Robert Mueller

Obama’s Press Briefings Were Tongue Baths – Says Trump’s Tongue Bath Team on Fox News

Posted by on May 26, 2018 at 4:21 pm. 2 Comments :

Barack Obama has now been out of office for sixteen months. But that hasn’t stopped Donald Trump from obsessing over him and making poorly constructed comparisons that only reveal his insecurity and jealousy. Naturally, Fox News is right there to stroke Trump’s fragile ego with positive affirmations and ludicrous conspiracy theories.

Obama Fox News

On Saturday Trump’s favorite TV show, Fox and Friends, interviewed radical Chrisianist Mike Huckabee, whose daughter is the President’s press secretary. In the course of this segment Fox News reported comments made by Obama in jest at a recent tech conference. Obama said of his presidency that:

“There wasn’t any malicious intent, which is why I didn’t have scandals, which seems like it shouldn’t be something you brag about. But actually, if you look at the history of the modern presidency, coming out of the modern presidency without anybody going to jail is really good. It’s a big deal.”

Indeed. While it can hardly be claimed that the Obama years were free of error, there were precisely zero indictments or convictions of people associated with his administration in eight years. Obviously the same cannot be said of Trump in only a little over one year. But this unarguable fact became the subject of ridicule by Huckabee and the “Curvy Couch” potatoes on Fox (video below). When asked to comment, Huckabee said of Obama that:

“There were a lot of scandals. The difference was there wasn’t a scrutiny. And you can’t have the kind of scandals that you normally see in Washington if you don’t have a press corps that is doing their job of being a watchdog. In the case of the Obama administration, the press wasn’t a watchdog, they were a lap dog. […] A White House press briefing was a tongue bath.”

That analysis might require an extended pause for laughter. This is an ultra right-wing Obama hater complaining to America’s premiere Trump-fluffers that the press wasn’t tough enough on Obama. All that these Fox and Friends hacks do every day is slobber over Trump with their tongues hanging out and their tails wagging. It would be like Hannibal Lecter taking a waiter to task after finding a hair in his soup. (For the 1990’s pop culture challenged – the dude eats people).

Huckabee sought to debunk the truthful characterization of Obama’s presidency as scandal-free by rattling off what he claimed were bona fide scandals. They included:

  • The delivery of “palettes of cash” to Iran in conjunction with their agreement to scale back their nuclear weapons program.
    That was actually the return of funds that belonged to Iran that had been sequestered while sanctions were in place.
  • The murders of American diplomats in Benghazi.
    After years of congressional investigations and hearings, run by Republicans, it was determined that there was no wrongdoing on the part of anyone in the Obama administration.
  • Allegations that the IRS discriminated against conservative charitable organizations.
    This was debunked when it turned out that they didn’t treat conservatives any differently than they treated liberals. Not one conservative charity was denied its tax exempt status.
  • The so-called Fast and Furious gun running operation.
    This was actually a project that began in the Bush administration.

So giving it their best effort, Huckabee and Fox News were unable to cite a single verifiable scandal that occurred under Obama’s watch. And it wasn’t like Obama had the sort of friendly Congress that Trump has today. Republicans were in charge throughout most of his term. But they still failed to find sufficient evidence to indict or convict anyone from the Obama White House. Contrast that with the dozens of indictments that special counsel Robert Mueller has already obtained, along with five guilty pleas. And to be sure, there are more to come.

The spectacle of Huckabee appearing on State TV (aka Fox News) and trying to make the case that Obama got a free ride is just plain hysterical. If he had said it on any other network it might have been slightly less ridiculous. But saying that the media was overly deferential to Obama on a network that is so flagrantly pro-Trump is the reason that political satire is so hard to do these days. The skewed reality of Fox News and people like Huckabee are just way to funny for comedians to compete with.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Fox News ‘Judge’ Pirro: If I Were in Charge the President Would Be Playing Golf Right Now

Posted by on May 25, 2018 at 1:26 pm. 5 Comments :

Never let it be said that Fox News doesn’t have its priorities in the right place. They know their mission is to advance the interests of Donald Trump and his perversion of Republican Party politics. They dutifully pursue that mission with enthusiasm for the propaganda they espouse throughout their broadcast day.

