The big story last night and all day today has been the audio tape obtained by CNN of Defendant Trump bragging about the top-secret plan to attack Iran during an interview for a book Mark Meadows was writing about his big, difficult, arduous 11 months as White House Chief of Staff. We already knew that Special Counsel Jack Smith had the tape, apparently obtained from either the writer and publisher for the Meadows book, or from one of the two staffers who were present during the interview.
Oh, there is. No prosecutor would ever divulge all the evidence he has and Smith is way too good for that. As soon as there were 37 counts in the indictment, I thought, wow, and there's a whole lot more to come.
And we're not even talking about the Jan 6th investigation. Jack Smith is running that case too-recently Secret Service agents testified in front of the grand jury hearing that case.
I'm on a political blog and one of my go-to's there is a fellow who is a federal investigator and we were discussing Trump's "tells" as this rolls along and there are several. He looks sleep deprived, that concoction on his head is looking less well tended to and when he's trying to convince people of one of his lies he knows is not that convincing, he starts his "air accordion" thing with his hands. He did it a lot on the Baier interview and he's been doing it more all around the last couple of weeks. He's not going to be able to wear the people out who are coming to get accountability from him. He's about to be overwhelmed without being able to change this. He's about to become The Biggest Loser and that terrifies him more than anything.
The man is mentally ill. He has to be the center of attention and adulation at all times, and he will go to any lengths to be there. Plus, he's not very bright which is not a good combination. He's going to implode.
Oh, tons. And nobody's happy she is staying on the trial. I'm just going to keep remembering Smith prosecutes War Crimes at the Hague. He's used to all sorts of bad guys, murderer bad guys, mass murderer bad guys which I'm sure Trump would love to have the freedom to do. He knows the deal and how this works and no matter what, no matter sometimes how good your case is, it all depends on the jury. But she has a lot of power to keep things out and let things in. The thing about not sealing the names of the witnesses may not be all that bad. There was some indication she didn't understand why they even wanted to file the list of witnesses. I don't know what that's about but it's better to go to Lawfare for these technical legal issues.
Thanks, it’s not the reassurance I was hoping for, but I have a hard time believing that a man of his caliber would have put together as much as he has to create an indictment and then let it get tanked by an inept judge. It is at this point, so difficult to keep imagining that the narcissistic piece of crap will not face consequences again, he has weaseled out of everything his entire worthless life.
Nice work, Mr. T. It must be doubly disturbing for a man with a military background to have to deal with this crap. I must say I have been sickened and disgusted by the ONLY United States President never to know -- or care -- what it meant to hold that office. What an egregious mistake he was, if not the emblem of the decline of a once great country.
History will record Donald Trump as America’s worst traitor. We will replace Benedict Arnold. It almost seems silly. He is daring to get caught. One outrage on top of another. Lock her up, appears to be a massive projection about his own criminality. Thank you for clarifying trumps reckless treason.
As we're all chortling with glee with the "aha, gotcha moment!" please let us remember that this moron is
1. still free on bail
2. not on trial yet
3. The judge has not recused herself
4. the defendant is running for POTUS once again
5. There are millions of stupid fucking morons who would gladly vote for him again, and they're shoveling money left, right and everywhere else to him as we chortle over this.
and finally:
6. It ain't over til the fat lady sings.
Let's hope she's warming up because Jack Smith has his hands full of this moron's droppings between Mar-a-Lago, Bedminster and the nearest Federal pen.
Indeed, that is what a couple of articles I've read stated-he's taken all of his campaign funds and sending them to a PAC that is then paying his legal bills. Don't know if it's legal, but he's doing it anyway, legal or not. he's a cheap son of a bitch, too. Always with OPM-"Other People's Money".
Plus he’s no longer ‘rich’ (if he ever was). Probably spent all his money on attorney fees (or not - since he stiffs everyone who does any work for him).
