Clueless, Clueless, Clueless (UPDATED)

One incompetent, evil lickspittle claims he's clueless about the Justice Department's seizing phone records of political opponents during his watch:

Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions is telling associates he had no idea his Justice Department seized phone records of two top Democratic congressional critics of then-President Donald Trump.

In the hours since The New York Times broke the news on Thursday that prosecutors subpoenaed Apple metadata from Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA), former Attorney General Sessions has privately told people that he wasn’t aware of, nor was he briefed on, the reported data seizures while he led the Trump DOJ. This week’s revelations were a surprise to him, according to a source familiar with the matter, and another person close to Sessions.

The defense Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III might have is that he recused himself from the investigation into Russia helping the former guy in the 2016 election.  That would mean the highest level authorization for the operation would be with former "institutionalist" and former guy fixer Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein. No claim of cluelessness from him yet.*

Sessions' successor -- competent, evil lickspittle William "Low" Barr -- also uses the clueless defense:

Former Attorney General William Barr on Friday distanced himself from reports that the Trump Justice Department seized communications records belonging to two prominent Democratic lawmakers who were spearheading investigations into then-President Donald Trump.

In a phone interview, Barr said he didn’t recall getting briefed on the moves.

"I don't recall" -- a well-worn phrase useful to a guilty person evading an honest answer.  Expect to hear that a lot from Low Barr.

Well, with an DOJ Inspector General investigation underway and Congressional hearings likely, too, putting these clueless lickspittles under oath to see if they'll perjure themselves is a prospect to which we look forward.  

BONUS:  Obligatory musical accompaniment.

*UPDATE:  Now Rosenstein claims he didn't know about the subpoenas, either.  Wonder who's going to be the fall guy for this...

(Image:  Sessions and Barr/ AP)

Monday Reading

As always, please go to the links for the full article/ post.

Lying weasel lied

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ testimony that he opposed a proposal for President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign team to meet with Russians has been contradicted by three people who told Reuters they have spoken about the matter to investigators with Special Counsel Robert Mueller or congressional committees. 

Sessions testified before Congress in November 2017 that he “pushed back” against the proposal made by former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos at a March 31, 2016 campaign meeting. Then a senator from Alabama, Sessions chaired the meeting as head of the Trump campaign’s foreign policy team. 

“Yes, I pushed back,” Sessions told the House Judiciary Committee on Nov. 14, when asked whether he shut down Papadopoulos’ proposed outreach to Russia. (our emphasis)

That's the same weasel who fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe (knowing it would please Cadet Bone Spurs), ostensibly because McCabe was not truthful in his interactions with investigators about press contacts.

No squealing!

... In the early months of the administration, at the behest of now-President Trump, who was furious over leaks from within the White House, senior White House staff members were asked to, and did, sign nondisclosure agreements vowing not to reveal confidential information and exposing them to damages for any violation. [snip] 

... [T]his confidentiality pledge would extend not only after an aide’s White House service but also beyond the Trump presidency. “It’s not meant to be constrained by the four years or eight years he’s president — or the four months or eight months somebody works there. It is meant to survive that.” 

This is extraordinary. Every president inveighs against leakers and bemoans the kiss-and-tell books; no president, to my knowledge, has attempted to impose such a pledge. And while White House staffers have various confidentiality obligations — maintaining the secrecy of classified information or attorney-client privilege, for instance — the notion of imposing a side agreement, supposedly enforceable even after the president leaves office, is not only oppressive but constitutionally repugnant. 

... Which raises the obvious question: Why is he so consistently frantic to ensure that no one knows what goes on behind closed doors?  (our emphasis)

(Oooh!  Oooh!  We know!  It's because what's going on is illegal, unethical, morally bankrupt and treasonous.)

The ACLU points out that, once again, Trump doesn't understand or care about the difference between private and public employee status:

Public employees can’t be gagged by private agreements. These so-called NDAs are unconstitutional and unenforceable. https://t.co/IyYqScsESu

— ACLU (@ACLU) March 19, 2018

To stop Trump, pragmatism is principle

Partisanship is easy to criticize. But in the short run, removing a supine GOP from power in Congress is the one and only way voters can use the ballot box to hold the president accountable. Whatever their differences, Democrats will not allow Russia’s meddling or the many forms of Trump administration corruption to be buried. 

