I have previously criticized the President for his use of Twitter to attack those conducting the Russian investigation and various critics. Many of these tweets are in my view clearly inappropriate and distinctly unhelpful to his legal team. Indeed, today the Hill posted a column where I criticize James Comey for adopting the same use of social media in lashing out at critics. Now, Trump is attacking Ranking Member Adam Schiff as a “liar and leaker.” I have recently criticized Schiff for his claims about the highly classified content of the recently released four-page memo. However, these attacks on social media — and name calling — only serve to undermine the President in this controversy. Presidents have long strived to maintain a dignified and deliberative position in addressing opposing allegations or critics. These attacks have not worked well for the President and fuel allegations that he is defensive and alarmed by these investigations. For those of us who have questioned the evidence of criminal conduct, the attacks are curious since they fit a narrative put forward by the President’s critics. I served as lead defense counsel in the impeachment of Judge Thomas Porteous — the last impeachment trial heard by the Senate. My opposing lead counsel was Rep. Adam Schiff, who I found to be a remarkably competent prosecutor and able opponent.
In his latest attack, Trump stated:
Little Adam Schiff, who is desperate to run for higher office, is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, right up there with Comey, Warner, Brennan and Clapper! Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!
What do you think?
THE “INSURANCE POLICY” WAS IMPEACHMENT
Rosenstein, Mueller, Strzok, Page et al. “needed an insurance policy” – they knew there was ‘nothing there” and that the FBI was going to proceed with a political campaign to impeach a political opponent.
“Russian Collusion”:is the false charge to pursue impeachment to overturn a fair election.
______________________________________________________________________
– FBI Agent Strzok told FBI Attorney Page that he doesn’t really want to join that because “…my gut
sense…is there’s no big there there”.
– Strzok told Page he might join Mueller to be part of “maybe the most important case of our lives” an
“investigation leading to Impeachment?”
________________________________
“It indicates they’re considering joining the Mueller special counsel investigation,” Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) said on “The Jay Weber Show”. “… He doesn’t really want to join that because his gut sense is there’s no big there there. I think that’s kind of shocking.”
In the raw texts released by Johnson’s office, Strzok wrote: “you and I both know the odds are nothing. If I thought it was likely, I’d be there no question. I hesitate in part because of my gut sense and concern there’s no big there there.”
The full context of the texts is not entirely clear. But if they are indeed discussing the Mueller probe, Strzok also wrote that it could be “in the history books” and “maybe the most important case of our lives” — and later mentioned an “investigation leading to Impeachment?”
“Presidents have long strived to maintain a dignified and deliberative position in addressing opposing allegations or critics.”
I think we are past that. The FBI, IRS, DOJ, and NSA have become weaponized against conservatives. The FBI may have attempted to drive Trump from the White House. It is alleged that the FISA Court was abused to spy on American citizens. It is alleged that Hillary Clinton sicced the FBI on her political opponent using fraudulent opposition research. It is alleged that Schiff deliberately lied about the memo.
Of course Trump needs to fight this coup, and he needs to explain the situation to the American people, who may rely on a complicit mainstream media which supported the coup. However, he has to be effective in his message. These Tweets need to project his message to those outside of his base, or all he is doing is fueling his opponents.
He should reword his Tweets to make them short, sweet, and powerful. It is entirely possible that the players in this abuse of power should be fired and prosecuted, but that needs to be based on the facts. I personally wouldn’t Tweet that someone should be fired. I’d just do it and then discuss it later.
There is something rotten in the state of our government agencies, and it needs to be cut out. Let justice be served.
If Trump would just fire and imprison everyone who disagrees with him (by definition the “something rotten,” I’m sure that would solve his problems. Then require a personal pledge of loyalty, no matter what Trump might do. The King can do no wrong!
“If Trump would just fire and imprison everyone who disagrees with him (by definition the “something rotten,””
I am curious where you got that idea, since I specifically stated that government agencies have become weaponized against conservatives. That is not disagreeing with someone.
McCabe “walked into my office, shut my door and…said ‘I want you to know that this story right here is total
BS. It’s overstated and it’s not true.’”
