The question burning everyone's brain yesterday was whether they were duped or complicit.
I lean towards complicit. We've found a number of Russian spies now, highly placed, always with intel Republicans want. Russia may have even tried playing both sides. No idea what if anything they've fallen for.
Point is Russia is obviously involved. There are no maybes like 2016. So then in theory, as a foreign enemy, Republicans should be working with Dems to ferret and cast them out.
As we know they're not going to do that...doesn't that make them rather naked traitors?
Exposing themselves as traitors in an election year would be mind-numbingly daft unless they had reason to believe it wouldn't hurt their chances of winning.
So...are they insanely stupid or is the fix already in somehow, or planned?
Like the bribery stories that were fed to Guiliani, Smirnov told the FBI and Comer what he (and his Russian handlers) knew they wanted to hear. All of this is an attempt by the Russians to influence the 2024 election in favor of Trump. It worked in 2016 but (fortunately) not in 2020.
The Mueller Report said that the Russians were actively involved in disinformation campaigns in 2016. They could not find, however, "direct" contact between the Russians (or their cutouts) and the Trump Campaign. I suppose it was just a coincidence that Paul Manafort, who had worked for some very sketchy Ukrainian and Belarussian politicians, just happened in the summer of 2016 to agree to run Trump's presidential campaign...for FREE.
I have felt that that the fix was in so to speak. Their confidence among all the garbage we are finding out bothers me. They are losing their “normal” base people but continue to be cocky. This is what concerns me. Are democrats readying themselves for the fight for America?
And either outcome plays into the hands of our enemies. Fascism takes over or we have civil war. I expect America dies this year and we find out next year how and if it will be reborn.
Sure. Problem is what are we gonna do about the insurrection after? How do we prevent faithless electors at the electoral college? What if they cheat? There's so many ways expecting a free and fair election and a peaceful transfer of power can go wrong here
I agree. But the courts will have to take it up. Mike Johnson is perfect for their plans. And I can’t see them storming the Capital again. The National Guard or military will be on hand. Whatever they are planning will have to be between election day and the certification. At least that’s what I’m thinking.
Hmmm. I imagine it all depends what their numbers are. If they have enough people, they could rush the capitol. With more they could wage war in the streets. Not even certain the whole military would side with Biden.
What I ponder is why something like the Project2025 website exists. It's not something they'd post (we intend to replace democracy with a Christofascist theocracy) out loud unless they were fairly confident in their chances, since it costs them votes with moderates to talk like that.
Your last sentence is what I fear - we need (well, those that would supposedly be on this) need to get on this quickly to try and get ahead of the plans.
The author and those commenting in trashing the house committee investigation into the Biden play for play influencing scandal by ignoring the fact. Their investigation didn’t originate or stand on the FBI CS information there investigation originated from Biden telling the public he never met Hunter business associates or was involved in Hunter and his brother business dealing. Evidence show Biden lied to the public. Why don’t you educate yourself before you start gaslighting people over lies, here a professional analysis from a Federal Agent who did this for a living https://johnseaman.substack.com/p/willful-blindness-debunking-the-big
... Republicans “who are itching for an impeachment are relying on an imagined history.”
Don't they always? I mean, doesnt the House GOP understand that the faster they try to pretend they didnt say it, the faster the Internet will show they did? They are such hypocrites, so desperate, and really bad liars. Thanks for the Before and Afters of the documents, proving how incompetent and dishonest these people are. 🤦♀️
I don’t know how many Republicans knew they were amplifying Russian lies, but I do know there is no reason on Earth to grant any of them the benefit of the doubt on it.
I find it unbelievably irresponsible of the Republicans to say to the American people, as Jim Jordan did just yesterday, that the facts have not changed. What has he been smoking!|?
This is a glaring example of how the press is letting down the public. This should be such a scandal that all involved are humiliated and forced to resign from office (or at least are unelectable later). It seems like the press only wants to focus on Biden’s age rather than on the collapse of our democracy and the traitorous nature of the far right. Do they not realize that a free press will be one of the first things to go if fascism prevails?
Whatever it is, I fervently hope Gym OD's on it and, at long last, acts out so obnoxiously that even his most fervent supporters can longer put up with his BS and vote him OUT. Pipe dreams...so to speak.
What's fascinating - but hardly surprising - is that some MAGA peeps are doubling down on conspiracy theories, stating that, "No, wait, Smearnov is the real deal, but Biden and DOJ are inventing LIES about Russian intelligence in order to 'cover up' Biden crimes". Basically it's the same GOP story: "Do you believe us, or your own lying eyes?"