There will be plenty of time before 2020 to argue over the Democratic Party’s direction. These discussions cannot be postponed forever. But between now and the fall, sorting out which candidate best fits a given state or district matters far more than it usually does. For Trump’s opponents, pragmatism is principle — because the stakes are so high. (our emphasis)

At this point in our history, anyone on the left who undercuts "best fit" Democratic candidates are only doing Trump's work for him. Period.

Last but not least, Infidel has his comprehensive link round- up with an encyclopedic array of political and non- political topics you'll find interesting, amusing and/ or infuriating.  Check it out.

Efforts By Trump, McGahn, Sessions To Obstruct Justice Reported

The New York Times reported yesterday on efforts by unfit nitwit Donald "Rump" Trump and several of his lickspittles to derail the FBI's investigation into his campaign's collusion with Russia. "Consciousness of guilt" weaves its way all throughout this:

President Trump gave firm instructions in March to the White House’s top lawyer: stop the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, from recusing himself in the Justice Department’s investigation into whether Mr. Trump’s associates had helped a Russian campaign to disrupt the 2016 election. 

Public pressure was building for Mr. Sessions, who had been a senior member of the Trump campaign, to step aside. But the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, carried out the president’s orders and lobbied Mr. Sessions to remain in charge of the inquiry, according to two people with knowledge of the episode. 

Mr. McGahn was unsuccessful, and the president erupted in anger in front of numerous White House officials, saying he needed his attorney general to protect him. (our emphasis)

Again, what does an innocent person need to be protected from, he asked rhetorically. Why would an innocent person want to do this, too:

The New York Times has also learned that four days before Mr. Comey was fired, one of Mr. Sessions’s aides asked a congressional staff member whether he had damaging information about Mr. Comey, part of an apparent effort to undermine the F.B.I. director. It was not clear whether Mr. Mueller’s investigators knew about this episode.

Mr. Mueller has also been examining a false statement that the president reportedly dictated on Air Force One in July in response to an article in The Times about a meeting that Trump campaign officials had with Russians in 2016. A new book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” by Michael Wolff, says that the president’s lawyers believed that the statement was “an explicit attempt to throw sand into the investigation’s gears,” and that it led one of Mr. Trump’s spokesmen to quit because he believed it was obstruction of justice.  [snip]

Two days after Mr. Comey’s testimony, an aide to Mr. Sessions approached a Capitol Hill staff member asking whether the staffer had any derogatory information about the F.B.I. director. The attorney general wanted one negative article a day in the news media about Mr. Comey, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting. (our emphasis)

Keep in mind this is several months after evil elf Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III supposedly recused himself from the Russia investigation, being led by then- FBI Director James Comey. A more rotten, dishonest cast of characters (cut from Rump's cloth) would be hard to imagine... and we're haven't even mentioned the knuckle- draggers on Capitol Hill that are desperate to protect this dysfunctional, loathsome, dangerous regime (see below).

BONUS:  Steve M. at No More Mister Nice Blog notes an effort by one lawyer in the White House to save Rump from himself (unsuccessfully).

BONUS II:  James Fallows says what we know to be true -- that the revelations in Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury" come as no surprise to those who, were they responsible country- before- party Republicans, would do something about Rump, but for their own malicious, twisted reasons have not. (h/t Mock Paper Scissors)

BONUS III: Michelle Goldberg echoes the same view - "Everyone in Trumpworld knows he's an idiot."

With Federal Criminal Investigation Moving Fast, Sessions Now Remembers Russian Discussions

It looks like pint- sized peckerwood and Attorney General of the Confederate States of America Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III may be going back to Capitol Hill to amend his sworn testimony for the third time regarding his knowledge of contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is once again under scrutiny on Capitol Hill regarding his candor about Russia and the Trump campaign amid revelations that he rejected a suggestion to convene a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump last year. 

