Patterico's Pontifications

1/18/2019

Beware of Jason Leopold, One of the Reporters Who Broke the Blockbuster BuzzFeed Story (UPDATE: Special Counsel Says Story Inaccurate)

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:01 am



Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last twelve hours, you’ve heard about the BuzzFeed story alleging that there is documentary evidence that Trump instructed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about the Trump Tower Moscow deal:

President Donald Trump directed his longtime attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, according to two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter.

Trump also supported a plan, set up by Cohen, to visit Russia during the presidential campaign, in order to personally meet President Vladimir Putin and jump-start the tower negotiations. “Make it happen,” the sources said Trump told Cohen.

. . . .

The special counsel’s office learned about Trump’s directive for Cohen to lie to Congress through interviews with multiple witnesses from the Trump Organization and internal company emails, text messages, and a cache of other documents. Cohen then acknowledged those instructions during his interviews with that office.

This is a genuine “whoa if true” moment. If the President of the United States instructed his personal lawyer to lie to Congress about the extent of a proposed business deal with Russia, that is impeachable.

But hold up. Let’s look at the names on that BuzzFeed story again. Why does the name Jason Leopold sound familiar? Oh, right: because he told us confidently in 2006, again and again, based on anonymous law enforcement sources, that Karl Rove would be indicted.

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald spent more than half a day Friday at the offices of Patton Boggs, the law firm representing Karl Rove.

During the course of that meeting, Fitzgerald served attorneys for former Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove with an indictment charging the embattled White House official with perjury and lying to investigators related to his role in the CIA leak case, and instructed one of the attorneys to tell Rove that he has 24 business hours to get his affairs in order, high level sources with direct knowledge of the meeting said Saturday morning.

I mean, he had a case number for the case (06 cr 128) and everything. It was solid, man! Solid!

NARRATOR: Rove was never actually indicted. Leopold, and his sources, were dead wrong. Laughably so. And he was a laughingstock at the time. I remember it well and wrote about it right here, again and again.

Leopold already had credibility issues when the Rove series of articles broke. The idea that you’d take his word on anything … well, let’s just say I don’t recommend it.

That said, the pair that broke the current BuzzFeed story has been out front on the Cohen story for a while. As I noted in November:

Oddly enough, and I feel weird saying this, but a BuzzFeed story from May 17, 2018 co-authored by (shudder) Jason Leopold appears to have gotten a lot of this right before anyone else did — in particular the extent to which Cohen had continued to push the Trump Tower Moscow deal months after January 2018, when (according to what Cohen had told Congress) the deal had supposedly been dead

The reporter who is not Jason Leopold sounds very confident:

But he has not seen the evidence himself.

Leopold was 100% confident about Rove. I mean 100%. I’m glad it’s the other reporter who dealt with the sources. Still…

This, I’ll believe when I see it in Mueller’s report.

If I do, and if the evidence is solid, I will be foursquare behind impeaching and removing this guy. Heck, I’m already threesquare behind it.

Meanwhile, the drama in D.C. continues, with Pelosi (maybe) delaying the SoTU, and Trump retaliating by canceling her trip to visit the troops in Afghanistan. What a show! Sure would be a shame if it came to an end, wouldn’t it?

UPDATE: Ouch.

[Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back, where discussion is unfailingly civil.]

151 Responses to “Beware of Jason Leopold, One of the Reporters Who Broke the Blockbuster BuzzFeed Story (UPDATE: Special Counsel Says Story Inaccurate)”

  1. Ding.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  2. plus if he got this information from sleazy fbi people or from the corrupt ivy league fascists on Team Mueller it’s probably just crap they’re leaking to frame the narrative for their ongoing coup

    the KGB-FBI does this sleazy stuff all the time as part of its efforts to destabilize the US government

    but for some people it just never gets old

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  3. I say we renew for the next season.

    But seriously, Buzzfeed? And remember there’s already been that confusion over the two different Moscow projects. There were already those accusations of gross perjury when everything was explained if you just realized, oh, this is the other Moscow project, it says so right here.

    Why would various news outlets be prepping people about how boring the Mueller investigation is gonna be if this is about to drop?

    Ingot9455 (985c4f)

  4. Probably from felix ‘the cat’s sater,

    Narciso (96850e)

  5. Ain’t it all “whoa if true”?

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  6. The skadden arps walk away a khuzaimi special is more interesting.

    Narciso (96850e)

  7. Release the hounds Mueller Report, for chrissakes!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  8. Trump is getting increasingly desperate, threatening Cohen’s father on TV and then again on twitter this morning. If that isn’t witness intimidation it is close. It’s not the action of someone who is innocent. In fact none of Trump’s actions are the actions of someone who is innocent. This is ramping up, and yes we need to see the fricking Mueller report soon.

    JRH (fe281f)

  9. *father-in-law, rather.

    JRH (fe281f)

  10. Meh, I like thrillers but this is near beer.

    Narciso (96850e)

  11. So now we’re going to pretend we care about perjury and witness intimidation, when those were the investigative tools which got us here.

    A Trump impeachment is about perjury as Kavanaugh opposition was about sexual assault and gang rape.

