Trump Tower meeting with Russians 'treasonous', Bannon says in explosive book
Source: The Guardian
David Smith in Washington
@smithinamerica
Wed 3 Jan 18 08.07 EST
Donald Trumps former chief strategist Steve Bannon has described the Trump Tower meeting between the presidents son and a group of Russians during the 2016 election campaign as treasonous and unpatriotic, according to an explosive new book seen by the Guardian.
Bannon, speaking to author Michael Wolff, warned that the investigation into alleged collusion with the Kremlin will focus on money laundering and predicted: Theyre going to crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV.
Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, reportedly based on more than 200 interviews with the president, his inner circle and players in and around the administration, is one of the most eagerly awaited political books of the year. In it, Wolff lifts the lid on a White House lurching from crisis to crisis amid internecine warfare, with even some of Trumps closest allies expressing contempt for him.
Bannon, who was chief executive of the Trump campaign in its final three months, then White House chief strategist for seven months before returning to the rightwing Breitbart News, is a central figure in the nasty, cutthroat drama, quoted extensively, often in salty language.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/03/donald-trump-russia-steve-bannon-michael-wolff
woundedkarma
(498 posts)It was treason and you were a part of it. Hope you enjoy your book proceeds in jail.
olegramps
(8,200 posts)Jim__
(14,095 posts)As we already knew:
InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,125 posts)zentrum
(9,866 posts)
helped put him in office. He's Trump's Rove. Further, he says the Russian meeting info should have been given to "Brietbart"a legitimate outlet. Good God. This is just the Devil calling Satan bad.
What the hell is he up to? Just hatred of Jared and Trump Jr.?
doc03
(35,446 posts)legitimate publication to be fair.
Yes, let's give credit where credit is due.
doc03
(35,446 posts)colorado_ufo
(5,743 posts)He feels he lost the competition with Kushner and covered himself by saying how much he was going to work for Trump, now that he was free to do so. He was just setting things up to make his efforts have greater penetrance. This was all part of his plan to get back at Trump. He felt that he was betrayed, after having worked so hard to get Trump elected. He should have realized that in Trump's world only family is trusted. Family will always come first, after only Trump himself. Trump would even throw his family under the bus to save himself.
PatSeg
(47,750 posts)And Bannon has always been about Bannon anyway. He does what serves him and his agenda, whatever that might be. I don't think he ever had any loyalty to Trump, he just wanted to be a king-maker.
Yes, I think Trump would put himself before any family, even his precious Ivanka. I can picture him becoming so paranoid, that he thinks even his family is conspiring against him.
colorado_ufo
(5,743 posts)from having been thrown under the bus. I think she hinted at it when she said, concerning Roy Moore, that "there is a special place in hell for child molesters."
PatSeg
(47,750 posts)how perverted her father's attention appears. If it is all she has ever known, she might think it is normal or she might just be in denial.
get the red out
(13,468 posts)I hope this group of cons is fighting each other all the way to Federal prison.
Wwcd
(6,288 posts)I'm out of swear words to describe them.
They have normalized "fuckers"
Laf.La.Dem.
(2,947 posts)I do not even know who Bannon is
Pharlo
(1,818 posts)more along the lines of "Bannon? You mean that volunteer who worked for the campaign for a month or two? Very limited role. Very. He stocked water. I remember him well, always standing around holding water. His first name was Mario... Mario Bannon. "
Wwcd
(6,288 posts)concreteblue
(626 posts)One possibility that occurred to me is that he is getting ahead of breaking news. Somebody close to him was called by Mueller's team, or he was. He is working on deflecting the focus on his backers and his organization, regardless of their part(s) or not.
BumRushDaShow
(129,984 posts)mobeau69
(11,169 posts)mountain grammy
(26,668 posts)EricMaundry
(1,619 posts)Bradical79
(4,490 posts)It's no wonder he's near the top of the white supremecist food chain. Looking forward to the day his liver quits on him.
nycbos
(6,044 posts)L. Coyote
(51,129 posts)Gothmog
(145,894 posts)bench scientist
(1,107 posts)Treason is a VERY narrowly defined crime. It simply is not the case here. One can be a traitor without committing the crime of treason.
Article III section 3 of The Constitution defines treason as :
"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.
The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted
The punishment for treason has been codified in 18 U.S.C. § 2381 states:
Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
We are not at war with Russia. Moreover, Trump and his band of idiots did not take up weapons against the U.S and attack it.
What they did was engage in a conspiracy: the agreement by 2 or more people to commit a crime or illegal act.
Trump and his thugs have committed several crimes as well as conspiracy.
8 U.S.C. § 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States :If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
Conspiracy can be brought along with many, many other charges and that is likely what will happen.
The reason I bring this up is every time we accuse Trump of treason (not only is it not legally correct) when it does not happen his moronic supporters will believe Trump must be innocent. Mueller will not charge Trump with Treason.
WhiteTara
(29,736 posts)among thieves. Back stabbers all. Delicious.
hlthe2b
(102,525 posts)safeinOhio
(32,754 posts)can't keep their mouths shut....Those lips have sunk that ship....
dalton99a
(81,707 posts)barbtries
(28,821 posts)Bannon? why is anyone listening to this fucking Nazi?
having said that i hope he's right. but i would bet everything that he's in it up to his eyeballs. i just don't get what his function is at this point. is he of such ego and damage that he thinks he'll take over when the trumps go down so he can finish the demolition of democracy and replay the holocaust?