Donald Trump, Jeanine Pirro

One of the most devoted disciples of Fox’s Trump Cult is “Judge” Jeanine Pirro. Her spittle-inflected ravings are a unique spectacle on cable news. Even Sean Hannity’s fawning adoration of Dear Leader doesn’t reach the passionate infatuation expressed by Pirro on every episode of her relentless Trump-fluffing program. After all, she recently declared that Trump had “fulfilled the biblical prophecy of the gods.” And on Friday morning she proved why she is viewed as the Fox “personality” who has the most direct line to Trump’s brain.

Pirro was interviewed Friday on Trump’s favorite Fox News program, Fox and Friends (video below). The segment began with a discussion of whether Trump should sit for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller. Co-host Brian Kilmeade asked Pirro what she would do if she were in charge. “If I were in charge,” she began, “the President would be playing golf right now. There is no way the President should appear before Bob Mueller.”

OK then. Not only is Pirro against Trump talking to Mueller, she apparently isn’t keen on him doing any presidential work either. She wants Trump to be doing what he does more than anything else: visiting his luxury resorts and playing golf. That’s something he has already done more than 100 times since taking office. And to tell the truth, most Americans would also probably prefer that Trump camp out at Mar-A-Lago rather than do more damage to the nation. But Pirro wasn’t finished giving her view of Trump’s responsibility to the people. But her reasons for having the President avoid a sit-down with Mueller are sorely lacking in reason:

“Think about it. If a sitting president cannot be indicted, and this president were to be questioned, it would only be for the purpose of an indictment. The legislative branch is not gonna be in a position – which is what Mueller would like – to get the testimony of the President so that they can then use it to impeach him. That’s the problem.”

What’s the problem? Pirro isn’t making sense. First of all, there is no law prohibiting the indictment of a sitting President. It’s a rule within the Justice Department that can be changed at any time and has never been tested in court. Trump’s TV lawyer Rudy Giuliani has tried miserably to make the same argument. More to the point, Pirro says that Mueller only wants Trump’s testimony so that Congress can impeach him. Which implies that Trump has something to say that would warrant impeachment. Yes, Jeanine, that is a problem. And it’s also a problem when a president is afraid to talk with a law enforcement investigator. Is there any better indicator of guilt?

Pirro’s opposition to impeachment, however, is limited to its use against Trump. Later in this interview she insisted that Justice Department investigators, including Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, should be impeached. Never mind that she offered no justification other than her rabid hostility to anyone who is even tangentially critical of her White House boyfriend. The whole strategy of the White House and its PR division (aka Fox News) is to demean the nation’s institutions of law in order to convince their base that there is massive conspiracy against Trump. But the truth is that it’s reality that is conspiring against the President and his frantic and irrational behavior is proof that he knows it.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Trump Breaks His Own Record for Lies-Per-Minute in Desperate ‘WITCH HUNT’ Frenzy

Posted by on May 23, 2018 at 3:22 pm. 3 Comments :

The constant pressure to perform must be excruciating for Donald Trump. As the most prolific liar in presidential history he needs to continuously up his game or risk falling behind rival liars like Sean Hannity and his own son, Don, Jr. But if anyone is up to the task, it’s the current (for now) Liar-in-Chief.

Donald Trump

In a spurt of surprising activity for the usually lethargic septuagenarian, Trump raised the ante for America’s liars by putting out an impressive number of unambiguous falsehoods Wednesday morning. He began with his forte, Twitter, to post some flagrantly egregious lies. Leading off was a tweet that implored his Deplorables to “Look how things have turned around on the Criminal Deep State.” Of course, there is no “Deep State” and the only things turning are his former friends and associates. For instance, the business partner of his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who just copped a plea and will be cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller.

