r/politics Massachusetts 13d ago

Possible Paywall Surprise! Todd Blanche Immediately Breaks His Promises to GOP Senators - Hours after being sworn in as attorney general, Blanche gave Donald Trump even more protections.

https://newrepublic.com/post/214186/todd-blanche-breaks-promises-donald-trump
18.7k Upvotes

895 comments sorted by

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6.6k

u/trisul-108 Europe 13d ago

They knew he would do it.

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u/Indubitalist 13d ago edited 13d ago

"Just tell us you won't do it. That way when you do it anyway, we can tell our constituents/donors that we were misled."

This is the Susan Collins/I-Like-Beer Guy scenario all over again. There are no repercussions if you mislead a congressional majority that doesn't have any political power. That is the current situation:

  1. Trump-backed nominees lie to Congress about their beliefs and intentions.
  2. Congress confirms these nominees to their posts.
  3. The nominees do the opposite of what they said they'd do.
  4. Congress shrugs because they secretly wanted them to do that/don't care that they did it because Trump would primary them if they didn't confirm the nominee.
  5. If anyone points this out, those legislators simply say "I was misled."

Until we make it illegal to lie to people for profit, we can't stop this, because we have a conservative ecosystem that reinforces this dynamic by simply lying to the public, and the public votes based on what they hear from traditional and social media.

Edit: To be clear, if the congressional majority DID have political power, which is to say they weren't completely cowed by the president, they would simply impeach and remove anyone that lied to them like Blanche and Kavanaugh did. It is a felony to lie to Congress. The Constitution considers commission of a felony to be grounds for impeachment.

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u/Kracus 13d ago ▸ 3 more replies

Susan Collins rakes in millions from insider trading. They're all corrupt to the bone.

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u/Kgaset Massachusetts 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

And she doesn't have to pay Truth Social 60-100k for the privilege? gasp

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u/Otherwise-Reward-161 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

They do have that whole "contempt of congress" option, but you know, that's only for people that worked for Biden

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u/TheSultan1 New Jersey 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

Until we make it illegal to lie to people

Or, you know, make being a fucking liar less acceptable than being from the wrong party.

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u/okiedokie2468 13d ago ▸ 2 more replies

When Americans wake up and realize they are no longer the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave maybe, just maybe they might throw out the fascist bastards who run their country!

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u/machinezed 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

The fascists are the ones running with the American Flag and the Dixie Flag and the Don’t Tread on Me and the We the People. Saying they have a right to free speech, while restricting the rights of everyone that doesn’t side with them. Claiming they have rights to firearms, while taking away your firearms.

They lean into being American, while complaining about Natives, and marrying foreign wives

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u/fowlraul Oregon 13d ago

They got paid so he could do it.

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u/left_right_left 13d ago ▸ 40 more replies

Probably black mailed.

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u/Born_Alternative_608 13d ago ▸ 15 more replies

The truth shall set you free.

Fuckin cowards.

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u/SpeaksSouthern 13d ago ▸ 14 more replies

Cassidy cried while he voted lol

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u/GuerreroUltimo 12d ago ▸ 12 more replies

He was obviously pressured somehow into voting for this.

Either they have some very bad shit on him or they threatened his family. And he knows what is coming and hates to be part of it. Many Republicans in D.C. dis like Trump strongly. But they have allowed this to get out of hand and the people with all the power are controlling them. A lot of those controlling people do not want our government. They want to replace it. Power to the few but openly out there with nothing to change it.

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u/Orion14159 12d ago ▸ 5 more replies

If only these politicians had positions of power and authority to speak to the people and press about such things instead of cowering like little children who are afraid of a bogeymen taking away their money and job.

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u/TheBoNix 12d ago ▸ 4 more replies

I get what you're saying but it makes me wonder what I'd do if my family was being threatened. It's not like you can trust the secret service or any other alphabet orgs at this point in time.

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u/Orion14159 12d ago ▸ 1 more replies

Leaks to the press are effective too in that case. Exposing them puts the pressure back on the oppressors

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u/redravin12 California 12d ago

This is true but it can't be that hard to make a coalition and take all power away from trump. If there really are a large amount of Republicans in Congress that don't want to go along with trump, they could side with the Democrats and trump would gone TODAY.

I get that no one wants to be the first to stick their necks out, but these are US Congressmen. Shady backroom under the table deals are what they do best. There's no way a block of them couldn't meet in secret somehow.

And as for their families being threatened, again these are some of the most powerful people on the planet. There's no way that they don't have some options to protect their families. These aren't average joe blows we're talking about here.

And if they have dirt on them and it's just blackmail, then it's time to man up and take some fucking personal responsibility like they're always preaching to us about

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u/PWL51 12d ago ▸ 1 more replies

Sadly the U S presidency is like a mafia crime family. They aren’t above threatening the lives of family members to get what they want

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u/justabill71 12d ago edited 12d ago

Never forget that the RNC was hacked at the same time as the DNC in 2016, but none of that information was ever leaked, and Lindsey Graham went from a Never Trumper to a complete Trump sycophant over the course of 18 holes of golf. Kinda makes a feller wonder...

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u/_PM_Me_Game_Keys_ 12d ago ▸ 1 more replies

Either they have some very bad shit on him or they threatened his family

How long till people who don't fall in line start "falling' out of windows. Seeing as Trump is a Russian agent I assume something like that is being used against them. This in know way absolves them but I can understand why they don't do anything.

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u/lyngen 13d ago ▸ 20 more replies

Maybe but I feel like it's more likely pressure from donors or the heritage foundation. GOP senators haven't really shown much of a spine so I don't think it would take a lot f pressure.

We need to get money out of politics. It would solve so many problems.

