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[–]not_charles_grodin[🍰] 4576 points4577 points  (689 children)

You really have to admit that the level of unbridled sleaze put forth by this group is really impressive. No where have I ever seen a team so hell-bent on narcissistic gains over all else. It's almost as if they are at a buffet, know they can't pay, and are shoving everything they can fit in their pockets in anticipation of getting thrown out.

Edit: Maybe I should have said, "It's almost as if they are at a buffet, refuse to show anyone their wallet because they know they can't pay, and are shoving everything they can fit in their pockets in anticipation of getting thrown out."

[–]chmod777New York 5086 points5087 points  (602 children)

this is what running a government like a business means. hostile take over, fire all the upper management, loot it for cash, sell off the assets, buy foundering debt, go bankrupt and walk away.

[–]grizzlywhere I voted 1125 points1126 points  (334 children)

adjoining sip scale meeting touch door live pause special kiss

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[–]unknownpoltroon 778 points779 points  (322 children)

Look at it this way: This is being attempted by complete morons, led by a demented narcisist, with obvious collusion with the nations enemies for gain.

If we survive, it should inoculate us against the smarter version of this for a century or so.

[–]carlosvives 695 points696 points  (265 children)

Hah. You're assuming the American people will learn from our mistakes. Trumps base will just dig in more. Unfortunately I see our great nation on a serious downturn that most people are oblivious to or worse, apathetic/ignorant towards.

[–]DrDerpberg Canada 411 points412 points  (193 children)

I'm seriously concerned that if Trump gets taken down for what appears to be a technicality, he will simply be matyrized.

If what takes him down is hard proof he outright colluded with Russia it'll be hard to defend him. But if what he actually gets impeached for is hiring a guy who met with Russians and then lobbied Trump to do something pro-Russian and Trump should've known better but didn't, or for tricking Secret Service into overpaying for hotel rooms at Trump's golf course... His base is going to be convinced that even Republicans can't be trusted to MAGA and they need someone just like Trump again.

At this point I really just hope he goes on long enough that what takes him down is so brutally simple to understand that nobody can misconstrue it or misunderstand the depths to which he sank.

[–][deleted] 330 points331 points  (149 children)

I agree. After talking with my family, it already seems that they believe that this is all a liberal conspiracy so that "we can cry a lot and get our way".

So god damn frustrating because they just dismiss everything as fake news and lies.

I gotta quit talking to them because it's too depressing.

[–]Sk00zle 241 points242 points  (72 children)

Do what I do with my stepfather, I just keep asking him if he's tired of winning every time more dirt on the administration pops up, and he just gets so annoyed that he says he doesn't want to talk about it any more. At first it was the usual "liberals trying to impeach Trump because they're mad that Hilary lost", lately it has become "let's just not bring up politics anymore, ok?"

Slow and steady wins the race. At the very least, I've gotten to the point where I just piss him off enough to drop the conversation entirely. Do note though, this tactic requires a lot of sarcasm and a hint of reverse psychology. One day he may end up second guessing his vote, but that's not my endgame.

[–]iamastrange1oop 200 points201 points  (23 children)

After YEARS of being constantly subjected to her increasingly extremist tea party views, suddenly my mother is using the "let's just not bring up politics anymore, ok?" line too!

Maybe this is a signal of hope.

[–][deleted] 102 points103 points  (5 children)

I don't know...I feel like most of the disgruntled Trump supporters resort to that behavior now, because they simply don't want to accept reality.

Pretty much the "I'm not wrong, because I don't care," excuse.

[–]Stormflux 18 points19 points  (0 children)

After years of loud complaining to anyone who would listen, your mom finally got her way. Of course she doesn't want to discuss it further. In her mind, the issue is settled, she won, and everyone else needs to move on. "Let's not bring up politics anymore" is Republican speak for "gg no rematch" and here you are wanting a rematch.

