Then-president Trump’s demand of Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen on December 27, 2020 was simple: “Just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen.” But the election wasn’t corrupt, and Rosen wouldn’t do as Trump asked.
I admire your clear and dramatic overviews of so many complex moving parts, which are very challenging to write with context and perspective — and on deadline. I say this after watching every minute of today's hearing and lengthy recaps, plus reading a slew of commentary.
The FBI's search of Jeffrey Clark's home seems like a momentous turning point. It should silence Merrick Garland's critics. Talk about a bad day: Clark, who we now know conspired with Trump to overthrow the election, found himself standing in the street in his PJs while agents seized among other things his electronic devices. Then he had see his scheme exposed on live TV.
What will they find on his electronic devices? Was Clark surprised? Who else will be implicated? Who collaborated with him? The answers will come. And all participants in this the greatest political crime in the nation's history now are confronting a stark truth: their crimes will be exposed and likely prosecuted.
"The FBI's search of Jeffrey Clark's home seems like a momentous turning point."
To me the FBI search of Clark's home seems like a stunt.
We have (all) known about Jeffrey Clark's willingness to take Rosen's job and do Trump's bidding since a couple of weeks after the Jan 06 insurrection from various news sources.
But, on the very day when the Jan 06 committee details what happened between Clark and Rosen? The Justice department simultaneously decides to raid his house?
I ask: What took the Justice Department so long? Why wait until now? Why did the Justice Department not raid Clark's house a long time ago when the NY Times detailed parts of this story?
Clark has had plenty of time to clean up his phone and his icloud storage account and his hard drive. Plenty. I imagine he was pretty relaxed "standing outside in his pajama's".
A stunt. That's what the raid on Clark's house feels like.
A last question for you Michael: Why not raid Mara Lago instead?
Speaking of orchestration, was the release of the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade timed to draw attention away from the results of the Jan. 6 hearings? Of course the Roe decision is very important, but the results of the Jan. 6 investigation are even more important, I believe: if the insurrection goes unpunished, then abortion rights and many others could disappear. A difficult time in our history.
John Dean on NPR at noon today, Friday, said if tfg isn't indicted, then the president is (always) above the law. But Mr. Dean could see no way out of indicting Trump.
Well, end of session SCOTUS decisions generally come down around now. They include more than the usual dose of awful, true, but the committee must have had this in mind when they scheduled their hearings.
We have a very large cult of brainwashed trumpsters. They have proven to be violent and willing to kill for trump. This is a level that equals potential Nazi's who have been trained to attack. They attack our elected officials and our schoolboards. They must, very systematically, see this corruption by the POTUS and all his minions in movie style. This is the only way they MIGHT understand that their leader is a rogue criminal who lied and ab used them to his own means. Power, money, and that highest level narcissistic evil, Adoration. This is equal to Hitler. 1 million of our own people have died because trump lied about the hoax pandemic. This is going to snap brains. We have not even gotten to the "Russian Hoax" yet. And who funds Bannon, Manafort, Conway, Flynn and the early players. This is so big and so deep. Realize that Garland and his crew have the biggest, deepest job any AG has ever had in the history of our country, or maybe the world and he is very systematic. And we don't know all of it. Yet. It is All connected. Be patient and enjoy the quiet for this moment.
"This is so big and deep," Amen. But is is not a quiet moment. The SCOTUS has ruled against the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade. It is another straw about to break the backs of sane Americans.
Women's reactions to the SCOTUS ruling are not going to come off the boil in the months between now and the midterms.
A Lysistrata moment if ever there was one.
For the rest, I don't dare write what I think, what I feel about the gross party-political -- i.e. tribal -- abuse of such a delicate, intimate and intrinsically painful issue, and of women as responsible agents. That in combination with the upholding of gun worship.
In order to see, they need to look, and from what I've been reading, the only place they're looking is FOX, et al, sources which will not feed them the truth, even in baby steps.
I'm not convinced it was purely a stunt. Maybe it was the DoJ simply playing catch-up?
But it was noted last night that this 5th hearing was originally scheduled for last week, and the subject matter was announced beforehand. It was then postponed with vague explanations of technical problems.
Perhaps the DoJ asked that it be postponed to allow the serving of the subpoena BEFORE the public hearing, so Clark wouldn't feel like he should destroy evidence after hearing the evidence against him?
Jaime Raskin was specifically asked that question on MSNBC by Nicole Wallace right after Barbara McQuade suggested it, and he looked like he'd been blindsided by the question. He was not expecting it, and seemed flustered, and came up with a non-answer about all the evidence they'd been receiving and then pivoted to what they were were going to be doing in the future.
I think he deflected with his answer. Maybe even lied. I think the DoJ and the committee are working together, at least informally.
I agree. The hearing was rescheduled. The search was executed on Wednesday morning. The hearing was Thursday afternoon. The timing seemed purposeful and exquisite. I have a cousin who is a computer forensic expert. Were he to have tried to hide evidence, she would have found it. It can be done. I have a feeling that those electronics contain a treasure trove of incriminating evidence.
Unless he ditched all of his electronics and replaced them recently with new (which alone would be a major red flag), anything he may have thought he deleted isn't really deleted. As for the Cloud, I expect there are ways for forensic computer experts to access and download. Things live forever in the tech universe no matter how much you may try to hide something. I can't imagine Clark and others are tech-savvy enough to understand this.
Yeah John - I think it went down something like you describe. The DOJ timing and the select committee timing seem to be intersecting at certain aspects of the investigation. It's very intriguing. I believe a whole lot of Republicans are (or should be) soiling their diapers.
I hope most people will understand that yesterday's hearing was postponed at the DOJs request so as to not interfere with their investigation. They do just that with leading newspapers and broadcasters. Nothing new there. It can't be overlooked that it is known that the DOJ asked for evidence right around the same time. That ask was probably incorrect. They didn't ask for evidence they asked that they not show their investigation until the paperwork for the search was signed.
It’s delicate handling such stunning and far reaching criminality considering that the kingpin was a POTUS who received so many votes to get re-elected and still has a large group of supporters in Congress and throughout our country and the world willing to look the other way as long as he keeps supporting their views on guns, immigration, abortion, etc. AG Garland would be an utter fool if he were not to handle this case with all due care and consideration possible including political optics . He is taking the fight to a large domestic enemy willing to do anything to stay in power. We had a Civil War already … he must make a case that is so strong the independents will have no choice to acknowledge the truth. As for the large group of Americans who are supposed true believers willfully ignoring the facts ? Ultimately, they will most likely continue to remain among us as family members and neighbors unwilling to change their minds until they decide for themselves to do so…. or they don’t.
"Delicate" it is. To say the least. One of the things that shakes me the most is the willingness of Republican officials to, if the choice presents itself, vote for Trump again. That wingnut from Arizona who testified Tuesday - Rusty Bowers - said exactly that. That Trump and his policies prior to Covid were great for the country. A guy who looks to his god for action, and wants everyone to know it. This after just drawing and quartering Trump with his testimony. We have a large swath of the country who abhor progressive policy so much that they would see the most dangerous and incompetent person to ever occupy the White House re-installed!!!!!! To literally make a deal with the devil. Think on that. How can progressive policy be hated to that extent? Is it abortion? Gun control? Is it civil rights? Climate change mitigation? LGQBT policy? Evolution? All of the above? What is it? Something is making them resort to seriously sordid acts of desperation to stop us.
I think the "something making them resort to seriously sordid acts of desperation" is POWER. This march to gain control for the minority in America has been carefully planned for decades by rich Republican donors and organizations like the Federalist Society. They saw that white males would be in the minority in the foreseeable future and have worked for decades to build up and radicalize their base using made up issues like abortion rights (which had not been a Republican issue before) and white male grievance, while also carefully inserting Republicans into state legislatures and onto various courts across the country. The ultimate result was their ability to shove radical right wing lawyers onto the Supreme Court until they had a majority AND to impress their Republican politicians that if they wanted white Republican males and right-wing rich corporations to exert maximum control over America, they had to do whatever it took to gain and hold power. So the overwhelming motivator for the politicians is not hate, it's power. It's not virtuous religious beliefs or morality that motivates Rusty Bowers, Mike Pense and Brad Raffensperger. They don't want to "violate" their oath of office to gain power, but they don't mind voting for a president that violates his oath of office and everything else he can get his hands on so they can gain and keep power. So that's my answer, Jay. POWER and the belief by Republicans that they stand to lose it, possibly forever, if they don't lie, cheat and steal their way into top positions in the United States. The results of this Republican lust for power at any cost has many victims in its wake, one such group are the severely radicalized, out of control cult members of the base, who do ooze with hate for anything that they have been programmed to see as bad, which includes many progressive ideas.
