Robert Mueller

Trump’s Brand New, Fox News Lawyer May Already Have Lost His White House Job

Posted by on March 23, 2018 at 12:41 pm. 1 Comments :

The “stable genius” in the White House is becoming less stable with each passing day. And contrary to Donald Trump’s denials that there is chaos within his administration, the rampant pandemonium is impossible to ignore. This week alone he has turned over several key positions and announced new hires that are amongst the least qualified stooges populating his staff. And that’s saying something.

Donald Trump

One of those hires, Joseph DiGenova, was just announced this week as the newest member of Trump’s legal team. He is replacing John Dowd who reportedly resigned after numerous differences of opinion with Trump over legal strategy. Dowd is said to be opposed to Trump agreeing to an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller. Trump apparently thinks he’s smart enough to scam his way through. Let’s all encourage that notion.

The acquisition of DiGenova, however, is more of a media strategy than a legal one. Trump wants someone he can dispatch to the press after he does something stupid like fire Mueller (or any of a thousand other stupid things he’s prone to doing). DiGenova fits the bill for that role given his long experience as a Fox News talking heel. There’s just one problem with this new direction, as reported by CNN:

Veteran Washington attorney Joseph diGenova’s role as part of President Donald Trump’s legal team is still in question, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

DiGenova’s hiring was announced on Monday by Jay Sekulow, counsel to the President. DiGenova, along with his wife and law partner, Victoria Toensing, had a Thursday meeting with the President, the sources said. Even so, diGenova’s role, as well as that of Toensing who is also in discussions about joining the team, are in flux. One source said no one has been officially hired.

The Thursday meeting was the first time the husband-and-wife legal team met with the President since the Monday announcement. One source said that while Trump liked their message, the President is not convinced they are right for the legal jobs.

Among the problems cited with DiGenova’s hiring is that his law firm, which includes his wife and fellow Fox News contributor, Victoria Toensing, has some significant conflicts of interest. They are already representing a couple of characters in the Trump/Russia probe who have been interviewed as witnesses by the special counsel. It would be difficult for DiGenova to represent both the President and his former associates who are testifying in the Mueller inquiry. So Joe may be gone before he even starts.

If this isn’t an example of chaos in the Trump camp, then what is? He is acting out so impulsively that he and his advisors can’t even spot the most obvious road blocks to their reckless plans. He is in a state of sheer panic and has no idea which way to turn. As a result he makes idiotic decisions that only make his precarious position worse.

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

We’ll have to wait and see what happens to DiGenova and whether or not he is voted off of Trump island. And then, of course, there will be the problem of who will be selected to fill the role DiGenova bombed out of. There are still a bunch of wingnut, Trump-fluffing, Fox News “lawyers” up for grabs. Alan Dershowitz, “Judge” Jeanine Pirro, Gregg Jarrett, and Kimberly Guilfoyle are all prospects that Trump might consider. And none of them would actually serve the purpose of advancing his legal interests. But they sure could get booked on Fox News to spread his lies and propaganda.

UPDATE: It’s official, DiGenova is off the Trump train.

John Dowd’s Exit Proves That Trump Can’t Be Trusted When He Says He Won’t Fire Mueller

Posted by on March 22, 2018 at 11:29 am. 3 Comments :

The legal team representing Donald Trump took a major hit on Thursday. His lead attorney, John Dowd, has reportedly resigned. This was the part of Trump’s defense that is focused on matters related to the special counsel investigation into his campaign’s connections to Russia. So along with the chaos that is rampant in the Trump White House, his personal legal affairs are similarly falling apart.