    Munroe (6b9796)

  12. Bush, Obama and Both Clinton’s should be working on a chain gang.

    mg (6ab313)

  13. Neither abc’s santucci or the times hsberman know anything about it

    narciso (d1f714)

  14. I appreciate Patrick’s skepticism and warning note.

    Truer words than this were never spoken: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

    Dave (1bb933)

  15. Deep thoughts…

    Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in his shoes. That way if he gets angry, he’ll be a mile away and barefoot.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  16. “In July and August 2016 Bruce Ohr the #4 person in the DOJ whose wife worked for Fusion GPS (the company that hired Christopher Steele to compile the Russian dossier) briefed senior staff of the FBI and DOJ about Steele’s work. During those briefing, Ohr explicitly cautioned his colleagues that Steele’s dossier work was opposition research for the Hillary Clinton campaign and the people behind it hated Donald Trump. Therefore it might be biased.
    Ohr’s warnings came at the same time the FBI used began its investigation of the Trump campaign and three months before they used the dossier as a big part of their FISA surveillance application to monitor Carter Page (10/21/16). Apparently, Ohr provided this information to the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees probes in a closed-door transcribed interview in August 2008.

    “I certainly told the FBI that Fusion GPS was working with, doing opposition research on Donald Trump,” Ohr told congressional investigators, adding that he warned the FBI that Steele expressed bias during their conversations.
    I provided information to the FBI when I thought Christopher Steele was, as I said, desperate that Trump not be elected,” he added. “So, yes, of course I provided that to the FBI.”

    In other words, he told the FBI Steele was biased, but the FBI used the information to get FISA warrant anyway.”

    https://lidblog.com/bruce-ohr-bogus-dossier/

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  17. Colonel… that should be a bigger deal on the news. I wonder if that’s why that buzzfeed article was pushed to knock it off the radar…

    Also, I’m reminded by Jonathan Turley’s article:
    https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/425033-witch-hunt-or-mole-hunt-times-bombshell-blows-up-all-theories

    I think he’s onto something…

    Pat/Dana/JWF: What do think?

    whembly (51f28e)

  18. ugh!
    *Pat/Dana/JWF: What do you think of Turley’s article?

    whembly (51f28e)

  19. In other words, he told the FBI Steele was biased, but the FBI used the information to get FISA warrant anyway.

    So?

    If you rob me at gunpoint, I’ll be pretty biased against you, too.

    Should my testimony be disqualified from getting a warrant to search for the stolen property?

    The potential bias of Steele’s work, being commissioned by a political opponent, was duly pointed out by the FBI in the FISA warrant application. It was also not the primary evidence.

    Dave (1bb933)

  20. you’ve heard about the BuzzFeed story alleging that there is documentary evidence that Trump instructed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about the Trump Tower Moscow deal:

    What kind of corroborating documentary evidence could possibly exist?

    How would it be created and why would Mueller’s team have it?

    Wiretaps? I don’t think that happened.

    Trump records? Nothing was subpoenaed.

    Theoretically, it could be email or paper records Cohen had, but I suspect that this is nothing more than laundered Cohen testimony. Or it is something that backs up details of his testimony irrelevant to this point (Trump instructing him to lie.

    Wiretaps? I don’t think that happened.

    Trump records?

    Nothing was subpoenaed.

    Theoretically, it could be email or paper records Cohen has, but i suspect that this is nothing more than laundered Cohen testimony. Or it is something that backs up details of his testimony irrelevant to this point (Trump instructing him to lie.)

    1. When Mueller asked trump written questions he did not ask him just when discussions had finally ceased for good.

    2. Trumo never claimed that the last time he discussed this was in January 2016. There are some quotes from Trump that are repeatedly cited or played but none of them say or imply that.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  21. Let me correct and amend the end of the last comment:

    We do know this:

    1. Michael Cohen has claimed that he lied about how long some sort of discussions of the Trump Tower in Moscow continued out of loyalty to Trump.

    But Trump never claimed that the last time he discussed this was in January 2016!

    There are some quotes from Trump that are repeatedly cited or played to show Trump lied about this point, (albeit not under oath) but not one of them says or implies that.

    2. When Mueller asked Trump written questions he did not ask him just when discussions had finally ceased for good.

    Meaning this is not an issue, as far as Trump is concerned. There was some kind of discussions with intermediaries that lasted till about July 2016. Trump never claimed anything different (although he didn’t make it public.)

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  22. 20. Dave (1bb933) — 1/18/2019 @ 10:36 am

    The potential bias of Steele’s work, being commissioned by a political opponent, was duly pointed out by the FBI in the FISA warrant application.

    They did say that, and even said there might be a connection to the Clinton campaign but they did NOT say that it was paid for outright by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, which they knew because Bruce Ohr had told them.

    Now you could argue over whether that made any difference.

    It was also not the primary evidence.

    b> The warrant did not target anyone currently working for the Trump campaign!!

    Papadouplous had quit.

    It is as if the FBI succumbed to pressure, but wanted to avoid interfering in any way with a political campaign.