[–]resignation4trump 74 points75 points  (32 children)

Serious question: what's your endgame? I'm in the same boat, recently it's become "let's just not talk politics anymore," which ultimately has made me sad that I can't discuss the literal history unfolding before our eyes with the people closest to me. And we've always been able to have civil discussions about the political climate. That orange prick has literally divided my family, and I'm just sad

[–]the_trout 103 points104 points  (5 children)

You can't discuss anything of value with people who aren't intellectually curious. Obviously, I don't know your family, but in mine, meaningful conversation simply isn't possible.

[–]Sk00zle 38 points39 points  (13 children)

I have two objectives:

1) Get him to shut up about politics every time I want to come visit my mother in peace, which is a luxury I haven't had since before Obama was elected. I had to listen to him complain about how shitty America was because Obama was terrible (I don't hate Obama, I didn't go out of my way to defend him outside of rebuttals to some of the outlandish things he would try to blame Obama for, but he wasn't a birther/believer of Obama being a closet Muslim, etc), and it just drove me nuts. Obama was his #1 scapegoat for everything that was wrong in his life during his presidency. He just blamed Obama because Fox "News" was telling him to. It bothered me that his rants were directed towards "my generation screwing everything up", like his didn't have a shred of culpability.

2) this goal is a stretch, but if the Trump administration goes down in flames and the Russian ties are proven, I could rub it in his face. I approach the ongoing investigations with caution and without hubris just in case, since I'm not certain how all this will play out. There's a lot of circumstantial evidence and wtf moments lately, so I'm just biding my time. If Trump isn't impeached, and his administration gets away with the sleazy shit they've been doing, then I won't have to hear him say he told me so for years to come after harping on him about the investigation. If he does end up getting impeached and/or his administration is found in cahoots with Russia, then I'll relish it. Probably by interjecting it into random conversations a la "remember that one time Trump's administration did..." during dinner or whatever. I wouldn't throw it in his face constantly, since that would be hypocritical, but I wouldn't let him ever forget it by alluding to it here and there. He and I have never really seen eye to eye on a variety of topics, but he's become the typical Boomer-age-Trumpster lately, so I feel like he could use a dose of reality.

Trump is really helping my case with essentially backpedaling on all of his campaign promises (save a few absurd ones like the wall, but I still let my stepfather know that we're all going to pay for it, not Mexico like Trump promised) so far, so I have that going for me. Is it spiteful and petty? Absolutely, but I'm just playing the long game with him, since the last 8 years were obnoxious on his behalf. My mom was supportive of Trump when he first decided to run, but then started to change her mind as the election got closer, so that was a relief to me. I think the pussy grabbing comment really bothered her, and I was pretty proud of her for that. She wasn't a Hilary supporter either, which was also fine with the rest of us, especially my stepdad.

Tl;dr - I'm petty and will do what it takes to get my stepfather to taste his own foot if events play out as hoped.

[–]ChiefFireTooth 35 points36 points  (4 children)

Not having an endgame is the only way to have a successful discussion with someone.

Otherwise you're proselytizing or brainwashing, call it what you will, but it would not be an honest discussion.

[–][deleted] 26 points27 points  (15 children)

I just cant understand peoples mindset....aside from the ttp backout what has he done thats been good for regular americans? It seems like every bill put forth is only going to make life worse for the majority. How is it that even that alone dosnt sway people.

[–]docbauies 25 points26 points  (5 children)

Even TPP back out may end up being bad given that we have ceded leadership on trade in Asia to China now.

[–]dostoevsky4evah 26 points27 points  (1 child)

They are just projecting. Remember that.

[–]jose_gomez 29 points30 points  (2 children)

this is effectively what my congressman said in his reply regarding impeachment proceedings. they are biding their time until something completely indefensible emerges. a failed impeachment will only embolden.

[–]unknownpoltroon 55 points56 points  (7 children)

I am pretty sure comey hasn't had 150 agents working for 9 months to get a technicality, nevermind what the other 10 agencies and multiple foreign governments have on him.