May I take a stab, although it's a rhetorical question? It is hatred, as you say, promulgated largely by white, not-too-well-educated, older, straight men who feel disenfranchised. Thus they distrust intellectuals, liberated women, people of color, non-Christians, gays and science. Particularly they detest climate science because, god forbid, they must look to a day without gasoline and sufficient water.
The thought of a world in which they are no longer the de facto top of the pecking order is anathema. It will all come to pass, of course, it's just that they are unable to accept it. The question is, will the rest of us be able to survive as individuals and as a nation while awaiting and fighting for justice, fairness and sensibility?
The (mostly) straight white men who are riding this whirlwind are in general exceptionally well educated. Most of the rest of what you write does apply, but I think you've left out a crucial piece: the generally well educated, extremely wealthy (mostly) straight white men who are financing all this angst.
True! I had in mind the yokels of Proud Boys, the idiots on the SCOTUS (I don't care if they are lawyers. They cannot think beyond their sponsors,) the lower income guys who watch all things Fox, and evangelical believers. But yes, the Kochs and their ilk are crafty to say the least. I don't think the rich white boys are quite the same, although the outcome is often similar. They are mostly not wanting to pay for social programs and "welfare queens" with all their ill-gotten gains. Uninhibited profiteering corporations are on the same list, too.
It's hard for me to guess what drives the Rs but I think you've said it here, Hope -- "white, not-too-well-educated, older, straight men who feel disenfranchised. Thus they distrust intellectuals, liberated women, people of color, non-Christians, gays and science. Particularly they detest climate science because, god forbid, they must look to a day without gasoline and sufficient water."
I think we are coming into very hard times re: climate change and food & water shortages. It will affect the underclasses mostl, and those you name (white, not-too-well-educated, older, straight men who feel disenfranchised) are struggling with all their might to stay on top. They are near drowning and they can't swim very well.
Those who talk about their religion in just about every context have a laser focus on abortion. I suppose they are all dancing in the street today. But now that over half of this country just lost our constitutional rights, we'll see how this affects 2020 and 2024. I'd not like to be one of those Stench Benchers right now or one of those old white sickos in Congress (men and women) who are celebrating. They might consider packing up their offices. Once out, they'll never get back their tax payer funded cushy jobs or their social events funded by dark money. Maybe they can all rent a room at Mar a Lago?
Ellen - you will not find consensus among southern women. But yes - the logical result of this decision should be a large rallying of women voters in general. My hope is that this will also shake some sense into lazy disappointed progressive voters, male or female, who would "protest vote" by not voting at all, and instead turn them out in huge numbers this November. What we need is an overwhelming blue wave. Perhaps this, and the upcoming decision to hamstring the EPA, will do it.
James, Are you familiar with a fair number of '... lazy disappointed progressive voters, male or female, …'? My experience is with highly motivated citizens. First time voters, Black, Hispanic and others, may be shy. some aren't very informed and need help with information, encouragement and access to the polls as well as absentee ballots.
I think over and over about the book Dark Money, which uncovered the layers of conniving throughout our institutions, not just in Congress and SCOTUS, but universities, religions, and media. At first it focuses on the Koch brothers, but it is a world wide phenomenon with white male oligarchs and other authoritarians, including Putin, at the helm.
Dark Money shook me to my core. Like toxic, invasive weeds, the roots are deep and intertwined. While we were working hard and playing by the rules, our values and decency were being choked out by these monsters.
I don't know if the accusation of 'stunt' by Mike S. for the 'court-authorized' search of Jeffrey's Clark home is only based on the timing of the House committee's hearing with this law enforcement activity. No evidence for his claim was provided. Mike sounds like many in his impatience with the Department of Justice. Could the DOJ slowness to act from Mike's point of view be reason for it to pull a 'stunt'? At the very least, the department's investigations in activity to subvert democratic processes are not frivolous.
Yesterday, Federal agents conducted “court-authorized’ law enforcement activity” at a variety of locations, showing up at the homes of a variety of Republican officials, including aides who worked with and for Donald Trump’s campaign, as well as the home of Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official.
'The search at Mr. Clark’s home was a significant step in the Justice Department’s many-tentacled inquiry into the efforts to subvert the democratic process after the 2020 election.
‘Clark may not be a household name, but when it comes to understanding the Republican efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, few witnesses are as important.’ (MSNBC, NYTimes)
During the Second World War, both Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt quoted Longfellow when promising retribution for the extermination of the Jews.
What many of us would like to do with six members of Supreme Court would be only slow enough to cause a great deal of pain for a while.
Hope, Your caring and thoughtful participation on the forum as well as the contributions of other subscribers is what keeps the forum vital. I am honored by your appreciation. The feeling is mutual. Let's keep it going together. Salud!
'After months of furious street battles and a heavy death toll, Ukraine will withdraw its forces from the largely ruined city of Sievierodonetsk, according to the local governor.'
'The fall means that only the city of Lysychansk across the river stands in the way of Russia gaining full control of the eastern Luhansk region. Once Russia has Luhansk, it could then turn its attention to the neighboring Donetsk region. Together, the two regions make up the Donbas, Ukraine’s industrial heartland.'
'Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk region’s military administration, said that it “does not make sense” to hold on to positions in the city any longer. “The number of people killed will increase every day,” he said.'
'The Kremlin has devoted a large portion of its forces to taking Sievierodonetsk and the 30-mile-wide pocket of land surrounding it. To take the city, Russia has had to devastate it with artillery strikes. About 90 percent of the buildings have been destroyed and only 8,000 civilians remain, according to Ukrainian officials.'
Something I can't quite understand is why Putin is allowed to manipulate this tragic rout at will. I asked the same question about the invasion of Afghanistan just to "get" Osama bin Laden. Why in hell's name are tens of thousands of innocent people killed when one bad actor and a few henchmen devise havoc and pathological cruelty? When Pres. Obama "got" bin Laden, I thought that was the right thing to do from the beginning, yet the President got almost no appreciation or respect for a well-designed event to punish the perp.
Since the dawn of time, the strong have invaded the weak. Reasons and excuses vary but the purpose is the same, to gain resources of some kind. The rich make the wars and the poor fight them. Allies become enemies and enemies allies.
Obama got very little credit for anything since he was Black.
Are you serious? What a poor choice of words. To cheapen a move by the DOJ as a “stunt” after all the criticism heaped on them is beyond the pale.
Can we all get on the same page that different entities are moving in coordination to retain democracy and expose criminals at highest level of government under Trump?
Perhaps it was a poor choice of words. I accept the feedback and thank you.
However, I learned of Jeffrey Clark as a long ago as February 2021. I knew, a guy who reads maybe 40 minutes a day in various newspapers, about Clark's efforts to lay at Trumps feet and do his bidding.
It is now the end of June 2022 and the FBI have search Clark's home for the first time.
So, if I knew about clark so long ago, how is it that the FBI only now, in coordination with public exposure via Jan 06, is just now searching Clark's home?
Does it not seem "late" at the very least and possibly a "stunt"?
Because, the FBI does not have to wait for a televised expose to do an investigation of its own and execute search warrants.
Appreciate your explanation Michael, and your frustration with DOJ. But because they are dealing with gangsters, timing is critical. In this case, I suspect with the J6 Committee about to expose him, and having enough evidence against him, and public opinion now turning away from the scoundrels, they had to act quickly to preserve evidence. To my mind it is a carefully choreographed dance, not a black & white investigation. I look forward to the book and movie. This real time stuff is too harrowing.
