How many Trump scandals are there? Atlantic says only one

Is there another way?

Atlantic magazine has documented possibly the best list of scandals that Donald Trump is guilty of, while coming to the conclusion there is only one. There are, in fact, multiple cases which I will show later but these all add up to one entity...

"the corruption of the American government by the president and his associates, who are using their official power for personal and financial gain rather than for the welfare of the American people, and their attempts to shield that corruption from political consequences, public scrutiny, or legal accountability."

Yes, corruption is Donald Trump's real scandal, but the numerous public embarrassments this lunatic has put our country through are both heinous and completely unacceptable for the President of the most powerful nation in the world. Here are some of them...

"Russian campaign to aid Trump’s candidacy, president obstructed justice when he fired former FBI Director James Comey, president’s hush-money payments to women with whom he allegedly had extramarital affairs, corporate cash paid to influence White House, ongoing effort to interfere with the Russia inquiry and politicize federal law enforcement, foreign governments that seem to be utilizing the president’s properties as vehicles for influencing administration policy..."

...and there are a few others you can see in the Atlantic article. There's the recent stuff...

Aid to Chinese company ZTE following the Chinese government approved funding for a project in the vicinity of a Trump property in Indonesia, millions of dollars corporations paid to Cohen after the election for presidential favors, and then there was Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s own mini-universe of scandals...

The list goes on and on but does add up to one word, corruption. The United States is governed by a man so unscrupulous that there is nothing he won't do to promote the Donald Trump brand. His ego is postal as he is mired in a narcissism that ignores everyone else, the whole world. There was an American public that put him where he is, and a U.S. Congress (Job approval 16%) full of blithering idiots that have allowed this to go on longer than a year now. We have a nation in crisis and there is no one to bail it out, except, perhaps the youth. We can only hope they go to the polls in November.

Did Nunes quash all of Comey's work?

Devin Nunes---Whatta I do now?

Could the White House be on the verge of an investigation that could lead to a Donald Trump resignation or impeachment? Either is OK, of course. FBI director James B. Comey both confirms an open-ended investigation for Trump's ties to Russia, plus refuting the president’s claim of illegal surveillance by his predecessor. Got him with both barrels...right between the eyes, and Donald John knows it. Here's the Guardian's assessment...

"The first open hearing into Donald Trump’s alleged Russia connections on Monday ensured that the US president will operate under a cloud of suspicion until either the various inquiries deliver credible public conclusions or Trump leaves office, whichever comes first."

 Comey states there is no way this will be a quickie, rather, an on-going examination of all the facts that surround Trump's long-term association with Russia, and what, if any, effect it had on the 2016 election. It would appear the collection of evidence justifies the inquiry, and the serious attention it has been given by the intelligence community. The next date for a public hearing is March 28, with the ex-director of national intelligence James Clapper and the ex-CIA director John Brennan. Both these men had a part in the January analysis of Russian interference in 2016 to benefit Trump.

This is for sure the most defined advance on Donald John in the "Russians for Trump" PAC in the 2016 elections. But with the staying-power this current effort has, plus the number of Republicans that also believe there is substance to the investigation, in all likelihood we are moving toward an outcome that is not going to be acceptable to the reigning sovereign. Comey has affirmed that he is looking at any ""collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign," according to CNN, including...

"...any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts."

Republicans have repeatedly tried to push the investigation off track by laying the blame on Michael Flynn but here's a real crowd stopper...

"Comey testified that US intelligence agencies were agreed that Russia's aim evolved into an effort during the election to aid Trump over Clinton."

We should remember at this point that the FBI Director is the one who threw Hillary Clinton under the bus in the 2016 election with his letters to Congress re. her email investigation in the last eleven days before voters went to the polls. Further, "They wanted to hurt our democracy, hurt her, help him. I think all three we were confident in at least as early as December," Comey said.

And he tried to put to rest once again Trump's ludicrous charges of Barack Obama's wiretapping Trump Tower during the election stating, "...the Justice Department, along with the FBI, had no information to support the allegations." Adding the fact that "...no president could order a wiretapping operation against a specific American citizen."

So, enter Devin Nunes, House Intelligence Committee Chairman, who is accused today of turning the Trump's Russian connection into another Benghazi...the equivalent of Trey Gowdy. God help us! "Most of the lawmakers on the Intelligence Committee, previously known for its leave-your-party-at-the-door work, had held out hope there could be an independent, bipartisan probe into Russian interference in the U.S. elections," the Daily Beast reports. And here's their assessment of the latest...

"That hope died when their chairman went to the White House, and then the press, to discuss intelligence intercepts involving the 'incidental' collection of communications related to Donald Trump and members of his transition team before telling his own committee about the matter."

Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the panel said...

“What was today? It was the chairman of the committee helping the president create the next distraction,” added Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley, a member of the committee. “It was an attempt to be a distraction, sow confusion, create false narratives despite the evidence.”

Apparently, Schiff feels now that he can't even receive assurance from Nunes that this can continue as a credible investigation. But Nunes, as a House member investigating Trump and his White House staff must have just come stupid running to the Oval Office, then the media, instead of incorporating the newly found information into the investigation. As DB put it...

"He doesn’t use it as part of the committee’s investigation, but runs to the White House, which is a subject of the investigations.”

Or was Nunes' committee just a smokescreen from the beginning, set up to serve as a future link to the President, giving him fodder for dispute. It should be obvious by now there is not one Republican on the planet that I would trust. With that in mind, where do we go from here?  

Political Satire: What is Trump still hiding about Russia?

