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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPelosi: 'I want to know what the Russians have on Donald Trump'
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) on Sunday reiterated her demand that the Federal Bureau of Investigation probe President Trumps ties to Russia.
She made the call one day after Trump downplayed Russian President Vladimir Putins human rights record by questioning whether the United States, which has a long record of extrajudicial killings, is pure on the matter.
I want to know what the Russians have on Donald Trump. I think we have to have an investigation by the FBI into his financial, personal and political connections to Russia and we want to see his tax returns so we can have truth in the relationship [with] Putin, whom he admires, Pelosi said on NBCs Meet the Press.
Pelosi made the same demand on Jan. 13 after a closed-door briefing by U.S. intelligence officials about Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The CIA has concluded that Russian intelligence tried to swing the election in Trumps favor.
Trumps relationship with Putin has come under scrutiny again after he told Fox Newss Bill OReilly on Saturday that he respects the Russian president, who has cracked down on political opposition, non-government advocacy groups and domestic critics.
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/317979-pelosi-i-want-to-know-what-the-russians-have-on-donald-trump
democratisphere
(17,235 posts)steve2470
(37,457 posts)Frogg
(365 posts)The REPUBLITRAITORS must either investigate or they are forever complicit...GO NANCY!
underpants
(182,769 posts)Keep hammering it home. Try/investigate him, if in nothing else, the public eye.
Eyeball_Kid
(7,430 posts)who's been a strong advocate for releasing the FBI evidence that shows a more direct linkage between Russia and the Trump Campaign.
Please drop him a quick letter or email. They have to know that we're watching and we appreciate their efforts. Do the same with Nancy Pelosi.
DURHAM D
(32,609 posts)Trump would probably like for these to get out because he would think it cool for us to think he is an animal.
On the other hand...he would be beyond embarrassed when the world gets to see and thus confirm that he has a very small penis confirming why he needs to lie about everything.
Eyeball_Kid
(7,430 posts)and, not so sorry to say, one testicle.
The micropenis issue brought up a lot of anxiety for the evil mass murderer when he scheduled rendezvous with Eva Braun. Reportedly, he-man Adolph would try all kinds of drugs and preparations to puff up his manhood in attempts to please his Eva. A few things went wrong along the way.
Now, I'm not saying that the pussy-grabber in chief has any masculinity issues or feelings of persistent inadequacy masked by arrogance, sabre-rattling, bravado, and bullying. Nope. Not when the safety of billions of people is at stake.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Uppers and downers.
Trump says, and people who know him have agreed, that he uses no drugs or alcohol, including tobaco.
Dunno if they ever heard him mutter anything about his precious body essence, tho.
Bayard
(22,061 posts)Were there actually witnesses to this phenomenon?
uponit7771
(90,335 posts)... else's kid and is the one thing that would make him an international outcast and instantly get him impeached, jailed and stabbed in the US.
KGOP doesn't care about prostitutes
pangaia
(24,324 posts)in that briefing a while back--the one where several came out and said they were stunned at what had been revealed about the fuckwad and the Russians and that if Americans knew we would be terrified?
WELL ??????????????????
I'm terrified !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is time to reveal what the HELL this orange clown has been up to. We deserve to know, since everyone's future depends on what the fool does next. He is obviously mentally deficient.
yodermon
(6,143 posts)Although I'm trying to figure out how donnie can't just fire comey/prosecutors that may be investigating. This cabal has the hubris of bushco to the nth power.
LisaL
(44,973 posts)Comey helped getting him elected.
wordpix
(18,652 posts)???? I haven't heard a thing
yodermon
(6,143 posts)wordpix
(18,652 posts)already, so not sure how this investigation will go
pangaia
(24,324 posts)what was REALLY going on?
Arkansas Granny
(31,514 posts)really convinces me that he's trying to hide something.
malaise
(268,930 posts)was stolen - history will absolve me
wordpix
(18,652 posts)during the campaign so it must be true
Hekate
(90,645 posts)Every. Time.
Including accusations of a rigged election, it turns out.
meow2u3
(24,761 posts)By Russian mobsters/oligarchs?
wordpix
(18,652 posts)snip: he Trump Organization was a hollow shell and Trump was bankrupt, but Donald Trump the public figure was a successful businessman, a screen behind which criminal activity could be carried out on a massive scale. Throwing his name at every scheme in existence wasnt a strategy, it was a fire sale on Trumps respectability. Steaks? Water? Vodka? Fake real estate school? You pony up the cash, and Trump will slap his name on it. Because by the early 2000s, Trump wasnt just broke, he had nothing left to pawn. He wasnt a successful businessman, but he still played one on TV. His image had more value than his real estate portfolio.