    Now later (or at the same time) the Steele dossier was the basis for a counterintelligence investigation.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  23. What was the primary evidence, Dave? The newspaper reports, whose source was also Steele’s dossier?

    Ingot9455 (985c4f)

  24. 20… predictable blather and so-whatisms…

    You right-wingers!!!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  25. Stephen Miller
    @redsteeze
    Cormier on CNN says had not personally seen evidence. Leopold on MSNBC stating he saw documents. Probably should get your guys on the same page here
    @BuzzFeedBen

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  26. @johncardillo
    Notice that BuzzFeed’s anonymously sourced story dropped just as Bruce Ohr’s damning on the record testimony was getting traction

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  27. The news reports keep on saying that Cohen got three years for campaign financed violations. That’s not most of what he pleaded guilty to. In fact that supposed camopaign finance violations (which Trump’s lawyers dispute were any kind of campaign finance violation on his oaprt) were obviously just thrown in by Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis.

    Now theya re also saying that because Trumop mentioned Cohen’s fatehr-in-law (whom most observers think is shady or didn’t do things right) he is somehow threeaning a retaliatory criminal investigation of Cohen’s father-in-law. (in case nobody has noticed, Trump has not and will not order criminal investigations because that’s against recent precedent for all presidents and his Attorney generals won’t allow him to. I don’t even think Bill Clinton did, at least overtly, but I may be wrong.)

    This claim has as much validity as Nancy Pelosi’s claim that Trump endangered her security by revealing her planned visit. That’s the latest on that front.

    Trump cancelled it! So there was no secret to give away. (Now it may be that since 9/11 the Speaker of the House does not fly commercial but I don’t know.)

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  28. Leopold on MSNBC stating he saw documents

    “Documents:

    What documents?

    “FBI 302s of Cohen’s interviews? Transcripts of Cohen grand jury testimony? A provisional draft of a report?

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  29. Apparently it was Cohen’s father in law, who introduced him to trump, it was his uncle who as a doctor treated various members of the lucchese family (that’s according to the times)

    Narciso (96850e)

  30. http://www.newser.com/story/270136/trump-defenders-go-after-buzzfeed-after-big-report.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=uol&utm_campaign=rss_top

    Mueller reportedly has emails and texts from the Trump Organization and interviews with multiple witnesses to corroborate.

    That would only show that some other people associated with Trump wanted Cohen to lie. Possibly because of their own role.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  31. “Aaron Blake of the Washington Post emphasizes two big caveats: the use of anonymous sources and the fact that Cohen’s team hasn’t confirmed.”

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  32. Well, one thing is clear, the Democrats will use any club they find, even if it was handed them by a clown like Leopold. But it is their nature.

    There are lots of reasons to dislike Trump, and I dearly hope he finds the prospect of 4 more years of this crap repulsive and declines a second term. But I would be upset to see him brought low by the kind of process charges that the Club waives for its own members.

    When they toss someone out of Congress for lying to their constituents, or prosecute one of their own for lying under oath about something they also want to hide, then come talk to me about how they are merely stewards of the law when they go after opponents like this.

    Kevin M (21ca15)

  33. The Democrats are all set to cite this “report” which is very very unofficial, so it must be a planned leak.

    Probably misleading.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  34. Not sure how it helps Mueller to have Cohen admit to perjury in the past. PRetty sure that prosecutors are reluctant to put admitted perjurers on the stand.

    Kevin M (21ca15)

  35. “Aaron Blake of the Washington Post emphasizes two big caveats: the use of anonymous sources and the fact that Cohen’s team hasn’t confirmed.”

    as if just the fact that it came from the slipshod propaganda trash at buzzfeed wasn’t a huge caveat

    that’s the only place Meghan McCain’s coward-ass navy-turd daddy could get to publish his pee-pee dossier

    plus the sources were either fbi trash or mueller trash

    this isn’t journalism, not even the degraded CNN Jake Tapper fake news kind

    it’s just garbage meant to be shared on zuckertwat’s facebook and jack douchey’s twatter

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  36. It could be that some other persons) involved in the later discussions wanted Cohen to conceal them. (and, if they were concealable, who else would know about them?)

    They were going craxy in those discussions. One brought up the idea of bribing Vladimir Putin by offering him a free penthouse apartment in the Trump tower in mMoscow, arguing that if Putin lived there, other people in Moscow close to Putin would pay more money for apartments,so they woudn’t lose any money by giving the penthouse apartment away for free. I don’t think Trump knew about this idea of offering Putin a free penthouse apartment.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  37. As a member of a different Club, I consider subornation of perjury to be one of the worst offenses. Maybe even worse than just plain perjury, in the same sense that solicitation to commit murder carries the death penalty (if the murder occurs) when just plain murder doesn’t. It makes the whole due process legal rigmarole meaningless. Might as well just flip a coin.

    nk (dbc370)

  38. too good to fail.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  39. Also, the information about Carter Page in the dossier is substantially truthful.

    He has confirmed a great deal of it in testimony under oath(*)…

    (*) Disclaimer: Testimony given under oath by appointees, close associates and relatives of Donald Trump may reflect “alternative facts”.

