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Post by lucyg on Oct 26, 2020 6:25:05 GMT
If you are posting that conspiracy theory, you are as desperate as Trump. The contents of the laptop have not been verified by the FBI. But, we do know that Giuliani was in contact with Russian intelligence agents. The origins of the laptop are very sketchy. Despite Adam Schiff's claim it's Russia, Russia Russia, and the news repeating his claims...
Director of Intelligence John Ratcliffe announced yesterday that the emails were not part of a Russian disinformation campaign. “Let me be clear, the intelligence community doesn’t believe that, because there is no intelligence that supports that and we shared no intelligence with chairman Schiff or any other member of Congress that Hunter Biden’s laptop is part of some Russian disinformation campaign,” Ratcliffe said. “It’s simply not true.” Ratcliffe said that Schiff “wants anything against his preferred political candidate to be deemed as not real and is using the intelligence community, or attempting to use the intelligence community, to say there’s nothing to see here.” “Don’t drag the intelligence community into this,” Ratcliffe continued. “Hunter Biden’s laptop is not part of some Russian disinformation campaign and I think it’s clear the American people know that.” John Ratcliffe has broken with long tradition and is using the office of the DNI to push a political agenda, rather than scrupulously keeping the intelligence services free of politics. Rudy Giuliani got that laptop story from a known Russian operative and delivered it straight to the New York Post, where even the reporter who wrote the story refused to have his byline associated with it. That sounds legit.  I am unconcerned about Joe Biden’s integrity, long known as the poorest guy in the Senate. Here’s a fun news/opinion piece on the subject. www.politico.com/news/2020/10/23/hunter-biden-wins-the-debate-431558 |
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Post by pixiechick on Oct 26, 2020 10:57:49 GMT
Despite Adam Schiff's claim it's Russia, Russia Russia, and the news repeating his claims...
Director of Intelligence John Ratcliffe announced yesterday that the emails were not part of a Russian disinformation campaign. “Let me be clear, the intelligence community doesn’t believe that, because there is no intelligence that supports that and we shared no intelligence with chairman Schiff or any other member of Congress that Hunter Biden’s laptop is part of some Russian disinformation campaign,” Ratcliffe said. “It’s simply not true.” Ratcliffe said that Schiff “wants anything against his preferred political candidate to be deemed as not real and is using the intelligence community, or attempting to use the intelligence community, to say there’s nothing to see here.” “Don’t drag the intelligence community into this,” Ratcliffe continued. “Hunter Biden’s laptop is not part of some Russian disinformation campaign and I think it’s clear the American people know that.” John Ratcliffe has broken with long tradition and is using the office of the DNI to push a political agenda, rather than scrupulously keeping the intelligence services free of politics. Rudy Giuliani got that laptop story from a known Russian operative and delivered it straight to the New York Post, where even the reporter who wrote the story refused to have his byline associated with it. That sounds legit. I am unconcerned about Joe Biden’s integrity, long known as the poorest guy in the Senate. Okay.  |
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lizacreates
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,856 
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Post by lizacreates on Oct 26, 2020 13:31:09 GMT
Despite Adam Schiff's claim it's Russia, Russia Russia, and the news repeating his claims...
