From the minutes: These are some of the conspiratorial things that the Society considered pursuing in order to make Trump look bad:
The society would use its contacts to convince Trump that he was the victim of massive voter fraud and that President Barack Obama personally ran a wiretap on him. This would make Trump sound paranoid.
The society would use its influence to convince Trump that Frederick Douglass is still alive and that Andrew Jackson was involved in the Civil War. This would make Trump sound dumb.
The society would hack Trump’s Twitter account so that it appeared he was calling the North Korean leader “fat” and a “Rocket Man” with a small “button.” This would make Trump sound dangerous.
The society would secretly edit video footage and transcripts to show Trump shoving a world leader and insulting leaders of friendly countries such as Australia, Britain and Sweden. This would make Trump sound like a bully.
The society would infiltrate White House policy so Trump would add trillions of dollars to the deficit to give billionaires a huge tax break. This would make Trump sound like a liar.
The society would convince Trump to say kind things about white supremacists, and to use a filthy word to describe African countries. This would make Trump sound like a racist.
The society, finally, would convince Trump to fire an FBI director, hire a guy named “Mooch” and declare himself a “stable genius.” This would make it clear he was neither.
“Republicans in both House and Senate are growing increasingly frustrated with the Federal Bureau of Intelligence and Justice Department over tight restrictions on classified and other confidential information in the Trump-Russia affair.
The restrictions mean the FBI and Justice Department control what congressional investigators may see; under what conditions they may see it; and what they may make public. The practical result is that voters remain in the dark about hugely consequential events going on in Washington.
Two recent events have served to heighten tensions: the investigation into the Trump dossier and the revelation of text messages between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. In both cases, the FBI, appearing to protect its own actions and prerogatives, has made congressional oversight an exercise in pulling teeth, and members of Congress are tired of it.
That frustration could be heard Wednesday in a speech from Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
On Jan. 4, Grassley and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., chairman of the crime and terrorism subcommittee, sent a criminal referral to the FBI and Justice Department concerning Christopher Steele, the former British spy who authored the Trump dossier. In a cover letter, Grassley and Graham suggested that Steele might have lied to the FBI during his association with the bureau as he compiled the dossier.
That’s all the cover letter said. The referral itself, which was classified, made the actual case about Steele. Grassley wrote an unclassified version of the referral for public release — finally, the public could understand what the case was about — but first sent it to the FBI to make sure the information in the unclassified version was in fact unclassified.
That’s when Grassley got the runaround. The FBI “falsely claimed” — Grassley’s words — that a portion of the document was classified and thus held up release. The information was not classified, Grassley said — it was based on “non-government sources” and “the deputy attorney general has discussed the fact at issue with me more than once in an unsecure space and on an unsecure phone line.”
“Unfortunately, I suspect something else is really going on here,” Grassley said. “It sure looks like a bureaucratic game of hide the ball, rather than a genuine concern about national security.”
Grassley and Graham’s referral remains in FBI limbo — and the public remains in the dark about what it reveals.”
—————————
“The Iowa Republican said the department was using false classification labels to stop the release of information related to his criminal referral to the Justice Department of Steele, the former British spy who authored the infamous dossier of unverified claims about then-presidential candidate Donald Trump’s ties to Russia.
Grassley and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham sent a January memo to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein requesting the criminal referral of Steele after discovering “discrepancies.”
They have not disclosed in detail what they learned.”
———————
“He also said that the FBI is not acting as if this information would harm national security if released, and that other entities who received the memo were never contacted by the FBI to tell them it was classified.
“Those particular paragraphs are based on nongovernment sources and do not claim to repeat or confirm any information from any government document. Even if those portions of our referral did reference the allegedly classified fact at issue, it is hard to understand why that fact should be classified.”
Grassley said he is “pressing this issue” with Wray and hopes to be able to release the information “as soon as possible.”
“Hiding from tough questions about these controversial cases is no way to reassure the public,” he said. “If the department is afraid of independent oversight, that just reinforces people’s suspicions and skepticism. The only real way to reassure people is to let the sun shine in and let the chips fall where they may.””
