Nancy Pelosi

Trump Keeps Whining About Impeachment, So Why Doesn’t He Offer a Defense?

Posted by on November 21, 2019 at 12:29 pm. 5 Comments :

One of Donald Trump’s most frequently articulated complaints is that the impeachment hearings are being conducted in a manner that is unfair to him. He grumbles daily (hourly) about due process and wonders why his attorney isn’t allowed to cross-examine the witnesses. Nevermind that everyone knows that “defendants” are not permitted legal representation during an investigation. That right kicks in at trial.

Donald Trump, Impeach

Apparently Trump believes that police detectives must drag the suspect’s lawyer around with them when they conduct interviews. He has surely been told that that isn’t true, but he clings to this absurdity anyway. He also must know that Congress is in an investigatory phase of impeachment. His perspective is already being presented by the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee. But if he is concerned that fact witnesses who support his positions aren’t being heard, it’s only because he has refused to allow them to testify. What’s more, there is nothing preventing him from testifying himself. He often says that he is his own best spokesman. However, on this matter he is clearly afraid to speak on his own behalf under oath.

Consequently, Trump resorts to his favored mode of communication: his Twitter machine. On Thursday morning he pounded out seventeen (17!) tweets mostly obsessing about impeachment and the raw deal he thinks he’s been dealt. And the one thing they all have in common is that they completely avoid any substantive defense for his actions. Not a single time does he provide any exculpatory evidence or even an argument that contains some rational account of his innocence.

For the most part, Trump’s tweets focus on attacking either the press or his perceived enemies in Congress. Chief among his targets is Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who Trump, in his infantile way, likes to call Adam “Schitt.” But more to the point, his rage-tweeting included this lament that his fantasies aren’t aligned with the real world:

Anyone paying attention has heard Trump’s tiresome and repetitive declarations that his phone calls with Ukrainian President Zelensky were “perfect,” whatever that means. However, the “transcripts” (actually summary memos) explicitly reveal that Trump did link U.S. military aid to Ukraine digging up dirt on Joe Biden (aka quid pro quo/bribery/extortion). And Trump’s hostility and fear of Schiff was just getting warmed up:

It’s important to note that Trump never details what he thinks makes Schiff corrupt. It’s simply an ad hominem attack intended to rile up his base and salve his tender ego. That’s why he lashes out with blanket insults that malign anyone who dares to criticize him as “human scum.” And yet, somehow he he still has the audacity to contend that he’s “winning big” which, were it true, you would expect him to stop crying over it so much. When has an actual winner ever been so obsessed with all the evidence of him being a loser? But Trump’s angst-ridden anxiety was still just getting started. He still needed to parrot something utterly false that he had just seen on Fox News:

First of all, the man who has been documented as having told more than 13,000 lies ought not to be maligning the honesty of anyone else. Particularly when he can’t cite a single falsehood. Furthermore, the comments Trump quoted from Fox News are easily debunked. The Committee rules are public information. There is nothing in them that gives Schiff the power “unilaterally to release edited transcripts.” All transcripts are reviewed for accuracy by both parties and even the witnesses.

As for the Committee jurisdiction, that is entirely the purview of the majority Democrats and the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, who also scares the bejesus out of Trump. For the record, Schiff’s committee has been designated as one of several investigating committees. Eventually, the Judiciary Committee will preside over impeachment, if there is one.

The fact that Trump communicates so frequently, and with such vigor, however never bothers to offer a substantive defense, is indicative of one thing: He has no defense. That is affirmed by the questioning by Republicans during the impeachment hearings wherein they completely avoid substance in favor of innuendo, conspiracy theories, and baseless, tabloid-style accusations. If Trump had a coherent defense he would use it. And he would allow those he claims are his supporters to present their case before the committee. That’s the big question. Why would an innocent man prohibit the testimony of those he says would exonerate him? Hmmm?

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

Terrified Trump Lies and Lashes Out at Nancy Pelosi, Calling Her ‘Grossly Incompetent’

Posted by on November 19, 2019 at 1:40 pm. 3 Comments :

The impeachment hearings continue on Capitol Hill with the testimony of Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman and others from the administration. Their depositions already reveal incriminating evidence against Donald Trump and his efforts to extort Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. That isn’t expected to change during the live testimony, although Republicans will surely try to assassinate their characters and change the subject.

Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi

As for Trump, he began the morning with his customary hostility toward Democrats and the legal and proper process that is underway. It is the duty of Congress to ascertain the facts about an unlawful bribery conspiracy intended to benefit Trump’s reelection prospects. And since the facts are all aligned against him, he is wholly consumed with defaming his perceived foes, Democrats and the press. That objective was neatly summarized in his remarks during a White House press avail wherein he unleashed a tirade that was completely devoid of any substantive defense of his actions. It was pure venom and wrath (video below). He began…:

“The woman [Nancy Pelosi] is grossly incompetent. All she wants to do is focus on impeachment, which is just a little pipe dream she’s got. And she can keep playing that game.”

Naturally the first inclination of Trump is to throw insults at his enemies. And of course they are completely lacking in any factual basis. Trump is well known for spewing whatever vile nonsense comes into his hollow head at any given moment, so his attack on Pelosi as “grossly incompetent” is just an empty slur. In fact, he had a very different opinion of her when Democrats won control of the House in 2018:

However, Trump was far from finished with his morning malice. He continued by introducing an imaginary scenario that he pulled straight from his asinine fantasies of how he thinks the world should be:

“I’ve been told – who knows if this is so, but I think it’s so. I have pretty good authority on it – that she’s using USMCA (United States, Mexico, and Canada Trade Agreement) because she doesn’t have the impeachment votes, so she’s using USMCA to get the impeachment vote. And it doesn’t matter because right now you have a kangaroo court headed by little shifty Schiff, where we don’t have lawyers, we don’t have witnesses, we don’t have anything.”

To be clear, Trump was told this by the voices in his head. There is absolutely no evidence of Pelosi associating the USMCA with the impeachment vote. What’s more, it’s already been established that she has the votes of a significant majority of Democrats for impeachment. But Trump couldn’t help himself and had to pound out another insult aimed at House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff. Trump has previously displayed his rank childishness by insulting the Chairman as Adam “Schitt.”

And still Trump wasn’t through. His whining about not having his lawyers or witnesses at the hearing could be resolved by him agreeing to testify. He tweeted that he would consider that, but anyone holding their breath waiting for it to happen better have a soft place to fall when they pass out. Also, not having Rudy Giuliani there can only be seen as a positive.

Finally, Trump exhibited the depth of his delusion by claiming that “The Republicans are absolutely killing it” at the hearing. He apparently hasn’t heard any of the incriminating testimony. Then he rattled off his routing ranting about the whole thing being a hoax and how the Founders, who deliberately wrote impeachment into the Constitution, would have nevertheless opposed it. And he has the bizarre impression that he’s a beloved leader who is doing well in the polls. Perhaps so, if he thinks that having a majority of Americans favor his impeachment and removal from office is “doing well.” In his diseased mind the Democrats are are simply out to get him, but…

“It’s had the opposite effect, because you’ve seen the polls and I’m the highest I’ve ever been in the polls. You don’t hear that on television because the news and the Democrats are one and the same.”

The reason you don’t hear that Trump is high in the polls is because it isn’t true. But that’s just another of the fallacies that Trump is disseminating. On Monday he tweeted with shock that Nancy Pelosi said “It is dangerous to let the voters decide Trump’s fate.” Which would be shocking if she actually said that. In reality, Pelosi only said that not conducting the impeachment inquiry would be dangerous “because the President is jeopardizing the integrity of the 2020 elections.” That’s very, very different, and true. Trump’s “quote” actually came, not from Pelosi, but from Mike Emanuel of Fox News. Is anyone surprised?

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

Pyro Maniac: Trump’s Impeachment is Burning Down His Republican Support Firewall

Posted by on November 1, 2019 at 1:19 pm. 2 Comments :

On Thursday Democrats in the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, voted to formalize Donald Trump’s impeachment inquiry with rules providing for open hearings and bipartisan participation. It was everything that Trump and his Republican Nationalist Party were asking for, but still they complained and voted against it en masse. The official White House response was a pitiful heap of petulance and trash-talking points.

Flaming Trump

Nevertheless, the process has been advanced to a new phase where evidence and witness testimony that is certain to further incriminate the President will be made public. That will have a profound effect on Trump’s deteriorating mental state, which is already descending into the Mariana Trench of desperation. His attacks on any and all perceived foes will escalate in both volume and absurdity.

Likewise, voters will continue to be appalled by the abject criminality of their so-called president. There is already a majority of Americans who favor impeaching Trump and removing him from office. Even Trump’s favorite, ultra-biased pollster, Rasmussen, is showing him near his lows for the year. But what must be especially worrisome for Trump and his minions is the crumbling support from within his own camp. According to a new poll:

“Trump’s job approval rating is stable and low, at 38% in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, with one notable result: a career low in approval among Republicans, 74%, down steeply from a career-high 87% in July.”

