Devin Nunes Takes His "Mom" And "Cow" To Court

By now, you've no doubt read or heard about the frivolous lawsuit brought by the man named "Most Likely To Commit Treason" in high school (allegedly!), festering cow- humper Rep. Devin Nunes (Traitor-CA).  Simply put, it's an exercise in intimidation and bad faith (so Trumpian!):

There is a Twitter account called “Devin Nunes’ cow” that has tweeted nasty things about Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). Evidently, the account is not actually run by a cow belonging to Nunes. Nunes is now suing his purported cow.

Nunes is suing @DevinCow, along with another parody account called @DevinNunesMom, Republican strategist Liz Mair and Twitter as an organization, alleging a concerted effort to defame him and work against his 2018 reelection campaign. He’s also accusing Twitter of unfairly targeting conservatives through a practice known as “shadow banning.” He’s asking for $250 million.

So, what's Nunes up to?

More likely is that this is the latest installment in a long-running Republican campaign to “work the refs” when it comes to political discourse. Republicans have alleged media bias for decades, tempting the press to adjust its coverage to avoid criticism. Trump, who promoted Nunes’s effort in a tweet Monday night, has talked publicly about opening up libel laws to make it easier to sue people. Conservatives, including Donald Trump Jr., have increasingly argued that social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook censor them. A $250 million lawsuit would seem a good way to make Twitter think long and hard about how it’s applying its standards.

So feel free to chuckle about the spectacle of Devin Nunes suing “Devin Nunes’ cow” — especially given Nunes’s past opposition to “frivolous lawsuits” — but know that this most likely isn’t about his purported cow or what it said. Nunes is telegraphing an expansive effort to go after people who hurt Republicans with their public discourse. Its potential impact, not so much legally as from personal behavioral standpoint, shouldn’t be so casually dismissed.  (our emphasis)

Well, we never chuckle at attempts by these Trump Republican defenders of "freedumb" to stifle speech through threats and intimidation.  As noted above, the wannabe Cheeto Benito is all in favor of revising libel laws in order to further erode that right, and we know he loves lawsuits that sap the energy and resources of his antagonists.  It's fast becoming one of the right's more dangerous ploys to shut down political opposition in this country and turn us all into banana republicans. 

But, there's also rampant hypocrisy that usually attends efforts by these dolts (Nunes' previous opposition to frivolous lawsuits like the one he's filed, as noted above), and the most galling piece of cynically ironic, gaslighting bullshit might just be what's noted below (click to enlarge):

Nunes wants to know who's behind the twitter accounts purporting to be his mom and his cow, because "the corruption of American Democracy and society by intentional falsehoods, fraud and defamation must stop." pic.twitter.com/O7xxauAcf0

— Brad Heath (@bradheath) March 19, 2019

Paging Donald Trump!  Paging Donald Trump!

Then there's this --

And here is how Nunes describes himself: pic.twitter.com/lFbkW4JKSZ

— Brad Heath (@bradheath) March 19, 2019

We know exactly who Devin Nunes is:  he's a villain who enthusiastically supports the hourly falsehoods, fraud and defamation regurgitated by his party leader;  he's a villain who actively worked to sabotage the investigation into Russian meddling in our elections;  and he's a villain who is completely devoid of "honor...  honesty, integrity, ethics, and reputation for truthfulness and veracity."

There.  So, sue us.

BONUS:  Of course, the (likely) unintended consequence of Nunes drawing attention to the two parody accounts was entirely predictable for anyone with an IQ higher than Nunes'.

Monday Reading

As always, please go to the links for the full articles/ op- eds.

David Von Drehle goes over the history of "Don" Trump's mob associations:

Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas titled their classic group portrait of Harry S. Truman’s foreign policy team, “The Wise Men.” A book about Donald Trump’s associations might be called “The Wise Guys.” [snip] 

If it seems harsh to compare [Paul] Manafort to a mobster, take it up with President Trump, who got the ball rolling with a tweet before the trial began. “Looking back at history, who was treated worse, [Al] Capone, legendary mob boss . . . or Paul Manafort?” Trump mused. 

And the president ought to know: He has spent plenty of time in mobbed-up milieus. As many journalists have documented — the late Wayne Barrett and decorated investigator David Cay Johnston most deeply — Trump’s trail was blazed through one business after another notorious for corruption by organized crime.

Construction, gambling, boxing promotion, luxury real estate:  Trump's mob associations lace through all his businesses, and as Von Drehle notes, is he acting like he's clean?

Dana Milbank looks at the attempt by the likes of Rep. Devin Nunes and his fellow co- conspirators to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and the shrinking cast of those who might serve as impeachment managers:

The House Republicans are ideally positioned to sit in judgment of Rosenstein because of their own unimpeachable conduct. So above reproach are they that one of their first votes after swearing in was an attempt to kill the House ethics office. [snip] 

Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Tex.), an obvious candidate, resigned over his use of public funds to settle a sexual-harassment lawsuit. 

Rep. Pat Meehan (R-Pa.), another ideal choice, resigned after word got out of a sexual-harassment settlement with a staffer the married congressman called his “soul mate.” 

Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) also can’t be of use. He resigned over allegations that he urged his mistress to seek an abortion. 

Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) likewise won’t be available. He quit when a former aide alleged that he offered her $5 million to have his child as a surrogate.

And the list goes on.  That's just since 2017.

Am the media is learning?

The Boston Globe has been contacting newspaper editorial boards and proposing a "coordinated response" to President Trump's escalating "enemy of the people" rhetoric. 

"We propose to publish an editorial on August 16 on the dangers of the administration's assault on the press and ask others to commit to publishing their own editorials on the same date," The Globe said in its pitch to fellow papers. 

The effort began just a few days ago. 

As of Saturday, "we have more than 100 publications signed up, and I expect that number to grow in the coming days," Marjorie Pritchard, the Globe's deputy editorial page editor, told CNN. 

The American Society of News Editors, the New England Newspaper and Press Association and other groups have helped her spread the word. 

"The response has been overwhelming," Pritchard said. "We have some big newspapers, but the majority are from smaller markets, all enthusiastic about standing up to Trump's assault on journalism."

One day is ... "nice."  Maybe they should consider actions that are not just one- shot wonders to make them feel bold and "relevant," like clearly pointing out in daily reporting what's not normal, what's an outright lie, what's a racist/ sexist/ etc. statement, and so on. That'll really make you bold and relevant, not just feel that way for a day. (Meanwhile, some in the media remain deliberately obtuse -- et tu, CNN?!)

