Patterico's Pontifications

5/12/2017

Flacks on Comey Firing: Nothing to See Here, Folks! Trump: Hold My Beer

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:18 am



Trump sends out flacks to say the firing of Comey had nothing to do with the Russia investigation, and was based on a recommendation from a career DoJ guy.

Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tells TODAY that President Trump’s firing of FBI chief James Comey “has nothing to do with any investigation into Russia.”

Trump then goes out and says he was going to fire Comey regardless of the recommendation and was thinking about the Russia-Trump investigation when he made the decision:

But regardless of recommendation, I was going to fire Comey. Knowing there was no good time to do it.

And in fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story. It’s an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election.

The full interview is there. Watch alllll the context you like.

You know who else says the firing had nothing to do with Russia?

Screen Shot 2017-05-12 at 7.08.31 AM

[Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.]

172 Responses to “Flacks on Comey Firing: Nothing to See Here, Folks! Trump: Hold My Beer”

  1. Happy Friday. Posting from me will continue to be light for a few weeks due mainly to work.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  2. Potemkin investigation with no end in sight?

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6)

  3. Come on Patterico, Comey was a hack who never should have been FBI Director in the first place.

    Playing jump on Trump with more fake investigations is tedious.

    Steven Malynn (d29fc3)

  4. This just in from Tiger Beat! Trump left a few banana peels on the floor outside Justice Ginsburg’s office door.

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6)

  5. Come on Patterico, Comey was a hack who never should have been FBI Director in the first place.

    Playing jump on Trump with more fake investigations is tedious.

    Steven Malynn

    trump himself explained that when he decided to fire Comey he was thinking about that Russia investigation. The Huckabee lady admitted that the decision is intended to end the Russian investigation faster than it would otherwise come. When you’re under investigation for corruption and you get rid of the guy running the investigation, in order to cut the investigation, that’s obstruction.

    I agree Comey made some serious mistakes with the email thing last year, but Trump did not mind.

    The same few nutty Trump fans say the same stuff in Trump’s defense no matter what happens. Never real argument, always a lot of anger.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  6. I saw a mistatement by Trump in the Lester Holt interview taht Lester Holt missed.

    Trump said Michael Flynn got a security clearance ffrom the Obama Admnistration and they knew about the money he got from Russia.

    That’s not true. Mike Flynn last got a security clearance in March 2016, but he didn’t tell them that he had started getting money from Russia and other places. He was getting money from Russian connected entities starting in the summer of 2015. So there’s a big, big problem here for trumop, at least on Trump’s own eyes.

    This business of who gave Flynn a security clearance is probably a talking point he was given, and it’s misleading.

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  7. Come on Patterico, Comey was a hack who never should have been FBI Director in the first place.

    Playing jump on Trump with more fake investigations is tedious.

    I wrote a post about Trump sending out flacks to lie. I did not write a post about whether Comey should be FBI director or whether the investigations have merit. Why do you say “come on, Patterico” and then refute a post I didn’t write? What about the post I did write?

    Patterico (54006a)

  8. @Dusrin Mike Huckabee’s daughter said the firing of Comey would bring the investigation to a conclusion with integrity

    Now I’ll tell you what Trump might have been worried about, and it’s not that he was colluding with Russia and it’s going to be found out.

    It’s that he’s going to have to admit that his campaign was penetrated by Russian intelligence. The Democrats want to make him into a clever conspirator, but he’s more like a useful idiot.

    Ths is the horrid truth that Trummp doesn’t want people to think:

    His chief national security adviiser during the campaign, Mike Flynn, may possibly have been taking orders from somebody somewhere as to what to tell Donald Trump. (I say “somebody somewhere” because this could have functioned through cutouts.)

    There’s the possibility Mike Flynn was an agent – corrupted.

    This reflects badly on Donald Trump.

    It could reflect even worse because of another question: How did Mike Flynn get to be Donald Trump’s top national security adviser? Who recommended him?

    And is there a problem with that person?

    And you could further ask – maybe it was possible to find out that Mike Flynn got paid $45,000 by RT in December, 2015. You could argue maybe they’d have found out if at least they had required him to fill out a lot of forms and swear to them. Except that Mike Flynn never disclosed it even later:.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/01/us/politics/michael-flynn-financial-disclosure-russia-linked-entities.html?_r=0

    The first form, which he signed in February, does not directly mention a paid speech he gave in Moscow, as well as other payments from companies linked to Russia. The second, an amended version, lists the names of the companies that made the payments under a section for any nongovernment compensation that exceeds $5,000 “in a year.” That list appears to include all of the work that Mr. Flynn, a retired three-star Army general, has done since leaving the military in 2014, without providing compensation figures for any of it.

    This is Trump’s problem.

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  9. The long and the short of it is that Donald Trump has people speaking for him who don’t know what the truth is, and also don’t care – they’re just trying to make Trump look better and more deliberate in judgment than he is.

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  10. Patterico, embrace the power of “And”.

    Trump speaks unfiltered, there are multiple reasons to fire Comey, He notes that he is not under investigation, and then fires Comey.

    Then Trump says, Comey mishandled the Russia investigation, and that was on my mind when I was given the DOJ letter on why to fire the incompetent (Comey should have been fired years before for being unethical).

    “And” is not a lie. “I was gonna fire him, no matter what the DOJ justified the firing with” is simply more disclosure from Trump.

    Steven Malynn (d29fc3)

  11. I get the feeling that the people surrounding Trump are all Yes Men.

    AZ Bob (f7a491)

  12. Sammy,

    next you’ll tell me you know that Kennedy was killed by the CIA and you know who did it.

    NJRob (520017)

  13. AZ Bob – moreso than Obama?

    Press flaks are paid to be yes men. Cabinet members, not so much.

    Steven Malynn (d29fc3)

  14. Another thing here also is that some people in the administration, before the decision to fire Comey was announced, wanted to hide the real reason, which wasn’t that Comey was about to uncover something really bad about Trump! and so came up with this whole idea of having the deputy attorney general write up something (after he had first been sounded out and verbally made a recommendation to fire Comey) and then put into it only reasons Democrats would agree with!

    If there had beem other reasons mentioned in earlier drafts, they were taken out.

    Bill and Hillary Clinton are supposed to work that way. Stage a lot of “infighting” thus enabling Clinton to choose any couirse of action for any reason and make it look like one side “won.”

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  15. The more I read the back and forth, the closer I’m coming to the conclusion that the real reason Trump fired Comey is that because the first time they shook hands Trump’s stubby little one totally disappeared inside Comey’s big paw.

    nk (dbc370)

  16. Rumors, innuendo and Fake News all the way around.

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6)

  17. Nicely put:

    “Hillary used an private server to traffic in classified info. The Family crime foundation took bribes from foreigners while she was SecState, Bill raped. Obama completely screwed the healthcare insurance market. And the left is in an uproar because Trump fired the guy they have been demanding he fired.”

    It is a comment from a post on Instapundit called:

    FAKE NEWS: Rod Rosenstein Says He is Not Resigning and Never Threatened To.

    AZ Bob (f7a491)

  18. @Dusrin Mike Huckabee’s daughter said the firing of Comey would bring the investigation to a conclusion with integrity

    Yeah, I appreciate the interesting approach you bring to interpreting that comment.

    Now I’ll tell you what Trump might have been worried about, and it’s not that he was colluding with Russia and it’s going to be found out.

    It’s that he’s going to have to admit that his campaign was penetrated by Russian intelligence.

    I freely admit I have never seen any evidence of anything from this Russian investigation that shows Trump did anything wrong. Nada. His fans are too furious all the time to realize this point. The only real smoke to this search for a fire is how badly Trump’s guys are flailing, changing their story, and attempting to shut this investigation down.

    As one of Trump’s fans is trying to say in the other thread, Trump’s firing of Comey couldn’t have any impact and the administration never attempted to affect the investigation, but firing him was intended to make the investigation end faster because it stopped Comey from interfering, which as lead of the investigation he must have been. It’s an absurd contradiction because something is up. The investigation has been silent on what’s up, but based on Trump’s flailing, they feared the investigation under Comey desperately.

    If it turns out this had zero to do with Trump colluding with Russia, but is simply that his campaign was penetrated by spies, Trump is making a mistake. Better to just have a press conference and admit that it happened. Spies spy… As always, it’s the coverup that seems to get these guys who think they are above the law.

    It could reflect even worse because of another question: How did Mike Flynn get to be Donald Trump’s top national security adviser? Who recommended him?

    And is there a problem with that person?

    Yeah. Great question. But again, just look at how the administration flailed with Flynn. ‘Oh he simply lied to Pence, we didn’t know we didn’t know.’ So transparently dishonest that they spin themselves into looking worse.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  19. Sarah Huckabee is getting good reviews in some quarters, but I don’t think she did the WH any favors with her approach.

    IMO this is a communications failure resulting from a “CEO” firing of a subordinate which doesn’t transfer well to high government officials.

    This is where Trump needed a Chief of Staff to tell him “How we do this important, let’s put together a plan before we act.” That didn’t happen. So when the push-back from the Dems and press started, the WH rushed spokesmen out but there wasn’t a coherent message developed to deal with the questions.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  20. “When I decided to [fire James Comey], I said to myself, I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.”