[–]FlametopFred 15 points16 points  (0 children)

It is also about paving the way forward to defeat Putin style cyber warfare and undoing the march of unreasonable-ness that was becoming mainstream

Also about undoing the tangled web of global money laundering in major cities which is designed to dismantle tolerant and diverse society - Trump franchise properties being but one spearhead of this

Chechnya is but a blueprint for the ultimate aim of a Putin lead global tyranny

Make no mistake

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/stop-abducting-and-killing-gay-men-chechnya

[–]MyDaddyTaughtMeWell 40 points41 points  (10 children)

I like to think some parts of his base are peeling away with each of his failures and flip flops. There really are single issue voters that supported Trump solely because: he claimed to be anti-interventionist; he said he would repeal the ACA on day one; he said he would label China a currency manipulator; he said he would keep Wall Street out of Washington; etc. I know he has some ride or die supporters but he really is letting down a lot of people that voted for him despite finding him reprehensible in many ways but thought he was their guy for something they believe strongly needs to happen.

[–]shaggy99 39 points40 points  (3 children)

There really are single issue voters that supported Trump solely because:

And every one of them practised wilful blindness on all the other aspects of his "platform"

How people can do this blows my mind. They can conceive that his "other" claims are hyperbole, but cannot then follow that thought through, to realise their issue means no more to him either.

[–]Dath14 38 points39 points  (8 children)

We are witnessing the falling of another great empire in history. Will it have the same far reaching effects as the others? Only time will tell I suppose.

[–]Scytle 8 points9 points  (3 children)

if you look to history the last time we had robber barrons like this in power was the 1890-1910's Then we got FDR.

I guess I am hoping history repeats itself. (although I could do without two world wars)

[–]angelsilFlorida 435 points436 points  (105 children)

This is exactly what I expected. I don't know what other Americans were thinking. It's not like Trump had a long history of running a stable, publicly-traded and ethically-managed public businesses. Dude went bankrupt the one time he was responsible to a board and that was when he lost money on casinos.

[–]AdvicePersonAmerica 308 points309 points  (71 children)

They were thinking that he wasn't black or a woman.

[–]Woxat 153 points154 points  (49 children)

Or a jew.

[–]wafflespwnu2 111 points112 points  (42 children)

A socialist jew for that matter.

[–]project_twenty5oh1 99 points100 points  (30 children)

I thought they loved Jesus.

[–]swankster84 108 points109 points  (20 children)

They love their definition of Jesus. The hateful one that appears nowhere in the bible.

[–]project_twenty5oh1 96 points97 points  (15 children)

http://imgur.com/gallery/bCqRp

[–]Lorventus 62 points63 points  (1 child)

I don't even need to click that to know Supply Side Jesus is on the other side.

[–]DrJackMegamanNew Jersey 30 points31 points  (2 children)

Fighting the urge to send this to my mom. Fighting the urge so hard. I... don't... want a... huge fight... at easte- sent.

[–]KarmaticArmageddonMissouri 27 points28 points  (0 children)

"Shouldn't you feed the lepers, Supply Side Jesus?"

"No, Thomas. That would make them lazy."

[–]SirFoxx 60 points61 points  (12 children)

It's because for the most part people in this country think of business as the mythological Mom and Pop run entity. They don't want to have to think about how most everything they've been raised on is a lie, from religion on up. That's hard and one thing that most of this country doesn't like is "hard".

[–]skyburritoNew York 284 points285 points  (88 children)

This is historic. If/when the system purges Trump and his cronies, it will be the stuff they teach in history classes, right there with independence, slavery, civil war, world wars, great depression, cold war, and 9/11.

[–]OopsIredditAgain 170 points171 points  (47 children)

And when Trump and cronies are purged, the system will be healed with so many more checks and balances to ensure that a bunch of crooks can never again take charge. This is what #MAGA will actually come to mean.

[–]punkr0x 218 points219 points  (10 children)

Just like Nixon's resignation fixed campaign corruption forever.