“Donald Trump is staking his presidency, as he did his election, on nothing less than destroying the credibility of the news media; and the media are determined to do the same to him. This is not just a feud or a fight or a battle. It is scorched-earth warfare in which only one side can achieve victory. To a stunning degree, the press is falling into the president’s trap. The country’s top news organizations have targeted Trump with an unprecedented barrage of negative stories, with some no longer making much attempt to hide their contempt. Some stories are legitimate, some are not, and others are generated by the president’s own falsehoods and exaggerations. But the mainstream media, subconsciously at first, has lurched into the opposition camp and is appealing to an anti-Trump base of viewers and readers, failing to grasp how deeply it is distrusted by a wide swath of the country.
These are not easy words for me to write. I am a lifelong journalist with ink in my veins. And for all my criticism of the media’s errors and excesses, I have always believed in the mission of aggressive reporting and holding politicians accountable.
But the past two years have radicalized me. I am increasingly troubled by how many of my colleagues have decided to abandon any semblance of fairness out of a conviction that they must save the country from Trump.
I first got to know Donald Trump three decades ago and never made the blunder of underestimating him during the campaign. I saw all his weaknesses — the bluster, the bullying, the refusal to admit mistakes — but I also saw strengths that most of my colleagues missed, especially an ability to channel the anger of millions of voters who despise the press — including the old-guard conservative press — and other elite institutions.
This is, at bottom, a battle over the truth. Who owns it, who controls it, who can sell their version to a polarized public that increasingly cannot agree on basic facts. Everything you read, hear and see about Trump’s veracity is filtered through a mainstream media prism that reflects a lying president — and virtually never considers the press’ own baggage and biases. Everything you read, hear and see from the Trump team is premised on the view that media news is fake news, that journalists are too prejudiced, angry and ideological to fairly report on the president. Trump and his acolytes use these attacks on the Fourth Estate to neutralize their own untruths, evasions and exaggerations. What many journalists fail to grasp is that Trump’s supporters love his street talk and view the media critiques as nonsense driven by negativity. They don’t care if he makes mistakes. As paradoxical as it sounds, negative coverage helps Trump because it bonds him to people who also feel disrespected by the denizens of the mainstream press. The media take everything literally, and Trump pitches his arguments at a gut level. It is asymmetrical warfare.
Every president gets pounded by the press. But no president has ever been subjected to the kind of relentless ridicule, caustic commentary and insulting invective that has been heaped on Trump. I have a name for this half-crazed compulsion to furiously attack one man. It’s called Trump Trauma.”
———————–
“A controversial Republican memo alleging surveillance abuse specifically names FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein along with former FBI Director James Comey.
Capitol Hill sources on both sides of the aisle say the memo’s release is only a matter of time. And when it comes out, these current and former officials — all GOP bêtes noires — are likely to face even more criticism from the right over their involvement in FBI counterintelligence work.
Republicans, including Trump himself, have spent months attacking McCabe and Comey while special counsel Robert Mueller has been investigating Team Trump’s connections to the Kremlin. Rosenstein put that probe in place—a move Trump has derided as a witch hunt.
A groundswell is building to release the memo—written by Devin Nunes, the California Republican and key Trump ally who chairs the House intelligence committee—which former FBI agents fear will damage public trust in the bureau. While Democrats say the memo deliberately misrepresents the procedures for obtaining a foreign-intelligence surveillance warrant, The Daily Beast has learned that Hill Republicans are gearing up to use an obscure parliamentary rule to release it.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department has expressed serious concerns about the memo’s potential release. In a letter sent to Nunes on Jan. 24, Stephen Boyd, the department’s top congressional liaison, wrote that “it would be extraordinarily reckless for the Committee to disclose such information publicly without giving the Department and the FBI the opportunity to review the memorandum and to advise the HPSCI [the House intelligence committee] of the risk of harm to national security and to ongoing investigations that could come from public release.”
That letter also said the department is “unaware of any wrongdoing” related to the FISA process—indicating the department disagrees with the scores of congressional Republicans who say Nunes’ memo provides proof of wrongdoing.”
————————-
“Over the past few days, journalists and Democratic politicians have pushed the idea that Russian bots and trolls influenced #ReleaseTheMemo, the viral social media campaign aimed at forcing the release of a four-page report put together by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee alleging abuses related to the Steele dossier and secret surveillance warrants.
But that claim — which culminated in a letter that two Democratic lawmakers sent to Twitter and Facebook on Tuesday — appears to be off base.
The Daily Beast reports Twitter’s internal analytics show that #ReleaseTheMemo was largely pushed not by Russian troll farms but instead by red-blooded Americans.
