"There's a pony in there somewhere". Trump con't

[AcrossthePond55]

Title based on what a college professor used to tell us when the going got tough.

"Just remember when you're standing shoulder deep in horse shit, there's a pony in there somewhere. So just keep digging".

www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/maddow-trump-isn-t-attacking-critics-he-s-going-after-witnesses-1300799555807

Rachel Maddow shows the prevalence of classified intelligence in the Trump Russia investigation and notes that the people Donald Trump is threatening with having their security clearance revoked are those who would need that clearance to testify for the investigation.

Fascinating exposition and very cleverly done.

Streep.

Troll hunting.

edition.cnn.com/2018/08/13/politics/dad-hunts-russian-trolls/index.html

On and on:

Donald J. Trump
‏Verified account
@realDonaldTrump
13h13 hours ago

'I allowed White House Counsel Don McGahn, and all other requested members of the White House Staff, to fully cooperate with the Special Counsel. In addition we readily gave over one million pages of documents. Most transparent in history. No Collusion, No Obstruction. Witch Hunt!'

Donald J. Trump
‏Verified account
@realDonaldTrump
20m20 minutes ago

'The failing @nytimes wrote a Fake piece today implying that because White House Councel Don McGahn was giving hours of testimony to the Special Councel, he must be a John Dean type “RAT.” But I allowed him and all others to testify - I didn’t have to. I have nothing to hide......'

Donald J. Trump
Verified account
@realDonaldTrump
7m7 minutes ago

'....and have demanded transparency so that this Rigged and Disgusting Witch Hunt can come to a close. So many lives have been ruined over nothing - McCarthyism at its WORST! Yet Mueller & his gang of Dems refuse to look at the real crimes on the other side - Media is even worse!'

www.nytimes.com/2018/08/17/opinion/cia-brennan-trump-letters.html?action=click&module=MoreInSection&pgtype=Article&region=Footer&contentCollection=Opinion

'Trump Is Not a King
A group of top former intelligence and military leaders are sending a message to the nation’s troops and spies: think twice before following the president’s orders in a crisis.'

And on ...

Donald J. Trump
‏
Verified account

@realDonaldTrump
59m59 minutes ago

'No Collusion and No Obstruction, except by Crooked Hillary and the Democrats. All of the resignations and corruption, yet heavily conflicted Bob Mueller refuses to even look in that direction. What about the Brennan, Comey, McCabe, Strzok lies to Congress, or Crooked’s Emails!'

Donald J. Trump
‏
Verified account

@realDonaldTrump
23m23 minutes ago

'The Failing New York Times wrote a story that made it seem like the White House Councel had TURNED on the President, when in fact it is just the opposite - & the two Fake reporters knew this. This is why the Fake News Media has become the Enemy of the People. So bad for America!'

Donald J. Trump
‏
Verified account

@realDonaldTrump
16m16 minutes ago

'Some members of the media are very Angry at the Fake Story in the New York Times. They actually called to complain and apologize - a big step forward. From the day I announced, the Times has been Fake News, and with their disgusting new Board Member, it will only get worse!'

Donald J. Trump
‏
Verified account

@realDonaldTrump
6m6 minutes ago

'Study the late Joseph McCarthy, because we are now in period with Mueller and his gang that make Joseph McCarthy look like a baby! Rigged Witch Hunt!'

Someone is un petit peu rattled aujourd'hui.