But the apartments and buildings where Trump held some degree of ownership could be turned into value again. All it took was partnering with foreign crime bosses looking for a place to stash their cash. To inflate the value of his portfolio, Trump had to do nothing other than look away as the dirty money poured in from one LLC to the next. Citizens in Russia, Kazakhstan, and other former Soviet states lost hundreds of millions, but Trump got a cut as looted funds flowed through offices and apartments in buildings that carried those critical gold letters.
Hortons evaluation of this material in coordination with the declassified DNI report is that Trump actively worked with and for Russian interests.
What these exposes showed, is that Trump pursued the projects hand in glove with Russian mobsters who worked closely with Putins Kremlin ...
But based on the information in the Financial Times report, it appears that there are actually two possible answers. Trump may have been actively involved with and working for Russian sources. He might also have simply played the role of useful idiot, displaying his readiness to feign ignorance about any deal so long as it generated some funds to float his sinking boat. snip
Pass it on, please
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/302216-how-much-money-does-the-trump-organization-owe
wordpix
(18,652 posts)Now we have to impeach Orangeputin, which is much harder than preventing his ascendancy in the first place. The issue is also that the longer Drumpf is in office, the more he can consolidate power. Not good.
caroldansen
(725 posts)What is the one thing most important to trump? Money. Where his money is where he wants to be. He loves his money. Why would he alienate every leader of every country except russia. Could it be he has offshore money in russian bank accounts. Maybe thats why he is so nice to putin. If he has a lot of money there he would want to keep friendly relations, wouldnt he?
Eyeball_Kid
(7,430 posts)The oligarchs, and thus, Putin, the Oligarch of Oligarchs worth over 80 Billion, own him. That's because Putin owns the Oligarchs. When Trumpy was a mere idiot millionaire businessman who couldn't make a casino profitable, he took trips to Russia. And Russia noticed in ways unique to Russia. They filmed him, taped him, and probably fucked him. And they have multiple copies of records of all of it. Guaranteed.
Their relationship with Trumpy goes back a few decades, all the while gathering intelligence on him and his business associates, as well as his family and his cronies. Trumpy was and still is an easy mark. Praise him and he'll praise you back. It's really simple. So they praised him and showered him with financial favors for the possibility that one day, they might be able to cash in. This is why Trumpy has a soft place in his black heart for Putin and his bankers. They did him favors. So when Trumpy got set up with Paul Manafort and Carter Page, both Russian assets, Trumpy saw this as another favor from Putin. When he was given the name of Tillerson for SoS, he was delighted BECAUSE of Tillerson's favorable relationship with kind and generous Putin. Of course, Tillerson is another Russian asset. Oh, and then there's Bannon and Flynn, who both favor Putin because of his leanings toward white nationalism and away from religious tolerance. Flynn is a Russian asset. Bannon doesn't HAVE to be a Russian Asset. He veritably volunteers to be one regardless.
So Trumpy has surrounded himself with Russian assets, and he acts as if he's clueless. But he's not. Remember that for Trumpy, it's not about America first. It's about MONEY FIRST. And Trumpy wants money. If Russia can deliver the goods for Trumpy, and he's betting they will, then all is good with Russia. But when Russia gets all it can from Trumpy, they'll use their assets, who have surrounded Trumpy, to put him to sleep.
wordpix
(18,652 posts)Trump and Putin have a bromance
LisaL
(44,973 posts)missingfink
(174 posts)Trump appointed his oil-man pal to be Secretary of State. Trump will, in due time, drop the sanctions that Obama levied against Russia. Trump & Putin have a 500 BILLION dollar deal in place for the US to buy Russian oil, the pipelines which run through the Ukraine & Crimea. The Trump sons corporations will benefit immensely (obviously Donald will also). He will finally be debt free with Secret Service protection the rest of his life. He won't jeopardize this lucrative arrangement by calling out Putin.
butdiduvote
(284 posts)Shouldn't it just be common sense to have one if there is any reason to believe he is compromised in such a big way? The fact that Obama didn't fight harder for a comprehensive investigation makes me think there isn't as much to the story as we would all like to believe. :/ I just don't see Obama rolling over that easily if the intelligence he had at all suggested that the Russians were blackmailing Trump or even helped rig the election.
caroldansen
(725 posts)Maybe if he showed his tax returns they would be low and people know how much he made during those years. Then the question would be did he pay united states taxes to the irs on all that money and why wasnt it on his tax returns? Hypothetically of course.
caroldansen
(725 posts)If trump invested big money in russia or even just in russian bank accounts wouldnt he want to help him get elected? He certainly wouldnt want him to lose. Could that account for the hacking?
