The Watergate-sized scandals rocking the Trump and Obama administrations By Michael Goodwin

[mystery-ak]

Opinion
The Watergate-sized scandals rocking the Trump and Obama administrations

By Michael Goodwin

April 2, 2017 | 7:42am

Just when you thought Washington couldn’t get worse, we’re swamped by sensational headlines and breathless reports about Russia, wiretaps and criminal leaks of classified material.

Throw in a leading congressman’s late-night meeting at the White House, and it all has the feel of a second-rate movie plot. But don’t you dare tune out, because we are witnessing an unprecedented event: two potential Watergate-sized scandals involving two presidents are emerging simultaneously.

Did Donald Trump collude with Russia to defeat Hillary Clinton? Did Barack Obama politicize law enforcement and intelligence-gathering to spy on Trump and destroy his presidency?

more
http://nypost.com/2017/04/02/the-watergate-sized-scandals-rocking-the-trump-and-obama-administration/

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Ridiculous hyperbole imo. Nothing watergate sized.

[musiclady]

Ridiculous hyperbole imo. Nothing watergate sized.

Actually, in retrospect, Watergate has been hyperbolized........

[Cripplecreek]

Actually, in retrospect, Watergate has been hyperbolized........

Yeah, I'd be happy to go back to the relatively clean governance of Nixon.

[TomSea]

The author is correct, those trying to slow Trump have committed the most vile acts as Goodwin mentions about Obama.

[musiclady]

Yeah, I'd be happy to go back to the relatively clean governance of Nixon.

Seriously!

And to the day when political criminals were held accountable for their crimes.

[Frank Cannon]

Seriously!

And to the day when political criminals were held accountable for their crimes.

So Nixon went to jail?

[don-o]

Ridiculous hyperbole imo. Nothing watergate sized.

How informed is that opinion?

Watergate was an attempted cover up of criminal acts by Nixon's henchmen. To this point, there are too many beans spilled for a coverup; but the scope of the criminality (misuse of classified data) is much more serious than a breaking and entering charge.

[Sanguine]

How informed is that opinion?

Watergate was an attempted cover up of criminal acts by Nixon's henchmen. To this point, there are too many beans spilled for a coverup; but the scope of the criminality (misuse of classified data) is much more serious than a breaking and entering charge.

I agree, if this is what it appears to be, it's much bigger than Watergate.

[musiclady]

So Nixon went to jail?

C'mon Frank!  (Sometimes you're just difficult for the sake of being difficult). 

Nixon resigned in disgrace for trying to hide the crime.  That's a big deal, and "being held accountable"....which is what I said).  The masterminds and criminals went to jail, and they were held accountable as well.

[EasyAce]

Let's see---Donaldus Minimus colluding with Russia to finish what Hilarious Rodent Clinton's own incompetence
started. (Wonder if any wag would have the balls to play or sing "On Wisconsin!" at her next birthday party?)
His Excellency Al-Hashish Field Marshmallow Dr. Barack Obama Dada forging an apparatus to spy on Donaldus
Minimus. At the rate these things are going, Watergate's going to resemble a college prank and Teapot Dome's
going to resemble just a sour backroom deal in some bank somewhere.

[Smokin Joe]

I agree, if this is what it appears to be, it's much bigger than Watergate.

I predict as much will come of this as the code word files on Hillary's server. Those files should not have even been outside of the computer they were generated on, which isn't supposed to be linked to anywhere. Possession of one file is a serious breach of security and a Felony, she had a bunch of them--on a private server open to the web.

[Hondo69]

Not that long ago we had a manufactured scandal that revolved around Valerie Plame.  The alleged crime was the outing of her "spy" status by someone within the Bush administration.  The idea being that revealing her status put her in harm's way.

From a media frenzy standpoint the Valerie Plame Affair was 10 times worse than Watergate.  At least during Watergate the news media managed to squeeze in other "news" and didn't pound the same old story non-stop.  But that was before cable TV and the internet so it's hard to compare the two as apples and apples.

