A lawsuit has been filed by Rod Wheeler, a former Fox contributor, that alleges that Fox News Channel and Ed Butowsky, a wealthy Trump supporter (who hired Wheeler to investigate the murder — a story involving the alleged murder of the Democratic National Committee aide. The bombshell part of the complaint is an email that states that President Donald Trump wanted the story to air to distract from the Russian investigation.
Wheeler alleges that Fox reporter Malia Zimmerman made up quotes in the story — suggesting that there was evidence of a murder tied to the release of embarrassing information related to Hillary Clinton and the DNC. However, there is no evidence offered to prove the misquotation, though it is not clear if Zimmerman retained her notes from the interview.
Zimmerman wrote on May 16 that Rich “had leaked thousands of internal emails to WikiLeaks,” citing Wheeler’s apparent investigations.
The most notable aspect of the complaint is the text of a May 14th message sent from Butowsky to Wheeler stating “Not to add anymore pressure but the president just read the article. He wants the article out immediately. But don’t feel the pressure.”
Butowsky now says that it was all “just tongue-in-cheek, talking, just texting.”
Wheeler however also cites a text message in which Butowsky coaches Wheeler on what to say on Fox: “The narrative in the interviews you might use is that your and Malia’s work prove that the Russians didn’t hack into the DNC and steal the emails and impact our election.” That does not sound particularly tongue and cheek.
Sean Spicer has admitted to meeting with Butowsky but insists that it was short and merely a courtesy.
Working against Wheeler is his own interview on Fox with Sean Hannity. He does not appear particularly circumspect about the allegations in the interview. Hannity was known to be more keen on the story than Fox News, which ultimately retracted the story. Fox reportedly struggled with Hannity to tap down the story.
The television interview aired hours after Zimmerman published her story and Hannity asked Wheeler “What did you discover in terms of the contacts with WikiLeaks?” Wheeler responded that “I have never seen the emails myself directly,I haven’t even seen the computer that Seth Rich used. Here’s the problem with all of this: I don’t even know where the computer is.” However, he then added that a “federal investigator” who was “very credible” provided him with information that suggested that “perhaps there were some email communications between Seth and WikiLeaks.” He now maintains that there was no federal investigator and that it was Butowsky and Zimmerman who told him about the federal investigator. However for a jury, the interview shows someone willing to advance what turned out to be a false narrative.
While Wheeler insists that he later regretted his role, he clearly was a willing participant in these interviews. That will make it more difficult to get a jury to believe that he did not make such statements to Zimmerman.
Wheeler, 57, is a former Washington, D.C., homicide detective. He was dismissed in 1995 because, according to his lawyer, his urine tested positive for trace amounts of marijuana.
Pointless commentary.
Judicial Watch is an arm of the Russian Govt.!!!!!
“The latest emails obtained from the private account of Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin contain four documents with classification marks and further proof of improper ties with the Clinton Foundation, says the group that received them.
On Wednesday, Judicial Watch released 1,600-plus pages of emails that the State Department had to turn over under the group’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit.”
https://www.rt.com/usa/398478-clinton-abedin-emails-classified/
“Judicial Watch is an arm of the Russian Govt.!!!!!”
Is Jill being sarcastic or has she gone over the deep end?
This beneficiary of “Affirmative Action Privilege” is a feminazi.
Feminazis are misogynists who hate the female body and the “burden” it imposes on “women.”
The overriding issue is the birthrate in a “death spiral” because feminazis don’t have babies sufficient to make America a viable nation. America is forced to import its population to sustain the “Affirmative Action Privilege” of feminazis.
It is self-evident that this policy is terminal for America as Americans become extinct.
Sarcasm!
🙂
🙂 🙂
The one aspect of all this that needs to be refreshed constantly is that Trump designed this chaos. Others participate but Trump is the one who took the entire circus to these new lows of mudslinging, lies, slander, and more. Trump designed the chaos to appeal to the disoriented angst of a large segment of the populace who are ever ready to grasp at anything towards which their anger and frustration is vented.