Bannon is fringe. I would rather eat lye than buy or read his book and every time i see his name in the news i just want to scream it. He's fringe. unhinged. Sexist, racist, Nazi. Not invested in the democratic process. pond scum.
Mc Mike
(9,116 posts)Explosive 'no duh' expose, bannon, you dopy nazi, you.
mn9driver
(4,430 posts)Nothing that comes out of his pie hole means jack. Hes as loony as his former boss Donnie the orange shitmonster. Although for entertainment purposes only, this is amusing.
For the purposes of reality, Ill wait to see what Mueller has to say.
UCmeNdc
(9,601 posts)Why try to convince us that he is innocent?
spiderpig
(10,419 posts)Remember the Stephanie Miller segment - "and now it's time for... Republicans Eating Their Own!"?
Chakaconcarne
(2,482 posts)What are his followers going to do with this information?
It validates everything they've pretended isn't going on.
This is totally bizarre.
Sancho
(9,072 posts)He's trying to blame tRump Jr - and deflect blame from tRump...calculated.
Justice
(7,188 posts)Bannon wants to create chaos so he is not particularly honorable here but I agree with him that just hearing the Russians are trying to peddle dirt on your opponent should have caused Don Jr. and Jared to call FBI.
DeminPennswoods
(15,295 posts)Bannon has not been touched by the Russia investigation while everyone else (Pence included) associated with Trump has been in one way or another. Reportedly, Bannon also advised Trump against firing Comey. Bannon's a scummy human, but that doesn't mean he's stupid or has no powers of observation.
GetRidOfThem
(869 posts)Bannon brought Agent Orange the Deplorables, and now he is saying "see, treat me incorrectly, I can remove them too by calling you a traitor". Donald is saying "I can shoot someone on 5th Avenue and the Deplorables would still support me".
The question is who has more power over the Deplorables: Agent Orange or Bannon The Hutt.
This is all speculation, but if I am right, this could get very dirty (and entertaining) quickly. Just wait until Agent Orange does a Category 5 Twitter Hurricane against Bannon. Just wait...
...And Bannon will not take it lying down....
DeminPennswoods
(15,295 posts)and hilarious. I LOL'd when Craig Melvin read the WH response in full on MSNBC.
Mc Mike
(9,116 posts)and russian intel bot propaganda operatives. Co ordination of messages, releases.
Closest I can get:
https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/03/20/report-fbi-investigating-russian-operatives-using-bots-spread-stories-breitbart-rt-infowars/215770
HopeAgain
(4,407 posts)only guy, even to the exclusion of Don Junior. This is a power play. Nothing more, nothing less.
nolabear
(42,004 posts)I'm just going to sit back and enjoy it while Mueller keeps going and going and going.
EricMaundry
(1,619 posts)They got what they wanted, now they want to build further, and on top of Trump's political corpse.
vkkv
(3,384 posts)mobeau69
(11,169 posts)meow2u3
(24,776 posts)Bannon's proof positive--because he was also involved in the subversion!
Question is, is Bannon also under investigation?
mobeau69
(11,169 posts)It's CYA time. Every Nazi for himself.
Enoki33
(1,589 posts)reading the writing on the wall since the firing of Comey, and knows the day of reckoning is fast approaching. Time to protect numero uno while prepping for the aftermath. This is a Nazi that will not easily let go his destructive vision of his perception of what America should be and do. He poses a continuing threat to democracy.
turbinetree
(24,745 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(49,073 posts)AllyCat
(16,263 posts)I suppose crooks like to tattle on each other when they are down on their luck, but I put little stock in anything Bannon has to say.
Raven123
(4,932 posts)colorado_ufo
(5,743 posts)BlueTsunami2018
(3,510 posts)Hes a media manipulator and a ratfucker to the extreme. This smells like a setup of some kind. I hope Im wrong but Im not running too far with anything this bastard says.
questionseverything
(9,666 posts)for me the simple joy of watching repubs splinter themselves is enough for now
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(108,451 posts)riversedge
(70,445 posts)happen to smarty pants JR!!
greyl
(22,990 posts)by Michael Wolff (Author)
http://amzn.to/2E2j8pq
Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House Hardcover
by Michael Wolff (Author)
http://amzn.to/2CP6ISy
of the most controversial presidency of our time
The first nine months of Donald Trumps term were stormy, outrageousand absolutely mesmerizing. Now, thanks to his deep access to the West Wing, bestselling author Michael Wolff tells the riveting story of how Trump launched a tenure as volatile and fiery as the man himself.
In this explosive book, Wolff provides a wealth of new details about the chaos in the Oval Office. Among the revelations:
-- What President Trumps staff really thinks of him
-- What inspired Trump to claim he was wire-tapped by President Obama
-- Why FBI director James Comey was really fired
-- Why chief strategist Steve Bannon and Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner couldnt be in the same room
-- Who is really directing the Trump administrations strategy in the wake of Bannons firing
-- What the secret to communicating with Trump is
-- What the Trump administration has in common with the movie The Producers
Scurrilous
(38,687 posts)DeminPennswoods
(15,295 posts)Wolff had unfettered access to the west wing. He evidently set up a table in the hallway so all the people who wanted to talk to him knew where he was. He dropped in offices to chit chat. Reportedly Trump knew about and approved the book project and even talked to Wolff, who previously had written about him.