Our hapless President and his posse of neer-do-wells couldn’t catch a break this month.
The Democratic National Committee filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against (among others) the Trump for President Campaign, Paul Manafort (ex-Campaign strategist), Roger Stone (Manafort’s boss), Jared Kushner (Trump’s son-in-law), George Papadopoulos (ex-Campaign staffer who is cooperating with Special Counsel Mueller), and Donald Trump Jr. The complaint: that “Russia mounted a brazen attack on American democracy” with the goal of “destabilizing the U.S. political environment, denigrating the Democratic presidential nominee, and supporting the campaign of Donald Trump, whose policies would benefit the Kremlin”.
The lawsuit is similar to the one the DNC filed against Nixon’s reelection committee (known as CREEP) after the Watergate break-in. The DNC won that suit, and the $750K settlement was reached on the day that Nixon resigned the Presidency.
The judge in this year’s DNC lawsuit, John Koetl, was a young prosecutor on the staff of Archibald Cox, the Watergate special prosecutor. How about that for irony?
(Not to be outdone, the House Intelligence Committee (deluxe oxymoron), led by Donald Trump’s shill, Devin Nunes, released it’s report which states that the Russians meddled in the election, it was the F.B.I. and C.I.A.’s fault, and that Donald Trump and the Republican Party had nothing to do with it. So now we know…because the G.O.P. report was totally factual…honest to God!)
Speaking of legal stuff, the Stormy Daniels case was in the news…a lot. The F.B.I. raid on Trump’s personal attorney (Michael Cohen)’s home and office has put the fear of God into a lot of people, including the President and his lawyer/”fixer”.
Attorney Cohen announced this week that he would be availing himself of the Fifth Amendment when questioned by the F.B.I.
That’s an interesting turn of events, Trump-wise, because The Donald has a very low opinion of people who take the Fifth Amendment. When he was a candidate, and trying like Hell to damn Hillary Clinton about the “e-mail server” non-issue, he badmouthed her staff who took the Fifth when questioned by Congressional committees. “The mob takes the Fifth…If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment? It’s disgraceful.”
Of course, the F.B.I. now has Cohen’s files, computers, cellphone records, etc. All those juicy communiques with his client are open for scrutiny. There is now the possibility that he will take the Fifth publicly, but squeal to the Feds in private, to save his ass.
The President, who has steadfastly denied knowing, dating, consorting with, or copulating on top of porn star Stormy Daniels, is now telling a different story about the payoff of the $130K in hush money. “He (Cohen) represented me in the crazy Stormy Daniels deal.”
Duh.
I think every American, including Trump’s rabid MAGA supporters, had already figured that one out. When someone’s personal attorney pays $130K to someone so that they won’t talk about something that never happened…c’mon, Man!!!
(Speaking of Michael Cohen, legal eagle extraordinaire and professional fixer, another embarrassing thing happened this week, when the judge sitting on the F.B.I. case ordered Mr. Cohen to reveal his clients. Of course, Fox News talking heads yelled and screamed about the loss of attorney-client confidentiality, and how the legal system was going down the drain. It was the end of democracy itself. When Cohen finally coughed up the answer to the judge… big surprise: one of his other two clients was none other than Fox News talking head/superstar Sean Hannity, who daily pumps up the Trump agenda from his TV pulpit and makes excuses for his golf buddy.)
Earlier this month, Stormy Daniels’ attorney publicized an artist’s rendition of a man that the porn star claimed threatened her (“leave Trump alone, or else!”) some years back. The President claimed that the incident never happened. Question: “I thought you didn’t know Stormy Daniels?” Question: “So, how do you know that it didn’t happen?”
Getting our minds out of the gutter, for a moment, it might be time to consider some of the President’s personnel decisions/mistakes…again.
As I’ve previously reported, Mr. Trump nominated his personal physician, Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson, to be the next Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs. Mr. Jackson’s qualifications for this Cabinet-level position, which has a $273 billion budget and employs 377K employees, seem to be the following: (1) he enjoys an occasional drink with the Prez; (2) he’s complimented Mr. Trump on his junk; (3) he gives a Hell of a rectal exam; (4) he gave his boss a passing grade on his annual physical; and, so, (4) the President likes him.
(He looks qualified to me.)
