USA Politics

[Jer]

…and the House has now been called for the Republicans, who will apparently end up with between 219 and 221 seats (a 3 to 7 seat advantage).

With McCarthy having trouble locking up the votes required for the speakership, I’m really starting to like the idea of the Democrats plus a tiny number of Republicans creating a majority coalition to vote Liz Cheney in as Speaker. Probably won’t happen, but damn, that’d be hilarious if it did.

 

[____no5]

Have you ever heard about the Right to Repair bill in US? One of the most exciting battles of the last few (7) years over a bill that finally passed into a law recently. Unfortunately lobbying from usual suspects as Apple, Google, Amazon, Meta, John Deere etc. crippled the bill in the end.

 

[Travis The Dragon]

Trump and Biden Are Both Under Investigation. Will Anything Come of It?

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/opinion/trump-biden-investigation-special-counsel.html

CNN Turns on Joe Biden, Reports on Biden Crime Family, Admits Joe Met with Son Hunter’s Corrupt Business Partners

CNN Turns on Joe Biden, Reports on Biden Crime Family, Admits Joe Met with Son Hunter's Corrupt Business Partners (VIDEO)

The green light has been given to go after Joe Biden. CNN has turned on Joe Biden. Last week it was revealed Joe Biden improperly stored stolen classified documents at his private office and Delaware home. The Deep State is going after Joe Biden to stop his 2024 presidential bid. CNN is actually...

www.thegatewaypundit.com

 

[LooseCannon]

Pretending the Biden and Trump investigations are equal is bullshit, because they are not.

Hunter Biden doesn't seem to be a particularly good guy, but his actions, and those of other Biden children and relations, have little to do with the president himself. Incredible that people have things to complain about Biden for but they still have to get worked up over Hunter Biden, who is irrelevant in all ways.

 

[Jer]

Pretending the Biden and Trump investigations are equal is bullshit, because they are not.

The scope and intent of the infractions certainly seem to be different, especially in how Trumpworld handled their interactions with the National Archives. But it's appropriate to appoint a special counsel in both cases and let the investigations run their course, leading to charges wherever warranted.

Though depending on how this plays out, it may open the door for a serious primary challenge to Biden for the 2024 nomination, especially if Trump is indicted for mishandling documents, and absolutely if Biden is indicted for the same. But that would depend on the timing of any such indictments, which may take a while to come about.

It's probably a pipe dream, but the idea of a 2024 contest without either Trump or Biden as the nominees would be a much-needed breath of fresh air in U.S. politics.

Hunter Biden doesn't seem to be a particularly good guy, but his actions, and those of other Biden children and relations, have little to do with the president himself. Incredible that people have things to complain about Biden for but they still have to get worked up over Hunter Biden, who is irrelevant in all ways.

I've felt the same way about this. If Joe Biden has direct connections to any of Hunter Biden's shady business, then by all means, investigate it. But Hunter Biden being a piece of shit doesn't automatically sully his father. Former presidents have also had addicts and opportunists in their families, but it didn't seem like there was quite the same level of feeding frenzy around them. It feels like this modern version of the tactic may have started in the Gingrich era with the Republicans going after Roger Clinton for who knows what.

 

[LooseCannon]

The scope and intent of the infractions certainly seem to be different, especially in how Trumpworld handled their interactions with the National Archives. But it's appropriate to appoint a special counsel in both cases and let the investigations run their course, leading to charges wherever warranted.

Though depending on how this plays out, it may open the door for a serious primary challenge to Biden for the 2024 nomination, especially if Trump is indicted for mishandling documents, and absolutely if Biden is indicted for the same. But that would depend on the timing of any such indictments, which may take a while to come about.

It's probably a pipe dream, but the idea of a 2024 contest without either Trump or Biden as the nominees would be a much-needed breath of fresh air in U.S. politics.

I think the special counsel is also a false equivalency. Biden discovered documents the Archives hadn't asked for and returned them immediately, then started looking for other documents to return. And when found, returned those. Donald Trump refused to return his, lied and said he didn't have them, and then continued to lie after the FBI raid. If this was the political environment of the 1960s, like Biden seems to think it is, a special counsel would be welcomed by all. But it's not. Anyway, it'll come out that it's fine, most likely, and the right will scream deep state and they'll be happy.

I've felt the same way about this. If Joe Biden has direct connections to any of Hunter Biden's shady business, then by all means, investigate it. But Hunter Biden being a piece of shit doesn't automatically sully his father. Former presidents have also had addicts and opportunists in their families, but it didn't seem like there was quite the same level of feeding frenzy around them. It feels like this modern version of the tactic may have started in the Gingrich era with the Republicans going after Roger Clinton for who knows what.

Basically, yes, a lot of today's problems can be drawn to Gingrich.

 

[Jer]

I think the special counsel is also a false equivalency.

Any time the Department Of Justice requires an investigation that could have the appearance of conflict of interest, political or otherwise, it's appropriate to appoint a special counsel. (Reference) Since Biden technically has oversight of the DOJ, and Garland was appointed by him, there isn't any good way for DOJ to directly investigate Biden without conflict of interest concerns, thus the appointment of a special counsel.

If you mean that people are claiming that the Biden and Trump situations are equally bad because special counsels were appointed in both cases, then that's just a stupid argument on their part. The circumstances for using a special counsel are laid out in black and white, regardless of the perceived severity of the infraction.

 

[bearfan]

In a perfect world, which US politics is nowhere close, someone would take advantage of this to look at
1) Review the classification system as a whole
2) Come up with a process for dealing with classified documents. Seriously treat it like a library, you check something out, you return it

But ... it is far more "fun" to try to score points off one another

 

[Mosh]

I agree with that and I actually think recent revelations give the political establishment a chance to have that classification system review. We have examples of Biden, Pence, and SCOTUS mistreating classified documents. A democrat not typically known for scandals and a republican not typically known for scandals, plus an institution that, while public trust is rapidly declining, is still probably the most respected branch of government. Pence and Biden also both handled the situation correctly by giving the documents back and complying with further investigations. Obviously, it's bigger than one individual or institution, so use the opportunity to appoint an independent special counsel on a bipartisan basis to review the classification system. Treat the Trump side of things separately as his handling of the documents and subsequent investigations has obviously been different.

But yes, US politics is not anywhere close to being ready for that.