    Dave (b00907)

  40. And what if anything did Carter Page do wrong? He was actually helping the FBI and testifying for the FBI.

    Ingot9455 (985c4f)

  41. The part about Trump considering visiting Russia during the campaign (considering the idea that is to say) is almost cetainly correct.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  42. No he has not, Dave thanks for playing you get a case of ricearoni.

    Narciso (96850e)

  43. NAtional Reviews’s Morning Jolt:

    John Santucci of ABC News responded to the BuzzFeed revelations, “in all our reporting, I haven’t found any in the Trump Org that have met with or been interviewed by Mueller.”

    Pretty strange if Cohen said, or had written evidence that, one of them encouraged him to lie.

    Of course maybe they didn’t ask the right person, or the right person lied, or the person who encouraged Cohen to lie was not a member of the Trump organization, but Cohen is claiming he carried a message from Donald Trump.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  44. Link re: 37

    https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/29/politics/trump-tower-moscow-putin-penthouse/index.html

    Trump Tower Moscow concept included idea of giving penthouse to Putin

    By Cristina Alesci and Caroline Kelly, CNN

    Updated 4:17 PM ET, Fri November 30, 2018

    CNN) — One idea considered for the proposed Trump Tower in Moscow was to offer Russian President Vladimir Putin the penthouse, according to Felix Sater, who was working on the project with Michael Cohen….

    …BuzzFeed, which first reported on the plan, reported that Cohen, who was then-candidate Donald Trump’s attorney, had discussed the idea with a representative of Putin’s press secretary, citing two law enforcement sources. The penthouse was planned to be valued at $50 million but gifted to Putin, BuzzFeed reported.

    It was not clear if Trump was informed of the idea.

    Cohen would not provide a comment for the story.

    Asked about the reporting on the idea of giving Putin the penthouse, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani dismissed the idea that Trump was involved.

    “The story is a story. The President never heard of this and the concept never got anywhere beyond an unfunded letter of intent and never even a proposal or draft contract,” the former New York mayor said.

    This probably haoppened during the later period of interest in a Trump Tower in Moscow.

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  45. Will Sam do Diane?
    Who shot JR?
    Does Rudy truly have bridge to sell?

    Stay tuned…

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  46. https://www.mullings.com/dr_01-17-19.htm`

    The Fixer Fixed the Polls

    Rich Galen

    Thursday January 17, 2019 …

    According to a Wall Street Journal story, Cohen hired a guy – not
    me – to “rig online polls in his boss’s favor before the
    presidential campaign.”
    * The two polls: One conducted for CNBC and the other for Matt
    Drudge’s website, cost Trump $50,000.
    * The guy who was hired said he never received the full amount. The
    WSJ says what he was paid – about $12,000 – was given to him at
    Trump Tower as cash in a Walmart bag.
    * The only part of this that Cohen disputes is that business about
    paying in cash. It was all done by check, says Cohen, out of
    Trump’s private account.
    * Cohen, the soul of contrition these days, wrote in a Tweet:

    “As for the @WSJ article on poll rigging, what I did was at the
    direction of and for the sole benefit of @realDonaldTrump @POTUS. I
    truly regret my blind loyalty to a man who doesn’t deserve it.”
    * Yeah. Well. . .

    * The tale gets a little more twisted when the Journal says Michael
    Cohen drew the entire $50,000 but only paid out between $12,000
    and $13,000 to the database guy. The question then becomes: Wither
    the other 38 K?
    * Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s current lawyer and fixer said for the
    article, “If one thing has been established, it’s that Michael
    Cohen is completely untrustworthy.”
    * Mr. Pot? Meet Mr. Kettle.
    * The guy who got stiffed for that $38,000, John Gauger, runs a
    company called RedfinchSolutions.com and is affiliated with
    Liberty University – yes that Liberty University.
    * A check of RedFinch’s website earlier today shows it was still up
    and running except for the tab labeled: “Team.” Clicking on that
    did nothing.
    * Here, according to the WSJ was the scam:

    In January 2014, Mr. Cohen asked Mr. Gauger to help Mr. Trump score
    well in a CNBC online poll to identify the country’s top business
    leaders by writing a computer script to repeatedly vote for him.
    Mr. Gauger was unable to get Mr. Trump into the top 100 candidates.

    In February 2015, as Mr. Trump prepared to enter the presidential
    race, Mr. Cohen asked him to do the same for a Drudge Report poll
    of potential Republican candidates, Mr. Gauger said. Mr. Trump
    ranked fifth, with about 24,000 votes, or 5% of the total.

    * That CNBC poll was part of the network’s 25th anniversary
    activities and asked for people to vote for “those who have had
    the most profound impact on business and finance since 1989, the
    year CNBC came into existence.”
    * I was involved with T. Boone Pickens and The Pickens Plan back in
    those days and, while we weren’t smart enough to hire a guy to
    cheat on Boone’s behalf, we knew there was something fishy when
    Boone didn’t make the top 93 people mentioned.
    * As I remember it, CNBC’s said that Boone’s most “profound impact”
    had occurred before 1989. For instance, Boone’s attempt to take
    over Gulf Oil occurred in the time period around 1983.
    * Now, it seems clear to me that CNBC might have known at the time
    that at least some entities – including Donald Trump – were
    involved in attempting to manipulate the contest.
    * The final piece of weirdness surrounding Michael Cohen and John
    Gauger was a request by Cohen to establish a Twitter account,
    @WomenForCohen.
    * Again, as of this writing that Twitter account still exists. In
    the profile section it says this:

    “Women who love and support Michael Cohen. Strong, pit bull, sex
    symbol, no nonsense, business oriented, and ready to make a
    difference!”