Consciousness of guilt? Definitely. Awareness he was not supposed to have the documents in his possession? Definitely. Putting a definite place and time as to where classified documents had been removed from Mar Lago and transported to Bedminster? Check. Now all we can pray for is Smith has on his witness list one or more of the people at the table at the time to put the final nail in this coffin.
But, here is the rub. Play this tape for the loyal Magites and their reaction will range from "what is the big deal?" to "These are obviously deep fakes made by DOJ to "get" Trump." As Michael Steele is fond of saying Trump's criminality and immunity from the laws of the land are "baked in" to his base. Among Republicans his support to be their nominee has risen ten points since he was indicted on the purloined document case. Go figure.
I hate to be the broken record but tempus has fugited way too long while DOJ dawdled after 1/6 and began to dig into an investigation of the coup and the conspiracy from Team Trump. Now given how slow the wheels of justice move in our system it is likely there will be no trial on what happened on January 6 until after the nominating season and can you just hear the howls from the right if DOJ dared to hold a trial with their golden boy? And, I am also afraid given what we know about DOJ "policy" relative to not taking any action which might be perceived as political Garland might not pull the trigger. Heavens we should ever hold a crook accountable if he is running for office!
Number one Garland has already pulled the trigger by indicting Trump. I'm not sure what that was supposed to mean. Secondly, we have no idea if the DOJ was dawdling or the FBI. I was a special agent for 23 years and I can assure you that the New York Office for certain is infested with Trump supporters. They have been extremely uncooperative from what I am being told.
Thirdly, think about the implication that the Special Counsel was appointed I believe 10 days after the GOP took back the House. Biden was publicly expressing his misgivings about trump investigations interfering with his agenda shortly after he was inaugurated. Maybe someone got the message.
Considering the acting or Assistant AG Rosen (?) was privy to conservations in the Oval regarding promoting the environmental AUSA Clark to acting AG in order to declare the elx was fraudulent. (from House Select Committee testimony)
Seems to me he shoulda' gotten with DIR Wray on 7Jan to share what he heard/knew triggering at a minimum an assessment, if not prelim investigation, no?
Point being strongly hold the beginning point fell to the Trump Adm rather than weeks later when a new Adm inc Garland and other key DoJ personnel being confirmed.
So, agree there was dawdling from both from the get-go. Start wrong or late makes all the tasks that much more difficult and likely to take longer.
I have a friend who was a high ranking detective (big, big city) he tries to convince my sons that if guys like them are not interested in law enforcement—-we are left with the psychos and the pathological ignorant( as in ignore.)
Full disclosure, I was long gone by the time the post-truth era began, but I worked with many outstanding agents who believed in law enforcement who I know are Trump supporters today. All I have are theories on why and that is too much to go into here and all guesswork anyway.
Yes but the lines are blurred. Many years ago I was involved in the investigation and eventual arrest of liberal judge Sol Watchler. The poor man should have been under the care of a therapist and I thought the charges against him were kind of minor. But the Bureau did a full court press like for a terrorist. It wasn't illegal but they made an example of him because he wasn't a friend of law enforcement so to speak. If you asked the people calling the shots they would have said they were upholding their oaths with the special treatment they gave him, not violating them.
And no matter what Trump says while out doing his Love Me Please rallies, he's starting to look extremely stressed and strained. I think that's probably the most authentic he's felt about anything. I don't know what a jury will do with this twisted tale but there is a, pardon me, shitload of evidence backing all this, and a heck of a lot of it came straight from the Trumpster's mouth. I kind of chuckle every now and then that his entire corrupt and criminal life has been filled with a vast number of legal bills and like it or not, they do add up after a while.
Many thanks for posting the link. Actually, considering what we know now that we didn't then, the reporting sounds naive. Angleton would have insisted on more sinister causes.
This is one of the worst consequences of trumps treason. The fact that Americans died and foreigners, who worked for us died, means that he is complicit in the death of people who are patriotic. If it was anyone else, he would be sentenced to life in a Supermax prison.