A stunt? That doesn’t fit Garland’s reputation. And to what advantage? Also, some fake state electors also received FBI visits yesterday. We’re in the midst of a high-stakes drama like no other. Most of the machinations are secret. We can’t judge the effectiveness yet.
Exactly. Boy, am I feeling it in my body and mind today. Please, everyone, take really good care of yourselves and do at least one thing per day that calms and soothes you. We must take good care of ourselves for the long haul. Am off to the great outdoors...
I'm grilling a decadent feast and eating in the backyard next to our very small pond and waterfall with my best friend. Celebrating our half birthdays, or at least that's our excuse. My teenage son, quite the baker, has made a butter matcha cake with chocolate glaze for us.
Oh, happy half-birthday, Michael! Sounds like a divine evening with with a body of water AND the sound of falling water. My favorite things. Thanks for sharing how you are re-charging your battery. Celebrate anything!
Well, it's my full birthday today and quite an elderly one. Each year the well-wishers dwindle, but that's to be expected. Nevertheless, there are old FB friends, a few relatives' phone calls and some cards. But perhaps the most meaningful BD wish was from a little poor lady in my apartment building who brought me a ceramic lamb, clearly not new, that she had once treasured. So it goes. Enjoy the out-of-doors and I wish you a lovely day, Michael. And, Pensa, isn't Vermont lovely this early summer day!?
Excellent idea, MaryPat! Water is good for the soul!! Need to tell all the seditious conspirators against our country to do the same--and wake up to their destruction. Go Jump In The Lake! Just not MaryPat's!!
Perhaps it was a poor choice of words. I accept the feedback and thank you.
However, I learned of Jeffrey Clark as a long ago as February 2021. I knew, a guy who reads maybe 40 minutes a day in various newspapers, about Clark's efforts to lay at Trumps feet and do his bidding.
It is now the end of June 2022 and the FBI have searched Clark's home for the first time.
So, if I knew about Clark so long ago, how is it that the FBI only now, in coordination with public exposure via Jan 06, is just now searching Clark's home?
Does it not seem "late" at the very least and possibly a "stunt"?
Because, the FBI does not have to wait for a televised expose to do an investigation of its own and execute search warrants.
I have not been made aware of your knowledge regarding the processes taken by the DOJ in preparation of providing a judge with specific crime or crimes suspected and evidence of such, so that a 'court approved' search could be granted. Your application of guesswork and suspicion was not the least bit convincing to me. Obviously, you think you learned a lot about Clark from the reading of a friend of yours. That is not in-depth learning in my book. Nothing you have written has provided me with even a hint of the 'possibly a 'stunt'. I do note how hard you cling to something cooked up in your mind.
Our son is a professor of computer science at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.His area of research is in data search and and retention. His comment is that it is always there. He is paranoid about hacking of banking accounts to the point of having a separate computer that is used for investment accounts etc. and turned off when not in use.
I think the hearing of June 23 is more than a smoking gun, it a smoking howitzer.
Ah....aptly stated. I don't really have the words to describe the relief that what many of us knew is finally having giant lights shed upon it and the instigators. There is much more, but this is now a new kind of tension and I am breathing better knowing the wannabe Narcissus Nazi king is going to be defeated along with all, or at least most, of his comrades. Take heart, friends, Garland is on this as much as the J6 Committee has been on this. What heroes they all are.
Clark had less than two (2) options: Full data recovery is very likely from a single device, single server particularly if linked to a cloud network. Toast. UPDATE: Back on October 3, 2021, the Select Committee already served a letter on "Jeffrey Bossert Clark, Esq.' to appear before the Select Committee on October 29, 2021. Likely, the Select Committee already has substantial direct evidence on Clark from other co-conspirators.
He may have chucked his old devices and purchased new, clean ones. If he still has his old devices, deleted material is still accessible to a pro before it's written over by new material. So Clark's writings may still be there.
Yeah if FBI is looking for new info, it's a bit late. BUT if FBI can (or did) obtain info via DOJ servers, Cloud storage, etc. and show attempts to hide the writings via Clark being cute with his devices, that is Obstruction of Justice. 18 USC 1501-1521. Often it's easier to convict of the cover up than the crime itself.
Watergate was all about the cover-up, not the burglary itself. Every one of the major participants, save the burglars themselves, went to jail over the cover-up.
Aye, but now Trump has six "pets" on the Supreme Court. Very unsettling. We can only hope that at least two of them haven't been completely domesticated yet.
Hi there, dear! I was sorta near you last month, but I sure wish I'd been able to visit Merida instead of Cancun (which I view as an angler fish lure dangled into the Caribbean to attract Americans). The cenotes we saw were gorgeous! The two-hour, unair-conditioned, bus ride to get there, less so.
I very much doubt Clark is smart enough to be able to clean those devices well enough to evade the expertise of the computer/electronics forensic analysts from the FBI. Clark strikes me as more of an opportunist as opposed to a savvy strategist.
Except if you are trump whose phone logs are incomplete for Jan 6; whose old phones can’t be found or more classified documents taken from the White House are floating in his cesspool at Mar a Lardo.!
There is a phone record of EVERY phone call conducted from one phone to another, the problem is that is all there is, e.g. the only data saved is the record of the transmission time and location.
Who actually made the call remains unknown.
However a strong supposition of who made and received the call is never much in doubt.
However such supposition when in a court of law is the job of the judge or jury to determine whether evidence, (such supposition is referred to in court as heresy and is often objected to by the opposing attorneys with the judge sustaining such objection), offered as proof is credible.
Jackal Jeffrey Clark seems like a nefarious character from a Tom Clancy novel. He is as despicable as the worm in A Man for All Seasons who testified falsely to satisfy Henry VIII’s wish to kill Sir Thomas More.
And he was viewed with contempt by the people who testified yesterday. One flat out said he was incompetent. Let's hope as some here have suggested that he is also full of hubris and didn't get rid of his devices and destroy the evidence. Nice also to see the committee name names of those begging for pardons. I do love the reference to A Man for All Seasons too. Was the worm Richard Rich...whose name I hope I am remembering correctly.
Michelle Yes, wormy Richard. What a scene when Thomas More spoke to Richard about his betrayal in service to Hank VIII—-you do all this for the this title (attorney general?) of Wales—Wales?
Loved the movie, which I first saw in about 1966, or earlier. Time flies when you’re having fun.
I remember the movie too. Since I read a lot of history of that era....every time I come upon the name Richard Rich, I am reminded of how oily he was. I read a bio of More and discovered that he had quite an earthy vocabulary especially when referring to Luther.
Well, so here we are Michael. Some scant hours after posting. And the Supreme Court, in two consecutive rulings, sealed the fate of the radical right. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned or really run over and relegated to back alleys. This never would have happened if Trump had not been electedso there is something. Expect blue sweep and fall of radical right.
Received poll last night and another today. Constructed by Repub pollsters. Crist ahead by a percentage point over DeSantis.
I’m going for long walk despite heat. Sweat out any thought of Thomas and Stench Court.
Unitad all women and supporters of such! 🙋🏻🙋🏼🙋🏽🙋🏾🙋🏿
Thomas has already given the Repugs permission to attack ALL personal rights. (I believe there's also a possibility that SCOTUS would allow Jim Crow laws be reinstated as well, given it's track record regarding voting rights) Please read: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/24/thomas-constitutional-rights-00042256
Waiting for the amoral criminal dopey don to be in the street in a prison jumpsuit!
All these conspirators have high priced lawyers who get their hearing delayed, their trial delayed, their incarceration delayed. Sleazy Bannon is a perfect case of delay, delay, delay, while poisoning the airways with their venomous lies!
Kudos to Rosen, Donahue and all who refused to cave to the thug who occupied the White House til Jan 20, 2021!
It seems to me that the most obvious possibility is that the Committee has finally forced the hand of the DOJ. I have noted often how how the Committee’s work has been patient, professional, and broad in scope. They have released information when it was in their interest (read: the interests of America) and they have been as silent as the grave the rest of the time. I had great faith that the hearings would lay out a coherent story that was close to the truth of what happened. But the weight that each hearing is placing on the thugs who tried to commandeer America’s democracy is even more imposing than I expected. Their work will go down in history as an example of democracy at its finest - the checks and balances that America prides itself on have worked.