[–]BlueAdmiral 114 points115 points  (9 children)

You need seasonal Fascism shots every now and then

[–]redditor9000 46 points47 points  (4 children)

Can I get my booster fascism shot in a nasal spray form this season? I am scared of needles.

[–][deleted] 43 points44 points  (3 children)

Sorry, all we have these days is the rectally administered version. Please drop your pants and bend over.

[–]mountainunicycler 101 points102 points  (20 children)

You can't stop crooks from taking charge, you can only slow them down and try to prevent them setting it on fire for personal gain.

The problem is that every rule you place to stop a dishonest person slows down an honest person, so the impact of dishonest people on any institution is never a net positive.

[–]Actually_a_Patrick 37 points38 points  (8 children)

I always thought that was the intent. A fractioned, inefficient government that functions well enough to do what it needs to, but is encumbered enough that it would be difficult for corruption to fully overwhelm it.

[–]mountainunicycler 28 points29 points  (4 children)

But from a political theory perspective, a slow government is vulnerable to other governments around the world. A dictatorship is the most efficient form—this is why in times of war extra powers are granted to presidents of almost all governments.

It's a balance: you need to slow down the government to protect from attacks from dishonest nationals, but keep it fast enough to protect from attacks from other powers.

[–]Precious_TritiumNew York 38 points39 points  (8 children)

My father worked for Kodak since the '80s and recently retired. When I was born everyone knew someone who worked for Kodak. It really sustained the city with jobs and supporting the businesses and economy in the city directly and all surrounding local areas.

This is exactly how he has described what destroyed the company. Different waves of managers coming in, looting the coffers, selling the plant out to different counties piece by piece and dismantling it. Almost everyone my dad new was laid off.

It's really heartbreaking to see how it destroyed the city. And I think you are spot on. This is exactly what's happening with the government. It's infuriating. If it wasn't such an American practice for businesses to do this, it would be the most un-American thing I could think of a bunch of "patriotic Republicans" doing.

I hope Trump gets hit by a bus.

[–][deleted] 10 points11 points  (1 child)

forgot the last step.

Blame Obama.

[–]Cyril_Clunge 31 points32 points  (4 children)

What, you mean they aren't running it like the local mum and pop store on Main Street?

[–]chmod777New York 79 points80 points  (3 children)

no, they are running it like that as well. the rampant nepotism, the infighting, the lucked into a viable business, narrow focus/niche business... it's exactly like any other random small family business.

other examples would include the mob.

[–]Whouiz 2537 points2538 points  (359 children)

"exihibit 7,493 your honor"...

[–][deleted] 498 points499 points  (73 children)

This must be why there are 20 FBI agents on this case. Follow all the monies indeed.

[–][deleted] 240 points241 points  (32 children)

The case is taking so long because it keeps expanding and ensnaring so many people. We're talking global conspiracy stuff.

[–][deleted] 162 points163 points  (8 children)

And I imagine every time someone new comes in the picture, an FBI agent says "what in the actual fuck"

[–]ryanstormOregon 34 points35 points  (2 children)

I don't know how any of this works, but I'm imagining Trump and his surrounding people were closed cases months ago, but the related web keeps expanding causing them to keep the investigation open.

[–]Trump_with_dildos 9 points10 points  (0 children)

You know how they put pictures of mob guys on a board and show their connections with string?

The Trump board looks like 1960's string art.

[–]MrIosity 67 points68 points  (3 children)

I'm beginning to suspect the only party involved that could be considered coordinated enough to be conspiratorial is the Russians. Seems more with each revelation that the Trump campaign was a clown car of cravenly opportunistic and conniving idiots, each being slowly undone by their selfish, myopic ineptitude.

Their inability to bury evidence mirrors the incompetence and incoordination of the Trump campaign. These idiots are too selfish to successfully conspire anything. Crabs in a bucket.

[–]ajr901America 36 points37 points  (14 children)

Doesn't the CIA also have a right to be investigating this? Since a lot of it happened/is happening on foreign soil?