    – Donald Trump

    Leviticus (efada1)

  21. And everyone should go to Hugh Hewitt’s website and read his interview with Robert Costa, a WaPo reporter who has done some of the most significant reporting here. They have 30 sources from the WH and Justice for their piece a couple days ago.

    From the interview — but not clearly reported in the press — Trump met with Sessions and Rosenstein on Monday, and a topic of the meeting was Comey. I think it wasn’t on the agenda for their meeting, but they discussed the FBI and Comey’s status. Costa says that at the conclusion of the meeting Trump asked them to put their comments in writing, and forward them to him. That became the Rosenstein memo and Sessions letter on Tuesday morning.

    The reporting is that both knew Trump wanted to fire Comey, and Sessions had been discussing firing Comey with Trump for several weeks. That was a very closely held subject — WH staff was not aware of it, other than McGhan, the WH counsel. Rosenstein knew from Sessions. So Rosenstein — even before he was confirmed as Dep. AG — had been evaluating the FBI and Comey’s status.

    So what Rosenstein wrote in his memo was actually the product of a significant amount of work done by Rosenstein before he and Sessions met with Trump. The fact that his view matched Trump’s view — maybe not the reasons so much as the intention — is significant. Rosenstein’s memo was not “to give Trump cover”, it was Rosenstein’s (seconded by Session) view that Comey was unable to lead the Bureau on a going forward basis because his testimony from last week.

    That’s a guy with 30 years DOJ experience pointing out that another guy with 30 years DOJ experience has a POV that is fundamentally contrary to longstanding DOJ principles.

    That communications/press strategy of how the firing was handled was amateur hour, but the decision was well-reasoned.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  22. If we were 100 days into Fiorina’s Presidency would that have altered in any material way the Wikileaks disclosures of duplicity within the DNC, and the Hillary camp?

    I don’t think so. Wikileaks revealed the inner workings of a thoroughly corrupt party, with a matching thoroughly corrupt candidate pre determined as winner before the first ballot was cast.
    Then it expanded to reveal how she was so awful venal and inept she almost except for the extraordinary extralegal open intervention of multiple key compatriots in various offices of law enforcement might have blown that stacked deck by getting herself arrested.

    IN other words, Wikileaks has little to do with who won the election. It has everything to do with who lost and why.
    Clinton’s inept foreign policy caused a coup in the Ukraine, and a war with the Federation.

    It didn’t matter who the GOP nominee was in the slightest. Putin was coming for Hillary. You can take that to the bank.

    On the whole I quite prefer Russian intervention in our elections as opposed to Caliphate intervention.

    We get a better quality President.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  23. i’m so glad comey’s fired but the fbi’s still so stinky

    trashy and unprofessional

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  24. It’s just one of those days where Vox makes more sense then the Trump Derangement Brigade:

    “The first point to note is that Comey deserved to be fired, long ago, for the offenses that were set out in the memorandum of May 9, 2017 (subject line: “Restoring Public Confidence in the FBI”), that Rod Rosenstein prepared, which outlined Comey’s breaches of his duties as FBI head. Rosenstein, the newly appointed deputy attorney general, cogently described several significant errors of judgment, mainly having to do with Comey’s public statements about his investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state.

    But, if anything, he understated the case against Comey. First, he treated the initial investigation of Hillary Clinton back in March 2015 with kid gloves. There were the inexcusable decisions to grant immunities to key Clinton backers without first serving them with a subpoena that would have allowed the FBI to extract a quid pro quo for any immunity that thereafter might be granted. Second, the FBI allowed Clinton’s key aide Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s former chief of staff, to act as her legal counsel, even though she herself was a legitimate target of investigation who could have faced charges. And they did not conduct any of the ambush interviews that are commonly given in cases where criminal prosecution is warranted. The obvious inference is that Comey was kowtowing to his superiors in the Obama White House.

    Next, of course, was his public statement on July 5, 2016, in which he gave a thoroughly unsatisfactory explanation as to why he chose not to prosecute Clinton for her use of an unauthorized server that, in a case involving lesser persons, would have resulted in serious criminal charges, wholly without regard as to whether unauthorized persons hacked into the site (which they surely did).

    Once Attorney General Loretta Lynch, as Judge Laurence Silberman wrote, “sort of half-recused herself” from the case, any charging decision should have been made by or at the direction of Sally Yates, the deputy attorney general. As Rosenstein rightly said in his memo, no experienced law enforcement figure thought that Comey acted correctly in issuing a public statement that explained his point of view…….”

    Read it all:

    Attention, liberals: Comey deserved to be fired, and the Constitution is just fine

    https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/5/11/15625990/comey-deserved-fired-no-constitutional-crisis-liberals-hyperventilate

    harkin (517285)

  25. The post really needs the Oval Office pics of Lavarov/Kislyak/Trump to flesh out Putin’s intent of humiliating Trump in the same manner as Obama and Clinton. Putin has a firm grasp on the second and third order effects of his maneuvers.

    Rick Ballard (6f7e69)

  26. 13. NJRob (520017) — 5/12/2017 @ 8:19 am

    next you’ll tell me you know that Kennedy was killed by the CIA and you know who did it.)

    I’m speculating, but this is a whole lot better than anything else anybody else has tried…

    Probabality Zero?

    President John F. Kennedy was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, who thought he was working for the KGB.

    But he wasn’t. He had actually been asked to do that by someone sent by the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Democratic Party in Texas, Eugene Locke, who was a Dallas lawyer and a close friend of Governor Connally. That person told him the “Red Cross” would like him to do hat, but he lied.

    Locke did not tell Connally or Lyndon Johnson although he did tell Johnson to have Connally ride in another car other than the one Kennedy was in. But he didn’t tell him the real reason why. So LBJ conceded the argument he had with JFK about who sat where and Connally rode in the same car with Kennedy.

    Connally had been instrumental in changing the parade route in a way so as to pass by the texas School Book Depository. (The Warren Commission got that wrong. See footnote 1 on page 25 of William Manchester’s “The Death of a President”)

    Locke, of course, had not started out with a plan to have Oswald kill Kennedy. The original assassins had backed out and run away. Oswald was kind of a long shot. George de Mohrenschildt had told him about Oswald months before, no later than June. Finding out about him turned out to be a crucial break for Locke.

    Of course all scenarios were gamed out. In case Oswald missed and escaped, Kennedy was warned not to go there and told that someone from the John Birch Society might shoot him. Senator J. William Fulbright (D-Ark.) warned him not to go to Dallas, at a time when he knew Kennedy wouldn’t listen.
    (The Death of a President, page 39. Fulbright was with Kennedy almost all day Oct. 3)

    And if Oswald was caught, Locke had arranged for him to get a lawyer: Former New York State Assemblyman Mark Lane, who would say that Oswald didn’t shoot.

    Locke was acting on behalf of himself maybe, and of the important organized crime figure Owen Vincent “Owney the Killer” Madden (one of the Founders in fact circa 1929) who was also the political boss of Hot Springs, Arkansas, whom the Justice Department was starting to get on to (he owned illegal casinos in Hot Springs, and the FBI had already traced deliveries of cash from Las Vegas to Hot Springs.)

    This was not the first president Owney Madden had killed. He had also arranged for the murder of President Warren G. Harding during Prohibition. Harding was poisoned by femme fatale Mae West.

    The trip to Texas was postponed for the fall so that Bill Clinton would get a chance to be photographed with the martyred president. Bill Clinton was the step-nephew of one of the important members of the Hot Springs political machine, Buick dealer Raymond Clinton.

    Jack Ruby was a member of the mob – if he hadn’t been he wouldn’t have broken the law that easily. He killed Oswald entirely on his own. When he did, all members of the Outfit stopped wearing hats like the one Jack Ruby had worn. You’ve undoubtably seen pictures of them. These are called “Mafia hats” and have a sort of a black halo around them.

    All kinds of false conspiracy theories were publshed by the National Enquirer, which ws under the control of the mob. Different people were told different conspiracy theories. But not the real one. Even the organized crime linked ones pointed to Carlos Marcello of New Orleans. One popular one was the CIA, while LBJ was told it was Fidel Castro.

    Later, in 1972, Bill Clinton blackmailed some regular Texas Democrats to give some extra delegates to McGovern. McGovern actually may have needed them.

    All this is merely the outline of something possible. People are welcome to attempt to prove it or disprove it. Don’t think you can disprove this.

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  27. Never mind that Trump has publicly blackmailed the the former FBI Director, he fired, who was investigating him.

    James Comey better hope that there are no “tapes” of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press! ~ Trump all a-Twitter

    Tillman (a95660)

  28. “When I decided to [fire James Comey], I said to myself, I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.”

    – Donald Trump

    Leviticus

    Yep. On the other hand:

    That’s a guy with 30 years DOJ experience pointing out that another guy with 30 years DOJ experience has a POV that is fundamentally contrary to longstanding DOJ principles.

    That communications/press strategy of how the firing was handled was amateur hour, but the decision was well-reasoned.

    shipwreckedcrew

    That’s a great point. I don’t think everyone on the ‘fire Comey’ bandwagon was trying to interfere with the investigation. Some of these folks have a great record and explained some great reasons for getting rid of Comey.