Like we have known all along, Smith has way more hard evidence than the 37-count indictment. Trump's core supporters wouldn't understand any of this if they bothered to read and listen. I do hope his goose is cooked.
The nation who would like to a see preview and if deemed authentic, get their hands on it the most would be Iran. Lots of interlocutors in the region due to the number 1 defining characteristic by far being treachery. Would start w/any Arab nation Trump is actively doing business.
Great reporting, sigh, about something and someone who, in a more ordered (and less "ordured") world would never be heard from outside of a teenage boys' gym locker room of the 1950s. Are we at all surprised that an "adult" man who would boast to other men about grabbing women's genitals would boast to others about secret documents that he has? That secret document Trump was waving at Bedminister is the shabby adult equivalent of a suddenly-pubescent boy showing off his erection to his mates or telling them that the female underwear he waves at them is a trophy from his latest "score." Samuel Butler (1827): "The truest characters of ignorance are vanity and pride and arrogance." Exactamundo.
Anybody else think it weird that Meadows would need a couple of researchers to work on ... his autobiography? Why, wasn't he there at least most of the time?
As a longtime editor, I don't think it's weird at all. Memoirs by high government officials generally have pages upon pages of endnotes, referencing documents, conversations, and other source material. *Everything* has to be sourced and double-checked, and the more reputable the publisher, the more carefully it's done. Get something wrong and at best you'll be embarrassed; at worst you'll get sued.
Well, getting stuff wrong is certainly within Meadows' behavioral repertoire but I'm not sure that there are enough research assistants out there to make much of a dent in that. Your comment reminds me of what some NFL star said when asked if he had really written his autobiography: "Write it, hell, I didn't even read it."
Here's what burns my ass. These god damn reporters knew about this shit forever ago and sat on it for their book deals. They should be indicted along with the Orange Anus for violations of the Espionage Act.
Thank you so much. I realize this is MORE questions on top of questions. But I am hopeful that this doesn’t confuse a jury more. Though I truly believe he is NOT the brightest bulb on the bush, he is cunning and crafty and his despicable personality is legendary.
I'm sure plans to attack Iran would have been drawn up long ago only to be implemented if they attacked us first, same for all our adversaries. These plans would be reviewed and updated periodically as conditions change. .
I'm voting for "there's more going on that we don’t yet know"
Oh, there is. No prosecutor would ever divulge all the evidence he has and Smith is way too good for that. As soon as there were 37 counts in the indictment, I thought, wow, and there's a whole lot more to come.
And we're not even talking about the Jan 6th investigation. Jack Smith is running that case too-recently Secret Service agents testified in front of the grand jury hearing that case.
I'm on a political blog and one of my go-to's there is a fellow who is a federal investigator and we were discussing Trump's "tells" as this rolls along and there are several. He looks sleep deprived, that concoction on his head is looking less well tended to and when he's trying to convince people of one of his lies he knows is not that convincing, he starts his "air accordion" thing with his hands. He did it a lot on the Baier interview and he's been doing it more all around the last couple of weeks. He's not going to be able to wear the people out who are coming to get accountability from him. He's about to be overwhelmed without being able to change this. He's about to become The Biggest Loser and that terrifies him more than anything.
The man is mentally ill. He has to be the center of attention and adulation at all times, and he will go to any lengths to be there. Plus, he's not very bright which is not a good combination. He's going to implode.
I sure hope you’re correct. Anything being said on your blog about Judge Loose Cannon?
She really worries me
Oh, tons. And nobody's happy she is staying on the trial. I'm just going to keep remembering Smith prosecutes War Crimes at the Hague. He's used to all sorts of bad guys, murderer bad guys, mass murderer bad guys which I'm sure Trump would love to have the freedom to do. He knows the deal and how this works and no matter what, no matter sometimes how good your case is, it all depends on the jury. But she has a lot of power to keep things out and let things in. The thing about not sealing the names of the witnesses may not be all that bad. There was some indication she didn't understand why they even wanted to file the list of witnesses. I don't know what that's about but it's better to go to Lawfare for these technical legal issues.