Mueller 👀
Maddow: Trump isn't attacking critics, he's going after witnesses
Rachel Maddow shows the prevalence of classified intelligence in the Trump Russia investigation and notes that the people Donald Trump is threatening with having their security clearance revoked are those who would need that clearance to testify for the investigation

‘We owe these people’: Trump loyalists find soft landings after getting ousted.
A motley crew of diehard Trump allies have found their way to a constellation of pro-Trump entities and outside political groups.'
www.politico.com/story/2018/08/19/trump-officials-jobs-campaign-political-groups-788022

A PP linked to Maddow’s piece yesterday, quoting a WaPo article on the WH using “security clearance” announcements as distractions from other news:
Brennan: Trump drunk on power, abusing the powers of the office
www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/brennan-trump-drunk-on-power-abusing-the-powers-of-the-office-1301577283681?v=railb

For those who don’t have access to WaPo, here’s what Maddow quotes:

The White House has drafted documents revoking the security clearances of current and former officials whom President Trump has demanded be punished for criticizing him or playing a role in the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to senior administration officials.

Trump wants to sign “most, if not all” of them, said one senior White House official, who indicated that communication aides, including press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Bill Shine, the newly named deputy chief of staff, have discussed the optimum times to release them as a distraction during unfavorable news cycles.

The senior White House official acknowledged that the step against Brennan had been prepared in late July, when Sanders first said Trump was considering it. But the decision to take that step was made this week to divert attention from nonstop coverage of a critical book released by fired Trump aide Omarosa Manigault Newman.”

. Consideration is being given to holding other prepared documents in reserve for similar opportunities in the future, the official said .

I think the original article is here:
White House drafts more clearance cancellations demanded by Trump
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/former-intelligence-officials-rebuke-trump-for-pulling-brennans-security-clearance/2018/08/17/ea8382f2-a20d-11e8-8e87-c869fe70a721_story.html

Read it and weep:
www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/08/19/tangier-island-donald-trump-2016-219349

Maybe 'Jim' has joined the fourth estate:

Kaitlan Collins
@kaitlancollins
Trump claiming reporters called him to complain about a well reported story reminds me of this
@ToluseO piece — he often cites anonymous figures who support X position of his. (link: www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-16/trump-s-speeches-feature-mystery-men-the-white-house-won-t-name bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Some members of the media are very Angry at the Fake Story in the New York Times. They actually called to complain and apologize - a big step forward. From the day I announced, the Times has been Fake News, and with their disgusting new Board Member, it will only get worse!
mobile.twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1031166451216998406

A man is known by the company he keeps:

Jon Favreau
@jonfavs
The Vice President of the United States, sharing a stage with a white supremacist and a cop who abused his inmates.
Vaughn Hillyard
@VaughnHillyard
Rep. Steve King & former Sheriff David Clarke speaking on stage in Des Moines before VP Pence’s keynote speech at America First Policies’ tax policy event.
Show this thread

mobile.twitter.com/jonfavs/status/1029798472629673984

Good grief, ohmy.

On the plus side, looks like everyone has Trump by the short and curlies.

www.rawstory.com/2018/08/john-dean-sees-good-reason-mcgahn-suspect-trump-throw-bus/

He's running:
Vaughn Hillyard
@VaughnHillyard
Michael Avenatti has been invited to, and will speak at, two big Democratic stops this weekend: Tampa tonight (Kennedy-King Dinner) & the Hillsborough County Democratic Picnic in Greenfield, NH on Sunday. Both events bring in several hundred activists each year.
mobile.twitter.com/VaughnHillyard/status/1030878436645109760

www.newsweek.com/michael-avenatti-running-president-1079418

Mr. Consistency:
Natasha Bertrand
@NatashaBertrand
What??? The email to Don Jr. said the meeting was “part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump.”
Meet the Press
@MeetThePress
"All they knew that a woman with a Russian name was going to meet with them, they didn't know she represented the Russian government," @RudyGiuliani says on the Trump tower meeting. #MTP
mobile.twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1031177043910844416

Meet the Press
‏
Verified account

@MeetThePress

'.@RudyGiuliani on Trump testifying with Mueller: "I am not going to be rushed into having him testify so that he gets trapped into perjury... it’s somebody’s version of the truth. Not the truth."
@chucktodd: "Truth is truth"
GIULIANI: "No, it isn’t truth. Truth isn’t truth.'

