The political opposition. Democratic lawmakers and their family members learned from Apple that the government had secretly obtained their communications only after the gag order expired. The targets included Schiff and Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, both Trump opponents routinely criticized by Trump throughout his time in office.
The press. We also learned this week that the Justice Department, apparently as part of aggressive leak investigations, sought and obtained reporters' communications records, including CNN's Barbara Starr, for June and July of 2017. It's not clear if the investigations are related.
RELATED: Trump administration pursued CNN reporter's records in months-long secret court battle
Three Washington Post reporters who covered the FBI's Russia investigation were told this month that in 2020 the Justice Department had obtained their phone records from 2017. The Department of Justice had earlier, in 2018, disclosed that it had obtained 2017 phone and email communications of reporters writing stories about the Russia investigation for BuzzFeed, Politico and The New York Times.
Social media companies. Court filings revealed last week that the Justice Department had subpoenaed Twitter in late November 2020 to try to learn the identity of the user behind a parody account that criticized Rep. Devin Nunes, a California Republican and Trump ally.

ltbewr wrote:

I suspect many Congress members, their staff and family members will have to get 'burner phones'. This is disgusting, obscene, unconstitutional and even if leaks, they don't go to the level of needing such a level of investigation. Trump is scared of the truth leaking out of his corruption, especially with Russian oligarchs that he has no morals in abusing his powers. The appropriate Congressional committees, with Democrat party majorities, must subpoena Trump, Barr and a number of orders under threat of arrest to show up, give testimony and if lie, face jail for perjury. Of course Trump would refuse to respons and show up, on the grounds as a 'ex-President' (or in his perverted mind still President) and if he or Barr or others show up they would abuse the 5th Amendment and Republicans on the committees would muck it up to protect them.

Aaron747 wrote:

ltbewr wrote:

I suspect many Congress members, their staff and family members will have to get 'burner phones'. This is disgusting, obscene, unconstitutional and even if leaks, they don't go to the level of needing such a level of investigation. Trump is scared of the truth leaking out of his corruption, especially with Russian oligarchs that he has no morals in abusing his powers. The appropriate Congressional committees, with Democrat party majorities, must subpoena Trump, Barr and a number of orders under threat of arrest to show up, give testimony and if lie, face jail for perjury. Of course Trump would refuse to respons and show up, on the grounds as a 'ex-President' (or in his perverted mind still President) and if he or Barr or others show up they would abuse the 5th Amendment and Republicans on the committees would muck it up to protect them.

Perhaps when Mr. Putin remarked in today's interview that Trump was a 'very talented' individual, he was referring to his ability to bring Russian political traditions into the US fray.

MaverickM11 wrote:

Aaron747 wrote:

ltbewr wrote:

I suspect many Congress members, their staff and family members will have to get 'burner phones'. This is disgusting, obscene, unconstitutional and even if leaks, they don't go to the level of needing such a level of investigation. Trump is scared of the truth leaking out of his corruption, especially with Russian oligarchs that he has no morals in abusing his powers. The appropriate Congressional committees, with Democrat party majorities, must subpoena Trump, Barr and a number of orders under threat of arrest to show up, give testimony and if lie, face jail for perjury. Of course Trump would refuse to respons and show up, on the grounds as a 'ex-President' (or in his perverted mind still President) and if he or Barr or others show up they would abuse the 5th Amendment and Republicans on the committees would muck it up to protect them.

Perhaps when Mr. Putin remarked in today's interview that Trump was a 'very talented' individual, he was referring to his ability to bring Russian political traditions into the US fray.

Donald Trump indicates he still believes Vladimir Putin over US intelligence agencies
https://www.news.com.au/world/north-ame ... 6f14aacab2

"“As to who do I trust, they asked, Russia or our ‘Intelligence’ from the Obama era, meaning people like Comey, McCabe, the two lovers, Brennan, Clapper and numerous other sleazebags, or Russia, the answer, after all that has been found out and written, should be obvious.

“Our government has rarely had such lowlifes as these working for it. "

In case there was any doubt who conservatives stand with...

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

I’m so old I remember when the last Democratic administration did some of the same stuff. Every leaker who talks “on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to comment” should shut up. They’re not authorized for a reason, up against the wall.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/ ... rosecution

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

I’m so old I remember when the last Democratic administration did some of the same stuff. Every leaker who talks “on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to comment” should shut up. They’re not authorized for a reason, up against the wall.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/ ... rosecution

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

I’m so old I remember when the last Democratic administration did some of the same stuff. Every leaker who talks “on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to comment” should shut up. They’re not authorized for a reason, up against the wall.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/ ... rosecution

Aaron747 wrote:

In case there was any doubt who conservatives stand with...