Donald Trump Robert Mueller

What makes this news especially significant is that less than two weeks ago Trump declared that he was happy with his legal team and any reports to the contrary were fake news. Naturally, he committed to that via his Official Presidential Announcement Office, Twitter:

In what may be a personal best for Trump, he only lied four times in that tweet. First, the New York Times is not failing. It is enjoying record high subscriptions and revenue. Second, the story is obviously not false, purposely or otherwise. Third, Trump did add a new lawyer – Fox News shill, Joseph DiGenova. And fourth, he apparently wasn’t all that happy with his lawyers, hence the Dowd departure. And that unhappiness was not a recent occurrence. As reported by the Times:

“Mr. Dowd, who took over the president’s legal team last summer, had considered leaving several times in recent months and ultimately concluded that Mr. Trump was increasingly ignoring his advice.”

What this tells us is that Trump cannot be trusted when he says that everything is hunky dory and there is no reason to suspect that there will be any changes in his administration. In fact, a Trump claim that someone on his staff has his complete confidence and isn’t going anywhere is the best indicator that he is about to be canned. Just ask former Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson. If they are smart, Jeff Sessions, H.R. McMaster and John Kelly better have their bags packed.

By the same token, special counsel Robert Mueller should be keenly aware that Trump is aiming for his hide. Never mind the implausible statements from the White House that firing Mueller “is not being considered.” Of course it is. It is very likely the most prominent subject consuming Trump’s limited brain capacity. And as noted above, claims by Trump that somebody’s job is safe are merely precursors to their eventual and humiliating termination.

Democrats in Congress have been trying to pass legislation that will protect Mueller from Trump’s seething wrath. Acting on behalf of the majority of Americans, they have introduced bills that would either require such a termination to be affirmed by a panel of independent judges, or otherwise allow the special counsel to appeal the firing. Republicans have been forthrightly opposing these efforts. Their excuse is always that there is no risk of Mueller being fired because the President says so. But it’s clear that Trump’s word is worthless. And beyond these political concerns, there is the likelihood that firing Mueller would set off a constitutional crisis leading to impeachment.

The changes in Trump’s legal representation are just the latest example of his doing the opposite of what he said he would do. Almost everyone he has fired to date was forewarned by a “heartfelt” affirmation of confidence. Consequently, the GOP ought not to be calmed by Trump’s denials that he might fire Mueller. Quite the opposite, they should recognize that it’s at the top of his agenda. And the protective legislation that Democrats have offered should be passed as quickly as possible. Anything else would be a demonstration of willful ignorance and neglect of their civic duty.

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

Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst, Judge Napolitano, Calls McCabe Firing ‘Obstruction of Justice’

Posted by on March 19, 2018 at 12:49 pm. 2 Comments :

The President of the United States is trying his best to help his accusers make a case against him. Donald Trump’s relentless tweeting demonstrates what lawyers call “consciousness of guilt.” On Monday morning he posted a message that said nothing more than “A total WITCH HUNT with massive conflicts of interest!” These hollow cries for absolution do nothing to exonerate him, but rather they portray him as pathetic and desperate.

Fox News Judge Napolitano

Now Trump is even losing some his most reliable defenders. While most of Fox News continues to place themselves as human shields to deflect any criticisms, a couple of stragglers have wondered off the track. One of those is Judge Andrew Napolitano, senior judicial analyst for Fox News. He appeared on two Fox broadcasts Monday making remarks that will surely infuriate Trump, if his daycare nurses allow him to see it. The most damning commentary came during an interview with perplexed host Bill Hemmer. They were discussing the firing of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe when Napolitano said this (video below):

“Andrew McCabe is more likely than not to be a witness against the Attorney General’s boss, the President of the United States. I think that firing him in that environment could very well be interpreted as an effort to diminish his effectiveness as a witness. What’s that called? Obstruction of justice.”

Indeed. And obstruction is one of the key facets of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Elsewhere on State TV (aka Fox News) Trump’s sycophants have been fiercely insisting that Trump is innocent of every allegation against him, and that Mueller is a corrupt partisan who is part of the conspiracy to drive Trump from office. So this assessment by Fox’s top legal contributor is a significant departure from their propaganda doctrine.