____________________________
If McCabe knew, Rosenstein, Mueller et al. knew…
or they are incompetent.
______________________________________
NBC –
“Priebus, who was fired as chief of staff in July, added new details on Sunday, saying that McCabe initiated the conversation about the Times article.
Priebus told NBC’s Chuck Todd that McCabe “walked into my office, shut my door and basically told me that The New York Times story that was in the paper, that first came out in February that said there are constant contacts between the Trump campaign and the Russians, with the door closed, looked at me and said ‘I want you to know that this story right here is total BS. It’s overstated and it’s not true.’”
“This is the deputy director of the FBI. I didn’t know who he was, it’s the middle of February,” he added.
Priebus also said in the interview that he never saw any evidence of collusion and that he never heard President Trump say that he wanted to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
“I never felt that I was involved in something nefarious the whole way through, from the beginning to the end. So you can understand the frustration of the President when he’s told he’s not under investigation,” Priebus said.”
JW like pit bulls on the issue
How long does it take an investigation to reveal the crime which was originally indicated by “probable cause”? The FBI and Obergruppenfuhrer Mueller have not found evidence of “Russian Collusion” in almost two years. If we were in combat, we’d all be dead by now. Is Mueller’s a criminal investigation or a political ‘investigation of nothing”? When does America get to see the evidence of “Russian Collusion”?
Hmmm, how do you know they have found no evidence? Do you have a source that leaks to you from the Mueller team? Do tell.
I notice in your comment that, again, you produce no evidence, as has been the case for almost two years.
You persist in accusing and “charging” with no probable cause and no evidence.
If one is accused of murder, there is a dead body proving that a crime has taken place.
The evidence, please.
OT – It will be interesting to see the outcome… Judge Emma Arbuthnot who will decide also carries the title of Baroness of Arbuthnot.
2016 “The Queen has appointed Emma Louise Arbuthnot to be Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate) on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, the Right Honourable Elizabeth Truss MP and the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the Right Honourable The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd. a blue blood.(Lady Arbuthnot of Edrom)”
⌛ @JulianAssange
ALERT: UK will decide whether to drop its arrest warrant against me tomorrow 2pm at Westminster magistrates court two years and one day after the UN ruling in my favor (the government appealed on March 24, 2016 and also lost the appeal in later that year).
Shifty Shift didn’t have any toys to play with when he was small. Yep,that’s his problem
I see no evidence of Schiff’s current competency or good will towards the American public. He was one of the first in line to approve the illegal, unconstitutional spying on American and other world citizens. He is a BBB of the banking industry fraudsters. Whatever he once was, he is an utterly corrupt, evil man now.
That said, Trump has no business trying to stop the release of Schiff’s memo into the public domain. Trump is an idiot. He does not understand how to treat other people. He misuses him power in both inane and completely destructive ways.
Neither person cares about our nation or others in the world. They are both utterly lawless and corrupt. They do not have nor do they earn the respect of any person who actually cares about our Constitution and our society.
As disgusting as both people are, they still have the right to release information. They still have freedom of speech. Let them make their case through argument. If their arguments are poor then they should be judged as useless. If they use personal attacks, they only show their own lack of skill in their job.
Right on JIll! Release Schifty’s memo AND the underlying docs as well so the public can put this issue into perspective.
Autumn,
I agree. Let’s see all of it! JW is good at getting stuff. Thanks for that link. Here’s another:
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-02-05/grassley-graham-blast-fbi-censoring-memo-calling-criminal-probe-trump-dossier
They are all SCUM!
The Tweets continue….
Update 0910ET: Rep. Schiff was quick to respond to the president with his own tweet:
“Mr. President, I see you’ve had a busy morning of “Executive Time.” Instead of tweeting false smears, the American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or…really anything else.
——————————————————————————————–
@realDonaldTrump
Representative Devin Nunes, a man of tremendous courage and grit, may someday be recognized as a Great American Hero for what he has exposed and what he has had to endure!