Are charges going to be brought against Taylor Green for photographing a sensitive document presented in a secure location, then posting the photo on social media? There is some kind of law against this, I would hope...
Jay, per @Acyn on June 8, 2023, Rep. Greene admitted on Laura Ingraham's show that she had copied what she had read in the scif to share publicly:
"Greene: The FBI is stonewalling us and they would only let us see it in a scif. What I did after reading the document is made notes when I walked out and went to the table. I wrote down everything that I had just read."
From what I’ve read and heard, the FBI is required to fill out a FD-1023 form whenever someone contacts them about a supposed incident, such as you saw your prized cow being sucked up by an alien aircraft. Verification is your friend.
The problem is the spin that GOP bad faith actors are willing to put on things that are simply not reliable intelligence. They knew perfectly well that they were playing with fire.
And we have every reason to believe that Wray and others at the FBI warned Comer/Jordan/Grassley et al to be careful with the FD-1023, given that they hadn’t been able to corroborate it.
One thing that perplexes me is that the FBI sat on this information since the 2020 election, when Smirnov and his handlers first tried to use it to skew an election. They didn’t truly look into it until 2023?!? WTF?!
"He (Comer) also insisted that the FBI Director, Christopher Wray, had told his Committee behind closed doors that Smirnov was one of the most trusted, highest paid informants the Bureau had for over a decade."
Hmmm, perhaps this is why Putin used Smirnov to pass disinformation.
We all know this won't affect the cult members, but swing voters - that's a different story. Plus I wouldn't hold my breath on the rightwing propaganda machine playing any of those earlier clips any time soon.
Republicans who are turning out to be advancing Putin's agenda, are aiding and abetting an enemy of our nation, who is making war on our ally. These people are treacherous treasonists, and should be tried.
While I agree that there should be consequences, I don’t know how we get from these facts to a highly politicized accounting for bad political behavior. We need to see if laws were broken first and foremost. Going after the leaders of the other party on anything less would lead to some unforeseeable outcomes.
I think it was Raskin (not certain) last night on MSNBC that said if they push forward an impeachment, there will be an opportunity to investigate where and how and why the fake info came to be. Given their obvious complicity it seems crazy they would go there but they never tire of wasting our money or wearing rotten eggs on their faces
As I've mentioned elsewhere, this whole thing is at best the most egregious example of confirmation bias we have seen in a long time. Somehow "this hasn't been corroborated" turns into "it is obviously true" without a blink.
I am convinced that the Russians worked to compromise Republican leadership at NRA meetings and conventions beginning as soon as Putin gained power in 1999, and continuing until very recently, using bribes, honey traps and other forms of blackmail. Lindsey Graham is obviously compromised. Every time he has criticized Trump, he and Trump would go for a round of golf, and Graham goes back to toeing the Trump line. You can just imagine the kind of kompromat the Russians gave Trump on Graham. https://www.npr.org/2019/09/27/764879242/nra-was-foreign-asset-to-russia-ahead-of-2016-new-senate-report-reveals
It’s all about money and power for Trump. Putin probably showed tRump receipts of all the Russian mob and oligarchs money laundering that went through tRump Enterprises with his knowledge going back to his first visit to Moscow in 1987. That and transcripts of recordings, because tRump is too stupid to even once think a room anywhere in Russia might have a listening device.
The question burning everyone's brain yesterday was whether they were duped or complicit.
I lean towards complicit. We've found a number of Russian spies now, highly placed, always with intel Republicans want. Russia may have even tried playing both sides. No idea what if anything they've fallen for.
Point is Russia is obviously involved. There are no maybes like 2016. So then in theory, as a foreign enemy, Republicans should be working with Dems to ferret and cast them out.
As we know they're not going to do that...doesn't that make them rather naked traitors?
Exposing themselves as traitors in an election year would be mind-numbingly daft unless they had reason to believe it wouldn't hurt their chances of winning.
So...are they insanely stupid or is the fix already in somehow, or planned?
All very fair, and very frustrating, questions.
Like the bribery stories that were fed to Guiliani, Smirnov told the FBI and Comer what he (and his Russian handlers) knew they wanted to hear. All of this is an attempt by the Russians to influence the 2024 election in favor of Trump. It worked in 2016 but (fortunately) not in 2020.
The Mueller Report said that the Russians were actively involved in disinformation campaigns in 2016. They could not find, however, "direct" contact between the Russians (or their cutouts) and the Trump Campaign. I suppose it was just a coincidence that Paul Manafort, who had worked for some very sketchy Ukrainian and Belarussian politicians, just happened in the summer of 2016 to agree to run Trump's presidential campaign...for FREE.
