Should TV news channels hire or book guests who have signed contracts not to disparage Donald Trump. Even disclosing the arrangements wouldn’t overcome the lack of credibility for anyone who signed them. As we learn more about the widespread use of non-disclosure agreements in Trump’s world anyone going on air who ever worked for him ought to at least be asked if they signed one. In some cases it’s possible the networks having been paying contributors without knowing they were also being paid by Trump to lie for him.
would knowingly providing airtime to a twit nda signor fall into the category of in kind campaign contribution?
Omarosa discusses her new book “Unhinged,” her secret White House tapes, and the one way to bring Trump down.
abc news recap of above in case you didn’t want to watch it:
Most of her conversation with Noah centered on the content of the recordings or the need to make them at all. Manigault said she felt like she needed to tape conversations to protect herself, she said.
So, maybe the media is fake…when it books paid shills (for anyone) instead of folks who aren’t beholden to anyone.
They are always easy to spot, though, as they stuck to the script, even when it doesn’t answer the question being asked.
Sometimes the collar of their brown shirt peeks out from under their upstanding-citizen suit jacket.
PatD, an “in kind contribution” — creative and plausible
Our dogs, Lloyd and Finian object to the defamation of their species
craig, in a way such a person (contracted/limited to say only good things about the principle) is no more than a walking talking ad. might as well have emblazoned across the chest a photo of candidate with required statement “I approve this message”
If the Pentagon Papers were releasable why should presidential papers of immediate public significance be protected?
If putative traitors such as Assange carry their passports, how can we muzzle people such as Omarosa? Oh, I get it, Assange isn’t a dog.
vanity fair:
[…]
…..The existence of her tapes, coupled with Cohen’s recording, raised eyebrows around Trump’s orbit about who else might have been recording the president, what might be on those recordings, and how damaging they could be.
“It’s called C.Y.A.,” said Sam Nunberg, a former Trump Organization employee who has himself been publicly critical of Trump, and who has come under attack from the president on Twitter as a result. Nunberg says he was asked about recordings different people in the Trump Organization and campaign made when he was called to testify in front of special counsel Robert Mueller’s grand jury in the spring. “Cover Your Ass. That’s why people are recording.” It’s an acronym that rings especially true when it comes to the famously mercurial boss. “People are taping him first, because he always talked about taping people himself,” one person in his orbit told me on Monday. “And second, it’s because of his erratic behavior and his inability to tell the truth. He changes his mind after the fact. He commits to doing something, only to have him question you after you do it,” this person said.
Cohen, according to someone familiar with his thinking, had been burned by Trump asking him to shell out money in the past, only to later deny it. (The White House did not respond to a request for comment.) Recording a dialogue about such a transaction, this person reasoned, provided protection. “What are you supposed to do? We’re not talking about $50, and it’s not just about the money—it’s your reputation. But the guy is still your boss, and you know he doesn’t care about your reputation. He doesn’t care about anybody else,” the person familiar with Cohen’s thinking told me. “What ends up happening is you sit there, and you’re the one on the hook—not him. That’s why people tape him.”
[…continues…]
Trump and his media boosters live a hall of mirrors…
and another book to distract the talking heads.
from usatoday: New book looks into ties between Donald Trump, Russia, but there’s more smoke than fire
[….]
Unger, a veteran journalist and author, takes the reader on a veritable tour of sleazy night clubs, restaurants and resorts frequented by Russian oligarchs and criminals in this book subtitled “The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia.”
Often, that tour leads to the doors of the White House and Trump Tower, and the implication is clear to even the most obtuse reader: Trump is in Putin’s pocket and those of the financiers who have grown immensely rich through their associations with the country’s putative dictator.
Then the trail often runs cold. At one point, Unger recalls a conversation with an anonymous source “who had direct experience with the Russian underworld” in which Unger asked if Mogilevich has blackmail-worthy evidence – kompromat – on Trump. “Does the Mafia know?
” ‘Of course they do,’ he told me. ‘Everyone talks about it, Seva (Mogilevich) and Mikhas (Sergei Mikhailov),'” another money launderer and gangster.
“But my source cautioned that he had not seen any kompromatfirst-hand, only that he had heard about it, and his allegations have not been corroborated,” Unger writes.