Interesting, WS's comments below this on the thread, plus several links, worth a look:
Walter Shaub
@waltshaub
Trump looks in all the wrong places for disloyalty. I’ve said for a year that McGahn’s his biggest problem. McGahn’s much smarter and far more committed to destroying institutions of our republic. Lucky for McGahn, his secret's safe. Hidden in print media.
mobile.twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1030927296000077826

"Truth isn’t truth."

Yep, that's it, folks. The truth isn't the truth. The truth is what Scrotus et al decides the truth is.

I feel like queuing up the movie "Independence Day" and watching the few seconds where the aliens blast the WH to smithereens over and over and over. And drinking gin. Or smoking a doobie. Or both.

GIULIANI: "No, it isn’t truth. Truth isn’t truth
Holy scamoly

crooksandliars.com/2018/08/rudy-giuliani-freaks-out-over-mueller

Peter Baker
@peterbakernyt
Return on investment: Texas oil firm reaps $1.9 billion from Trump tax cuts, then donates $1.5 million to GOP super PAC. Others likewise pump some of their windfall into politics. ⁦
@jimtankersley@tackettdc
mobile.twitter.com/peterbakernyt/status/1031187347457630215

That's a verrry interesting thread on Don McGahn from Walter Shaub, mimi. More extracts:

mobile.twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1030927296000077826

Lou Pine
@ pinewoodsdojo
Sorry, let me rephrase the question: what makes you think Mcgahn is so invested?

Walter Shaub
@ waltshaub
He drove the FEC into a ditch. I was a first hand witness to his office's assault on the ethics program. He tried to bully Sessions into not recusing from the Russia investigation, and he tried to find out of there was a super secret FISA warrant on the campaign. During his...

time as White House Counsel, the White House's legal policy has been to push the limit on every law, regulation, norm and tradition. The legal policy seems to reflect a view that if a law doesn't come with consequences, it doesn't exist. He and his attorneys have signed some...

pretty stunning documents. Also, he has pretty much declared his goal publicly. Read up on him. For starters, here's a piece that includes audio tape of him ripping up a rule book at chucking the pieces in the air (some say toward another commissioner): <a class="break-all" href="https://choice.npr.org/index.html?origin=www.npr.org/2017/03/20/520862756/trumps-white-house-counsel-don-mcgahn-has-combative-record" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">choice.npr.org/index.html?origin=www.npr.org/2017/03/20/520862756/trumps-white-house-counsel-don-mcgahn-has-combative-record

More from the same thread:

Luis Camacho
@animemoto
Replying to @waltshaub
Can you unpack this? I’m a little confused. Are you saying McGahn is far more vicious than Trump and far more committed to destroying the institutions of our republic, and that committment is disguised in his cooperation with Mueller?

Walter Shaub
@waltshaub
It's not disguised. Cooperating with Mueller is not contrary to McGahn's aims.
[...]
This isn't some movie with two-dimensional characters. These individuals, like all human beings, are complex. Trump is only for Trump. McGahn is for a cause. Sometimes their aims overlap, sometimes they don't. McGahn also knows something Trump doesn't about how to survive.
[...]
I don't know how to spell it out more clearly. Trump is for Trump. He's erratic and undisciplined; occasionally he thinks undermining institutions helps. McGahn is disciplined and focused on undermining institutions. Think of a Venn diagram where the interests sometimes overlap.
[...]
He knows you can undermine institutions without breaking laws. He's not a criminal. I don't think he's a liar. All that undisciplined behavior by Trump is an obstacle to accomplishing his goal of undermining institutions. He's not foolish enough to get himself caught up in that.

The Raven
@RvnsNest
So McGhan is a typical Libertarian Conservative, like say in the #KochBros mold. He wants government dismantled and corporate fiefdoms to rule the land.

Thanks for the Tangier Island story, mimi. Very sad and a useful metaphor for so much of what's happening today.