According to The Beast:
A knowledgeable source says that Twitter’s internal analysis has thus far found that authentic American accounts, and not Russian imposters or automated bots, are driving #ReleaseTheMemo. There are no preliminary indications that the Twitter activity either driving the hashtag or engaging with it is either predominantly Russian. In short, according to this source, who would not speak to The Daily Beast for attribution, the retweets are coming from inside the country.”
———————-
Ricky @ 8:34, I think the stock market is way over valued. However it may have bought itself some stability because so many large corporations have been buying back their own stock. That has been going on for about 10 years I think (probably started with bailout money), and that phenomenon may be accelerating.
Many people predicted a market crash if we elected Trump. And now, even the Heritage foundation says Trump’s accomplishments in the first year exceed Reagan’s. So we shouldn’t be surprised that he’s taking credit for good things in the market. Regardless, Trump is fairly safe from political blowback regarding the stock market. I doubt he deserves the credit, so if it goes bad, I won’t blame him either. Neither will his supporters. He’s the real teflon president. ;–)
Aj @11;05: As long as those in leadership positions at the FBI and DOJ continue in their current jobs, there is no reason the American public should have any confidence in either. There is too much proof already revealing corruption and bias, and there are very strong indications of a much larger conspiracy among top officials in the FBI and DOJ. It is time to expose the corruption and rid those involved, regardless of how embarrassing it is. It’s much better to rebuild confidence than to continue to lose it…
First, I agree with you that stocks are overvalued. The primary reason is that interest rates have been kept artificially low.
What are the two things most likely to cause the market to take a sharp decline and lead to a recession?
1. An increase in interest rates; and
2. An increase in protectionism.
You almost had to be there in 1981 to understand how misleading the Washington Examiner article was:
In addition to appointing conservative judges and rolling back regulations (Trump’s two successes) Reagan in his first year:
1. Passed a 25% across the board tax cut (everyone got the same % cut);
2. Made actual spending cuts to social programs;
3. Slashed the marriage tax;
4. Started most of the rebuilding of our defenses (that were in shambles after Vietnam and Democrat rule) which protect us to this day;
5. He defeated and fired the air traffic controllers after their illegal strike. It was this act that most impressed the Russians.
These were major issues, not just items on a Heritage Foundation checklist. He accomplished these things despite being shot by a nut and having to deal with a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.
Most importantly, he did these things without doing any of the items listed on my 8:17 post.
“Fox News has reported that the DOJ inspector general has announced that they have located the missing text messages:
Text messages from a critical five-month period between Trump-bashing FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who both served on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team, have been located, Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz has told Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.”
Ricky @ 1:05 Ah yes, the good ol’ Reagan days. They’re not coming back, in large part, because of the (presumably) unintended consequences of those policies. Unleashing and encouraging businesses to morph into behemoths that buy and sell each other at will with no regard whatsoever to the effect on the population or the country’s welfare in general, was one of the most irresponsible policies imaginable. It’s all water under the bridge now, but we are still struggling with the effects and will be mopping up the mess for a long time to come. As for Trump, he is the man for this dirty job in an age of degradation and loss of faith. At least, he’s the man who stepped up to the plate when no one else would.
Liberty University should probably send Little Jerry Falwell on an all expenses paid, year-long sabbatical to the jungles of Borneo.
Honestly, these comments from Falwell are among the dumbest, most theologically illiterate things I’ve ever heard from a purported conservative Christian leader. It’s literally one wrong statement after another. It’s unbelievably embarrassing to watch. https://t.co/R2aY2byaEm
@2:41 Ha. If you weren’t paying attention during the Reagan years, you’re not going to make up for it by reading that Heritage fluff piece. Not a single word about the Iran-Contra debacle that Reagan was embroiled in up to his eyeballs. But I have no interest in bashing the dead for no good purpose. Reagan was a good communicator, and much more more mesmerizing than Trump. I’ll give him that. :–)
Ian Calderon wants restaurateurs to think long and hard before giving you a straw.
Calderon, the Democratic majority leader in California’s lower house, has introduced a bill to stop sit-down restaurants from offering customers straws with their beverages unless they specifically request one. Under Calderon’s law, a waiter who serves a drink with an unrequested straw in it would face up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
“We need to create awareness around the issue of one-time use plastic straws and its detrimental effects on our landfills, waterways, and oceans,” Calderon explained in a press release
They’re serious about eradicating crime in California.
The Trumpkin Senator who was screaming about treason and secret societies at the FBI know admits that the text message in question may have been a joke.