Trump Slams “Biggest Liar” Schiff, Praises “Great American Hero” Nunes
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-02-05/trump-says-little-adam-schiff-must-be-stopped
Trump will not stop his embarrassing and hateful tweeting etc. To do so would be to become something other than a low class bully and borderline criminal which he has been for many years. For people who have known him no surprise. For most Republicans they should have “had him at mocking a disabled reporter”
The people who celebrate the transparency created by Trump tweeting are all of those Americans in that red space on the 2016 electoral map. None are sissies. All are cheering him on.
More just released , Clinton associates were feeding information to Steele for his douche report. The Dems and the MSM are going to work hard to disrupt this administration and prevent Americans from their choice.
Yeah but you don’t claim there is anything untrue that was “fed.”
Only the election losers find truth in the douche report. Before their Big loss everything was just peachy they had sold themselves in believing that Americans wanted to continue down the Obama rat hole. Americans quietly went to the polls and said “no more”. It wasn’t Russia that orchestrated the Democrats loss it was and is the Democrats who are proving to be anti American.
Yes, he did; he said “Clinton associates”.
In response to “Yeah but you don’t claim there is anything untrue”
Yes, sure of course…it’s always good when the FBI collects political dirt from one major Party currently holding executive sway, to be used by law enforcement (people with guns and the ability to imprison) against the opposite political party during a POTUS campaign. As long as the dirt is “true,” right?
And of course the above rule holds regardless which party rules in the executive branch, right? IOW, it’s totally cool if we just reverse the political party roles in 2020, right? IOW, Trump’s FBI v. the DNC Candidate.
/sarc off
https://twitter.com/ReformedBroker/status/960620056836263938
https://twitter.com/NBCNewYork/status/960619541276524544
Trump claims that Shiff leaves closed meetings to leak classified material. One example would be helpful. I think Trump is in a position where he has no way out. He more than anyone knows the extent of his financial dealings which he has no way to keep secret from the Special Counsel who is methodically collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses. Mueller has flipped Flynn, Papadopoulos, and potentially Gates. There are several witnesses to his role in the cover-up of his son’s Trump Tower meeting and he’s being asked to give an interview (subject to perjury charges if he lies) and he doesn’t have a good story. If he does nothing he goes down.
He’s surrounded by people telling him what he can’t do because it will be perceived as, “Obstruction of Justice” but fighting and attacking is all he knows. He’s turned on everyone in the FBI who was told contemporaneously about attempts to get Comey to stand down on Flynn. He’s tried to discredit every intelligence agency, the House, and Senate Investigations, the Special Counsel and individual members of the House and Senate who don’t agree with his concept that he’s been cleared in Devin Nunes second blatant attempt to change the narrative. I think he’s decided to obstruct justice openly and blatantly and let Fox, Hannity, the right-wing media and his followers keep telling us he’s really not obstructing justice, he’s just a fighter.
Enigma re: “Trump claims that Shiff leaves closed meetings to leak classified material. One example would be helpful.”
I agree – there has to be some footage – cameras are everywhere. Unless of course there is a technical glitch =)
Dec 6 2017 closed door interview with Trump Jr. Shiff kept leaving the room. Details of meeting soon circulated on CNN before interview session even ended.
You make the call.
Who attends an inquiry is not classified material. I call you misinformed at best.
I call you illiterate. Schiff spilled a whole lot more confidential info than a mere roll call of attendees.
What classified information was leaked by Schiff? Senators and Congressmen leave meetings all the time to make statements. Lindsey Graham is the master. There is still no example of leaking classified information which is what Trump charged. Still looking for one example?
Talk is cheap. Trump can complain and opine as much as he wants, it is when he walks the walk. So far, Schiff has been on the sleazy side and I have to agree with Trump. Schiff is in cya mode on this second memo, which was not written until after the first was released.
The second memo was written well before the first was released. Nunes just chose to take no action on it, not allowing the full committee to read it until pressure made that impossible.
enigma – according to Schiff it wasn’t because he was going to write a rebuttal memo.
Not sure what you’re referring to. The rebuttal memo was written well before the first was released. They wanted them released simultaneously but Ryan and others said that the second memo “hadn’t gone through the process,: although there was time to do so.