It is not so clear with the Department of Justice. I have been skeptical of Merrick Garland’s leadership from the start. At a moment in history when America needed a deliberate but *aggressive* AG, they were given a deliberate and ultra-cautious one. His primary objective seemed to be to restore faith in the DOJ, and in the early going his actions were even handed - he seemed to be bending over backwards to assure Republicans and supporters that his department would be fair to them.
There is no question that the DOJ has moved exceedingly slowly on the events surrounding Jan. 6. A tremendous amount of energy and resources went into picking off the small fry, the useful idiots who stormed the Capitol. In a rare public speech Garland explained that this was the way to build a case.
In a normal situation I would agree. But here there were really two cases - one about the actual events of that day and a second to focus on the buildup to the day, the schemes being hatched in the White House, the lawsuits and false set of electors plan and so forth. This second part was far more important because it drove the actual insurrection and could have been a blueprint for those in the future who would seek to drive the final nails into the coffin of American democracy.
Both parts should have been pursued in tandem. Clearly they were not. Now the DOJ is playing catch-up to the Committee. It must be embarrassing to some in the Department that their raid on Clark’s house was completely overshadowed by the Committee’s total evisceration of that same Jeffrey Bossert Clark in a hearing on the very same day.
It seems entirely likely that Clark’s devices have long been scraped clean of inculpatory evidence. However the hearing presented him in such a light that he appears to be thick-headed and obtuse, as well as much too confident in his own abilities. So perhaps he has been dumb in regard to his devices.
Finally, it is only fair to point out that the DOJ’s task is far more daunting than that of the Committee. Bringing a case against Trump + + is going to be exceedingly difficult. Trump has been cunning in not committing things to paper, in inferring rather than saying what he wants done, and so forth. His defence would be that he simply was following the advice of those lawyers on “Team Not Normal”. Much would go to mens rea and it seems the likely (and difficult) legal petard upon which to hoist Trump would be the legal concept of “willful blindness”.
The Committee is perhaps not actually embarrassing the DOJ into action. But their thorough and damning presentation is focusing the attention of the public on punishing the perpetrators, and so the pressure is on Garland and his department. Their raid yesterday, rightly or wrongly, appears reactive and a bit lame.
I don't claim to know the inner workings of the Justice Department. But I believe things are headed in the right direction. A critical element is playing out: the J6 Committee is exposing the truth with compelling narratives. The public is being educated about what happened and absorbing the most effective theme: Republicans appointed by Trump are revealing The Big Lie as the real fraud and proving that he directed the conspiracy to overthrow the election.
Meanwhile, Garland is working in parallel. When he delivers indictments, the MAGA cult will howl but the rest of the country will know that there's been no politically inspired rush to judgment. And the hundreds of cases, going all the way to the top, have been built methodically and fairly.
To have done otherwise would have vastly increased the chances of a violent reaction from the far right, and there still might be one. But those denying the truth that's now as evident as the sun rising in the East will look like the extremist, hateful fools that they are.
Michael, let us all hope that Clark was caught by surprise, and didn't take preemptive steps to wipe his electronic devices and burn any incriminating hard copies of his musings.
In view of these revelations and today's SCOTUS scuttling of Roe v. Wade, it is my fervent hope that the revelations that have been proven through these Hearings are enough to overcome a history of midterm legislative purges and voter malaise, and the Democrats enlarge their majority in the Senate and House in November. The criminal legislators currently in office, and the Federalist fanatics on the Supreme Court must be neutralized. The legislators must be held accountable and ousted, if possible; a code of ethics for the Supreme Court must be enacted and Clarence Thomas must be censured. Cultist Ginni Thomas must never again be allowed to use her influence to engage in criminal behavior, and we should take measures to expand SCOTUS and return the Court to the neutrality that was intended.
Agree on every point you made! How do we get the attention of the DNC to initiate the groundswell that is needed to make this happen? My texts and emails today have been nothing but an avalanche of requests for $ - more so than ever. This seems to be the only "strategy" as far as the DNC and DNCCC and other entities are concerned.
Hopefully we’ll find the premature, first chapter, of Jackal Jeffrey’s book entitled My Afternoon as Acting Attorney General [He was thus identified when he was scheduled at the White House for the ‘Clark totally incompetent’ showdown. Will he dare show his face on Fox?
Lol. Great title. He was already whining with Tucker C. about how he was being persecuted by the Stasi. (The Stasi would have rubbed him out, not just confiscated his electronics -- and besides, aren't the Stasi *his* people??)
Bam. A “barnburner”. Indeed. One would think Trump might contemplate being on the red-eye to Moscow. A total betrayal of trust of every American. One would “wish it weren’t true, but it is.”
I stand in grim awe of Richard Donoghue’s testimony today. And thank you, Professor Richardson, for your sobering summary. It is tempting and sad to pretend today’s hearing was an imagining. How can any citizen trust a mere man to ever be Commander-in-Chief again?
I’ll have to sit in all of it for a spell. And to think it wasn’t the only barrage today to suffer. Can the Supreme Court majority opinion written by Thomas regarding gun ownership be any more pernicious or loathsome?
A lot to bear for We the People…All of Us This Time. 🗽
All the clues were there before chump was elected. The question is, why weren't people aware of it? Or maybe it takes someone who has lived under Hitler or Russia's communism to understand that chump embodied a dictator, or was striving to become one. As soon as chump took office, he began eliminating governmental positions and not refilling them - - this was a clue that his goal was to solidify his power and eliminate opposition. It was a coup from the inside.
Then he began filling judicial vacancies with those who would support him, to prevent him from losing his power. We have seen this in other countries that succumb to autocratic rulers.
Anyone who liked chump was a "good man, a very good man." Anyone who stood up against him, or disliked him was a traitor. No difference here from any other world autocrat. All of the clues were there.
Anyone who saw him mock someone with a disability, talk about pussies, say he could stand on 5th Ave. and shoot someone and get away with it, yet still voted for him. (twice) .... these are the people I both loath and detest, for he is they and they are he. That there are so many dark and evil Americans must be studied if we are to move forward and upward. Beyond Hitler were the minions who did his bidding.
One thinks of how the so-called Christians in the US now have sold their souls to another Hitler. Ironically (or not) Martin Niemöller spent his first night out of 7 years in prison in the pastor's house at the Bergkirche in Wiesbaden - the church I came to work with in 2013, and the only "resistance" church in the entire area.
I want to correct my above statement to say that there are many (not enough) churches in the US who are devoted to social justice of the kind that the Jewish Rabbi Jesus tried to get us to understand and to practice. I'd love to hear from others who know of, or who is a member of a church that has at its core social justice. I'll start: my US Church is Judson Memorial on Washington Square, Manhattan.
Rosalind - Every Unitarian Universalist congregation Worldwide has social values at its core. To clarify, I am Phyllis husband of 33 years, Fred Dodge. Phyllis' great question to me yesterday - most days now, is: "Why would the Heroic witnesses from the J6 committee meetings still admit that they would vote for Darnold Rump if he were the Candidate again???? It boggles the mind.
Yes - it was through the UU Church of All Souls on Lexington Ave. that I was brought back to church. A Jewish baritone in the Met Opera chorus invited me. If I remember, engraved above the entrance is something like "Bring your intelligence in with you." All Souls was a founder of the Red Cross during the Civil War.
I think they might be just saying that figuring that the rat will not run in 2024, maybe in the hopes that the vile messages they and their families are receiving will at least lessen.
Good morning Rosalind - My church is the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Platteville, WI. Our denomination, the "United Church of Christ", https://www.ucc.org/ was the first to ordain a black man, the first to ordain a woman, and the first to ordain an openly gay person into the clergy. The UCC has long been at the forefront of social justice. It is the only church I have attended where I can just be myself.