I think I will send him the Secret Society minutes “found” by Milbank (see 8:12) and see if he renews his cries of “Treason!” or manages to conclude that the “minutes” may also be a joke.
This looks interesting. Unfortunately, my Dutch is not too good.
Big scoop by Dutch media @Nieuwsuur & @volkskrant revealing that Dutch intel was secretly looking over the shoulder of the Russian hacking team behind the US election hacks (even infiltrating the email of pres Obama) and passed the info the US Intel. https://t.co/5uGcMhsb1S
“We have now reached the “false equivalence” act of the NeverTrump Show. In this episode, we find the president’s foes on the Right equating the outrage of his supporters over potential corruption at the FBI regarding the Hillary Clinton email investigation with the outrage his detractors over Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia election-collusion investigation.
For months, many NeverTrumpers willfully avoided any mention of the now crisis-level misconduct that occurred at President Obama’s Justice Department in the months before and after the 2016 election. (I ask you to scan the Twitter timeline of your most reviled NeverTrumper to compare the number of tweets mentioning Stormy Daniels versus Peter Strzok.) Thanks to the exceptional work of Chairman Devin Nunes’ House Intelligence Committee and fearless reporters such as Sara Carter and Andrew McCarthy, we learn more unsettling news each week about how the top players in these two crucial investigations have conducted themselves.”
———————–
…Russian president Vladimir Putin has denied the charges of Russian Orthodox interference, saying election is “hardly a Russian concern.” But American Calvinists are still fuming over the wilted tulips he recently posted on Instagram, claiming the Russian leader’s predestination is certain.
It’s unanimous. All four conservatives on the Fox Special Report panel agreed that the “secret society” text message was a joke. Trumpers need to put “the secret society” back in their barrel of failed Trumpkin distractions along with Hillary’s murder of Seth Rich, Nunes frantically running to the White House to tell Trump and the press what he just learned from a White House aide and the ‘tapp’ Tweets.
Trumpers just need to chill out. As Trump said, he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and the Trumpkins would still love him. I don’t think Mueller is going to discover a shooting, and no matter what he finds, there will be at least 34 Trumper senators who will vote to acquit.
Like I’ve said before, the bar of evidence has been set so low with the Hillary investigation, Mueller won’t bother to indict…. unless Trump actually does shoot someone, in which case those 34 Senators will come in very handy. :–)
Debra, It won’t be up to Mueller. He won’t indict Trump. He will just make a report as did Kenneth Starr. That is when our little bet will come into play. Unless Mueller discovers something much more treasonous than a fake “secret society”, a Republican House of Representatives will not vote to impeach. They aren’t going to care about obstruction of justice committed by a man who doesn’t understand the crime or pathetic attempts at collusion.
If the Dems win the House, their base and their donors will pressure the leadership to pursue impeachment. That could be a serious political mistake as it was for the Rs in 1998.
I have to agree with you, Ricky. And if Dems have the House, they may be in a no-win situation as their base could desert them if they don’t impeach, and the opposition will be energized by outrage if they do. Republicans are well positioned if they can get over the sanctimonious infighting and come to peace with the reality faced by their base. Even the elite should be happy since Trump is not currently galloping away from globalism. Baby steps may serve everyone well after all. We’ll see.
Wandering Views 
Dana Milbank has discovered minutes from a meeting of that Secret Society of Anti-Trumpers:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-secret-society-dedicated-to-making-trump-look-bad/2018/01/24/d0ba9d0e-0156-11e8-9d31-d72cf78dbeee_story.html?utm_term=.0321c3e8427b
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From the minutes: These are some of the conspiratorial things that the Society considered pursuing in order to make Trump look bad:
The society would use its contacts to convince Trump that he was the victim of massive voter fraud and that President Barack Obama personally ran a wiretap on him. This would make Trump sound paranoid.
The society would use its influence to convince Trump that Frederick Douglass is still alive and that Andrew Jackson was involved in the Civil War. This would make Trump sound dumb.
The society would hack Trump’s Twitter account so that it appeared he was calling the North Korean leader “fat” and a “Rocket Man” with a small “button.” This would make Trump sound dangerous.
The society would secretly edit video footage and transcripts to show Trump shoving a world leader and insulting leaders of friendly countries such as Australia, Britain and Sweden. This would make Trump sound like a bully.
