So there are more witnesses to Trump’s obstruction of justice than to his daily tantrums. 18 days worth, apparently, as the knowledge of tandem deals trading Russian sanction relief for other considerations included the emolument-loaded sales of nuclear reactors in the Near East.
Mueller continues to do his work and get to the truth of the matter, wading through the events of #TrumpRussia. It still is about the timeline: what did he know and when did he know it.
In parallel, the “gang of eight” Congressional intelligence oversight has known about much more of the details of all the WH IC screw-ups. Some of this has made the tactical considerations more interesting … for example, the failed impeachment vote in the House also serves as cover for saying that more needs to be known rather than the obvious failings of Agent Orange.
OTOH, we could wind up with an unprecedented constitutional crisis if he decides to employ a scorched earth tactic by multiple pardons and firing Mueller.
Some of those interviewed by Mueller's team believe the goal is in part to determine if there was a deliberate effort by President Trump or top officials in the West Wing to cover up the information about Flynn that Sally Yates, then the acting attorney general, conveyed to McGahn on Jan. 26. In addition to Flynn, McGahn is also expected to be critical in federal investigators' attempts to piece together a timeline of those 18 days.
[...]
The obstruction of justice question could hinge on when Trump knew about the content of Flynn's conversations with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. during the transition, which were at the crux of Yates's warning, and when the president learned Flynn had lied about those conversations to the FBI, according to two people familiar with the Mueller probe.
[...]
Mueller is trying to determine why Flynn remained in his post for 18 days after Trump learned of Yates' warning, according to two people familiar with the probe. He appears to be interested in whether Trump directed him to lie to senior officials, including Pence, or the FBI, and if so why, the sources said.
If Trump knew his national security adviser lied to the FBI in the early days of his administration it would raise serious questions about why Flynn was not fired until Feb. 13, and whether Trump was attempting to obstruct justice when FBI Director James Comey says the president pressured him to drop his investigation into Flynn. Trump fired Comey on May 9.
Trump denies pressuring Comey to drop the Flynn investigation, and his legal team has disputed any notion of the president obstructing justice.
www.nbcnews.com/...
One of the challenges of being a Republican in the age of Trump is that you never know who you'll be called upon to decide is your enemy. Muslims, immigrants, uppity black people, sure — you expected that. Heck, that was a big part of why you voted for him. But the FBI? The G-men? Well, if that's what the boss wants, that's what he wants.
Underneath the convoluted defense offered up each day is a more far-reaching message: There are no real facts, no objective reality that stands apart from the interests of this president. Job numbers that were fake when they made Barack Obama look good are real when they make Donald Trump look good — and you know that if the economy turns down, they'll be declared fake again. So what's true today may not be true tomorrow. The only choice is to keep one's gaze fixed on the lodestar of Trump himself.
[...]
Tomorrow could have nothing to do with today; the only constant is Trump himself.
The Trump False Claim database at WaPo
Fiercely loyal to Nixon, Rose Mary Woods claimed responsibility in a 1974 grand jury testimony for inadvertently erasing up to five minutes of the 18⁄2 minute gap in a June 20, 1972, audio tape.
Among the tapes released soon afterward was the “smoking gun.” It was a June 23, 1972, Nixon-Haldeman conversation in which the two cooked up a plan to tell FBI Director Patrick Gray to stop investigating the Watergate burglary because of national security implications.
www.google.com/...
This morning’s NYC failed bomb attack seemed to matter little to him.