    That last desn’t sound like Michael Cohen was working soley for Trump. In fact it is not at all clear what Coen had in mind, if he had the idea behind that Twitter account. Did he want to show someone how he could get people(at lesst wonmen) to do things for him?
    _____________________________________________________________

    Sammy Finkelman (102c75)

  47. Lol @ thinking impeaching the President will bring this ‘show’ to an end.

    Wake up, this is only Act II, Chairman Zero was Act I.

    We’ve got Beto, Harris, Lieawatha, Booker, Pantsuit, Mooch, etc. all champing at the bit to be Act III (or IV, if they really do succeed in booting Trump). Plus the next generation (Cortex, Newsom etc.) AKA the ‘constitution is an impediment to progress’ crowd is just getting warmed up.

    harkin (e6b10c)

  48. @48. There are no patriots in the Senate today; he’ll beat the rap.
    _____

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news-made-by-history/wp/2017/12/20/how-a-reporting-mistake-nearly-derailed-the-watergate-investigation-and-how-journalists-recovered/?utm_term=.75c2af379078

    There have been media errors reporting on this drama; ABC, CNN, etc. ‘Course, back in the Watergate days, ‘Woodstein’ famously got their initial story about Halderman, Sloan and g/j testimony regarding control of Nixon’s secret campaign slush fund wrong, too.

    Wonder whatever happened to ‘Woodstein’ and The Big Dick…

    Stay-tuned.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  49. mark felt leaked whatever was the grand jury take, that day, he didn’t have anything more substantial than that, future novelist stan pottinger, then acting atty gen, eventually figured it out around 1975

    https://www.trtworld.com/turkey/erdogan-graham-discuss-syria-safe-zone-attend-fazil-say-s-concert-23436

    narciso (d1f714)

  50. @50. Lindsey left town?!?! W/a the gov’t shutdown???!!

    “You go, girl!!”

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  51. Ah yes…someone actually posted this comment about a recording by Say at my music forum today

    Both discs are superb on all accounts, including Say’s vocalizing, moaning and groaning

    As a composer his music is mildly interesting, but nothing that would set the Bosphorus on fire.

    Kishnevi (2f2ab7)

  52. So Mueller’s office waits until Friday 7:30PM eastern to issue a statement that says the BuzzFeed story about Cohen’s alleged statements is not accurate. Meanwhile all the horseschiff speculation by these Democrat operatives with bylines – aka Teh Media – has flooded the airwaves and the innernetz for hours and hours.

    Herr Mueller and company should be questioned under oath about leaks. Talk about a gaggle of corksoakers.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  53. It was probably the same feltercarb back in 2006, layers of editors, remember who ran raw story then.

    Narciso (18a7c2)

  54. Breaking, per NBC/CNN: Mueller spokesperson states ‘characterization of documents and testimony’ in BuzzFeed reporting Trump directed Cohen to lie is “not accurate.”

    “Woodstein!!!” – Ben Bradlee [Jason Robards] ‘All The President’s Men’ 1976

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  55. To say something is not accurate is not the same as saying it is not true.

    Kishnevi (2f2ab7)

  56. 56… it’s a limp dick way of throwing a blanket over and smothering fake news. How’s that?

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  57. All due respect, these people are so hungry for clicks, eyes and ears they’ll run with almost anything, whatever the damage.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  58. @56. Yep. Ask Hugh Sloan.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  59. Fake but true… got it.

    Sloan is in assisted living.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  60. Impeach the mother______, anyway.

    nk (dbc370)

  61. It’s now time for robot reporters… oh… wait.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  62. @60. Equating inaccuracy w/fakery is Trump 101.

    So just what is Rudy’s asking price for that bridge?

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  63. but will sleazy ex-marine Bobby Mueller punish the people on his team what did fake news all up in the Buzzfeed?

    lol not a chance

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  64. He was the head of the Woodbridge group till 2008, he played in the movie by Stephen collins

    Narciso (18a7c2)

  65. @64. GW, B’k’lyn or Tappan Zee, even for Rudy, ‘a bridge too far,’ eh, Mr. Feet?!

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  66. *sits down with popcorn and a smirk, listening to the pained screams of tens of millions of Trump Derangement Syndrome sufferers who let Buzzfeed and their corrupt “reporter” induce them into stepping on their collective junk with golf shoes*

    M Scott Eiland (b16b32)

  67. There’s no disappointment quite like NeverTrump disappointment.

    Munroe (ce0dd5)

  68. No one else in the media has confirmed the Buzzfeed story, and not for lack of trying, which is good reason to be cautious.