Thanks, it’s not the reassurance I was hoping for, but I have a hard time believing that a man of his caliber would have put together as much as he has to create an indictment and then let it get tanked by an inept judge. It is at this point, so difficult to keep imagining that the narcissistic piece of crap will not face consequences again, he has weaseled out of everything his entire worthless life.
Nice work, Mr. T. It must be doubly disturbing for a man with a military background to have to deal with this crap. I must say I have been sickened and disgusted by the ONLY United States President never to know -- or care -- what it meant to hold that office. What an egregious mistake he was, if not the emblem of the decline of a once great country.
History will record Donald Trump as America’s worst traitor. We will replace Benedict Arnold. It almost seems silly. He is daring to get caught. One outrage on top of another. Lock her up, appears to be a massive projection about his own criminality. Thank you for clarifying trumps reckless treason.
He could really set up shop as Projections R Us. He's been doing it since forever.
As we're all chortling with glee with the "aha, gotcha moment!" please let us remember that this moron is
1. still free on bail
2. not on trial yet
3. The judge has not recused herself
4. the defendant is running for POTUS once again
5. There are millions of stupid fucking morons who would gladly vote for him again, and they're shoveling money left, right and everywhere else to him as we chortle over this.
and finally:
6. It ain't over til the fat lady sings.
Let's hope she's warming up because Jack Smith has his hands full of this moron's droppings between Mar-a-Lago, Bedminster and the nearest Federal pen.
It's actually #5 that concerns me most, along with #5a: The GOP is being bankrolled by fascistically inclined billionaires.
Indeed, amen, fingers crossed. This is simply terrifying.
He's transferring money from his presidential campaign to his legal defense fund (probably because his attorneys want to be paid up front).
Indeed, that is what a couple of articles I've read stated-he's taken all of his campaign funds and sending them to a PAC that is then paying his legal bills. Don't know if it's legal, but he's doing it anyway, legal or not. he's a cheap son of a bitch, too. Always with OPM-"Other People's Money".
Plus he’s no longer ‘rich’ (if he ever was). Probably spent all his money on attorney fees (or not - since he stiffs everyone who does any work for him).
As someone who knows him once stated, "I'm a billionaire. Trump isn't a billionaire. He's a clown living on credit."
Didn’t Bragg put a kibosh on that today?
This is what happened today-Trump was denied the chance to move his NY fraud case to federal court, and away from the judge ruling over it.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/slapped-down-trump-gets-stuck-with-judge-he-hates-in-manhattan-da-case
Yes, I know.
Consciousness of guilt? Definitely. Awareness he was not supposed to have the documents in his possession? Definitely. Putting a definite place and time as to where classified documents had been removed from Mar Lago and transported to Bedminster? Check. Now all we can pray for is Smith has on his witness list one or more of the people at the table at the time to put the final nail in this coffin.
But, here is the rub. Play this tape for the loyal Magites and their reaction will range from "what is the big deal?" to "These are obviously deep fakes made by DOJ to "get" Trump." As Michael Steele is fond of saying Trump's criminality and immunity from the laws of the land are "baked in" to his base. Among Republicans his support to be their nominee has risen ten points since he was indicted on the purloined document case. Go figure.
I hate to be the broken record but tempus has fugited way too long while DOJ dawdled after 1/6 and began to dig into an investigation of the coup and the conspiracy from Team Trump. Now given how slow the wheels of justice move in our system it is likely there will be no trial on what happened on January 6 until after the nominating season and can you just hear the howls from the right if DOJ dared to hold a trial with their golden boy? And, I am also afraid given what we know about DOJ "policy" relative to not taking any action which might be perceived as political Garland might not pull the trigger. Heavens we should ever hold a crook accountable if he is running for office!