Trump set the bar and continues to lower it. What do you expect? The mud oozes in from all sides. This is the main reason Clinton lost the election. She started to play Trump’s disgusting game of chaos and looked stupid doing so. One must ask one’s self, why are there no politicians that simply present the issues, in detail, with the objective of opening dialogue and arriving at a solution amenable to most, not all, that is impossible, but most? Take back America from the oligarchs. Demand a limit of $100.00 per registered voter for the maximum political contribution. The rest will fall into place: reduction of lobbyists, reduction of puppeteering, loss of oligarchical power, potential for more than two parties (one more than a dictatorship), affordable two tier health insurance, etc. Make America a democracy, do away with the oligarchy. Let’s hear why this should not be done.
“This is the main reason Clinton lost the election. She started to play Trump’s disgusting game of chaos and looked stupid doing so.”
No. No. No.
The Borg Queen’s own campaign committee despised her, but wanted the power and $$ they would get when she got elected. Podesta, Mook, Brock, that hypocrite Neera Tanden, the entire Congressional Black Caucus, and every feminist in the US who supported her showed how unethical they were when they tried to foist on us a power-hungry, thieving narcissist who clearly suffers from a debilitating neurological disease. You may recall she couldn’t campaign at all throughout the month of August, or her shocking imitation of a human statue waiting to be loaded like a cardboard cutout of herself into a retrofitted Secret Service van during the 9/11/16 Memorial event? The Podesta emails revealed Clinton had “off” days when she was mentally “not there”. How kind her staff were, to understate her medical issues in such a way. A Clinton Presidency would have been like Reagan’s 2nd term, but with a warhawk sleeping through the national security briefings instead.
Like you, I wish that Trump would act more Presidential. And I agree that power needs to be wrested from the greedy hands of the oligarchs. But I am under no illusions that Trump “lowers the bar” of political discourse in the cesspool that is DeeCee. Those swamp creatures prostituted themselves decades ago; the rest of us just can’t ignore the stench anymore.
Good post!
Thank you, Olly!
Remember that President Trump, as a candidate, had perhaps twenty luminaries as opponents running against him. America was determined to end the dynasties of the corrupt Bushes and Clintons and it was obvious that Trump was there to take no prisoners and do just that.
If President Trump has made one mistake, it was to take his foot off of the gas pedal. Obamacare should have been terminated with extreme prejudice through executive orders on inauguration day. Hillary, Obama, “Little Debbie In Big Trouble” et al. should have been indicted upon confirmation of Jeff Sessions. Sessions should have held the line and challenged Congress. And so on.
“He who hesitates is lost.”
― Marcus Porcius Cato
If President Trump has made one mistake, it was to take his foot off of the gas pedal. Obamacare should have been terminated with extreme prejudice through executive orders on inauguration day.
I whole-heartily disagree. ACA may be a stinking pile of manure but it is the current law. You would no more have wanted Obama to impose this through EO than have Trump take it out by EO.
The globalists imposed Obama on America. They ignored the constitutional presidential requirement and imported democrat voters. The Supreme Court was derelict and corrupt allowing an unconstitutional ACA then approving its “exchanges” by corruptly commingling the definitions of the words “state” and “federal.” Professor Turley was compelled to sue Obama for “executive overreach” or subversion by usurpation. Obama was not a president he was an enemy with a mission of “fundamentally transforming” America into a foreign, communist state. President Trump has got to fight fire with fire, accepting that “failure is not an option;” while the “deep state,” anti-American-sovereignty globalists close in.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
― Obert Skye
President Trump has got to fight fire with fire,
Let me rephrase that for you: Trump has to abuse his authority to fight the abuse of authority.
If you claim to be a constitutionalist, then you cannot support unconstitutional means, regardless of the ends. That’s what has gotten us into this mess.
If you’re half right, you’re half wrong and if you’re half wrong, you’re all wrong.
Let’s address the half that is right.
I am a constitutionalist who believes there are actions the President can take to dismantle (i.e. defund) Obamacare and acceleratei its “withering on the vine.”
See if you agree with the steps at this link.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/28/how-trump-white-house-can-undermine-obamacare-241092
You’re completely missing the point.