Infidel 753 discusses "Britain's Trump" (and it's not who you might think) and a resurgent sickness in Europe:

For some time now the Labour party has had what is euphemistically described as a "problem" with anti-Semitism, in the form of recurring eruptions of anti-Jewish rhetoric and imagery which then have to be frantically denied, repudiated, or minimized by the leadership -- oddly reminiscent of the "problem" of eruptions of racism in the Republican party here.  [Labour leader Jeremy] Corbyn insists he isn't anti-Semitic, but his attendance at a ceremony honoring members of gangs dedicated to murdering Israeli civilians (and sometimes non-Israeli Jews as well), and some of his other rhetoric, speak for themselves.  The similarity with Trump's frequent verbal "dog whistles" is disturbing.

Many progressives, including us, have significant issues with some of the policies of the right- wing government of Bibi Netanyahu and his Likudniks. What must never happen is for that to bleed into sick anti- Israel/ anti- Semitic bigotry. Ever.

Speaking of Infidel, his link round- up is waiting for you here. Links to lots of interesting topics and discussions for the discerning reader (you!).

House Republican Whitewash: "Nothing To See Here; Please Disperse!"

Seeing the simultaneous approach of Special Counsel Robert Mueller and a November blue wave, party- before- country Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have decided to wrap up their "investigation" and issue some "findings" on the Trump- Russia collusion scandal.  To summarize: No collusion, no collusion, you're the collusion!

Throughout the past year or so, the Republicans on the committee, led by Trump stooge and  über- villain Rep. Devin "Inspector Clouseau" Nunes (R- Complicit), have pulled out every stop to stymie and misdirect their investigation into Russian meddling in our 2016 election, and the Trump campaign's role in that meddling. The latest move was such a blatant political hatchet job that one Republican on the committee decided he couldn't cover for it:

"We have lost all credibility and we're going to issue probably two different reports, unfortunately." - GOP Rep. Tom Rooney https://t.co/nQtT2nhl0c pic.twitter.com/f07FhnEKrO

— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) March 13, 2018

It will be several weeks before the Republican whitewash is out, but it will follow the same dishonest script as the hit job it released earlier this year (the one attempting to cast the FBI as real culprits in the Russia scandal). The Republicans also intend to try to continue to muddy the waters by continuing to look at use of the FISA court and the funding of the "pee dossier." However with the Mueller investigation deepening and the Senate Intelligence Committee's serious investigation proceeding in a bipartisan manner, this attempt by Nunes and his fellow co- conspirators to "close" the books will not age well. While it gives un- indicted co- conspirator Donald "Rump" Trump a fleeting opportunity to tweet out yet another risible exoneration, Democrats on the committee will issue their own report and will continue to follow leads. Thanks to rank Republican partisanship, this was always a fatally flawed sideshow to the main event, to be viewed mainly as a showcase for the clownish antics of Nunes and his fellow hacks.

BONUS:

House Intelligence pic.twitter.com/kRTh6p1Yug

— Harry Siegel (@harrysiegel) March 12, 2018

BONUS II: via democraticunderground.com --

Tweets Of The Day -- Paul Ryan, Towering Coward

Sure looks like House Republicans leaked Senator Warner's text messages to try and discredit the Russia investigation. https://t.co/hAnBJKQOhI

— T'Challah 🍝 (@AdamSerwer) March 1, 2018

Paul Ryan helps Trump undermine the rule of law once again https://t.co/pOGDxPapwd pic.twitter.com/7GnL7saYai

— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) March 1, 2018

Burr and Warner requested a rare meeting with Speaker Ryan to inform him of their conclusion and raise broader concerns. Ryan heard them out and said he was not the head of the committee.

— Nicholas Fandos (@npfandos) March 1, 2018

This is a stunning development in a once great nation. The leaders of the House intelligence committee, who handle classified material, are leakers. Worse, they leak for partisan political gain. What disgraceful corruption. Nunes must be replaced as chair. https://t.co/pJCPEgxHWW

— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) March 1, 2018

Paul Ryan is going to go down in history as the least Speaker of the House we've ever had. https://t.co/WDmuNpGOMv

— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) March 1, 2018

Your daily reminder that Paul Ryan has the political and moral courage of an insecure jellyfish https://t.co/1wDQJjnOCK

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) March 1, 2018

Randy Bryce is running to unseat the party- before- country, insecure jellyfish. Andrew Janz is the leading Democrat looking to unseat Nunes. Just sayin'.

Monday Reading

As always, please check out the full articles at the links.

Dara Lind at Vox has a fairly straightforward and detailed description of what to expect in the immigration debate set to start later today in the Senate, and the prospects beyond that in the crackpot caucus- controlled House.

On Monday night, the US Senate will start debating immigration. 

It’s not debating any specific bill or a specific set of policy proposals. The debate is likely to range from the scope of a legalization program for unauthorized immigrants brought to the US as children, to asylum policy, to cuts to future legal immigration. But the heart of the debate is a pair of questions. First, how — if at all — should Congress protect young immigrants facing the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program? Second, what restrictionist policies are an appropriate “tradeoff” for those protections?  [snip]

Remember, the Senate is only going to pass a bill if it gets 60 votes — which means a large handful of Democrats, in addition to dovish Republicans like Graham and Flake, would have to sign on. So it’s not going to be the bill that immigration hawks would desire. And in the House, the immigration hawks hold sway — and Ryan has promised that on immigration, he’ll stick to the Hastert Rule — a House Republican tradition that says bills will only be brought to the floor if a majority of House Republicans support them. 

It’s not even clear that a Senate-passed immigration bill would make it to the House floor. Unlike McConnell, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) hasn’t made any promises to Democrats on immigration. The only promise he’s made is to the conservative House Freedom Caucus to hold a vote on (and whip Republicans to vote for) a bill called the Securing America’s Future Act, written by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). (Goodlatte’s bill is far more aggressive on interior enforcement and far more restrictive in legalizing DACA recipients than anything being pushed in the Senate.) 

It's not advised that you hold your breath waiting for a humane bill to be regurgitated out of the Republican- controlled Congress, much less be signed by white supremacist bomb thrower Donald "Rump" Trump, Dreamers be damned.  We need a majority Democratic Congress to make this happen, and may be left to hope in the interim that as many Dreamers as possible can get renewals of their DACA protections before Gestapo ICE goons pick them up.