The standard of proof when writing about the president of the United States, even someone as polarizing as Trump, needs to be higher than that. As evidenced by his July news conference with Putin in Helsinki, Trump often acts as if he’s under Putin’s spell, but the proof so far has lagged behind the speculation.
Perhaps the greatest evidence is what we already know. The June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr., campaign manager Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, with a lawyer who reputedly had “dirt” on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, is fact.
Also during that Helsinki news conference Putin himself said he wanted Trump to win the 2016 presidential election. The entire U.S. intelligence community has verified that the Russians meddled in the election and worked on Trump’s behalf.
Unger touches on all of these points, citing dozens of books and journalistic accounts of events. He’s weak, however, on the primary sources needed to sway a skeptical reader, much less a jury.
Once again, as it often is with Trump, there is a volcano’s worth of smoke in “House of Trump, House of Putin,” which so far has obscured the fire.
to hear more, unger was also interviewed this a.m. on morning joe about the book.
KC, my dog, Livvy (1/2 black) is doubly offended.
Katy Tur was interviewing a SFB sycophant yesterday who fessed up to being under a NDA with him and she asked him how she could believe anything he had to say. The more I see of Katy the more I like her. She seems to have a good BS sniffer and doesn’t accept flying BS at face value.
Greg Sargent puts a nice spin on yesterday’s primary results.
I just hope this portends a wave in November.
I hope it’s true by I wouldn’t use Pawlenty as the proof\
He’s kind of a nice-guy loser
There was a blip on NPR yesterday, about IMPOTUS (see how quickly the name caught on) not being able to muzzle Omarosa, as it is unconstitutional, and the ACLU getting involved. ???
KC, was it you who used to call him Potholes?
How Michael Avenatti helped a 9-year-old Guatemalan boy make it back to his mother https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/15/us/michael-avenatti-guatemalan-child-to-mother/index.html
Avenatti sounded good on Sunday, with regard to a possible run in 2020.
More questions than answers in murders of Russian journalists in Africa https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/14/africa/russian-journalists-killed-khodorkovsky/index.html
Russian military, Syria, Africa.
There is a story there & Putin put a stop to it.
rollingstone:
Documents Reveal Successful Cyberattack in California Congressional Race
The FBI investigated hacking attempts targeting a Democrat who ran against “Putin’s favorite congressman”
BiD, thanks for that link on avenatti helping to reunite the little boy with his mom. in video earlier this morning, there was a touching shot of him with the boy. genuine show of compassion. not like he doesn’t have other less challenging and more lucrative opportunities if he was really only in it for the limelight.
Pogo
that may have been x-r
If I needed a trial lawyer… I’d consider hiring Avenatti in a heart beat. But vote for him in the 2020 NH primary…. no. He’s fun to watch on cable news… but what the hell does he know about running the government.
What the hell does trump know about running government you say…. nothing. Republicans were morons to nominate him in the first place, IMO. I would hope that Democrats have a little bit more intelligence.
Potholes Aplenty ran as a main pollutedstream repub. His opponent johnson also ran as an anti-trumper. So, you can’t believe Sargent or Costa on this matter. The teachers union reminded us with tv attack ads that as governor, Potholes reamed out spending for education to ‘balance the budget.’ My thought is that suburban ripper women, who might otherwise have supported Aplenty, cast their votes for johnson instead.
The number of votes cast in the repub primary was far less than the number cast in the Democratic Farmer Labor gubernatorial primary. US Rep Tim Walz, soldier/teacher/congressman beat the party-endorsed former Speaker of the MN House Erin Murphy, and the MN AG, Lori Swanson. The contest was quite polite and seemly. If Walz, who is an nra and anti-abortion (soft pedal) guy, doesn’t administer a shellacking to the ripoff johnson in November, I’ll be very surprised. Also, The DFL should be able to pick off a couple of ripper congressman. In fact, if the Dems run the table, I’ll will be overjoyed, but not terribly surprised.
The Potholes Aplenty moniker was my device, and I’ve seen it used in various places around the country. I thank you Trail Hands for spreading it.
as a black dog Toby is doubly offended
Any man who hates dogs and little kids can’t be too bad. – WC Fields, in anticipation of donald trump.
will the revocation of brennans security clearance really divert the media attention away from the omarosa 3 ring circus?