That didn’t stop Trump from declaring that “Phony Collusion with Russia [is] a made up Scam.” Albeit one that has already produced dozens of indictments and five guilty pleas. He then deftly segued to an attack on the former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper. Trump quoted Clapper as saying “Trump should be happy that the FBI was SPYING on his campaign.” But Clapper never said that. He actually said that Trump should be happy that the FBI investigated Russians infiltrating his campaign. Clapper made these comments on The View, but Trump didn’t learn about them until they were part of a segment on Fox and Friends. And that’s where Trump got his bastardized quote.

Finally, Trump went after one of his favorite enemies, former FBI Director James Comey. He repeatedly called Comey a liar who is in big trouble. But then he delivered one of his famous untruths that “a lot of [imaginary] people have said.” According to Trump:

“You go into the FBI, and a lot of those great people working at the FBI, they will tell you. I did a great service to this country by firing James Comey.”

The only problem with that statement is that it conflicts sharply with reality. In an annual survey of FBI agents and employees, Comey was given overwhelmingly positive reviews. The survey was taken just two months before Trump fired Comey and revealed that:

“Former FBI Director James Comey was widely admired by agents who worked for him, winning high scores in anonymous surveys for his values and trustworthiness, even as he became embroiled in controversies over investigations related to the 2016 election.”

Knowing this, would Trump still think that “those great people working at the FBI” are still great? And in addition to these brazenly false outbursts by Trump there was an epically succinct expression of his hostility to the truth in another tweet that said simply, but loudly (in all caps):

Never mind that Trump’s hand-picked FBI Director, Chris Wray explicitly denied in congressional testimony that there was any such thing as a witch hunt being conducted by the Bureau. And that Trump’s former CIA Director, and current Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, told Congress that there was no “Deep State” in the CIA, FBI, NSA, Justice Department, or the State Department. So the most senior members of Trump’s administration are joining in calling out the President as a liar. Which makes you wonder how long it will be before he’s calling them liars. Also, whether they will be part of the administration for very long. We’ll see.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

GOP Dimwits Want 2nd Special Counsel to Probe the Dept of Justice – Why Dems Should Go Along

Posted by on May 22, 2018 at 8:03 pm. 2 Comments :

For months Donald Trump has been attacking special counsel Robert Mueller as hopelessly biased and bent on driving him from the White House. Never mind that he is a life-long Republican who was appointed by the Republican Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein. And both them work closely with Trump’s Republican Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, and his Republican FBI Director, Chris Wray.

Donald Trump GOP

Despite that one-sided, right-wing assembly of the top law enforcement officials in the country, Trump continues to whine that he’s a victim of some clandestine, Democratic cabal that’s aligned against him. Clearly he is suffering from a severe case of paranoia, and the deep-seated fear that his criminality will be exposed. That has led to his frantic tweets accusing the FBI of spying on him (they weren’t) and demanding that the Department of Justice investigate:

That “demand” is typical of Trump’s disregard for the independence of the justice system and his compulsion to abuse the power of his office. Not surprisingly, his comrades in the Republican Party are all too willing to go along with this un-American assault on the institutions that protect our nation’s laws. A collection of wingnut GOP’ers have banded together to insist that the Department of Justice appoint a second special counsel. This would be be tasked with investigating the investigators currently investigating the President.

Among those making this demand are Freedom Caucus members of the House, Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan who adamantly declare that “The DOJ cannot investigate itself.” So these GOP truthseekers, who have long opposed the very concept of special counsels, are now calling for one of their own. And they should get one.

Think about what they are proposing. They want someone to probe the inquiries regarding Russian collusion with Donald Trump. Therefore, AG Sessions, who recused himself due to his involvement with the Trump campaign, would have to recuse himself from this matter as well. So Deputy AG Rosenstein would be the person to appoint the new special counsel. But these congressional Republicans are already convinced that Rosenstein is part of the “Deep State” conspiracy against Trump.

What’s more, since Rosentstein chose, Mueller, a staunch Republican, to lead the Russia probe, he might be compelled to choose a Democrat for the new counsel post probing Mueller and the FBI. How do you suppose the Freedom Caucus would react to that? Too bad. It’s not their job. Of course the party affiliation of the new counsel wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) guarantee any particular outcome. However, the new counsel would have the authority to probe all matters that involve, or stem from, the operations of the Mueller probe.

