The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    CVille Dem's picture

    You Read it Here First

    By CVille Dem on Thu, 03/23/2017 - 12:01pm |

    If I may say so without seeming to brag, I have an uncanny ability to "read" people. When Nunez  came out of his meeting with Trump, he had a distinct look of someone trying to contain his panic. I could sense the fear on his face.  Now, there are also objective findings, such as his breaking of protocol in racing over to the White House to meet with (warn) trump.  Not to mention the scathing interview with Adam Schiff about Nunez's bizarre behavior. 

    Back to my powers of observation. When asked if he felt vindicated by what he had just been told, a visibly, and unusually quiet, and seemingly pensive trump said, "I somewhat do. I somewhat do. I somewhat do."  Nothing about "disgraceful" or other sad words of how wronged he has been.

    Objective info:  when Nunez went back and met with the committee he did not bring the information with him that he shared with trump. Now today he apologizes . Hmmmmmmmm

    My prediction:  ​trump knows the jig is up. So does Nunez, and so do others, most likely including Comey.

    if I am right I have no idea how it will unfold, but the one thing I am hopeful about is that republican would not be able to deep six the ACA nor could they accomplish much anything else that would be destructive. 

    If I am wrong, you can each suggest a just pennance for me. 

    Comments

    You may be more right than wrong. There are a lot of people working really hard to distract from some of the pertinent questions at hand.


    by Danny Cardwell on Thu, 03/23/2017 - 1:56pm

    I sort of felt similar about the Nunez thing, and I am having dejas vus allover again thoughts, see what I just posted here

    http://dagblog.com/comment/235568#comment-235568

    there's just so many reports along the lines of "republicans revolt" against this or that thing that Trump just did and it seems not to be slowing down but ramping up. In the beginning, there were only Graham and McCain, but it is just growing and growing.

    It's ironic, as I also keep seeing certain liberal or Dem talking heads or pols saying "he has to stop campaigning and start being president", and they are of course correct in theory. On the other hand, he really doesn't have control ot the party he ran as candidate of. He only has his "fans". He never even tried to win over anyone else, not even the GOP.

    Though Nixon was quite different from Trump in many ways, they are similar in that it is/was all about them and not their party, and also in the use of fear and loathing and threats.


    by artappraiser on Thu, 03/23/2017 - 2:07pm

    p.s. I also have this intuition where I feel there is immediate damage from Nunes, is between the House and Senate republicans. When they should be thrilled with having so much power and go about using it together, instead what is happening is a huge intensification of the traditional disdain the Senate has for the House. I suspect a lot of GOP Senators are more and more horrified by the behavior in general of Ryan's house (small h intended) both the Intel panel and all the health care antics.

    But one thing surprised me yesterday, I saw a snippet of McCain on TV on the Nunes issue, I think on O'Donnell maybe, and I looked up the basics here McCain: House panel lost 'credibility' to handle Russia probe.

    Because from the getgo, McCain has been very tough and critical on Trump et. al. about their attitude toward Putin and Russia, he's still very much thinks along the lines of a cold warrior. But rather than going all "special prosecutor! special prosecutor!", he was very Senator-ly if you know what I mean and just was basically saying with a sigh, oh gee look at what the kids at the house are doing now, they've ruined their panel now, this is why we can't have nice things, I guess we are going to have to have s Special Select Committee.It was almost like he was taking over Robert Byrd's role of guardian of the Senate rules.


    by artappraiser on Thu, 03/23/2017 - 4:40pm

    Nixon could at least play piano and despite reputation had a charming self-deprecating sense of humor. I saw a standup piece he did for some talkshow audience that was quite relaxed and humorous - unfortunately I can't find the piece, so this one will have to suffice. Just remember - Nixon was a Etruscan, Trump a dumbed down Cromagnon.

    https://youtu.be/MCsGSMze_6Q


    by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 03/24/2017 - 3:39am

    Nixon was an intelligent well educated man who could have been a good president. He didn't just open relations with China but created the EPA. I'm guessing most here know that. Unfortunately he seemed to have little to no ethical standards in his lust for power and desire for revenge. That and his psychological problems did him in. It's a shame that a man who raised himself out of poverty with almost no help fell so far. As you said, Trump is not very smart, not well educated, and ignorant on almost every topic he speaks on. With a bunch of psychological problems on top of that.


    by ocean-kat on Fri, 03/24/2017 - 4:27am

    Re: Nixon, his enemies' list was overrated (apparently he never did do the tax audits, not sure what he actually did do). It's worth looking at his Vietnam timeline and compare it to both traditional impressions/common belief as well as map it to how Bush Jr & Obama conducted the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and sometimes Pakistan.