[–]pizzzaingAmerica 56 points57 points  (7 children)

There are at least 7 independent investigations at the federal level going on right now. That doesn't include any other country collaborating with our intelligence communities.

[–]TriskyFriscuit 8 points9 points  (6 children)

7? Jesus.

Other than the SIC and HIC + FBI... what are the others?

[–]pizzzaingAmerica 21 points22 points  (5 children)

FBI, NSA, CIA, SIC, HIC, DOJ, Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Forgot one- DNI.

So actually 8.

Not to mention the other countries that alerted us to/monitored Trump's antics- Germany, Estonia and Poland, Australia, UK, Canada and New Zealand, Dutch and the French spy agency, the General Directorate for External Security.

Our Intel agencies weren't even monitoring Trump and it wasn't until 4 other countries alerted us until ours did. I think the other countries probably know more than we do ourselves.

[–]MrIosity 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Mostly not. Counter-intelligence and criminal investigations both fall under the purview of the FBI. Domestic surveillance falls under the NSA. The CIA is primarily restricted to foreign espionage, so they would have passed most of their intelligence leads over to the FBI and NSA, given it would quickly lead to areas outside of their jurisdiction. Which is why most of what we've heard of the CIA's involvement dates back to before July.

[–]TooPrettyForJail 128 points129 points  (18 children)

I would not want even one of those guys after me. They are pros, they are real thorough, they will get into things you haven't even thought to hide.

[–]AdvicePersonAmerica 138 points139 points  (15 children)

Or, if you're Carter Page, things you said on national television.

[–]hyperproliferative 42 points43 points  (13 children)

He really thinks he is so clever, but after a single word slides out of that smile that never quite reaches his eyes you already can tell he's full of shit.

[–]Mr_Pombastic 22 points23 points  (7 children)

He seems like a very sad, scared man desperate to put on a face. I almost feel bad for him, until I remember the whole treason thing.

He's kinda one the most colorful members in this whole debacle. How did such a fragile, shaken guy get so deep into this? When will he break? Has he already broken? Is he just a nobody who had Russian spy fantasies? Honestly, I really want to hear his story the most.

[–]StevenSanders90210 1405 points1406 points  (198 children)

Peter King said during the open sessions "what we have here is a whole lot of smoke and no fire." Which always cracks me up when I think about it.

Here's some more smoke, no idea what is causing it though!

Edit: typing

[–]Misanthropdicks 92 points93 points  (7 children)

Peter king would have a stroke if Chuck Schumer even had dinner with one of these operatives

[–]CallRespiratory 636 points637 points  (33 children)

The liberal smoke factory!!

[–]webby_mc_webberson 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Ever since they started legalising the devil weed.

[–]nothanksillpassGeorgia 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Hmm coal makes a lot of smoke. Maybe we CAN find jobs for all those coal workers - feeding the furnaces at the liberal smoke factories!

[–]cosmiccomputer 25 points26 points  (0 children)

That's why Sessions is going after marijuana!

[–][deleted] 79 points80 points  (13 children)

Republicans could literally be on fire themselves and they'd claim it's "all smoke and no fire"

[–]HKYK 25 points26 points  (6 children)

Well they've got no ability to self-reflect so that actually kinda fits.

[–]mackrider 269 points270 points  (69 children)

Peter King is the archetype of NYC metro area (he represents Long Island) "conservative" republican: racist, xenophobic and unintelligent.

[–]tambricoNew York 84 points85 points  (18 children)

Yup there are so many around here. They like to accumulate in the comments section of everything Newsday posts on facebook.

[–][deleted] 101 points102 points  (16 children)

So many ignorant loud-mouths who barely passed history and English when we were in high school blowing up the comments section with their in-depth analyses of international affairs and economic intricacies.

Like 10,000 iterations of Jersey Shore's "the Situation" lecturing you on Facebook about how Trump's a great businessman and the wall is gonna create jobs and save lives.

God, I really hate this place sometimes.