The thing that the Republicans demanding a new special counsel are not anticipating, is the possibility that such an investigation would produce even more evidence of wrongdoing by Trump, his family, and his associates. All of that would fall within the scope of the new counsel’s authority. And even if there weren’t new legal pitfalls for Trump, the likelihood that they would find any misconduct on the part of Mueller’s team is minuscule. Which means the new counsel would probably end up validating Mueller’s conclusions.

Of course, any result that proved to be detrimental to Trump would be immediately dismissed by the GOP and attacked for being biased. Even though the whole project was the result of the GOP’s whining in the first place. They could hardly complain that the investigation that they demanded should then be set aside and forgotten. But, of course, they would do just that. So it might be fun to let them have their way with the request and see what a new counsel would turn up. It couldn’t be any more ridiculous than everything that’s happened since Trump announced his candidacy.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Fox News Fingers ‘The Single Most Dangerous Person to the Agenda of President Trump’

Posted by on May 20, 2018 at 3:48 pm. 2 Comments :

You can count on Fox News to be on top of any threats to the supremacy of Donald Trump and his totalitarian regime. Since Fox News is the designated media arm of the Trump White House and the President’s most passionate protector, they would naturally be the most ardent champion of Trump’s interests.

Jeanine Pirro Fox News

Consequently, one of Trump’s favorite Fox mouthpieces, “Judge” Jeanine Pirro, went on one of her spittle-inflected rants in defense of the Cheeto Jesus she worships. Her Saturday night massacre was jam-packed with unfounded allegations against Trump foes like James Comey, Hillary Clinton, and the FBI, among others. She bristled at this being “the one year anniversary of the Mueller investigation staffed with the singularly most biased attorneys in American history.” Never mind that special counsel Robert Mueller is a life-long Republican, as is Rod Rosenstein, the Deputy Attorney General who appointed him.

Pirro’s tantrum then veered off into tales that Democrats “chuckled” when Trump claimed he had been wiretapped. She insists now that the claim was true. But it was widely proven to be just another of his delusional outbursts with no basis in reality. She continued with allegations of a “shadow government” and “deep state” clinging to control, despite the fact that Trump and his appointees have been in power for more than a year. She invented fictional accounts of FBI agents conspiring to interfere with a presidential election and overthrow the President. And ignoring the dozens of indictments along with five guilty pleas by close Trump associates, she swore that he hasn’t been “touched” by any of the ongoing probes. Really? Most legal observers would say that he’s had a full body massage (with no happy ending).

But perhaps the most darkly entertaining portion of this wild-eyed segment was Pirro’s assault on one of Trump’s first and most loyal advocates. Former Senator Jeff Sessions was the first member of Congress to endorse Trump. He faithfully followed the candidate around the country like a devoted puppy. And for his devotion he was given his own Justice Department to play with. However, Pirro sees in him something different and far more ominous:

“What, ladies and gentlemen, is unmistakable in all of this, is that the single most dangerous person to the agenda of President Trump, the Republican party and ultimately to all Americans, is the Attorney General of the Untied States himself, Jeff Sessions.”

The danger that Sessions represents to America is something we can all agree on. But perhaps for different reasons. From Pirro’s perspective he “has done nothing to make anyone responsible for the blatant corruption” she asserts has plagued the FBI. She complains that he has “fought the release of telling documents” that in her cartoon brain would somehow exonerate the President or incriminate his enemies. And by failing to purify Trump’s aura and condemn his foes to purgatory, Sessions, she says, “has done nothing to create confidence that wrongdoers will be accountable.” Of course, her definition of accountability is the incarceration of all Democrats and the observance of the divinity of Trump. She closes with this hallelujah moment:

“With all the power and might of the Department of Justice behind him, he continues to do nothing. He refuses to take them out in cuffs. The most powerful prosecutor in the world, the man who holds the scales of justice in his hands, hides behind the coattails of a Rod Rosenstein – a man we’ve never even heard of – who is in fact behind all of Jeff Sessions decisions, who is in fact running our Department of Justice.”