According to court filings unsealed this week, Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos suggested at a March 2016 meeting that he could use his connections to set up a meeting between Putin and Trump with the then-GOP candidate's national security team. An Instagram picture on Trump's account shows Sessions attended the meeting at which Papadopoulos made the suggestion. 

After Trump declined to rule out the idea, Sessions weighed in and rejected the proposed meeting, according to a person who attended. 

But Sessions, who was a top surrogate for Trump during the campaign, did not disclose these discussions despite a persistent set of questions from Democrats and some Republicans about Russia during multiple hearings on Capitol Hill. The new information is renewing attention to how forthcoming Sessions has been with Congress. (our emphasis)

"My stars and bars, I just got so flustered with your relentless questions. Now ask me again for the third time."

Behold the weasel Trump put in charge of the Justice Department. How many bites at the apple does he get before he's charged with perjury?

BONUS:  One of Beauregard's tormentors, the great Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), has sent a scathing letter to him asking specific questions about the meeting with Papadopoulos and other matters related to his previous testimony.

Liars Gonna Lie, Grifters Gonna Grift

We don't pretend to be on top of all the ethical outrages occurring on practically a daily basis in the regime of un-indicted co-conspirator Donald "Rump" Trump. That would require, among other things, a stronger stomach that either of us possesses. Here, though, are a few examples from just the past 24 hours that define the moral and legal black hole that is Rump's regime:

-- Evil elf Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III finds perjury as natural as breathing:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is now said to have had a third undisclosed meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. 

During his confirmation proceedings, Sessions testified under oath that he “did not have any communications with the Russians.” 

Yet now CNN is reporting there was a third undisclosed meeting that occurred on April 27, 2016 at the famed Mayflower Hotel only blocks from the White House in Washington, DC. (our emphasis)

In addition to Congressional investigators, the FBI is also investigating the previously undisclosed meeting between Beauregard and Russian spy recruiter Kislyak. The two previously undisclosed meetings with Russian officials were uncovered in March:

Sessions made headlines in March after a Washington Post report said, citing Justice Department officials, the then-Alabama senator spoke to Kislyak in last July and September “at the height of what U.S. intelligence officials say was a Russian cyber campaign to upend the U.S. presidential race.” 

Following the Post report, the attorney general agreed to have been in touch with one Russian official a couple of times but maintained the meetings had nothing to with sharing of information.  (our emphasis)

At this juncture, the only thing that would keep Beauregard from being impeached and removed from office is the fact that Congress is controlled by sniveling party- before- country Republicans. Lying and hypocrisy are in their DNA.

-- In a regime that takes its cues from the kleptocratic family at its rotten head, it should come as no great surprise that they believe ethics rules are for losers:

President Donald Trump has granted ethics waivers to at least 17 of his top White House aides, including chief strategist Steve Bannon, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and senior counselor Kellyanne Conway, in addition to four former lobbyists. 

The waivers, released by the White House late Wednesday but granted on various dates, undermine Trump’s campaign pledge to “drain the swamp” in Washington. 

They also reveal a president who is granting ethics waivers at an unusually rapid pace. The 17 senior White House appointees were all granted waivers in the past four months. His predecessor, Barack Obama, granted that same number of waivers to his top staff over the course of his eight years in office. 

The waivers allow those covered under them to be exempt from some of the restrictions imposed by Trump’s executive order on ethics, which he signed just days after taking office. Most involve allowing contact with former clients and employers.

Influence peddling, back room sweetheart deals, and generic grifting -- more elements in the DNA of Republicans and of this regime in particular. Government service is only seen as a pocket- lining exercise. The rubes that bought into the "draining the swamp" pitch? No worries! They can always be had with appeals to their bigotry and racism. In the meantime, the Government grift store is open for business.

SNL Skewers Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III As "Forrest Gump"

Saturday Night Live continues to impress with its political humor. Here's last night's cold open with the wonderful Kate McKinnon playing Attorney General of the Confederate States of America and evil elf Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III as a Forrest Gump- like character (wait for Octavia Spencer reprising her role as Minny Jackson from "The Help"):



BONUS:  There's also a great faux movie trailer about looking for a Republican to stand up to Trump.