All Saints Church, Pasadena: "...we are committed to audacious examination and challenging of power and privilege in the world and in our church; to pursue truth relentlessly, not for retribution but toward trust and reconciliation. We chose love over fear to overcome prejudice and promote healing to address oppression and to restore environmental equilibrium." We have an action table on the lawn each Sunday to help put our words into action for positive change. We have a long history of radical inclusion and social justice. Our former rector spoke out against the Vietnam War from the pulpit and Desmond Tutu was a frequent visitor when in town (I heard him preach perhaps 5 times over the years).
Thanks to you, MaryB, and to all of you who are sharing your congregations of social justice. My take is that the Jewish rabbi was all about social justice. We just didn't take him seriously - then or now.
Although they don't worship in a "church," Quakers - members of the Society of Friends - have always been devoted to social justice. (I'm not a Quaker, but I graduated from a wonderful Quaker high school.)
Presbyterian (the liberal branch). My specific church’s mission: Engage our un-churched neighbors of every age and ethnicity to experience Jesus. Our process is simple: …Worship, Community, Service, and Generosity…to experience the peace, purpose, and power of Jesus Christ.
That would be easy - the study of evil Americans. But for a start we'd need to make A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn required reading for every person that holds a US Passport. We have told our children fairy tales, and very dangerous ones, since the fairytale of the good and godly pilgrims...actually even before their decimation of the indigenous nations through the introduction of European illnesses and, dare I say, guns.
Hear hear, Gailee. A fraud like Trump would never have gotten near the White House were it not for 62 million deplorable (Hillary got THAT right) voters in 2016. To think that, after watching his abhorrent, incompetent clown act for 4 years 11 million MORE voted for him in 2020 is unthinkable. There is no justification for voting for Trump. I can never forgive them.
Amen, JR. That so many people were so easily swayed, tells me that it didn't take much to 'sway' them. And of course, Rupert's Fox entertainment 'news' deftly prepared the way.
Although I have been a Dem for well over forty years, it must said that the Dems, especially the DNC, the DCCC and the DLC (ended in 2011) from 1985 to 2011 to the present have done less than nothing to counter the Repub strategies.
Speaking, TC Mills, about Rupert's impact, I was heartened to read Margaret Sullivan's column yesterday in the Post about the Handbook on how to Protect Democracy, an excellent Guide, but should have been available when Trump came down the golden escalator in 2015, imho!
How journalists can spot the signs of autocracy — and help ward it off - The Washington Post
We are not totally sure that the election was not "rigged." Remeber that Twittler did project outwards that if he did not win, it meant it was rigged. That was a telltale sign to me that he had help from within in 2016. He had the paid thugs, Manafort, Flynn, Conway and Bannon funded by hostile foreign entities and a conspiracy-crazed billionaire American oligarch and his daughter financially supporting other ruin of America. And despite all that, he lost the popular vote in 2016. That must eat at his ego every day.
We as Democrats or Independents STILL have not wrapped our heads around this fact. TFG got elected ONLY because of his anti-abortion position - which was a clever way to rope a dope the bible thumpers.
This is and has been a one issue problem that Democrats just don't get. Long ago, we could have made the case that we want less abortions - but making them illegal wouldn't stop them.
We have not been clear that education and readily available birth control are the answers to less abortions. We could have been speaking at churches and rural community centers - telling the TRUTH about this issue. But we foolishly underestimated the ignorance and single minded commitment of the anti-abortion mindset. I didn't. All you had to do was drive down route 95 into the south and see the billboards with pictures of a fetus.
We made mind altering drugs illegal - did that stop people from using them? We made gambling illegal - how did that work out? We had a prohibition of alcohol - was there a shortage of booze?
All of these and other "prohibitions" don't work. They simply push the activity underground. We have yet to make that case.
There are two proven ways to reduce abortions. 1. Give women as much control as humanly possible over whether or not they get pregnant. 2. Provide enough social support so that every child has food, shelter, clothing and education. (It also helps if fixing the problem of a missed menses is categorized as a womens health concern, as it had been for thousands of years.) Both progressives and people genuinely opposed to abortion on moral grounds can agree on both those points. But they don’t serve the needs of the grifters who used anti-abortion as a tool to get themselves money and power.
You hit the nail on the head. The vast majority of my friends vote Repubiqan on the single issue of abortion. tRumps abhorrent behavior is overlooked because . . . abortion.
America has been terrible dealing with addictive vices. The solution to opioid addiction exists in Portugal and Switzerland, but it's "understood" that can never happen here.
Kathleen-now that Thomas has gotten what he wanted regarding a woman's autonomy, he has voiced the idea that ALL personal rights should be undone. He didn't waste any time telling the state level R's to go after those rights as well. Please read: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/24/thomas-constitutional-rights-00042256
Abortion AND tapping into the macho, white male superiority (FEAR) of the "other" as a backlash to the first bi-racial president in our country. And others I know for whom it was all about not paying taxes in the highest income brackets. This is complex. As are humans.
Same here. One thing that has surprised - and disheartened me since 2016 is learning how many mean-spirited people we live among. I knew many of my neighbors were of such stripe, but I had no idea it was so pervasive across the country.
THAT is it. Disheartening, incredulous, shock, dismay and how many other adjectives to describe heartache for our "civil society" that turns out to be not so civil. Not such a shining beacon on the hill after all. Uh oh, am I "woke"?
I know. I’ve gone from “how did I miss this?” In 2016 to “This must be who we are” on January 6th, 2021–and 147 Republicans from across the nation voted No that night.
INCLUDING Speaker Rusty Bowers and Secretary Brad Raffensperger. Let's not be too tempted to hold them up as heroes at this point for providing testimony to Trump and his team's criminality. They openly admit under oath they wanted him re-elected despite all you mentioned followed by a horrible term dominated by a totally bungled pandemic threat.
Bowers lost me when he said the Constitution was divinely inspired. Religious zealots give up their own power, own agency, and that of others, and turn everything over to a god they believe speaks to them. Not a big jump from that to membership in a cult.
Agreed. I had the same reaction, Gina. But at least, in his confused way, he has respect for the institutions of this country. Most of today’s Republicans have lost it completely, starting with the corrupt ex-Prez and R members of Congress.
Mormons believe Jesus visited America before He rose again to consecrate what would be a new nation under His rule, and asked God to write the Constitution when that time was right. It’s been a while since I attended Mormon Sunday school for a very short while, but think that’s the basics. Slightly less bizarre to me than being marooned for all eternity on your own planet
I think that their fortitude in holding to their oath of office, irrespective of what their personal beliefs are should not be so shocking to us. The very purpose of an oath is to make a commitment to the greater whole, rather than just your personal interest. The fact that they are held up for being heroes for keeping their promise (oath) says far, far more about us as a people than just about anything else.
Ally, exactly! They just did their job, in this instance at least. I appreciate that but that doesn't make one a hero. It's what they're supposed to do. The fact that a whole bunch of Trump's cronies did/are not upholding their oath doesn't mean those who do are especially heroic.
They deserve the respect we would’ve given 10 or 20 or 30 years ago to a Republican with at least the minimum amount of dignity to support the Constitution and our laws. At least they’re not MAGA anarchists. The lesser of two evils. But certainly not people to admire or idolize, unless you’re one of those clueless white supremacists who call themselves Republican in 2022.
I watched Bowers and Raffensperger. And Cheney and Kinzinger. They are Republicans with a brain, but they are certainly no heroes of mine. They wouldn’t be voted into office in California that’s for sure. Except if they got very lucky, like in McCarthy’s Bakersfield district.
Oh it's worse than that Beth - Bowers said if the opportunity arose that he would vote Trump over Biden. That would make it three times!! Barr said the same thing. These are not heroes at all. Their twisted minds actually like what he did in office, minus an attempted coup.
I cannot loathe or detest all tRump voters because I have several friends who voted for him . . . twice. It was simply “I am a Republican, and I always vote straight ticket”. It is legacy, apathy and lack of interest in current events that led them to vote that way. Some of them are now embarrassed and regretful.
That kind of acquiescence to Trump despite his obvious disqualifying characteristics as well as support for Trump based on his willingness to bully others and to elevate self interest above the common good I find to be despicable.