There really isn’t anything more that could be added to that drooling screed. It proves once again that Fox News is deeply embedded in the inner regions of Trump’s rectal cavity. This assault on Sessions could not have been broadcast without the knowledge and permission of the White House. It signals some tough sledding ahead for Sessions. Which could be dangerous for Trump because Sessions knows where all of the bodies are buried. And if he feels like he’s been rolled over by a convoy of buses, he could easily become the next flipper on Mueller’s plate.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Fox News Outs FBI Informant For Trump After Warnings It Would Create Security Risks

Posted by on May 20, 2018 at 11:40 am. 3 Comments :

There is one cable news network that has made its proclamations of hyper-patriotism a part of its brand since the day it was founded. Fox News incorporates American flag logos into virtually every graphic that appears on the screen. And its hosts and guests relentlessly sermonize on the divine infallibility of the nation under almost any circumstances.

Donald Trump Fox News

The exceptions to this rule are those that involve their Dear Leader, Donald Trump. Whenever there is some controversy regarding the investigations into his collusion with Russia, financial corruption, or sexual misconduct, Fox News immediately changes course to lambaste the government institutions charged with keeping the nation safe and enforcing the law. Patriotism goes out the window whenever the FBI or other intelligence agencies begin to close in on Trump’s criminality.

A foreboding example of this emerged this weekend as reports that the FBI employed informants to ascertain whether Trump’s campaign was working with Russian operatives to help him win the election. Trump took to Twitter to post a frantic series of posts denouncing these investigations and misrepresenting the FBI’s conduct. Trump characterized the Bureau as “implanting” spies in his campaign for political purposes. In reality, they were seeking information about possible crimes using undercover sources, which is in keeping with their mission to protect the public, including Trump. But now the obviously panicked President is threatening his own Justice Department with ludicrous demands:

There is, of course, no evidence that any political shenanigans were being undertaken by the FBI or the Obama administration. But Trump’s interest in interfering with undercover investigations poses a serious problem for law enforcement. He and his sycophants in the right-wing press have been calling for the FBI informant’s identity to be revealed. However, that information would likely lead to security risks for both the informant and any other operation he might have been involved with. People’s lives may literally be at risk.

So naturally Fox News went ahead and reported the informant’s identity. Never mind the damage it does to ongoing inquiries or human lives. According to an article by Fox News, the Daily Caller (a website founded by Tucker Carlson who currently hosts a primetime show on Fox) was first to identify the informant. That news was subsequently regurgitated by the New York Post, which is owned by the same parent company as Fox News. So at least three members of the Fox family have been actively outing an undercover FBI asset.

The original stories about this informant were published by the New York Times and the Washington Post. Neither one disclosed his identity. But both were apparently correct despite Trump’s tedious accusations of them being “fake” news. However, Fox had no problem with endangering Americans and American interests. What’s ironic, though, is that this reckless brand of pseudo-journalism didn’t even support their premise that this was all a clandestine plot to destroy Trump. Their own article notes that the informant was not a deep state Obama spy, but had previously worked for the administrations of Nixon, Ford and Reagan.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

In conclusion, what we have here is an attempt by Fox News to assist Trump in defaming the FBI in order to help a criminally suspect president. And their attempt fails due to the partisan affiliation of the informant who, it turns out, is a staunch Republican. But it succeeds in endangering American lives and ongoing investigations to protect the country in matters that may be unrelated to Trump. So we should all recognize Fox News for their stalwart patriotism that they demonstrate by deliberately hurting the country and its citizens.

Way Out of His League? Sarah Huckabee Sanders Has Delusions of Trump’s Grandeur

Posted by on May 19, 2018 at 11:31 am. 2 Comments :

While Donald Trump cowers in the safety of his White House residence (or his Palm Beach resort), his press secretary shows up on State-TV (aka Fox News) for a pity party with Sean Hannity. They spend much of their segment whining about how Trump is a victim of the press that just doesn’t like him no matter how awesome he is.