Yet it does illustrate a few important points.  1) Watergate brought down an administration so it became the scandal benchmark other scandals are compared to by the press.  2) In the 1970's the social norms were such that a massive Cover Up by a sitting administration was considered very bad form a moral standpoint.  3) The media determines which scandals are newsworthy and which scandals are not.

The manufactured scandal with Valerie Plame eventually generated a Grand Jury investigation.  This is key because when a Grand Jury becomes involved the rules change completely - ask Scooter Libby if you don't believe me.  He went to prison for lying to Grand Jury because he couldn't remember if he once bumped into journalist Tim Russert between meetings or not two years after the fact.

In comparison, a Grand Jury was never convened for:

[1] Benghazi
[2] The IRS vs The Tea Party
[3] Barack Obama outing the identity of dozens of undercover CIA agents
[4] Fast and Furious
[5] The VA systematically killing off our vets
[6] Hillary emailing US secrets all around the world
[7] Uranium for cash paid to the Clinton Foundation
Etc

By the way, Valerie Plame was never put in harm's way.

[Smokin Joe]

Well, you know how that works. It all depends on whose ox is getting gored by whose. If the ox doing the Gore-ing is a Democrat, why, it's just a scratch, at most.
I'd still like to see grand juries for all of those. IIRC, there is no statute of limitations for Murder or Treason.

[don-o]

In comparison, a Grand Jury was never convened for:

 

Good post @hondo68

I'll risk being laughed at to hope that perhaps Sessions is preparing for presentments as we speak. 

[Smokin Joe]

Good post @hondo68

I'll risk being laughed at to hope that perhaps Sessions is preparing for presentments as we speak.

You are a brave one, sir.

[Bigun]

I predict as much will come of this as the code word files on Hillary's server. Those files should not have even been outside of the computer they were generated on, which isn't supposed to be linked to anywhere. Possession of one file is a serious breach of security and a Felony, she had a bunch of them--on a private server open to the web.

Sadly I must agree with you but the pile under the rug is getting pretty big now!

[Bigun]

Not that long ago we had a manufactured scandal that revolved around Valerie Plame.  The alleged crime was the outing of her "spy" status by someone within the Bush administration.  The idea being that revealing her status put her in harm's way.

From a media frenzy standpoint the Valerie Plame Affair was 10 times worse than Watergate.  At least during Watergate the news media managed to squeeze in other "news" and didn't pound the same old story non-stop.  But that was before cable TV and the internet so it's hard to compare the two as apples and apples.

Yet it does illustrate a few important points.  1) Watergate brought down an administration so it became the scandal benchmark other scandals are compared to by the press.  2) In the 1970's the social norms were such that a massive Cover Up by a sitting administration was considered very bad form a moral standpoint.  3) The media determines which scandals are newsworthy and which scandals are not.

The manufactured scandal with Valerie Plame eventually generated a Grand Jury investigation.  This is key because when a Grand Jury becomes involved the rules change completely - ask Scooter Libby if you don't believe me.  He went to prison for lying to Grand Jury because he couldn't remember if he once bumped into journalist Tim Russert between meetings or not two years after the fact.

In comparison, a Grand Jury was never convened for:

[1] Benghazi
[2] The IRS vs The Tea Party
[3] Barack Obama outing the identity of dozens of undercover CIA agents
[4] Fast and Furious
[5] The VA systematically killing off our vets
[6] Hillary emailing US secrets all around the world
[7] Uranium for cash paid to the Clinton Foundation
Etc

By the way, Valerie Plame was never put in harm's way.

Great post!  Shows just how low the Department of Justice has sunk over recent years.  Hopefully Jeff Sessions will rectify that but I won't be holding my breath waiting for it to happen.

Valarie Plame wasn't even an active agent at the time.

[Smokin Joe]

Sadly I must agree with you but the pile under the rug is getting pretty big now!

