Mueller's Probe

[Barb135]

I'm reading articles that Donald Trump is renewing (or getting louder with) his calls to shut down the Mueller probe now that Jeff Sessions has fired Andrew McCabe.  Can Trump simply shut down the probe, any time he wants?  If so, what would happen if he did?

What are the chances that Sessions will end up firing Rod Rosenstein in an effort to get the probe shut down?

Sessions recused himself from the probe, which we all know, infuriated Trump - awww, too bad - but now, it seems as though he's thrown himself right into the middle of it, by firing McCabe - or am I wrong on that?

[mikesimon]

There is some cover for firing McCabe since the IG's report concluded wrong doing. I think it's pretty clear that Trump is the real force behind his firing though - he's been ranting about McCabe for months now.
Can Trump fire Mueller? Probably not directly but he could likely get the job done UNLESS REPUBLICANS STAND UP TO TRUMP. And at this stage that doesn't seem too promising.
It a worse mess than I ever imagined. We got N Korea and with Pompeo as Sec of State the Iran agreement looks on shaky ground. Our State Dept is so understaffed and hollowed out that the prospect of dealing with TWO nuclear actors is a scary one indeed!

[mikesimon]

Oh, and that's leaving out the fact that we're alienating our friends with talks of tariffs and trade wars.
But Trump never comes on strong about Putin and a reasonable person just has to wonder why that is.

[Barb135]

I do understand that the IG's report concluded wrongdoing on McCabe's part, but doesn't it seem a bit fishy that they waited until now to do anything about it?  Or does it, simply, take this long for the so-called "wheel's of justice" to grind?

I heard that both Jeff Flake and Lindsay Graham, are insisting that they aren't going to let Mueller's probe be ended, but I'm doubting if 2 Congressmen can do anything all by themselves, especially, since they've been known to cave plenty of times in the past. Nobody else is saying much, at this point, that I've heard, other than Democrats and there's not a lot they can do by themselves.

Iran, tariffs, trade wars, and Trump's apparent favor for Putin - you had to bring them up, didn't you?  :-)

You left out the Stormy Daniels debacle.  Is that as bad for Trump as they're saying?  I read yesterday that if she gets out of that non-disclosure agreement, that situation will be the beginning of Trump's undoing... I can't see her getting out the agreement, but if she does, I can't see how it could be his undoing anyway.  I guess we can only hope...

[mikesimon]

Unless there is a serious campaign finance violation I don't think Trump's base will care a bit about Stormy. The Evangelicals certainly haven't seemed to care. It's a strange world we live in. It's stranger than fiction these days.  

[brice1967]

"It's a strange world we live in. It's stranger than fiction these days."  Ain't that the truth.  I never thought this guy could ever get elected.  I knew he was a seedy, sketchy dude and couldn't figure out why some people I thought were pretty stand up people voted for the schmo.

[Barb135]

I could see some voting for him in the beginning, but I can't see all the people that are still supporting him, at this point.  After all the stuff he's pulled and the stupid things he's done, you'd think the religious, holier than thou people would be leaving him in droves.

I know people that wouldn't miss a church service if their life depended on it, and they're so "for him" it's not bothering them a bit that he was romping around with a prostitute while his wife was pregnant... So much for morality.

[brice1967]

Morality is the baby that got thrown out with the bath water.  I find it difficult to watch otherwise morally sufficient people stoop to still back this guy.  It just seems so dishonest and slimy.  The sound of his voice, the dumb things he says, his stupid hand gestures... I wish his train would run off the track already.