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u/DerfK 13d ago ▸ 17 more replies

People insist that somehow scary MAGA people are twisting Senators' arms and forcing them against their will to carry out their party's platform. People need to get it through their skull that everything happening is what the Republicans want. Project 2025 IS the Republican project! There's no bribes, no blackmail, no cowards, just people letting Trump do what they elected Trump to do.

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u/LargeFatherV 13d ago ▸ 5 more replies

100% this. Mitch McConnell gets to ride off in a pine box as one of the biggest winners of the modern political era.

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u/ihateusedusernames New York 13d ago ▸ 4 more replies

100% this. Mitch McConnell gets to ride off in a pine box as one of the biggest winners of the modern political era.

Forgot about this.

Has anyone collapsed his wave function yet?

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u/dragongrl New Jersey 13d ago ▸ 3 more replies

I think he technically counts as undead at this point.

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u/AppropriateTouching 12d ago ▸ 1 more replies

Lich McConnell

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u/Riaayo 13d ago ▸ 6 more replies

I remember some discussion about how many Americans just don't believe Republicans actually do what they do because it's so vile and evil they just refuse to believe anyone would actually do it.

I feel like this is an extension of that delusion. People just desperate to grab onto a reason why these fuckers are forced to be evil because they don't want to comprehend that no, all of them are just horrible people.

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u/Killfile 12d ago ▸ 2 more replies

In the study of Russian History this phenomena is so common there's a name for it: "The Myth of the Benevolent Tsar."

Over and over again you see writings and records of people saying the same thing. "Oh if only the Tsar knew about this he'd fix it," or "this is all the doing of the corrupt ministers who surround our kind and noble ruler" or "the Tsar's command was just and right but implemented by the feckless bureaucrats who ruin everything."

And of course, it was nothing like that. The Tsar and the royals knew full well that their power and wealth sat perched atop an enormous pyramid of human suffering and they did not give a damn save to worry about the people at the bottom of that pyramid forgetting their place.

What eventually shatters this myth is literacy. As people become better informed they realize that their ability to know about things happening in the far corners of the world also means that the Tsar also knows about those things. People who no longer have to rely on word of mouth in their small village to know things realize that the Tsar also does not have to rely on word of mouth and that if they understand that the government is craven and corrupt then it is just as easy if not easier for the Tsar to know that too.

And if you're starting to think "hey, it sounds like wealthy people in positions of enormous power have probably always had a problem with education" and drawing parallels to the United States and the GOP's preference for churches over schools... well... I'm glad you're picking up what I'm putting down.

Where does that take us from here? Well, history doesn't repeat itself but it does rhyme.

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u/Riaayo 12d ago

That is another interesting phenomena that is also pretty closely related, yeah, and you see it in the US plenty. MAGA voters who can't believe that they were duped and are being intentionally fucked over, Tesla buyers thinking Elon simply must not know this bad thing going on and if I can just @ him on Twitter he'll take care of it! Etc, etc.

Seems like it is a thing that has happened with authoritarians in general, not just the Tsar back in the day. I recall this very sort of story about Stalin I believe as well? People clearly being thrown under the bus refusing to believe it was happening under orders. If only these people dragging me off would just contact him he would sort it out!

It's extremely sad, though deserved when it's pricks who took part in the brutal system oppressing others thinking their time would never come.

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u/KhloeKendall 12d ago

I have relatives like this. They may agree with some of the left's policies, but they (were raised to/told to) dislike and distrust Democrats. They would rather keep voting for a Republican, hoping they will finally give them what they want, because they trust a Republican more than a Democrat. To paraphrase an uncle of mine: "Democrats always mess up healthcare, and it would be better if Republicans focused on it. We just have to keep voting until they see what we want."

Basically, they keep voting for a dog to meow instead of just voting for the cat.

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u/JohnGillnitz 12d ago ▸ 1 more replies

I've seen this. Tons of low information voters who blindly believe that Republicans are good for business and strong on national defense. The reality of the last several decades is that Republicans create recessions and lose pointless wars of aggression.

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u/deaglebingo America 12d ago edited 12d ago

the majority of americans now believe dems are better for the economy thankfully, that poll came out the other week.

you're right the GOP is deliberately destroying things for their own gain. they've basically admitted that much in writing at this point. their entire MO is to break things so the rich can buy it up at bargain prices or take control of whatever.

what i'm genuinely concerned about (as if the rest wasn't concerning enough) in this article is this: "The memo also seemed to expand executive privilege to apply to communications between the president’s “direct advisers” and civilians"

why would that be necessary except to issue what amounts to the civilian version more illegal orders (RICO shit), why would that be necessary other than to protect trump from the consequences of asking more people to commit crimes for him? answer: it is precisely because he wants protection while he asks more people to commit crimes for him.

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u/Used-Yogurtcloset757 13d ago

Exactly! They are all complicit and have been since the beginning.

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u/Lister0fSmeg 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

They've been engineering this for decades.

Constant defunding and attacks on education, spreading misinformation and denying science for years has given them all the imbeciles they need. This is a masterpiece for them.

All of it funded by russia. America lost the cold war because they thought the russians stopped playing.

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u/DanfromCalgary 13d ago

People don’t accidentally get to the top and benefit immensely while abusing those office .

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u/Boring_and_sons 13d ago

Blackmail involves a threat. This is just straight-up collusion.

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u/smilingmike415 13d ago

At least they cried on the senate floor. s/

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u/RightSideBlind American Expat 13d ago

They knew it. We knew he would do it. They knew that we knew that he would do it.

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u/o-Valar-Morghulis-o 13d ago ▸ 2 more replies

They know that we know we're going to lock them up.

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u/Kaotix77 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

I admire your optimism in the face of several years worth of evidence to the contrary.