Number one Garland has already pulled the trigger by indicting Trump. I'm not sure what that was supposed to mean. Secondly, we have no idea if the DOJ was dawdling or the FBI. I was a special agent for 23 years and I can assure you that the New York Office for certain is infested with Trump supporters. They have been extremely uncooperative from what I am being told.
Thirdly, think about the implication that the Special Counsel was appointed I believe 10 days after the GOP took back the House. Biden was publicly expressing his misgivings about trump investigations interfering with his agenda shortly after he was inaugurated. Maybe someone got the message.
The wheels of Justice simply grind too slow when money and political influence and bias muck up the machinery. For reference see one James Comey.
James Comey is not Merrick Garland any more than Quayle was JFK.
Considering the acting or Assistant AG Rosen (?) was privy to conservations in the Oval regarding promoting the environmental AUSA Clark to acting AG in order to declare the elx was fraudulent. (from House Select Committee testimony)
Seems to me he shoulda' gotten with DIR Wray on 7Jan to share what he heard/knew triggering at a minimum an assessment, if not prelim investigation, no?
Point being strongly hold the beginning point fell to the Trump Adm rather than weeks later when a new Adm inc Garland and other key DoJ personnel being confirmed.
So, agree there was dawdling from both from the get-go. Start wrong or late makes all the tasks that much more difficult and likely to take longer.
Ah, the FBI we knew & despised.
I have a friend who was a high ranking detective (big, big city) he tries to convince my sons that if guys like them are not interested in law enforcement—-we are left with the psychos and the pathological ignorant( as in ignore.)
Full disclosure, I was long gone by the time the post-truth era began, but I worked with many outstanding agents who believed in law enforcement who I know are Trump supporters today. All I have are theories on why and that is too much to go into here and all guesswork anyway.
✅ my grandfather (born 1901) was a cop & maybe my impressions were formed from his stories.
IMO, it was definitely a valid point. I just don't think we can assume that every Trump supporter in law enforcement is not dedicated.
Ugh! I don’t like the sound of that! When you are a special agent, don’t you take an oath not to choose sides?
Yes but the lines are blurred. Many years ago I was involved in the investigation and eventual arrest of liberal judge Sol Watchler. The poor man should have been under the care of a therapist and I thought the charges against him were kind of minor. But the Bureau did a full court press like for a terrorist. It wasn't illegal but they made an example of him because he wasn't a friend of law enforcement so to speak. If you asked the people calling the shots they would have said they were upholding their oaths with the special treatment they gave him, not violating them.
Like I previously said…ugh! :(
Sorry, totally off topic here, SCOTUS just announced huge decision with respect to state legislatures affecting elections. 6-3
Best news this year!
And no matter what Trump says while out doing his Love Me Please rallies, he's starting to look extremely stressed and strained. I think that's probably the most authentic he's felt about anything. I don't know what a jury will do with this twisted tale but there is a, pardon me, shitload of evidence backing all this, and a heck of a lot of it came straight from the Trumpster's mouth. I kind of chuckle every now and then that his entire corrupt and criminal life has been filled with a vast number of legal bills and like it or not, they do add up after a while.
How many people died because of Trump’s sharing or selling of classified information? How is he going to be held accountable for those needless deaths? https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/05/us/politics/cia-informants-killed-captured.html
Many thanks for posting the link. Actually, considering what we know now that we didn't then, the reporting sounds naive. Angleton would have insisted on more sinister causes.
This is one of the worst consequences of trumps treason. The fact that Americans died and foreigners, who worked for us died, means that he is complicit in the death of people who are patriotic. If it was anyone else, he would be sentenced to life in a Supermax prison.
Seems to me he still could be sentenced to life in a Supermax prison. He's a Super con man.