    In particular, out of 540,000 troops LBJ put in, Nixon had about 200,000 withdrawn after 2 years and 400,000 withdrawn after year 3. I mention this because in looking up Nixon, I see mention of the "slow pace of withdrawal". Gorbachev took about 4 years to withdraw from Afghanistan, and he only had 115,000 soldiers at peak.


    by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 03/24/2017 - 8:14am

    Chomsky called Nixon "The last Liberal President"...

     

    The horror, the horror...


    by jollyroger on Fri, 03/24/2017 - 11:29am

    Ah, Nunez running back and forth between realms. It reminds me of another deal.

     

     


    by moat on Thu, 03/23/2017 - 3:46pm

    yes


    by artappraiser on Thu, 03/23/2017 - 4:07pm

    The Republicans are "delaying" the vote on Obamacare.

    http://thehill.com/homenews/house/325497-house-gop-postpones-obamacare-r...


    by rmrd0000 on Thu, 03/23/2017 - 3:51pm

    see the NYT for new vote count story, very detailed:

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/03/20/us/politics/health-care-w...


    by artappraiser on Thu, 03/23/2017 - 4:01pm

    meanwhile Trump's upping the "crazy" ante with maybe more lies in one sitting than ever before:

    https://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/heres-a-fact-check-of-the-blizzard-of-lies-trump-told-in-his-off-the-charts-time-magazine-interview/

    Daring someone to take him down?


    by artappraiser on Thu, 03/23/2017 - 5:14pm

    Another review of that Time interview

    Trump: 'I can’t be doing so badly, because I’m president and you’re not'

    by Louise Nelson @ Politico 03/23/17 08:09 AM EDT


    by artappraiser on Thu, 03/23/2017 - 9:10pm

    The Post-Trump Republican Life Raft Is Filling Up Fast

    by Driftglass @ Crooks & Liars way back on March 8


    by artappraiser on Thu, 03/23/2017 - 5:21pm

    Devin Nunes just shut down open committee hearings. Adam Schiff thinks Nunes is obstructing proceedings.

    http://www.businessinsider.com/adam-schiff-rips-devin-nunes-as-intel-com...

     


    by rmrd0000 on Fri, 03/24/2017 - 12:27pm

    Poll: Most favor an independent commission to probe Trump-Russia ties

    @ Politico.com, 03/24/17 02:32 PM EDT

    [....] According to a Quinnipiac University survey released on Friday, 66 percent of voters favor an independent commission while 29 percent do not.

    Similarly, 65 percent of voters consider Russian interference in the 2016 election a "very important" or "somewhat important" issue.

    The poll also found that 63 percent of Americans are "somewhat" or "very" concerned about the president 's relationship with Moscow [....]


    by artappraiser on Fri, 03/24/2017 - 2:43pm

    Another reason to go hmmmmmmmmm: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/24/devin-nunes-vanished-th...


    by Michael Wolraich on Sat, 03/25/2017 - 11:00am

    I love it, cue the Twilight Zone music. What a great scene. Has Maiello started a script of this yet? It wouldn't be that hard, just take All the President's Men and throw in some Dostoevsky and LeCarre here and there.


    by artappraiser on Sat, 03/25/2017 - 11:44am

    Interesting the security implications of major elected officials taking anonymous unlicensed transport. What happens when (not if) they hack Uber and send an unmarked car to pick them up and deliver them to the Tidal Pool?


    by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 03/25/2017 - 12:13pm

    Schiff: Nunes Has Left Intel Committee 'In The Dark' On Trump Claims

    What is he hiding?

    PS Savor the irony of Trump's war on leaks with Nunes' protection of leakers


    by Michael Wolraich on Sun, 03/26/2017 - 8:26pm

    It's probably wise for Nunes to be carefull about informing his Clintonite enemies on this matter and let their spin machine strip its gears for a while. They won't be able to refute this evidence but they will try and at least attempt to create diversions.

    What surprised me was how easily this documented evidence was produced and delivered to Nunes after his seemingly simple public plea for information. Somehow that direct plea from someone with Nunes' authority allowed the information to flow without gatekeeper interference.

     


    by Peter (not verified) on Sun, 03/26/2017 - 10:37pm

    What documented evidence?
    Until Nunes tells somebody other than Trump what it is, where it is, and who showed it to him, there is nothing to his story. It is merely a tweet within a tweet.


    by moat on Mon, 03/27/2017 - 7:34am

    Julian Borger @ The Guardian is intrigued as well, headlines it in a general summary of the Nunes story

    House intelligence chair Devin Nunes reportedly disappeared from Uber ride, fueling further questions over his role in committee’s investigation


    by artappraiser on Sun, 03/26/2017 - 8:50pm

    Looks to me like Comey is doing what he can to push Nunes to just quit dammit so some grownups can do this:

    CNN: ....House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes and FBI Director James Comey can't seem to agree on whether the former invited the latter to testify before House Russia investigators, in a dispute that has now popped up twice in less than a week....


    by artappraiser on Wed, 03/29/2017 - 10:23pm

    Democrats need to demand that Nunes step down as chairman. We still need an independent investigation, but Nunes is an embarrassment as committee chairman. He made a mockery of the process.


    by rmrd0000 on Mon, 03/27/2017 - 8:42am

    The pressure is mounting for that, and Nunes is weak to start with, and not much of an intellect.  The fact that Adam Schif stated that evidence of trumpian collusion is "more than circumstantial" is big.  I hope it all comes to light before Gorsuch is voted on.  Trump is dirty and the FBI a knows it.  