He's not heavy, he's my puppet 

Whatever it is, it is bad enough that Donald Trump has enlisted the help of Congress, the intelligence community. And now the FBI has refused to cooperate with the White House by downplaying the news stories about Donald John's close ties with Russia. It involves Trump associates’ ties to Russia and the fact that pressure is being applied to cover this up. Greg Miller of the Washington Post said...

"Acting at the behest of the White House, the officials made calls to news organizations last week in attempts to challenge stories about alleged contacts between members of President Trump’s campaign team and Russian intelligence operatives."

Here's some background on the story. According to Politifact...

"The Washington Post reported Dec. 9 that the CIA concluded Russia meddled in the election with the intent to help Trump, rather than to disrupt the election generally. The New York Times produced a similar report. However, the Washington Post also reported that the FBI isn't as confident in this conclusion. These stories are all based on anonymous sources and cannot be independently verified."

 But just last week, the FBI indicated that it would not downplay these same news reports after a request to do so from the White House. Business Insider Politics said...

"Trump administration officials wanted the FBI to disavow the reports and say there was no contact between people associated with Trump and Russia."

Democrats are still pissed over the fact that FBI Director James B. Comey released critical information about Hillary Clinton's email probe just prior to the 2016 election, yet kept quiet on the fact that Trump's campaign team had been in regular contact with Russia. Hillary Clinton accused Donald John of a direct tie between him and Vladimir Putin in one of the election debates, accusing her opponent of joining with the Russian leader to get rid of NATO. And then early in February, Trump voices his support for NATO admonishing member countries for better support.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said that...

 if the White House “contrived to have intelligence officials contradict unfavorable news reports, this represents a new and even more grave threat to the independence of the intelligence community.”

Former CIA director Michael Hayden expressed his concern that intelligence sources were being strong-armed into providing information that was later being interpreted into political speak and then put into the wording that best fit their message. What's new. But considering the Trump administration's  continued praise of Putin and all the action so far to get it out of the media, does that mean there is a smoking gun? And to cap it all off, Donald John has repeatedly criticized the intelligence organizations recently for leaking misinformation.

The leading example of Russian involvement in the 2016 election was the DNC hack where the embarrassing emails from Debbie Wasserman Schultz were uncovered, resulting in her being removed as chair. In this case the federal intelligence community, cybersecurity analysts, the Homeland Security Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a statement saying...

"...they believed people at the top levels of Russian government directed the attack in an attempt to interfere in the election."

Donald Trump took the Miss Universe pageant to Moscow in 2013, and he is known to have other

It might even look like this

business interests in Russia; specifically a desire to build a luxury Trump hotel in Moscow. But since he won't release his taxes, there is no way to know exactly what is going on. There is one thing we know for sure, Donald Trump is about business. He has been criticized time and again over the lack of complete separation between the presidency and his business-related interests. One son recently cost the federal govt. thousands of protection dollars to protect him in work abroad for the hotels.

Business insider Politics reported...

"Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse this week said he was sure the Russia-related cloud hanging over President Donald Trump's administration would not be clearing up anytime soon."

 The Rhode Island Democrat says Lindsey Graham's Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism will look at the issue from three perspectives. 1) Trump's relationship with Russia pertaining to his business enterprises; 2) What did these actually do to affect the 2016 election?; 3) How exactly was the Trump staff involved in, if any, shenanigans in trying to swing the election toward Donald John? It is a fact that more Republicans have evidenced their concern over the possibility that Russia might have some part in getting Trump elected.

It is important to note that three important Donald Trump advisers have left the White House staff due to their Russian ties. First, Paul Manafort, former campaign manager and consultant for a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine, left early, in August of 2016. Resignation has not been explained. Carter Page, former foreign policy adviser, left in September 2016, with ties to a business consultancy work for state-owned Russian oil giant Gazprom. Page is currently subject to U.S. investigations over his Russian connections. Michael Flynn left recently Feb. 13, for lying to V.P. Pence about speaking with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak in December 2016.

Politifact concluded...

"Based on the evidence, it seems highly unlikely that actions by the Russian government contributed in any decisive way to Trump’s win over Clinton."

Senior research scientist at CNA Analysis & Solutions, Dmitry Gorenburg, lamented over all the ruckus over what might have happened. What the U.S. should be concerned about is the fact that Russia even made the attempt. As an observer to all that has been written, that would indicate to me that the hackers felt they had the means to accomplish their goals and it is accepted knowledge that Putin's minions are known to be excellent cyber thieves. They were able to hack into and steal million from U.S. banks back in 2015.

However, former President George W. Bush said, "...that the American people deserve answers on the alleged connection between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia." This from Donald John's own party plus someone who sat in the Oval Office in the same place where he is sitting now just over eight years ago. And then just this past Friday...

"Republican Rep. Darrell Issa called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to hire an independent prosecutor to investigate the connection between the Trump campaign and Russia. Issa joins a number of Democrats in calling for an independent prosecutor."

I would expect that kind of rhetoric coming from a career building blowhard like Issa, but GWB is way beyond having to make a name for himself. Apparently the decision of a prosecutor is Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. This was Trump's, of course, Tweet response...

“Russia talk is FAKE NEWS put out by the Dems, and played up by the media, in order to mask the big election defeat and the illegal leaks!” 

And finally, Wilbur Ross, who probably will be confirmed Secretary of Finance tonight, is the latest with Donald John's conglomeration of Russian connections. Esquire reports that Ross has an ownership stake in a Cyprus bank in consultation with Russian President Vladimir Putin who was the first to prop up the institution. The magazine also notes that, "Cyprus banks have a long and painful history of laundering dirty money from Russians involved with corruption and criminality."

Well, it just doesn't get any better.