Fox News, Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Sarah Huckabee Sanders has the unique distinction of turning the daily White House press briefings into an extended presentation of lies and propaganda that surpasses any of her predecessors. The media participants in these charades, from across the political spectrum, openly lament that they can’t believe what comes out of her mouth. That absence of confidence is a real threat to the American system of democracy that relies on a free press. But since she represents a president who has repeatedly referred to the media in Stalinist terms as “the enemy of the people,” it would be naive to expect anything resembling honesty or integrity from her or this administration.

And so it was on Friday as Sanders canoodled with Hannity to malign the media in general and CNN’s Jim Acosta in particular (video below). “it’s unreal,” she grumbled, “the amount of negative coverage that comes from the media covering this White House.” Continuing, she said:

“Not just because it’s so one-sided, but because there’s so many good things they could be talking about. The economy is booming. ISIS is on the run. Remaking of the judiciary. Getting rid of the individual mandate. The foreign policy and the relationships that this president has built. Every single day there’s a good news story to tell. And yet ninety percent of the coverage is negative.”

For the record, the economy was booming for seven of the eight years Obama was president, after he guided it to recovery from the Bush recession. Trump stumbled into this expansion and immediately took credit for it. However, now that he has been at the helm for a year, the economy has rapidly cooled. It’s almost six months into 2018 and the Dow Jones is laying flat year-to date.

As for the other items that Sanders regards as “good news,” remaking the judiciary is a euphemism for packing it with ultra-conservatives who will favor corporations over people; getting rid of the ObamaCare individual mandate is already resulting in higher premiums and fewer people being covered; and Trump’s foreign policy is a perverse shift from alignment with our allies to cuddling up to totalitarian foes like Vladimir Putin and Xi Xiaoping. His biggest so-called accomplishments are a scheduled meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un (which may never happen, or produce the results he’s promised), and moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem (which has already cost more than sixty lives).

Still, Sanders insists that there’s “a good news story to tell” every day, even as reports pile up about Trump’s collusion with Russia and corruption connected to his business and personal affairs. There has never been an administration so mired in political malfeasance as the Trump Crime Family. And yet, Sanders and Hannity place all the blame on the media for doing their job. Sanders even addresses a direct challenge to CNN’s Acosta who expressed an interest in interviewing Trump:

“Just a little note to Jim. I think he should stick to going one-on-one with me because President Trump is way out of his league. And I don’t think he wants to take on that challenge cause he’s definitely not gonna win.”

First of all, Sanders has never gone one-on-one with Acosta, and she likely never will. She only encounters him in the daily briefings where she usually cuts him off without answering his questions. As for Trump being out of Acosta’s league, if that were true Trump would jump at the chance to be interviewed by someone he believes he could shred. The fact is that Trump has not had allowed an interview with anyone outside of the friendly media bunker he’s sheltered in for over a year. And he hasn’t had a solo press conference since the one he gave just after his inauguration.

Trump is quite obviously afraid to face someone who might ask questions relevant to his conduct as president. It’s Trump who’s afraid to take on the challenge of an interview with Acosta or anybody else other than bootlickers like Hannity and Jeanine Pirro and the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends. It’s the same reason that Trump is scared to sit for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller. He and his handlers are afraid – with good reason – that Trump will get himself in deeper trouble by lying. Because when it comes down to it, Sanders is right when she says that Trump is out of their league. He’s way below them in every way imaginable.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Bigger Than Watergate? Trump Whines Incoherently About Non-Existent Spies in His Campaign

Posted by on May 17, 2018 at 10:06 am. 1 Comments :

The President of the United States continues to exhibit clear signs of consciousness of guilt and a festering fear of exposure. Donald Trump’s Twitter feed would make a fascinating psychiatric study exploring acute paranoia in political leaders. And on Thursday morning he posted some more of the evidence of his growing mental instability.