A partial scene from Field’s shaggy dog film,
The Fatal Glass Of Beer
Pa : Well, he won’t get my malamute.
Ma : Whyzzat, Pa ?
Pa : I et ‘im last night.
the guardian:
White House revokes security clearance of ex-CIA chief and Trump critic John Brennan
Donald Trump has revoked the security clearance of John Brennan, the CIA director in the Obama administration, citing “erratic conduct and behavior.”
[…continues…]
“will the revocation of brennans security clearance really divert the media attention away from the omarosa 3 ring circus?” – Patd
Ms Pat, You are hilarious.
“erratic conduct and behavior”
oh how things have changed. was it only 5 years ago that tina fey on SNL declared “bitch is the new black” …seems a lifetime.
Hail Caesar!
XR, that Potholes Aplenty moniker was brilliant – sorry I forgot who originated it – I will punish myself with a couple glasses of wine for the oversight.
The Fatal Glass of Beer was my absolute favorite WC Fields flick. “It ain’t a fit night out for man or beast… ” Best recurring sight gag in filmdom IMHO.
Trump just revoked his own security clearance, if the reason for revoking Brennan’s was true.
Trumpsky is playing the dictator card. Wake up, GOP.
The irony of IMPOTUS revoking the security clearance of John Brennan for“erratic conduct and behavior” is too rich for words.
patD is right about the timing. He is trying to pull focus from Omarosa. She will not be ignored. I hope she has enough on him to boil his bunny.
Is Israel keeping a ‘blacklist’ of its critics? https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/15/middleeast/israel-border-detentions-intl/index.html
I wonder if someone could get a dna sample from Trumpsky & see if he has genetic markers showing he is already incapacitated?
pogo, “erratic conduct and behavior” was nothing, a mere throwaway. twit’s real excuse for the revocation also pointed out about brennon
“he has leveraged his status as a former high-ranking official with access to highly sensitive info to make a series of unfounded and outrageous allegations, wild outbursts on internet and television about this administration”
but the real kicker according to kettle/pot of chief was brennon’s
“lying and recent conduct, characterized by increasingly frenzied commentary, is wholly inconsistent with access to the nation’s most closely held secrets”
Xr…….nitpicking…..fields never said any man who hates dogs and children etc
tbat was The Inimitable Leo Rosten speaking about Fields at a Friars Roast right before Fields kicked the bucket on Cheistmas day 1946.
Book of the Decade:
SILKIE
A hard-boiled detective yarn about a Jewish P.I. ……By the inimitable writer Leo Rosten.
If your life was spared somewhere along the way it was so you’d be able to find and read something by Leo Rosten.
This Omarosa business just goes to show you should be careful about giving a TV celebrity a job in the White House.
Speaking of, there is an clear and obviously coordinated effort by FauxNews entities, across multiple media, to assassinate Omarosa’s character, which begs the question: under whose directive?
I wanna see that memo.
Patd, I know. But it’s the reason given by the spawn of Huckleberry. Bullscheisse though it is.
Just started watching a rockumentary about 1966 and the Beatles, started with a KKKlucker and in full red regalia talking about doing anything he could to stop their performance. Of course then They showed piles of records being burned. That was in my home town. – where the Beatles were never scheduled to play. Tough guy. My appreciation for the Beatles just added yet another level.
Bink, your 9:50 is fucking hilarious. Gold star for you.
Mr Sturgeone, you are right again. I consider my nits well and truly picked.
My only excuse is temporary insanity. But, I’m all better now.
willie and his boys
fuck trump, omarosa and the horses they rode in on. Remember these are the folks that put children in cages.
Jack
When I’m on the laptop I will post a picture or two, we did the backpack day for the neighborhood children last weekend, we are still absolutely wore out and beatup. but we helped over 100 children prepare for school. Mrs Jack is on her 3rd round of chemo this week. This crap builds up week by week and it is really kicking her ass this week. she has been one pain in the ass. Don’t tell her until this is all over. LOL all those little obsessive / compulsive traits that have been endearing/ irritating over the years are coming out full force. Ive been spending a bit of time next door in my shop. When this is all over with I’m going to tell her she had better hope I never have to go through this. Fact is I’m a pain in the ass on a good day god knows what I would be like if I’m going through what she is.
Jack