    It’s just that Trump was using those great reasons and hard earned years of service as ammunition to shut down an investigation. Leviticus’s quote makes it clear, and Huckabee’s quote makes it crystal clear.

    Even Comey agrees that Trump can fire him. Most of us agree Comey’s behavior was often in conflict with normal practices for his position, and firing him could be justified. But I’m really annoyed that Trump did it for the real reason he did, and also as usual, pretty amazed that Trump’s fans just don’t care for some reason. I think his awful timing and his awful explanation, and all the spinning and contradictions, aren’t just poor ethics, they are poor politics. A special prosecutor is the only way to get things anywhere near to back on track. The country can’t rely on an FBI director that Trump doesn’t fire at this point, in my opinion.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  29. James Comey better hope that there are no “tapes” of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press! ~ Trump all a-Twitter

    Tillman

    Good lord.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  30. Dustin (ba94b2) — 5/12/2017 @ 8:53 am

    As one of Trump’s fans is trying to say in the other thread, Trump’s firing of Comey couldn’t have any impact and the administration never attempted to affect the investigation, but firing him was intended to make the investigation end faster because it stopped Comey from interfering, which as lead of the investigation he must have been. How so? It’s not like the people lower in the FBI were loyal to Trump.

    I read one article that said Trump was angry that the leaks weren’t investigated. I think it’s all just Trump having some paranoia about Comey. Maybe there’ll be some stories that will explain what about Comey’s testimony Wednesday May 3 set Trump off. The New York Times wrote yesterday that Trump wanted to fire Comey right away.

    It’s an absurd contradiction because something is up. The investigation has been silent on what’s up, but based on Trump’s flailing, they feared the investigation under Comey desperately.

    Yes, but there may have been no grounds for this fear, except maybe a fear of publicizing unpleasant facts. Trump might want the onvestigation to strictly limit itself to legal questions.

    If it turns out this had zero to do with Trump colluding with Russia, but is simply that his campaign was penetrated by spies, Trump is making a mistake. Better to just have a press conference and admit that it happened. Spies spy…

    Well, of course.

    BUT THE INCOMPETENCE!

    It wasn’t somebody else’s campaign that had Russian spies in it.

    And also, Trump had very good reason to know that was being told to say about Russia and ISIS was wrong. The other candidates told him. It was impossible to miss. He may not have said that because Russia was blackmailing him or anything, but there was some cynical reasons for whatever he was saying.

    If it’s explained.

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  31. Publically blackmailed? [Edit] you.

    Trump told Comey he’d better play by the rules for once, and it needed to be said due to the history of the man.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  32. papertiger, you [edit]-for-brains, don’t shoot the messenger and look up the word blackmail before embarrassing yourself further.

    Tillman (a95660)

  33. 20. shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 5/12/2017 @ 8:55 am

    This is where Trump needed a Chief of Staff to tell him “How we do this important, let’s put together a plan before we act.”

    They did.

    And the plan was to find, or cite, other reasons for firing Comey than whatever was motivating Trump, which was probably distrust of Comey and suspicions of him being biased against him.

    And, in the official docuemnts, only to include reasons Democrats would agree with.

    Trump also threw in something, maybe badly edited down from something longer (it’s apropos of nothing the way it is) telling Comey about how it wasn’t because he, Trump, thought he was under investigation, because he knew he wasn’t.

    when the push-back from the Dems and press started, the WH rushed spokesmen out but there wasn’t a coherent message developed to deal with the questions.

    They had no idea what the truth was, and only could go by the public letter. Which didn’t make too much sense as a motivation for Trump.

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  34. Yes, but there may have been no grounds for this fear, except maybe a fear of publicizing unpleasant facts. Trump might want the onvestigation to strictly limit itself to legal questions.

    Sammy, you really could be right. I absolutely think so.

    BUT THE INCOMPETENCE!

    It wasn’t somebody else’s campaign that had Russian spies in i

    If I were spinning this for Trump, I would suggest that Russia probably did try to put spies in other campaigns just as they tried to put them in Trumps. Hell, I believe this and I bet they could find hint here or there.

    Trump’s situation is more complex because he has so many business dealings with other countries. Indeed he called the Soviet government his partner in Art of the Deal, referring to construction projects. He should have divorced himself from his businesses and done everything he could to appear clean, from releasing his tax return to selling off his business holdings, to keeping his family out of his administration, and obviously not renting so much of his own stuff with our taxdollars. At some level, I think Trump decided to show he’s so badass he can defy all that ethics crap, and now he has no credibility.

    Add to this his extremely poor message discipline.

    Of course, what if you and I are giving Trump too much benefit of the doubt? What if he really did collude with Russia? What would he be doing, for example in the energy industry? It’s possible Trump is actually a bad guy.

    Publically blackmailed? [Edit] you.

    Trump told Comey he’d better play by the rules for once, and it needed to be said due to the history of the man.

    papertiger (c8116c) — 5/12/2017 @ 9:39 am

    Is that what he meant? It sounded like he was warning Comey that his leaks to the press can be contradicted by tapes he has of Comey. Once again Trump really should not tweet everything that comes across his mind like this.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  35. According to people speaking anonymously for Comey, the dinner meeting he had with Trump on January 27, had been asked for by Trump (Trump told Lester Holt he didn’t know but he thought Comey had asked for it)

    Accordng to these sources, Trump asked Comey if he was loyal to him. Comey said he would be honest with him. Trunp asked again. Comey again said he would be honest. Trump then asked if he would be
    honestly loyal. Comey said yes.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/11/us/politics/trump-comey-firing.html

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  36. Trump is clearing himsellf where he can. Like he likes to say that Russia did not affect the actual results. Anotehr thing he can prove is he has no investments in Russia.

    The New York Times says in an editorial today

    There may be no Trump Tower in Moscow or St. Petersburg, but it is not for lack of trying.

    That’s true actually.

    The NYT then tries to cite sme anti-Trump talking points, but the one with Eric Trump is not dispuated, it’s disprovable. Either such loans exist or they don’t and Eric denies even saying it.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/11/opinion/trump-russia-fbi-investigation.html

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  37. Sammy, if that’s true it must be making a lot of FBI guys angry.

    Of course it’s anonymous sourcing and it plays very neatly into America’s bias against Trump as an insecure weirdo. I wonder if any of Trump’s fans here will admit: if Trump demanded loyalty from the FBI director, investigating Trump’s campaign, that’s obstruction of justice.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  38. don’t shoot the messenger and look up the word blackmail before embarrassing yourself further.

    It’s like if you have a guy at the till who consistently spouts horse[edit] lies, you better get a true count verified whenever he sticks his hand in, until you can replace the tillman with someone trustworthy.

    Pretty close right?

    papertiger (c8116c)

  39. Man, Patterico, Sammy, Dustin, nk, DCSCA, Trump is not renting space in your heads, he has a 99 year lease, renewable.

    And Sammy, there was one shooter, it was Lee Harvey Oswald, and no conspiracy was needed.

    Steven Malynn (d29fc3)

  40. Now Trump says:

    Donald J. Trump
    @realDonaldTrump

    James Comey better hope that there are no “tapes” of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!

    5:26 AM – 12 May 2017

    How to parse this?

    Trump is lying, or implying something that is not true. There are no secret tapes. It is illegal in Washington, D.C., I think, to tape a conversation with someone else without permission, and that includes conversations over the phone. His White House counsel would have waved him off if he would have tried to do this. (unless maybe he didn’t find out)

    It is because it’s illegal in some states that companies with 800 numbers sometimes tell you a conversation may be taped.

    Trump believes the story in the New York Times about him asking for Comey’s loyalty is not true, or distorted, so he thinks he can scare James Comey into not claiming that. Which also means he doesn’t trust him.

    Of course people could say maybe the story in the New York Times is indeed true, but there’s something else very embarassing to Comey that Comey said to Trump that would be on a tape. But what would that be?

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  41. Man, Patterico, Sammy, Dustin, nk, DCSCA, Trump is not renting space in your heads, he has a 99 year lease, renewable.

    And Sammy, there was one shooter, it was Lee Harvey Oswald, and no conspiracy was needed.

    Steven Malynn

    You do realize he’s the President of the United States, right? He just fired the FBI director, an extremely unusual event that’s only happened once before in this nation’s history, and then for serious proven misconduct, not just because they wanted an investigation to end fast.

    Americans who enjoy discussing politics are mentioning this news… and this is remarkable to you? It’s smack talk that we even think about who the president is now? At least you’re not flooding the discussion thread with page after page of junior high school level smack talk like you guys were in the other thread.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  42. What that means is Comey shouldn’t hold his breathe waiting on a reference.

    Luckily there’s always the California University Retirement Home for Former National Office holding Democrats.

    Oh snap!

    papertiger (c8116c)

  43. 40. Steven Malynn (d29fc3) — 5/12/2017 @ 10:10 am

    Trump is not renting space in your heads, he has a 99 year lease, renewable.

    he’s the president, but it’s only a 4-year lease.

    And Sammy, there was one shooter, it was Lee Harvey Oswald, and no conspiracy
    was needed.

    But it helps. The question is was Oswald so stupid all by himself. He could have been – he could have gotten the idea he would be rewarded after he escaped to Mexico.

