Benedict Arnold is calling from the grave to thank Donald Trump

[Slyfox696]

After months of confusingly refusing to accept the assessment of US intelligence agencies regarding the intent and nature of Russian influence into the 2016 Presidential election, after months of calling any reports or investigations into said activities "fake news", President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on May 9th. Comey's dismissal came while the FBI is actively investigating any potential links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government and reportedly came only days after Comey requested additional resources to pursue the investigation.

Numerous sources have reported President Trump became livid with Comey after Comey has repeatedly refused to publicly exonerate President Trump of any wrong doing. Sources have said Trump does not feel like Comey is "loyal" to Trump and that this distrust led to the timing of his dismissal.

All of this is bad enough. But it's what happened the next day which had Mr. Benedict Arnold, long the namesake of treason and betrayal in America, smiling widely in his grave.

The day immediately after Trump unprofessionally fired Comey, while Comey's agency is investigating any Russian ties to the Trump campaign, Donald Trump, in a pre-arranged meeting, met with Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak. Kislyak, a man well known in the United States as a Russian spy, was the man about whom current Attorney General (and Trump nominee) Jeff Sessions hid his conversations during his Senate confirmation, which ultimately led to Sessions (apparently insincere) recusal from any Russian investigations.

But that's not all. Less than a month after a chilly meeting with Angela Merkel, leader of strong US ally Germany, President Trump is shown with a big smile on his face as he shakes the hand of not only foreign minister Lavrov, but also with well-known Russian spy Kislyak. But what makes this photo even more unreal is that the American press media was NOT allowed in the room during the meeting, so the only reason we have this picture is because Russian press was in the meeting and the Russian embassy tweeted it out later.

So just think about this for a second. As our President meets with the foreign minister of a country about which he's being investigated, he only allows Russian media in the meeting as he shakes hand with a well-known Russian spy, the day after firing the man whose agency is currently investigating any possible ties between Trump's campaign and Russia.

Move over Benedict Arnold, it's possible you may soon have to make room for another.

 

[ShinChan]

I'm just replying on the basis of the OP, so tell me if I'm wrong.

What I get from the OP is that there's indeed something wrong with Donald Trump. It actually indicates that the allegations about the linkage of the elections and Russian Government do have some legitimacy. I seriously doubt if Donald Trump would recruit an impartial FBI Director in future as he wouldn't want the allegations to be proven right by any measure.

All doesn't seem well for USA, atleast to me as of now. A businessman as a president seems like a wrong choice to me.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm not a Trump supporter, nor was I remotely all that impressed by Hilary Clinton, and I obviously have no proof of any sort of actual wrong doing regarding Trump and any collusion with Russia during the election. At the very least, firing Comey in this manner while he's in the middle of spearheading an FBI investigation into these allegations looks very, very, very bad and highly suspicious. If there's simply nothing that can be discovered because it isn't there as he's done nothing wrong, you would think Trump would simply go on about his business without hindering the investigation. His own rash, shoot from the hip action of firing Comey in this manner is what's making him look like he has something to hide; Trump's impulsive, emotional reaction to anything negative is what makes these controversies so...well...controversial. Whether it's making these ludicrous statements, making statements that are simply untrue, doubling down on his position even when he's been shown to be wrong, railing against anyone who simply doesn't agree with him, calling anything negative concerning him "fake news", he makes these molehills into mountains because of his unwillingness to simply let things go.

When I heard what Kellyanne Conway tell Anderson Cooper the reasons for Comey's firing, I almost shit a solid gold brick. According to her, Trump fired Comey over displeasure at how he handled the leaked email case involving Hilary Clinton. You know, the email scandal that helped him win the presidential election? The scandal that had Trump calling Clinton "Crooked Hilary" during almost the entirety of his campaign? The scandal in which he said that, if elected President, he would appoint a special prosecutor to go after Hilary Clinton? The scandal that caused Trump to sometimes lead supporters at rallies with chants of "lock her up?" Conway is Trump's puppet, she does what he says without question and that's why they famously get along, so I don't necessarily blame her for Trump's ludicrous reason that has no credibility. What I can't wrap my head around is that this woman could willingly tell such a weak, limp wristed story on live television to millions of people without the slightest bit of shame. It was so bad that it caused Cooper to roll his eyes, which she's now come out saying was sexism as he only did it because she's a woman.