Is Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker (or, as middle school bully Donald "Rump" Trump called him, "Liddle Bob Corker") reconsidering his decision not to run for re-election this year?

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker has had conversations with a few colleagues in recent days about whether he should reconsider his decision to leave Congress and not seek re-election this year, GOP sources tell CNN. 

Whether it is a serious reconsideration, or just chatter with colleagues is the subject of some disagreement. There are also conflicting accounts of whether Corker has initiated the conversations, or whether he has had them with colleagues who are pushing him to think again.

Wingnut Rep. Marsha "A Thousand Holes In" Blackburn has already declared her candidacy, so it might make for a delicious bloodletting in the Republican primary if the rumor holds up.  Corker in the Senate has been all hat no cattle when it comes to standing up to Rump when it counts, so es macht nichts in the end.

Following up on our post yesterday about incompetent hack Rep. Devin "Sherlock" Nunes (R- Kompromat) setting up his very own fake news site (which, BTW, went down yesterday afternoon), some legal experts are raising the issue of Sherlock's being vulnerable to an obstruction of justice charge, especially if it can be proven he colluded with the White (Supremacist) House in his most recent humiliation -- the "Nunes memo":

As public scrutiny exposes deep flaws in the memo from the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes, about alleged F.B.I. surveillance abuses, the committee’s Republicans are increasingly downplaying its significance. Mr. Nunes’s colleagues are right to seek some distance from this caper — not to mention other similar memos he has hinted at releasing. That’s because by writing and releasing the memo, the chairman may just have landed himself, and his staff members, in the middle of Robert Mueller’s obstruction of justice investigation.

We would die very happy campers to witness this treasonous POS frog marched into a paddy wagon someday (but we'd settle for him losing his seat in Congress).

Last but not least, we recommend the comprehensive link round- up over at Infidel 753.  It's guaranteed to fill you up for the rest of the day.

The Nunes News

"Trump stooge" and co- conspirator Rep. Devin "Sherlock" Nunes (R- Kompromat) has stumbled on a way to counter all the bad press he's been getting ever since he started obstructing the investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 election on behalf of Donald "Rump" Trump: he's started his own "news organization":

Resembling a local, conservative news site, “The California Republican” is classified on Facebook as a “media/news company” and claims to deliver “the best of US, California, and Central Valley news, sports, and analysis.” 

(Ed.:  it should add, "delivered with a nearly undetectable Russian accent.")

But the website is paid for by Nunes’ campaign committee, according to small print at the bottom of the site. Leading the home page this week: A photograph of Nunes over the headline: “Understanding the process behind #ReleaseTheMemo.”

Bless his nonexistent heart.  We didn't look -- did they use this photograph?

(Rep. Devin Nunes - Business in the front, treason in the back)

Of course Nunes (whose involvement in Rump's deeply- compromised transition team could be one reason he's all- in on protecting Rump as a way to protect himself) has made a botch of things on more than one occasion.  The only ones buying into his cavalcade of conspiracies and smears are the goobers cheering Rump on. As his leading Democratic opponent, Andrew Janz, put it:

“He’s got fake memos, fake websites and fake news,” Janz said. “It’s disappointing to see a member of Congress, especially one who chairs an important committee, spread misinformation to his constituents, who he knows will just eat it up.”

It's going to be a tough race in a district carried by Rump by 10 points, but some polls have Janz close to the margin of error.  If you feel like helping to retire Sherlock ("No Nunes is good Nunes"), here's the Janz website.

Monday Reading

As always, please read the full articles!

Greg Sargent has a must- read that asserts that the "Nunes memo" is a fiasco that is going to have damaging repercussions to un- indicted co- conspirator Donald "Rump" Trump:

It is still very possible that President Trump could use the Nunes memo as a pretext to try to quash or constrain special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe. Trump tweeted over the weekend that the memo “totally vindicates” his claim that the investigation is a “witch hunt,” which is an absurd lie in every possible respect, but it shows he’s still mulling a move on Mueller. 

But the performance of congressional Republicans on the Sunday shows — and a weekend’s worth of legal analysis taking apart the Nunes effort — together suggest another possibility. The Nunes memo affair may be shaping up as a much bigger fiasco than we even know — so bad, in fact, that it could ultimately undermine Trump’s position even more dramatically than we could have expected.

He concludes,

In the end, Trump could still use the Nunes memo to hamstring Mueller by firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and replacing him with a loyalist to oversee the probe. But this would now have to happen either after the Schiff rebuttal served to reinforce the investigation’s legitimacy, or after Trump suppressed the Schiff rebuttal even though it could further undermine his own rationale for taking such a dramatic step. Trump is shameless enough to do this in either scenario. But it could now be harder for congressional Republicans to go along with it. This would not be the case if not for Nunes’s antics — which Trump backed.

We can only hope.

Tea party director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Mick "Dick" Mulvaney is back in the news. Following his actions to protect the payday loan shysters, he's continuing to do his best to further castrate the bureau and help his buds in the financial industry:

Mick Mulvaney, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has pulled back from a full-scale probe of how Equifax Inc failed to protect the personal data of millions of consumers, according to people familiar with the matter.  

Equifax (EFX.N) said in September that hackers stole personal data it had collected on some 143 million Americans. Richard Cordray, then the CFPB director, authorized an investigation that month, said former officials familiar with the probe. [snip] 

Three sources say, though, Mulvaney, the new CFPB chief, has not ordered subpoenas against Equifax or sought sworn testimony from executives, routine steps when launching a full-scale probe. Meanwhile the CFPB has shelved plans for on-the-ground tests of how Equifax protects data, an idea backed by Cordray. 

The CFPB also recently rebuffed bank regulators at the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency when they offered to help with on-site exams of credit bureaus, said two sources familiar with the matter.  (our emphasis)

The U.S. Supreme Court just rejected an attempt by Pennsylvania Republicans when it refused to block the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court's order to scrap the Republican- gerrymandered congressional map and replace it with a fair one by February 15:

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt Republican gerrymandering a crippling blow when it refused to block a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that struck down the GOP’s congressional map for illegally discriminating against Democratic voters. The state court had ordered the Republican-controlled legislature to draw and pass a new map by Feb. 15, but GOP leaders have refused to cooperate with the ruling after Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf promised to veto any new gerrymander. As a result, the state court itself will likely draw new nonpartisan districts, which could lead to major Democratic gains this fall—anywhere from one to as many as six seats.​ [snip] 

At the same time, because the state Supreme Court’s case is based on Pennsylvania law, this case can’t set a legal precedent for other states. However, the standard that the judges have established could influence federal courts that are hearing challenges to other partisan gerrymanders in pending cases in Maryland, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. This ruling could also encourage reformers to challenge maps elsewhere under their own state constitutions. 

