Here is something interesting from Vanity Fair‘s Gabriel Sherman:
One Trump ally is making plans to commercialize Trump’s downfall. Longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone told me he is working on a book titled The Unmaking of the President as part of a multi-book deal with Skyhorse Publishing. (Last fall, Skyhorse published Stone’s campaign account, The Making of the President 2016.) “I’ve been writing it as we go along,” he told me.
Stone said he got the idea to write a book chronicling Trump’s removal from office after watching how the White House responded to the Robert Mueller investigation. “It’s painfully obvious Mueller will bring charges,” Stone said. “The theory is Mueller will indict him on some process-related matter” such as obstruction of justice. “The only people who don’t seem to know it are Ty Cobb, [John] Dowd, and the president.”
“I hope it’s a book I don’t have to publish,” Stone said of his newest project. “I just don’t think Trump is being told the truth about how bad things are.”
Roger Stone is in a position to know. He represents one leg in the triangle that links the Russian hackers to WikiLeaks and WikiLeaks to the Trump campaign. This was primarily because Stone was using Randy Credico as a cut-out to communicate directly with Julian Assange and get advance notice on what kinds of information the Russians had provided WikiLeaks and also when that information would be released. Stone also communicated with Guccifer 2.0, the fake Romanian hacker the Russians created to throw off suspicion that they were behind the DNC hacks.
It’s unclear whether what Roger Stone did was a crime, although he was engaged in a conspiracy to use stolen materials and to help the criminals avoid detection or arrest. I can certainly see how a prosecutor might be able to apply certain statutes in innovative ways to catch Stone in their net. It might be hard to prove that Stone was witting though, since who can say what he believed about Gufficer 2.0, for example.
Nonetheless, he has a better sense than most of what Trump’s true vulnerability is here, and he’s going so far as to get a head start on writing the book about the president’s removal from office.
I like the idea of indicting his traitorous ass for conspiracy. He played a leading publicity role during the campaign, fairly gloating about the illegality going on, and helping to orchestrate the sabotage of the campaign in public disclosures.
The miserable sonofabitch should be put through a wringer and a half, and bled absolutely dry defending himself. Take it all the way to the Jury. It’s only fair.
That will wipe the smirk off his face.
I’m sure he’s nice to his dog.
“I hope it’s a book I don’t have to publish,” Stone said of his newest project.
Raise your hand if you think that’s true. Anyone?
I also think it’s interesting that Stone believes that Trump will go down and that he himself will have no consequences.
The Republicans: they eat their own.
And laugh all the way to the bank.
.
Well maybe but Stone is a notorious publicity whore and, while his experience in political trickery goes back many decades., it doesn’t mean he has any meaningful insight into what Mueller intends to do and what the GOP Congress would do with any indictable offenses that he did present (most likely nothing at all). So, write away Roger but don’t bet the house on being able to finish/publish it.
Hedging his bets.
Look, it shouldn’t be a total loss.
The GOP cannot possibly vote for Impeachment while the entire right wing noise machine is screaming that the “deep state” is out to get Trump, that it’s all “Fake News” etc., etc. Their base totally believes those lies. Black Lives Matter protesters are Muslim terrorists who rioted and burned down the cities when Trump won despite massive vote fraud by illegal immigrants who have been flooding across the border to vote for the real criminal — Hillary.
Their lies do not touch reality at any point and by now they are so deep in the bubble they can’t even see it. No matter how strong the evidence against Trump, he can simply deny it.
IF things continue as they are right now with Democrats holding a 15% generic advantage in the House ballot, there’s a decent chance the Democrats will win control over the House at least and possibly the Senate too, now that they only have to pick up 2 seats. In wave elections all the undecideds tend to break one way.
If Democrats take the House, they will certainly vote articles of impeachment against Trump, but the Senate will never convict. It will be the end of Trump’s chances of reelection though if all that happens. No way he will win the independents and he can’t win the Presidency with just rural white conservatives.
The tax bill will be Trump’s only signature “accomplishment” if a bill with 25% approval rating can be called that.
If removal from office is impossible, I don’t see the point of going thru the exercise of impeachment in the House. I think it will look like time wasting.
The US will be ungovernable anyway in that environment – no bill will get past the madman veto. Might as well look busy.
I read this morning your post about being hacked. I logged in again, but when I try to post a comment, it makes me log in again…vicious circle. So I came to this Recent Comment page to see if this works. Hope you get it fixed soon. 🙂
There are certain cases where the prosecution believes the defendant is guilty, but doesn’t have quite enough evidence for a conviction. But they indict anyway.
At trial, the jury, and the judge, realize there isn’t enough to convict. But the jury convicts the defendant anyway, and judge refuses to overturn the verdict. And appellate courts all affirm the defendant’s conviction, even though they know the evidence sucked, too.
Stone could wind up being one of those defendants.
Cannot post above this diary, keep getting logged in as akamaiguy, did manage one post, nothing since, and cannot use pond alternate nor get to change password. When I try to go to comments, it takes me to akamaiguy.
FWIW greatferm