Director of Intelligence John Ratcliffe announced yesterday that the emails were not part of a Russian disinformation campaign. “Let me be clear, the intelligence community doesn’t believe that, because there is no intelligence that supports that and we shared no intelligence with chairman Schiff or any other member of Congress that Hunter Biden’s laptop is part of some Russian disinformation campaign,” Ratcliffe said. “It’s simply not true.” Ratcliffe said that Schiff “wants anything against his preferred political candidate to be deemed as not real and is using the intelligence community, or attempting to use the intelligence community, to say there’s nothing to see here.” “Don’t drag the intelligence community into this,” Ratcliffe continued. “Hunter Biden’s laptop is not part of some Russian disinformation campaign and I think it’s clear the American people know that.” John Ratcliffe has broken with long tradition and is using the office of the DNI to push a political agenda, rather than scrupulously keeping the intelligence services free of politics. Rudy Giuliani got that laptop story from a known Russian operative and delivered it straight to the New York Post, where even the reporter who wrote the story refused to have his byline associated with it. That sounds legit. I am unconcerned about Joe Biden’s integrity, long known as the poorest guy in the Senate. Here’s a fun news/opinion piece on the subject. www.politico.com/news/2020/10/23/hunter-biden-wins-the-debate-431558I was listening to a podcast several days ago and that’s when I learned that the first outlet Giuliani shopped this sketchy claim to was Fox. Fox did not run it because EVEN THEY had concerns about its veracity, and that’s why the story ended up in the NY Post. NYP was the only one willing to run it, at which point Fox felt it was okay to piggyback on it so they don’t have to be responsible for vetting. |
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Post by papersilly on Oct 26, 2020 20:24:51 GMT
two can play that vindictive game. on November 3rd, i hope the people cut his salary to zero, take away his office, and ding his massive ego with a loss. Since he doesn't take a salary, his salary is already zero. although his salary is technically zero, his business hotels (thus him) are earning more off the US Government than the salary he is donating. every time he stays at one of his properties and they have to house the Secret Service, how much do you think the government is paying for that??? i read somewhere it was in the millions because he's played golf far more than his predecessor. so, when i say cut his salary, i mean cut it all----the government reimbursement to his properties and whatever else he is billing them for. |
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Oct 26, 2020 21:21:30 GMT
two can play that vindictive game. on November 3rd, i hope the people cut his salary to zero, take away his office, and ding his massive ego with a loss. Since he doesn't take a salary, his salary is already zero. This is factually incorrect. The Constitution REQUIRES a president to take a salary. They cannot opt out of that. They also receive free healthcare, free housing, and allowances for personal needs ($50K) and household costs. They can, however, donate it if they choose. And, once the president leaves office, he is entitled to a (pension) and benefits every year— and the current pension is around $1.2 million dollars a year (with approximately 40% of that allotted for office space). So even after trump is gone , he will continue to be given a “salary” or pension for the rest of his life. Taxpayer funded, of course. |
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Post by lucyg on Oct 26, 2020 21:25:14 GMT
Since he doesn't take a salary, his salary is already zero. This is factually incorrect. The Constitution REQUIRES a president to take a salary. They cannot opt out of that. They also receive free healthcare, free housing, and allowances for personal needs ($50K) and household costs. They can, however, donate it if they choose. And, once the president leaves office, he is entitled to a (pension) and benefits every year— and the current pension is around $1.2 million dollars a year (with approximately 40% of that allotted for office space). So even after trump is gone , he will continue to be given a “salary” or pension for the rest of his life. Taxpayer funded, of course. I am totally willing to give him $1.2 million/year of taxpayer money to just go the hell away. |
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Oct 26, 2020 21:28:06 GMT
With Hunter's computer in the possession of the FBI, more devices from someone else coming in, an eyewitness to the dealings, an eyewitness that says Biden's claims that he doesn't talk to Hunter about his business dealings is an outright lie, a money laundering investigation, it sure looks like Biden has benefited financially from his office in so many corrupt ways. I guess we'll know soon enough. You’ve obviously ignored the part where the news source has (and within a 24 hr period from its release) has disputed the article—the same news that wrote it! “White House lawyer helped shop controversial Hunter Biden story to Wall Street Journal: NYT” But with Gia, facts don’t matter. |
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Post by aj2hall on Oct 26, 2020 22:23:16 GMT
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lizacreates
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,856
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Post by lizacreates on Oct 26, 2020 22:29:31 GMT
Would any reasonable person even seriously consider Giuliani a reliable source? Maybe many years ago when he was SDNY’s boss and the 9/11 mayor one could regard him as stable. But the last few years? He’s become just another right-wing crackpot who peddles conspiracy garbage. Everyone knows by now he’s been in Ukraine trying to dig up dirt on the Bidens for so long and glommed onto Derkach (another corrupt Russian agent and conspiracy nut who was sanctioned by Trump’s own Treasury Dept) and the fishiest of fishy claims.
These purported Giuliani bombshells are so doubtful that even Igor Novikov, former adviser to Ukraine’s President Zelensky, had warned that “…anything coming from Ukraine's kompromat market should be treated with caution, as it's ‘extremely hard to verify, yet very easy to fake…’ ” That’s why former CIA officer Alex Finley joked, "If Borat was able to compromise Rudy, imagine what a trained intelligence officer could do."
From Time Magazine: “During his travels in Europe last year, Giuliani met with a variety of Ukrainian politicians, businessmen and former law enforcement officers whom he has since described as ‘whistleblowers’ and witnesses to the Biden family’s alleged corruption in Ukraine. None of the accusations these sources made via Giuliani has stood up to public scrutiny, and no evidence has emerged of wrongdoing by Joe Biden in Ukraine.”