'Inconvenient truth' for the MAGA army, as we have all known for years.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/kgb-groom ... -spy-says/

sierrakilo44 wrote:

The Texan GOP AG admitted that Biden would’ve won Texas had they not have successfully stopped mail in ballots from being sent out:



https://secondnexus.com/ken-paxton-trump-lost-texas

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

I’m so old I remember when the last Democratic administration did some of the same stuff. Every leaker who talks “on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to comment” should shut up. They’re not authorized for a reason, up against the wall.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/ ... rosecution

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

I’m so old I remember when the last Democratic administration did some of the same stuff. Every leaker who talks “on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to comment” should shut up. They’re not authorized for a reason, up against the wall.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/ ... rosecution

johnboy wrote:

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

I’m so old I remember when the last Democratic administration did some of the same stuff. Every leaker who talks “on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to comment” should shut up. They’re not authorized for a reason, up against the wall.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/ ... rosecution

Gee, I’m old enough to remember the vast majority of sentient American citizens wouldn’t try to “whatabout” a treasonous scumbag like Trump.

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

I’m so old I remember when the last Democratic administration did some of the same stuff. Every leaker who talks “on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to comment” should shut up. They’re not authorized for a reason, up against the wall.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/ ... rosecution

seb146 wrote:

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

I’m so old I remember when the last Democratic administration did some of the same stuff. Every leaker who talks “on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to comment” should shut up. They’re not authorized for a reason, up against the wall.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/ ... rosecution

So you think stopping leaks about classified information is the same as spying on political opponents? The article says just that: Obama was trying to stop people from leaking classified information.

LCDFlight wrote:

I fail to see how adults who have worked in large organizations can claim there is “no such thing as a deep state.”

It is in the nature of large organizations to have clouded lines of sight and corroded purpose. A deep state (aka fiefdom, turf, skunk works, kingdom) takes care of members’ needs or wants first, citizens or oversight second. It is childish to think that a US President magically “oversees” all federal employees and can dissect disagreements within the intelligence community. The US government is far too big to manage like that. There are dozens of deep states within it. The largest is the one you see in DC, where thousands of officials socialize and plot together over a good drink or meal, frequently with a lobbyist or two.

casinterest wrote:

Trump and William Barr went out and got subpoena's from private companies to run surveillance on Political Enemies, and then got gag orders to hide keep the companies from informing the private citizens that their data was being monitored.

wingman wrote:

And we cant ever forget that 95% of Republicans believed to their very core that Trump was going to ram it down the “Coastal Elites’” collective throats. And yet he himself was born a coastal elite who lived in gold plated penthouses in NYC and flew his personal jet to coastal private golf clubs while devising yet new rip off schemes to take money from the hordes of blue collar workers toiling away in fly over country. The 2016 election was the greatest suspension of disbelief since Bugs Bunny. 70M Republicans thought the rabbit was real and they still so! So much gray matter just blown out of their ears like so much dust into the wind. This kind of incurable ignorance is a fundamental threat to our way of life. It’s sickening.

LCDFlight wrote:

wingman wrote:

And we cant ever forget that 95% of Republicans believed to their very core that Trump was going to ram it down the “Coastal Elites’” collective throats. And yet he himself was born a coastal elite who lived in gold plated penthouses in NYC and flew his personal jet to coastal private golf clubs while devising yet new rip off schemes to take money from the hordes of blue collar workers toiling away in fly over country. The 2016 election was the greatest suspension of disbelief since Bugs Bunny. 70M Republicans thought the rabbit was real and they still so! So much gray matter just blown out of their ears like so much dust into the wind. This kind of incurable ignorance is a fundamental threat to our way of life. It’s sickening.

The way I see it, Trump was never truly a coastal elite. He has blue collar attitudes and tastes. The guy eats Mcdonald’s. He is a cartoonish fake rich clown. His criticism that coastal elites do not care about the median voter was accurate. It doesn’t matter if Saddam Hussein is the person saying so; it remains valid.

One of Trump’s finest tricks was he would make a correct statement, coastal elites would disagree strongly because he was Donald Trump, then he would win on the merits. I still can’t believe how people fell for that. We are talking about teams of well educated professionals and intellectuals, losing to Don Trump. (Major issues like China relations and the border, and the 2016 election itself). I also think Trump’s tax policy worked well. We were probably on our way to higher wages even without the Covid stimulus.