The society would infiltrate White House policy so Trump would add trillions of dollars to the deficit to give billionaires a huge tax break. This would make Trump sound like a liar.
The society would convince Trump to say kind things about white supremacists, and to use a filthy word to describe African countries. This would make Trump sound like a racist.
The society, finally, would convince Trump to fire an FBI director, hire a guy named “Mooch” and declare himself a “stable genius.” This would make it clear he was neither.
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That Dana Milbank is real cute.
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Debra, This one is for you.
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Jonah Goldberg is the voice of reason, but he isn’t nearly as funny as Milbank.
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Well maybe the FBI should stop obstructing….
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/byron-york-hide-the-ball-on-capitol-hill-growing-frustration-with-fbi-secrecy/article/2646980
“Republicans in both House and Senate are growing increasingly frustrated with the Federal Bureau of Intelligence and Justice Department over tight restrictions on classified and other confidential information in the Trump-Russia affair.
The restrictions mean the FBI and Justice Department control what congressional investigators may see; under what conditions they may see it; and what they may make public. The practical result is that voters remain in the dark about hugely consequential events going on in Washington.
Two recent events have served to heighten tensions: the investigation into the Trump dossier and the revelation of text messages between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. In both cases, the FBI, appearing to protect its own actions and prerogatives, has made congressional oversight an exercise in pulling teeth, and members of Congress are tired of it.
That frustration could be heard Wednesday in a speech from Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
On Jan. 4, Grassley and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., chairman of the crime and terrorism subcommittee, sent a criminal referral to the FBI and Justice Department concerning Christopher Steele, the former British spy who authored the Trump dossier. In a cover letter, Grassley and Graham suggested that Steele might have lied to the FBI during his association with the bureau as he compiled the dossier.
That’s all the cover letter said. The referral itself, which was classified, made the actual case about Steele. Grassley wrote an unclassified version of the referral for public release — finally, the public could understand what the case was about — but first sent it to the FBI to make sure the information in the unclassified version was in fact unclassified.
That’s when Grassley got the runaround. The FBI “falsely claimed” — Grassley’s words — that a portion of the document was classified and thus held up release. The information was not classified, Grassley said — it was based on “non-government sources” and “the deputy attorney general has discussed the fact at issue with me more than once in an unsecure space and on an unsecure phone line.”
“Unfortunately, I suspect something else is really going on here,” Grassley said. “It sure looks like a bureaucratic game of hide the ball, rather than a genuine concern about national security.”
Grassley and Graham’s referral remains in FBI limbo — and the public remains in the dark about what it reveals.”
—————————
Which is what the leadership at the FBI wants.
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More here,
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/01/24/grassley-suspects-bureaucratic-game-hide-ball-by-fbi-and-doj-over-russia-probe.html
“The Iowa Republican said the department was using false classification labels to stop the release of information related to his criminal referral to the Justice Department of Steele, the former British spy who authored the infamous dossier of unverified claims about then-presidential candidate Donald Trump’s ties to Russia.
Grassley and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham sent a January memo to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein requesting the criminal referral of Steele after discovering “discrepancies.”
They have not disclosed in detail what they learned.”
———————
“He also said that the FBI is not acting as if this information would harm national security if released, and that other entities who received the memo were never contacted by the FBI to tell them it was classified.
“Those particular paragraphs are based on nongovernment sources and do not claim to repeat or confirm any information from any government document. Even if those portions of our referral did reference the allegedly classified fact at issue, it is hard to understand why that fact should be classified.”
Grassley said he is “pressing this issue” with Wray and hopes to be able to release the information “as soon as possible.”
“Hiding from tough questions about these controversial cases is no way to reassure the public,” he said. “If the department is afraid of independent oversight, that just reinforces people’s suspicions and skepticism. The only real way to reassure people is to let the sun shine in and let the chips fall where they may.””
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Howard Kurtz on how Trump Trauma is crippling the Media.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-trump-trauma-is-crippling-news-media-guest-column-1077062
“Donald Trump is staking his presidency, as he did his election, on nothing less than destroying the credibility of the news media; and the media are determined to do the same to him. This is not just a feud or a fight or a battle. It is scorched-earth warfare in which only one side can achieve victory. To a stunning degree, the press is falling into the president’s trap. The country’s top news organizations have targeted Trump with an unprecedented barrage of negative stories, with some no longer making much attempt to hide their contempt. Some stories are legitimate, some are not, and others are generated by the president’s own falsehoods and exaggerations. But the mainstream media, subconsciously at first, has lurched into the opposition camp and is appealing to an anti-Trump base of viewers and readers, failing to grasp how deeply it is distrusted by a wide swath of the country.