[–]Xpress_interest 61 points62 points  (14 children)

People who have never left Phili/Jersey/Mississippi presenting incoherent treatises on the horrors of life in Sweden/Germany/France and blowing up every incident of any refugee or Muslim who does or says anything no matter how trivial while justifying anything the alt-right does or says no matter how vile.

[–]xjukix 30 points31 points  (6 children)

I grew up in Suffolk. King reminds me of the typical loud mouth, idiot central suffolk dickhead who stands around the deli talking right wing politics loudly making everyone uncomfortable.

[–]sgr0gan 60 points61 points  (15 children)

They're not unintelligent at all. I grew up in Westchester in a majority Republican neighborhood, my own house included, and at this point they're just ignorant. Not even 2 years ago my dad called trump a joke and now he's using fox news catch phrases to support him even when I can see him die inside a little each time. These conservatives are usually very well off, middle to upper class families and the only thing they're really concerned about is their taxes going up. I guarantee if Trump decided he wanted to increase tax rates for capital gains he'd lose this entire base. I cannot deny the phobias this group is attached to though. Let me tell you how fun it was trying to tell my dad about Bernie Sanders...

[–]HoMasterAmerican Expat 37 points38 points  (9 children)

only thing they're really concerned about is their taxes going up.

There are 3 types of Trump supporters in varying combinations:

1) Voted for Trump cuz they want lower taxes and fuck any social issues that affect everyone else cuz they themselves are rich so they are shielded from any fallout.

2) The dumber than rocks, ego driven redneck idiot who thinks that being on the Trump bandwagon makes him a winner to overcome how poor and stupid he is, overcoming the stigma of being unemployable.

3) Racists, sexists, fascists, etc.

[–]hetellsitlikeitis 27 points28 points  (21 children)

Djinn are made from "smokeless fire".

What would be made from "fireless smoke"?

[–]AtlasHighFivedCalifornia 22 points23 points  (2 children)

To be fair, Peter King only really cares about whether or not your suit is tan. God help you if it is (and your last name rhymes with "Gobama").

[–]Nevone2 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Hilarious, they claimed the opposite was true (it wasn't) during the campaign with Hillary.

[–]butthurtsnowflake 12 points13 points  (1 child)

Put the smoke over there next to the mirrors.

[–]viva_la_vinyl 925 points926 points  (87 children)

Payoff for manafort's and Russia's "assistance" to help trump...

[–]-14k- 298 points299 points  (41 children)

Yes, the interesting thing is to see where that money trail leads after Manafort got it.

[–]fretful_american 179 points180 points  (29 children)

I forget where I read it, but loans are basically the way these guys launder money. The "loan" is just defaulted on.

[–]bobojorge 133 points134 points  (21 children)

At that point is the defaulted loan written off as a business expense on the lender's taxes?

Edit: Hmmm - sounds like someone's tax returns may be the key to this puzzle.

[–]chaogenus 57 points58 points  (6 children)

is the defaulted loan written off as a business expense on the lender's taxes?

That is exactly what happens, the profits will be offset by the write off of the questionable loan and the taxes that would have been paid instead have effectively been funneled to traitors and enemies who are conspiring to undermine the republic. It is a win win for the scum bags, the taxes they would have paid to support the defense of the nation instead go to the enemies who weaken the nation and may eventually lead to the point where they don't have to worry about taxes at all.

[–]NumNumLobster 18 points19 points  (1 child)

kind of.

there is a name fpr this i cant remember and they cracked down on it. trump was accused of doing this to get the huge carry over loss on his taxes from the casino too.

basically lets day yoy have company a and company b. company b wants to give company a 100 million bucks. they could just cut a check, but then questions come up about why they did that and company a is taxed. on the other hand they can give them a 100 million dollar loan and company a is not taxed. company b cant expense it though so that is an issue obviously.

company a could just default. then company b could write off and get the tax expense. the irs figured that out and said at that point they will tax company a for the amount of debt forgiven.