That’s right. Trump’s approval among Republicans is raging inferno of failure as the walls of impeachment fall in all around him. Which might be why he hasn’t mentioned once the disastrous wildfires in California. He doesn’t want to be reminded of things burning down.

The general public’s negative view in this poll is consistent with other surveys showing majorities favoring impeachment. But this poll also notes that 18% of the pro-impeachment vote is coming from the GOP. That’s a devastating blow to Trump’s frantic reliance on the home teamers to prop him up during troubled times. One of Trump’s most frequent displays of neediness manifests on Twitter as boasting about the GOP’s glassy-eyed adoration of Dear Leader. For instance, he’s tweeted some variation of the following seventeen times this year:

It’s difficult to verify whether or not that’s actually a record because Trump didn’t once include a link or reference to wherever he got that figure in any of his tweets. Also, it seems to waver between 93% and 95% apparently depending on how much he wants to lie on that particular day. But now we have a documented source that puts Trump’s approval among Republicans at a much lower 74%, and it was never higher than 87%. Therefore, we can probably expect Trump to post a new tweet congratulating himself on reaching a phenomenally high (and laughably fake) 98% of GOP support.

Because Trump’s defenders are always asking what he could possibly be impeached for, here are just a few of the likely charges: extortion, campaign finance violations, witness intimidation, obstruction of justice, evidence tampering, breaching the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, and conspiracy against the United States. Of course, many StormTrumpers will never hear these charges because they rely entirely on Fox News for disinformation. But then Fox is having problems of their own sustaining support.

The House is almost certainly going to pass Articles of Impeachment against Trump before the end of the year. One of the key factors in how GOP senators will rule on those indictments is the how their voters are lining up. Currently the Republican members are only privately concerned about the guilt of their president. But that concern will become more actionable as Republican voters drift farther from Trump.

When GOP senators are sufficiently afraid that Trump is hurting their reelection prospects, expect them to flip on the Offender-in-Chief and vote to boot him from the White House, or pressure him to resign, as they did with Richard Nixon. Either way, the next couple of months are definitely gonna be popcorn worthy.

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

Trump’s Impotent Response to Impeachment Vote is Flagrantly Delusional and Dishonest

Posted by on October 31, 2019 at 11:47 am. 3 Comments :

On Thursday morning the House of Representatives did what Donald Trump and his Republican Nationalist Party has been asking for. They voted to proceed with the impeachment inquiry in an open, accessible manner that permits the GOP to review all documents and transcripts, issue subpoenas, and cross-examine witnesses. So naturally Trump and Republicans are still whining.

Donald Trump, Impeach

The spectacle of a president whining like a petulant child seems unthinkable, but for Trump it is business as usual. During his campaign he actually bragged that he is “the most fabulous whiner.” And he has spent his presidency proving it. Now, with the walls closing in around him, Trump is lashing out incoherently in a panicked effort to escape accountability for his treasonous misconduct. In an official statement from the White House, Trump laid out an impotent case for his acquittal. Let’s take a closer look at the full statement with some explanatory annotations:

“The President has done nothing wrong, and the Democrats know it.”

The President has done a great many things wrong and, unfortunately for him, the Democrats and a majority of Americans know it. Among his criminal and impeachable offenses are extortion, campaign finance violations, witness intimidation, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy against the United States.

“Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats’ unhinged obsession with this illegitimate impeachment proceeding does not hurt President Trump; it hurts the American people.”

The right calls everything Democrats do unhinged and partisan, so those labels have lost any meaning or relevance. As for the impeachment hurting the American people, that’s impossible considering that fact that a majority of them are in favor of it.

“Instead of focusing on pressing issues that impact real families, like reducing gun violence, passing the USMCA, improving healthcare, lowering prescription drug costs, securing our southern border, and modernizing our aging infrastructure, the Democrats are choosing every day to waste time on a sham impeachment—a blatantly partisan attempt to destroy the President.”

Democrats in the House of Representatives have passed bills addressing nearly all of those issues, plus more than 300 others. It’s the GOP Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, who is refusing to let them come to a vote in the Senate.

“With today’s vote, Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats have done nothing more than enshrine unacceptable violations of due process into House rules. Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Schiff, and the Democrats conducted secret, behind-closed-door meetings, blocked the Administration from participating, and have now voted to authorize a second round of hearings that still fails to provide any due process whatsoever to the Administration.”

Actually, the rules being followed by the Democrats were written and codified in 2015 by a Republican House majority led by Speaker John Boehner. This was notably pointed out by Judge Andrew Napolitano, the Senior Legal Analyst at Fox News. What’s more, Republicans were participants in every hearing and witness interview that the White House is now falsely portraying as “secret.”