Ultimately, this decision is a monumental victory against one of the worst Republican gerrymanders in the country, and it’s a massive game-changer for Democratic chances of gaining a House majority in November.

Significantly and surprisingly, ultra- right Justice Samuel Alito was the one who denied the stay. Things are looking up.

Finally, as customary, we would draw your attention to the link round- up put together by Infidel for an afternoon's worth of exploration.

Tweets Of The Day -- Nunes' "Fart In A Hurricane"

Sometimes, you have to yield the floor to Republicans.

That’s it? Dishonest and misleading memo wrecked the House intel committee, destroyed trust with Intelligence Community, damaged relationship with FISA court, and inexcusably exposed classified investigation of an American citizen. For what? DOJ & FBI must keep doing their jobs.

— James Comey (@Comey) February 2, 2018

The latest attacks on the FBI and Department of Justice serve no American interests – no party’s, no president’s, only Putin’s. https://t.co/6dsbcBIla6

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) February 2, 2018

Nunes fizzle underscores the point: You can both seek to obstruct and be an idiot. You intend to harm investigators but you're too dumb to see what you have is unhelpful

— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) February 2, 2018

Trump says re memo: “What’s happening in this country is a disgrace. A lot of people should be ashamed.” Agree. Donald Trump should be ashamed. Devin Nunes should be ashamed. And every Republican looking the other way on this partisan attack on law enforcement should be ashamed.

— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) February 2, 2018

So now I know what a Nothingburger tastes like: https://t.co/zwdPdXNvl7

— Bret Stephens (@BretStephensNYT) February 2, 2018

The FISA warrant was a decision made by a judge.
Nunes in attacking it just makes himself look like a Putin stooge.
The rest of us couldn’t give a hoot about his memo. We’re waiting to hear from Mueller.

Disputed GOP-Nunes memo released @CNNPolitics https://t.co/veNSaC7uaF

— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) February 2, 2018

MAGA world yesterday: "ZOMG this is bigger than Watergate! It will end the Mueller witch hunt and put Obama, Hillary, and Steele in jail. God-Emperor Trump will rule for 1000 years!"

MAGA world today: pic.twitter.com/7wLIfA3asB

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) February 2, 2018

When a national security professional, current or retired, sounds the alarm over a political candidate’s apparent cooperation with a Kremlin attack on our democracy, that’s not “bias,” it’s patriotism and duty.

— Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) February 2, 2018

And finally we hear again from the bard inside Rick Wilson:

Nunes and his little friends
Vowed to bring the pain
But Devin's memo whiffed today
Like a fart in a hurricane

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) February 2, 2018

BONUS: Check out these hilarious reactions in GIF form.

BONUS II:  It's also sparked a trending Twitter hashtag,  #YoMemoJokes.

FBI Releases Statement Blasting Nunes Memo

Punching back:

The FBI takes seriously its obligations to the FISA Court and its compliance with procedures overseen by career professionals in the Department of Justice and the FBI. We are committed to working with the appropriate oversight entities to ensure the continuing integrity of the FISA process. 

With regard to the House Intelligence Committee’s memorandum, the FBI was provided a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it. As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.  (our emphasis)

This, after it's been reported that both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray appealed (apparently in vain) to the White (Supremacist) House -- in the form of Chief of Staff Adult Day Care supervisor John Kelly -- not to authorize release the bullshit Nunes memo.

Undermining The State Of The Union

Today, as we undergo a barrage of breathless media talking heads speculating about tonight's first State of the Uniom* big boy speech by Putin asset Donald "Rump" Trump, Americans with respect for the Constitution and rule of law will have several other things on their minds.

Yesterday, party- before- country House Republicans, led by desperate weasel Rep. Devin "Sherlock" Nunes (Trump-CA) and facilitated by Sneaker of the House Paul "Lyin'" Ryan, voted to release a partisan hit job on the FBI's investigation of collusion between Rump's campaign and his Russian benefactors. At the same time, they voted to quash a rebuttal report by Democrats. The release of the Nunes hit job, without review of classified material contained in it, has been described by Rump's Justice Department as "extraordinarily reckless." (But desperate times call for desperate measures, right?!)  The 4- page hit job, which focuses on the FBI's use of the dossier prepared by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, is being characterized as a misleading hodgepodge "rife with factual inaccuracies," that also potentially exposes U.S. intelligence assets. It also takes aim at Special Counsel Mueller supervisor Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's handling of an application to surveil probable Russian asset and Rump advisor Carter Page, as a fig leaf to give Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III cause to fire Rosenstein. Once again, we'll leave it up to the legal beagles, but this hindering of the investigation smells like obstruction of justice. Releasing the hit job should, however, fulfill its main mission: as fodder for the right- wing propaganda machine to blow smoke and undercut any findings to come from Mueller's investigation.

At the same time, soon- to- retire thorn- in- Rump's- rump FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was ousted, ostensibly prior to the release of an Inspector General report criticizing the FBI's conduct of investigations into Hillary Clinton.  The small person named Rump also had wanted McCabe out for a long time, inappropriately asking who he voted for and holding against him his friendship for James Comey and McCabe's wife's running for office in Virginia as a Democrat. Replacing McCabe with a Rump loyalist who would be privy to inside information about the Mueller investigation is the likely plan now.

Yesterday was also the deadline for imposing the latest set of sanctions on Russia as punishment for their meddling in the 2016 election, and to discourage future meddling. Naturally, the Rump regime tried to water down the sanctions, then has been dragging its feet ever since the law was passed nearly unanimously last year. When pressed up against the statutory deadline, it finally showed its hand:  it declined to impose the sanctions, claiming that current laws were "deterring" Russia.  And, as Charles P. Pierce would say, I am the Tsar of All the Russias.  The regime did release a list of oligarchs and businesses with ties to Putin, but it was merely re- releasing a list already largely covered by Forbes magazine (!). So, cue the helpful Putin faux outrage to fool media into thinking Rump is being tough on his handlers. (Also recall the Steele dossier that Rump and Nunes are so desperate to disparage includes intelligence that the Russians were actively trying to leverage the Rump campaign to ease sanctions already imposed by the Obama administration.)