Regardless of the law in question and regardless of who is President. Do you want the President to exercise power that undermines the laws he doesn’t like? Congress writes the laws and the President takes an oath to faithfully execute those laws. The correct process is for Congress to repeal and/or replace the law. If they fail, then the American people need to exercise their pen and a phone, not the President. The last thing we need is to replace one Uber President with another.
Liberal, redistributionist, communist globalists have been “…exercising power that undermines the laws the Constitution doesn’t like” for 150 years now. The Constitution was abrogated by communist long ago. Keep in mind, as a shinning example, that China is fully communist with no vote, no freedoms, no rights and no free enterprise – it is testing its system of shutting down the Internet as we speak. The very unelected communist dictator, President Xi Jinping, recently reiterated his immutable faith in “globalism.”
Apparently, you have missed the point and most importantly, you have missed the point of American governance and the Constitution. Most of the “government” as we know it may not exist per the Constitution. The Founders severely limited government to Justice, Tranquility, Common Defence, Promote General Welfare. Did you skip over the Preamble? Why, since it is the essential American CONTEXT without which there is no America? And there is, by the way, no America. The “blessings of liberty” were provided to the American People while the limited government is intended to serve the People and facilitate freedom and free enterprise – not Individual Welfare. Obamacare is absolutely illegal and unconstitutional and should have been declared such by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court/judicial branch has been totally corrupted and is completely dictatorial, subjective and ideological. Is that OK with you? Government may tax only for General Welfare not Individual Welfare. Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the power to “lay and collect taxes,…to provide for the common defense and general welfare.” The right to private property precludes redistribution of wealth. James Madison defined “private property” as “that dominion which one man claims and exercises over the external things of the world, in exclusion of every other individual.” Government cannot take private property from one man to give private property to another without violating the definition of the word private and the Constitution. No form of redistribution of wealth is legal or constitutional including affirmative action, quotas, welfare, food stamps, social services, forced busing, utility subsidies, WIC, HHS, HUD, HAMP, HARP, Education Dept., Labor Dept., Obamacare, Obamaphones, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, “Fair Housing” law, “Non-Discrimination” law, etc.
Take a look around you. Americans had their country taken away long ago and Americans themselves are being “fundamentally transformed” into extinction. Are you aware that the American birthrate is in a “death spiral” and the population of America is being imported. Have you noticed? Do you think the “dilution out of existence of Americans should continue for the sake of, what, honor? America is charged by its code of honor to commit hari-kari, right?
You have missed the point. Take a good look at the very top of this page. Read the Preamble where it states “…TO OURSELVES AND OUR POSTERITY,…” Is it possible to misunderstand those manifest words of the English language.
The EXISTENTIAL THREAT is now EXTINCTION FACT.
But let’s be nice about it.
Issac: “This is the main reason Clinton lost the election. She started to play Trump’s disgusting game of chaos and looked stupid doing so. ”
Hillary’s downward trend was easily seen by all Americans when she was the first lady. It probably started a lot earlier somewhere in Arkansas.
Allan, it didn’t start in Arkansas, but was evident then. I lived there at the time. HRC was well known for saying nasty things to and about people, including Special Olympics athletes. She is a classic case of NPD.
Cape Cod, I worked in KC when Hillary was an attorney w/ the Rose law firm. I’m a PI and work for attorneys. When Hillary was still just the 1st lady of Arkansas, a nobody-lite, this very reputable KC attorney I know dealt w/ Hillary on a case. It may surprise folks but there is some honor among attorneys. If you are negotiating on case, whether it be settlement discussions, or just scheduling orders, discovery, etc., there is honor. A handshake means an agreement and the details are worked out later. There are some attorneys w/o honor and w/ whom a handshake means nothing. This KC attorney learned the hard way Hillary was one of the dishonorable ones. And, believe it or not, that is a distinct minority.