The entire Trump Presidency has been such a travesty that I can't help but laugh. We're not even four months into his first term and there's some sort of new scandal or controversy every other week and I wonder how the man's possibly going to make it to 4 years. Maybe it's this Russian investigation or maybe it'll be something else entirely, but I see him being impeached before his first term is up as the man's simply got too much dirty laundry attached to him.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

For the sake of Americans, I hope this is the beginning of the end of Donald Trump as President of The United States. I'm sure Comey has a story to tell now that its been released that will pull back the curtain and force Washington to pull Trump from the White House. It still amazes me how many idiots voted for this idiot.

 

[Xemmy]

This has been thrown around repeatedly, but Comey's firing just screams "Saturday Night Massacre" from the Nixon administration. The only problem is, with a couple of exceptions, the Republican party seems to be completely A-OK with what's going on. I don't know if it's denial, greed, or ego, but many of them seem perfectly content with allowing Donald Trump to fire whomever he disagrees with whenever he pleases, regardless of conflict of interest. And even more frightening, it may very well make dealing with this situation impossible until 2018. And that prospect is honestly frightening. A lot of damage can be done in a year and a half. I'm not big on conspiracy theories, and I hate guessing, but Donald Trump with his actions over the course of the last week might has well have written "Guilty" in big black marker across his forehead.

I know Hillary was shady, but it still amazes me that people looked at her as "The lesser of two evils". It's like comparing a pissed house cat to a saber-tooth tiger. Sure, the house cat might claw up the new sofa, but at least you get to live.

 

[Барбоса]

This is the kind of situation which makes me wonder why the President is still empowered to sack (and presumably appoint) certain individuals like the head of the FBI, particularly those who might be involved in investigating anything even remotely linked to the President, before or during his time in the Oval Office.

Surely the FBI should be subject to judicial, Congressional or Senatorial rather than Presidential/executive oversight?

 

[Slyfox696]

This is the kind of situation which makes me wonder why the President is still empowered to sack (and presumably appoint) certain individuals like the head of the FBI, particularly those who might be involved in investigating anything even remotely linked to the President, before or during his time in the Oval Office.

Surely the FBI should be subject to judicial, Congressional or Senatorial rather than Presidential/executive oversight?

Ultimately, the President is the head of the executive branch, the branch of government for carrying out and enforcing laws passed by the legislative branch. So the power to command the enforcement of laws belongs to the President.

Obviously, that could lead to situations like this, but if you think about it, it really doesn't make sense to put the Justice Department under any other branch of government.

 

[Xemmy]

Ultimately, the President is the head of the executive branch, the branch of government for carrying out and enforcing laws passed by the legislative branch. So the power to command the enforcement of laws belongs to the President.

Obviously, that could lead to situations like this, but if you think about it, it really doesn't make sense to put the Justice Department under any other branch of government.

True, but I think it's fair to say that certain actions and organizations need some additional checks and balances. Senate approvals, actual reasons given for termination. Approval hearings or veto powers to prevent things like this from happening.

It's slowly dawned on me how much power the president has since the Bush years, but it really hits home hard when there's a Trump headline every week about relations being pulled, people being fired, and a fresh new executive order hot out of the oven.

 

[enviousdominous]

We all see the writing on the wall. Media sources are hedging their bets, but they all seem pretty damn certain that impeachment is looming.

Donald Trump is different, in a way that I can't begin to conceptualize. For what his voters wanted in a President, that's what he is. He's a name that's famous for its "my shit don't stink" attitude, and he scapegoats his faults as the product of an overzealous left-wing media juggernaut. That's all that they want; someone who never admits their faults, and who adds fuel to the tire fire that is misplaced scrutiny regarding media sources.

Is CNN often callous in their coverage of the Trump administration? I would say so. That's worthy for discussion as far as I'm concerned. Does that make them "fake news"? No, they report information within the bounds that are imposed by their investors, just like every other news organization to include fringe sources like Daily Mail and Brietbart.

Did Donald Trump obstruct justice by attempting to use his office to influence James Comey's investigation into Michael Flynn? That sounds about right. Even then, a question with such a substantial amount of predicate is probably going to fly over the head of the average American and earn you an answer of "I dunno" while they flick at their smart phone. For all the reasons I've heard that Donald Trump can be justifiably impeached, I haven't heard a single one that I imagine the average American could comprehend well enough to feel that any reaction is justified.

Donald Trump took the Presidency when within hours of the votes being counted he was given a 5% chance of winning. I won't be surprised if the Democrats (and some Republicans) have everything they would ordinarily need to make impeachment proceedings occur smoothly, and then some random oversight causes the entire effort to fail.