These are not easy words for me to write. I am a lifelong journalist with ink in my veins. And for all my criticism of the media’s errors and excesses, I have always believed in the mission of aggressive reporting and holding politicians accountable.
But the past two years have radicalized me. I am increasingly troubled by how many of my colleagues have decided to abandon any semblance of fairness out of a conviction that they must save the country from Trump.
I first got to know Donald Trump three decades ago and never made the blunder of underestimating him during the campaign. I saw all his weaknesses — the bluster, the bullying, the refusal to admit mistakes — but I also saw strengths that most of my colleagues missed, especially an ability to channel the anger of millions of voters who despise the press — including the old-guard conservative press — and other elite institutions.
This is, at bottom, a battle over the truth. Who owns it, who controls it, who can sell their version to a polarized public that increasingly cannot agree on basic facts. Everything you read, hear and see about Trump’s veracity is filtered through a mainstream media prism that reflects a lying president — and virtually never considers the press’ own baggage and biases. Everything you read, hear and see from the Trump team is premised on the view that media news is fake news, that journalists are too prejudiced, angry and ideological to fairly report on the president. Trump and his acolytes use these attacks on the Fourth Estate to neutralize their own untruths, evasions and exaggerations. What many journalists fail to grasp is that Trump’s supporters love his street talk and view the media critiques as nonsense driven by negativity. They don’t care if he makes mistakes. As paradoxical as it sounds, negative coverage helps Trump because it bonds him to people who also feel disrespected by the denizens of the mainstream press. The media take everything literally, and Trump pitches his arguments at a gut level. It is asymmetrical warfare.
Every president gets pounded by the press. But no president has ever been subjected to the kind of relentless ridicule, caustic commentary and insulting invective that has been heaped on Trump. I have a name for this half-crazed compulsion to furiously attack one man. It’s called Trump Trauma.”
———————–
Quick! Everyone to their safe spaces! 🙂
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No wonder they don’t want the public to know. It names names.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/doj-warns-that-releasethememo-would-be-extraordinarily-reckless
“A controversial Republican memo alleging surveillance abuse specifically names FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein along with former FBI Director James Comey.
Capitol Hill sources on both sides of the aisle say the memo’s release is only a matter of time. And when it comes out, these current and former officials — all GOP bêtes noires — are likely to face even more criticism from the right over their involvement in FBI counterintelligence work.
Republicans, including Trump himself, have spent months attacking McCabe and Comey while special counsel Robert Mueller has been investigating Team Trump’s connections to the Kremlin. Rosenstein put that probe in place—a move Trump has derided as a witch hunt.
A groundswell is building to release the memo—written by Devin Nunes, the California Republican and key Trump ally who chairs the House intelligence committee—which former FBI agents fear will damage public trust in the bureau. While Democrats say the memo deliberately misrepresents the procedures for obtaining a foreign-intelligence surveillance warrant, The Daily Beast has learned that Hill Republicans are gearing up to use an obscure parliamentary rule to release it.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department has expressed serious concerns about the memo’s potential release. In a letter sent to Nunes on Jan. 24, Stephen Boyd, the department’s top congressional liaison, wrote that “it would be extraordinarily reckless for the Committee to disclose such information publicly without giving the Department and the FBI the opportunity to review the memorandum and to advise the HPSCI [the House intelligence committee] of the risk of harm to national security and to ongoing investigations that could come from public release.”
That letter also said the department is “unaware of any wrongdoing” related to the FISA process—indicating the department disagrees with the scores of congressional Republicans who say Nunes’ memo provides proof of wrongdoing.”
————————-
Yeah, and so much for that Russian bot theory….
#ReleaseTheMemo
http://dailycaller.com/2018/01/23/no-russian-bots-note-behind-releasethememo/
“Over the past few days, journalists and Democratic politicians have pushed the idea that Russian bots and trolls influenced #ReleaseTheMemo, the viral social media campaign aimed at forcing the release of a four-page report put together by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee alleging abuses related to the Steele dossier and secret surveillance warrants.
But that claim — which culminated in a letter that two Democratic lawmakers sent to Twitter and Facebook on Tuesday — appears to be off base.