“The Democrats want to render a verdict without giving the Administration a chance to mount a defense. That is unfair, unconstitutional, and fundamentally un-American.”

First of all, there is nothing unconstitutional about a process that is actually in the Constitution. But more to the point, Democrats are conducting an inquiry. In no legal proceeding is the “defendant” permitted to participate in that investigation. When it is concluded it will either be dropped for lack of evidence, or an indictment and trial will take place. And that’s when Trump’s side will have ample opportunity to present their defense. The White House is deliberately trying to deceive the public as to how these matters are conducted.

Of course, the Deceiver-in-Chief is Donald Trump himself. He is mounting a disinformation campaign to attack the process, and by extension, the Constitution. And he’s getting plenty of help from State TV (aka Fox News), which is having problems of its own.

Trump posted a four-tweet quote by Fox’s Laura Ingraham that is nothing more than a GOP pep talk to pressure the right to obediently follow Dear Leader and abandon integrity, honesty, and morality, and to place Trump’s interests above those of the country. And most of the Fox roster is doing the same thing. So once again, it needs to be pointed out that this network is an arm of the Trump regime and should be designated as such for campaign finance purposes.

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

Wannabe Dictator Trump Improperly Withheld the Baghdadi Mission From Congress

Posted by on October 27, 2019 at 10:18 am. 11 Comments :

The demise of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is something that ought to bring relief to all Americans, and others around the world, who abhor the hatred and terrorism that he represented. This news should have been an opportunity for Donald Trump to unite the nation in appreciation of the courageous work of our military and intelligence personnel. But Trump being Trump makes all acts of decency dirty.

Donald Trump Tyrant Dictator

On Saturday night Trump posted a cryptic tweet that said only that “Something very big has just happened!” It wasn’t long before the meaning of his tweet was all over the media. But the cheesy manner in which he tried to create some kind of cliffhanger plot device is reminiscent of his years as a Reality TV game show host.

In his press conference on Sunday morning Trump announced what everyone already knew. Baghdadi died during a raid by U.S. forces on his compound in Syria. He detonated a suicide vest as American soldiers were closing in on him. This could have been a story of success and courage for the nation, but Trump’s announcement was littered with revelations that were disturbing and self-serving. Especially his admission that he withheld the details of the mission from the congressional “Gang of Eight” who are traditionally informed of these affairs.

Reporter: Did you notify the congressional leaders about this, Pelosi, McConnell…
Trump: We notified some. Others are being notified now as I speak. We were going to notify them last night, but we decided not to do that because Washington leaks like I’ve never seen before. There’s no country in the world that leaks like we do. And Washington is a leaking machine.

I told my people that we will not notify them until our great people are out. Not just in, but out. I don’t want have them greeted with fire power like you wouldn’t believe. So we were able to get in. It was top secret. It was kept. There were no leaks. Nothing. The only people that knew were the few people that I dealt with.

Make no mistake, what Trump is saying with this statement is that he doesn’t trust House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (who is second in line for the presidency), and the leaders of the congressional committees with jurisdiction, to respect the confidentiality of military operations that put our troops and others in harm’s way. Trump made a unilateral decision to shut out the people’s representatives and appoint himself the de facto King of America.

This is a stunning abuse of power that improperly conceals information from people who require it to fulfill their constitutional duties. It also displays flagrant contempt for Congress and democracy. And while Trump felt he could not trust his American co-equal partners in leadership, he did reveal these secrets to people in Russia, Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. This tells you something about where Trump’s loyalties lie.

But Trump wasn’t through embarrassing himself and America in this press conference. He went on to lie about the oil in Syria, which does not exist in “massive amounts” as he said. And his stated intention to take that oil is not only unlawful, it reduces the United States military to mercenaries in pursuit of the wealth of other nations’ natural resources.

Trump also managed to slip in a promotion for his ghostwritten books. He singled out one in particular that he said predicted the emergence of Osama bin Laden. Trump said that no one ever heard of bin Laden at the time, which is as ignorant a lie as he has ever told. Not only was he well known to intelligence and terrorism professionals, he had already struck in the U.S., and was the target of operations aimed at terminating him and his organization.

Finally, Trump is apparently incapable of speaking for more than three minutes without maligning his perceived enemies and critics. So naturally he took a swipe a President Obama, saying that…

“When we use our intelligence correctly, what we can do is incredible. When we waste our time with intelligence that hurts our country, because we had poor leadership at the top, that’s not good.”

In that noxious commentary, Trump not only insulted another American president, but also the entire intelligence community. He was exploiting the Baghdadi news conference to attack the investigations of his own unsavory connections to Russia and malign the probe into foreign interference in the 2016 election. He was unambiguously punching back at the impeachment inquiry currently in progress. And for him to choose this moment to pursue that wholly personal obsession poisons whatever unity and pride the nation might otherwise have enjoyed.