    Paul Montagu (9583ef)

  69. Like the last big scoop about boyarchik, the time reporter, who lapped all the ridiculous folderall from Obama about how Putin was losing, had met him two years ago.

    Narciso (18a7c2)

  70. 67… the media operatives with their marching order buzzwords… “manufactured”… “impeachable offense”… sheer madness.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  71. It was nice while it lasted. Now looking forward to the new Milo Murpy’s Law episode tomorrow morning.

    Did you know that pistachios in the United States are grown almost exclusively in California, Arizona and New Mexico?

    nk (dbc370)

  72. 68… gotta be gnashing a lotta molars and rending a lotta clothes and teh cries… teh cries of disappointment must be heart-wrenching!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  73. It’s open mike ‘Fake News All-Star Ron Ziegler Nite’ on Fox!

    Comedy gold.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  74. Special Counsel’s office denied the substance of that story and dashed Democrats and NeverTrumperella dreams of indictment and impeachment.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  75. You’ll find succor over at CNN and MSLSD, DCSCA.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  76. UPDATE: Ouch.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  77. God Damn America, right Leviticus?

    mg (7e0e37)

  78. I’m watching a recording of today’s Tucker Carlson show, it’s at the 8:47PM eastern mark and he has Zippy the Pinhead wearing a suit and tie excoriating buzzfeed for their schiff reporting. No wait… the guy’s name is Chris Hahn and he’s a former Chuck Schumer staffer.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  79. Respect and Hats Off Patterico.

    JRH (fe281f)

  80. A Clinton staffer, they get passed around like bad buffalo wings

    Narciso (18a7c2)

  81. Yes, Patterico, you did warn us. “Us” being a group which includes people who take the Marvel franchise more seriously than they do the news media.

    It was fun while it lasted. And I think it’s a reasonable inference that when Trump, or his lawyers, gave Cohen permission to talk to Congress they 1) knew what he would say, and 2) knew that it would include lies, and I would argue that it’s a permissible inference that those lies were at their behest.

    nk (dbc370)

  82. They cant even make an interesting story, they tried that when they retconned the dossier to the erovxhin death (the odds a senior rosneft exec would be speaking with a burned Russian apy)

    Narciso (18a7c2)

  83. Lie is what lawyers in Washington D.C. do.

    mg (0abf02)

  84. And I think it’s a reasonable inference that when Trump, or his lawyers, gave Cohen permission to talk to Congress they 1) knew what he would say, and 2) knew that it would include lies, and I would argue that it’s a permissible inference that those lies were at their behest.

    Oh, you bet. I just said this, in fact:

    Patterico (115b1f)

  85. Please and the Clintons didnt tell Lanny what to have him say, not to mention his other clients

    Narciso (18a7c2)

  86. FTR, I am more than willing to believe that Trump suborned perjury and therefore obstructed justice, but I have to be convinced by the evidence. Maybe it did happen as BuzzFeed reported, but now they have to step it up. The Special Counsel’s response just raised the stakes. This is really a due-or-die moment for Buzzfeed and especially this Leopold character.

    Paul Montagu (9583ef)

  87. So BuzzFeed says sources say 2+3=5;
    Trump crows it doesn’t add up;
    Mueller says source ‘inaccurate’… his work shows 3+2=5.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  88. Why after they published the dossier they removed all doubt, the subsequent scoops were from brenda Starr who would do anything for a story.

    Narciso (18a7c2)

  89. How are conservatives still complaining about their publishing the dossier? Aren’t you glad they did? Aren’t you glad you know what’s in it? Aren’t you glad that one of its allegations seems facially implausible?

    Patterico (115b1f)

  90. These jive ass stories – and there have been many – these sub-moron mistakes always seem to go in one direction.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  91. Never trumpers and media vermin flushed down the toilet again!

    lany (14c9e5)

  92. Well, when you run a corrupt hotel/casino organization that is not only under ongoing investigation in multiple jurisdictions, but has previously been sued, indicted, convicted and fined, for such high crimes and misdemeanors as fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, visa abuse, hiring illegal aliens and distributing fake passports, green cards and social security numbers, it would seem that subornation of perjury is a short throw away. Mueller is the least of Trump’s worries. He’s a lot more concerned about US attorneys in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Newark. So are his sons, son-in-law and daughter. Hawking fast-track citizenship visas to salvage failed and bankrupt properties internationally is more serious than lying to Congress.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  93. Mueller finally realized he has to get his hand out of the cookie jar.

    mg (7e0e37)

  94. If ammo companies created as many duds as journalists – no one would have ammo.

    mg (7e0e37)

  95. like everything else Meghan’s cowardly daddy did in his useless loser navy-turd life his dossier was a huge lie

    not unlike the lies dirty u-tosser Mhitt Rhomney peddles in when he wants to see Republicans lose senate seats

    but if we celebrate Buzzfeed’s publication of treasonous John McCain’s dirty coup plot dossier, why not celebrate ALL the lies the CNN Jake Tapper fake news spews out every day and we can just dispense with this idea of a free press having any value to this society

    but me i used to like to click and read about stuff, and I miss it

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  96. Mueller finally realized he has to get his hand out of the cookie jar.