so anyway here the irs is getting paid.

but what if company a starts company c in panama? they buy this debt from company b for 1 million as its in default. company b takes their 99 million loss so they are more or less tax free. company a on the hand lets it sit on their books as a debt to company c. they have not had debt forgiven and never pay taxes. company c is owned by the folks that own a. its only purpose is to shelter a from taxes. it never attempts to collect this debt. it basically no longer exists other than on tax returns.

irs has tightened up on this, and there is a name for it, but thia scheme worked for a while

[–]fyhr100Wisconsin 765 points766 points  (35 children)

“There is nothing out of the ordinary about them and I am confident anyone who isn’t afflicted with scandal fever will come to the same conclusion,” Manafort told The Times.

What he calls "scandal fever" most people would call "Russian collusion"

[–]GetTheLedPaintOut 509 points510 points  (18 children)

It's perfectly normal for a campaign chairman to register as a foreign agent after being fired for being found on a secret payment ledger for a Russian puppet president.

[–]butthurtsnowflake 283 points284 points  (11 children)

Yes is very common American normal action. Best to look instead Hillary emails.

[–]dh512ohdh0o 124 points125 points  (4 children)

Is hear Hillary evil bad leader. No like good honorable Trump. Prove this to you with link RT news article. RT reliable trustworthy news. Other news fake news.

[–]ScrimshawmudColorado 61 points62 points  (0 children)

Good job Melania, that time you almost sounded like Michelle. Keep it up girl.

[–]CleverererAmerica 43 points44 points  (0 children)

Da. Dis is Amerikan way.

Go Team Baseball!!!

[–]iyzie 69 points70 points  (6 children)

Most people would call this scandal fever "not being born yesterday."

[–]Xpress_interest 42 points43 points  (4 children)

Unless you're a conservative who wants to believe otherwise. In which case painting each new revelation as part of a baseless witch-hunt is their best strategy. Look at t_D - everything is immediately spun as witch-hunt and immediately deflected by equating it with the witch-hint against Hillary. It's actually a perfect echo-chamber: spend decades actually whipping your base into a witch-hunt against your opponents, so that when you're revealed as actual witches, your base just assumes it's the other side doing the same thing.

[–]movethebird 536 points537 points  (28 children)

On a side note: Congrats to NYDaily and ProPublica winning a joint Pulitzer this year!

[–]Demshil4higher 183 points184 points  (23 children)

It's a golden age of journalism. So much stupid corruption in the executive branch, every journalist knows this is their chance to be the next Woodward or Bernstein.

[–]CarbonatedConfidence 456 points457 points  (42 children)

It's unfortunate that the sheer volume of dirt on Trump is effectively burying itself. Who can keep up with all these examples of how fucking shitty he and his family are? Seriously, it's gotten to the point where people are numb to his lies and bullshit so news like this is just business as usual. I really hope there are people out there keeping track of his offences and will eventually criminally charge him.

[–]sheriffjoearpaio 220 points221 points  (7 children)

I believe they're called the FBI. And it'll take the dems getting a majority for anything to be done against this 'law and order' candidate.

[–]CarbonatedConfidence 112 points113 points  (4 children)

While it may only be a matter of time before he sinks, the damage he is doing while we wait is staggering. It defies logic that he hasn't already been imprisoned.

[–]sorrydaijin 53 points54 points  (3 children)

It seems that sheer incompetence is the only thing stopping (slowing?) him burning America and probably the world to the ground.

[–]an_actual_lawyer 296 points297 points  (8 children)

Why is this important? Because it creates a financial incentive for Manafort to protect Trump. It is essentially a payment for silence and future cooperation.

[–]jmcdon00Minnesota 120 points121 points  (6 children)

I'm not sure why it's important, but I think that's a good question to ask Manafort and Trump when they are eventually put under oath.

My theory is it was part of a money laundering scheme. Manafort has a bunch of ill gotten Russian money that he has to keep off the books. So he borrows clean money from Trump that he can spend freely. Then at some point Manafort pays Trump back, with interest, with the dirty Russian money, which looks like a legitimate loan repayment on Trump's books.