Donald Trump

Trump’s latest Twitter tantrum was likely inspired by his senior strategic advisor, Sean Hannity. As the top Trump-fluffer on Fox News Hannity has already initiated a campaign to smear special prosecutor Robert Mueller with an new emphasis on this being the one year anniversary of his appointment (as if that had any relevance to anything). Hannity and Trump are so cognitively aligned that they are now – as Stephen Colbert said – finishing each other’s prison sentences. And the familiar rhetoric of “fake news” and “witch hunt” flow from both of them as if in harmony. So early Thursday morning Trump posts this tedious gripe:

So now Trump is blaming America for investigating his unsavory connections to Russia and his unlawful attempts to cover it up. And he continues to bleat out impotent declarations that there has been no collusion despite all of the evidence that is known, and even more that Mueller surely has but is not yet ready to disclose. And if that weren’t enough, Trump has also adopted the wingnut conspiracy theory that Obama planted a spy in his presidential campaign.

The “word” to which Trump is referring is a badly misinterpreted analysis by ultra-rightist Andrew McCarthy of the conservative National Review. McCarthy took a segment of testimony from Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS, who said that Christopher Steele (of the Steele Dossier fame) believed the FBI had a source within the Trump campaign. To McCarthy, and much of the Trump mediaverse, that got magnified in their imaginations as a spy scandal.

But there is a big difference between a spy and a source. There is absolutely no hint of evidence that the FBI planted an agent (i.e. spy) in the Trump campaign. But there very well might have been a Trump associate (i.e. source) who was disgusted by his activities and informed law enforcement, as any patriotic American would do.

The fact that Trump keeps posting tweets that only exacerbate the appearance of his guilt is proof that he’s consumed with fear and is frantically trying to convince his deplorable disciples that it’s all a big frame-up. That may work on his cult followers, but the rest of the country – and world – only sees a pathetic wretch who seems to know deep inside that he’s going down hard.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Trump has his surrogates fanning out across the airwaves to insist that the investigation be halted. Chief among them is his TV lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who is the best thing that ever happened in this affair – for the Democrats. The relentless demands that Mueller quit ignores the fact that that his investigation has already produced dozens of indictments and five guilty pleas. Trump and Company want it stopped because they know that his time is coming soon. And he’s right.

Giuliani Lies to Fox News: The Mueller Probe ‘Is Essentially Over, They’re Just in Denial’

Posted by on May 16, 2018 at 4:16 pm. 6 Comments :

The legal rope that Donald Trump’s defenders in the media cling to might be more accurately described as a thread. They repeatedly claim that that there is no evidence that Trump colluded with Russia and, therefore, the whole investigation should be immediately halted. That’s a fairy tale resolution that might make the Trump Team feel better, but it has no basis in reality.

Rudy Giuliani

First of all, there have already been dozens of indictments and five guilty pleas. That’s hardly the track record of an investigation that isn’t going anywhere. Additionally, whatever evidence there is incriminating Trump directly in unlawful conduct with Russian operatives is tightly held by the special counsel and won’t be revealed until Robert Mueller is ready to take it to the next level. That doesn’t mean the evidence doesn’t exist, as the Trumpoids would like to believe.

Now Trump’s TV lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is making some more of the ignorant statements that have gotten him in so much trouble in the few short weeks he’s been on the case. John Roberts of Fox News is reporting that Giuliani told him that:

“Two weeks ago the special counsel Robert Mueller assured the President’s outside legal team that he would follow DOJ guidelines that a sitting president cannot be indicted. Giuliani says that Mueller doesn’t really have any choice. That he has to follow the findings of a 1999 Clinton era DOJ memo.

“Now that’s not to say that Mueller couldn’t still find some evidence of wrongdoing that Congress could act on. But the President’s legal team doesn’t appear concerned. Giuliani telling Fox News a short time ago, “This case is essentially over. They’re just in denial.”

It’s curious that Giuliani is running to Fox News with this alleged statement by Mueller that is now two weeks old. Whatever the relevance of it, Giuliani is clearly using it now to argue that the probe ought to be shut down. And that’s what the Trump-fluffing, right-wing media is parroting with badly misinterpreted analyses that claim that if the special counsel is saying he can’t indict, that means he doesn’t have any evidence of wrongdoing.