Also, on the Fox Business Network, Maria Bartiromo assembled a panel of Trump fluffers to defend the firing of McCabe, whom they slandered as a liar. Bartiromo’s introduction falsely stated that McCabe was found to have lied by the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). In fact, since the report has not been made public yet, all that is known is that Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that McCabe “lacked candor.” There is a reason that Sessions used those weasel words rather than asserting as fact that McCabe had lied. Most likely the OPR’s report didn’t find McCabe to be untruthful. And When Napolitano got a chance to speak he pulled the rug out from under Bartiromo and her pro-Trump panel:

“I have to tell you though, terminating someone a day before their pension kicks in – after twenty-on years of service, the number two person in the FBI – strikes me as spiteful and politically reckless. And it’s reckless because this person, McCabe is about to testify against Jeff Sessions’ boss, the President of the United States. Why would you fire him in this environment?”

To which Bartiromo replied:

“Don’t you think that people started getting upset when they heard that he was set to get a million dollars in his pension … because of some of the broad outcry from the public saying ‘Why is he, after what he just did…'”

“Broad outcry?” What “public” is she referring to? I doubt most Americans – even Fox News viewers – were aware of or upset about anything relating to McCabe’s pension. She is desperately grasping at imaginary straws. And neither Bartiromo nor her panel had any response to Napolitano’s characterization of McCabe’s firing as spiteful and reckless.

The fact that Napolitano is making the rounds at Fox to reinforce the absurdity and vindictiveness of Sessions and Trump should cause the President’s tiny heart to tremor. But he will likely only pay attention to his loyal supporters at Fox and Friends and his pal Sean Hannity. He did, in fact, tweet a promo for Hannity’s guest spot on Fox and Friends Monday morning calling it “great” before it even aired. Somehow he knew what to expect. And his obviously guilty behavior suggests that he also knows what to expect from Mueller, McCabe, James Comey, Michael Flynn, etc., when the special counsel investigation is complete.

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

Saturday Tweetstorm: Is Donald Trump TRYING to Get Himself Impeached?

Posted by on March 17, 2018 at 3:19 pm. 1 Comments :

When the President’s schedule was released for this weekend there was nothing on it. He wasn’t going to Mar-A-Lago, or a campaign rally in coal country, or to visit a bunch of wall prototypes in the California desert. He wasn’t occupied with Little Rocket Man or Russia’s assassinations in the U.K. And having just fired his Secretary of State, he is probably gonna avoid further dismantling his cabinet for a few days so he doesn’t appear to be unstable (too late). But this abundance of leisure time for Donald Trump is never a good sign. Idle tiny hands are the Devil’s plaything.

McCabe and Mr. Mueller

As expected, Trump filled the empty morning hours on Saturday with adventures on Twitter. Even after a year it is surprising and disturbing that the leader of the free world can occupy himself so frequently with mini-tantrums on social media. But there he was in the White House residence tweeting away. And the subject that was dominating his infantile thoughts was, as usual, himself.

Trump was clearly obsessed with the reaction to the firing of Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. Never mind that he likely directed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to execute the petty and vindictive termination. The timing was obviously intended to deprive a twenty-year veteran of law enforcement of his rightfully earned pension. But the larger purpose was to discredit McCabe as a witness against Trump in the still unfolding legal melodrama. Unfortunately for Trump, though, his tweets only serve to exacerbate his guilt. For instance:

In this missive Trump is proving that the firing of McCabe was tied directly to the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. A major target of that probe is obstruction of justice partly demonstrated by Trump firing FBI Director James Comey. And if Trump thinks he’s making points by referencing “the hard working men and women of the FBI,” then he’s apparently unaware that those worker greatly admire and support Comey and McCabe, and resent they way they’ve been treated. Which leads us to this:

Once again Trump is connecting recent events to the Mueller inquiry. However, he falsely asserts that the House Intelligence Committee cleared him when it is only the bitterly partisan Republican members who signed onto the committee’s disinformation report. And Trump’s accusations against the FBI don’t do anything to help his legal cause. Nor does the last of his morning tweets:

Trump’s moaning about “fake news” is just becoming tedious and a satire of itself. All he’s doing is reminding everyone that the press is reporting what is actually happening and that Trump hates it when they do that. And in this tweet he unwisely asks the questions “How many lies? How many leaks?” Which most people are already asking, but about Trump. But the best part is where Trump notes that “Comey knew it all, and much more!” Indeed he does. And he’s anxious to share what he knows with the American people.