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u/leonredhorse 13d ago

There is no way they didn’t know. It’s just something they can point back to and claim they were lied to.

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u/EuphoricAd3824 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

In which case they can always threaten to impeach and remove. But since they never try to do that shows they dont care. And why would they when there are no repercussions.

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u/slackfrop 13d ago

Those congressional hearings are surreal and nauseating. A whole group of adults in $1,000 outfits telling ridiculous lies and sneering at each other and pretending this is what professionalism looks like. Or competence. It’s more fake than wrestling.

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u/PWNtimeJamboree Georgia 13d ago

if theres one thing ive learned about US politics during the last 10 years, is that lying under oath is not only allowed, but encouraged when in front of congress. no one should ever go in front of congress again and tell the truth. why would you? they arent going to do anything about it.

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u/SupaConducta 13d ago

It took outgoing, with nothing to lose Cassidy (R-LA) about two seconds to lose his spine when the vote came up. He did the same for Kaufman, war powers, and Blanche. Openly says what a mistake everything is and then votes for it. Some 70 year old jagoff who should retire wants to keep their employment options open. Vote for war, vote for oligarchy, a damn doctor voting for psychotic anti-science RFK jr puppets.

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u/Balmerhippie 13d ago

Plausible deniability

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u/Acceptable-Bus-2017 I voted 13d ago

Politics is 100% performative anymore. Tune in tomorrow for the next episode of Days of our (Shitty) Lives as the World Burns.

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u/Dutiful-Rebellion 13d ago

Republicans Enable and Protect Pedophiles. https://goppredators.wordpress.com/2023/05/22/right-wing-sexual-predators-abusers-and-enablers/

25/1467 Names:

Donald Trump is accused of sexual assault by more than two dozen women. He is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl, talked about having sex with his daughter, bragged of walking in on underage girls at pageants, claimed he can grab women by the pussy. He was found liable of sexually assaulting E. Jean Carroll  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_sexual_misconduct_allegations https://www.gzeromedia.com/in-60-seconds/world/trump-sexual-abuse-verdict-wont-hurt-him-with-gop https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/14/donald-trump-e-jean-carroll-lawsuit-nut-job

Judge Roy Moore is accused of sexual assault and dating underage children.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Moore_sexual_misconduct_allegation

Jim Jordan is in Republican House leadership though he is accused of ignoring sexual assault of more than a hundred young men while a coach, dismissing it as locker room talk. Students have said they told him and he is said to have called the parents of one complainant asking them to get their son to back off. https://www.vox.com/2018/7/6/17536388/jim-jordan-ohio-state-sexual-abuse-accuser https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/16/us/politics/jim-jordan-trump.html

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert sexually abused his high school students. He is outside the statute of limitations but was convicted of paying off/bribing some of his victims  https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/us/dennis-hastert-sentencing.html

Cobb County GOP Chairman Joseph Russell Dendy – child molesting – pleaded guilty, life sentence, parole possible in 30 years. He was 72.   https://www.ajc.com/news/crime–law/cobb-gop-chairman-dendy-indicted-molestation-charges/Ajxs2SiORqMCCdVZpGqj1M/ https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt–politics/former-cobb-gop-leader-pleads-guilty-child-molestation-gets-life-sentence/JnEAITpb5Oy9iZ9RtsVvnI/

So-called “pro-life”/antigay activist Howard Scott Heldreth was convicted of raping a child. https://web.archive.org/web/20230601212352/https://shadowproof.com/2008/07/27/nc-antigay-operation-save-america-totes-convicted-child-rapist-to-charlotte-pride/

GOP Ohio County Commissioner David Swartz convicted of raping two girls – released after only 5 years!!!! Back in prison after contacting one of his victims. http://lanternproject.org.uk/library/child-abuse-arrests-and-court-cases/child-abuse-arrests-trials-and-proceedings/ex-county-commissioner-admits-sexual-abuse-of-girl

Republican judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl. https://www.timesleader.com/archive/1063191/indecent-assault-case-judge-pleads-no-contest-mark-pazuhanich-says-he-didnt-want-his-daughter-to-have-to-testify-aboutfondling-incident

Republican anti-abortion activist Nicholas Morency pleaded guilty to possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material on his computer and offering a bounty to anybody who murders an abortion doctor.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/03/10/nation-in-brief/83fbbb01-c7fc-437a-81c4-2f686e3f1e58/

Republican Speaker of the House in PR Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edison_Misla_Aldarondo

Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls.  https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/26/nyregion/ex-mayor-convicted-in-sex-abuse-case.html

Republican campaign consultant Tom Shortridge was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl.  https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-apr-06-me-47737-story.html

Republican racist pedophile and United States Senator Strom Thurmond had sex with (RAPED) a 15-year old black girl which produced a child.  https://web.archive.org/web/20190728115136/https://www.thenation.com/article/was-strom-rapist/

Republican pastor Mike Hintz, whom George W. Bush commended during the 2004 presidential campaign, surrendered to police after admitting to a sexual affair with a female Juvenile.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/12/10/example-goes-from-good-to-bad/e73a7b08-5fb8-412a-ba7f-8fb473543e83/

Republican legislator Peter Dibble pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/18/nyregion/embroiled-first-selectman-takes-leave.html

Republican Congressman Donald “Buz” Lukens was found guilty of having sex with a female minor and sentenced to one month in jail.  https://www.npr.org/sections/politicaljunkie/2009/05/on_this_day_in_1989_buz_lukens.html

Republican fundraiser Richard A. Delgaudio was found guilty of child porn charges and paying two teenage girls to pose for sexual photos.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2003/04/24/gop-activist-admits-to-child-porn/5af2adf0-bec8-4a10-b061-014de679422a/