If only those darn GOP members were “non-partisan” like the DNC!!!!!!!!!!
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL……………
I don’t know why you equate GOP elected representatives with the DNC that is paid to advance Democrat interests. Those elected representatives are supposed to occasionally put country first instead of siding with Russia and Trump who seem to share the exact same interests. Why is it exactly, how is it exactly that Trump arbitrarily decided not to enforce the Russian sanctions Congress passed right after the election, to keep Trump from lifting the existing sanctions? They had signs of showing a spine but ultimately caved.
“Why is it exactly, how is it exactly….”? It was not an arbitrary decision. Trump owes most if not all of his financial empire to investment by Russian interests. They want a return on their investment, such as no sanctions and other buddy-buddy actions. Follow the money.
The money is being followed, to Trump’s despair. We know where the trail ends because his sons have told us about the level of Russian investments.
Don’t be so disingenuous. The Schiff memo had to go through the same process as the Nunes memo did, which took several weeks.
But you knew that.
I was responding to a statement as to when it was written which was before the Nunes memo was released. As far as the process taking several weeks, they had to vote to allow themselves to read it… and read it. How long do you suppose that should take. They passed a 1,000 page tax bill in a few hours.
The crafting of the tax bill was in process for about 2 years. Please stop saying stupid things.
The actual tax bill had no public hearings, was given almost no time to read and was passed within hours, without regard to how long it may have existed in Paul Ryan’s mind.
Your failure to acknowledge the truth doesn’t make it wrong. Passed in hours, no amendments, no public hearings.
JT, Come on! Expecting Trump to act “dignified” is akin to expecting Bill Belichick to be effusive.
Maybe about Trump but he is doing EXACTLY what he was hired to do and in case you didn’t notice when the independent constitutionalist who controlled the general election are factored it the socialist ‘lead’ disappears and every time Schumer and Pelosi open their mouths that lead dissipates.
I’ll take an outsider like Trump anyday over a one party system of government which is exactly what the Socialists are no matter if the tag words are progressive, national or inteernational.
I think T rump wishes he was an absolut dictator like Putin and could send Schilff, Mueller and Tosenstein to da Siberia.
To prove my pont The Collective shows up and proves my point about them saying anything to support The Party like good little parrots – even though they are describing themselves.
T rump would like to send em all to Siberia so they could not expose him. You probably would do da same but you are a bot onablog with no powers.
ken – Correct the Record is running out of material. You need new writers.
Correcting da T rump Putin bots like Aretheum or whoever he is is beyond da scope of correct da record if they still have it. Those dummies did not even know about da thousands that were writing from troll farms now everybody is on da lookout.
K en da use gots da two stays on aol dats where use belongs. You cants touch Aarethum and Paul da use just ways out theres ons da fringe, stays on aol.
Ken – I think you are a Russian bot.
You are some kinda pro cause you live here but probably not Ruskie. Da Ruskie bots swarm when t rump is in trouble cause da Mueller is gettin close to T rump and their boss Putin.
K en use is da differently a flakes. Where doz use comes ups wiffs dis s*#*. Use gots to bees a bots urs mo is always da sames. Did I say Da Da.
Trump and Paul Ryan answer to the oligarchs of Russia (Putin) and America (Kochtopus) and, to Murdoch. As evidence, the tax scam bill enriched Ryan’s campaign by $1 mil. and, Fox sold the scam to the public. The donor class wants the wealthy to rule the U.S. as a colony. Russian destabilization efforts add traction to the goal. The GOP is running interference for Russia in the House, Senate and Mueller investigations.
Paul Weyrich’s teaching manual provides the playbook for the game well under way, by the donor class. They tear down existing institutions e.g. FBI, a knowledge-based government bureaucracy, a two-party system etc. Dems lost 1000 seats in less than a decade. A viable Democratic Party has been eliminated in many states via gerrymandering.
Rhetorically, how many Americans know that the share of national income going to labor is at the lowest point in U.S. recorded history? If the U.S. wasn’t a plutocracy, that information would be widely known.
