This news item bears repeating, even though most of us know the story about how President Obama’s team approached the republican leadership in the US Congress about doing a bi-partisan public announcement in a timely manner (weeks before November 2016 elections) about how Russia was in the process of implementing a major attack on the 2016 US elections infrastructure system but this level of co-operation was specifically declined by the republican US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
President Barack Obama was reticent to share this crucial information unilaterally because he didn’t want to appear to be skewing the presidential elections for either party. Of course, this is a decision many of us have criticized.
Here’s the rest of the story…
On March 4, 2018, Luis Sanchez of the Hill penned the following report, “Ex-Obama chief of staff: Obama’s Russia response was ‘watered down’
A former White House chief of staff to former President Obama on Sunday said that the Obama administration’s response to Russian interference in the 2016 elections was “watered down.”
Denis McDonough told “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd that a few months before the 2016 election, the president asked the four party leaders to join the White House in drafting a statement to respond to Russia.
It was “dramatically watered down” on the insistence of now-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), McDonough said.
Former Vice President Joe Biden has in the past also blamed McConnell for weakening the bipartisan response Obama sought.
“So we went up and Mitch McConnell, who I get on with well and is a smart guy, Mitch McConnell wanted no part of having a bipartisan commitment that we would say, essentially, Russia is doing this — stop,” Biden said in January, CBS reported.
McConnell’s lack of cooperation, Biden said, kept him and Obama from speaking out publicly about Russian meddling in the 2016 elections.
President Trump has criticized the Obama administration for not doing enough to stop Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“Obama was President up to, and beyond, the 2016 Election. So why didn’t he do something about Russian meddling?” he tweeted last month.
Gronda Morin 
No other way to put it … at least in tRumpsky’s opinion … Obama is the Fall Guy for any and all “bad” things that are happening in this nation. He sure messed up … right? Uh-huh … uh-huh,
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Dear Nan,
You’ve got the picture. The president’s favorite bogeymen are President Barack Obama, his opposition, Hillary Clinton, his Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the FBI’S Special Counsel Robert Mueller III.
President Obama did take steps with the sanctions against Russia; closing down of Russian properties in USA. President Trump is the one who has done nada.
Hugs, Gronda
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Perhaps a large part of the problem is that 1/3 of the country supports Trump regardless of his actions. He has strong support from his base and the Republican party; and they adamantly believe in their fuhrer – Russia did not interfere with US elections!
So how do we convince 1/3 of the nation otherwise? Perhaps Mueller can prove Trump’s financial connection with Russian banksters and shady business dealings. That would explain Trump’s cozy relationship with Putin.
For what it’s worth, I don’t believe Trump is a willing asset of Russia as many on the left imply. He’s most likely an avid participant of Russian business dealings prior to the presidency. I’m not sure that is necessarily illegal unless he violated US sanctions somehow.
For some inexplicable reason, he is deathly jealous of his predecessor Obama. This insecurity causes him to make unsound decisions, to prove he’s the better man lol.
Fascinating how this soap unfolds… As the World Turns. 😉
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Dear 1EarthUnited,
SC Mueller is not interested in persuading President Trump’s base. He is working in the world of facts and evidence.
As for the president’s past finances, my guess is that he is looking for any money laundering activities or the president’s level of indebtedness to Russian financial institution or institutions like Deutsche Bank which does major business in Russia because this would make the president vulnerable to being compromised.
This latest February 2018 USA Today/Suffolk University poll was taken after 13 Russian nationals were indicted.
It found that 58 percent of voters have some or a lot of trust in special counsel Mueller’s investigation, while 57 percent of voters have little to no trust in the president’s dismissal of claims there was Russian collusion.
Again, it is the president’s base who think differently.
Hugs, Gronda
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Great points about SC Mueller’s investigation on Trump’s finances. Let’s just pray his report doesn’t get stuffed by the current AG. Altho i see Sessions’ not seeing eye to eye with Trump these days:
TRUMP QUESTIONS WHY SESSIONS ISN’T PROBING ‘DEM CRIMES’ AMID RUSSIA INVESTIGATION:
Frustrated over the investigation, the president also been dinging his own attorney general, Jeff Sessions, recently asking on Twitter why the Democrats in the Obama administration aren’t being investigated as part of the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
“Question: If all of the Russian meddling took place during the Obama Administration, right up to January 20th, why aren’t they the subject of the investigation?” Trump tweeted.
Trump added: “Why didn’t Obama do something about the meddling? Why aren’t Dem crimes under investigation? Ask Jeff Sessions!”
…..The indictment – the first filed against Russian nationals as part of Mueller’s probe – effectively returned focus to the meddling activities out of Russia in the run-up to the 2016 election, following a string of charges relating to the actions of Trump associates.
However, the 37-page indictment said the actions detailed by prosecutors date back to 2014.
Trump and Republican allies have seized on this to question whether the Obama administration did enough to head off their efforts — even as Trump critics say the current president has been softer on Russia than Obama.
“Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President,” Trump tweeted last week. “The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong – no collusion!”
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/02/21/trump-questions-why-sessions-isnt-probing-dem-crimes-amid-russia-probe.html
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In light of the above discussion, what remains is for the majority of voters to get out and vote in November!
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Dear John Fioravanti,
That’s the plan. Right now according to the Cook political report, for the US House, Democrats need to pick up 24 seats to become the majority party. This is very doable.
Hugs, Gronda
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One thing we know for certain is that between now and November the Trump White House will continue to stagger and stumble from one outrageous episode to the next.
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Dear John Fioravanti,
And That’s frightening enough.
Hugs, Gronda
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Dear !EarthUnited,
It was President Obama who did impose the 2016 sanctions against Russia and the confiscation of Russian properties in the USA that General Flynn and the President were hoping to undo but were barred by the US Congress.
President Obama did not want to appear to be seen as favoring one party over another by announcing Russia’s attack on our elections infrastructure without this being made public on a bi-partisan basis which the US Senate republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to do. I happen to believe that President Obama made a major error in judgment by trying to play fair when he was depriving the US voting public with crucial information.
This error does not absolve President Trump from taking appropriate action now. Blaming someone else for making a mistake does not mean that that President Trump is off the hook from taking appropriate steps now..
It has already been reported that SC Mueller will be issuing another set of indictments that cover the post 2015 time frame.
I respectfully disagree with the analysis by the FOX reference.
Hugs, Gronda
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The hypocrisy is staggering even by the normal standards of politics.
We are in the realms of Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’; just at the point where the slogan becomes ‘Four legs good. Two legs better’
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Dear Roger,
Since when is it okay to think that I can commit murder because someone else did it and hasn’t been held accountable to my satisfaction. I can expect to pay the consequences if I am caught in the act and the jurists will not be interested in what someone else may or may not have done.
I’m seeing a lot of that kind of thinking. The attitude is, why is he being criticized or held accountable because others did bad things too and did not pay the same price. I keep explaining that Mr. Trump is president and he will pay the price for what he is or is not doing as he is supposed to be the leader of this country. Pointing fingers at others doesn’t qualify as a defense.
Animal Farm is an apt description.
Hugs, Gronda
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We shall not talk of the fellow for the present. You are on holiday. He is not worth the break in your precious time….
All the best
Roger
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