Trump, on the other hand, is desperate to keep Americans from learning about what he has done, and is doing. That’s why his attorney is calling for an abrupt end to the Mueller investigation. It’s why his other attorney is trying to gag Stormy Daniels. At every turn Trump is focused on keeping his affairs (both sexual and political) secret. That’s what legal professionals call “consciousness of guilt.” And it’s what Trump displays with each new tweet he posts. It’s almost as if he has a legal death wish. He must hate the White House so much that he’s doing everything he can to get out of it. If only he knew how much we would all like to help him do that.

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

LATE BREAKING: Trump posted another guilt-dripping tweet Saturday afternoon:

No matter how many times he says there was no collusion, it doesn’t make it true. There is abundant evidence of collusion and he knows it. That’s why he keeps telling the same already debunked lies. Like that the Steele dossier (of which much was verified) was the basis for the special counsel investigation (it wasn’t). Or that the FISA court was mislead (they weren’t). And if this is a witch hunt, they have already nailed nineteen witches (indictments) with five pleading guilty. And they’ve only just begun.

Fox News Laughably Mangles Report on Mueller’s Subpoena for Russia Docs From Trump Org

Posted by on March 15, 2018 at 2:27 pm. 3 Comments :

There was breaking news on Thursday about the investigation into Donald Trump’s unsavory connections to Russia. Special counsel Robert Mueller issued a new subpoena to the Trump Organization for all documents related to its dealings with Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. It’s a significant development that indicates that the investigation is continuing to expand and has the President squarely in its sights.

Robert Mueller Trump

So it will surprise nobody that Fox News found a way to report this news that is both trivializing and confusing. In fact, they made it sound like good news for Trump. The mission of Fox News, of course, is to act as a shield for Trump and his Republican backers by defending him, and maligning his critics, at all costs. To that end Fox News host Dana Perino broke into her program with a Fox News Alert to rapidly misinform their viewers before any morsels of the truth could get out. She interviewed reporter Catherine Herridge on the Mueller subpoena (video below):

Perino: The New York Times is reporting that special counsel Robert Mueller has subpoenaed the Trump Organization for documents related to Russia. Chief intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge is on Capitol Hill. Catherine, this news just broke right before the hour started.
Herridge: That’s right Dana. I’ve been making some phone calls and I spoke with one of the President’s personal attorneys who confirmed to me that the Trump Organization has been working closely and cooperatively with the office of the special counsel Robert Mueller. And at this time he was unaware that a subpoena had been issued, but he was going to check further. The key thing he said was the driving force, or the objective of the subpoena, whether it was in fact going down a new line of inquiry, or whether this was what they call a “wrap up subpoena” or a “clean up subpoena,” which is when you request records as you’re getting close to the end the of the investigation and you’re trying to tie up some loose ends.

First of all, it’s notable that Herridge only called Trump’s personal attorney to confirm this report, rather than someone at the Justice Department who would have knowledge of the subpoenas they issue. It’s also notable that Herridge didn’t identify the attorney she spoke with. Were these remarks off the record or anonymous?

More to the point, the introduction of the terms “wrap/clean up subpoena” muddies up the reporting. A quick Google of the terms found few results that weren’t referencing this Fox News segment. In fact, it’s a rather pointless distinction because all subpoenas are intended to secure information that’s relevant to the investigation and could lead to new paths of inquiry. But this spin by Fox News is intended to imply that the investigation is nearing completion and that nothing incriminating has been found. But they weren’t through trying to further deflect from the Trump/Russia connection:

Perino: So it might not signal a new aggressive approach by the special counselor?
Herridge: Well what we know through our own independent reporting is that the special counsel has been looking at the issue of the United Arab Emirates, and whether there was any financial input into the campaign by the United Arab Emirates, or whether there was a promise of better treatment after the election because of their support of then-candidate Trump.