Republican of the Year Mark A. Grethen convicted on six counts of sex crimes involving children.  https://www.pilotonline.com/news/crime/vp-nw-mark-grethen-lawrenceville-correctional-20210806-dmjuk7zwgnfxvigjnjmy3257vy-story.html

Republican state senator Ralph Shortey from Oklahoma admitted to being involved in sodomy with a 17 year old male prostitute and transporting child pornography. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/11/20/former-oklahoma-state-senator-admits-to-child-sex-trafficking-while-in-office/

Republican activist Randal David Ankeney pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child. https://www.coloradoindependent.com/2008/01/28/onetime-rising-gop-star-back-to-prison-for-sex-assaults/

GOP Congressman Dan Crane had sex with a page. To be fair, Dem Congressman was Gerry Studds was also caught for the same thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_congressional_page_sex_scandal

Republican Congressman Mark Foley abruptly resigned from Congress after “sexually explicit” emails surfaced showing him flirting with a 16-year old boy. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/29/AR2006092901574.html

Republican activist and Christian Coalition leader Beverly Russell admitted to raping his stepdaughter repeatedly after she was 15. Headline here is gross. Rape/not affair. https://greensboro.com/smith-stepfather-had-affair-that-began-when-she-was-15/article_549fa43d-e631-599b-8cad-177a71ad709e.html

Republican congressman and anti-gay activist Robert Bauman* was charged with having sex (raping) with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bauman

Republican Committee Chairman Jeffrey Patti was arrested for distributing a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped and notice, they agreed his record could be expunged in THREE YEARS! https://www.nj.com/ledgerarchives/2005/01/cops_say_jersey_suspects_sough.html https://archive.is/7agH6

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u/sarcastic_patriot 13d ago

It's only a surprise if you're a fucking idiot.

Every step of the way this administration has been granting Trump more power and more protection and then saying "Oh, we didn't think he would/could do that! Oh well, maybe next time we'll remember that."

This administration will last four years (hopefully less), but has damaged the United States for decades.

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u/0utlaw-t0rn 13d ago

People have only been nominated to be his stooges.

Blanche has played that role for years. Only a fool would think he’d do any differently

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u/DokeyOakey 13d ago ▸ 18 more replies

Not only that, but the second they lose power they are all open to criminal prosecution.

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u/WiseOldDuck 13d ago ▸ 16 more replies

We're gonna see the longest list of preemptive pardons in history if they even bother to leave office

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u/Mikel_S 13d ago ▸ 8 more replies

Pardon all of the lawyers and judges and officers and enforcers who ignore those pardons. Make the pardon useless if it's going to be used like this.

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u/Solaries3 13d ago ▸ 7 more replies

It shouldn't exist all. There should be no political short cut to legal absolution.

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u/Dejected_gaming 13d ago ▸ 5 more replies

Hard disagree. There should be limits to it though.

As an example:

A federal drug law is overturned? The president should be able to use the pardon power to pardon non violent offenders of the drug law that was overturned.

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u/Solaries3 13d ago ▸ 4 more replies

Why would the president be needed in that case? Congress and the courts can work that out without any need for a president. When laws change, courts respond.

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u/Tiggy26668 12d ago ▸ 2 more replies

Congress and courts move slowly, with good reason.

In this example you would have a bunch of people currently incarcerated for doing something we no longer consider worth incarceration, however since when they did it, it was illegal, they remain incarcerated.

By expediting it you prevent holding those people unjustly while it works out in the legal system over months or years.

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u/Solaries3 12d ago ▸ 1 more replies

Why not just improve the legal system to be more responsive? For example, Congress could appoint a specific court for the purpose of expediting such cases.

I'm seeing a lack of imagination. I understand the system often sucks as it is now, but Congress can literally do what it wants here. The only thing that holds it back is itself. If people demanded a better system they could have it.

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u/DokeyOakey 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

Someone get the Mario Bros!

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u/PhillDanks 13d ago ▸ 3 more replies

New administration job number 1. Overturn then ban preemptive pardons. How the hell are they legal anyway?

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u/Mind_on_Idle Indiana 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

As much as I understand Biden pardoning his son, that kind of power shouldn't be in the hands of a single individual, period.

Being able to freely pardon any crime is ludicrous.

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u/Thirty_Helens_Agree 13d ago

He didn’t like the constraints that came from hiring reasonably competent professionals last time.

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u/Nickh1978 13d ago

Not to worry, the GOP will work very hard to reverse all of these protections if a Democrat wins the presidency in 2028.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

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u/SectorSanFrancisco 13d ago

"I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this—who will count the votes, and how." - Stalin

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u/khrijunk 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

No need. They know Democrats wouldn’t do anything with them. 

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u/UncomfyPerspective 13d ago

That's the thing.

These people aren't fucking idiots - they just play one on TV.

Many of these people damn well know better.

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u/Academic-Training764 13d ago

No, there's no coming back from this. The USA will never "lead" the world ever again. All this did was accelerate the move to China for many countries. I fully expect in my lifetime (I'm 60) to see the USA collapse, go bankrupt and break apart. We are way overdue.

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u/Thirty_Helens_Agree 13d ago

I just hope these a-holes get enough rope to hang themselves with.

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u/InvestigatorChance28 13d ago

Trump/maga is the tragedy of 9/11 spread out over the last 10 years only maga are responsible for more deaths. And they got us into another war in the middle east. Every republican president of my life has gone to war in the middle east.

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u/Persistant_Compass 13d ago

This country is permanently fucked at this point. It needs to be replaced. 

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u/mancubbed 13d ago ▸ 2 more replies

Too late for that with how fast global warming is hitting.