The Trump - Russia Scandal: Sessions Edition, Cont.

Some reactions to the blockbuster revelation of contacts between Attorney General of the Confederate States of America and evil elf Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III and the Russian ambassador while Beauregard was an advisor to the campaign of neo- fascist Putin poodle Donald "Rump" Trump:

Video of Sessions under oath denying he had any contacts with the Russians during the campaign pic.twitter.com/cnbAP187dZ

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) March 2, 2017

Misleading the Senate in sworn testimony about one own contacts with the Russians is a good way to go to jail https://t.co/qH0s6sTMJ9

— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) March 2, 2017

(Painter is the former chief ethics lawyer for the G.W. Bush administration)

PRO TIP: Next time Coretta Scott King tells you not to trust someone, believe her.

— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) March 2, 2017

It's not illegal for a Senator to speak w the Russian Ambassador. So why lie about it under oath?  Makes no sense, unless...

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) March 2, 2017

So, except for his AG, ex nat sec.adviser, & former campaign manager, so far, trump associates didn't have contact w russia during campaign

— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) March 2, 2017

JUST TONIGHT: Proof Trump Lied on Yemen; Proof AG Lied to Congress; WH Admits Using PsyOps in U.S.; Wiretaps Show Trump Camp-Russia Contacts pic.twitter.com/gwbQKoSxBJ

— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 2, 2017

Evan Perez just said it on CNN, so I suppose I can here: Kislyak wasn't just ambassador, he was Russia's "top spy recruiter" in D.C.: SVR.

— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) March 2, 2017

The pursuit of Rump's campaign ties to Russia is just the first course; the main course will be when information comes out (and it will) showing the controlling leverage Russia has over him =cough= loans underpinning his companies? = cough= Russian mob? =cough=.  Let's see those tax returns for starters, shall we?  We know you're out there!

BONUS:  From Dan Rather, who knows about these things as the former CBS White House correspondent during Watergate, "The fuse is lit."

Best Comparison of the Week

By Keith Olbermann on last night's Countdown (no video unfortunately). Rethuglican / New Confederate Party Sen. Jeff Sessions to a Keebler cookie elf. Frankly, we'd vote for the Keebler elf.

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III Wants Some Crack

We couldn't believe our ears yesterday during the Sotomayor hearings when that crazy redneck, Rethug Sen. Jefferson Beauregard "Cornpone" Sessions III told the previous speaker, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights' Wade Henderson, "we're going to do that crack cocaine thing that you and I have talked about before." Laughter broke out in the hearing room, which included such witnesses as NY Mayor Bloomberg and former FBI Director Freeh. An embarrassed Cornpone sputtered, "let me correct the record," indicating he was referring to penalties in crack cocaine cases. Freudian slip, Cornpone? Looking for that walk on the wild side?

And, speaking of wild side. . . .
This is Hackwhackers' 2,000th posting. When we began this blog in 2006, we didn't imagine we'd reach 200 posts, much less 2,000. We thank our vast worldwide readership for their encouragement and inspiration.

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III Offended by Prejudice -- Everyone Chuckles

During yesterday's confirmation hearings for Judge Sotomayor, Alabama Rethuglican Sen. Jefferson Beauregard "Cornpone" Sessions III kept coming back to Judge Sotomayor's "wise Latina" speech in an effort to make her look prejudiced against the historically oppressed white male. While his questioning of the Judge flopped big time, we should point out that Sen. Cornpone is a Senate expert on prejudice.

Associated Press has this story about Cornpone's ill-fated bid for the Federal bench back in the mid-1980s. He was rejected (even by his own state's Senator), among other things, for his view that the KKK wasn't so bad (especially if you're white). Back then, the lop-eared product of Southern inbreeding also accused the NAACP and the ACLU of being Communist-inspired and of forcing civil rights down the throats of his fellow defectives.

Judge Sotomayor, who was extremely impressive in her responses to the baiting, was calm, intelligent, and stately throughout the botched inquisition by Cornpone and Co. She'll make a terrific Supreme Court Justice.