Technically, that’s true. The UAE, along with other areas of financial misdeeds, is under investigation. But that has nothing to do with this new subpoena that specifically seeks documents from Trump related to Russia. This is an obvious dodge to create confusion and pretend that Russia isn’t the focus of this investigation. And the segment ended with a virtual admission that their furious spinning was probably all made up:

Perino: I’ve never heard of clean up subpoenas. I’m glad I had you on.
Herridge: I know. I learned of them recently too. That’s the kind of subpoena you want, apparently.
Perino: I used to work at the Justice Department. Someone was holding out on me.

See? It’s all very innocent. There’s nothing to worry about here. And the fact that these two experienced media professionals never heard of the type of subpoena that they just introduced on the air shouldn’t raise any suspicions. According to Fox News Mueller’s new subpoenas are not only uncontroversial, they are “the kind of subpoena you want.” It’s actually good news for Trump. And Fox News is the only place you’re gonna get that kind of twisted analysis.

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

Could Trump’s Persistent Attacks Drive Jeff Sessions Right Into Robert Mueller’s Arms?

Posted by on March 3, 2018 at 12:52 pm. 2 Comments :

Let’s be clear from the outset, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is a repugnant, racist individual who should never have a role in public service. He rose from the Klan-infested South where he fit right in with the bigots of Alabama. He was rejected by the Senate for a federal judgeship due to reports of his prejudice and use of the “N” word. He was the first senator to endorse Donald Trump for president. During the campaign he he met twice with Russians and lied about it to congress. It’s a resume that ought to disqualify him from any position of respect or power.

Donald Trump Jeff Sessions

That said, Sessions is in a unique position. In one of his first appointments, Trump made him the Attorney General of the United States. But ever since then the President has lambasted him in an embarrassingly public way. The insults have flown from Twitter, as well as deliberate leaks from within the White House’s inner circle. Most recently Trump has been referring to Sessions as the blind and bumbling cartoon character, Mr. Magoo. But that’s just the latest humiliation that Sessions has had to suffer. Some of Trump’s attacks on Twitter include:

In addition to these, Trump’s state-run TV division (aka Fox News) has predictably adopted his animosity toward Sessions and piled on with fierce denunciations. Anchors like Sean Hannity and Lou Dobbs have called for the Attorney General to resign or be fired. They regard his recusal from the special counsel’s investigation as treason. Consequently, Fox News and right-wing Republicans are demanding that Sessions appoint a second special counsel to look into bogus claims of FISA abuses and FBI violations of law.

There has to be a point at which a normal human being will cease to take such constant and demeaning abuse. The question is whether Sessions has reached that point already.

It’s notable that, despite Trump’s persecution, Sessions has failed to bend to his will, at least with regard to Robert Mueller. In fact, Sessions has taken several opportunities to support Mueller and the Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein. The pressure from the White House and the pro-Trump media has been intense, but Sessions has not been moved. To the contrary, it was just announced that the FBI has begun an investigation into Ivanka Trump’s business deals.

The legal action against the President’s daughter cannot be dismissed as routine. Particularly from an administration that has been so criminally partisan. Along with Sessions’ firm support for the special counsel and refusal to resign under pressure, there is reason to believe that he may have some form revenge in mind. He has been in politics a long time and may be tougher than he looks.

If Sessions retains any semblance of humanity he may be building up some resentment and smoldering rage. He might want to show Trump that he won’t tolerate such abuse. And if that’s true it would be disastrous for Trump. Sessions has the whole weight of the Justice Department to throw around. That includes the FBI and some oversight (handled discreetly) of the special counsel. He could even switch sides and start spilling what he knows about Trump to Mueller’s team. And with all of the potential legal vulnerabilities hovering over Trump’s head there’s plenty of fuel to burn the Trump Crime Family to a crisp. In other words, Trump better watch his step or he’ll piss off the one person in his administration that can do him the most harm.