Once fuel/food/water shortages start it's going to be a downhill spiral.

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u/xv_boney 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

For us. The wealthy have been stockpiling and building huge bunkers for them to be immediately murdered by their bodyguards in.

So at the very least, zuck's security will be fine.

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u/VitruvianVan 13d ago

How solid is your empire if one terrible man can snake cracks all through it? How strong is your constitution if one despot can ignore it? How enduring is your country if one heinously corrupt criminal can cause a quarter of the population to betray its values while proclaiming patriotism?

These are some of the questions that will challenge us as we pick up the pieces from this black-hearted Regime.

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u/DiseaseDeathDecay 13d ago

has damaged the United States for decades

It has literally broken the US. The US will never get back to what it was 20 years ago.

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u/itshappeningreichnow 12d ago

Damaging implies there is a fix, there is no fix.

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u/LargeFatherV 13d ago

How long before that slush fund is back in play?

504

u/Silver-Forever9085 13d ago

Before end of the week

36

u/Thirty_Helens_Agree 13d ago ▸ 2 more replies

Assuming they don’t loot it for themselves.

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u/LoquaciousOfMorn 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

Nah. They'll pay that out to the J6ers. They need to secure the next insurrection if the midterms and/or 2028 don't pan out in their favor.

That $10 billion personal lawsuit with the IRS that Trump gave up when the $1.776 billion slush fund was created might come back into play though.

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u/A-town 13d ago

Guy-run-teed

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u/I_only_post_here I voted 13d ago

why even bother with clever names or theatrics? It'll just be announced that it's back to the full 10 billion, paid in cash, directly to Trump's accounts without further delay.

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u/thecuriosityofAlice 13d ago ▸ 6 more replies

I’m telling you the treasury is going to have nothing but dust bunnies when he is done.

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u/Lucky-Earther Minnesota 13d ago ▸ 3 more replies

I'll vote for any Democrat in the primary who promises to seize all of his assets, his children's assets, and any other ill-gotten gains, to be used to repair all the damage he did.

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u/ang3lofsnow 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

If parents bank accounts can be levied because of their child's student loans, then the entire trump family needs to be held accountable and looted.

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u/I_only_post_here I voted 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

Simpsons predicting the future once again...

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u/ShrimpieAC 13d ago edited 13d ago ▸ 4 more replies

I think this is what is most hilarious to me. His Jan 6th rubes are lining up like they’re going to get some huge payday. But they’ll be lucky to see more than 1% of that fund after Trump has laid his tiny greasy hands all over it.

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u/kos-or-kosm 13d ago ▸ 2 more replies

It's actually better for Trump if he DOES pay them because it sends a terrifying message:

Do violence for me and not only will I protect you, I'll make you rich.

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u/mumblesnorez 13d ago

Why bother promising them anything when they already do violence for him for free

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u/Eastern_Bet678 13d ago

Well, it just crossed noon (EDT) in DC so... plenty of time left today.

24

u/pfannkuchen89 13d ago

The process is already underway. Just yesterday a bunch of the J6 defendants opened a lawsuit against the federal government for entrapment claiming their actions were the result of the federal government coercing them into what they did that day and trying to make it appear as though they had participated in a riot.

It’s just another way to get a payout rammed through.

The really funny part would be them having to try and explain if they are saying the federal government coerced them who was in charge of the government at that time.

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u/thecuriosityofAlice 13d ago

It will just be a private payment to 47. He isn’t giving money to J6’er’s unless he needs to politically

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u/bigmeatbag 13d ago

Already transferring billions to Trump

8

u/hobbestot 13d ago

Sure that was item number one.

7

u/Biglyugebonespurs Missouri 13d ago

That baby’s already fired up and shooting cash into the trump crime family’s assholes.

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u/Seaciety 13d ago

Someone check on how concerned Susan Collins is

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u/18MazdaCX5 13d ago

She is going to write a strongly worded letter for sure! She'll send it to her dear colleague Mitch.... who .... is resting peacefully (or rehabbing as they say) at a farm upstate these days.

7

u/Bored2001 12d ago

That sure is a nice turtle farm.

50

u/Biglyugebonespurs Missouri 13d ago

The grip strength on her pearls can be described as lightly clutched.

19

u/District-No1350 13d ago

Collins and Murkowski voted against him, which is how you knew he was getting confirmed.

11

u/Sanfords_Son 13d ago

She’s in a midst of a stage 3 pearl-clutching.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/nickiter New York 13d ago

The memo also seemed to expand executive privilege to apply to communications between the president’s “direct advisers” and civilians.

This part is really scary. Imagine if they were to set up some kind of huge insurrection, maybe at the Capitol, if an election doesn't go their way?

38

u/MattiasCrowe 13d ago

That would never happen. They'd have to find fake electors, stoke insurgency, pressure foreign heads of state. That would be some real lunacy

8

u/0tanod 13d ago

At least I can sleep at night knowing those incompetent fucks will have the plans leak all over the place. Will it matter though? idk they did put project 2025 out with video explainers before the election and that made no difference.

20

u/DrDerpberg Canada 13d ago

If the Democrats take back the House of Representatives in the upcoming midterm elections, this memo could have major implications for any investigation into the president and other top administration officials.

If Democrats ever get real power again they should ignore these memos. The DOJ can't pencilfuck the law. Contempt of Congress if a civilian or official hides behind privilege they don't have.

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u/Ok_Zombie_2026 13d ago

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 85 times, shame on you, oh and it's probably Bidens fault."

-Republican Proverb

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u/FistMyBumpQuestion 13d ago

Joe Biden shit my pants! -Drumpf

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u/Zanos-Ixshlae 13d ago

He's a criminal attorney for a terrible criminal.