Yeah. It's beginning to look like someone carpeted Mount Trashmore.

https://www.virginia.org/Listings/OutdoorsAndSports/MountTrashmorePark/

[Cripplecreek]

Reading this thread its pretty obvious that most of you don't want to fix anything in DC. A thread about the slime that is Donald Trump becomes a thread about Clinton and childish fantasies about the DOJ going after her. Trump telegraphed months ago that nothing was going to happen when he was complaining about how Trey Gowdy "Let her get away". You don't say that about someone you intend to pursue.

Trump is in greater danger of prosecution for the simple fact that not all of us can lie for him or adopt the situational ethics of the left when its convenient. I don't really care if you think you're sticking it to the democrats, you're still screwing the country and your patriotism ranks on par with Nancy Pelosi and Barrack Obama.

[Smokin Joe]

Reading this thread its pretty obvious that most of you don't want to fix anything in DC. A thread about the slime that is Donald Trump becomes a thread about Clinton and childish fantasies about the DOJ going after her. Trump telegraphed months ago that nothing was going to happen when he was complaining about how Trey Gowdy "Let her get away". You don't say that about someone you intend to pursue.

Trump is in greater danger of prosecution for the simple fact that not all of us can lie for him or adopt the situational ethics of the left when its convenient. I don't really care if you think you're sticking it to the democrats, you're still screwing the country and your patriotism ranks on par with Nancy Pelosi and Barrack Obama.

I'm not for anyone in DC getting away with any violation of law that would have any of us looking through bars for decades, and I don't care what Party they are from. We didn't hire any of them to break the laws we have to go by, and the idea that some are above the law has been anathema back to the Magna Carta.

There are plenty of lampposts in DC and even a few stout trees. Considering the boats from the Tidal Basin to the Chesapeake, there should be plenty of rope, too.

The question is one of if we are a nation with the rule of law, or the rule of media. The latter diminished every egregious violation of law from the last administration, and continues to do so today, while blowing events from this administration out of proportion. IF the Trump administration has committed violations, clean it up and prosecute those deserving of prosecution. But do not give the sins of the past administration absolution just because their terms of office are over. The mentality of avoiding prosecution until either end of term or resignation giving someone a pardon has to cease.

[Cripplecreek]

I'm not for anyone in DC getting away with any violation of law that would have any of us looking through bars for decades, and I don't care what Party they are from. We didn't hire any of them to break the laws we have to go by, and the idea that some are above the law has been anathema back to the Magna Carta.

 But do not give the sins of the past administration absolution just because their terms of office are over. The mentality of avoiding prosecution until either end of term or resignation giving someone a pardon has to cease.

he American people are the ones who give absolution. The politicians on both sides know that they'll get team protection and to make matters worse, both sides get the DC insider team protection. They all know that they'll never go to jail unless the DC Club kicks them out and they go to a criminal courtroom. Instead we spend millions of dollars and years investigating political crimes that everybody knows won't be prosecuted.

It could change but it won't because the vast majority of Americans across the political spectrum are unethical bottom feeders like ClinTrump.

[Hondo69]

A thread about the slime that is Donald Trump becomes a thread about Clinton ...

I must be missing something.

The headlines reads:  " . . .rocking the Trump and Obama administrations" - not sure how this singles out the slime that is Donald Trump.

Secondly, the scandal about Trump colluding with the Russians to defeat Hillary is another manufactured scandal the best I can tell so far.  Now I'll be the first to admit I don't watch a lot of news, but I think I would have heard about any solid evidence if it exists.

Lastly, I have my own list of complaints about the Trump administration, but they have nothing to do with the Russians.  If the Trump DOJ chooses to ignore the crimes of the Obama administration I'll be in there screaming bloody murder as loud as anyone.  But it's only been 10 weeks.

[don-o]

Trump is in greater danger of prosecution......

snip

The shark has been jumped.