    It is not needed, but it is possible. But if there was a conspiracy, only one conspiracy is possible – one in which Governor Connally was a key member, only he didn’t know it.

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  44. Trump believes the story in the New York Times about him asking for Comey’s loyalty is not true, or distorted, so he thinks he can scare James Comey into not claiming that.

    Yeah, maybe. That’s a pretty good theory.

    I imagine there is some sort of waiver in the White House about recordings. If Trump is admitting he has a recording of this conversation, we should get to hear it. Trump told us all about the dinner conversation, so it’s not like he can say this is privileged with a straight face. Let’s hear what you said, Donald.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  45. 43. Comey is a Republican, but says he didn’t vote in the 2016 election, if I remember right.

    Andrew McCabe, whom Trump left in charge of the FBI, is a Democrat, and not just a Democrat, but his wife ran for office in Virginia and was helped by Clinton associate Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe.

    Just the kind of substition a Republican president trying to cover up something would make. (Maybe Trump is incompetent at coverups)

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  46. “That communications/press strategy of how the firing was handled was amateur hour, but the decision was well-reasoned.”

    shipwreckedcrew

    But that’s what it’s all about, style-points. Whether it’s the two scoups of ice cream, his use of Twitter, or what have you, the man is gauche. Why just this morning, William Kristol summed it up nicely:

    “Donald Trump is an embarrassment. It would be better for the country if he were president for at most one term. It would be desirable that his manner of governing go down in history as an aberration.”

    There it is: “his manner of governing,” not the substance of his governing, mind you, the manner. Like so many others, Kristol was hoping for a Brahmin but, instead, he got Trump.

    It is difficult not to view this as class prejudice, pure and simple.

    So, despite the fact that so many have concluded “the decision was well-reasoned,” we’re in for yet another day of pearl clutching. Oh, boy! In the face of yet another hysterical, media-driven meme, is there any question about why President Trump uses Twitter?

    ThOR (c9324e)

  47. TIMING IS PART OF DECISION-MAKING, AND THE TIMING WAS LAUGHABLE.

    You keep trying to ignore this, because you know it and you don’t like it.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  48. 43, Baca just got 3-years…. Thats yer new Sheriff, at least he has John Wayne height.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  49. “I imagine there is some sort of waiver in the White House about recordings.”

    If recording were common, why does Trump squeal so much about leaks? There is certainly an ironclad NDA club available for beating any employees ‘caught’ leaking but the flood of leaks strongly suggests recording to be uncommon, even though it is permitted per the DC code when one party agrees. The press is becoming rather adept at shaking the cape to elicit the paw, snort and charge conditioned response we’ve all come to laugh at.

    Rick Ballard (6f7e69)

  50. Tapes, eh? There’s a grand jury and a Congressional committee who might want to issue subpoenas to the White House for any such tapes. Then we can have Kellyanne demonstrate how she accidentally erased 18 minutes of them when she curled up on Trump’s desk with her shoes off to take a selfie.

    nk (dbc370)

  51. Via the Daily Caller:

    “Social Media monitoring service Social Flow published a report Friday that evaluated big news events in the Trump administration that users interacted with the most, including likes, shares, and comments, including the inauguration, the House passing a new health care bill, and Comey’s firing. The news about Comey fell low on the viral list.”

    There’s a delightful chart at the link, which, among other things, suggest there is a developing “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” phenomenon when it comes to TDS. Small wonder.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  52. 62% of the news coverage of the Comey firing has focused on faux Russian investigation angle.

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6)

  53. There is also a clearly developed “Squirrel” phenomenon when it comes to Trump’s water-carriers and bootlickers.

    I don’t have a chart, sorry.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  54. Trump famously “wrote” a book called “The Art of the Deal.” Well, there’s an Art of Firing, too. Labor and employment law attorneys make careers out of it.

    The employer faces many predictable perils that can be mitigated and, in some instances, eliminated simply by thoughtful planning and coordination before acting or going public.

    For someone who’s catch-phrase is “You’re fired,” Trump seems clueless about how to actually do it right. I read a revoltingly over-the-top op-ed yesterday commending Trump for being a manly man with big hands for choosing to fire Comey in a way that would humiliate him personally, a manner completely inconsistent with the written “thanks for your service” assurances contained in the firing letter. But except for promoting that macho BS, everything Trump has done in the timing and manner of this has been self-destructive to Trump, to the GOP, and especially to the urgent legislative agenda that must be pushed aggressively while the GOP controls both chambers of Congress and the White House.

    It’s a very, very fair criticism of Trump’s governing style, even for those of us who celebrate the departure of Comey from his position.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  55. If recording were common, why does Trump squeal so much about leaks?

    I meant a one-way sort of arrangement. “by working here you agree to be recorded and to not record us” sort of thing.

    I do wonder what the source of Trump’s recording would be. He is the president and has access to a lot of resources. I hope he isn’t using it against his own investigators and that is why he fired one of them at such a particular time when things heated up.

    TIMING IS PART OF DECISION-MAKING, AND THE TIMING WAS LAUGHABLE.

    You keep trying to ignore this, because you know it and you don’t like it.

    Leviticus

    Yes. Even if they wanted to pretend this was about stuff from months ago, they were unable to conceal the truth very long.

    It is difficult not to view this as class prejudice, pure and simple.

    Trump claims he’s a billionaire. He lives in palaces (on my dime, too). I think you’re betraying your class prejudice if you associate his idiotic entitlement with an underclass. He’s a born rich elite who went to great schools. The story of Trump as the self made deal maker is a lie like everything that comes from these guys. He hasn’t worked a day in his life.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  56. *whose catch-phrase, sorry

    Beldar (fa637a)

  57. lol. Forgot to list levi in my rant.

    Steven Malynn (d29fc3)

  58. 62% of the news coverage of the Comey firing has focused on faux Russian investigation angle.

    Colonel Haiku

    You call it “faux”, but the White House huckabee jackwagon, and Trump himself, both admitted the Russia investigation was the reason. Trump could admit he shot a man in the street and you would call that the “faux murder angle.”

    62% is too low. Trump’s getting off easy.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  59. That’s okay – your rant forgot to say anything.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  60. lol. Forgot to list levi in my rant.

    Steven Malynn (d29fc3) — 5/12/2017 @ 10:56 am

    Can we have one thread where you Trump fans don’t make it a long long long list of insult rants? It’s stupid and boring. By all means defend Trump 100% with your best arguments, but let’s have a conversation about the issues themselves, instead of bashing Leviticus and everyone else who doesn’t agree with you.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  61. NK,

    Schiff called the bluff immediately.

    I’m sure the WH NDA includes written permission to record but I’m uncertain whether Trump is actually dumb enough…

    Rick Ballard (6f7e69)

  62. Beldar, I have known and worked for better CEOs than Trump. But none of them got the nomination.

    Doing the right thing for the wrong reason, or in the wrong manner is what keeps lawyers employed working to fix the fallout.

    But doing the right thing is what all the neverTrumpers and leftists here are ignoring.

    bleh.

    Steven Malynn (d29fc3)

  63. Col. H, you can call it “fake news,” but there is a national security investigation into Russian attempts to influence the election. Even if one believes, as I do, that nothing the Russians did or could have done actually swung the election, or even very much influenced it, and that the Russians have been playing the Great Game in roughly this same way since Peter the Great, simply ignoring the Russians’ efforts is a losing PR strategy.

    Every time Trump says “fake news,” it sounds like, to the low-information voter or the average Dem writing fund-raising emails, exactly like he’s saying, “Let’s not investigate Russian attempts to influence the election.” He’s handing the Dems ammo with both fists.

    This is a bad meme for him. You’re urging him to double-down on it, and you seem to think that it helps him for you or other supporters to urge it on his behalf.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  64. Doing the right thing for the wrong reason

    See Steven, I’ll throw you a bone. That’s a nice summary of the Trump fan’s case for firing Comey.

    Yeah, the timing makes it look sketchy, but he needs to go and sometimes you have to do things that are politically costly and bring about a lot of negative press. And it took courage, etc etc to do it. You’ll need to add what specifically about now made such a radical change of heart, and more than that, you need a plan for how to address to aura of scandal and distrust the people will have in the FBI’s product now. What do you do? Special prosecutor is an option, right?

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  65. Mr. Malynn (#63), the problems Trump has created for himself, his administration, the GOP, and their legislative agenda by this clumsy-at-best execution are too big for the lawyers to fix. There’s no summary judgment dismissing the Dems’ complaints on the horizon; Comey doesn’t have a wrongful termination claim, he’s not suing.

    If he has good lawyers and listens to them, he could certainly go a long way toward preventing more such problems and minimizing the fallout from this misjudgment-on-means. But first he’d have to shut up and quit p*ssing in his own Wheaties on Twitter every 30 minutes. And that, apparently, no one, including Trump, is capable of disciplining Trump to do.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  66. After Nixon was burned by the tape recording of every minute inside the Oval, what happened to that? Was taping the President covertly a one off “tradition” specially set up so the media could innuendo Tricky Dick?

    For example, we never heard the Clinton Years “historical record” being subpoenaed for Ken Starr.

    Always wondered about that.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  67. For example, we never heard the Clinton Years “historical record” being subpoenaed for Ken Starr.

