The Mueller Investigation may be about to reach it's tense climax. - Polidicks

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/05/29/bob-mueller-trump-rosenstein-fired-218549 So, considering how we've seen Trump going on a more rabid spree of crazy tweets over the last few days, we might be about to see some serious shit start flying soon.

Didn't someone say that Mueller intends to take the investigation beyond 2019 though?

The article was a great read and a solid prediction of how it will go down. The timing may be the most uncertain part of it, as I could imagine the investigation going on for longer for the sake of completeness, because of the sheer amount of documents they have to go through.

The faster Trump gets abolished into a deep pit in rural Russia the better.

Be like that one scene from Dark Knight Rises except everyone is chanting Trump to crawl deeper into the hole.

That was actually a while ago, and after the time of the arrest of Cohen and around the real start of Guilliani's insane ramblings there was talk coming out that the two combined had actually massive advanced the investigation's schedule.

While this is exciting to hear, I’m not going to get my hopes up too quickly. Also, this photo in the article looks like a tiny guy is standing in front of Trump, like a little pocket adviser to make him stop implicating himself lol https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/220592/14b0ec58-5fac-4bd5-a154-9197b5864ca4/image.jpeg

Wait, Cohen was arrested? When did this happen?! I thought he just had his offices raided.

Not arrested, but the raid rather. Same difference. He is under criminal investigation though.

Fuck, I was about to say I must be WAY behind on the news for this shit.

Could just as well be that things are their most chaotic before it's all over. Even if the president is impeached and there's a mess of drama soon, it'll be years before it is all said and done.

You either die a hero, or live long enough to be as awful as Trump.

The general consensus is that the *obstruction* investigation will likely wrap up by the end of the year. (Spoiler alert: Trump’s guilty.) However the obstruction investigation is just one part of a much larger whole. Regardless of what happens to Trump, the investigation into Russia’s cyber warfare will continue into 2019. It’s crucial that it does, because our election infrastructure and social media networks are still extremely vulnerable. Which just makes Trump’s obstruction all the more heinous, because he’s actively impeding an investigation into matters of national security for the sake of his own political survival.

Do you have a source on the claim that Mueller's investigation into obstruction will conclude that quickly? The only "official" statement I've seen made to that effect has been from Giuliani, who admitted that he pulled it out of his ass. I'd be thrilled to see it happen, but it seems that the most prolific legal commentators on Twitter are expecting his investigation to continue into 2019.

We can't afford to wait until 2019.

I'd be pleased as peaches to see everything wrap up this year, but this is the largest and most critical federal investigation in US history. It may take some time to resolve. Even a 2019 conclusion would be lightning fast compared to other special counsel investigations surrounding the office of the presidency. Frankly, the stakes have never been higher -- democracy itself is on the line. So, I would prefer to see the investigation exhaust every possible lead before officially concluding. It is better to take a little extra time to get it done right, than missing the mark because the investigation was rushed.

What will we even have left at that point? Trump is actively dismantling, destroying, or corrupting every institution he can get his hands on. Trump's propaganda is working and our midterm chances don't look as great as they once did. If midterms don't go our way, we have nothing to stop him.

Even a 2019 conclusion would be lightning fast compared to other special counsel investigations surrounding the office of the presidency. To be fair, we’re dealing with some monumentally boneheaded people. I mean, One of the first things Guiliani did was almost directly implicate the Trump Champaign in paying off Stormy.

I hear you. Like I said, I really hope that we see a conclusion to this sooner, rather than later. Every day that passes sees more damage done by Trump. I'm just saying that Mueller needs to have an absolutely 100% surefire conviction lined up before he pulls the trigger, because he is not going to get a second chance if this falls flat, and then we'll really be fucked.

You're not wrong, it just feels like there's no point to the investigation if it takes until we have no tools to execute upon the results of the investigation.

The other day he said the entire Spygate narrative was spun by the Trump administration as a way to influence optics ahead of what Giuliani sees as inevitable impeachment proceedings.

Trump no longer being an influence is just the end of a chapter to a longer line of dilemmas. The next chapter will be of opportunist learning from Trump's stress testing the country, leading to new different forms of corruption. The US might be dealing with a hydra-headed situation after Trump is gone, cut off one head, a thousand more last takes it place.

his findings on Trump might come out this year, the investigation might follow other threads after that

Yeah but at least the Hydra head takes a little time to grow back.

This is, without exaggeration, a battle for our continued existence as a true democracy. Our primary advantage is the ability to choose the time of the battle. We can wait until the best possible moment, when we have made all our preparations and our chances of victory are highest. As any tactician knows, being able to dictate the time and place of the battle is tremendously powerful. When Mueller strikes (as he must if democracy is to survive), the proof needs to be inarguable. It must force Trump's supporters to choose between abandoning him, or abandoning the pretense of freedom. It must leave them unable to claim "oh, he didn't actually commit treason", but rather "sure, he did it, but we don't care", or else drop their support. It forces a public choice between Americanism and Authoritarianism - one I am still confident the former will win out. Thus, I would rather Mueller make sure his proof is absolute. The damage Trump is doing now can be undone - the damage Trump would do once untouchable would be fatal to American democracy. There is no need to hesitate once ready, but until then, keep drawing the noose tighter. We have endured this before. Nixon placed the country in precisely the same situation. And when tapes came out showing the President ordering an act of espionage against political rivals for personal gain, his supporters almost entirely abandoned him, and he quickly resigned because had he not, his fate would have been far worse. Given Trump's lack of foresight and attention to detail, the existence of such evidence is all but inevitable - we just need Mueller to be thorough enough to find it, and drag it into the light. We the people will do the rest.

Having only two choices in this type of situation may lead to more extreme ideologies. A two-way crossroads as an option might further exasperate our absurd political polarization towards more extremism, this can only end in disaster.

In cases where the two choices are seen as comparable, that would be a risk. When it's a choice between something unfathomable and something reasonable (if politically opposed), it is not. Most Americans believe that they believe in democracy. When the question is "do you want a Russian-appointed dictator running America?", almost everyone will actually believe the correct answer is "no". Not just the ground-level, working-class Republicans who voted for him, but GOP politicians and their big corporate donors, will turn against it. And then the social risks kick in - many of the people who would, actually, be fine with America becoming a military-run puppet state, so long as it's white and Christian, would decide not to voice or act on that opinion, unless they think they're in the majority. And it's abundantly clear that they are not. Only people already in extreme echo chambers could possibly think it safe to do so - I'm talking 'living in a cult in a bunker in Montana', not 'watches Fox News' grade echo-chamber.