    I hope the delay is just a matter of crossing T's and dotting i's   I knew someone who was an FBI agent, specifically tasked with the Vietnamese Mafia in Northern VA and DC.  He said they use an abundance of patience so that their cases are iron-clad. I hope that is what's happening here, but like I said, Gorsuch must not go to the Supreme Court.


    by CVille Dem on Mon, 03/27/2017 - 10:54am

    The Intelligence Committee communications director says Nunes met his source for the wiretapping information at the White House so that he could be in a "secure" location

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nunes-white-house-source-surveillanc...?


    by rmrd0000 on Mon, 03/27/2017 - 11:48am

    Schumer calls for Nunes to be replaced

    http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/325968-schumer-nunes-needs-...


    by rmrd0000 on Mon, 03/27/2017 - 4:03pm

    Ryan defended Nunes on CBS this morning. I hope nobody ever defends me so well:

     

    “He had told me that — like, a whistleblower-type person had given him some information that was new that spoke to the last administration and part of this investigation,” Ryan said. “He briefs me about it, didn’t know the content of it, only knew the nature of it and that he was going to brief others.”

    “Did you ask to see the documents yourself?” O’Donnell asked.

    “He didn’t have the documents, so I didn’t,” Ryan responded.

    “Did you encourage him to then go tell the president about it?”

    “No, but I told him to just add it to his investigation,” Ryan said.

    “So you at no time said, ‘Whatever you find out, you should probably go tell President Trump about it?’” 

    “Oh — he was gonna brief everybody. He — I already knew he was going to go and brief. So the — what Chairman Nunes said is he just came into possession of new information that he thought was valuable to this investigation, and that he was going to go and inform people about it,” Ryan said.

    “But he hasn’t. I mean, he hasn’t even informed the Republican committee,” O’Donnell said.

    “Yeah, I have seen the actual documents. I don’t know that he’s been in possession of them yet. Let me say this: It’s very important that we allow and encourage whistleblowers to talk to Congress,” Ryan said.

    So Ryan has seen the "documents" but doesn't know anything about them and just said Nunes hasn't even "seen" them. Is this a parody of Waiting for Godot?


    by moat on Thu, 03/30/2017 - 11:09am

    Hillary underestimated the percentage of deplorables in the Republican Party. Ryan is no better than Nunes.


    by rmrd0000 on Thu, 03/30/2017 - 11:16am

    I believe that Comey knows everything about this.  Two things have me very confused.  First of all, why is he waiting?  Does he really not have enough evidence?  Or is it that he actually wants the donald to continue to wreak havoc on the Obama legacy?

    Secondly, how can he hold his head up when we all know that breaking protocol to screw Hillary gives him no standing now about being impartial?  What he knew about Russian influence was at least as damning (and far more important) than what he blabbed about HRC in July and again in October.

     


    by CVille Dem on Thu, 03/30/2017 - 1:30pm

    WaPo attempts to explain

    Who is ‘Source D’? The man said to be behind the Trump-Russia dossier’s most salacious claim.The story of Sergei Millian illustrates the challenge confronting the FBI as it seeks to separate fact from fiction.By Rosalind S. Helderman  •  Read more »


    by artappraiser on Thu, 03/30/2017 - 4:22pm

    Flynn offers to testify on Russia ties in exchange for immunity: report

    By Brooke Seipel @ The Hill, 03/30/17 06:42 PM EDT
     
    President Trump's former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has reportedly told the FBI that he is willing to testify in the investigation of the Trump campaign's potential ties to Russia, in exchange for immunity from prosecution, according to a Wall Street Journal report....

    by artappraiser on Thu, 03/30/2017 - 7:03pm

    Senate Intel Panel to White House: sorry, we are not Nunes, you send when we call.


    by artappraiser on Thu, 03/30/2017 - 8:42pm

    A stellar collection of quotes on immunity & FBI investigations  from the man himself, the Trump circle and assorted GOP @ WaPo today.

    This is my particular favorite

    “When you are given immunity, that means that you have probably committed a crime,” Flynn said in September on NBC's “Meet the Press.”

    but it was hard to chose!


    by artappraiser on Fri, 03/31/2017 - 11:50am

     

    Lots more in his TL but you get the point. Flynn has hired NeverTrump Repub who thought Trump was tool of Russia & would bring fascism.

    — Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) March 31, 2017

     


    by artappraiser on Sat, 04/01/2017 - 2:39pm