While Rump is reading his big boy speech off the teleprompter tonight, this is the real danger to our system of government that he and his servile minions in Congress have unleashed in their desperation to hold onto power.  Always be mindful of that.

BONUS:  Tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors lays out the Republican plan to end with the firing of Robert Mueller.

Republicans Ramp Up Mueller Investigation Obstruction With Insane Conspiracies (UPDATED)

As Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation gets closer to un- indicted co- conspirator Donald "Rump" Trump, Republicans and their water- carriers in the right- wing media are getting ever more frantic to assist Rump in obstructing justice. This has taken the tack in recent months of more and more insane efforts to discredit Mueller, the FBI and the Justice Department.

You have the evil but incompetent Rep. Devin "Sherlock" Nunes (R-CA), whose staff wrote a laughable "memo" supposedly detailing improper conduct by the FBI (this is the #releasethememo nothingburger that is more valuable being hidden than being subjected to the light of day):

Republican members have trumpeted the secret document as full of shocking information about FBI misconduct. But Nunes seems to be in no hurry for the document to see the light of day. His failure to make it public—or even share his findings with the Justice Department or FBI for their feedback—evokes his effort last spring to divert focus from suspicious contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia by ginning up a counter-controversy over the “unmasking” of surveillance targets. He never provided any evidence to back up his allegations of wrongdoing, and after reviewing classified material that Nunes touted, both Democrats and Republicans said his claims did not hold water.  (our emphasis)

Again, not that holding water has much to do with the intended effect, which is to sow doubt and distrust. Nunes likely has some skin in the obstruction game, since he was part of Rump's transition team and, therefore, potentially aware of some of the collusion taking place with Russian agents. Moreover, Russian bots have been hyping the phony story via social media, making the dot connection rather easy.

Lately, you also have the related "FBI secret society" nuttery being flogged by -- wait for it -- Fox "News."  The contagion has already spread to one of our dumbest Senators, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin:

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said Tuesday that the missing text messages between two FBI officials is just further evidence of “corruption” within the FBI and claimed without evidence that top-level agency officials held “secret society” meetings off-site after the election. 

“What this is all about is further evidence of corruption,” he told Fox News Tuesday. 

“It’s more than bias, but corruption at the highest levels of the FBI and that secret society, we have an informant that is talking about a group that were holding secret meetings off-site. There is so much smoke here, there is so much suspicion.”  (our emphasis)

So much smoke, so much suspicion! -- all of which being generated by Nunes, Johnson, Fox "News" and their legions of fellow travelers. You can bet any "secret meetings off- site after the election" were to figure out how to deal with the fact that a Russian asset was just "elected" president.

Meanwhile, it's clear that the closer Mueller is getting to the Oval Office, the more these party- before- country Republicans will be baying their ever more mad scenarios to their fevered base. Sadly, our media will likely be "reporting the controversy" without making clear how this despicable behavior undermines our democratic institutions and the rule of law.

UPDATE:  The "secret society" has now been revealed to be the joke it always was. Sad!

Russians Helping Rep. Nunes Flog Phony FISA Distraction (UPDATED)

There's a new move afoot by Republicans and their "allies" to discredit the Mueller investigation and distract from bombshells waiting to drop. One Republican in particular, who was on the transition team for Russian asset Donald "Rump" Trump, has been working overtime for the past year to derail any investigation into the Trump- Russia scandal (almost like he has something to hide as well, eh, Special Counsel Mueller?).  That, of course, would be California Republican Rep. Devin "Sherlock" Nunes.

So, here's the Business Insider headline: Russia-linked Twitter accounts are working overtime to help Devin Nunes and WikiLeaks. What are they helping him with now?

Republican lawmakers are pushing for the House Intelligence Committee to release a memo written by the panel's chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes, that outlines purported surveillance against then President-elect Donald Trump by former President Barack Obama's administration during the transition period. 

And Russia-linked Twitter bots have jumped on the bandwagon. 

#ReleaseTheMemo is the top-trending hashtag among Twitter accounts linked to Russian influence operations, according to Hamilton 68, a website launched last year that claims to track Russian propaganda in near-real time. [snip] 

The Russians and their agents at Wikileaks are plumping this distraction, too?  Whoodathunkit.

Nunes' memo must be loaded with solid intel!

A source with knowledge of the memo told Business Insider that the memo is "a level of irresponsible stupidity that I cannot fathom. Purposefully misconstrues facts and leaves out important details." 

Well, that certainly bears the Nunes hallmark all right!  And if it's an unfathomable level of irresponsible stupidity, it must be something Fox "News" Sean Hannity will be spoon feeding to his bug- eyed viewers in 3, 2, 1...

Let's hear from Rick Wilson again, shall we?

I mean, if the FISA application was poisoned by some conspiracy, ought we not see the complete depths of this perfidy? Wouldn't that application's false nature exonerate the President and his associates?

Why not release the application?

OH. Because the memo is horseshit?

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) January 19, 2018

Andrew Janz is the leading Democrat challenging Sherlock in his red district (but recent polling shows Sherlock is vulnerable).  Let's see what we can do to help "retire" Sherlock so he can spend more time with his collusion.

UPDATE:  Axl Rose of Guns n' Roses was moved to comment on Nunes' perfidy for his 1.2 million followers on Twitter --

Fuck Nunes

— Axl Rose (@axlrose) January 20, 2018

The best response to which used a Nunes pic from high school --

Business in the front...obstruction of justice in the back. pic.twitter.com/JNngFVzw5k

— Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) January 20, 2018

Unmasking A Villain

Following exposure of his shameful, bumbling attempt earlier this year to create a distraction around nitwit Donald "Rump" Trump's claim that he was "wire tapped" by President Obama, American villain Rep. Devin "Inspector Clouseau" Nunes (R- Trump's Pocket) was forced to recuse himself from the House Intelligence Committee's investigation of Russian interference in the election on behalf of Rump. But being the villain he is, he's still doing everything he can to muddy the waters (a.k.a., obstruct justice) on behalf of Rump. Last week, Nunes, acting on his own in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee and errand boy for Rump, issued three subpoenas -- though not to advance the Committee's investigation into the Trump-Russia scandal:

Nunes served subpoenas this week to the CIA, the NSA and the FBI asking for information about unmaskings requested by three former officials: national security adviser Susan E. Rice, CIA director John Brennan and U.N. ambassador Samantha Power.