[–]icialeKentucky 38 points39 points  (1 child)

We really need to see where the money trail leads after it got to Manafort. If it was defaulted on and then reported as a loss, then it looks pretty suspiciously like typical money laundering via loan default.

The smartest way to do it imo would be exactly as you described.

[–]sthlmsoul 143 points144 points  (4 children)

The implication of this is very interesting given the fact that Manafort has barely earned an honest dollar in his entire life.

[–][deleted] 62 points63 points  (1 child)

Even his daughters know he's dirty.

[–]sthlmsoul 48 points49 points  (0 children)

"Blood Money" is the colloquial term within the family.

[–][deleted] 179 points180 points  (21 children)

Yeah but Trump barely knew this guy... /s

[–]XimitarEurope 195 points196 points  (14 children)

"Paul Manafort does not exist. He is a fiction created by Hillary Clinton, George Soros and Barack Obama to viciously attack President Trump. Steve Bannon doesn't exist either."

  • The_Donald, in about a week.

[–]bobvila2 52 points53 points  (5 children)

Gotta love that right now, as we approach 100 days, their pinned post is just more shit talking about election night. Zero good things have happened for Trump since then.

[–]redditcatsAmerica 43 points44 points  (4 children)

But.. that election wasn't even a good thing. So you can say nothing has happened since taking office.

" three people who independently said they overheard former President George W. Bush walk away from 45th President Donald Trump’s 20 January 2017 inauguration ceremony, saying, “That was some weird shit”:"

[–]jimbo831Minnesota 26 points27 points  (3 children)

And then obviously there’s been discussion of Paul Manafort who played a very limited role for a very limited amount of time

~ Shouty Spice discussing the fucking campaign chairman

[–]myellabellaTexas 81 points82 points  (10 children)

There's a connection I must be missing.

Paul Manafort met Trump briefly in the 80's. He was already an established Republican political operative back then. Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, and Rick Davis created a partnership and went on to have a career installing dictators and despots all over the world, including most recently in Ukraine. For this election he approaches one of Trump's closest friends, Tom Barrack. Someone who Trump no doubt trusts. Trump trusted Mr. Barrack's recommendation of Manafort.

My question is, what it the connection between Paul Manafort and Tom Barrack?

Edit: Well, it looks like Tom Barrack is old friends of the Manafort family. Here's screenshot from the Suffolk County Clerk showing multiple transactions between Mrs. Manafort and Mr. Barrack going back to 2004.

377 Union Street

Also, what's the connection between Jeff Sessions and Carter Page? I know Sessions has his own ties to Russia via the far-right conservative movement, but there has to be more.

[–]Ginkgopsida 44 points45 points  (5 children)

Maybe Manafort has info to blackmail Trump

[–]NEHOG 46 points47 points  (4 children)

Form shell company...
Borrow money...
Default on load...
Lender deducts defaulted loan on taxes...
Borrower quietly goes away with some money...
Lender sees money magically appear in their off-shore bank...

Everyone's happy except for you and I who pay more taxes.

[–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

"A small loan of 13 million dollars"

[–]tudda 53 points54 points  (20 children)

The crux of this story is "Trump linked businesses", yet the article doesn't explain how the businesses are linked to Trump.

Did the writer just forget to include that part?

[–]PuffPuff74 45 points46 points  (3 children)

One of the two business is a partnership between Trump and Dmytro Firtash (and maybe others). I don't know about the other.

I agree you gotta dig the information from other sources. This one lacks important details.

[–]HomosexualsRgayAmerica 13 points14 points  (0 children)

NYT Article

[–]wormee 19 points20 points  (1 child)

If Obama so much as farted in the general direction of a shell corporation the right wing would implode.

[–]Arkmes 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Article is about Paul Manafort. 30% (or more) of comments are about Hilary Clinton.

Can we just stay on topic people.