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

To be sure, there is a lot speculation in this theory. Sessions’ reprehensible past and demonstrated loyalty might make him reluctant to move against his boss. But his ego and aspirations for a halfway decent legacy might take precedence. Especially if he sees Trump’s downfall as inevitable and doesn’t want to go down with the ship.

UPDATE: The Washington Post is reporting that there is “Pure Madness” and “Dark days inside the White House.” And this excerpt is particularly relevant:

“Aides tell WaPo ‘Trump seethed with anger’ over the photo of Sessions at dinner with Rosenstein and the Solicitor General. The next morning, Trump was still raging about the photo, venting to friends and allies it was an intentional show of disloyalty.”

YEAH, RIGHT! Cowardly Trump Says He Would Run Into Parkland School ‘Even if I Didn’t Have a Weapon’

Posted by on February 26, 2018 at 2:01 pm. 7 Comments :

Some things just don’t need any commentary. And this statement by Donald Trump is one of them. While castigating the Parkland deputy who failed to enter Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when it was under attack by a man with an assault weapon, Trump unleashed this Olympic-grade stupidity:

TRUMP: “I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon.”


Okay, I can’t help myself: Who the f*ck does he think he’s kidding? By “there” Trump must mean the ice cream freezer at Mar-a-Lago. Because Cadet Bonespurs would run (or waddle) away from any hint of danger. He got FIVE draft deferments during the Vietnam War. He has never shown the slightest tendency to do anything on behalf of anyone other than himself, even when there was no danger involved. The only thing I can see Trump running into a high school for would be to sexually assault the young girls.

By the way, If Trump did run unarmed into the scene of an active shooter with an AR-15, it wouldn’t have helped anyone. Unless you count the nation that would have been rid of a treasonous president. This statement underscores the idiocy of Trump’s proposal to arm teachers. The only thing that would accomplish is that the teachers would be the first fatalities.

Trump’s laughably lame macho bluster is just sickening. Does he really think anyone with a functioning brain believes this bullshit? He has been recorded on video scurrying away from peaceful protesters at his rallies. He stands in front of adoring crowds in auditoriums yammering about how he would like to punch a protester (who is a hundred yards away and surrounded by security) in the mouth. He is a cartoon parody of a bully who is, in fact, a shivering coward. And his big mouth is the only weapon he will ever fire, and even that is shooting blanks.

If Trump wants to prove his manhood by running into a school under siege by a mass murderer, he has my complete support and encouragement. Hell, he has my support to run into a gang of colicky two-year olds, where he would fit right in. Trump is too afraid to hold a press conference with the “fake” news (it’s been over a year). And he’s mortified at the thought of sitting across the table from special counsel Robert Mueller. He’s a weak, sniveling, spineless, worm, and his ludicrous claim that he would run into a firefight is just more proof that he’s mentally deranged.

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

Perjury Trap? Despite ‘One of the Best Memories in the World’ Trump Fears Mueller Interview

Posted by on February 26, 2018 at 12:18 pm. 6 Comments :

The investigation into Donald Trump’s unsavory connections to Russia continues to expose new vulnerabilities for the President and his associates. Special counsel Robert Mueller and his team just issued a new set of indictments for Trump campaign honchos Paul Manafort and Rick Gates. And as the probe proceeds, the noose around Trump’s neck gets tighter.

Donald Trump Lies

Consequently, Trump’s lawyers are taking up defensive positions to avoid any further erosion of his flimsy claims of innocence. The peak events in these sort of investigations are the interviews with the primary targets. Trump, of course, is the Godfather of this crime family, and his testimony is highly anticipated. But that doesn’t mean it will necessarily come to pass. His team of attorneys are furiously fighting to assure that he either does not testify, or the that the inquiry is so limited as to be a farce.