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
I wish prominent Dems ask those very questions!
No one puts me in charge of anything oddly.
I have felt that that the fix was in so to speak. Their confidence among all the garbage we are finding out bothers me. They are losing their “normal” base people but continue to be cocky. This is what concerns me. Are democrats readying themselves for the fight for America?
And either outcome plays into the hands of our enemies. Fascism takes over or we have civil war. I expect America dies this year and we find out next year how and if it will be reborn.
My thoughts have been that if we can mobilize like never before we will be able to keep our democracy. Overwhelm them at the ballot box.
Sure. Problem is what are we gonna do about the insurrection after? How do we prevent faithless electors at the electoral college? What if they cheat? There's so many ways expecting a free and fair election and a peaceful transfer of power can go wrong here
I agree. But the courts will have to take it up. Mike Johnson is perfect for their plans. And I can’t see them storming the Capital again. The National Guard or military will be on hand. Whatever they are planning will have to be between election day and the certification. At least that’s what I’m thinking.
Hmmm. I imagine it all depends what their numbers are. If they have enough people, they could rush the capitol. With more they could wage war in the streets. Not even certain the whole military would side with Biden.
What I ponder is why something like the Project2025 website exists. It's not something they'd post (we intend to replace democracy with a Christofascist theocracy) out loud unless they were fairly confident in their chances, since it costs them votes with moderates to talk like that.
So I wonder from where that confidence comes...
And we can for certain count on all the military, currently serving and retired?
Your last sentence is what I fear - we need (well, those that would supposedly be on this) need to get on this quickly to try and get ahead of the plans.
The Republican (liars all) are insanely stupid, mind-numbingly daft imbeciles …AND they are traitors.
No doubt they are complicit and may they get the low life’s in our country who are seeking to bring in dictators and thugs.
The author and those commenting in trashing the house committee investigation into the Biden play for play influencing scandal by ignoring the fact. Their investigation didn’t originate or stand on the FBI CS information there investigation originated from Biden telling the public he never met Hunter business associates or was involved in Hunter and his brother business dealing. Evidence show Biden lied to the public. Why don’t you educate yourself before you start gaslighting people over lies, here a professional analysis from a Federal Agent who did this for a living https://johnseaman.substack.com/p/willful-blindness-debunking-the-big
... Republicans “who are itching for an impeachment are relying on an imagined history.”
Don't they always? I mean, doesnt the House GOP understand that the faster they try to pretend they didnt say it, the faster the Internet will show they did? They are such hypocrites, so desperate, and really bad liars. Thanks for the Before and Afters of the documents, proving how incompetent and dishonest these people are. 🤦♀️
I don’t know how many Republicans knew they were amplifying Russian lies, but I do know there is no reason on Earth to grant any of them the benefit of the doubt on it.
Bingo.
My thoughts exactly!
I find it unbelievably irresponsible of the Republicans to say to the American people, as Jim Jordan did just yesterday, that the facts have not changed. What has he been smoking!|?
He may be correct in that. The facts--Biden is innocent-- have not changed; the bullshit has
Nice spin! Thank you!
You know they will never admit they are wrong or have been duped - no matter how much glaring evidence there is.
This is a glaring example of how the press is letting down the public. This should be such a scandal that all involved are humiliated and forced to resign from office (or at least are unelectable later). It seems like the press only wants to focus on Biden’s age rather than on the collapse of our democracy and the traitorous nature of the far right. Do they not realize that a free press will be one of the first things to go if fascism prevails?
Another example of the Leopards Eating People’s Faces syndrome.
Whatever it is, I fervently hope Gym OD's on it and, at long last, acts out so obnoxiously that even his most fervent supporters can longer put up with his BS and vote him OUT. Pipe dreams...so to speak.
From your lips to God's ears! Thanks!
Bill Barr, Weiss, Brady, Comer and Jordan should all be investigated & indicted!
Hold these traitors to account!
It’s time for President Biden to call Garland into the office. Either he starts doing his job or we get a new AG who will!
Or have you registered as Russian agents, working on behalf of Russia
"...I didn’t even know who he was" is strictly out of TFG's playbook.
What's fascinating - but hardly surprising - is that some MAGA peeps are doubling down on conspiracy theories, stating that, "No, wait, Smearnov is the real deal, but Biden and DOJ are inventing LIES about Russian intelligence in order to 'cover up' Biden crimes". Basically it's the same GOP story: "Do you believe us, or your own lying eyes?"
Yes, I saw that. The mental gymnastics are breathtaking.