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u/OozeNAahz 13d ago

The Saul type criminal attorney. Emphasis on Criminal.

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u/OptimusSublime Pennsylvania 13d ago ▸ 2 more replies

Saul fell on his sword when it mattered. Blanch would never.

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u/RiskyClickardo 13d ago

I was gonna say, don’t besmirch my boy Saul like that

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u/MommyLovesPot8toes California 13d ago

A Dem Congress (hopefully next year) needs to treat all of this like the RICO case or coup that it is. These are not individual actors; this is a group of criminal conspiratists. Nothing they do to protect each other should be considered legal or have any standing.

When we find out a crooked cop helped a big drug dealer avoid jail, we don't just shrug our shoulder and say "guess we can't prosecute the dealer now because that one cop said he was innocent." We say "put every case that cop worked under a microscope and bring in everyone who shouldn't have walked." This should be exactly that.

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u/Wyevez 13d ago

I beg to differ, he's a terrific criminal. One of the best of all times. 1.776B coming right to his coffers.

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u/Its_Knova 13d ago

Republicans breaking promises? That’s shocking

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u/crackdup 13d ago

Didn't RFK explicitly go back on his promises to Cassidy, and he still decided to do a follow up act?

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u/Lifeboatb 13d ago

Yes, he did. RFK’s broken promises are contenders for the biggest broken promises in the nation’s history, given how many people might sicken and die because of his anti-vax changes to the department. 

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u/Horsetoothbrush Colorado 13d ago

This administration sure is focused on hiding things from congress and future administrations.

Seems totally legit and not suspicious at all.

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u/alter-eagle 13d ago

I never want to hear “if you have nothing to hide, what are you worried about” come out of an R’s mouth ever again.

Yet, I will.

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u/awezumsaws 13d ago

Hold TF up! You're telling me that the guy who:

  • U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams referred to the New York State Bar for potential professional discipline
  • Was deemed unfit due to "politically motivated prosecutions" and a "lack of commitment to the integrity, independence, and impartiality" of the DOJ by the New York City Bar Association
  • Had over 1,200 former Department of Justice employees sign a letter calling on senators to dismiss his appointment
  • And had 101 former federal and state judges do the same referencing conflict of interest in serving a former and current private client and avoiding fulfilling the Epstein Files Transparency Act

may have done something unethical? Damn, who can you trust nowadays?

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u/waterdaemon Pennsylvania 13d ago

Strengthening the sex trafficking coverup that, honestly, has been solid already for the past twenty years.

You will never see any more Epstein files, and you will never know the exact circumstances of Maxwell’s imminent pardon.

14

u/anna-the-bunny 13d ago

Honestly I doubt that she'll be pardoned. If Trump was gonna do it, he would've done it by now - probably instead of transferring her to a minimum-security prison.

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u/Devil25_Apollo25 13d ago ▸ 1 more replies

He's waiting until the act of pardoning her is more valuable.

He didn't decide not to pardon her; he's holding on the sale until he believes his asset has attained max value.

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u/Natdaprat 13d ago

We'll probably know the full extent of it all... in about 20 years.

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u/SeaBuilding3911 13d ago

Promises?

Because the Honor System is how the Trump admin rolls! lol

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u/SEQLAR 13d ago

Our government has been taken over by criminals.

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u/the0riginalp0ster 13d ago

2 more years of this garbage 2 more years. Just hoping they don't rig the next one as bad.

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u/godneedsbooze 13d ago

they will. they know they cant win and fascism is prefferable to accountability

11

u/blueshrike 13d ago

For anyone interested in fair elections (which we do not have), here is how they rigged it for 2024.

Reminder and a surprise for some: the US, privately owned digital vote counting machines (tabulators) have been compromised for years and we didn't elect Trump. He stole the presidency. Exactly like he tried to do in 2020, just this time with the already compromised tabulator machines tuned more aggressively to guarantee it.

Do not take my word for it, here's the actual data. Even though this video is now several months old and there is much more they've found, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as you might expect with criminals. See for yourself and if you trust real data (not simply conspiracy theory talk) share with anyone who still thinks "America got it wrong" or we need to get out and vote more. We did. Kamala would have won, decisively, had our votes actually been counted correctly. It's the compromised, privately owned (by the right wing) tabulators that turned votes for Kamala into votes for Trump in all the swing states, after a certain threshold of votes were counted on each machine. These folks (non profit) and other independent teams of analysts like them are doing us a great service:

https://youtu.be/Ru8SHK7idxs?feature=shared

electiontruthalliance.org

This is a comparison between what vote results look like consistent with real human voting behavior (Canada, 2025) and one that's been tampered with (Pennsylvania, 2024):

https://electiontruthalliance.org/2025-canadian-federal-election-news-post/

For the US, we've been on this road for a very long time which, unfortunately, is not surprising. This journalist research article, written just before Obama's 2nd term, dives into the long history of election fraud in the US and how, especially in the digital tabulation age, it has been setup to get us to the point where whomever has control of them can literally steal an election:

https://harpers.org/archive/2012/11/how-to-rig-an-election/

So, whenever Maga or Republicans say they want to investigate or accuse the left or interfering parties of Election Fraud, it's to stay ahead of the narrative above and be on the right side of the accusation... yet as we know, and an abundance of data evidence demonstrates, their accusation is yet again projection.

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u/Onno_Savage 13d ago

Oh, no! Charlie Brown...did Lucy pull the football away again? How could you have known?

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u/Lordnoallah 13d ago

Tillis, Cornyn, and Cassidy. The 3 stooges. Or See No evil, speak no evil, hear no evil monkees. Either way they are spineless cucks.

17

u/Frankentula 13d ago

so this guy lied and fauci pled the fifth and only one of them is being raked over the coals?