The argument being made by Team Trump is that it might constitute a “perjury trap” if Trump is required to answer “detailed questions involving dates and times.” Unlike any other witness in a criminal investigation, Trump thinks he should be allowed to respond with vagaries and approximations. That would be like a bank robber offering the alibi that “I was probably out of town sometime during that month.” It’s been reported that Trump’s…

“…lawyers’ considerations included whether Mueller’s questions would be limited in scope and whether they avoid testing Trump’s memory such that they would effectively constitute a potential perjury trap.”

A perjury trap is a real thing that prosecutors employ, sometimes unfairly, to back uncooperative witnesses into a corner. But there is an easy and infallible way to avoid a perjury trap: Tell the truth. Unfortunately for Trump, that may not as easy as it sounds. He is a well known pathological liar who cannot suppress his compulsion for telling obvious falsehoods. This is something that even his attorneys have worried about. The New York Times reported that…

“His lawyers are concerned that the president, who has a history of making false statements and contradicting himself, could be charged with lying to investigators.”

You might wonder why these lawyers would have such concerns. After all, Trump himself has said that he has “one of the best memories in the world.” So how could he get anything wrong during an interview that’s this important? Perhaps they also heard him say that he doesn’t recall having said that (This is why satire is dead). Or maybe they are planning an insanity defense. They might argue that the president of the United States is suffering from a form of Anti-Truth Tourettes Syndrome that causes him to involuntarily blurt out lies at any random moment. That would not only serve as a potential legal defense, but it would explain the last two years of utter bullshit spewing from Trump’s deceitful mouth.

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

Moscow is Laughing: Trump’s Sunday Morning Tweetstorm is More Unhinged than Usual

Posted by on February 18, 2018 at 1:31 pm. 6 Comments :

It’s panic time at the White House. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictments against Russians for election tampering are bringing the culpability of Donald Trump ever closer to the surface. And the best confirmation of that is the ferocity of Trump’s frantic and implausible denials. He is behaving like a cornered rat that is consumed with fear.

Donald Trump

Consequently, he is resorting to his standard means of projecting his fear outward. Secure in his Twitter safe space, Trump is lashing out at phantom foes and perceived enemies with ludicrous accusations, insults, and shaky justifications. His Sunday morning tweetstorm was bursting with madness and paranoia. It’s astonishing that someone hasn’t told him how guilty this hysteria makes him look. And it’s a symptom of his sickness that he thinks any of this helps. Let’s delve deeper into the diseased mind of Trump:

Trump has accidentally conceded something that is surely true. They are laughing their asses off in Moscow. But it isn’t because of committee hearings and investigations. It’s because of how successful they were in putting their puppet at the helm of the American government. And they probably also think it’s pretty funny that he has proven to be so incompetent at governing. And the fact that Trump is advancing the agenda of Vladimir Putin and defending him against fellow Americans who see through these crimes is worth a guffaw or two in the Kremlin.

And then there’s this:

Trump’s desperation is showing in that it’s no longer enough to just attach childish nicknames (“Liddle”) to his opponents. He is now elongating them with ridiculous descriptions (“leakin’ monster of no control”). Sounds a little like Trump is accusing Rep. Adam Schiff of having a gastrointestinal problem. More to the point, Trump is actually admitting now that there was Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Although he is misdirecting the blame to his favorite black nemesis, Barack Obama. However, Trump is lying about what Schiff said. The Democratic congressman was talking about a missed opportunity to deal with hacking after an incident in 2014 with Sony Pictures. It was a call for more transparency that Schiff believed might have been a deterrent to the Russians who came along later.

But Trump wasn’t through yet:

This is just patently false. There is no poll by McLaughlin that puts Republicans ahead of Democrats in a generic congressional ballot. In fact, Democrats lead the GOP in almost every match-up on this. If Trump isn’t consumed with fear, then why is he lying?

