Who knows if Trump wll be impeached, or be forced to resign in disgrace, but we can speculate. We know that Trump is neck deep into criminal behavior, so there's an endless number of roads he could take to impeachment. I believe there is one road to impeachment that is certainly emerging as a real possibility right now.
As you might be aware, the WSJ published a story that a Republican opposition group led by conservative Peter Smith was trying to obtain the deleted emails from Hilary Clintons server. Smith believed that these emails had been stolen off Clintons server by Russian hackers close to the Kremlin. The bombshell of course is that Smith gave his staff information about the Trump campaign that was indicative of him having a close relationship with them, and that he was looking to deliver the emails to Michael Flynn if authenticated.
But here's where things get interesting. A cyber-security consultant Michael Talt recounted his story of discussions with Peter Smith, and how it appeared to him that Smith's group was a branch of the Trump campaign. I encourage you all to read the full article - it's fascinating.
The Time I Got Recruited to Collude with the Russians - Michael Talt
https://www.lawfareblog.com/time-i-got-r...e-russians
As we know, Flynn DID become National Security Advisor. Now this knowledge shows that Smith was very aware of the deep inner working of the Trump campaign, and what was being offered in it.
He goes on.
Firstly, this shows that the WSJ reporting is based on credible sources, as this is a second account confirming the story of what Smith was up to, from the horses mouth. Secondly, I seriously doubt that Flynn, Bannon, and Conway constitute name dropping to anyone - especially an Englishmen. So this really gives all the appearances of being an effort of the Trump campaign.
People have speculated as to whether or not Flynn has a deal with the FBI, and I've always been skeptical of that idea. For one thing, if you read his idios sons Twitter account it's full of returns of all kinds of absurd stories about how the acting director of the FBI was '"framing" his father, as well returning Trumps tweets. This to me is not the behavior of man who's father has flipped and is ready to testify against Trump. Still though, the question remains, why has Flynn gone so silent while other Trump cronies have not?
I think THIS might just be it.
From the WSJ article.
"investigators have examined reports from intelligence agencies that describe Russian hackers discussing how to obtain emails from Mrs. Clinton’s server and then transmit them to Mr. Flynn via an intermediary, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the intelligence."
Notice how it doesn't specify whether these hackers were talking about these alleged Clinton emails, OR the DNC leaked emails. If it's the latter then Flynn is in the deepest kind of shit, and the Trump campaign is too. It explains a number of things. It explains Flynn's silence, his lawyer requesting immunity, why he hasn't gone before the congress intel, it explains the requests for emails of Flynn and others campaign officials, and why Trump wants so badly to protect Flynn. If the FBI investigation led by special prosecutor Robert Mueller has emails of the DNC hackers discussing Flynn as a middleman in the release of the DNC leaks, then it's no wonder the FBI would not want to give a man they suspect of espionage any kind of immunity.
How this effects Trump is in how he obstructed the FBI investigation. If Flynn can be proven to have been coordinating behind the scenes with Russian cyber-attackers, then Trumps interference in the investigation to begin with becomes a serious issue, and the special prosecutor WILL recommend charges of obstruction of justice for congress.
Would the Republicans impeach him in such a scenario? It's impossible to tell until more information becomes available. But the more Trump acts mentally unstable and fails to accomplish anything, the more they just might be willing to bite the bullet to save what seats they can.
As you might be aware, the WSJ published a story that a Republican opposition group led by conservative Peter Smith was trying to obtain the deleted emails from Hilary Clintons server. Smith believed that these emails had been stolen off Clintons server by Russian hackers close to the Kremlin. The bombshell of course is that Smith gave his staff information about the Trump campaign that was indicative of him having a close relationship with them, and that he was looking to deliver the emails to Michael Flynn if authenticated.
But here's where things get interesting. A cyber-security consultant Michael Talt recounted his story of discussions with Peter Smith, and how it appeared to him that Smith's group was a branch of the Trump campaign. I encourage you all to read the full article - it's fascinating.
The Time I Got Recruited to Collude with the Russians - Michael Talt
https://www.lawfareblog.com/time-i-got-r...e-russians
Quote:Although it wasn’t initially clear to me how independent Smith’s operation was from Flynn or the Trump campaign, it was immediately apparent that Smith was both well connected within the top echelons of the campaign and he seemed to know both Lt. Gen. Flynn and his son well. Smith routinely talked about the goings on at the top of the Trump team, offering deep insights into the bizarre world at the top of the Trump campaign. Smith told of Flynn’s deep dislike of DNI Clapper, whom Flynn blamed for his dismissal by President Obama. Smith told of Flynn’s moves to position himself to become CIA Director under Trump, but also that Flynn had been persuaded that the Senate confirmation process would be prohibitively difficult. He would instead therefore become National Security Advisor should Trump win the election, Smith said. He also told of a deep sense of angst even among Trump loyalists in the campaign, saying “Trump often just repeats whatever he’s heard from the last person who spoke to him,” and expressing the view that this was especially dangerous when Trump was away.