    Always wondered about that.

    papertiger

    Me too. Of course presidents have executive privileges. They can cite security. On the other hand, perhaps it’s considered extremely stupid to record your conversations in the Oval Office because that burned Nixon. I suspect the latter.

    Trump will be asked about that one. It would be better if he didn’t tweet ugly stuff at Comey and was presidential about this. It just doesn’t help him in any way.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  68. I would be surprised if Trump knew anything about Nixon. He was too busy fighting his own personal Vietnam to pay attention to boring ole Watergate.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  69. None of you no trumpers have a problem with obama meddling in elections.
    Wall hanging diploma people think this is the first time Russia has attempted any espionage on America. Only because none of your slimy hillbillies could beat Trump in the rino primary, you and the msmfm now cry wolf about Russia. bm.

    mg (31009b)

  70. “Wall hanging diploma people”

    – mg

    You can just say “educated.” It’s shorter.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  71. none of your slimy hillbillies could beat Trump in the rino primary

    True.

    None of you no trumpers have a problem with obama meddling in elections.

    Not true.

    For example when I criticized a democrat judge’s effort to screw with an election:

    Every fraudulent vote is a lawful vote being cancelled. This is absolute evil. These guys know the game.

    A presidential election was recently decided over a few hundred votes. As hard as it is to prove vote and election fraud, it’s proven often, and plainly the tip of the iceberg.

    It’s very sad. This country has it all, and we’re wasting it. From the unfunded entitlement liabilities, to deficit spending, to fraudulent elections, to spying on law abiders, to drone executions without due process, to a million other things, this society is setting itself up for failure. Where do the good guys turn to fix these problems? The game is rigged to where the lesser evil options are certain to lead us to the exact same place.

    The worst part is that most folks don’t care, and many are passionately ignorant.

    Good post, as usual, and damning, as often.

    Dustin (1436c2) — 4/29/2014 @ 8:22 pm

    This is the worst conceit of all for you, MG, that those of us who criticize Trump are not upset about what he did, and would be OK with this activity from someone else. In reality, his administration’s actions deserve scrutiny and our point of view is honest.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  72. It doesn’t fit my narrative, Leviticus.

    mg (31009b)

  73. Is it true you no Trumpers will be running Hillary against us again in 2020?
    Can you say Uranium?

    mg (31009b)

  74. Not Russia. Separation of Press and State. It’s been a progressive slope since The Washington Post made it a partisan issue.

    n.n (d795c3)

  75. They would hissy-fit and pitch-a-b*tch regardless of when Comey was fired.

    They will be on to the next Fake News next week. Remember that.

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6)

  76. Cry me a river, Dustspin.

    mg (31009b)

  77. I don’t see how the “fake news” meme has been anything but a winner for Trump. Trump used labels throughout his campaign to great effect – “Little Marco,” “Lyin’ Ted”, “Lyin’ Hillary,” etc. They are shorthand for more substantive critiques. If the shoe fits, wear it and wear it they have. Media sources have, rather consistently (and grudgingly), acknowledged the effectiveness of Trump’s approach. “Fake news” is simply another effective shorthand.

    The use of Twitter and the invocation of labels as shorthand for more substantive arguments are innovations Trump has used to great effect. The effectiveness this approach finds repeated confirmation in the criticism he has received for using these very approaches from his adversaries (enemies is probably a better term). Why shouldn’t Trump double down?

    As the John Candy character, Freddie, said to his brother, played by Tom Hanks in the movie Splash, “Look, if something works for me I stick with it.” And Trump should.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  78. Unconvinced, Beldar. Trump made a joke about “Comey better hope there aren’t tapes” and the mouthbreathing media seized upon as new fake evidence. It flew over their heads.

    Trump is trolling every one of these sons-a-b*tches. He is clumsy, but as Thor (I think) said, do you want style or substance?

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6)

  79. Tapes? Tapes?! Thank you, Captain!!!

    Theatre note– cast changes. In tonight’s performance of ‘The Final Days’ the part of Richard Nixon will be played by Donald Trump and the part of John Dean will be played by Jim Comey.

    “Is it live or is it Memorex?” – Memorex audio tape ad slogan, 1975

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  80. Cry me a river, Dustspin.

    mg (31009b)

    Umm, ok, but you were the one complaining that I am not sufficiently concerned with the ‘bad’ political party’s election shenanigans, and I showed you an example where I criticized it even more harshly than I’ve criticized Trump. Seems like you were the one crying.

    But can we please have a thread where you Trump fans just make the best case you can for Trump, instead of insult after insult about Trump’s critics? It’s boring.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  81. It’s a little silly to call something “blackmail” when:

    –the “blackmailer” is telling millions of people at the same time that the alleged blackmail is taking place, and;

    –if the “victim” knows the “blackmailer” is lying and that an actual tape of the conversation would prove that.

    A better description would be libel, since if Trump is lying he is defaming Comey by implying that he is lying and in a way that him remaining silent might tend to make people believe. Also, if Trump is lying one could make a case for actual malice in the Tweet in question.

    M Scott Eiland (1edade)

  82. –the “blackmailer” is telling millions of people at the same time that the alleged blackmail is taking place, and;

    –if the “victim” knows the “blackmailer” is lying and that an actual tape of the conversation would prove that.

    Good points. I suspect Trump being the hustler he is, was relying on Comey’s general professionalism and believing he’ll take this and let it slide, the way Comey appeared to in his final message to the FBI. The chumps Trump targeted with the tweet was his supporters, who now believe there’s some kind of evidence that Comey’s been dishonest. With Trump, if someone doesn’t know who the chump is, they are the chump.

    But no, it’s not blackmail.

    also, if Trump is lying one could make a case for actual malice in the Tweet in question.

    But is Comey going to run around suing the president?

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  83. Dustin and his fellow pearl-clutchers should remember that James Comey is the FBI director who did not tell the Director of National Intelligence that the FBI had opened a counter-intelligence investigation involving Russia and the 2016 election.

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6)

  84. It has been apparent that for some time Democrats have lost sight of substance, while in hot pursuit of style. The most striking thing about the first 100 days is the extent to which Republicans have joined that club. I thought Dustin’s comment in a previous thread gave away the game:” You do realize I’m the mainstream and you’re the far fringe, right?”, as if being a member of that club is all that really matters. There is, undoubtedly, comfort in the crowd.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  85. I agree with shipwreckedcrew (#20) when he wrote:

    This is where Trump needed a Chief of Staff to tell him “How we do this important, let’s put together a plan before we act.”

    Yes, Trump needed a James A. Baker III to grab his elbow and keep him from tromping on his sword.

    But I can’t think of any individual, in particularly, whom Trump would be less inclined to listen to than Jim Baker, and this episode certainly proves that Reince Priebus is no Jim Baker-caliber chief of staff. (Or Howard Baker. Or Andy Card.)

    Beldar (fa637a)

  86. Chew on that one for a spell…

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6)

  87. No, no, no, Patterico. You posted the wrong video.

    This is more like it:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLUZ0Nv7UH4

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  88. Col. H: Is it too much to ask for passing grades on both style and substance? I don’t expect him to turn in regular As and A-minuses the way Reagan did. But I think he has to have passing grades on both to get anything important passed, and he certainly needs passing grades on both to get himself or a GOP successor reelected.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  89. I can’t get kept down, Col.

    mg (31009b)

  90. Thor, Dustin is all but a registered member of the political party that he dare not name.

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6)

  91. Captain, did you ever turn your building upside down in a vain search for a wiretap that did not exist?

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  92. I couldn’t keep it down, Col…

    mg (31009b)

  93. It has been apparent that for some time Democrats have lost sight of substance, while in hot pursuit of style. The most striking thing about the first 100 days is the extent to which Republicans have joined that club. I thought Dustin’s comment in a previous thread gave away the game:” You do realize I’m the mainstream and you’re the far fringe, right?”, as if being a member of that club is all that really matters. There is, undoubtedly, comfort in the crowd.

    ThOR

    Sorry, Thor, but after so many personal attacks from Trump’s fans, over and over and over, page after page after page, it definitely seems worth pointing out that you guys are not in touch with most Americans on this stuff.

    Your comments in particular, the ones about Trump’s testicles, were weird and fringe.

    However, it’s the Trump critics here who take the flack, not the Trump fans. How many times, in this thread alone, have I had to ask Trump fans to stop personal attacks and just have a discussion on the issues themselves?

    But no, Thor, you want to talk about me.

    American voters, who gave President Donald Trump a slight approval bump after the missile strike in Syria, today give him a near-record negative 36 – 58 percent job approval rating, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. Critical are big losses among white voters with no college degree, white men and independent voters.

    That’s just the first one google popped up and I’m sure many Trump fans will say it’s fake news, because that is how fringe folks deal with bad information.

    Don’t mistake beating Hillary Clinton in the electoral college with having a popular president. She was awful and she beat Trump by millions of votes.

    I’m not a Republican, Thor, though I worked for two Republican presidents and one Republican led congressional committee, I have given up on the GOP and believe it stands in the way of reform by settling for being the lesser of two evils.