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

https://youtu.be/wC7ZbYibV5E

All Foxed Up: Trump is Relying on Ludicrous Legal Gibberish to Fight His Impeachment

Posted by on October 26, 2019 at 12:00 pm. 3 Comments :

It often seems like Donald Trump is his own worst enemy. He confesses to impeachable crimes on national TV. He actually commits new crimes the same way. He attacks his GOP Senate colleagues who will be deciding his fate. And he rambles endlessly in a manner that only provides more evidence of his guilt and unfitness for office.

Donald Trump, Constitution

So it wouldn’t be off base If you thought that Trump is digging his own political grave. And in the process he seems to be getting the worst possible legal advice. That shouldn’t surprise anyone who has followed the antics of Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who, when he isn’t flipping out on Fox News, he’s butt dialing reporters. And his Attorney Genuflect, Bill Barr, isn’t any better. However, Trump’s most trusted legal advisors appear to be an even worse source for someone in such desperate legal jeopardy. He seems to be leaning heavily on the bootlicking sycophants of Fox News. Gee, what could go wrong?

The muttonheads at Fox are the source for some of Trump’s most preposterous ideas. They include suing Nancy Pelosi for conducting the impeachment inquiry. He has also proposed his own impeachment of Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff (which can’t be done). And he’s also threatening to sue CNN for – get this – false advertising. Now, the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends are offering their interpretation of the Constitution’s impeachment language. And it’s just as ridiculous as you would think. Here is the bizarre advice Trump is getting from Fox contributor Dan Bongino, who is not a lawyer (video below):

“First off, this isn’t a real impeachment, okay? President Trump should ignore the proceeds. I don’t mean politically ignore it. He has to respond. I mean he should treat it as what it is, which is a non-impeachment impeachment.”

Huh? Where Bongino gets the idea that there is such a thing as a “non-impeachment impeachment,” or that Trump has the ability to legally ignore it, is a mystery. But Bongino continues by insulting the constitutional knowledge and reading comprehension of Democrats in Congress – who ARE lawyers and have studied constitutional law. Bongino correctly points out that the Constitution grants the House of Representatives “the sole power to impeach,” but then adds this Olympic-grade nonsense:

[The Constitution] doesn’t say the House of Representative. Again, for the liberals who have a tough time with that, that’s plural. That means the House of Representatives, meaning they would take a vote, which they haven’t. So this is not an impeachment. It’s a political stunt. It should be politically responded to, but tactically speaking it is a fake non-impeachment. And the Republicans should treat it as such.”

First off, a “fake non-impeachment” would be a real impeachment. But setting that blunder aside, Bongino’s logic is hopelessly warped. The fact that the Constitution uses “House of Representatives” in the plural doesn’t mean that there is a requirement for a vote, and it certainly doesn’t say anything of of the sort. That is a wholly manufactured conclusion by Bongino. It just means that the House proceeds under its own authority and rules. Those rules, by the way, were written by the House when it was controlled by a Republican majority.

What’s more, Bongino’s absurd notion that representatives (plural) means a vote by the full House is required doesn’t make any sense at all. He seems to think that there is only one Democrat in Congress who is conducting the inquiry and, therefore, it’s illegitimate. Of course, there are dozens of representatives, including Republicans, who are actively involved. So that would meet Bongino’s crackpot criteria for plurality. It’s also notable that his dimwitted views were offered the day after a federal judge ruled that the House impeachment inquiry is legal and valid. Nice timing.

With legal guidance like this it’s no wonder that Trump is floundering and fearful. And his mental state continues to decline as the future looks ever more grim for him and his cohorts. It’s so bad that even his lawyers are having to get lawyers. But the Fox News Legal Aide Society will undoubtedly continue to serve up their terrible advice. Which is great news for Democrats – and all Americans – who will ultimately be the beneficiaries of Trump’s impeachment and removal from office thanks to his own ignorance and that of of his boneheaded legal advisors.

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

GOP Hypocrites Silent on Trump’s Attorney Genuflect Bill Barr Conducting Russia Probe in Secret

Posted by on October 25, 2019 at 1:28 pm. 1 Comments :

The march of the Donald Trump regime to a fully dysfunctional totalitarian state is picking up steam as the Crybaby-in-Chief plots to take down his perceived enemies. The latest warning that Trump is whittling away at America’s principles and freedom came in a news report that his plant at the Justice Department, Attorney General William Barr, is expanding his already bogus “review” of the FBI’s probe of Trump’s unsavory connections to Russia during the 2016 election. This is how Banana Republican dictatorships operate.

