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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: locogringo who wrote (1134088)	5/9/2019 6:31:36 PM
From: sylvester80	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1583681

OOPS! Republican Charlie Munger: Trump is NOT primarily responsible for US economic success Max Zahn with Andy Serwer Yahoo Finance•May 9, 2019 finance.yahoo.com President Donald Trump is not primarily responsible for U.S. economic success, says Charlie Munger, the right-hand man of Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK-A, BRK-B) CEO Warren Buffett. “I think deserves some credit, but a lot of it just happened,” says Munger, 95, in his first interview after the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting. The U.S. has been awash with positive economic news in recent weeks. Last month, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported first quarter GDP growth of 3.2%, which far exceeded expectations. Meanwhile a jobs report released last week found the economy added 263,000 jobs in April, dropping the unemployment rate to 3.6%, its lowest level since 1969. Munger, a Republican, said the strong economic performance resulted largely from the natural economic cycle and the decisions of Trump’s predecessors in the White House. Munger made the remarks to Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer in a conversation that airs on Yahoo Finance on Thursday at 5 p.m. EST in an episode of “ Influencers with Andy Serwer,” a weekly interview series with leaders in business, politics, and entertainment. Munger call U.S. healthcare system a 'national disgrace,' economic success thanks to Trump predecessors Since 1978, Munger has served as vice chairman at Berkshire Hathaway alongside Buffett. The two met 20 years earlier through a mutual contact in Omaha, Nebraska, where both were born and currently live. Berkshire Hathaway is the fourth-largest public company in the world, yielding Buffett a net worth of $83.1 billion and Munger one of $1.7 billion. Berkshire Hathaway owns over 60 companies, like Geico and Dairy Queen, plus minority stakes in Apple, Coca-Cola, among others. Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, left, and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, briefly chat with reporters Friday, May 3, 2019, one day before Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) More ‘Presidents have always done this’In his interview with Yahoo Finance, Munger dismissed criticism of Trump’s efforts to pressure Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on interest rates. “I think presidents have always done this,” Munger says. (Indeed, past presidents including Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon Johnson tried to influence the Fed.) But Munger sharply rebuked Trump’s policy goals at the Fed, arguing that a push to keep benchmark interest rates low will ultimately backfire. “If you're a politician in a democracy, of course you want people to print money and spend it,” Munger says. “And of course, it's not a good idea.” “There comes a point when printing money is counterproductive,” he adds. Andy Serwer is editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance.

To: locogringo who wrote (1134088)	5/9/2019 11:40:57 PM
From: Wharf Rat	1 Recommendation Recommended By rdkflorida2 Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 1583681

14... the number of tweets it took this former R congressman to prove obstruction: Allow me this Mueller Report exercise: David Jolly an hour ago, 14 tweets, 3 min read Read on Twitter Between the GOP framing of 'exoneration' and the House suggesting the need for more investigation, it's worthwhile to demonstrate how a sufficient case can already be made for indictment & impeachment in the mere length of a Twitter thread. First, as a predicate, Mueller asserts that "given the role of the Special Counsel as an attorney in the Department of Justice", he is bound by the OLC opinion that indictment of a sitting President would be in "violation of 'the constitutional separation of powers.'" (V2 P1) Mueller further concedes, generously to the President, that it would be unfair to even offer a "prosecutor's judgment that crimes were committed" but then not charge Trump, because Trump would have no opportunity to "clear his name" "before an impartial adjudicator." (V2 P2) To which end, Mueller famously wrote, "Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him." (V2 P2) With that said, Mueller then dissects multiple incidents of obstructive behavior by the President, examining whether each meets the three generally accepted elements of criminal obstruction: 1. an obstructive act; 2. nexus to an official proceeding; 3. corrupt intent. (V2 P9) On the President's behavior as it relates to his pressuring of White House Counsel Don McGahn to remove or have fired the Special Counsel, Mueller finds "substantial evidence" exists to satisfy each element of the crime of obstruction of justice by Donald Trump (V2 P88-89): On 6/17/2017, Trump called McGahn and "directed him to call the Acting AG and say that the Special Counsel had conflicts of interest and must be removed." McGahn refused. (V2 P4, P85) When Trump called McGahn a second time, "the President was more direct", telling McGahn "'Mueller has to go. Call me back when you do it.'" (V2 P86) McGahn sought counsel from his personal attorney, refused again the President's order, and instead decided to resign. (V2 P86-87). As to the 1st element of the crime (an obstructive act), Mueller found "substantial evidence ... supports the conclusion that the President ... in fact directed McGahn to call Rosenstein to have the Special Counsel removed." (V2 P88) To the 2nd element of the crime (nexus to an official proceeding), Mueller found "substantial evidence indicates that by 6/17/17, knew his conduct was under investigation by a federal prosecutor who could present any evidence of federal crimes to a grand jury." (V2 P89) And to the 3rd element of the crime (corrupt intent), Mueller found "substantial evidence indicates that the President's attempts to remove the Special Counsel were linked to the Special Counsel's oversight of investigations that involved the President's conduct." (V2 P89) And moreover to the third, Mueller found "evidence that the President knew he should not have made those calls to McGahn" (V2 P90), that Trump told AG Sessions, "you were supposed to protect me" (V2 P89), and that Trump conceded "this is the end of my presidency." (V2 P89) In a further and related count of obstructive behavior, Mueller found Trump directed multiple staff members to tell McGahn to lie and "write a letter 'for our records'" denying Trump's directives to him re firing the Special Counsel. McGahn refused to write the letter. (V2 P119) While this thread is lengthy, the point of the exercise is to show that in a mere 14 tweets the case can already be made for the impeachment of President Trump. The opportunity for decisive action is sitting right in front of the Congress, right now. Respectfully submitted.