I had much lower expectations for Donald himself. He is just one guy with a couple advisors, and he’s not smart or particularly well informed. But he accurately spotted weaknesses in the establishment, having been spurned by it for many years. He hurt them badly.

Aaron747 wrote:

LCDFlight wrote:

wingman wrote:

And we cant ever forget that 95% of Republicans believed to their very core that Trump was going to ram it down the “Coastal Elites’” collective throats. And yet he himself was born a coastal elite who lived in gold plated penthouses in NYC and flew his personal jet to coastal private golf clubs while devising yet new rip off schemes to take money from the hordes of blue collar workers toiling away in fly over country. The 2016 election was the greatest suspension of disbelief since Bugs Bunny. 70M Republicans thought the rabbit was real and they still so! So much gray matter just blown out of their ears like so much dust into the wind. This kind of incurable ignorance is a fundamental threat to our way of life. It’s sickening.

The way I see it, Trump was never truly a coastal elite. He has blue collar attitudes and tastes. The guy eats Mcdonald’s. He is a cartoonish fake rich clown. His criticism that coastal elites do not care about the median voter was accurate. It doesn’t matter if Saddam Hussein is the person saying so; it remains valid.

One of Trump’s finest tricks was he would make a correct statement, coastal elites would disagree strongly because he was Donald Trump, then he would win on the merits. I still can’t believe how people fell for that. We are talking about teams of well educated professionals and intellectuals, losing to Don Trump. (Major issues like China relations and the border, and the 2016 election itself). I also think Trump’s tax policy worked well. We were probably on our way to higher wages even without the Covid stimulus.

I had much lower expectations for Donald himself. He is just one guy with a couple advisors, and he’s not smart or particularly well informed. But he accurately spotted weaknesses in the establishment, having been spurned by it for many years. He hurt them badly.

It wasn't really him doing that, he's too dumb. He was coached on his speeches and approach by Chris Ruddy, Steve Bannon, and his son in law. Trump's only real talent is acting - he has been playing the same schtick since The Apprentice. He became his own character in the end.

As for having blue collar tastes, that's pretty debatable. His favorite two pastimes through most of his life have been golf and dinner parties. That's not very blue collar by any measure. His stated reason for liking fast food is because he trusts the QC and safety protocols required for them to stay in business.

luckyone wrote:

Aaron747 wrote:

LCDFlight wrote:

The way I see it, Trump was never truly a coastal elite. He has blue collar attitudes and tastes. The guy eats Mcdonald’s. He is a cartoonish fake rich clown. His criticism that coastal elites do not care about the median voter was accurate. It doesn’t matter if Saddam Hussein is the person saying so; it remains valid.

One of Trump’s finest tricks was he would make a correct statement, coastal elites would disagree strongly because he was Donald Trump, then he would win on the merits. I still can’t believe how people fell for that. We are talking about teams of well educated professionals and intellectuals, losing to Don Trump. (Major issues like China relations and the border, and the 2016 election itself). I also think Trump’s tax policy worked well. We were probably on our way to higher wages even without the Covid stimulus.

I had much lower expectations for Donald himself. He is just one guy with a couple advisors, and he’s not smart or particularly well informed. But he accurately spotted weaknesses in the establishment, having been spurned by it for many years. He hurt them badly.

It wasn't really him doing that, he's too dumb. He was coached on his speeches and approach by Chris Ruddy, Steve Bannon, and his son in law. Trump's only real talent is acting - he has been playing the same schtick since The Apprentice. He became his own character in the end.

As for having blue collar tastes, that's pretty debatable. His favorite two pastimes through most of his life have been golf and dinner parties. That's not very blue collar by any measure. His stated reason for liking fast food is because he trusts the QC and safety protocols required for them to stay in business.

Trump may not be “elite,” but he’s hardly a “blue collar self made man.” His business success is irrevocably built on the success of his fathers real estate empire. His business endeavors outside that have been a very mixed bag suggesting that his business acumen is just as much a marketing fabrication as his blue collar creds. Just because he eats McDonalds doesn’t mean he has the foggiest clue what the realities of a blue collar family are—he and most of his siblings have always had access to the residuals from their fathers investments. He is a good self-promoter and can play the part and as we’ve seen he’s very good at manipulating the media. Which is nothing but ironic considering how the people who support him by and large decry the media, yet they’ve been played by him as he uses it.

LCDFlight wrote:

luckyone wrote:

Aaron747 wrote:

It wasn't really him doing that, he's too dumb. He was coached on his speeches and approach by Chris Ruddy, Steve Bannon, and his son in law. Trump's only real talent is acting - he has been playing the same schtick since The Apprentice. He became his own character in the end.