William Barr, Donald Trump

Barr agreed to conduct his Russia review because a desperate and fearful Trump demanded it. He is convinced that he needs a way to discredit the Mueller investigation and the congressional inquiry into his impeachment. But now, according to reports, Barr has upgraded the review to a criminal inquiry:

“The US justice department has reportedly opened a criminal inquiry into the origins of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, a move that would raise concerns that Donald Trump and his allies may be using the powers of the government to go after their opponents.”

This escalation of Trump’s war on democracy is emblematic of his aspirations to emulate his heroes Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and Xi Jinping. He believes that he holds omnipotent power as president and any opposition to him is tantamount to treason. He has literally accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff of such betrayal and called for them to be prosecuted and removed from office.

The investigation that Barr’s Justice Department is conducting is being run by John Durham, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut. It’s operations are shrouded in secrecy as he accumulates potential evidence and interviews witnesses. And that’s exactly as it should be. Investigations are always done behind closed doors to avoid premature disclosures that might impede the investigation or tip off suspects, and to prevent witnesses from coordinating their testimony. So even in an investigation like this one, that has no legal predicate to justify it – other than Internet rumors and conspiracy theories – Durham is following the proper procedures. Consequently, Republicans ought not be too confident that Durham will find any wrongdoing. In the meantime, the rights granted by due process that include equal access to evidence and witnesses will come into play during a trial, if there is one.

These are legal concepts that many Republicans are seemingly unable to grasp. They are clamoring for access and transparency that is never permitted during an investigation. And they are outraged that their inane demands are not being met. Their yammering is a constant and irritating reminder that they couldn’t care less about the law. For example…

  • Rep. Steve Scalise: Why are they trying to impeach a president of the United States behind closed doors in secret where the public can’t see it, the press can’t see it?
  • Rep. Doug Collins: Conducting an impeachment investigation behind closed doors isn’t just unprecedented—it’s un-American.
  • Rep. Matt Gaetz: Adam Schiff’s impeachment inquiry has been marked by secret interviews.
  • Sen. John Cornyn: The do it in secret, cherry pick and leak whatever furthers their narrative. Put it out there for all to see.
  • Rep. Andy Biggs: No more secret proceedings. No more Soviet-style proceedings.
  • John Ratcliffe: Adam Schiff is running an impeachment inquiry secretly, behind closed doors.
  • Rep. Jim Jordan: These proceedings should be public…they’re doing it all in a closed-door process.
  • RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel: What are Schiff and House Democrats hiding from the American people with their secret hearings?

And let’s not forget folks like these…

  • Sean Hannity: Adam Schiff — he is holding secret hearings, secret meetings, that result in secret transcripts all hidden from the American people.
  • Maria Bartiromo: We know that it’s all behind closed doors. […] Why are they doing this, this way?
  • Lou Dobbs: The radical Dems who are holding secret hearings in their attempts to unseat the president.
  • And of course, Trump himself: Democrats are allowing no transparency at the Witch Hunt hearings.

What’s interesting is that all of those GOP and right-wing media hacks are not the least bit disturbed by the secrecy of Barr’s investigation. If they were consistent they would be just as upset and would be demanding that everything Barr and Durham are doing be immediately disclosed to the public. Of course, they aren’t even pretending to be consistent. They are dedicated hypocrites who only want to shield their Dear Leader from criticism, malign Democrats, and most importantly, deceive the American people. And, fortunately for the nation, they are astonishingly inept in the pursuit of those sinister goals.

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

Victim-in-Chief: Trump is the most Cowardly, Whining, Crybaby to Ever Be President

Posted by on October 23, 2019 at 12:11 pm. 8 Comments :

The national embarrassment that Americans are suffering due to the illegitimate occupant of the White House is excruciating. Donald Trump has managed to instill a sense of shame in so many citizens that they now overwhelmingly support his impeachment and removal from office. Of course, it isn’t just embarrassment that drives that desire. It’s also his rampant lawlessness and disrespect for the Constitution and it’s principles.

Donald Trump Pacifier Fox

The United States is enduring perhaps its most divisive era since the Civil War. Trump has his glassy-eyed base of Deplorables who will stand by him even if, as he said, he shoots someone on 5th Avenue. But the rest of the country is experiencing severe nausea and anxiety. Even Trump’s favorite pollster, Rasmussen, currently has his approval rating near his low for the year (44%).