    I don’t think so Mr. mg, but sleazy ex-marine nazi-boy Bob Mueller did indeed tip his hand i think.

    The buzzfeeders flew too close to the sun and and produced fake news that – IF TRUE – meant impeachments were to begin next week toot sweet here’s the evidence what say you

    But dirty filthy FBI turd Bobby Mueller…

    a.) has no evidence (typical corrupt FBI p.o.s. investigation tactics) – ask Mike Flynn about the KGB-FBI’s evidentiary standards lol

    b.) has NO interest in bringing this to a conclusion – his job is to drag this dirty FBI coup out as long as possible – because?

    HIS PHONY PERVERTED INVESTIGATION IS AIMED AT PROTECTING THE FBI AND THE DIRTY ROSYTWAT DOJ AND THE SLEAZY CORRUPT TRASH ON OUR FISA COURTS

    The coup he’s doing on President Trump is meant to cripple not to kill, which is not to say the treasonous trashy men and women of the dirty FBI are above killing people when they have a yen.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  97. happyfeet – I needed a happy moment from this abortion of justice.

    mg (7e0e37)

  98. and

    me too especially with all these snows on my head

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  99. Trying to beat the weather myself – Driving from Pennsylvania to Cape Cod.

    mg (7e0e37)

  100. Shorten Jason Van Dyke’s sentence to 2 years…IYKWIMAITTYD

    urbanleftbehind (b6a7f6)

  101. ugh be careful this little storm’s kinda exuberant

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  102. Some of the references were familiar to BuzzFeed News reporter Jason Leopold. He’s been part of a team reporting on the Russians involved for a while now.

    run 3 unblocked (6cf4de)

  103. Some of the references were familiar to BuzzFeed News reporter Jason Leopold. He’s been part of a team reporting on the Russians involved for a while now.

    run 3 unblocked (6cf4de)

  104. Because it prompted this whole two year rigamorile that you are still entertaining

    https://themarketswork.com/2019/01/18/transcripts-of-former-top-fbi-lawyer-detail-pervasive-abnormalities-in-trump-probe/

    Narciso (c1f971)

  105. Notwithstanding Mueller’s denials, Congress should investigate the leaks from the Mueller team. Mueller’s denial is only to try to prevent this.

    AZ Bob (885937)

  106. This Congress, is cooperating with Mueller, in point of fact so was the last except for Nunes meadows and a few others

    Narciso (c1f971)

  107. Unless a reporter is sleeping with her source, buzzfeed’s info doesn’t seem to pan out, tell me where I’m wrong.

    Narciso (c1f971)

  108. most reporters DO sleep with their sources

    it’s like how our dirty dirty FBI agents make sexy with the staff attorneys there

    just part of the milieu

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  109. Well we only know of Watkins. Now the chart in the Graham memo shows how much interaction they had with bureau personell.

    Narciso (c1f971)

  110. “How are conservatives still complaining about their publishing the dossier? Aren’t you glad they did? Aren’t you glad you know what’s in it? Aren’t you glad that one of its allegations seems facially implausible?”
    Patterico (115b1f) — 1/18/2019 @ 11:20 pm

    Thank you BuzzFeed for being a clearinghouse for false and salacious allegations against Trump, rather than being the news source you claim to be. Good show.

    Munroe (f4cfed)

  111. I’m ready for my major announcement President Trump

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  112. What happened to the other source touted in teh post, Ms Allison Gash?

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  113. I’m ready for my major announcement President Trump
    happyfeet (28a91b) — 1/19/2019 @ 8:31 am

    happyfeet’s got Betty Davis Gloria Swanson eyes.

    felipe (023cc9)

  114. aren’t you excited though?

    i feel like a cocker spaniel what just hear the garage door opener

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  115. oopers *heard* i mean

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  116. There’s a saying that where there is smoke, there is fire. But sometimes where there is smoke, there is only a smoke-making machine. And the name of that smoke-making machine is “The Media”.

    I can tell you that.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  117. Felipe: You hear that? Who is is boy, who is it?
    Cockerspanielfeet: rrrresident rrumpf, rrresident rrumpf!

    felipe (023cc9)

  118. Happy Saturday, Colonel, and everybody else!

    felipe (023cc9)

  119. Happy Saturday, felipe!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  120. Felipe it’s a gorgeous day. I’ve got this jamoca almond fudge cone. Probably should go on a run but I’m going to settle for walking the dog to the park.

    Good to keep a little perspective.

    Dustin (6d7686)

  121. For the youngsters, the Gloria Swanson in question.

    felipe (023cc9)

  122. Mmmm, jamoca almond fudge! You, sir, know how to live. Maybe the dog is walking you.

    felipe (023cc9)

  123. This is what she looked like then:

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/140428060@N02/41973893102

    Narciso (c1f971)

  124. Maybe the dog is walking you.

    🤔

    Good point

    Dustin (6d7686)

  125. Question of the day: clean the pool or wash/detail cars?

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  126. Waylon Jennings Greatest Hits on the stereo, coffee flowing, damn it’s a good day!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  127. I just drained the pasta. Al Dente. (His brother Sam was a shortstop for the Red Sox.)