Unfortunately, Senators (of both parties) were skeptical of Jackson’s bonafides and rather perturbed at the President for not vetting the good doctor before confirmation hearings could begin. Without much digging, the office of Senator Jon Tester of Montana yesterday released a rather lengthy list of allegations against the nominee, ranging from reckless medical practices, hostility in the workplace, lack of leadership skills, and alcohol dependency.
The nomination of Ronny Jackson to be the next Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs was withdrawn today.
The President will now have to choose another member of his regular Monday night card game to lead the VA.
Is Carrot Top still available?
Or, how about this clown?
The next Administration stooge on the chopping block seems to be Environmental Protection Agency Director Scott Pruitt.
In addition to being a climate change denier, which qualified him for the job in the President’s mind, Pruitt has seemingly left no stone unturned to debase his position as the leader of the Agency. He has demoralized staff by dismantling decades of policy, abandoned the role of facts in scientific policy making, and allowed lobbyists free rein to curb business-unfriendly rules.
As the designated hitter for the billionaire, oil baron Koch brothers, Pruitt was a major force in the President’s decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords, a multi-nation effort to decrease greenhouse emissions.
Mr. Pruitt has made a science out of bringing oil company lobbyists and shills into the EPA for advice, jobs, and policy paper production. Trump promised to “drain the swamp”; Pruitt’s mission seems to be to re-fill it.
While doing his best to sabotage the work of the EPA, Pruitt has been busy taking advantage of his exalted position. He spent $150,000 on first-class travel for he and his wife, directed staff to give super-raises to his top aides (and then denied it), lived in a super below-market rent Capitol Hill rowhouse, provided by an energy industry lobbyist, demanded a 24/7 security detail, insisted that the EPA construct a secure phone booth for him in his office at a cost of $43,000, and appointed a guy to head a Superfund task force who has been banned from the Oklahoma banking industry for life…but had loaned him $1 million over the years.
One wonders why someone would need a sound-proof phone booth. I think the guy has watched too many episodes of Get Smart.
(On the other hand, he might not want anyone overhearing the Koch brothers giving him his daily instructions. Just sayin’…)
This week, Director Pruitt is taking body shots from two Congressional committees regarding his many embarrassing, ethical missteps. The President and his Deputy Liar-in-Chief, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, are giving carefully-worded endorsements of his job performance.
My opinion: Dead Man Walking.
Careful wording was not on the mind of French President Emmanuel Macron when he made a State visit to America this past week.
President and Mrs. Trump gave the French leader and his wife the royal treatment, including a State dinner and much hugging and kissing. The press described the festivities as a budding bro-mance.
However, yesterday the Mr. Macron made a major speech before a joint session of Congress that ripped the U.S. President a new ass. Speaking on behalf of our European allies, the French leader criticized Trump’s “America First” agenda, the decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords, the threat to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, instigation of global tariff wars, and Trump’s fascination with strongman leaders like Russia’s Putin and China’s Xi Jinping.
This dressing-down of Trumpism was especially devastating, coming from America’s oldest ally. It was France who helped us win the Revolutionary War, and gave us the Statue of Liberty in admiration of our democracy. That our country has fallen so low in France’s estimation is shameful, and that a European leader would have to publicly pull down our pants…before Congress…is embarrassing.
Of course, it was just another day at the office for Donald Trump and his excellent crew.
Jim Comey, fired F.B.I. Director, went on TV to promote his memoirs, which are titled “A Higher Loyalty”. In the book (which I have not read), Mr. Comey allegedly details conversations with the President in which Mr. Trump pressed him repeatedly for his personal loyalty, and urged him to go easy on some of the Russia-gate principals who were simultaneously involved with the Trump campaign. Most of this stuff has previously leaked to the media, but, still, it appears to reveal Donald Trump as…the narcissistic scumbag that we all know he is.
(I ran into a middle-aged woman at Costco, while I was looking at some of their books on sale. She blurted out, “There’s that Comey book. What a piece of crap he is!” Yeah, nobody likes a snitch…except maybe Special Counsel Robert Mueller?)
The President, who is running short of personal attorneys of late, this week hired ex-NYC Mayor and Fox News talking head/Trump cheerleader Rudy Giuliani to handle some of his most-pressing legals matters, including the Story Daniels dust-up and the Russia-gate stinker.
Again, Mr. Trump is associating himself with someone who is prone to flatter him and who is also a known philanderer and three-time marriage loser. (What is it about these guys who can’t honor their wedding vows? )
It’s a perfect hire.
Hail to the Chief!