Is that what they’re being fed by the propaganda megaphones? Cuz gym Jordan would say that , I have little doubt
Are charges going to be brought against Taylor Green for photographing a sensitive document presented in a secure location, then posting the photo on social media? There is some kind of law against this, I would hope...
It’s unclear to me when she snapped the photo. It could have been after the document was released by the FBI, but maybe not.
Jay, per @Acyn on June 8, 2023, Rep. Greene admitted on Laura Ingraham's show that she had copied what she had read in the scif to share publicly:
"Greene: The FBI is stonewalling us and they would only let us see it in a scif. What I did after reading the document is made notes when I walked out and went to the table. I wrote down everything that I had just read."
https://twitter.com/i/status/1667000026868981761
At the very least, she should have her security clearance stripped.
Thanks for that clarification. I know a lot are hoping for a consequence.
Barr. Always Barr.
From what I’ve read and heard, the FBI is required to fill out a FD-1023 form whenever someone contacts them about a supposed incident, such as you saw your prized cow being sucked up by an alien aircraft. Verification is your friend.
The problem is the spin that GOP bad faith actors are willing to put on things that are simply not reliable intelligence. They knew perfectly well that they were playing with fire.
And we have every reason to believe that Wray and others at the FBI warned Comer/Jordan/Grassley et al to be careful with the FD-1023, given that they hadn’t been able to corroborate it.
One thing that perplexes me is that the FBI sat on this information since the 2020 election, when Smirnov and his handlers first tried to use it to skew an election. They didn’t truly look into it until 2023?!? WTF?!
True, but dumb enough to run with it, thinking no one would get wise since Smirnoff was once reliable.
I believe such a FD-1023 does exist stating a cow was abducted by aliens. It was written up by Fox Mulder.
Lol, that could be why it popped into my mind. I loved that show.
"He (Comer) also insisted that the FBI Director, Christopher Wray, had told his Committee behind closed doors that Smirnov was one of the most trusted, highest paid informants the Bureau had for over a decade."
Hmmm, perhaps this is why Putin used Smirnov to pass disinformation.
We all know this won't affect the cult members, but swing voters - that's a different story. Plus I wouldn't hold my breath on the rightwing propaganda machine playing any of those earlier clips any time soon.
I'll bet Comer lies with the same agility and ease as does Trump. Same amount of clarity and logic as well. /s
Republicans who are turning out to be advancing Putin's agenda, are aiding and abetting an enemy of our nation, who is making war on our ally. These people are treacherous treasonists, and should be tried.
While I agree that there should be consequences, I don’t know how we get from these facts to a highly politicized accounting for bad political behavior. We need to see if laws were broken first and foremost. Going after the leaders of the other party on anything less would lead to some unforeseeable outcomes.
I think it was Raskin (not certain) last night on MSNBC that said if they push forward an impeachment, there will be an opportunity to investigate where and how and why the fake info came to be. Given their obvious complicity it seems crazy they would go there but they never tire of wasting our money or wearing rotten eggs on their faces
Perhaps a Senate committee could investigate and forward a referral to the DOJ.
So true. In my rant below, I should have mentioned that we do need to see if Comer, Jordan, etc., have broken any laws.
As I've mentioned elsewhere, this whole thing is at best the most egregious example of confirmation bias we have seen in a long time. Somehow "this hasn't been corroborated" turns into "it is obviously true" without a blink.
Boys and girls: Today's term of historical importance is "useful idiot".
Let's use it in a sentence.
Say it with me now, "Putin says those Republicans are all useful idiots".
I am convinced that the Russians worked to compromise Republican leadership at NRA meetings and conventions beginning as soon as Putin gained power in 1999, and continuing until very recently, using bribes, honey traps and other forms of blackmail. Lindsey Graham is obviously compromised. Every time he has criticized Trump, he and Trump would go for a round of golf, and Graham goes back to toeing the Trump line. You can just imagine the kind of kompromat the Russians gave Trump on Graham. https://www.npr.org/2019/09/27/764879242/nra-was-foreign-asset-to-russia-ahead-of-2016-new-senate-report-reveals
And what Putin has on tfg. Does anybody remember how deflated tfg looked after that closed-door meeting in Helsinki 2018?
It’s all about money and power for Trump. Putin probably showed tRump receipts of all the Russian mob and oligarchs money laundering that went through tRump Enterprises with his knowledge going back to his first visit to Moscow in 1987. That and transcripts of recordings, because tRump is too stupid to even once think a room anywhere in Russia might have a listening device.
The Pee Pee tapes! LOL.
So it is official. The Repugnicans are lying dirtballs, just like their leader, Trump. Who is not surprised? Their malice knows no boundaries.
Indeed. Agree on all counts, Linnea.