Nick, I still have family in AR and they did business by handshake, so I completely understand you. I need no convincing about honorable lawyers, either. Sorry the KC lawyer had to learn that lesson. My father has a personal story about HRC, when she was First Lady and staying in a high-end hotel in NYC while on a Xmas shopping trip. I won’t go into the details in this public forum, but there were many company execs and celebrities who were there and have corroborated the version of events I heard. I’ll simply say that books have been written about how she would steal anything that wasn’t nailed down.
Thanks to both of you for your information on Hillary confirming what I had been told before some of which was worse. Alone I don’t think she ever would have risen to power. I met Bill Clinton and he was the most charismatic person I ever met so I understand how he was able to generate support.
allan, Bubba is extraordinarily charismatic, and IMO, he truly is a policy wonk. He unfortunately lacks a moral compass, to say nothing of his other offenses. We agree on $hrillary Coattails.
The more I read the constant barrage of attacks without proof against President Trump the more I believe it’s all a diversion from the Dumocrats wrong doing and maybe Republicans.
It’s not about the loss of an election anymore it has to be something really big that they’re hiding.
Here is a video of Ron speaking. It is on wikileaks. What I notice is that he, like Hersh, also says that he heard the FBI had the laptop and found that Rich had sent things to wikileaks.
The Russian narrative is out of control. No one has proved these e-mails were fake. People were even fired over them. Yet, there is no investigation of the many potential crimes found in the e-mails themselves. Why is that?
Why is Hannity still on the air?
Paul, Why shouldn’t Hannity be on the air?
I forgot, he’s a patriot. And he defines what a patriot is. Thus he is the savior needed for the good of the country.
Paul, we are not dealing with whether or not he is a patriot or if he is or is not good for the country. The question is why he shouldn’t be on the air. I so happen to think he is a reasonable guy pushing his vision of good government.
He is on the air. If you had the power would you throw him off?
Hmmm, because he’s making money for his network?
Next question.
Why is Madcow on the air.
The more this blitzkrieg offensive against Trump goes on, the more convinced I am this is “The best defense is a good offense.” Between Seth Rich, Wasserman’s Pakistan felons, the illegal unmasking by Obama people, and the complicit MSM ignoring these ripe stories, this smells like a Swamp coup.
Something just ain’t kosher and it ain’t the pickles.
Now the news is that McMaster has allowed Susan Rice to keep her TS/SCI clearance.
Swamp coup indeed.
The bombshell part of the complaint is an email that states that President Donald Trump wanted the story to air to distract from the Russian investigation.
Bombshell? Clickbait.
The Seth Rich case deserves further scrutiny. Had you linked Clinton and the DNC in your headline, that would have been reasonable.
Did JT leave on summer vacation today?
N.B., if this Republican donor did hire this fellow to investigate, is he not bound by guild rules to broadcast his client’s business on cable television? Or is this PI a jukebox – you put the money in and you get the tune you want?
What difference does it make? I am not sure I see a Cause of Action.
He also said someone not known to be regularly associated with Trump told him what Trump said. Pretty tenuous right there.
Homicides which resemble that of Seth Rich (caucasian killed outside the slums or sketchy neighborhoods adjacent to slums) are fairly unusual in DC to begin (a few a year) with and his had some curious features (reputedly a robbery, but his wallet was not taken). Commercial businesses have security cameras as a matter of course, these days, so law enforcement should have coarse descriptions of who was ambling about near convenience stores and the like at that particular time. Since he was killed in the wee hours of the morning, there should not be that many descriptions to sift through. AFAIK, law enforcement hasn’t posted any composite images. It’s all very odd.
Lying is not punishable unless there was a treat obtained by the liar.
Walter says that lawsuit is goofy.
Oh it’s wasn’t an “alleged murder.” He’s really dead of an armed robbery gone awry where nothing was stolen from him as he walked home in his D.C. neighborhood at 2:00 a.m. The D.C. cops refuse to let the FBI analyze the kid’s laptop computer and Wikileaks’ Julian Assange has offered $20 large for information leading to an arrest. Decedent’s parents deny any connection to Wikileaks though Assange says he got Podesta’s emails from a DNC staffer. No, nothing suspicious here. Move along.
Point being here, not to miss the forest for the trees, but there is a dead body here and evidence that no one will look at. It’s just a little more than “he said-she said.”
