Category: *Lies

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Will Trump Take Down Robert Mueller?

As Special Counsel Robert Mueller continues with his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, Donald Trump appears to be stepping up his resolve to stop him. Trump continues to deny it, yet it’s clear that he and those close to him have discussed it. White House Communications Director Sarah Sanders hinted as much by saying, when asked, that Trump had been advised that he did have the power to fire Robert Mueller.

Trump does not have the power to fire Robert Mueller, however, and only one person – Mueller’s boss, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein – does. It seems likely, however, that Rosenstein would refuse to do so. But saying “no” to the president would set Rosenstein up nicely to be fired. In turn, that would leave a vacancy that Trump could conveniently fill with someone who is willing to fire or at least put more restrictions on Robert Mueller.

Many say that even if Robert Mueller is fired or limited, it won’t impede the Russia investigation, because the people at the Justice Department will continue to do their jobs. If so, Trump could then fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions, replacing him with someone who would not protect the investigation. Trump could also impede the investigation by pardoning key witnesses, or repealing the regulations that establish the office of the special counsel.

Trump ‘s Increasing Ire at Robert Mueller

With every new indication that Robert Mueller may be getting closer to finding damning evidence in the Russia probe, Trump steps up his drive to put an end to the investigation. The New York Times reports that Trump wanted to fire Mueller in December, after erroneous reports that Mueller had tried to subpoena Trump family financial records from Deutsche Bank.

Recently, Trump’s ire toward Robert Mueller has increased with the raid of the home of Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen. (In reality, it was the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and not Robert Mueller, who executed the raid.)

Trump appears to be attempting, in his usual way, to set the scene and influence the opinions of his followers by discrediting Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller via tweets such as the following one:

“Much of the bad blood with Russia is caused by the Fake & Corrupt Russia Investigation, headed up by the all Democrat loyalists, or people that worked for Obama. Mueller is most conflicted of all (except Rosenstein who signed FISA & Comey letter). No Collusion, so they go crazy!

Constitutional Crisis

Many Republicans as well as Democrats oppose the idea of having Robert Mueller fired, and say they don’t think that it’s likely.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, tweeted:

“Anyone advising the President — in public or over the airwaves— to fire Bob Mueller does not have the President or the nation’s best interest at heart. Full stop.”

MoveOn.org, an organization that XXXX, stated, ““Trump will create a constitutional crisis if he fires special counsel Robert Mueller or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Mueller, or attempts to compromise the investigation by other means.”

MoveOn.org is responding to the possibility of Robert Mueller’s firing by organizing local rallies across the country, prepared to mobilize within 24 hours of the firing, should it occur.

How far will Donald Trump go to stop the investigation of Russian election meddling? With leading figures such as Hatch tweeting about it, and with people around the country already prepared to mobilize in non-violent protest if he does, it’s evident that many Americans feel he’ll start with Robert Mueller, and will stop at nothing.

Speier: Trump Will Go Down if Mueller Is Fired | CNN [2018-04-10]

Ex-DOJ Attorney: Rosenstein Should Have Already Been Fired | Fox News [2018-04-12]

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The March for Our Lives: Where Its Power Lies

A headline from this past weekend reads “NRA Takes Aim at ‘March for Our Lives Rally, Mocks Gun Violence Survivors.” Did we expect otherwise? Mockery and deflection, along with alarmist tactics, are always available as easy tools for trying to ruffle an opponent or sway popular opinion. The March for Our Lives, however, could, despite the NRA’s attempts to belittle it, prove to be very powerful, and the sentiments it inspired are likely to continue to gain momentum.

The March for Our Lives, a nationwide protest against gun violence, organized by survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting, took place last Saturday, March 24, in Washington, D.C., with numerous “sister” marches taking place around the world.

“Not one more,” reads the March for Our Lives mission statement. “We cannot allow one more child to be shot at school. We cannot allow one more teacher to make a choice to jump in front of a firing assault rifle to save the lives of students. We cannot allow one more family to wait for a call or text that never comes. Our schools are unsafe. Our children and teachers are dying. We must make it our top priority to save these lives.”

Yes, the March for Our Lives received a large amount of funding and social media support from well-known names such as the Clooneys and others in Hollywood. It does take money to pull off such a large-scale event. Are we as upset about the funding that some of our representatives in Congress get for supporting the NRA?

Yes, the March for Our Lives was well-organized. This, along with the fact that it was funded by some celebrities, has inspired the narrative that the organizers, who were all witnesses to horrific gun violence, were puppets of the “liberal anti-gun lobby.” This idea seems weak, unless one is a conspiracy theorist who also believes that the Parkland shootings were staged by the “anti-gun left” so that people would hold international gun violence demonstrations because they want to “take away all of our guns.”

The NRA and its supporters, in the aftermath of every school shooting and every other mass shooting in the U.S., panic about the possibility of losing their right to possess assault-type weapons, while dismissing or ridiculing those who point out the horror and devastation such weapons have caused, and almost certainly will cause again. That way of prioritization doesn’t seem at all strange to them.

The March for Our Lives took place at a time when Congress had already finished passing legislation for the year. Some will see that as waste. The organization states that “ The mission and focus of March For Our Lives is to demand that a comprehensive and effective bill be immediately brought before Congress to address these gun issues.”

A great deal of the power of the March for Our Lives, however, will come from the fact that it included a large drive to register voters. Many of those newly registered voters are impassioned young people who have been watching their peers work to effect change around gun control laws while the adults appear to have done nothing. All of them will be able to vote in the 2018 mid-term elections. Indeed, the March for Our Lives could have an even larger impact than simply introducing immediate legislation – it could, through votes, replace the climate of the current Congress with one that is no longer controlled by the gun lobby.

Millions Join #MarchForOurLives For Gun Control | The View  [2018-03-26]

 

 

Gutfeld on Saturday’s Gun Control March | Fox News [2018-03-26]

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