Equally risible is the sheer absurdity of Trump and his bootlickers accusing Joe Biden of corruption. Trump, his family and his administration are the most corrupt the US has ever had the great misfortune to grapple with. The American Prospect did an exceptional job in mapping and reporting the Trump admin’s stunning level of misdeeds, frauds, double-dealing and chicanery at just about every agency: HUD, Transportation, Health & Human Svcs, Education, Energy, Agriculture, Labor, EPA, Justice, Commerce, Treasury, Consumer Protection, Interior, State, Homeland Security. As to Trump and his family’s corruptions, entire BOOKS have been written detailing them (yes, the scope is so vast and the incidences so numerous it took books to amass them).
But yet, you have these MAGA diehards trying to prove otherwise and claiming it’s Biden who’s corrupt based on some blind laptop repairman (!) in Delaware who had an abandoned and waterlogged Hunter Biden laptop with purportedly incriminating emails. (Yeah, sure. Hunter, who lives in CALIFORNIA, flew to Delaware to have his laptop repaired. Even if you hate CA, the one thing you can’t claim is that the state lacks computer techs.)
Even if we pretend there’s probative value in these ambiguous emails (and that’s a huge IF), Hunter is not on the ballot, and the Senate GOP investigation itself, in an 87-page report, uncovered no evidence whatsoever that Joe received foreign monies, or was a participant in a pay-to-play scheme, or had influenced American policy to favor his son’s interests. Per NYT: “In fact, investigators heard witness testimony that rebutted those charges.” Nada. Big Fat Zero.
On the other hand, who was proved to have been negotiating a real estate deal in Moscow WHILE campaigning and while Russians were meddling on his behalf? Trump. Who were proved to be real estate scammers, charitable foundation stealers, tax cheaters, and all-around grifters? Trump and his family. Who was proved to be cheating taxpayers and enriching himself while in office? Trump. Whose daughter and son-in-law were proved to be influence-peddling while gov’t employees? Trump’s. Who was proved to have obstructed justice, extorted and bribed Ukraine for political gain, and impeached? Trump.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the ether, the lunatic president, in his usual abuse-of-power mode, is shrieking at Barr to use Giuliani’s ginned-up “discoveries,” against Biden, and what the hell, throw in Obama, Clinton and whoever else pissed on his morning’s cereal, “We’ve got to get the attorney general to act! He’s got to act! And he’s got to act fast… This is major corruption and this has to be known about before the election!” At which I presume Barr is thinking, “Screw that, I can’t just manufacture that kind of shit. I’ve already bastardized laws to save your ass and I need to think of my million-dollar consultancy prospects when you’re gone.” Why do I presume? Because the Durham investigation is a dud, the Bash investigation was a dud, Sen Johnson’s/Grassley’s investigation was a dud, Horowitz’s investigation was a dud, and Barr is not making further moves despite Trump’s intense pressure on him. So, yes, even the most blatantly lawless, conniving and corrupt attorney general ever foisted upon this country seems to have a line in the sand.
At some point, you realize these MAGA people/Trump diehards aren’t just gadflies pushing the GOP dogma. These people really are nincompoops flailing in their desperate attempts to put lipstick on a pig.
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Post by papersilly on Oct 28, 2020 5:07:32 GMT
$2.5 MILLION . That's how much the government has paid to Trump's businesses!! That's what he billed the taxpayers. Disgusting.
From Forbes:
U.S. taxpayers have paid more than $2.5 million to Mar-a-Lago and other businesses owned by President Donald Trump since 2017, the Washington Post reported Tuesday, the most extensive analysis to date of how the Trump administration and campaign have become reliable paying customers for the president’s expansive — and reportedly ailing — businesses.
The $2.5 million figure includes hotel rooms, function spaces, food, alcohol, and floral arrangements purchased by the federal government for official functions hosted at Trump-owned hotels and resorts, the Post found after reviewing public documents.
The president’s clubs often charged high prices for their services, billing the government $7,700 for a dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s staff, $17,000 a month for a cottage at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster used by the Secret Service, and even $3 for glasses of water for Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
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Post by lucyg on Oct 28, 2020 8:00:19 GMT
Hey, $2.5 million sounds like a bargain at this point. Are you sure he hasn’t gouged us for $2.5 BILLION?!
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