Doris, here is a gift link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/05/us/politics/cia-informants-killed-captured.html?unlocked_article_code=OeTLUdHvaub549Z--uU4qgqjnf0JTOXTJ02BRFqfuRTxB4G8vTu9_pyaR_qnqjcdwoKbP4UXXAgeGbwuNj82D8Cs9ZWPDXkR3IDv3IyVMAQc7_aAgr1YBM_4sLafWw25d0kaAAIOi97SazHdS8L0lXF7oSoMuFZCGht_aWE7R0nmMf5v_YBMdZ_5-vDjyeeYLicE16a-4dYgGgTRc0XouKwH35sESOni5aE-q7D3Qe6C7d7S78380LrLBdKXr0HXidXoQdzfL8stkBFAnV4mqVjIEn5eelq00Boo2Nh4GPrxDB1Z15BL2Zcq6mrSl5vFaJ_IkpmdmNqTxATVQSXLEXWWzejfIOXU_A3qcw&smid=url-share
Like we have known all along, Smith has way more hard evidence than the 37-count indictment. Trump's core supporters wouldn't understand any of this if they bothered to read and listen. I do hope his goose is cooked.
I don't think they can actually read. So sad.
My guess is that the originals or copies of the Iran attack papers are in the hands of the Saudi's.
Lately they've been making nice with Iran and having them would be useful.
Sold to them for two billion dollars. It's so obvious.
Perhaps.
The nation who would like to a see preview and if deemed authentic, get their hands on it the most would be Iran. Lots of interlocutors in the region due to the number 1 defining characteristic by far being treachery. Would start w/any Arab nation Trump is actively doing business.
Great reporting, sigh, about something and someone who, in a more ordered (and less "ordured") world would never be heard from outside of a teenage boys' gym locker room of the 1950s. Are we at all surprised that an "adult" man who would boast to other men about grabbing women's genitals would boast to others about secret documents that he has? That secret document Trump was waving at Bedminister is the shabby adult equivalent of a suddenly-pubescent boy showing off his erection to his mates or telling them that the female underwear he waves at them is a trophy from his latest "score." Samuel Butler (1827): "The truest characters of ignorance are vanity and pride and arrogance." Exactamundo.
I have been waiting for your take on Bedmites & etc.
Thanks.
My question is not entirely out of context, & keeps coming up.
Why was the outing of Valerie Plame not considered a security breach, her assets, presumably, suffered. No consequences for Bush/Cheney
One thing that seems sure: many people around Trump knew he was nuts. Why keep that a secret?
—RK
Anybody else think it weird that Meadows would need a couple of researchers to work on ... his autobiography? Why, wasn't he there at least most of the time?
As a longtime editor, I don't think it's weird at all. Memoirs by high government officials generally have pages upon pages of endnotes, referencing documents, conversations, and other source material. *Everything* has to be sourced and double-checked, and the more reputable the publisher, the more carefully it's done. Get something wrong and at best you'll be embarrassed; at worst you'll get sued.
Well, getting stuff wrong is certainly within Meadows' behavioral repertoire but I'm not sure that there are enough research assistants out there to make much of a dent in that. Your comment reminds me of what some NFL star said when asked if he had really written his autobiography: "Write it, hell, I didn't even read it."
I am too, but Trump is a sneaky fuck and he can convince people he is telling the truth who know he's lying.
Here's what burns my ass. These god damn reporters knew about this shit forever ago and sat on it for their book deals. They should be indicted along with the Orange Anus for violations of the Espionage Act.
Thank you so much. I realize this is MORE questions on top of questions. But I am hopeful that this doesn’t confuse a jury more. Though I truly believe he is NOT the brightest bulb on the bush, he is cunning and crafty and his despicable personality is legendary.
I'm sure plans to attack Iran would have been drawn up long ago only to be implemented if they attacked us first, same for all our adversaries. These plans would be reviewed and updated periodically as conditions change. .