In issuing his subpoenas, Nunes expressed his concern about "violations of Americans' civil liberties" via unmasking. As a good errand boy, Nunes was careful to coordinate his action with the Rump White (Supremacist) House, as evidenced by this contemporaneous tweet by the twit:

The big story is the "unmasking and surveillance" of people that took place during the Obama Administration.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2017

It turns out, however, that Republicans' and Nunes' noble concern about "unmasking" seems to be a rather recent phenomenon:

The Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee asked U.S. spy agencies late last year to reveal the names of U.S. individuals or organizations contained in classified intelligence on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, engaging in the same practice that President Trump has accused the Obama administration of abusing, current and former officials said. 

The chairman of the committee, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), has since cast the practice of “unmasking” of U.S. individuals and organizations mentioned in classified reports as an abuse of surveillance powers by the outgoing Obama administration. (our emphasis)

Well, well. Hypocrisy thy name is you, Nunes. But we already knew that, didn't we?

Today's Washington Post editorial sums up the problem with Nunes' behavior, and what the "big story" is here, regardless of diversions and distractions:

The Nunes action seems unnecessary; if anything improper was done, the committee is capable of checking into it. This is not a separate matter from the Russia story, and Mr. Nunes’s recusal means he should keep his hands off it. Suspiciously, right after Mr. Nunes issued the subpoenas, Mr. Trump tweeted, “The big story is the ‘unmasking and surveillance’ of people that took place during the Obama Administration.” 

No, it is not. The “big story” is whether Russia brazenly attempted to tilt the U.S. election by damaging Hillary Clinton through a cyberattack and other means, thereby helping Mr. Trump to victory, and whether members of the Trump campaign colluded in that effort. It’s about Mr. Trump’s ill-explained and gratuitous attempts during the transition and since to do the bidding of Russian President Vladimir Putin, including trying to unwind the sanctions against Russia imposed by President Barack Obama after the election meddling was discovered. 

The “big story” is why Mr. Trump has frantically attempted to shut down the Russia investigations, including through the firing of FBI Director James B. Comey. It’s about getting an answer, once and for all, about Mr. Trump’s finances and any undisclosed links with Russia. The unmasking that’s important is the truth behind all this. Now it is in the hands of the investigators, and they must be left to do their work properly and without interference by Mr. Trump — or Mr. Nunes.

Every time this villainous clown tries to help his boss, he comes perilously close to obstructing an ongoing investigation. If his fellow party- before- country Republicans weren't also engaged in the same thing (albeit more subtly), Nunes would get censured. As it is, he'll probably get a pat on the back and a wink and a nod.

Trump's Co-Conspirators

As we fight the effects of the various "firehoses" being employed by unfit neo- fascist shitgibbon Donald "Rump" Trump (firehoses of lies, of distraction, of blame- shifting, etc.), we must contnue to make note of those in the Republican party- before- country tribe who are aiding and abetting him.

Of perhaps greatest scope and effect in this collusion is the right- wing media, led by Fox "News" and the rest of the Rupert Murdoch media empire, Breitbart, InfoWars, and countless spittle- flecking hate radio hacks like Oxycontin Rush Limbaugh. Michael Tomasky notes the effect this has in assisting Rump's diversionary smokescreens, and the "propaganda imbalance" between right and left:

On Monday, three stories came out that under any other president, certainly under Barack Obama, would have been three-day mini-scandals—at least. But under Trump, they’re either so dwarfed by the running narratives (Russia; shambolic White House; tweets) or so unsurprising coming from him that it’s hard not to just shake our heads and move on. 

These little scandals drive home to me what may be the single starkest lesson of these first 70-whatever days of Trump: that the right-wing media has enormous agenda-setting power in this country. [snip]

The left has no remotely equivalent attack machinery. It doesn’t exist because there’s no market for it. It wouldn’t work. Liberals just don’t have the same hunger for red meat. They have a hunger for it, but not the same hunger, not anywhere near. [snip] 

The Trump administration already has racked up so many scandals, failures, and sleazy deals that I guess it’s inevitable that some of them slip by. But just keep this propaganda imbalance in your mind. It explains why these near-daily controversies just fade away. Imagine where he’d be in the polls if all of these got the attention they deserve! 

Among the other co- conspirators in Rump's efforts to disrupt, obfuscate and derail investigations into his and his cohorts' deep connections with Russia are party- before- country politicians like Rep. Devin "Clouseau Lite" Nunes and Rep. Jason "Clouseau" Chaffetz.

Sometimes, this results in active collusion with Rump's efforts, as in Nunes' bollixed efforts to validate Rump's claims of being "wire tapped" by President Obama.

Sometimes it's passive collusion of the sort practiced by Chaffetz (Hillary Clinton's Inspector Javert), whose attitude now toward Rump's blatant corruption and conflicts of interest is "nothing to see here, move along."

Then, of course, you have Rump's version of The White House Plumbers Unit clumsily trying to find out who the FBI was investigating =cough= Michael Flynn =cough=, a gambit that's now been exposed and amplified by the White House's diversionary Susan Rice "unmasking" nothingburger.

We pause to repeat this tweet that captures the essence of what's going on here in plain sight:

Why is everyone investigating my bank robbery when the real crime is the invasion of privacy from those bank surveillance cameras?

— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) April 1, 2017

It's no surprise that human/ turtle hybrid and reptile with no moral compass Sen. Mitch "Missy" McConnell (Testudo- KY) has now joined the active Rump collusionists (anything for those tax cuts for the wealthy!):

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Tuesday evening said that he had asked the Senate Intelligence Committee to look into reports that Susan Rice asked for the names of Trump associates to be unmasked in intelligence reports. 

"I have asked the Intelligence Committee, Sen. Burr, Sen. Warner, to conduct a bipartisan investigation of this whole episode," McConnell told Fox News when asked about Rice. "They will conduct it. Hopefully at the end we will find out what happened and they will issue a report, I hope, on a bipartisan basis."

Our expectation is that, as they "find out what happened," the results will only serve to substantiate the fact that there were legal and national security considerations that involved Rump's associates and campaign being in contact with Russian agents and go- betweens.  But when you're desperately trying to buy time and cover up potentially treasonous activities, it seems any diversion (even one that ends up boomeranging on you) will do. It also seems one of the primary lessons from the Watergate scandal of 45 years ago has been lost to these hacks: it's not the crime, it's the coverup that gets you.