For the record, there is Department of Justice memo that says that “The indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions.” However, that is merely a legal opinion written at the time and has never been tested in court. What’s more, while this memo may apply to Mueller’s operation, it does not apply to Grand Juries, who could still file indictments. And even Fox’s Roberts correctly noted that Mueller’s investigation could yield evidence of criminal activity that could be taken up by Congress in an impeachment proceeding.

So the giggling wingnuts who think this means the investigation of their Dear Leader is over and he’s been proven to be as pure as the snowflakes who flutter around him are just fooling themselves. They still don’t know what Mueller knows, and they have no idea where this will end. And if they are putting their faith in anything that Giuliani has told Fox News, then seriously – who’s in denial?

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

UPDATE: Now Giuliani is saying that Mueller didn’t tell him that the President can’t be indicted. He now says that an assistant to Mueller said something to that effect to another Trump lawyer, Jay Sekulow, but he’d have to check. Sounds like the story is falling apart.

Married to the Mob: Bill Maher Tells America What they Really Got with Donald Trump

Posted by on May 12, 2018 at 3:58 pm. 2 Comments :

The presidency of Donald Trump has been likened to some of the most horrible episodes of America’s past. Most frequently it is compared to Nixon’s Watergate scandal that saw the White House intimately involved in burglary, bribery, and election tampering. The lies told by members of the Nixon administration are what got most of the criminal convictions and, eventually, the resignation of the President. Sound familiar?

Bill Maher, Donald Trump

However, Bill Maher has hit on a much more accurate analogy for the Trump crime family. With particular emphasis on the “Family” part. In a segment on his “Real Time” program on HBO Friday night he painted a picture of Trump and Company as typical of the common thugs associated with the Mafia. It was an insightful – and hilarious – six and half minutes of bruising truth. He came out swinging with this depiction of the genesis of Trump (video below):

“New York City has to stop exporting its garbage to the rest of America […] The city’s most toxic trash has been carted off to Washington, D.C.” (with picture of Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, and Rudy Giuliani).

Maher goes on to describe these wondering New Yorkers as “What the heartland used to call ‘assholes.'” He wonders why the people from “real America” likes these guys now. Then he asks:

“How did the salt of the Earth people get hooked up with the salt in the wound people? […] You’re the ‘my word is my bond’ people. These guys lie just to stay in practice. You’re all about an honest day’s work. Trump watches TV until noon. You’re frugal. They spend like identity thieves who got a hold of your pin number. You’re stoic. Trump’s a whiny little bitch.”

Maher breaks it to the Trump cult that “Now you’re married to the mob. Cause that’s what this administration is: a protection racket.” Maher’s colorful comparison of the Trump Family to the Godfather was stinging in its precision. The corollaries are way to accurate to be ignored:

“Everything Trump does is modeled on the mob. When he was accused of sexual harassment, he brought in Bill Clinton’s accusers to sit in the gallery at the debate. Just like Michael Corleone brought Fat Pentangeli’s brother into court. Who does Trump surround himself with? Disposable lawyers and idiot members of his own family. Who’s his worst enemy? The FBI. Where does his money come from? He’s in construction. […] “What part of this isn’t mob-like? They’re using a front business – in this case the White House – to enrich the family.”

There’s someone else who has made the same link between Trump and the mob. Special counsel Robert Mueller has structured his investigative team much like the ones that went after prominent Mafia bosses. They are probing his relationships with unsavory characters (including Russians). They are digging into his bank records and phone calls. They have been successful in getting insiders to turn states evidence and may even have worn a wire into meetings with the Donald. Mueller’s inquiry follows the same strategies that he has actually used on crime bosses in the past.

Consequently, Trump should be worried. And judging by his frightened reaction to every new revelation, he is. All those tweets screaming little more than “Witch Hunt” and “Fake News” are the best evidence that he is fracturing from the inside out. And while it is a serious unfolding of a dreadful period in America’s history, at least we have a brilliant bit of comic relief by people like Bill Maher to help us get through it.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.