Hekate
(90,645 posts)...and essentially borrowed heavily from loan sharks in Russia. That would be Putin (or his close friends) the richest man on the entire planet.
And you know how it is with loan sharks, don't you? They are so helpful to the borrower in his time of need. But they are not in this business for their health, and they expect to be repaid with usurious interest, aka vigorish . Late payments, not a good idea, can result in your legs being broken with a tire iron. Well, that's old-school. Putin and the Oligarchs are very up to date in their business practices.
One wonders what the vig is on Donnie's loans, doesn't one.
kimbutgar
(21,130 posts)What a chumps ties to Russia. How is Russia affecting his decisions. Ask that question before you answer the reporters question outright.
What we should be concerned about is chumps relationship with Russia and what influence does putin have over him? It should be the default response for every Democatic politician and spokesperson.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)electron_blue
(3,592 posts)FailureToCommunicate
(14,012 posts)wordpix
(18,652 posts)Go, Ms. Pelosi! I am with you 100%. Say it again until it's done
bdamomma
(63,836 posts)why is it a few weeks ago Maxine Waters and the Black caucus were pissed off, did they know anything, aren't they all briefed at the same time? Why did Elijah Cummings had some info and didn't report it?
I still think this thread here is very plausible.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028555281#post5
Plucketeer
(12,882 posts)If OUR reps came away from that briefing with smoke coming out of their ears - when the HELL are we gonna find out why??? Meanwhile, the bull with mad cow disease continues to thrash about in the china shoppe!
kentuck
(111,079 posts)She should inform him that there are legitimate questions about Mr Trump's associations in Russia. There may be deeper involvement with Mr Putin?
The longer we put this investigation off, the worse it could be for our country? We need to set some minimal standards for governing. If the Republicans refuse to do that, we will pursue the investigation on our own.
Thank you.
wordpix
(18,652 posts)and with that Repig Congress, real damage is being done. I say start investigation now and call on citizens to send in their info on DJT on a secure hotline.
Bucky
(53,997 posts)like what if the hookers were peeing on him?
I mean, that would explain the coloration, you know. . . ew.
jmowreader
(50,554 posts)Some of y'all are thinking they're blackmailing him sexually. I doubt that; the entire world knows he's a slut and the Propecia he takes to keep that dead animal from falling off his head features impotence as its number-one side effect.
What we know:
1. Trump cannot borrow money from any US-based bank because of his history of ripping them off.
2. The closest thing to a legitimate Western bank that Trump can borrow from is the Private Banking arm of Deutsche Bank. And...they only have so much money to loan to one person.
3. He is known to have borrowed money from Russian banks and the Bank of China.
Now for some creative speculation:
There is a nonzero chance Trump has money he borrowed from criminal organizations like the Mafia or the Triad in his buildings. There is almost an absolute chance that if Trump is borrowing money from the mob, Russian intelligence knows about it - especially since if he IS dealing with OC, the Russian Mafia is definitely one of the groups he's working with.
About the only thing that would truly destroy Trump in the eyes of the Red Hats is their finding out he's been doing business with organized crime. The Russian SVR, their Foreign Intelligence Service, would be more than pleased to announce to the world - AND to share intelligence on this with Western services - the extent of Trump's Mob ties, should any exist. Bringing down Trump would actually work better for SVR than keeping him around; the American people being affiliated with the Mafia would cause more damage to our standing in the world than anything else they could possibly think of.
Trump knows the penalties, if he's caught, would be very severe. He would be kicked out of office before the end of the week, and all his Cabinet secretaries would go with him. Pence would also be on the chopping block - he "should have known" he was trying to get someone with Mob ties elected president. He'd be charged under the RICO statutes, and lose everything he has. His family would be disgraced. They would lose everything THEY had too - because The Trump Organization is very much a family affair (stop snickering, you know what I mean) that guy who's taking the bar exam for the fourth time could put those people away without breaking a sweat.
To keep this from happening, Trump has made a deal with the devil: if he gives the Russian government everything they want, they won't drop a kopek on him.
wordpix
(18,652 posts)what makes you so sure? The SVR will want something in return and are under Putin, right?
jmowreader
(50,554 posts)Trump getting hauled off for mob ties is a win for everyone: we win because he'll wind up in the cell next to Bernie Madoff where he can't hurt us any more, they win because we'll be so consumed with finger-pointing we won't notice they annexed the Crimea.