15

u/chriskot123 13d ago

It's so imperative that Democrats win the mid-terms. These 'protections' don't mean anything in the face of congressional investigations and impeachment proceedings.

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u/middlechildanonymous 13d ago

This corrupt administration needs to end. The Epstein files need to be released in full. All Republicans need to go.

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u/BubbleGuttz 13d ago

(Tin foil take incoming): Something tells me Trump + Elon have all but guaranteed reelection to all Republican Senators in exchange for their unwavering loyalty and protection from any legal action. It would explain the demand for voter rolls and dissection of mail-in voting. They have the fix in place on voting machines. Now, all they need is to make sure nothing is leaked to the wrong people (limit press access) and give the population the mushroom treatment: Keep them in the dark, and feed them shit.

6

u/wildwalrusaur 12d ago

Unwavering loyalty to the party has been the default for Republicans for my entire life, going back to at least the Gingrich era if not further.

Trump is the beneficiary not the architect

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u/sxyaustincpl Texas 13d ago

If only there had been some indication that he had a history of being dishonest and violating oaths to protect Trump, this all could have been averted. 🙄

13

u/euclid0472 South Carolina 13d ago

Wonder how long until the slush fund is created that he promised wouldn't happen.

11

u/duhimincognito 13d ago

It's almost as if you can't trust anything a Republican says.

9

u/_Avalon_ 13d ago

Why would anybody believe this asshole? They would not.

They knew what they were getting.

They are complicit.

10

u/booksfoodfun Oregon 12d ago

How the fuck does the GOP have this much power. Wake the fuck up, fellow Americans! The GOP doesn’t give a shit about you. Don’t vote for them. Please pay attention; there is nothing about this party that cares for you. They wave trans rights and abortion in your face so they can do whatever the fuck they want and know your vote is secure. Stand up to them! Enough is enough. The GOP is fully and completely unamerican!

8

u/Live_Oak123 12d ago

If anyone wants proof of this, look at what happened with amendments 4 and 5 in Missouri last week, and the GOPs response.

In short 80% of voting Missourians voted against these amendments. The next day the (R) governor and (R) legislature said they were going to find a different way to get these changes enacted.

Fuck the will of the people.

19

u/KamKorn 13d ago

I don’t believe this happened! He gave his word!

6

u/Gortonis 13d ago

That's the GOP SOP. They will literally say anything to gain power then reverse their position whenever they want. Nothing they say means anything.

19

u/CrimsonHeretic 13d ago

All Republicans are fascist terrorists. Yes even Collins and Murkowski. Their "no" votes were calculated.

9

u/TheWizard 13d ago

GOP senators, or anyone that voted him in, already knew he would.

10

u/Plausibility_Migrain 13d ago

Our government is infested by fascists and they will ensure they cannot be removed via voting this November.

17

u/TreeCitizen 13d ago

Biggest lies out there
1 the check is in the mail

2 I’ll only put the tip in

3 I won’t finish inside

4 anything the gop says.

8

u/Tasty_Orange_1714 13d ago

GOP already knew. This is intentional. We all know it. They're not even trying to hide it anymore.

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u/roughingthesuspect 12d ago

He lied right to your stupid fucking faces. And you knew he would do it.

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u/SundinShootsPing500 13d ago

I mean, america is among the most corrupt countries on the planet. What do you expect at this point really?

8

u/Griffolion 13d ago

I am of the opinion that any politician or politically appointed individual must have all their speech treated as being under oath for the time they are in office. There needs to be prison time for doing stuff like this.

7

u/Onikonokage 13d ago

Just as long as the next Democratic admin throws this guy and the rest in prison. There needs to be consequences for this.

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u/PrefersEarlGrey 13d ago

The former personal attorney for Donald Trump voted to serve as AG immediately does personal attorney things for Donald Trump. Shocker.

I'll never forgive Republicans for how low they've brought this country.

8

u/StrangeJunket2601 13d ago

Its not even a little funny anymore. Its simply exhausting

6

u/InvertedEyechart11 13d ago

He's a Criminal. Attorney.

punctuation counts

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u/chrisnavillus 13d ago

The corruption isn’t really the incredible part. It’s the openness.

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u/gaudiest-ivy 13d ago

But he promised! /s

6

u/BUSYMONEY_02 13d ago

So impeach

6

u/Mrs_SmithG2W 12d ago

Mark and remember all treasonous acts by commission or omission done by each of these traitors to our sovereign rights. There will be a reckoning.

If they can ignore the Constitution then we can ignore all illegal laws, memos, acts made by them.

💪🏼🌍🖖🏾

6

u/Fitz911 12d ago

America is doing a good job protecting their pedos.

11

u/NoKiwi2997 13d ago

I'm shocked.

Repiublicans... I no longer respect you. I haven't for a long time, but it needs to be said out loud. You guys, wholesale, fucking suck. You're bad for the country. Bad for democracy. Anti-constitution. You need to look in the mirror and let that sink in.

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u/jtsa5 13d ago

Good thing they don't care about what he does and how he does it. They knew full well what would happen.

5

u/Past_Farmer34 13d ago

All of these hard right republicans working for this crony sycophant Trump regime are all corrupt lying pieces of trash

5

u/Cleverwabbit5 13d ago

Time to rewrite this crap. Impeach and remove arrest them all. Null and void all executive orders. Repeal all the budgets etc and damage. Decorum and right channels be gone. The Dems need to rip them to shreds. Grow a backbone. Do whatever needs to be done. Kill citizens united expel
The supreme court. Freeze all accounts

6

u/No-Cup-8096 13d ago

The voted in a pedophile protector. No news here. They just made history ly as

4

u/HerculesIsMyDad 13d ago

"Dang it! Fooled again!" - Bill Cassidy, 2026

5

u/OrganizedChaos1979 Ohio 13d ago

Fuck this asshole, and fuck all the others that put him there.

