A biography for Richard Painterhasn’t been written yet.
“Criminal conspiracy requires not only that the conspirators know that a crime is going to be committed, but that they knowingly intend to help each other commit the crime - and then commit certain overt acts in connection with that conspiracy.”
“When people are making up stories about Bob Mueller on Fox News and those get traction in congressional committees and in the White House, at a certain point, I've got to say no.”
“Here is where you get into the danger zone, when the government official starts talking about U.S. government business and then also talking about what personal business favors they might want. And when the conversation goes down that road, it does risk crossing the line into solicitation of a bribe.”
“I've been concerned about ethics in government for a long time. And the problems we've had under President Trump are only indicative of the longer-term problem of the erosion of public office and government.”
“Donald Trump wants to ignore the rule of law. He ignores the Constitution. He ignores the subpoenas. The Republicans in the House and Senate are afraid to stand up to him, with only a few exceptions.”
“I think the Republican Party has moved substantially to the right, particularly on social issues... And the Democratic Party has moved to the left over the past decades. So we've got a lot more room in the middle.”
“If I do a campaign, I'm going to do it my way.”
“Watergate was a third-rate burglary. It was purely domestic in nature.”
“I go on all the channels, mostly CNN and MSNBC. I have gone on Fox every couple of months.”
“And imagine where we'd be today if President Franklin Roosevelt had owned apartment buildings in Frankfurt and Berlin. You know, some of us might be speaking German.”
“I've taken firm positions on issues the voters care about, and I will get my positions implemented.”
“Do not overlook that Donald Trump is an inherently unstable person. He's never been able to have stable businesses or stable marriages. It is then wholly predictable that Donald Trump would be unable to have a stable presidency.”
“Nixon was a crook, but he was our crook. He didn't have the KGB do the Watergate job.”
“Russia may very well be front and center again in 2020 as they were in 2016 regarding interference in America's presidential election. But the Trump administration is seeking to use its power of diplomacy to bring other countries into the act as well.”
“It is rational Republicans who want to pull the plug on the Trump presidency.”
“The American experiment with representative democracy has been a great success, but we need to realize that it needs to be a genuine representative democracy where ordinary people have a vote, have a voice in choosing the candidates who represent them.”
“I tried to salvage the situation with the Republican Party for a long time. We've had for decades a departure from the fundamental values of the Republican Party and from America.”
“This is how the Russians have operated for years - they get the goods on people and then they can get you to do what they want. This is how someone like Donald Trump could be turned into a Russian asset.”
“People knew Trump had strange relationships with the Russians even before he was elected. Consequently, there is every reason to investigate whether Donald Trump is a Russian asset.”
“The second part of the Mueller report lays out a very clear case against Donald Trump for obstruction of justice. The facts are very strong.”