Tatiana
(14,167 posts)And he's agreed to sell American secrets to Russia in exchange for $$$ and/or financing and/or forgiveness of loans.
His transition team was asking some really interesting questions about Obama administration meetings and principal members.
I hate to say this, but I hope they have locked sensitive information down. This cabal cannot be trusted.
Hekate
(90,645 posts)lindysalsagal
(20,670 posts)Good for you, Nancy.
triron
(21,999 posts)WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)IronLionZion
(45,427 posts)just like Benghazi and Hillary's emails.
Dude's clearly got something to hide
sellitman
(11,606 posts)Why would anyone think they would investigate him now?
Stop wasting time with this crap.
triron
(21,999 posts)Amaryllis
(9,524 posts)And please K and R - it's very important info.
"Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden says the Obama administration should have released more information before the election.
One of the most important men in Washington, DC, these days is Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon. Sure, all senators are big shots. Even Democrats in the minority. But Wyden is in a special position: He can guarantee for the public whether or not an ongoing and (for now) behind-closed-doors investigation examining Vladimir Putin's operation to subvert the 2016 electionsand any possible ties between Donald Trump's circle and Russiais conducted thoroughly and legitimately.
(snip)
One cause of this seeming quietude is that after several weeks of political controversy regarding how best to investigate the matterwith Democrats joined by a small number of Republicans (that is, Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Marco Rubio) calling for a robust inquirythe Senate intelligence committee agreed to initiate its own probe. (The House intelligence community shortly followed suit.) After first being reluctant to include possible Trump-Russia ties in the investigation, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the Senate intelligence committee chair, relented. (Burr, no coincidence, was a member of the Trump campaign's national security advisory council.) But now that the intelligence committees are supposedly on the caseand with the FBI not discussing whatever inquiries it may be holding on this frontthe controversy (or scandal!) has been nudged to the back burner. This often happens in Washington: a secret investigation is launched, the story goes dark. (When Trump had a call with Putin after his first week in office, there was no indication from the White House that the new president had said anything to Putin about the Russian covert interference in the election. A senior Trump administration official told the Washington Post the chat had been "pleasant."
Enter Wyden. For the public, at this point, there is no way to tell if the intelligence committee is doing a good job investigating these dicey issues. Republicans on the committee certainly have an interest in not embarrassing, inconveniencing, or delegitimizing Trump. So it's up to Wyden and the other Democrats on the committee to monitor the probe and inform the citizenry if it ends up being a whitewash. And Wyden has already indicated that there is information on Trump-Russia ties within the US government that ought to be declassified, that he will push to keep the committee's inquiry on track, and that he will press to make as much of its findings as public as possible. In early January, during a rare public hearing of the Senate intelligence committee, which focused on the intelligence community's recently released report concluding Putin's regime had mounted the hacking to help Trump, Wyden pressed FBI Director James Comey on whether he would declassify information the bureau had obtained related to possible Trump-Russia connections and "release it to the American people" before Trump was inaugurated. No, Comey said, adding, "I can't talk about it." Wyden noted he was worried that if such information was not unveiled by then, it might never bemeaning, the incoming Trump administration would lock it up. And with this questioning, Wyden signaled that the FBI did indeed possess information on this subject.
Wyden failed to squeeze this material out of the FBI before Trump became president. But now he is in a position to tell the public if the Republican-led intelligence committee is doing an honest job with its all-important inquiry. A few days ago, I interviewed Wyden in his office and asked him about his role in this all-important project.
More:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/02/ron-wyden-intelligence-committee-russia-trump-investigation
wordpix
(18,652 posts)Comey can say that more HRC emails were found on Weiner's laptop right before the election, but he can't breathe a word about a Trump investigation? Really?
Buckeyeblue
(5,499 posts)What if the- so- called is deeply in debt to the point of not being able to pay and Putin threatened his kids if he didn't run for president. Maybe Putin said, you run, I'll do the rest....
Of course that's the stuff of bad fiction. The reality is that there is probably a business relationship. Some unspoken understanding.
As far as the hack stuff goes, I bet dumb dumb was kept out of the loop on that. Telling him would have been too much of a liability.
Tatiana
(14,167 posts)I'm glad to see her speaking out in stronger and starker terms.
I think she truly appreciates the gravity of our situation.
mdbl
(4,973 posts)until I see some real effort on her part. Making a little comment here and there isn't enough.