They may have forgotten, but history will remember.

BONUS: Here's one news program that won't be part of the diversionary tactics.

BONUS II:  John Cole has a good piece on the puke funnel process.

Trump Overload

As we know most of you can appreciate, it can be disheartening and exhausting at times trying to keep up with the evil, the incompetence, and the corruption that are the hallmarks of the regime of neo- fascist existential threat Donald "Rump" Trump. The scale and magnitude of the destructiveness in just the first two months are simply unprecedented, to the extent that we sometimes find it difficult to apportion our efforts on the latest outrage or another, as they come so fast and relentlessly (hence the "firehose" analogy). While in our blogging we try to keep the focus on what we consider to be the most serious threat to our democracy -- the Trump- Russia connection -- the damage to our institutions and our society from actions being taken by the regime or by its enablers in the Republican Congress must also be recorded.

That being said, we're always looking to find some comfort in the fact that others with a bigger megaphone are continuing to sound the alarm on this uniquely disastrous unPresident and his supporting cast of deplorables.

The Los Angeles Times is beginning a four- part editorial series today on Rump's  "troubling traits," starting with today's editorial, "Our Dishonest President."  Here's a snip, but please look at the entire editorial (we'll follow the other three parts as they're published this week):

It was no secret during the campaign that Donald Trump was a narcissist and a demagogue who used fear and dishonesty to appeal to the worst in American voters. The Times called him unprepared and unsuited for the job he was seeking, and said his election would be a “catastrophe.” 

Still, nothing prepared us for the magnitude of this train wreck. Like millions of other Americans, we clung to a slim hope that the new president would turn out to be all noise and bluster, or that the people around him in the White House would act as a check on his worst instincts, or that he would be sobered and transformed by the awesome responsibilities of office. [snip] 

What is most worrisome about Trump is Trump himself. He is a man so unpredictable, so reckless, so petulant, so full of blind self-regard, so untethered to reality that it is impossible to know where his presidency will lead or how much damage he will do to our nation. His obsession with his own fame, wealth and success, his determination to vanquish enemies real and imagined, his craving for adulation — these traits were, of course, at the very heart of his scorched-earth outsider campaign; indeed, some of them helped get him elected. But in a real presidency in which he wields unimaginable power, they are nothing short of disastrous. (our emphasis)

The Washington Post looks at what it sees as the "most suspicious aspect" of Rump's regime:

Mark R. Warner (Va.), ranking Democrat on the Senate committee, offered an appeal to common sense: The public, he said, must “not lose sight of what the investigation is about: An outside foreign adversary effectively sought to hijack our most critical democratic process, the election for president” in order to “favor one candidate over another.” Unfortunately, Mr. Trump and willing accomplices such as Mr. [Devin] Nunes have been all too effective in clouding this shocking reality and impeding effective investigation of it. [snip]

... Mr. Trump appears to be doing his best to confuse the public about the facts and to prevent the truth from coming out. That, of course, is Russia’s agenda — and it is the strangest and most suspicious aspect of his presidency.  (our emphasis)

Speaking of confusing the public, The Miami Herald focuses on the efforts of one villain, Rep. Devin "Clouseau" Nunes (Weasel- CA) and his party- before- county Republican cohorts in this diversion and concludes,

Amazing. All this hot air about blocking America’s enemies with border walls and travel bans, and it turns out that the enemies of the American people have been right here all along. 

Simply put, U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes is acting like a double agent, and not a very good one at that.  [snip]

It’s becoming a well-worn cliche among those Americans who are rightly appalled at the damage that the Trump administration plans to inflict — on the environment, on education, on democracy itself — to opine: “Can you imagine what the Republicans would have done if Obama had done/said/known this? 

We know what they would have done, because politics instead of concern for the integrity of this republic are, unfortunately, still driving this process. Turns out, America’s enemies are still among us.  (our emphasis)

None of this is a revelation to us. The attacks on science, truth and facts. The them- vs.- us tactics. The cynical party- before- country pols. The sabotaging of democratic systems and elections. Plutocrats pulling strings. These features and more have been part of our politics especially since the Republican Party started to go off the rails 40- some years ago, abetted by a right wing loon media. Rump is just the pure distillation, the reductio ad absurdum, of their nihilism.

We try not to get overloaded by all of it, but it's a tough pull.

Quotes Of The Day: Isn't Self-Government Great?!

-- Squeaker of the House Paul "Lyin'" Ryan (R- Galt's Gulch), when asked if he would work with Democrats on health care reform, replied:

“I don’t want that to happen... [I]f this Republican Congress allows the perfect to be the enemy of the good, I worry we’ll push the president into, um, working with the Democrats; he’s suggested as much."

Of course, TrumpCare/ RyanCare was neither perfect nor good (except if you're talking about turd sandwiches). And never fear: Democrats aren't about to do any dirty work for you or the shitgibbon to deprive millions of Americans of affordable health care. Still, it once again reveals Ryan for the ideological radical that he is.

-- Tea bagger and Constitutional know- nothing Rep. Ted "Yahoo" Yoho (Weasel- FL), while discussing the travails of House Intelligence Committee villain Rep. Devin "Clouseau" Nunes (Weasel- CA) and his late night romps to the White (Supremacist) House, revealed a hitherto unknown Constitutional relationship:

“You have to keep in mind who he works for,” Yoho told MSNBC. “He works for the president and answers to the president.” 

Well, most of us already knew that, but thanks for putting it on the record, Yahoo.

By the way, Yahoo is by profession a "large animal veterinarian," which makes him particularly suited to be in the zoo that's the House Republican Caucus.

Tweets Of The Day - Good Doggy!

UPDATE: Nunes says he will not share his intelligence sources with other members of committee. https://t.co/U2fhThyLLM pic.twitter.com/YJJZQ33GWp

— Reuters U.S. News (@ReutersUS) March 28, 2017

imagine having to do a cover-up and your chief henchman is a loyal but extremely stupid golden retriever

— Simon Maloy (@SimonMaloy) March 28, 2017

"A Closer Look" At The Last 48 Hours

Seth Meyers talks Russia- Trump scandal, Devin Nunes, Paul Manafort and Neil Gorsuch in a sharp 10 minutes or so:

Villain Rep. Devin Nunes Tips Off Trump To Investigation Intercepts

So, this happened in the midst of everything else this afternoon (our emphasis):

Investigators don’t normally brief the people they’re investigating. But on Wednesday afternoon, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the Republican who’s leading a congressional investigation into whether President Donald Trump’s team colluded with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election, went to the White House to talk to the president. 