As for having blue collar tastes, that's pretty debatable. His favorite two pastimes through most of his life have been golf and dinner parties. That's not very blue collar by any measure. His stated reason for liking fast food is because he trusts the QC and safety protocols required for them to stay in business.

Trump may not be “elite,” but he’s hardly a “blue collar self made man.” His business success is irrevocably built on the success of his fathers real estate empire. His business endeavors outside that have been a very mixed bag suggesting that his business acumen is just as much a marketing fabrication as his blue collar creds. Just because he eats McDonalds doesn’t mean he has the foggiest clue what the realities of a blue collar family are—he and most of his siblings have always had access to the residuals from their fathers investments. He is a good self-promoter and can play the part and as we’ve seen he’s very good at manipulating the media. Which is nothing but ironic considering how the people who support him by and large decry the media, yet they’ve been played by him as he uses it.

You are right that Trump inherited most or all of his money. If he doesn't have the foggiest clue what the realities of a blue collar family are, (which would make sense), he was still able to market to them. (Most likely, years of TV acting playing a character to middle America).

I just think other candidates did a terribly bad job trying to understand those families. Clinton had prim coastal advisors like Robby Mook who wouldn't know a normal family. He grew up the son of an Ivy League professor and got a BA in Classics at Columbia. This is NOT who should be running a middle America campaign LOL. He and Hillary didn't know jack shit about what they were trying to do.

Biden, for his part, still almost lost the 2020 election. His campaign was also run by incompetent fops. It was only after the Capitol travesty (security failures) on 1/6 that Biden truly got the mandate.

Aaron747 wrote:

LCDFlight wrote:

wingman wrote:

And we cant ever forget that 95% of Republicans believed to their very core that Trump was going to ram it down the “Coastal Elites’” collective throats. And yet he himself was born a coastal elite who lived in gold plated penthouses in NYC and flew his personal jet to coastal private golf clubs while devising yet new rip off schemes to take money from the hordes of blue collar workers toiling away in fly over country. The 2016 election was the greatest suspension of disbelief since Bugs Bunny. 70M Republicans thought the rabbit was real and they still so! So much gray matter just blown out of their ears like so much dust into the wind. This kind of incurable ignorance is a fundamental threat to our way of life. It’s sickening.

The way I see it, Trump was never truly a coastal elite. He has blue collar attitudes and tastes. The guy eats Mcdonald’s. He is a cartoonish fake rich clown. His criticism that coastal elites do not care about the median voter was accurate. It doesn’t matter if Saddam Hussein is the person saying so; it remains valid.

One of Trump’s finest tricks was he would make a correct statement, coastal elites would disagree strongly because he was Donald Trump, then he would win on the merits. I still can’t believe how people fell for that. We are talking about teams of well educated professionals and intellectuals, losing to Don Trump. (Major issues like China relations and the border, and the 2016 election itself). I also think Trump’s tax policy worked well. We were probably on our way to higher wages even without the Covid stimulus.

I had much lower expectations for Donald himself. He is just one guy with a couple advisors, and he’s not smart or particularly well informed. But he accurately spotted weaknesses in the establishment, having been spurned by it for many years. He hurt them badly.

It wasn't really him doing that, he's too dumb. He was coached on his speeches and approach by Chris Ruddy, Steve Bannon, and his son in law. Trump's only real talent is acting - he has been playing the same schtick since The Apprentice. He became his own character in the end.

As for having blue collar tastes, that's pretty debatable. His favorite two pastimes through most of his life have been golf and dinner parties. That's not very blue collar by any measure. His stated reason for liking fast food is because he trusts the QC and safety protocols required for them to stay in business.

luckyone wrote:

Last time I checked, Trump’s daddy bought him an Ivy League degree, and none of his advisers have had to count pennies

LCDFlight wrote:

luckyone wrote:

Aaron747 wrote:

It wasn't really him doing that, he's too dumb. He was coached on his speeches and approach by Chris Ruddy, Steve Bannon, and his son in law. Trump's only real talent is acting - he has been playing the same schtick since The Apprentice. He became his own character in the end.

As for having blue collar tastes, that's pretty debatable. His favorite two pastimes through most of his life have been golf and dinner parties. That's not very blue collar by any measure. His stated reason for liking fast food is because he trusts the QC and safety protocols required for them to stay in business.