Wonder how many of us in this group of followers would privately vow to never vote for anyone but a Democratic candidate? My motto is Never a Republican again will I vote. Of course, my lifetime pledge is only worth 5 or so years.
But what is crucial is that the exposure brings punishment and sends the vermin back under their rocks. Also, that more Americans become invested in our government and understand that it is everyone's responsibility to be a watchdog.
Or how about "Russia if you are listening...". I do not proclaim to be omniscient. But it was plain as the nose on my face in 2016 just what kind of scheister this guy was. My wife too, who is not as progressive as I am. Alot of us did. I have (or had) friends who hated HRC, would not vote for her, and felt or hoped Trump would "grow into the office" and abandon his awful campaign tactics, so voted for him. I try not to loath or detest them for that. I save that for the folks who voted for him again in 2020, after seeing for real that the real Trump was indeed the evil malignant clown we saw during the 2016 campaign. God almighty what damage this guy has done to our country. Our current SCOTUS is a cancer he laid on us that will go on and on regardless of what happens to Trump, and may ultimately be fatal.
The loathing did not begin until well into his term when his throng continued despite all of his lies and open corruption. That's when I began unfriending former friends who idolized him. He is deep into debt to the putmaster.
I’m not sure the folks who drank the MAGA Kool-Aid are all that different from anybody else. We’re susceptible to such derangements. It’s like the folks given opioids after surgery who become addicted and are completely overcome by the addiction. We’d like to think it couldn’t happen to us, that it’s some defect in them. I’m not so sure that, under some circumstances anyone couldn’t be corrupted. We need to be vigilant and to understand what happened to folks duped by the MAGA fraud.
Most Republicans were staunch advocates of the Whites + Males Rule society long before 2016. My dad‘s favorite presidential candidate of all time was Mitt Romney, and then later John Kasich. To these people, like my dad, Trump was just the latest standard-bearer of what I call the Neanderthal society, the leftovers from Nazi Germany and the Confederacy.
I don't believe John Kasich ever spoke up for toad. We even considered him. My parents were lever pulling Republicans. I wish they were here now so I could experience their views. I have never voted for a party. Always for the platform as an independent. But with both Bushes, I have only supported the Democrats. So few seem to get that women like Hilary and Nancy are truly gifted leaders. I think it is because they are so strong. Which in men, would be a credit but in women is a liability.
Yes, but for him, they might not have gone there. He brought out the worst in them. It’s a devilish business. Makes me think of that Emily Dickinson poem. (764, I looked it up. My reading, in this context: In this life, action is unavoidable and irreversible, so be careful what you do, how you commit.)
I admire your clear and dramatic overviews of so many complex moving parts, which are very challenging to write with context and perspective — and on deadline. I say this after watching every minute of today's hearing and lengthy recaps, plus reading a slew of commentary.
The FBI's search of Jeffrey Clark's home seems like a momentous turning point. It should silence Merrick Garland's critics. Talk about a bad day: Clark, who we now know conspired with Trump to overthrow the election, found himself standing in the street in his PJs while agents seized among other things his electronic devices. Then he had see his scheme exposed on live TV.
What will they find on his electronic devices? Was Clark surprised? Who else will be implicated? Who collaborated with him? The answers will come. And all participants in this the greatest political crime in the nation's history now are confronting a stark truth: their crimes will be exposed and likely prosecuted.
Michael,
"The FBI's search of Jeffrey Clark's home seems like a momentous turning point."
To me the FBI search of Clark's home seems like a stunt.
We have (all) known about Jeffrey Clark's willingness to take Rosen's job and do Trump's bidding since a couple of weeks after the Jan 06 insurrection from various news sources.
But, on the very day when the Jan 06 committee details what happened between Clark and Rosen? The Justice department simultaneously decides to raid his house?
I ask: What took the Justice Department so long? Why wait until now? Why did the Justice Department not raid Clark's house a long time ago when the NY Times detailed parts of this story?
Clark has had plenty of time to clean up his phone and his icloud storage account and his hard drive. Plenty. I imagine he was pretty relaxed "standing outside in his pajama's".
A stunt. That's what the raid on Clark's house feels like.
A last question for you Michael: Why not raid Mara Lago instead?
I think it was perfectly orchestrated.
The case needed to be built from the ground up in order to create a logical and cohesive pattern to their scheme. And it has to stick.
This compilation of evidence is objectively fascinating, and my original pessimism is fading.
But I'll hip hip hooray when it's conclusion is multiple indictments.
Speaking of orchestration, was the release of the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade timed to draw attention away from the results of the Jan. 6 hearings? Of course the Roe decision is very important, but the results of the Jan. 6 investigation are even more important, I believe: if the insurrection goes unpunished, then abortion rights and many others could disappear. A difficult time in our history.
John Dean on NPR at noon today, Friday, said if tfg isn't indicted, then the president is (always) above the law. But Mr. Dean could see no way out of indicting Trump.
Well, end of session SCOTUS decisions generally come down around now. They include more than the usual dose of awful, true, but the committee must have had this in mind when they scheduled their hearings.
We have a very large cult of brainwashed trumpsters. They have proven to be violent and willing to kill for trump. This is a level that equals potential Nazi's who have been trained to attack. They attack our elected officials and our schoolboards. They must, very systematically, see this corruption by the POTUS and all his minions in movie style. This is the only way they MIGHT understand that their leader is a rogue criminal who lied and ab used them to his own means. Power, money, and that highest level narcissistic evil, Adoration. This is equal to Hitler. 1 million of our own people have died because trump lied about the hoax pandemic. This is going to snap brains. We have not even gotten to the "Russian Hoax" yet. And who funds Bannon, Manafort, Conway, Flynn and the early players. This is so big and so deep. Realize that Garland and his crew have the biggest, deepest job any AG has ever had in the history of our country, or maybe the world and he is very systematic. And we don't know all of it. Yet. It is All connected. Be patient and enjoy the quiet for this moment.
"This is so big and deep," Amen. But is is not a quiet moment. The SCOTUS has ruled against the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade. It is another straw about to break the backs of sane Americans.
Vote Blue in '22
I bet if you made and sold posters with that slogan you would become very rich!! I'd buy one right away.
Women's reactions to the SCOTUS ruling are not going to come off the boil in the months between now and the midterms.
A Lysistrata moment if ever there was one.
For the rest, I don't dare write what I think, what I feel about the gross party-political -- i.e. tribal -- abuse of such a delicate, intimate and intrinsically painful issue, and of women as responsible agents. That in combination with the upholding of gun worship.
Clarence Thomas has already given Republicans the blanket approval that they should overturn ALL personal rights-please read: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/24/thomas-constitutional-rights-00042256
I wonder how the impeach Thomas movement is doing? What a self-righteous, misogynist ass he is!
Except, of course, Loving.
Very perceptive!
Yep--they know they only have a short window now to commit as many dirty deeds as possible.
They will be on it.
In order to see, they need to look, and from what I've been reading, the only place they're looking is FOX, et al, sources which will not feed them the truth, even in baby steps.
YES.
I'm not convinced it was purely a stunt. Maybe it was the DoJ simply playing catch-up?
But it was noted last night that this 5th hearing was originally scheduled for last week, and the subject matter was announced beforehand. It was then postponed with vague explanations of technical problems.
Perhaps the DoJ asked that it be postponed to allow the serving of the subpoena BEFORE the public hearing, so Clark wouldn't feel like he should destroy evidence after hearing the evidence against him?
Jaime Raskin was specifically asked that question on MSNBC by Nicole Wallace right after Barbara McQuade suggested it, and he looked like he'd been blindsided by the question. He was not expecting it, and seemed flustered, and came up with a non-answer about all the evidence they'd been receiving and then pivoted to what they were were going to be doing in the future.
I think he deflected with his answer. Maybe even lied. I think the DoJ and the committee are working together, at least informally.
I hope they are.