Throughout this turmoil, Trump himself has remained steadfast and courageous. Um, just kidding. Actually, Trump has displayed his utter lack of character and notorious absence of maturity and morality. The one constant in Trump’s noxious persona is his narcissistic arrogance. And when the chips are down – as they are now – that manifests itself as fear and a desperate embrace of martyrdom.

There has never been a president of the United States – the most powerful office on the planet – who has exhibited greater cowardice and suffering. It is astonishing how a person who holds these reins of power can regard himself as being a victim. Trump has, from birth, lived a life of privilege and luxury. And now he also has immeasurable political clout. But still he whines. Although we should not be surprised since in 2016 he told CNN’s Chris Cuomo (video below) that…

“I am the most fabulous whiner. I do whine, because I want to win. I am a whiner and I keep whining and whining until I win.”

That strategy has proven to be a huge failure. Trump has failed to achieve anything of significance in the past three years. No deals with China, North, Korea, Iran, or Mexico. Likewise no domestic deals on healthcare, infrastructure, deficit reduction, immigration, trade, or climate change.

And yet, Trump continues to wail about being a victim. He recently compared his political tribulations to being lynched. That grossly insensitive remark caused an uproar even within his own party. He also has been whining about what he calls a “witch hunt.” While he originally applied that phrase to investigations of his unsavory connections to Russia, he has now adapted it to his more recent unsavory connections to Ukraine. Which witch hunt is which? He considers any and all criticism of him to be a hoax and manufactured by the “fake news””

Trump tries to deflect from his problems by whining about Democrats in Congress. He now refers to them routinely as the “Do Nothing Democrats,” despite the fact that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic majority have passed more than 300 bills that GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell refuses to allow the upper body to vote on. Trump has employed the “do nothing” label 32 times just in the past month.

Along with his infantile sloganeering, Trump has also complained that he is a victim of allegedly anti-American representatives who he says have committed treason and must resign just for conducting investigations that are in compliance with their duties. He has been especially focused on Pelosi and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who Trump has called “Adam Schitt.”

Previous presidents have not had this problem. President Obama was attacked by nutcases who claimed he wasn’t even a citizen. Bill Clinton was himself impeached for a consensual, albeit improper, sexual relationship. But neither of them spent every day whining about how horribly they were being treated. They did their jobs and dealt with their critics in the background.

But not Trump. He is far too self-centered and fragile. Having a crybaby like Trump in the highest office in the land is a stain that will take a long time to rub off. There is simply no excuse for someone with so much power to be such a pitiable snowflake. It diminishes the office of the presidency. And worse, it depreciates the strength that generations of American leaders have infused into our international reputation. Trump’s puerile whimpering makes us look weak in the eyes of our allies and foes alike. For the sake of the country Trump needs to stiffen his spine and STFU! Unfortunately, he just doesn’t have the will, the guts, or the ability to do that.

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

HAH! Trump Retweets ‘DJTrumpsButt’ in Lustful Haste to Censure Adam Schiff

Posted by on October 22, 2019 at 10:07 am. 3 Comments :

Donald Trump is in full meltdown mode as he ineffectually tries to deal with his impending impeachment. He’s panicking because he knows what he’s done and that the truth is going to come out no matter how many obstacles and lies he puts in its path. He has no control over this process that he’s now disgustingly calling a “lynching,” even though it’s actually a constitutional remedy for the political poison Trump is leaching into the American system. Has a president of the United States ever whined more about being a victim?

Donald Trump, Toilet, Bathrobe

On Monday Trump was so frantic with fear that he embarked on a twenty-two (22!) tweet tirade attacking Adam Schiff, the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. This onslaught was mainly aimed at the news of a pathetic and useless attempt by Republicans in the House to censure Schiff. That effort went down in a party line vote, as anyone not in coma would have expected. But to Trump it was a lifeline that merited a tweetstorm including seven posts from Fox News sycophants supporting His Lameness.

In the midst of these harangues, Trump must not have been paying close attention to his demented self-defense duties. Sure, he included a couple of allegedly humorous tweets from Fox’s Greg Gutfeld (which reminded us of why there aren’t any conservative comics), and he posted a clip from slobbering Trump-fluffer Lou Dobbs interviewing wingnut Rep. Jim Jordan, and he even dropped one featuring Newt Gingrich, who led the impeachment against Bill Clinton for having an extramarital affair with a young staffer while he was having an extramarital affair with a young staffer. But nothing comes close to the fantabulousness of this:

DJTrumpsButt

That’s right. Trump retweeted DJTrump’s Butt! The profile for that account notes that “I am @realDonaldTrump’s butt. Whatever he says, it’s really me that’s saying it. Follow me, or I will nuke you! #PutinPower #MAGA.” So now we know where the President has been getting all of his blitheringly ignorant ideas from, and why he continually embarrasses himself with idiotic comments that demonstrate how little he knows about virtually everything. This is the reason he’s been stinking up America.

