Coach Tuesday

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/michael-cohen-and-the-end-stage-of-the-trump-presidency “However, I am unaware of anybody who has taken a serious look at Trump’s business who doesn’t believe that there is a high likelihood of rampant criminality. In Azerbaijan, he did business with a likely money launderer for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. In the Republic of Georgia, he partnered with a group that was being investigated for a possible role in the largest known bank-fraud and money-laundering case in history. In Indonesia, his development partner is “knee-deep in dirty politics”; there are criminal investigations of his deals in Brazil; the F.B.I. is reportedly lookinginto his daughter Ivanka’s role in the Trump hotel in Vancouver, for which she worked with a Malaysian family that has admitted to financial fraud. Back home, Donald, Jr., and Ivanka were investigated for financial crimes associated with the Trump hotel in SoHo—an investigation that was halted suspiciously. His Taj Mahal casino received what was then the largest fine in history for money-laundering violations.”

Amazing, this thread being started by Greg, who kittied out of his Shady bet in epic fashion - that was one of the most glaring acts of cowardice we’ve seen around here.

This regime won’t survive not taking a shot. Period.

Some likable folks around here.

The part about this that is most believable to me is that Russ is involved. I can see him giddy about the notion of getting the #1 pick and all of the brand attention that would go with it...

They'd better hope Darnold is the next Philip Rivers if they're doing something like this...

Cincinnati will take him - Mike Brown specializes in "character arbitrage."

This suggests to me that the analytics folks in Cleveland, including Wolf and DePodesta, are not being listened to.

Fascinating stuff. Wouldn't surprise me at all that DePodesta loves Mayfield - DP is an analytics maven. Also wouldn't surprise me that Hue doesn't love Mayfield - Hue strikes me as arrogant and semi-stupid, and probably would feel threatened by a loud, intelligent voice like Baker's. Hue also runs his passing offense off a script - not Mayfield's game. All of that said - if the Browns take Chubb at 1, after taking Garrett at 1 last year, they're complete, utter morons. They're not going to be able to pay both of those guys in 4 years and they'll be counting on the third-best QB falling to them at 4.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/blog/bal-trump-to-nominate-rod-rosenstein-deputy-attorney-general-20170131-story.html

You know you're the lowest form of humanity, right? Literally you contribute nothing to society.

And it still doesn't explain the SDNY magistrate's signoff... I tend to think they are better informed, in this case, especially given how chatty this White House staff is. That place is leakier than a [insert dirty joke].

I know, you'd like your pigsty all to yourself.

I think he was just putting it out there as a third possibility. We really don't know yet. I tend to think the simplest explanations usually end up being the accurate ones. If you're piecing together a complex, multi-layered, multi-year conspiracy, you ought to ask yourself, "Why do I want to believe/not believe this so much?" Conspiracy theorists always end up where they had hoped they would when they started. No one falls into a conspiracy theory by being objective and scientifically rigorous. It's confirmation bias to the nth degree.

Again - you are saying that Trump-appointed justice department officials and U.S. attorneys' office lawyers, along with a Federal judge in the Southern District, are part of this political conspiracy... You now have Republicans in Congress helping push a bill to protect Mueller's job. Could it be based on false rumors? Sure, I suppose it *could be*... but I wouldn't bet on that.

And I’ll add - if Mueller’s got nothing, Trump is even more of a moron than I thought. He’s reportedly debating firing Rosenstein over this, which probably would be suicidal... all he’d have to do is just let this play out.

For why? That would be insane of Mueller. If all that comes out of many months of investigation are minor charges against Manafort, Cohen and a Skadden associate, the blowback will be substantial and devastating.

I will finish reading it, probably tomorrow.

Then I am biased - fundamentally, I don’t believe the government is capable of executing a conspiracy. Pulling it off would require a level of competence that our government cannot achieve. That’s my viewpoint but I’m open to being proven wrong. That is exactly what I have been saying. Getting this wrong would be LUNACY.

I don’t need to read a 100-page opinion to know that prosecutors overreach at times. But I’m not making “blind leaps” in my skepticism here - I’ve had substantial experience with SDNY judges and magistrates in my legal career and I’ve seen how seriously they take their jobs. And circumstantially, here, as I said - with all of the scrutiny that this search and seizure was bound to elicit, it would be SUICIDAL not to get it absolutely correct for everyone involved. Can we agree on this: either the DOJ has nothing on Trump and this is one desperate last-ditch Hail Mary attempt to dig up something (in which case it likely will backfire in spectacular fashion), or Mueller already thinks he has “the nuts” on Trump, and yesterday’s raid was a sharp tightening of the noose... I honestly don’t know which one it is - but I know how I’d bet if someone put a gun to my head.

The warrant issued yesterday had to have been approved by multiple Trump appointees.

I’m sorry - if you think this is some Obama-backed hit job, with all of the intervening causal links that would need to be accounted for - you’re mouth-breathing insane.

I doubt even more that the judicial officers - knowing how politically sensitive this would all end up being - would risk failing to dot every “i” and cross every “t” in connection with executing this search and seizure. The risk of blowback would be far too great.

Ok - so let me make sure I have this right - a cabal of liberal elites, furious that “Crooked Hillary” lost the election to a political outsider - have co-opted the DOJ, the FBI, the mainstream media, and - best of all - the Trump-appointed (and Trump-interviewed, a Presidential first) U.S. Attorney in New York, AND a sitting SDNY magistrate judge - in order to pursue an overbroad, illegal warrant against Trump’s personal lawyer - who broke no laws - with the aim of turning up something they might be able to use to obtain some vague leverage over the President. Do I got that right, nutbag?

Sounds like a conspiracy to me.