As we know, Flynn DID become National Security Advisor. Now this knowledge shows that Smith was very aware of the deep inner working of the Trump campaign, and what was being offered in it.
He goes on.
Quote:As I mentioned above, Smith and his associates’ knowledge of the inner workings of the campaign were insightful beyond what could be obtained by merely attending Republican events or watching large amounts of news coverage. But one thing I could not place, at least initially, was whether Smith was working on behalf of the campaign, or whether he was acting independently to help the campaign in his personal capacity.
Then, a few weeks into my interactions with Smith, he sent me a document, ostensibly a cover page for a dossier of opposition research to be compiled by Smith’s group, and which purported to clear up who was involved. The document was entitled “A Demonstrative Pedagogical Summary to be Developed and Released Prior to November 8, 2016,” and dated September 7. It detailed a company Smith and his colleagues had set up as a vehicle to conduct the research: “KLS Research”, set up as a Delaware LLC “to avoid campaign reporting,” and listing four groups who were involved in one way or another.
The first group, entitled “Trump Campaign (in coordination to the extent permitted as an independent expenditure)” listed a number of senior campaign officials: Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Sam Clovis, Lt. Gen. Flynn and Lisa Nelson.
The largest group named a number of “independent groups / organizations / individuals / resources to be deployed.” My name appears on this list. At the time, I didn’t recognize most of the others; however, several made headlines in the weeks immediately prior to the election.
My perception then was that the inclusion of Trump campaign officials on this document was not merely a name-dropping exercise. This document was about establishing a company to conduct opposition research on behalf of the campaign, but operating at a distance so as to avoid campaign reporting. Indeed, the document says as much in black and white.
The combination of Smith’s deep knowledge of the inner workings of the campaign, this document naming him in the “Trump campaign” group, and the multiple references to needing to avoid campaign reporting suggested to me that the group was formed with the blessing of the Trump campaign. In the Journal’s story this evening, several of the individuals named in the document denied any connection to Smith, and it’s certainly possible that he was a big name-dropper and never really represented anyone other than himself. If that’s the case, Smith talked a very good game.
Firstly, this shows that the WSJ reporting is based on credible sources, as this is a second account confirming the story of what Smith was up to, from the horses mouth. Secondly, I seriously doubt that Flynn, Bannon, and Conway constitute name dropping to anyone - especially an Englishmen. So this really gives all the appearances of being an effort of the Trump campaign.
People have speculated as to whether or not Flynn has a deal with the FBI, and I've always been skeptical of that idea. For one thing, if you read his idios sons Twitter account it's full of returns of all kinds of absurd stories about how the acting director of the FBI was '"framing" his father, as well returning Trumps tweets. This to me is not the behavior of man who's father has flipped and is ready to testify against Trump. Still though, the question remains, why has Flynn gone so silent while other Trump cronies have not?
I think THIS might just be it.
From the WSJ article.
"investigators have examined reports from intelligence agencies that describe Russian hackers discussing how to obtain emails from Mrs. Clinton’s server and then transmit them to Mr. Flynn via an intermediary, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the intelligence."
Notice how it doesn't specify whether these hackers were talking about these alleged Clinton emails, OR the DNC leaked emails. If it's the latter then Flynn is in the deepest kind of shit, and the Trump campaign is too. It explains a number of things. It explains Flynn's silence, his lawyer requesting immunity, why he hasn't gone before the congress intel, it explains the requests for emails of Flynn and others campaign officials, and why Trump wants so badly to protect Flynn. If the FBI investigation led by special prosecutor Robert Mueller has emails of the DNC hackers discussing Flynn as a middleman in the release of the DNC leaks, then it's no wonder the FBI would not want to give a man they suspect of espionage any kind of immunity.
How this effects Trump is in how he obstructed the FBI investigation. If Flynn can be proven to have been coordinating behind the scenes with Russian cyber-attackers, then Trumps interference in the investigation to begin with becomes a serious issue, and the special prosecutor WILL recommend charges of obstruction of justice for congress.
Would the Republicans impeach him in such a scenario? It's impossible to tell until more information becomes available. But the more Trump acts mentally unstable and fails to accomplish anything, the more they just might be willing to bite the bullet to save what seats they can.