Trump may not be “elite,” but he’s hardly a “blue collar self made man.” His business success is irrevocably built on the success of his fathers real estate empire. His business endeavors outside that have been a very mixed bag suggesting that his business acumen is just as much a marketing fabrication as his blue collar creds. Just because he eats McDonalds doesn’t mean he has the foggiest clue what the realities of a blue collar family are—he and most of his siblings have always had access to the residuals from their fathers investments. He is a good self-promoter and can play the part and as we’ve seen he’s very good at manipulating the media. Which is nothing but ironic considering how the people who support him by and large decry the media, yet they’ve been played by him as he uses it.

You are right that Trump inherited most or all of his money. If he doesn't have the foggiest clue what the realities of a blue collar family are, (which would make sense), he was still able to market to them. (Most likely, years of TV acting playing a character to middle America).

I just think other candidates did a terribly bad job trying to understand those families. Clinton had prim coastal advisors like Robby Mook who wouldn't know a normal family. He grew up the son of an Ivy League professor and got a BA in Classics at Columbia. This is NOT who should be running a middle America campaign LOL. He and Hillary didn't know jack shit about what they were trying to do.

Biden, for his part, still almost lost the 2020 election. His campaign was also run by incompetent fops. It was only after the Capitol travesty (security failures) on 1/6 that Biden truly got the mandate.

LCDFlight wrote:

You are right that Trump inherited most or all of his money. If he doesn't have the foggiest clue what the realities of a blue collar family are, (which would make sense), he was still able to market to them. (Most likely, years of TV acting playing a character to middle America).

I just think other candidates did a terribly bad job trying to understand those families. Clinton had prim coastal advisors like Robby Mook who wouldn't know a normal family. He grew up the son of an Ivy League professor and got a BA in Classics at Columbia. This is NOT who should be running a middle America campaign LOL. He and Hillary didn't know jack shit about what they were trying to do.

Biden, for his part, still almost lost the 2020 election. His campaign was also run by incompetent fops. It was only after the Capitol travesty (security failures) on 1/6 that Biden truly got the mandate.

wingman wrote:

luckyone wrote:

Last time I checked, Trump’s daddy bought him an Ivy League degree, and none of his advisers have had to count pennies

Daddy also bought him a medical deferment for a foot condition that miraculously disappeared as soon as he arrived at the first tee box. It's a wonder watching all these supposedly American First conservatives cheering on a draft dodging, chicken-shit wind bag.

seb146 wrote:

LCDFlight wrote:

You are right that Trump inherited most or all of his money. If he doesn't have the foggiest clue what the realities of a blue collar family are, (which would make sense), he was still able to market to them. (Most likely, years of TV acting playing a character to middle America).

I just think other candidates did a terribly bad job trying to understand those families. Clinton had prim coastal advisors like Robby Mook who wouldn't know a normal family. He grew up the son of an Ivy League professor and got a BA in Classics at Columbia. This is NOT who should be running a middle America campaign LOL. He and Hillary didn't know jack shit about what they were trying to do.

Biden, for his part, still almost lost the 2020 election. His campaign was also run by incompetent fops. It was only after the Capitol travesty (security failures) on 1/6 that Biden truly got the mandate.

So we are just going to forget about people like AOC and Bernie and Patty Murray who have actually had to work? Okay....

Also, Biden and Democrats were given a mandate in November. The 1/6 domestic terror event staged by MAGA Republicans to "change" the election was a formality. Biden's Electoral College and popular vote victories both happened in November. The "security failures" were begun by the MAGA leader. Remember it was him who decided not to add security to the White House after being told this would happen.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/p ... e-1113335/
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclus ... 021-04-26/

MAGAs had shirts made and even built a gallows to hang Pence. Not in effigy but actually hang him. Others were looking for Pelosi to execute her. The whole thing pi*ses me off but what is worse is that people in the Republican party actually defend this act of terrorism!

LCDFlight wrote:

I fail to see how adults who have worked in large organizations can claim there is “no such thing as a deep state.”

It is in the nature of large organizations to have clouded lines of sight and corroded purpose. A deep state (aka fiefdom, turf, skunk works, kingdom) takes care of members’ needs or wants first, citizens or oversight second. It is childish to think that a US President magically “oversees” all federal employees and can dissect disagreements within the intelligence community. The US government is far too big to manage like that. There are dozens of deep states within it. The largest is the one you see in DC, where thousands of officials socialize and plot together over a good drink or meal, frequently with a lobbyist or two.

The Justice Department’s top national security official is resigning from his position after revelations that the department secretly seized records from Democrats and members of the media.

John Demers will leave his position by the end of next week, a Justice Department official told The Associated Press on Monday.