Finally:

Trump really thinks the American people are stupid. And with regard to his followers, I can’t argue with that. He has been saying for months that the whole Russia investigation was a hoax, not just the the matter of collusion (which is also not a hoax). He actually told reporters that he had asked Putin about the meddling and that Putin denied it. And Trump insisted that he was satisfied with Putin’s word, saying “Every time he sees me, he says, ‘I didn’t do that,’ and I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it.” How thoughtful. Trump believes his friend Vladimir, but not the American intelligence professionals who work for him. And if you need more evidence of Trump dismissing Russian election tampering, just listen to Trump himself:

Update: Later on Sunday Trump (who doesn’t have time to watch TV) saw Oprah Winfrey on 60 Minutes interviewing voters in Michigan. And, having no presidential work to do, he posted a new tweet attacking her:

WOW! Trump thinks Oprah is insecure? Mr. Small Hands, Big Buttons? The same Trump who constantly insults enemies with childish nicknames; who needs to brag incessantly about his imaginary awesomeness; who lies with every breath; who is obsessed with former political foes and past failures; who is clearly scared and panicked about his legal future? That Trump thinks Oprah is insecure?

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

Trump’s Dep. Press Secretary: Democrats and the Media Have Created More Chaos than Russia

Posted by on February 17, 2018 at 3:24 pm. 3 Comments :

The propaganda push to clear Donald Trump of all responsibility for the Russian interference in the 2016 election is in full force. The chair of the Republican National Committee has blamed it all on President Obama. Fox News is trivializing it as Rocky and Bullwinkle stuff. And now the White House Deputy Press Secretary, Hogan Gidley, is making statements that baselessly allege crimes by Democrats that are worse than what the Russians are alleged to have done.

Fox News Gidley

On Saturday morning’s episode of Fox and Friends (where else), Gidley was stroked – I mean interviewed – by the “Curvy Couch” potatoes in a segment that addressed the indictments against Russia by special counsel Robert Mueller. Gidley’s remarks were so offensive and dishonest that I’ll just leave them here with little commentary (video below):

“First of all we have to understand, this began in 2014 under then-President Barack Obama’s nose. He didn’t do a thing about it. Long before Donald Trump announced for president this was going on. Also it points out clearly that in this process there was no collusion, as you just pointed out. The President said it multiple times. This makes it clear and concise for the American people and proves the President correct. No collusion between Donald Trump, his campaign, and Russia. And also, I think this is important too. It did not affect the outcome of the election whatsoever.”

First of all, what we really have to understand, is that the fact that Russia began interfering in American elections in 2014 does not vindicate Trump. It actually makes it worse that he and his associates had anything to do with foreign operatives who were already engaged in espionage against the United States. And the Mueller indictments do not in any way say that there was no collusion or that the outcome of the election was not affected. They simply say that these particular indictments are not alleging that. Which leaves the door wide open for such allegations in future indictments.

But if Gidley wants to assert that Mueller is proving Trump correct, that’s fine. It makes it that much harder for them to later say that Mueller is biased and try to fire him. However, Gidley had not yet reached the most disgusting part of his interview. He continued:

“What the Russians were trying to do, as outlined by Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein, was create chaos in the American election system. And I’ll just say this: There are two groups that created chaos more than the Russians. That’s the Democrats and the mainstream media who continued to push this lie on the American people for more than a year. And, quite frankly, America should be outraged by that.”

Really? So Gidley is now contending that Democrats and the American media are more guilty of election tampering and fraud than the Russians who have just been indicted by a Grand Jury? He is essentially accusing Democrats and journalists of being a bigger enemy than Russia, and of criminality on a scale that exceeds actual spies from a hostile foreign nation. And the twerps on Fox and Friends just sat there and nodded in agreement. The whole bunch of them are so determined to exonerate their beloved Orange Messiah that they are willing to make scurrilous accusations of treason. It’s an attack on both democracy and the free press. And it’s another new low for the Trump White House.

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