The Daily Beast reports Twitter’s internal analytics show that #ReleaseTheMemo was largely pushed not by Russian troll farms but instead by red-blooded Americans.
According to The Beast:
A knowledgeable source says that Twitter’s internal analysis has thus far found that authentic American accounts, and not Russian imposters or automated bots, are driving #ReleaseTheMemo. There are no preliminary indications that the Twitter activity either driving the hashtag or engaging with it is either predominantly Russian. In short, according to this source, who would not speak to The Daily Beast for attribution, the retweets are coming from inside the country.”
———————-
Need a new meme. This ones busted.
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Thanks for posting the Kurtz article, AJ. He is one of the best people left on Fox. His new book should be interesting.
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Ricky @ 8:34, I think the stock market is way over valued. However it may have bought itself some stability because so many large corporations have been buying back their own stock. That has been going on for about 10 years I think (probably started with bailout money), and that phenomenon may be accelerating.
Many people predicted a market crash if we elected Trump. And now, even the Heritage foundation says Trump’s accomplishments in the first year exceed Reagan’s. So we shouldn’t be surprised that he’s taking credit for good things in the market. Regardless, Trump is fairly safe from political blowback regarding the stock market. I doubt he deserves the credit, so if it goes bad, I won’t blame him either. Neither will his supporters. He’s the real teflon president. ;–)
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/heritage-donald-trump-has-achieved-more-than-ronald-reagan-in-first-year/article/2646849
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Aj @11;05: As long as those in leadership positions at the FBI and DOJ continue in their current jobs, there is no reason the American public should have any confidence in either. There is too much proof already revealing corruption and bias, and there are very strong indications of a much larger conspiracy among top officials in the FBI and DOJ. It is time to expose the corruption and rid those involved, regardless of how embarrassing it is. It’s much better to rebuild confidence than to continue to lose it…
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Lots of meat there to respond to, Debra.
First, I agree with you that stocks are overvalued. The primary reason is that interest rates have been kept artificially low.
What are the two things most likely to cause the market to take a sharp decline and lead to a recession?
1. An increase in interest rates; and
2. An increase in protectionism.
You almost had to be there in 1981 to understand how misleading the Washington Examiner article was:
In addition to appointing conservative judges and rolling back regulations (Trump’s two successes) Reagan in his first year:
1. Passed a 25% across the board tax cut (everyone got the same % cut);
2. Made actual spending cuts to social programs;
3. Slashed the marriage tax;
4. Started most of the rebuilding of our defenses (that were in shambles after Vietnam and Democrat rule) which protect us to this day;
5. He defeated and fired the air traffic controllers after their illegal strike. It was this act that most impressed the Russians.
These were major issues, not just items on a Heritage Foundation checklist. He accomplished these things despite being shot by a nut and having to deal with a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.
Most importantly, he did these things without doing any of the items listed on my 8:17 post.
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Well now. Let’s get digging.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/01/doj-official-missing-text-messages-between-fbi-agents-located/
“Fox News has reported that the DOJ inspector general has announced that they have located the missing text messages:
Text messages from a critical five-month period between Trump-bashing FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who both served on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team, have been located, Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz has told Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.”
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Ricky @ 1:05 Ah yes, the good ol’ Reagan days. They’re not coming back, in large part, because of the (presumably) unintended consequences of those policies. Unleashing and encouraging businesses to morph into behemoths that buy and sell each other at will with no regard whatsoever to the effect on the population or the country’s welfare in general, was one of the most irresponsible policies imaginable. It’s all water under the bridge now, but we are still struggling with the effects and will be mopping up the mess for a long time to come. As for Trump, he is the man for this dirty job in an age of degradation and loss of faith. At least, he’s the man who stepped up to the plate when no one else would.
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For those who are too young to remember or who weren’t paying attention:
https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/ronald-reagan-conservative-statesman
The Heritage Foundation was smarter back in 2013.
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Liberty University should probably send Little Jerry Falwell on an all expenses paid, year-long sabbatical to the jungles of Borneo.
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@2:41 Ha. If you weren’t paying attention during the Reagan years, you’re not going to make up for it by reading that Heritage fluff piece. Not a single word about the Iran-Contra debacle that Reagan was embroiled in up to his eyeballs. But I have no interest in bashing the dead for no good purpose. Reagan was a good communicator, and much more more mesmerizing than Trump. I’ll give him that. :–)
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“Reason” via Drudge
Ian Calderon wants restaurateurs to think long and hard before giving you a straw.
