held that a $415,000 payment by corporate NRA to the PVF was an “illegal contribution” in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act. But an appeals court ruled that the FEC as then constituted lacked authority to enforce the law. https://www.yahoo.com/news/guns-and-money-calls-mount-to-probe-nra-finances-117704361976.html

I'm like why does the FEC exist if it can't enforce their laws?

[Sanity Claws]

14. and perjury

If his mouth is moving, he is lying. Daniels' attorney wants to take his deposition ASAP. There is no way that he will be able to sit through the deposition without lying multiple times about multiple things.
Remember perjury was the pretext behind the impeachment of Clinton, even if the inquiry was apparently about consensual sex.

[exboyfil]

11. Encourage others to move out from

behind their NDAs. In particular the holy grail would be the woman accusing Trump of rape. That accusation was enough to fuel an NDA. If it was handled as incompetently as this one, then there is ample wiggle room to get past it.

How NDAs are viewed has changed significantly in the past year. Trying to enforce one on a victim could really blow up in Trump's face.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

12. Anything that annoys David Dennison pleases me.

[kentuck]

15. But we should note that his polls have gone up since this story has been up front.

Whether or not that has anything to do with it?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

17. Are Trumps Approval Ratings on the Mend?

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/03/are-trumps-approval-ratings-on-the-mend.html

[kentuck]

22. The danger is that he will interpret any rise in the polls....

...as a good time to fire all those pests around him.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

26. Why should his firings bother us ?

Even in the highly unlikely event he is able to engineer the firing of Mueller it will inure to our benefit.


Ultimately it's up to the voters to put the kibosh on Trumpism.

[kentuck]

31. Rather than the voters, I would say, it is up to the Congress that the voters vote for....

They don't always agree with the sentiment of the people.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

33. A Democratic Congress will bring him to heel.

[kentuck]

36. That is our hope...

although I doubt that they will impeach. Even though nobody is more deserving of being impeached than Donald J Trump.

[treestar]

16. +1

[dalton99a]

18. +1. I welcome any and all attempts to attack and bring down the abomination

[DemocratSinceBirth]

19. Our rasion d'etre should be to keep David Dennison in a constant dyspeptic state.

[dalton99a]

25. Yep, sooner or later that Teflon coating will start to wear off

[DemocratSinceBirth]

27. We need to keep chipping away until he blows.

He already said he regrets running for president.

[dalton99a]

29. Absolutely.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

32. We need to make him hate his job.

[dalton99a]

40. Yep. IMO he will not finish his term

The breaking point will come. He will give himself an "early retirement" by declaring himself President Emeritus or some such bullshit, and fly off to Mar-a-Lago, where he will tweet happily ever after.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

42. Imagine hating your job and your office is in your home.

[d_r]

45. Nah

His winter weekend home us non Florida and his summer weekend home is in new jersey

[redstateblues]

13. Chip chip chip

[DemocratSinceBirth]

20. Yes

[Demsrule86]

34. That is a great analogy..and so true.

[Arkansas Granny]

21. The only thing I can see coming out of this would be if they could tie the physical threat to Trump.

That would be really significant.

[3Hotdogs]

23. Yeah, and I just can't wait to get my hands on the new book about Tiger Woods.

[Codeine]

24. Its not about the case per se,

it’s about hanging yet another albatross around his fat orange neck. He should never be able to turn any direction without looking down the barrel of breaking news and scandal, even small ones.

[Demsrule86]

30. I am just enjoying how much it has hurt shitler...he may very well be deposed under oath...and

there is some reason he fears Stormy Daniels.

[Tanuki]

35. A lot of people had trouble getting excited about a seemingly trivial break-in

at the beginning of Watergate. It's not the crime, it's the cover-up.

[BannonsLiver]

39. Yeah but there's one difference

The plumbers weren't planning on parlaying their crime into a career on reality tv, or whatever she has in mind. While I see the larger implications of Stormy I get a "cash in" vibe from the whole thing as well. But then I think, well it annoys Trump, so why not? It's a mixed bag.

[Eliot Rosewater]

41. Yes, and if this story was about Barack or Hillary, EVERYBODY WOULD CARE

[Chemisse]

37. This is exactly what I was saying to my husband this morning.

I'm glad it's problematic for Trump, but I personally just don't care. There are so many huge issues spewing forth from the disaster that is Trump - I don't even know where to begin - that I find it silly that the Stormy sex scandal is leading the news every day.

[BannonsLiver]

43. It's a sideshow at this point

Her attorney, Stormy et al are looking to cash in, probably a reality tv show. if it makes drumpf mad fine by me, but how anyone could expect this will "bring him down" is baffling.

[gratuitous]

44. It says to me that the President of the United States is vulnerable to being blackmailed

That seems rather consequential to me. Big picture, little picture, microdot. We need to demand that Donald Trump make a clean breast (npi) of his tax and financial matters. The American people need to know whose hands are in Trump's pockets (again, npi) and judge whether Trump is governing in the best interests of the United States or his own interests in beating off (yet again, npi) creditors.

[bigtree]

47. useless without pictures

...not really.

It's a major thorn in Trump's side, and it keeps him from assuming the high ground, keeps him in his lurid, disgusting place.

...but it really does need eye-gouging pics for maximum effect.

[tazkcmo]

48. Abortion

I think that is what Shitgibbon fears will be revealed. He might get away with shooting a person on 5th Ave but an unborn baby? We all know zygotes are more precious to Evangelicals than anything outside a womb.

[Mountain Mule]

51. K&R! nt

[smirkymonkey]

52. At worst, it's just another thorn in his side. At best they could get him on

campaign finance violations. Either way, the fact that it's making him squirm is enough to make me happy.