I agree. The hearing was rescheduled. The search was executed on Wednesday morning. The hearing was Thursday afternoon. The timing seemed purposeful and exquisite. I have a cousin who is a computer forensic expert. Were he to have tried to hide evidence, she would have found it. It can be done. I have a feeling that those electronics contain a treasure trove of incriminating evidence.
Unless he ditched all of his electronics and replaced them recently with new (which alone would be a major red flag), anything he may have thought he deleted isn't really deleted. As for the Cloud, I expect there are ways for forensic computer experts to access and download. Things live forever in the tech universe no matter how much you may try to hide something. I can't imagine Clark and others are tech-savvy enough to understand this.
Yeah John - I think it went down something like you describe. The DOJ timing and the select committee timing seem to be intersecting at certain aspects of the investigation. It's very intriguing. I believe a whole lot of Republicans are (or should be) soiling their diapers.
I sure hope so!!
I hope most people will understand that yesterday's hearing was postponed at the DOJs request so as to not interfere with their investigation. They do just that with leading newspapers and broadcasters. Nothing new there. It can't be overlooked that it is known that the DOJ asked for evidence right around the same time. That ask was probably incorrect. They didn't ask for evidence they asked that they not show their investigation until the paperwork for the search was signed.
I tend to agree with you that this is so big that they are coordinating to ease this out to the public, degree by degree.
It’s delicate handling such stunning and far reaching criminality considering that the kingpin was a POTUS who received so many votes to get re-elected and still has a large group of supporters in Congress and throughout our country and the world willing to look the other way as long as he keeps supporting their views on guns, immigration, abortion, etc. AG Garland would be an utter fool if he were not to handle this case with all due care and consideration possible including political optics . He is taking the fight to a large domestic enemy willing to do anything to stay in power. We had a Civil War already … he must make a case that is so strong the independents will have no choice to acknowledge the truth. As for the large group of Americans who are supposed true believers willfully ignoring the facts ? Ultimately, they will most likely continue to remain among us as family members and neighbors unwilling to change their minds until they decide for themselves to do so…. or they don’t.
"Delicate" it is. To say the least. One of the things that shakes me the most is the willingness of Republican officials to, if the choice presents itself, vote for Trump again. That wingnut from Arizona who testified Tuesday - Rusty Bowers - said exactly that. That Trump and his policies prior to Covid were great for the country. A guy who looks to his god for action, and wants everyone to know it. This after just drawing and quartering Trump with his testimony. We have a large swath of the country who abhor progressive policy so much that they would see the most dangerous and incompetent person to ever occupy the White House re-installed!!!!!! To literally make a deal with the devil. Think on that. How can progressive policy be hated to that extent? Is it abortion? Gun control? Is it civil rights? Climate change mitigation? LGQBT policy? Evolution? All of the above? What is it? Something is making them resort to seriously sordid acts of desperation to stop us.
I think the "something making them resort to seriously sordid acts of desperation" is POWER. This march to gain control for the minority in America has been carefully planned for decades by rich Republican donors and organizations like the Federalist Society. They saw that white males would be in the minority in the foreseeable future and have worked for decades to build up and radicalize their base using made up issues like abortion rights (which had not been a Republican issue before) and white male grievance, while also carefully inserting Republicans into state legislatures and onto various courts across the country. The ultimate result was their ability to shove radical right wing lawyers onto the Supreme Court until they had a majority AND to impress their Republican politicians that if they wanted white Republican males and right-wing rich corporations to exert maximum control over America, they had to do whatever it took to gain and hold power. So the overwhelming motivator for the politicians is not hate, it's power. It's not virtuous religious beliefs or morality that motivates Rusty Bowers, Mike Pense and Brad Raffensperger. They don't want to "violate" their oath of office to gain power, but they don't mind voting for a president that violates his oath of office and everything else he can get his hands on so they can gain and keep power. So that's my answer, Jay. POWER and the belief by Republicans that they stand to lose it, possibly forever, if they don't lie, cheat and steal their way into top positions in the United States. The results of this Republican lust for power at any cost has many victims in its wake, one such group are the severely radicalized, out of control cult members of the base, who do ooze with hate for anything that they have been programmed to see as bad, which includes many progressive ideas.
Yup.
May I take a stab, although it's a rhetorical question? It is hatred, as you say, promulgated largely by white, not-too-well-educated, older, straight men who feel disenfranchised. Thus they distrust intellectuals, liberated women, people of color, non-Christians, gays and science. Particularly they detest climate science because, god forbid, they must look to a day without gasoline and sufficient water.
The thought of a world in which they are no longer the de facto top of the pecking order is anathema. It will all come to pass, of course, it's just that they are unable to accept it. The question is, will the rest of us be able to survive as individuals and as a nation while awaiting and fighting for justice, fairness and sensibility?
The (mostly) straight white men who are riding this whirlwind are in general exceptionally well educated. Most of the rest of what you write does apply, but I think you've left out a crucial piece: the generally well educated, extremely wealthy (mostly) straight white men who are financing all this angst.
True! I had in mind the yokels of Proud Boys, the idiots on the SCOTUS (I don't care if they are lawyers. They cannot think beyond their sponsors,) the lower income guys who watch all things Fox, and evangelical believers. But yes, the Kochs and their ilk are crafty to say the least. I don't think the rich white boys are quite the same, although the outcome is often similar. They are mostly not wanting to pay for social programs and "welfare queens" with all their ill-gotten gains. Uninhibited profiteering corporations are on the same list, too.
Man-ipulating it.
It's hard for me to guess what drives the Rs but I think you've said it here, Hope -- "white, not-too-well-educated, older, straight men who feel disenfranchised. Thus they distrust intellectuals, liberated women, people of color, non-Christians, gays and science. Particularly they detest climate science because, god forbid, they must look to a day without gasoline and sufficient water."
I think we are coming into very hard times re: climate change and food & water shortages. It will affect the underclasses mostl, and those you name (white, not-too-well-educated, older, straight men who feel disenfranchised) are struggling with all their might to stay on top. They are near drowning and they can't swim very well.
Those who talk about their religion in just about every context have a laser focus on abortion. I suppose they are all dancing in the street today. But now that over half of this country just lost our constitutional rights, we'll see how this affects 2020 and 2024. I'd not like to be one of those Stench Benchers right now or one of those old white sickos in Congress (men and women) who are celebrating. They might consider packing up their offices. Once out, they'll never get back their tax payer funded cushy jobs or their social events funded by dark money. Maybe they can all rent a room at Mar a Lago?
Ellen - you will not find consensus among southern women. But yes - the logical result of this decision should be a large rallying of women voters in general. My hope is that this will also shake some sense into lazy disappointed progressive voters, male or female, who would "protest vote" by not voting at all, and instead turn them out in huge numbers this November. What we need is an overwhelming blue wave. Perhaps this, and the upcoming decision to hamstring the EPA, will do it.
James, Are you familiar with a fair number of '... lazy disappointed progressive voters, male or female, …'? My experience is with highly motivated citizens. First time voters, Black, Hispanic and others, may be shy. some aren't very informed and need help with information, encouragement and access to the polls as well as absentee ballots.
Vote Blue in '22
James- I wonder the same thing about the visceral hatred of anything proposed by Democrats- I simply don’t understand.
Think of everyday Germans turning on their Jewish neighbors with visceral hatred. Propaganda works
Don’t overlook the decades of propaganda that have manipulated these minds.
I think over and over about the book Dark Money, which uncovered the layers of conniving throughout our institutions, not just in Congress and SCOTUS, but universities, religions, and media. At first it focuses on the Koch brothers, but it is a world wide phenomenon with white male oligarchs and other authoritarians, including Putin, at the helm.
Hope
Dark Money shook me to my core. Like toxic, invasive weeds, the roots are deep and intertwined. While we were working hard and playing by the rules, our values and decency were being choked out by these monsters.
Racism
I don't know if the accusation of 'stunt' by Mike S. for the 'court-authorized' search of Jeffrey's Clark home is only based on the timing of the House committee's hearing with this law enforcement activity. No evidence for his claim was provided. Mike sounds like many in his impatience with the Department of Justice. Could the DOJ slowness to act from Mike's point of view be reason for it to pull a 'stunt'? At the very least, the department's investigations in activity to subvert democratic processes are not frivolous.