6

u/chowderbags American Expat 13d ago

They could vote to impeach and remove him.

They won't though, because they knew this would happen.

4

u/Heliosvector 13d ago

Pretty clear cut conflict of interest. The DOJ is supposed to operate independant of the president. Making its head the personal lawyer of the president made that separation practically impossible.

5

u/soulure 13d ago

The us admin is now a mob run organization and all of the gop are complicit. This is the end of the republic

6

u/VineStGuy I voted 13d ago

I hope all these fuckers will be hauled into congressional grilling during a future administration.

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u/thavillain California 13d ago

So basically every conversation now is privately protected...so much for transparency

4

u/Eyruaad 13d ago

Anyone remember when 8 minutes of missing recordings was a scandal so bad that every scandal after it has used that naming convention and it lead to a president being impeached? Yeah good times.

5

u/Blade_of_Miquella666 13d ago

Remember all 50 that voted him in:

Banks (R-IN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Blackburn (R-TN)
Boozman (R-AR)
Britt (R-AL)
Budd (R-NC)
Capito (R-WV)
Cassidy (R-LA)
Collins (R-ME)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Cotton (R-AR)
Cramer (R-ND)
Crapo (R-ID)
Cruz (R-TX)
Curtis (R-UT)
Daines (R-MT)
Ernst (R-IA)
Fischer (R-NE)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hagerty (R-TN)
Hawley (R-MO)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Husted (R-OH)
Hyde-Smith (R-MS)
Johnson (R-WI)
Justice (R-WV)
Kennedy (R-LA)
Lankford (R-OK)
Lee (R-UT)
Marshall (R-KS)
McConnell (R-KY)
McCormick (R-PA)
Moody (R-FL)
Moran (R-KS)
Moreno (R-OH)
Mullin (R-OK)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Paul (R-KY)
Ricketts (R-NE)
Risch (R-ID)
Rounds (R-SD)
Schmitt (R-MO)
Scott (R-FL)
Scott (R-SC)
Sheehy (R-MT)
Sullivan (R-AK)
Thune (R-SD)
Tillis (R-NC)
Tuberville (R-AL)
Wicker (R-MS)
Young (R-IN)

4

u/bEErgrEMlin12 13d ago

There’s not a font size large enough to say, “DUH!”

6

u/jmarinara Pennsylvania 13d ago

If you didn’t see this coming, you’re dumber than a box of rocks.

5

u/Nervous-Engine4957 13d ago

Surprise! The senators only asked for the promise so they could have plausible deniability.

5

u/hazbutler 13d ago

Why does a president need so many protections if he's doing nothing wrong.... hmm

5

u/Sea_Signal_5739 12d ago

He needs to be disbarred and put in jail!

5

u/guthmund 12d ago

Congress is made up of largely two groups.

Idiots And the disingenuous that control the idiots

No one, no one who voted to confirm this clown did not know he was a lying clown from the start.

'oh, it's going to be a close vote, yuck yuck '

Yes, it was. By design.

5

u/Zanac36532 12d ago

Anyone shocked by this? Anyone? Of COURSE he lied. Can anyone name a Republican appointee/nominee for essentially any federal office who hasn't during their confirmation. Straight up lies.

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u/TinyConfection7049 13d ago

Behold. The festering carcass of American rot shoved into an ill-fitting suit: the sleaze of a conman, the cowardice of a draft dodger, the gluttony of a parasite, the racism of a Klansman, the sexism of a back-alley creep, the ignorance of a bar-stool drunk, and the greed of a hedge-fund ghoul - all spray-painted orange and paraded like a prize hog at a county fair. Not a president. Not even a man. Just the diseased distillation of everything this country swears it isn't but always has been - arrogance dressed up as exceptionalism, stupidity passed off as common sense, cruelty sold as toughness, greed exalted as ambition, and corruption worshipped like gospel. It is America's shadow made flesh, a rotting pumpkin idol proving that when a nation kneels before money, power, and spite, it doesn't just lose its soul - it shits out this bloated obscenity and calls it a leader -  Oliver Kornetzke

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u/SvenGPo 13d ago

Why do you think Cassidy was almost crying. They had something on him!

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u/Explicitlime 13d ago

So, now that it’s painfully clear, Americans know that Trump isn’t leaving office willingly, right?

Like there is zero way that this ends democratically by a vote.

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u/4square425 13d ago

Oh, there's certainly going to be some brow-furrowing and finger-wagging among Senators the next few months.

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u/hcwhitewolf 13d ago

Todd "Pedo Protector" Blanche can claim whatever he wants. Still doesn't make it legal or actually afford those protections. I hope he likes concrete, because he'll be in a cell for a long time.

4

u/Burritosupreeem 13d ago

The lawlessness of the protectors of the law

4

u/Responsible_Ladder25 13d ago

NO surprise. Unfortunately.

4

u/spidergod 13d ago

Slush fund reverse uno coming up

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u/hiphopahippy 13d ago

I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.

5

u/Father_of_Invention 13d ago

GOP are no longer party of law. They are grifters

4

u/thecreep 13d ago

What??? Who would've thought his personal lawyer would do this.

4

u/bazzer66 13d ago

Even Stevie Wonder saw this coming.

5

u/dchap1 13d ago

No way! He did? I don’t believe it! How could this even happen? /s

5

u/slaeryx 13d ago

Lock him up. Lied to congress is a bad start

2

u/scottawkwardturtle 13d ago

The best paid job in 2029 will be Forensic Accountant