    Thor, do you have anything to say that isn’t a personal attack on another commenter? If not, take it to the other thread, completely ruined by personal attacks.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  94. I’ve been giving Patterico a hard time on Trump, but when he’s right, boy is he.

    Trump’s inability to laugh crap off is one of his main character faults and the Democrats are using this to their great benefit. They stick pin after pin into the Trump doll, then watch it rage and rage. And every time it happens he seems less fit for the office.

    I’ve accepted that Trump won the election and, suboptimum as it is, am still hoping to find a pony. This hope diminishes as the crap keeps pouring in.

    What did Twain say about getting in an argument with fools who buy ink by the barrel?

    Prediction: Donald Trump will not be a major party candidate for President in 2020.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  95. Trump made a joke about “Comey better hope there aren’t tapes”

    Haiku! Gesundheit.

    How do you know it was a joke— o right, you had strawberries on your corn flakes this morning, too. Or maybe it two scoops of ice cream with your chocolate cream pie as well.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  96. When people are accusing you of being Nixonian, why play into their hands by bringing up tapes?

    I used to marvel, during the Bubba Administration, at how profoundly self-destructive Bill Clinton is. Politically, he was at the top of the world, and he commanded the entire U.S. executive branch and entire U.S. military, but he couldn’t control his own zipper, even when it was jeopardizing his entire career again and again. Certainly Bill Clinton’s political opponents (of which I’ve always been proud to consider myself a devoted member) did our best to bring him down, but his self-destructive tendencies did far more toward that end than anything and everything we could do.

    Now I’m wondering how self-destructive Trump will turn out to be. This isn’t encouraging on that score.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  97. “Joking” about secret tapes is roughly as smart as tweeting, “Hey, I shoulda grabbed James Comey by the pussy!”

    Beldar (fa637a)

  98. Any evidence the Trumpsters conspired with the Russians? Yet?

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  99. Polls:

    Obama spent 2009, 2010, 2011 and the first half of 2012 with terrible poll numbers (akin to Trump’s now) and still won re-election.

    http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/obama_approval_index_history

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  100. “Joking” about secret tapes is roughly as smart as tweeting,

    “smart” has no place in a sentence with “’joking’ about secret tapes”

    It may qualify as the stupidest thing Trump has tweeted as president. Now, every time he’s in court, they will go on about “were there tapes?”

    I’m thinking that at least one member of the Cabinet has re-read the 25th Amendment in the last week. We cannot live through 4 years of meltdown.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  101. I’ve never liked Trump’s style, but I find it difficult to attack a President with such consistently conservative substance. Even Reagan (and, especially James Baker III) lacked as consistent a conservative approach, though Reagan talked a much better game. At this point in life, talking a great game matters little to me. Clearly, it matters a great deal to others.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  102. Any evidence the Trumpsters conspired with the Russians? Yet?

    No, of course not. But it is ceasing to matter. Two days ago, I thought there was some chance the WH would just STFU and let it blow over, but Trump is so incredibly ignorant of how the Game is played that he has to respond to every poke and prod.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  103. Any evidence the Trumpsters conspired with the Russians? Yet?

    Steve57

    Read my 8:53 am comment.

    I’ve accepted that Trump won the election and, suboptimum as it is, am still hoping to find a pony. This hope diminishes as the crap keeps pouring in.

    What did Twain say about getting in an argument with fools who buy ink by the barrel?

    Prediction: Donald Trump will not be a major party candidate for President in 2020.

    Kevin M (25bbee) — 5/12/2017 @ 12:01 pm

    There is a silver lining. Trump has more spine than Obama on foreign policy when we’re not talking about Russia or energy. He did nominate a good justice, albeit that’s more of a congressional accomplishment that he even got the chance. And he’s destroying the GOP, which probably needs to happen. The party was rotten enough that Trump was able to get nominated, after all.

    But I agree with you on this. Trump’s behavior is obviously counterproductive, or at least this is obvious to mainstream Republicans, independents, democrats… basically all but Trump’s alt-right fringe. He needs to overhaul how he communicates, but that would take admitting his faults.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  104. @94. He’s sick, Kevin.

    It’s a personality disorder; his eccentricities were continually overlooked in the business and entertainment world in lieu of drawing a crowd and pursuing profits. But in public service– particularly at this level- it’s not so easily dismissed and the press has begun to broach the topic in open discussion. It’s been a great show for a time. For as we know, Americans prefer to be entertained, not governed in this era anyway. But sooner or later, the ship of state is going to steam into the typhoon– with President Queeg at the helm.

    “You have testified that the following symptoms exist— rigidity of personality, feelings of persecution, unreasonable suspicion, a mania for perfection, and a neurotic certainty that he is always in the right… isn’t there one psychiatric term for this illness? – Lt. Barney Greenwald [Jose Ferrer] ‘The Caine Mutiny’ 1954

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  105. @97. ROFLMAOPIP

    Beldar does have a sense of humor after all!

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  106. They said TERRIBLE things about Reagan, even at the beginning. Warmonger. Madman. Racist. Nazi.

    Reagan just laughed and said “There you go again” or similar. He didn’t personalize it and got along with everyone who mattered. And got his programs through a Democrat House and a barely center-right Senate. Then he changed the world.

    Trump is attacked for wearing the wrong color tie and he rages and rages and cannot shut up even at 3 in the morning. He constantly reminds all his willing supporters of all the qualms they had in the primaries and the general election. It is so hard to be his friend.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  107. When people are accusing you of being Nixonian, why play into their hands by bringing up tapes?

    Two days ago, I thought there was some chance the WH would just STFU and let it blow over, but Trump is so incredibly ignorant of how the Game is played that he has to respond to every poke and prod.

    Tell it to, no no no, bark it to Mitt’s dog. What’s Mitt’s dog’s name? Let’s ask FIDOX how well ignoring stupid shrill leftist media memes works out.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  108. Dustin @103, I’ll take that as a “No.”

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  109. I’ve never liked Trump’s style, but I find it difficult to attack a President with such consistently conservative substance. Even Reagan (and, especially James Baker III) lacked as consistent a conservative approach, though Reagan talked a much better game. At this point in life, talking a great game matters little to me. Clearly, it matters a great deal to others.

    ThOR (c9324e) — 5/12/2017 @ 12:16 pm

    This is a guy who said Hillary would be a great president and we should have universal health care. He burns through tax dollars playing golf and renting his own rooms. Spare me that he is more conservative than Reagan. Ronald Reagan did not call the evil empire to ask their permission/warn them before striking Syria. When Trump has been challenged that Putin kills journalists, his actual response is to shrug and say “welp?”.

    More importantly, he lacks that moral compass and clear-headed leadership that I’ve admired in conservative leaders. Say what you will against Reagan, but he was governed by right vs wrong, and Trump is not.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  110. MSNBC is airing clips of Melissa McCarthy in full Spicey get up on her motorized podium in traffic motoring down Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

    SNL should be a blast this week.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  111. Dustin @103, I’ll take that as a “No.”

    Steve57 (0b1dac) — 5/12/2017 @ 12:30 pm

    Exactly! Trump’s critics, particularly on conservative blogs, are generally intellectually honest about these things, which is why I explained that several hours before you brought it up.

    They said TERRIBLE things about Reagan, even at the beginning. Warmonger. Madman. Racist. Nazi.

    Reagan just laughed and said “There you go again” or similar. He didn’t personalize it

    He was above the fray. He was presidential. He acknowledged that part of this nation’s tradition is that the press will take a lot of unfair shots at you. But also, he was believable as the good guy. Gravitas is not a style issue. It’s a reality issue.

    I’m thinking that at least one member of the Cabinet has re-read the 25th Amendment in the last week. We cannot live through 4 years of meltdown.

    Kevin M (25bbee

    That would be amazing. It would also be an unprecedented crisis. I guess it’s a crisis whether they kick Trump out or not. The books and movies about the Trump presidency will fascinate people centuries after we’re all long gone.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  112. Ronald Reagan did not call the evil empire to ask their permission/warn them before striking Syria

    I have to throw a flag on this, Dustin. If he had not called them, and one of the Russian technicians (or pilots) had been killed in the raid, you would have been FIRST with you condemnation.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  113. This is hilarious:

    http://crooksandliars.com/2017/05/melissa-mccarthy-rolling-through-midtown

    “Live, from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  114. The books and movies about the Trump presidency will fascinate people centuries after we’re all long gone.

    Books and movies are not made about catastrophic Democrat presidents. When was the last James Buchanan movie you saw? Or about LBJ’s final years? Heck, there are hundreds of movies about Hitler, or supposed Fourth Reichs, but nary a one about Stalin or a resurgent Soviet state.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  115. The books and movies about the Trump presidency will fascinate people centuries after we’re all long gone.

    Not so sure about that, Dustin. Have you seen Home Alone 2?

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  116. @114. Or about LBJ’s final years?

    Huh? Laurence Luckenbill did a stellar one man show many years ago on LBJ which was telecast and filmed and more recently, a similar take was done by Bryan Cranston on Broadway which was taped/filmed as well.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  117. Nixon fretted over if and how much leftists liked him. It got us Chinese dictation of Hollywood features, network content, and put the EPA in charge of our future development, or more accurately lake of development.

    Then the urge to be popular with Left wing extremists (that’s the only flavor they come in) sweated Nixon out of office.

