Profile picture
Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
, 4 tweets, 2 min read Read on Twitter
With help from a legal expert, I tried to deconstruct the new White House letter attacking the Mueller probe as illegitimate.

At its core, the argument is absurd. It amounts to a declaration that Trump is beyond accountability entirely.

My new piece:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Here's the crux.

Emmet Flood claims Mueller had no right to say Trump is *not* exonerated.

But Flood doesn't address *why* Mueller did this -- because he couldn't indict.

The resulting construction is an absurdity that puts Trump beyond accountability:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
One other key point here:

Mueller declined to make the call on Trump's criminality out of an *abundance of fairness to Trump.*

Now the White House and Emmet Flood are exploiting that in a way that's saturated in bad faith:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
One more point.

Here's an interesting question: What happens if Mueller testifies to Congress, and he's asked why he declined to exonerate Trump?

Here's one possibility:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Missing some Tweet in this thread?
You can try to force a refresh.

Like this thread? Get email updates or save it to PDF!

Subscribe to Greg Sargent
Profile picture

Get real-time email alerts when new unrolls are available from this author!

This content may be removed anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @ThePlumLineGS see all

Profile picture
Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
NEW:

@RepAdamSchiff tells me the case for impeachment hearings is getting stronger.

"Obstruction of Congress, following on the obstruction of the Mueller investigation, does strengthen the case to move forward with an impeachment proceeding," he says.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
@RepAdamSchiff Here's another interesting point from @RepAdamSchiff.

He suggests to me that William Barr and the White House might be behind the refusal of the FBI to turn over the investigation's *counterintelligence* findings:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
"These continued acts of willful obstruction add new weight to those who have advocated impeachment. That will be particularly so if the court finds we can only gain access to some of these records if that formal process is initiated."

-- @RepAdamSchiff

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Read 3 tweets
Profile picture
Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
Pay attention to this important new @adamliptak piece.

"Were the House to open impeachment proceedings against Trump, its right to gather information would be strengthened," Liptak writes, citing a House Watergate lawyer.

cc @jbview @jonathanchait

nytimes.com/2019/05/07/us/…
@adamliptak @jbview @jonathanchait One of the key points that this Liptak piece makes is that, in the face of maximal Trump/WH resistance, the oversight tools that House Dems are employing may *fail.*

This would leave an impeachment inquiry as the way to maximize leverage:

nytimes.com/2019/05/07/us/…
@adamliptak @jbview @jonathanchait We are now learning that DOJ is trying to get WH to exert executive privilege to keep unredacted Mueller report and underlying materials from Congress.

This will escalate. There is no point at which the administration will stop treating the House as fundamentally illegitimate.
Read 6 tweets
Profile picture
Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
The Treasury Department is officially refusing to release Trump's tax returns, as required by law:

home.treasury.gov/system/files/1…

Just a reminder that initiating an impeachment inquiry *strengthens* the legal hand of Dems in forcing cooperation with their oversight demands:
Now that Treasury has officially refused to turn Trump's tax returns over to the House, as required by law, here's legal expert @RDEliason on why an impeachment inquiry might put Democrats in a stronger position to get them:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
@RDEliason And here's expert @JoshuaMatz8 on why an impeachment context maximizes Dem leverage, for sound structural reasons:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Read 3 tweets

Related threads

Profile picture
MSNBC
@MSNBC
NEW: White House says President Trump and President Putin discussed the Mueller report and agreed that "there was no collusion" during a phone call that lasted more than an hour Friday. on.msnbc.com/2GUNSMa
White House says President Trump and President Putin discussed the Mueller report and agreed that "there was no collusion" during a phone call that lasted more than an hour Friday. on.msnbc.com/2VdFrWb
White House says President Trump talked to President Putin at length about the importance and need for Russia to pressure North Korea to denuclearize.
Read 4 tweets
Profile picture
Seth Abramson
@SethAbramson
(MUELLER REPORT LIVE THREAD) This thread chronicles—in real time—the release of the Mueller Report, with news and analysis from a @Newsweek columnist and @NYTimes bestselling author (Proof of Collusion). Please retweet this thread widely for those you think might benefit from it.
1/ I want to start by offering my @Newsweek column from today (April 17), which sets the stage for what the Thursday (April 18) release of the Mueller Report will and will not be: newsweek.com/william-barr-r…
2/ I've also detailed errors made by media in the run-up to the release of the Mueller Report. If you read the @Newsweek piece atop this thread and then the thread below, you'll get a sense of what an accurate accounting of events is up against right now.
Read 453 tweets
Profile picture
ΞLΞVΞNTH
@3L3V3NTH
#New Trump Tower meeting emerges with Donald Trump Jr. and Saudi representative to discuss "Iran policy." huffpost.com/entry/erik-pri…
The meeting also reportedly included now-top White House aide Stephen Miller and Israeli social media expert Joel Zamel.
Who is Joel Zamel, the Australian-Israeli linked to Mueller’s Trump Probe? haaretz.com/israel-news/.p…
Read 8 tweets
Profile picture
Seth Abramson
@SethAbramson
(THREAD) The Whitaker scandal is deepening, as it becomes clear that Sessions' Russia recusal was a coordinated sham and his firing an act of obstruction—and that his replacement is a White House plant inside the Mueller probe. I hope you'll retweet and read on for more details.
1/ From 2014-17 Whitaker worked for World Patent Marketing—which during his tenure defrauded consumers out of $26 million and was successfully prosecuted by the feds. His involvement in the scam confirmed he had loose morals and that the feds would never want to employ him again.
2/ Despite the seeming impossibility of a man with Whitaker's background getting a job at Justice ever again—he'd been found to have used his former title as a US attorney to fraudulently threaten consumers with valid complaints with criminal penalties—Whitaker found an opening.
Read 26 tweets
Profile picture
Thomas Wood 🌊
@twoodiac
#mueller #russiagate
tinyurl.com/y9zleneo
This article has provoked a lot of commentary today. Most of the commentary from the the left has been alarmist, though some (like @SethAbramson) have been dismissive. I don’t think either response is appropriate. 1/16
There was every reason to expect that Mueller would go into action again shortly after the election; we didn’t need this article to know that. 2/16
Read 17 tweets
Profile picture
G. Elliott Morris📈🤷‍♂️
@gelliottmorris
#New PA cong. map increases D chance of winning the House majority by 4%. They only need a 6.8% generic ballot margin now (down from 7.7) to be favored.

Diff. will be closer to 10% in Nov when uncertainty from polls is ⬇️. Redraw is a very big deal.

One major reason the new PA map is such a big gain for Democrats is that it solidifies, not just tips, PA districts in Philly burbs. Also creates one additional vulnerable R district. (Easily seen in this map made by @JMilesColeman)
My forecasting model will have new PA map in the near future. This is not just a simple switch; it’s a coding redesign, restructuring of input, & drawing new geographic files. Takes a while (for me, a student).

In the meantime, just add 3-4% to the model: bit.ly/2018_house
Read 4 tweets

Trending hashtags

#FoxNews #Flynn #SubornationOfPerjury #POTUS #FakeOppo #Barr #KremlinAnnex #drones #WideAwake #Bolton #Treason #EnoughIsEnough #BoomerangSuicide #Whitaker #Facebook #PodestaBrothers #FAKENEWS #WhereWeGoOneWeGoAll #Wikileaks #CarterPage #Soon #RogerStoneindictment #Mueller #Brennan #ReleaseTheText
Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!