Trump’s obsession with Schiff stems from a brief portion of remarks made in a congressional hearing that Trump utterly failed to understand. Apparently Trump doesn’t grasp the concept of paraphrasing with emphasis to make a point. That’s what Schiff was doing when Trump whined, falsely, that Schiff was quoting him verbatim. Schiff actually prefaced his remarks by saying that Trump’s phone call with the president of Ukraine “reads like a classic organized crime shakedown. Shorn of its rambling character, and in not so many words, this is the essence of what the President communicates.” So contrary to Trump’s brazen lie, Schiff was not quoting him and had no intention of misleading anyone.

Nevertheless, Trump has been ranting about Schiff ever since. He’s even accused Schiff and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of treason and “demanded” that they resign, as if he has the authority to issue such impotent demands. The fact that he thinks he has that power obviously comes from the same place the rest of his puerile nonsense comes from: DJTrumpsButt. Mystery solved.

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

NOTE TO MEDIA: Stop Airing These Psychotic Trump Lie-Fests Without Fact-Checking

Posted by on October 21, 2019 at 3:39 pm. 5 Comments :

This is really getting tiresome. During the 2016 campaign, all of the cable news networks would air Trump’s stump speeches live and uninterrupted. They wouldn’t do the same for any other candidate. And after the election CNN and MSNBC admitted that it was a mistake. There were too many falsehoods being spread without proper journalistic scrutiny.

Donald Trump

Fox News, of course, has continued to faithfully air everything Leader Trump does as it happens and rarely provides any context or corrections, even after Trump is done. That’s something we can expect from Fox News as it is their corporate mission to advance the Trump Cult. But CNN and MSNBC had been behaving more responsibly in the months following the election.

However, if Monday is any indication, CNN and MSNBC are backsliding. They both aired Monday morning’s complete Trump Cabinet meeting that was rife with lies and myths and Trumpian insults. It is a disservice to the American people to shove this dishonest blather down the throats of news consumers and it’s long past time for these networks to put an end to it. Here is just a taste of the preposterous ramblings of Trump this morning:

  • Trump said that he has great respect for ambassadors that he also said he’s never heard of.
  • Referring to ISIS, Trump said that “I’m the one that did the capturing.”
  • Trump mangled the Constitution, complaining about what he called the “phony Emoluments Clause.”
  • Trump said that he gives away his presidential salary that is close to $450,000. It’s exactly $400,000.
  • Trump accused President Obama of violating the emoluments clause by striking book and movie deals. Which he didn’t do until after he left office.

Along with the nonsense above, Trump crammed several ludicrous remarks into a concise segment of his rant (video below). He began by praising himself for allegedly losing 2-5 billion dollars due to his having to suffer through being president. But not to worry because he went on to say that “I don’t care. If you’re rich it doesn’t matter. I’m doing this for the country, I’m doing it for the people.” Really? Then why does actually helping the country by paying a few dollars more in taxes matter? If it really didn’t matter, Trump wouldn’t have pushed through tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. and he wouldn’t be funneling money to his own real estate properties every time he stays at one of his resorts. And he certainly wouldn’t have tried to book the 2020 G7 summit at his Doral golf club in Miami – a scam that blew up in his face.

Trump went on to brag about what he said are “my best poll numbers.” Nevermind that he is at or near the lows of his presidency with the average of polls at about 42 percent approval. Even the wildly biased Rasmussen, has Trump dropping to 45 percent, within a point of his low for the year by his favorite pollster. Then he launched into a rabid dog rant aimed at his congressional foes:

“I have my best polls now. I think it’s because people think it’s terrible what they’re doing. Pelosi, Shifty Schiff, Schumer, these people are trying to destroy the country. It’s a very bad thing what they’re doing. The President of the United States should be allowed to run the country, not have to focus on this kind of crap.

Trump has been accusing Pelosi, Schiff, and Schumer of treason for months simply because they are pursuing remedies for Trump’s political poison that are written into the Constitution, a document he has either never read, or can’t understand. And proof of that is his assertion that he “should be allowed to run the country” as if he were an unimpeded dictator.

It is episodes of derangement like these that make it necessary for the media to refrain from blasting out Trump’s hysterical bluster. It creates needless anxiety along with the misinformation that Trump intends to spread. It harms both the public and the press. It serves no purpose other than the propaganda mission of the White House and the Republican Nationalist Party. And it must end if we are ever to get this nation back on an even keel.

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