U.S. intelligence agencies had intercepted Trump associates’ communications ― and perhaps those of Trump himself ― in the final three months of the Obama administration, Nunes said he told Trump. 

Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a close Trump ally, said the intercepted communications didn’t mention Russia and were therefore unrelated to his investigation. But the subject matter ― the intelligence community’s investigation of Trump and his associates’ connections to foreign powers ― overlapped. And Nunes’ objective appeared political: Deflect attention from Trump and his associates’ ties to Russia, and back up Trump’s claim that he is a victim of “deep state” loyal to former President Barack Obama. 

Nunes’ gambit failed. In attempting to put out the Trump-Russia fire, he made much of it worse: In two press conferences on Wednesday, he confirmed that Trump’s surrogates ― and maybe the president himself ― were subjects of legal surveillance, implied that they may have had suspicious contact with agents from a country other than Russia, and potentially disclosed classified information. 

And by choosing to brief the president, who’s so closely tied to the investigation, before sharing his new information with his Democratic counterpart, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Nunes also raised doubts about his own ability to lead his committee’s probe.
Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said that Nunes “will need to decide if he is the chairman of an independent investigation or if he’s a surrogate for the White House.”

“If a Democrat had done this, Republicans would have been asking for him to be investigated both for disclosing classified information and for obstructing justice,” said Matthew Miller, a Department of Justice spokesman during the Obama administration. “It is so far beyond the pale for the person who is conducting an investigation to both brief the subject of that investigation and potentially jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation being conducted by the FBI.” 

That would be one of our bumbling villains, Rep. Devin Nunes, formerly a dairy farmer and more recently a member of neo- fascist un-indicted co-conspirator (maybe!) Donald "Rump" Trump's transition team, making a strong case today for (at the very least) his removal from the chair of the House Intelligence Committee and the appointment of a Special Counsel to continue the investigation of the Russia- Trump connection. Whatever doubt of this remained after Nunes and his fellow enabling Republicans on the committee lobbed defensive or distracting questions at FBI Director James Comey at Monday's hearing should now be now entirely dispelled. He is Rump's man on the committee (among many others) and cannot be trusted in any way, shape or form.

Some selected reactions:

For those still not getting it: Nunes and now White House are manipulating language to make it seem like Trump wiretapping true. It isn't.

— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) March 22, 2017

Nunes, who wants leakers hunted down and thrown in prison, talked about a lot of classified information today https://t.co/Ih6OYAt3YT

— Matthew Rosenberg (@AllMattNYT) March 22, 2017

NUNES: Hey, don't look at Paul Manafort working to undermine democracy on behalf of Putin! Look over here! Yoo-hoo!

— Jake Vig (@Jake_Vig) March 22, 2017

7. It shows how much pressure Team Trump is feeling, including #DevinNunes himself, who was on the Trump transition team. SCREWS TIGHTEN.

— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) March 22, 2017

Hot Take: Devin Nunes may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) March 22, 2017

Perhaps feeling liberated by Nunes' actions, Intelligence Committee Ranking Minority Member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) upped the ante on the villain:

Schiff on collusion btw Trump associates and Russians: "I can't go into the particulars, but there is more than circumstantial evidence now" pic.twitter.com/JvPv74ROiM

— David Mack (@davidmackau) March 22, 2017

Lock him up! Lock him up!

BONUS:  Steve Benen has a good read about Nunes' bizarre actions.

Trump Regime Enlists Intelligence Community, Lawmakers In Pushback On Russia Scandal

The Washington Post is reporting that White (supremacist) House officials have been engaging in contacts with party- before- country Republican members of Congress and the intelligence community in order to push back on news of ties between Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin's government and the campaign of neo- fascist Putin poodle Donald "Rump" Trump. It's hard not to get the sense that there's some desperation here about a fire that's starting to get out of control:

The Trump administration has enlisted senior members of the intelligence community and Congress in efforts to counter news stories about Trump associates’ ties to Russia, a politically charged issue that has been under investigation by the FBI as well as lawmakers now defending the White House. 

Acting at the behest of the White House, the officials made calls to news organizations last week in attempts to challenge stories about alleged contacts between members of President Trump’s campaign team and Russian intelligence operatives, U.S. officials said. 

The calls were orchestrated by the White House after unsuccessful attempts by the administration to get senior FBI officials to speak with news organizations and dispute the accuracy of stories on the alleged contacts with Russia. [snip] 

The officials broadly dismissed Trump associates’ contacts with Russia as infrequent and inconsequential. But the officials would not answer substantive questions about the issue, and their comments were not published by The Post and do not appear to have been reported elsewhere. [snip] 

The effort also involved senior lawmakers with access to classified intelligence about Russia, including Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the chairmen of the Senate and House intelligence committees. A spokesman for Nunes said that he had already begun speaking to reporters to challenge the story and that, “at the request of a White House communications aide, Chairman Nunes then spoke to an additional reporter and delivered the same message.” 

The involvement of Burr and the villainous Nunes in assisting the White (supremacist) House fight the Rump/ Putin connection firestorm is alone enough to justify having a Special Prosecutor take over the investigations. As far as any "investigation" by these rats, Republican Sen. Rand Paul gave the game away when he said, "I just don't think it's useful to be doing investigation after investigation, particularly of your own party."  Also, the contacts with the intelligence community, once again, subvert confidence in their independence and impartiality:

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, issued a statement Friday evening saying that if the White House “contrived to have intelligence officials contradict unfavorable news reports, this represents a new and even more grave threat to the independence of the intelligence community.”  

Remember, the bottom line was this:

U.S. intelligence reports cite multiple contacts between members of Trump’s team and Russians with links to the Kremlin, during the campaign and afterward, according to officials who have seen them. Such reports were based on intercepted Russian communications and other sources, the officials said.  

Nunes, who served as a member of Trump’s transition team, has resisted calls for his House committee to investigate alleged contacts between Trump associates and Russia. He said in an interview that after months of investigations, U.S. authorities have turned up no evidence of such contacts. 

At some point down the road, if events unfold as we hope and expect, all those who engaged in trying to derail or coverup this emerging scandal must be judged and held accountable.

BONUS:  As Silver Spring Bureau Chief Brian notes in the comments, weasel- made- man Rep. Darrell Issa (Weasel- CA) is also calling for a special prosecutor.  Hmm.