    Trump has the right attitude. If they want to call me Nixonian, I’ll threaten them with a tape recorder. [Edit] em. They’re leftists. They’re not to be coddled. They’re to be defeated.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  118. @114. PS. Robert Duvall gave Stalin a treatment as well.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  119. Ronald Reagan did not call the evil empire to ask their permission/warn them before striking Syria

    I have to throw a flag on this, Dustin. If he had not called them, and one of the Russian technicians (or pilots) had been killed in the raid, you would have been FIRST with you condemnation.

    Kevin M (25bbee) — 5/12/2017 @ 12:39 pm

    And the base was in use the same day it was struck. Syria may have taken some property losses, or maybe they just bought better stuff from Russia and this was all a smokescreen. But the strike didn’t change anything and we let our geopolitical adversary call the shots in this country.

    Now Russia is enforcing a no fly zone against US aircraft.

    My criticism of the Syrian strike is twofold. First, it’s following a pattern of Russian led decisions. On energy this is also a major concern of mine. Second, we used amazingly advanced tomahawk missiles in a coordinated time on target strike… on huts. Why didn’t we take out the damn runway? We could have warned Russia and then after they left, made the airport not work anymore until repaired. (Of course Russia wants to use the airbase, and this would mean defying them). Or we could have channeled how Reagan handled this sort of thing, and bombed all of Assad’s homes.

    Would I have been the first to condemn if Russia took some losses? It’s a huge risk… make it worth it. It didn’t seem to stifle Iran or North Korea, and perhaps if we went for the leadership, the jugular of these regimes, that would change. At least it seemed to work very well in the 1980s.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  120. President Trump should indict Bill’s wife immediately.
    Let’s get this swamp draining like a flooded Mississippi.

    mg (31009b)

  121. Patterico, embrace the power of “And”.

    Trump speaks unfiltered, there are multiple reasons to fire Comey, He notes that he is not under investigation, and then fires Comey.

    Then Trump says, Comey mishandled the Russia investigation, and that was on my mind when I was given the DOJ letter on why to fire the incompetent (Comey should have been fired years before for being unethical).

    “And” is not a lie. “I was gonna fire him, no matter what the DOJ justified the firing with” is simply more disclosure from Trump.

    I don’t understand the point you are trying to make. Let’s go back to the post. Fuckabee sez the firing

    has nothing to do with any investigation into Russia.

    Trump’s quote from the NBC interviews shows this is false, and that the Russia investigation was very much on Trump’s mind when he made the decision.

    Any other conclusion is octopus ink, squirted to divert people from reaching a very simple conclusion: Fuckabee was full of it.

    As for the extraordinarily tired “living rent free in your head” canard, I interpret that as an admission that you have no substantive logical response to my argument. It’s what people say when they don’t like criticism but cannot refute the criticism.

    Patterico (54006a)

  122. Books and movies are not made about catastrophic Democrat presidents. When was the last James Buchanan movie you saw? Or about LBJ’s final years? Heck, there are hundreds of movies about Hitler, or supposed Fourth Reichs, but nary a one about Stalin or a resurgent Soviet state.

    Kevin M

    That’s the one saving grace the Trump fans have (I’m not lumping you in).

    I doubt Trump would have had a shot at power if he hadn’t exploited doubt masterfully. If the media was soberly reporting on Lois Lerner, the Clinton Foundation, etc, or even the long term issues like LBJ’s racism and how he cynically exploited the civil rights movement, the media would have had credibility when it was really time to sound the alarm. Trump is proof of just how impotent the media is today, completely because the American people have lost all faith in them.

    JVW has done a great job talking about the recent Hillary book and we should try to make these endeavors successful.

    House of Cards is the closest they ever came to talking about what LBJ was really all about, in my opinion. I would love a realistic show about him. But bias aside, Trump movies and books are going to be legion in a few years. And I bet they are very entertaining.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  123. Everybody now start yer bleat
    You make ’em laugh
    Man, it’s such a treat, yeah
    Shoes off watchin’ MSLSD
    Now start yer rant, make yer day complete

    Chorus:
    They’re pearl clutchin’
    They’re pearl clutchin’
    They’re pearl clutchin’
    Oh yeah, they’re pearl clutchin’

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6)

  124. Huh? Laurence Luckenbill did a stellar one man show many years ago on LBJ which was telecast and filmed and more recently, a similar take was done by Bryan Cranston on Broadway which was taped/filmed as well.

    Both hagiographies rather than dealing with how Vietnam, and his lies about it, destroyed him.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  125. Now Russia is enforcing a no fly zone against US aircraft.

    Uh, no. They may be saying there IS one, but I think we’d know it if they “enforced” one.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  126. DCSCA, come on. Admit it. Especially when we look at Hollywood and other major media at that level, the political bias is too powerful for a treatment of an LBJ to be anything like the treatment of Trump.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  127. Trump movies and books are going to be legion in a few years. And I bet they are very entertaining.

    Anti-Iraq movies were made repeatedly in the ‘oughts, but none were “entertaining.” Or successful.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  128. Uh, no. They may be saying there IS one, but I think we’d know it if they “enforced” one.

    Kevin M (25bbee) — 5/12/2017 @ 1:04 pm

    You’re saying they haven’t shot us down yet? Well we obeying their commands to stay out.

    They have advanced anti-aircraft missiles tracking that airspace with orders to shoot down anything in there that isn’t Russian. With orders to us that we stay out. Russia is winning on this front.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  129. @124. Huh? On the contrary–they were both well done characterizations. Luckenbill did good work.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  130. Not all Hollywood is demonically leftist, though. Take NCIS, now finishing its 14th year on TV and still at the top of the ratings. It treats the military as honorable, the current wars as just, Muslims as potential terrorists and Israel (mostly) as a friend. I bet Hollywood thinks it’s a fluke.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  131. @126. No, Luckenbill and Cranston did good work on LBJ, And, of course, The American Experience president bio was fair as well. Luckenbill’s LBJ is a hard find these days but worth a look.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  132. They have advanced anti-aircraft missiles tracking that airspace with orders to shoot down anything in there that isn’t Russian. With orders to us that we stay out. Russia is winning on this front.

    We should fly something in there, and if they shoot, JDAM the bejezzus out of them. And I thought Trump was a hothead.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  133. Take NCIS, now finishing its 14th year on TV and still at the top of the ratings. It treats the military as honorable, the current wars as just, Muslims as potential terrorists and Israel (mostly) as a friend. I bet Hollywood thinks it’s a fluke.

    Kevin M (25bbee) — 5/12/2017 @ 1:11 pm

    Same core group of people making Magnum, JAG, and then NCIS, all shows that are pretty fun to watch, convey conventional morality, and have simple, straight forward heroism. I’m not sure why this stuff isn’t more popular… or maybe it is. I have no idea how its popularity compares to Homeland, for example.

    Fluke? Or niche. Interestingly, Bellisario was a Republican except when Nixon was president, when he, like me, walked away from the GOP. I have a lot of respect for those who refuse to part of a party until it gets its act together.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  134. We should fly something in there, and if they shoot, JDAM the bejezzus out of them. And I thought Trump was a hothead.

    Kevin M

    That’s not what I’m saying, lol. We didn’t get here in a day.

    But no, Trump is no hothead when it comes to dealing with Russia. It’s interesting.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  135. “I’ve never liked Trump’s style, but I find it difficult to attack a President with such consistently conservative substance.”

    – THoR

    That would be laughable in its wild inaccuracy if it weren’t a deliberate attempt to distort reality for the sake of the dumber members of your cult.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  136. On taping, President Queeg just told Fox’s Prune Jeanne:

    “I can’t talk about it; I won’t talk about.”

    Except you do. A truth or lie, it’s a nice tease, Captain.

    Paging Judge Sirica.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  137. Consider this: Russia thinks Obama was tougher than Trump is. Amazing.

    It makes me revisit that “flexibility” video. Sure, they are promising flexibility in the future, post election, but the real import of the video is that Russia is complaining to Obama that he’s not being flexible today (when the video was made). Sounds like Obama was bluffing, in hindsight, and never actually got flexible.

    Everyone thought Trump would be a hot head and our adversaries would at least respect that potential disaster, but I guess not. If you’re not an empty mud shack in Syria, you’re probably safe.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  138. On taping, President Queeg just told Fox’s Prune Jeanne:

    “I can’t talk about it; I won’t talk about.”

    He will have to get used to refusing to talk about it, but that’s definitely good advice. Sounds like someone got through to him that he has no idea how to handle this issue without contradicting himself. Liars have that problem.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  139. @139. Don’t bet on it– it’s an attention grabber which is Trump/Queeg 101. He’s unmanageable. Ol’Dead Fred didn’t send him off to military school back in the day for nothing.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  140. 50. Rick Ballard (6f7e69) — 5/12/2017 @ 10:46 am

    … but the flood of leaks strongly suggests recording to be uncommon, even though it is permitted per the DC code when one party agrees.

    Oh, so it’s only in Maryland that recording a conversation a person is having with someone else is illegal. That’s what got Linda Tripp into a little bit of trouble when she secrely one conversation with Monica Lewinsky for the special prosecutor, Kenneth Starr.

