- In a moment that stunned the hearing room, Watts flatly stated that the president himself has become a cog in such Russian measures. When asked by Oklahoma Republican James Lankford, who appeared visibly dismayed, why, if Russians have long used these methods, they finally worked in this election cycle, Watts’ answer was extraordinary.
“I think this answer is very simple and is one no one is really saying in this room,” he said. Part of the reason, he went on, “is the commander in chief has used Russian active measures at times against his opponents.”
Most coverage of the hearing is focusing on the colorful phrase "follow the trail of dead Russians."
I suspect it's getting harder and harder to view this as a partisan issue when it's becoming increasingly clear that you're not actually on the winning team.
Comments Section: 3/31/2017 9:27 PM CDT This is the best you got? Yawn. This is a big nothing burger. I guess all Americans have turned into non-thinking slaves of social media sits and fabrications. I guess if Americans don't vote for the Deep State's anointed Clinton candidate, then there is a big Russian conspiracy to undermine our democracy a la "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". This entire charade gives a bad name to the term farce. The American public does not care about this non-issue. Why doesn't Congress 1) balance the budget, 2) fix our infrastructure, 3) help our deep poverty communities get a leg up. No, instead we have to suffer through this meaningless drivel. Hillary lost. Get over it. Run Mark Cuban in 2020 to beat Trump. If you imagine those sentiments to stem from a propagandist (however directly or not, but I'm having trouble believing that this is a culturally American author) during an information-based war of attrition, they've really been offloading some good material lately, and it's a finite reserve, right? Poor Nunes, though. Hah, just kidding, fuck Nunes. I agree about Bannon et al. though, they got a pretty bad smear job by the liberal press. Media has once again done us and themselves a disservice several times in recent history. Hey, by the way, the other day, I realized that I can't think of any big businessmen in America that Russia might have laundered a lot of money through. What a silly random thought to just come along! Sad (or sick) thought.Jack Depo
Ever since the senate committee hearings started yesterday, I've been feeling SO much better. More than a little vindicated, too. I'm just worried about what happens next. The depths of these associations are going to be sickening. Does anyone doubt this?It’s not clear yet how much significance these revelations have, if any, to the ongoing probe into possible Russian-Trump campaign collusion.
I think most people - even Mitch McConnell, even Steve Bannon - love this country and want to make it a better place. I'll even go as far as saying most people - even Mitch McConnell, even Steve Bannon - would go out of their way not to harm others. I think some people - such as Mitch McConnell and Steve Bannon - have a vastly different definition of "harm" than I do, and I think they have their priorities in different places... But I really do think we're all on the same team, more or less. I mention this because I really feel we're watching the slow, steady awakening of the Republican Party as they realize that they've been played. I think we're seeing everyone realizing that Christie and Guliani blew their credibility wholesale and got ass-raped for it. I think we're beginning to watch a cynical organization realize that not only can they not control this thing, but that they're already on the wrong side of history and the only question left is how to unfuck it. Clearly, they'd love to maintain their dominance but that's gonna be tough if they have to burn the populist. Remember: Trump beat the shit out of the Republican field. The traditional Republicans would not have won this election. So this whole Trump kerfuffle? It's kinda restoring my faith in Americans. Gene Lyons made the observation that the Russians would never have left so many fingerprints all over this thing if they thought they had a chance in hell of succeeding. That the circumstantial evidence is as obvious as it is tends to indicate that not even the Russians thought it would go this far.