    I think I’ll just have it as a bed for some warmed up beef stew.

    nk (dbc370)

  128. if you add the pasta water to the stew and cook it down a little the stew will cling more better on the pasta

    this is because of science

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  129. *some* pasta water i should have said

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  130. Black coffee… https://youtu.be/2tNoSmlnxwQ

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  131. “‘The larger message that a lot of people are going to take from this story is that the news media are a bunch of leftist liars who are dying to get the president, and they’re willing to lie to do it,’ “

    —- Jeffrey Toobin, CNN

    He went on to say, “I don’t think that’s true.”

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  132. So damn near every British solo male pop artist in the 1980s drew inspiration from that performance, Col.?

    urbanleftbehind (847a06)

  133. Brian Stelter
    @brianstelter
    Sunday 11am ET on @ReliableSources: I’ll be joined by BuzzFeed editor
    @BuzzFeedBen and investigative reporter @a_cormier_
    __ _

    Patterico
    @Patterico
    Might be time to rename the show buddy
    __ _

    Brian Stelter
    @brianstelter
    Replying to
    @Patterico
    care to explain why?
    __ _

    Stephen Miller
    @redsteeze
    JFC…
    __ _

    Patterico
    @Patterico
    Because it’s called “Reliable Sources.”
    __ _

    Troy Pallotto 🇺🇸 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
    @TroyPallotto
    How about “If True” with @brianstelter
    or “sources say” with @brianstelter
    __ _

    Stephen Miller
    @redsteeze
    Buzzfeed going on a show they know they won’t be challenged, minus the reporter with the biggest questions surrounding them about credibility and who also gave disputable information in an interview is not a good look
    __ _

    Opponent Scout
    @OpponentScout
    Brian idk if you realize, but… you have a show called Reliable Sources and the kicker is that it’s on CNN and you have Dan Rather as a frequent guest

    harkin (e6b10c)

  134. Not only do we need to be wary of the serial fabulists who wrote this pile. We need to be wary of the media chumps who lept on it like dogs on a soupbone. Election night revealed them to be dim witted at best. And they’ll never forgive Trump for that.

    Thud Muffle (5a4596)

  135. 134… that could be the case, ulb. These Old Grey Whistle Test videos are pretty cool, make me all nostalgic and schiff…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  136. 135… funny stuff, harkin. Chalk one up for Patterico, lol.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  137. four women convicted of putting out water jugs for migrants on federal land that replaced the water jugs that were destroyed by border patrol. 2020 will be here soon.

    lany (7f28f3)

  138. … and Dead Dick Nixon smiled.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  139. Ms. Wheeler makes a fair point: As part of his plea deal, Cohen already testified under oath that Trump did not direct him to lie to Congress.

    Paul Montagu (9205db)

  140. ‘Inaccurate’ is Groundhog Say. Expect six more weeks of Mueller.

    Comforting to know a government employee who has been virtually cemetery silent for almost two years suddenly appears at the hint of a shadow. Check on your check, too, Bob; it’s been 29 days.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  141. No he did it with the first Prague comment from McClatchy but not the second, by the same reporter.

    Narciso (c1f971)

  142. I have it on good authority from Mirror Universe Narciso that the whole story was a false flag operation by Team Trump…

    Dave (8ee42c)

  143. Thank you for the link, Paul.

    The only thing that explains Carr issuing such an unprecedented statement is if Cohen’s ability to testify on the stand must be preserved. – Marcy

    While I agree that testimony must be preserved, I am unpersuaded that this is the “only thing” that explains Carr’s statement.

    felipe (023cc9)

  144. @143. Yes. ‘Virtually.’

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  145. Robert Mueller has the unenviable task of needing to sustain as much credibility for a bunch of serial liars as possible, starting with Michael Cohen. Buzzfeed’s story — whether generally true or erroneous on details about Trump Organization witnesses or totally wrong — threatened that effort.

    And that’s why, I strongly suspect, Peter Carr finally publicly spoke. – Marcy

    Quite a tell. A wise man once said: The truth does not need to be defended; set it free and it will defend itself.

    felipe (023cc9)

  146. Col. unless your retired you should be able to knock both those tasks out by noon.
    Bob Wills is still the King!
    https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrCwLDZukNc6HIAmxgPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByMjB0aG5zBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw–?p=waylon+jennings+youtube&fr=yhs-Lkry-SF01&hspart=Lkry&hsimp=yhs-SF01#id=31&vid=3ef7d1bcba2ac0cfb373a8668f381b1e&action=view

    mg (8cbc69)

  147. forget the link.

    mg (8cbc69)

  148. While I agree that testimony must be preserved, I am unpersuaded that this is the “only thing” that explains Carr’s statement.

    The Mueller team may also be sending a message to SDNY, to stop the leaks for one, because I’m sure that Leopold & Co. didn’t get their “scoop” from Mueller & Co.

    Paul Montagu (3b3395)

  149. What a data of un-ambiguity and preserveness of precious
    know-how regarding unpredicted emotions.

    run 3 game (7f3624)


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