    But there’s one little twist about that. Thanks to an earlier court decision, recording a conversation a person is has with someone else is only illegal…

    …if you know about the law!

    This is one law where ignorance of the law is an excuse.

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  141. There is a “stupid” that can’t be fixed. We’re witnessing that today.

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6)

  142. 55. Beldar (fa637a) — 5/12/2017 @ 10:56 am

    Well, there’s an Art of Firing, too. Labor and employment law attorneys make careers out of it.

    But don’t corporations sometimes fire someonewithout notice becasuse they are afraid someone might delete records, sabotage computers, etc.

    Anyway they about Comey. Andrew McCabe reports that all of Comey’s records are secure.

    https://www.wired.com/2017/05/stop-thinking-james-comey-keeps-files-cardboard-box/

    The FBI declined to comment for this story, but in his sworn testimony Thursday, acting director Andrew McCabe told members of Congress he was confident Comey’s files and devices had been stored securely to preserve any evidence involved in the ongoing investigation.

    Of course he should have let him clean out his office, say his goodbyes etc. If Comey can’t be trusted about that we are in a sad shape.

    Comey did send an e-mail to all FBI agents. The text was not disclosed, but it was leaked to CNN, and read over the phone to the New York Times. In it Comey said he had always believed a president could fire thew FBI Director for any cause (I had thought he didn’t because he had been so confident he would stay.)

    Someone else had to post it for him since he lost his email access with his firing.

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  143. Oh, so it’s only in Maryland that recording a conversation a person is having with someone else is illegal. That’s what got Linda Tripp into a little bit of trouble when she secrely one conversation with Monica Lewinsky for the special prosecutor, Kenneth Starr.

    But there’s one little twist about that. Thanks to an earlier court decision, recording a conversation a person is has with someone else is only illegal…

    …if you know about the law!

    This is one law where ignorance of the law is an excuse.

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea) — 5/12/2017 @ 1:45 pm

    Indeed, Sean Spicer refused to deny that Trump recorded the so-called loyalty oath conversation with Comey. He also refused to deny that Trump wants to shut down press conferences.

    One party recording is pretty common.

    There is a “stupid” that can’t be fixed. We’re witnessing that today.

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6) — 5/12/2017 @ 1:54 pm

    Yeah, but don’t feel too bad about it. A lot of people were fooled by Trump and look stupid now.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  144. Even that is evidence of your idiocy, Dustin. Drop and back away from the shovel.

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6)

  145. This guy should spend some time around here… https://pjmedia.com/blog/liveblogevent/fridays-hot-mic-6/entry-207923/

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6)

  146. 67. papertiger (c8116c) — 5/12/2017 @ 11:06 am

    After Nixon was burned by the tape recording of every minute inside the Oval, what happened to that? Was taping the President covertly a one off “tradition” specially set up so the media could innuendo Tricky Dick?

    It wasn’ta one-off. Previous presidents had taped some conversations, going back maybe to FDR, and certainly Kennedy and Johnson and theer are some books about them.

    Consider this:

    https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Oval-Office-White-Clinton/dp/B0027IQ5HA

    While William Doyle’s “Inside The Oval Office” is subtitled “The White House Tapes From FDR To Clinton,” this is a misnomer. As others here point out, there’s really only a trio of presidents that taped themselves at work with any regularity, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, and four more (Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, and Ford) that did so even at all.

    Reagan and Clinton both had video crews film some of their formal meetings, but Bush 41 and Carter avoided anything more involved than private diary tapings in recording the doings of their administrations.

    I think Reagan also recorded some diary entries.

    But Nixon taoed everything that happened in the Oval Office from the spring of 1971 till July 1973. (He didn’t tape conversations that took place in Key Biscayne or other places where he was away, but some telephone conversations also were taped)

    After that, no president taoed anything, except State of the Union addresses and the like or a few meetings where everybody knew it as being recorded. They don’t even tape conversations with foreign leaders, but just take notes.

    Unless Trump actually deciced to start doing it again, and in secret.

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  147. Even that is evidence of your idiocy, Dustin. Drop and back away from the shovel.

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6) — 5/12/2017 @ 2:04 pm

    Yes, right now, Trump’s critics are sure digging themselves deeper and deeper. Boy do they look bad. hahahahaha

    You got us.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  148. Now Russia is enforcing a no fly zone against US aircraft. Well, Israel has one, against Russian aircraft in part of Syria. Maybe not exactly a no-fly zone, but they won’t be deterred from any bombing they feel they have to do. Netanyahu visited Moscow the day before Yom Kippur 2015 and came to an agreement with Putin.

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  149. “There are many parallels to Watergate. But I have to tell you, I think all the way back to the Kennedy assassination, to draw parallels.”

    Rosie O? Keith Olberman? Tingles?

    Nope, Bob Schieffer.

    The liberal media is blazing new trails in the Delusion Wilderness.

    http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/scott-whitlock/2017/05/12/what-bob-schieffer-sees-parallels-kennedy-assassination-comey

    harkin (b5bb0f)

  150. Betcha Marla has some “tapes” too.

    VHS and Beta. And Ivana. And Melania. And other ass-sordid escorts as well.

    “Best sex I’ve ever had.”- Marla Maples, NY Post headline, 1990

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  151. Dustin (ba94b2) — 5/12/2017 @ 1:59 pm

    Indeed, Sean Spicer refused to deny that Trump recorded the so-called loyalty oath conversation with Comey. He also refused to deny that Trump wants to shut down press conferences.

    One party recording is pretty common.

    I think Trump is bluffing, but this is evidence that it is not illegal.

    Trump probably wants to maintain the bluff at least for a while, while this issue is red hot, to make people careful about misreporting conversations.

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  152. You beat me to it Harkin!

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6)

  153. The only way this makes sense is if some of the leaks are false, or Trump at least believes they are false. And there’s reason anyway to believe some leaks about this are false.

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  154. Shane Brennan belisarios successor (he’s from down under) has allowed some left wing elements like a marine honor killing in 2009, at least two arcs of American born villains like a mad contractor in 2012 and a military trained assasin the following year, but it stays more on the straight and narrow even broached fast and furious once.

    narciso (db82a6)

  155. One Donald Trump tweet this morning: (mentioned by Bob Schieffer)

    Donald J. Trump
    @realDonaldTrump

    As a very active President with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy!….

    4:59 AM – 12 May 2017

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  156. Donald Trump = loyalty oaf.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  157. But the strike didn’t change anything and we let our geopolitical adversary call the shots in this country.

    Syria stopped dropping nerve gas. Putin pointed the way toward the remaining unused portion which an Israeli air wing took out a few weeks after.

    No fly zoneS seem kind of notional.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  158. Bob Schieffer:

    It is absolutely imperative that Donald Trump find a way to reassure the American people that these questions about Russia are not true, if that is his version.

    Public hearings are the way to do that, not a grand jury investigation. And some things are true, maybe not what teh Democrats would like people to think are true, though.

    Sammy Finkelman (3bf6ea)

  159. No leaks about collusion with Russians… heh.

    Colonel Haiku (34bcc6)

  160. Even when he does the right thing he manages to do it badly.

    I know he doesn’t drink, but he needs to start and get a drinking buddy so he has something else to do besides watching everybody argue about him on TV and twitter.

    crazy (d3b449)

  161. Bob Schieffer’s a stupid propaganda slut he should be put in the stupid room with some crayons and a roll of butcher paper

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  162. if we want to be humane and compassionate

    open to other ideas

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  163. @157. The solution is simple Sammy.

    Twitter is to the Captain like the German Volksempfänger was for you-know-who.

    Next phase: weekly newsreels.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  164. You know who’s law infraction.

    I’m gonna have to write you up, son.

    Let’s see your licence, registration, and proof of insurance.

    Your carbon burning voucher, if you’re blogging from California.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  165. 160 – “It is absolutely imperative that Donald Trump find a way to reassure the American people that these accusations about Russia, that nobody in almost a year has been able to produce a shred of evidence on despite a media frenzy, will continue to be beat to death until the mid-terms. It’s also important that the FBI, with nothing better to do, commits massive resources on multiple fishing expeditions to find anything reflecting negative on the administration .”

    Fixed Schieffer’s screed.

    harkin (517285)

  166. I’m not sure why this stuff isn’t more popular… or maybe it is

    NCIS has been the top rated drama on TV for over a decade. You don’t get a 2-year pickup after season 13 for iffy ratings. Mark Harmon must be very well paid.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  167. NCIS has been the top rated drama on TV for over a decade.

    Very interesting. I think ‘on TV’ is the key word there. It’s not on Netflix. Haven’t watched any of those shows since I subscribed to cable years ago. It probably seems more relevant to the over 60 crowd.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  168. Trump’s quote from the NBC interviews shows this is false, and that the Russia investigation was very much on Trump’s mind when he made the decision.

    I disagree. The quote I heard indicates Trump wanted to fire Comey from the moment he was elected.

    In other words, before he even knew there was such a thing a Russian investigation.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  169. Trump knew for sure there was some sort of Russia investigation going on when he was briefed in New York in January. That’s when he got told about the dossier compiled by ex-MI6 agent Christopher Steele and the contents were published, too by Buzzfeed. He didn’t like that at all.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)


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