This whole thing is just sloppy. Wheeler’s and Seth Rich’s parents’ behavior telegraphs outside manipulation….it’s not a stretch to assume they’ve been threatened. If Sy Hersh’s statements are true (who knows?), then that makes it even more complicated. The Dems must fear additional leaks, because the efforts they are going to in order to paint Trump as the source of all evil are becoming increasingly ham-fisted.
And all the while the tensions grow greater on Russia’s western border, and the majority of the LSM will not discuss the US’s saber-rattling.
http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2017/08/the-new-york-times-pushes-propaganda-war-against-russia-by-publius-tacitus.html
CCS:
I agree. I measure vulnerability by stridency in opposition.
Good pick-up, “alleged murder”. I think JT wasn’t alledging that Rich was dead rather whether or not he was murdered. I heard that the plague was in town. Someone apparantly carrying the plague could have infected Seth Rich so JT is correct he could have died of disease with a bullet in his chest instead of being murdered. I think someone saw Albert Camus at the seen of the alleged murder. [“The Plague”]
Good chuckle on Camus, allan. I thought you were going to go with one of his other works’ though: “Neither Victims nor Executioners” or “The Rebel.” On the other matter and with that asteroid passing so close to earth I thought maybe a shard broke through the atmosphere striking a stray gun on the DC sidewalk as our poor DNCer passed by and thus causing the fatal wound. About as plausible as the forgetful robber.
How would Seth Rich’s mother and father know that he was not transmitting anything to Assange? They can say that it’s inconsistent with what they know of their son, but they can’t make any categorical statements on the matter.
Sometimes you “know” what you’re incentivized to “know” or not.
It all sounds rather flaky. Fox News ran the story and then retracted it, realizing that there wasn’t enough evidence to support it. And the plaintiff, Wheeler, was fired by the D.C. Police for insubordination, which is curious. Police Depts usually employ “progressive discipline.” They’re not going to fire an experienced homicide detective for something like that, unless he has prior disciplinary problems. Then he went to work for Fox as a commentator on police issues, but is currently suing Fox for racial discrimination because he wasn’t promoted. Personally, I think Seth Rich was killed by one of D.C’s numerous young predators, who stalk the streets after dark looking for victims. Anyone walking in D.C. at 3:00 a.m. is literally risking his or her life.
I think the general theme regarding Fox News’ sources and the Trump administration in general, is we are dealing with blatant amatuer opportunists the likes of we haven’t seen since Huey Long.
Thanks for the vid, Autumn. Loved the Rush Hour reference.
Autumn, You consistently provide interesting videos. You are a valuable contributor.
Will Professor Turley explain in an article the alleged Seth Rich assassination, after the alleged sale by Seth Rich of DNC e-mails to Wikileaks, which was discovered by police on his computer and revealed in this video?
Autumn, do you know why Joseph Rago died a few days ago in a Manhattan apartment? He was a 34-year-old Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the WSJ who had written effectively on the weaknesses of Obamacare.
This appears to be an excellent example of true “journalism” – a true “journalist” at work.
By contrast, the hapless Woodward and Bernstein are continually promoted as “icons” by the liberal MSM and obtained historical fame for doing absolutely nothing but being manipulated and led around by the nose by a disgruntled, disloyal and treasonous, former Federal Bureau of Investigation Associate Director, William Mark Felt, Sr.
Can damages be recovered if the jury determines that they are all lying liars? I wouldn’t trust anyone involved in this lawsuit, least of all Trump, to tell the truth.
Lying is not legally actionable. Otherwise, Bill and Hillary would be on your corner in tatters selling pencils for 3 cents apiece. Lying — especially the kind utilized in DC blood sport — is quite profitable.
If lying was actionable, lawyers would be out of work. BTW, where was your concern about the lies that led to the IRAQ fiasco, IOYAR. Glad to see you are making new friends, is there a knuckle dragger’s club house or is this site home for your ilk?
My guess is that my profession is the only one that punishes members for lying there my anonymous friend.
I should not be concerned with damages in the least if I had Oliver Clozoff.