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Trump apologists are claiming the FBI opened a counterintelligence inquiry into the possibility Russia has some influence over POTUS because it disagrees with his foreign policy.
I was going to point out the reasons that's ridiculous, but @RadioFreeTom did it well in this thread.
I was going to point out the reasons that's ridiculous, but @RadioFreeTom did it well in this thread.
The key fact, which Trump apologists are hoping you forget, is that Trump's action that raised their suspicion wasn't advocating improved US-Russian relations. It was trying to stifle the investigation into Russia's activity regarding the 2016 election.
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Investigating Russia's electoral interference isn't foreign policy. It's law enforcement, counterintelligence, and national security.
And it's fully legitimate. Even Trump apologists are no longer pretending Russia did nothing (they've retreated to claiming it didn't matter).
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And it's fully legitimate. Even Trump apologists are no longer pretending Russia did nothing (they've retreated to claiming it didn't matter).
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The Mueller investigation has already resulted in numerous confessions, indictments, and convictions. There's undeniably something there.
Investigating illegal activity in the US by a foreign adversary, possibly aided by some Americans, is very much within the FBI's purview.
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Investigating illegal activity in the US by a foreign adversary, possibly aided by some Americans, is very much within the FBI's purview.
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Why would Trump try to stifle the FBI investigation?
One possibility: it casts doubt on his legitimacy, and his political standing (or ego) can't take it.
Another possibility is Russia has some influence over him. As @benjaminwittes put it, obstruction was more collusion.
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One possibility: it casts doubt on his legitimacy, and his political standing (or ego) can't take it.
Another possibility is Russia has some influence over him. As @benjaminwittes put it, obstruction was more collusion.
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There are many publicly-known reasons to suspect Russia has influence over Trump (I wrote about some in this article).
But has Trump ever acted in service to Russia's interests over America's (on purpose)?
I don't know. But it's a reasonable question.
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arcdigital.media/robert-mueller…
But has Trump ever acted in service to Russia's interests over America's (on purpose)?
I don't know. But it's a reasonable question.
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arcdigital.media/robert-mueller…
As @RadioFreeTom points out, the FBI's counterintelligence mandate long predates Trump, and has full legal authorization. That means willfully ignoring reasonable suspicion of hostile foreign intelligence activity would be a dereliction of duty.
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I won't step on the rest of Nichols' thread, which you should read. But the big takeaway is claiming the FBI opened a counterintel inquiry because of foreign policy disagreement is another attempt by Trump apologists to warp the facts because they find reality inconvenient.
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I don't presume to know why you're pretending Trump didn't admit on national television he fired Comey because of the Russia investigation, but I'm not going to join your cognitive dissonance.
