Day 98: TIME FOR FLYNNGATE!

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DAY 98: Trump still has not released his tax returns. He did release his tax reform dream.  So let's talk about that.  Just a few quick comments today. 

TAX REFORM!:  There isn't any.  After much hullabaloo, that's right - 'hullabaloo' - Trump came out with less than a one page explanation of his "historic" tax reform proposal.  One page. Since the president doesn't want to waste time disclosing details, I don't think we need to waste time discussing it.

HEALTHCARE!: Paul Ryan is trying to whip up enough republicans to pass a new healthcare bill.  It's clearly a failure. It's a failure with the House of Representatives, although the republicans MAY pass it because they know the Senate will kill it.  At this point, the myth of Republican health care reform is simply a political football, and only Republicans are playing.  

RUSSIA!: Okay.  A few hours ago, we  learned that former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was told by the Pentagon in 2014, not to take foreign payments.  This means Flynn can't use the much loved "I didn't know" defense, and puts his request for immunity in a whole new light.  If he has something to trade, we're going to find out about it soon.  I hope. 

We at SplinkerNewsMax know how difficult it can be to keep track of all the investigations into the Trump Administrations' collusion with a foreign power to influence the 2016 election.  So here's a quick recap on who's investigating what:

1. House Intelligence Committee: Devin Nunes has recused himself from the investigation, because: a. He's now the subject of an investigation to determine if he disclosed classified material, arising out of b. His pretending he received information from a whistleblower that supported Trump's tweet that Obama had wiretapped his phones. 

FBI election spoiler, James Comey is testifying before the House on May 2, and then Sally Yates, the acting AG that Trump fired when she came out against his first Muslim ban.  So that should be fun.

2. Senate Intelligence Committee: Sen. Richard Burr (NC R) and Mark Warner (VA D) are leading this one.  Lately this Committee has been criticized for dragging it's feet.  A lot. But it isn't as if they've done nothing.  So far, they've interviewed 27 analysts, who led them through the "hows" of Russia's attack on the election. It's likely that they will soon be interviewing Trump's aides.  

3. House Oversight Commttee: Rep. Chaffetz and Cummings. A few days ago, these guys confirmed that Flynn failed to disclose payments on his security clearance application.  This group has been focused on Flynn and his acceptance of payments from Russia and Turkey.  That the White House let this guy slide into the National Security Adviser position, is stunning.  Trump is a fucking lousy vetter.  IRONY!  Flynn was surgically attached to Trump's side during the entire campaign, and now he  is begging for immunity in return for his story.  

Chaffetz is still leading this inquiry.  But he's already said he won't be running for anything in 2018 and that he's  already looking for private work, so WTF?  Some are saying Chaffetz has something to hide about all this, and others say he just doesn't want to kill his political future by defending Trump and taking one for the team.  The latter seems more likely.  But we'll see. 

Senate Judiciary Committee on Crime and Terrorism: Led by Lindsey Grahm and Sheldon Whitehouse.  This group will be hearing from Sally Yates and former Dir. of Nat. Intelligence James Clapper on May 8.  

That's a rough couple of weeks ahead for comrade Trump.  And now...

There's now a fifth investigation into Flynn, Russia and all things treason.  This one by the DOD. If the DOD finds there's cause (there is), they will recommend that the Army prosecute Flynn.  

To sum up the summary: There's a lot of pressure on a lot of people (don't forget Carter Page and Paul Manafort), and if any of them have bargaining chips to play, it's rapidly coming the time to play them.