Calderon, the Democratic majority leader in California’s lower house, has introduced a bill to stop sit-down restaurants from offering customers straws with their beverages unless they specifically request one. Under Calderon’s law, a waiter who serves a drink with an unrequested straw in it would face up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
“We need to create awareness around the issue of one-time use plastic straws and its detrimental effects on our landfills, waterways, and oceans,” Calderon explained in a press release
They’re serious about eradicating crime in California.
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The Trumpkin Senator who was screaming about treason and secret societies at the FBI know admits that the text message in question may have been a joke.
I think I will send him the Secret Society minutes “found” by Milbank (see 8:12) and see if he renews his cries of “Treason!” or manages to conclude that the “minutes” may also be a joke.
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This looks interesting. Unfortunately, my Dutch is not too good.
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🙂
“Russian Orthodox Church Accused Of Interfering With Doctrine of Election”
http://babylonbee.com/news/russian-orthodox-church-accused-interfering-doctrine-election/
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There are none so blind as those who will not see…..
“We have now reached the “false equivalence” act of the NeverTrump Show. In this episode, we find the president’s foes on the Right equating the outrage of his supporters over potential corruption at the FBI regarding the Hillary Clinton email investigation with the outrage his detractors over Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia election-collusion investigation.
For months, many NeverTrumpers willfully avoided any mention of the now crisis-level misconduct that occurred at President Obama’s Justice Department in the months before and after the 2016 election. (I ask you to scan the Twitter timeline of your most reviled NeverTrumper to compare the number of tweets mentioning Stormy Daniels versus Peter Strzok.) Thanks to the exceptional work of Chairman Devin Nunes’ House Intelligence Committee and fearless reporters such as Sara Carter and Andrew McCarthy, we learn more unsettling news each week about how the top players in these two crucial investigations have conducted themselves.”
———————–
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Hilarious, Kizzie. :–D
…Russian president Vladimir Putin has denied the charges of Russian Orthodox interference, saying election is “hardly a Russian concern.” But American Calvinists are still fuming over the wilted tulips he recently posted on Instagram, claiming the Russian leader’s predestination is certain.
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Here is more information on the Dutch intelligence of the Russian hacks of US political entities.
https://nltimes.nl/2018/01/25/dutch-team-infiltrated-russian-hacker-group-witnessing-us-election-meddling-dnc-attack
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The latest from Mona Charen. For years Democrats had a large advantage when it came to the Kook Vote. Not anymore.
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I wonder what happens if the straw incident happens in a Sanctuary City? Or if you bring your own . . .
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It’s unanimous. All four conservatives on the Fox Special Report panel agreed that the “secret society” text message was a joke. Trumpers need to put “the secret society” back in their barrel of failed Trumpkin distractions along with Hillary’s murder of Seth Rich, Nunes frantically running to the White House to tell Trump and the press what he just learned from a White House aide and the ‘tapp’ Tweets.
Trumpers just need to chill out. As Trump said, he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and the Trumpkins would still love him. I don’t think Mueller is going to discover a shooting, and no matter what he finds, there will be at least 34 Trumper senators who will vote to acquit.
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Like I’ve said before, the bar of evidence has been set so low with the Hillary investigation, Mueller won’t bother to indict…. unless Trump actually does shoot someone, in which case those 34 Senators will come in very handy. :–)
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Michelle, if you were illegal, you could get away with it.
But don’t you try it. Especially if it’s plastic.
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Debra, It won’t be up to Mueller. He won’t indict Trump. He will just make a report as did Kenneth Starr. That is when our little bet will come into play. Unless Mueller discovers something much more treasonous than a fake “secret society”, a Republican House of Representatives will not vote to impeach. They aren’t going to care about obstruction of justice committed by a man who doesn’t understand the crime or pathetic attempts at collusion.
If the Dems win the House, their base and their donors will pressure the leadership to pursue impeachment. That could be a serious political mistake as it was for the Rs in 1998.
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I have to agree with you, Ricky. And if Dems have the House, they may be in a no-win situation as their base could desert them if they don’t impeach, and the opposition will be energized by outrage if they do. Republicans are well positioned if they can get over the sanctimonious infighting and come to peace with the reality faced by their base. Even the elite should be happy since Trump is not currently galloping away from globalism. Baby steps may serve everyone well after all. We’ll see.
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