You are so nuts. It’s painful to watch.
http://www.newsweek.com/trump-russia-oligarchs-real-estate-florida-715733 One would have to be very naive not to notice who invests in Trump properties.
I don’t give Newsweek the time of day.
Chaos at Newsweek. Employees at Newsweek have been told that editor-in-chief Bob Roe and executive editor Ken Li have been fired, sources with knowledge of the situation told CNN.
http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/05/media/newsweek-editors-out/index.html
Also naive not to notice who invests in who’s campaigns, and foolish to try to distort that record.
Given what we know, I can only assume that Trump will inevitably make his move to fire Mueller and that should finally trigger a significant move toward impeachment. Trump will use Twitter all the way to the bitter end and beyond. What exactly happened to him, his administration, and his country, will be mostly lost to him like a bad dream.
Why would he do that? There are four real investigations in progress and Meuller now has to repudiate much of what he has done and then defend the millions he’s wasted lining his ‘crews’ pockets. Every day he stands as open reason for those other invesetigations to go forward. His only chance is to for once do his job. Four charged two cleared and still doesn’t have the courtesy, the honesty nor the balls to just say… collusion is not a crime. Case closed.
I’m patient. And I am more than confident that Mr. Meuller and his team will succeed.
Mueller’s investigation is quite disgraced. He hired Partisan hacks and had to fire them (did you miss that? the news is several weeks old). His Partisan hack “investigators” conspired with Andrew McCabe Re. an “insurance policy” in case Trump won. Did you miss that to? Hey DNC hacks: if the Russia meme is not the “insurance policy,” pray tell, what is? Inquiring minds want to know.
Turley described in detail that Mueller’s primary investigator has had several huge convictions vacated because he violates his legal oath with gusto, he breaks the law to get convictions. Did you miss those several postings? If yes, look them up.
Trump’s entire legal team would quit en masse if Trump fires anyone, thus almost guaranteeing legal and political bedlam. Dems want nothing more than for Trump to fire Mueller.
If you think he’s that stupid, I’m sure you believed HRC who guaranteed a win.
Joe, your style of full-bore belligerence is part of a sickness in America right now. Where does it come from? We can discuss that sometime. Ultimately, Trump will go down in history right along another great American pariah, good ole “Tailgunner Joe” McCarthy. Were fans of McCarthy as hateful as Trump fans are today? I wonder. Seriously, what is going on?
The GOP’s recurring dream of exploitation and, its execution will remain a constant drain on the American people.
I don’t see a correction on the horizon. It may take a generation to get us on the right path. But I remain hopeful. I believe America can, and will, absorb the shock of Trump & Co. and the toxic elements of the GOP.
Professor Turley, you should run for public office. We need scholars in positions of leadership rather than incompetent folks with name recognition. But, of course, if a politicians fails to serve the interests of wealthy donors, they are not elected. Lets implement a less corrupt political system so that political scholars will consider running for office,
I suggest Turley is a few and far betwen example of that particular source but I would support barring attorneys from office as they have a vested interest and have shown that interest is too often not The Constitution nor the citizens nor the country.
Then call the parties what they are. Socialists to the left along with the RINOs and Republicans plus independent constitutionalists to the right but funny thing the space these Constitutional Republic people occuply contains The Center.
It is not the center of the left.
Again, expecting Trump “to maintain a dignified and deliberative position in addressing opposing allegations or critics” is like expecting the Good Wrestler to never pick up a folding-metal chair and whack the Bad Wrestler over the head, the same as the Bad Wrestler just done to him!
No, I disagree! Call the Democrats exactly what they are! A pack of liars! I wrote a great short rant here yesterday, which I will repeat:
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Reply
Squeeky when were they ever allowed by the ruling class of that party to ‘think?’ They parrot what they are programmed to endlessly repeat.
Yep. I enjoy watching Tucker Carlson sending them into flurries of gibberish when he simply asks them simple questions. Usually, he never gets anything approaching a relevant response to his question, for example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnxisxDF2ko
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
How are these morons allowed to attain positions of trust. The black community in Chicago should be going berserk to see how these idiots are taking money from the community to protect illegals. When when will they wake up.