Yesterday, Federal agents conducted “court-authorized’ law enforcement activity” at a variety of locations, showing up at the homes of a variety of Republican officials, including aides who worked with and for Donald Trump’s campaign, as well as the home of Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official.
'The search at Mr. Clark’s home was a significant step in the Justice Department’s many-tentacled inquiry into the efforts to subvert the democratic process after the 2020 election.
‘Clark may not be a household name, but when it comes to understanding the Republican efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, few witnesses are as important.’ (MSNBC, NYTimes)
Thank you, Fern.
Agree. The mills of the gods...
THOUGH the mills of God grind slowly,
Yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience he stands waiting,
With exactness grinds he all.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (translator)
During the Second World War, both Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt quoted Longfellow when promising retribution for the extermination of the Jews.
What many of us would like to do with six members of Supreme Court would be only slow enough to cause a great deal of pain for a while.
I tell you, Fern, you are on top of everything, With admiration, I must ask have you ever thought of running for President?
Hope, Your caring and thoughtful participation on the forum as well as the contributions of other subscribers is what keeps the forum vital. I am honored by your appreciation. The feeling is mutual. Let's keep it going together. Salud!
💙💛🌻 🤝🏼 💓
with support and care
🌿
'The fall of Sievierodonetsk'
'After months of furious street battles and a heavy death toll, Ukraine will withdraw its forces from the largely ruined city of Sievierodonetsk, according to the local governor.'
'The fall means that only the city of Lysychansk across the river stands in the way of Russia gaining full control of the eastern Luhansk region. Once Russia has Luhansk, it could then turn its attention to the neighboring Donetsk region. Together, the two regions make up the Donbas, Ukraine’s industrial heartland.'
'Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk region’s military administration, said that it “does not make sense” to hold on to positions in the city any longer. “The number of people killed will increase every day,” he said.'
'The Kremlin has devoted a large portion of its forces to taking Sievierodonetsk and the 30-mile-wide pocket of land surrounding it. To take the city, Russia has had to devastate it with artillery strikes. About 90 percent of the buildings have been destroyed and only 8,000 civilians remain, according to Ukrainian officials.'
(NYTime, at 5:05PM ET)
Saw that
Something I can't quite understand is why Putin is allowed to manipulate this tragic rout at will. I asked the same question about the invasion of Afghanistan just to "get" Osama bin Laden. Why in hell's name are tens of thousands of innocent people killed when one bad actor and a few henchmen devise havoc and pathological cruelty? When Pres. Obama "got" bin Laden, I thought that was the right thing to do from the beginning, yet the President got almost no appreciation or respect for a well-designed event to punish the perp.
Since the dawn of time, the strong have invaded the weak. Reasons and excuses vary but the purpose is the same, to gain resources of some kind. The rich make the wars and the poor fight them. Allies become enemies and enemies allies.
Obama got very little credit for anything since he was Black.
Stunt????? Stunt??
Are you serious? What a poor choice of words. To cheapen a move by the DOJ as a “stunt” after all the criticism heaped on them is beyond the pale.
Can we all get on the same page that different entities are moving in coordination to retain democracy and expose criminals at highest level of government under Trump?
Salud, Mike. 🗽
Christine, Everyone, sorry for delayed response.
Perhaps it was a poor choice of words. I accept the feedback and thank you.
However, I learned of Jeffrey Clark as a long ago as February 2021. I knew, a guy who reads maybe 40 minutes a day in various newspapers, about Clark's efforts to lay at Trumps feet and do his bidding.
It is now the end of June 2022 and the FBI have search Clark's home for the first time.
So, if I knew about clark so long ago, how is it that the FBI only now, in coordination with public exposure via Jan 06, is just now searching Clark's home?
Does it not seem "late" at the very least and possibly a "stunt"?
Because, the FBI does not have to wait for a televised expose to do an investigation of its own and execute search warrants.
Tha's all I meant Christine.
Appreciate your explanation Michael, and your frustration with DOJ. But because they are dealing with gangsters, timing is critical. In this case, I suspect with the J6 Committee about to expose him, and having enough evidence against him, and public opinion now turning away from the scoundrels, they had to act quickly to preserve evidence. To my mind it is a carefully choreographed dance, not a black & white investigation. I look forward to the book and movie. This real time stuff is too harrowing.
Thank You Christine.
A stunt? That doesn’t fit Garland’s reputation. And to what advantage? Also, some fake state electors also received FBI visits yesterday. We’re in the midst of a high-stakes drama like no other. Most of the machinations are secret. We can’t judge the effectiveness yet.
Exactly. Boy, am I feeling it in my body and mind today. Please, everyone, take really good care of yourselves and do at least one thing per day that calms and soothes you. We must take good care of ourselves for the long haul. Am off to the great outdoors...
I'm grilling a decadent feast and eating in the backyard next to our very small pond and waterfall with my best friend. Celebrating our half birthdays, or at least that's our excuse. My teenage son, quite the baker, has made a butter matcha cake with chocolate glaze for us.
Happy birthday, friends!
Oh, happy half-birthday, Michael! Sounds like a divine evening with with a body of water AND the sound of falling water. My favorite things. Thanks for sharing how you are re-charging your battery. Celebrate anything!
Well, it's my full birthday today and quite an elderly one. Each year the well-wishers dwindle, but that's to be expected. Nevertheless, there are old FB friends, a few relatives' phone calls and some cards. But perhaps the most meaningful BD wish was from a little poor lady in my apartment building who brought me a ceramic lamb, clearly not new, that she had once treasured. So it goes. Enjoy the out-of-doors and I wish you a lovely day, Michael. And, Pensa, isn't Vermont lovely this early summer day!?
Have an excellent day, Hope. Your name carries special meaning for all us here.
I am going to go jump in the lake!
Excellent idea, MaryPat! Water is good for the soul!! Need to tell all the seditious conspirators against our country to do the same--and wake up to their destruction. Go Jump In The Lake! Just not MaryPat's!!
Thanks! I did! Refreshed and ready for battle! Now to get the seditionists washed out.
Christine, Everyone, sorry for delayed response.
Perhaps it was a poor choice of words. I accept the feedback and thank you.
However, I learned of Jeffrey Clark as a long ago as February 2021. I knew, a guy who reads maybe 40 minutes a day in various newspapers, about Clark's efforts to lay at Trumps feet and do his bidding.
It is now the end of June 2022 and the FBI have searched Clark's home for the first time.
So, if I knew about Clark so long ago, how is it that the FBI only now, in coordination with public exposure via Jan 06, is just now searching Clark's home?
Does it not seem "late" at the very least and possibly a "stunt"?
Because, the FBI does not have to wait for a televised expose to do an investigation of its own and execute search warrants.
That's all I meant Christine.
I have not been made aware of your knowledge regarding the processes taken by the DOJ in preparation of providing a judge with specific crime or crimes suspected and evidence of such, so that a 'court approved' search could be granted. Your application of guesswork and suspicion was not the least bit convincing to me. Obviously, you think you learned a lot about Clark from the reading of a friend of yours. That is not in-depth learning in my book. Nothing you have written has provided me with even a hint of the 'possibly a 'stunt'. I do note how hard you cling to something cooked up in your mind.
Good thinking.
Interesting point Mike.
Mike,
Late to this comment thread…
My thought path took a similar turn. If only the gilded toilet and its plumbers could speak! Otherwise, a fireplace, underground tech wipe, Maralardo.
Nope. Not a stunt.
I imagine he already knew he was in deep doo-doo. My guess those devices are as clean as newly fallen snow.
There is only two ways Clark could have “…cleaned his devices…”
(1). Burn all into a melted glob of plastic, rubber, and precious metals, or
(2). Have the same specialized software and skilled genius personnel as the United States National Security Agency, (NSA).
He did neither.
Additionally, there is now substantial discovered, (forensically uncovered), information cross referencing the data Clark may have thought he deleted.
Such uncovered information will prove he attempted purposeful withholding of evidence of his criminal complicity.
His goose is cooked and he knows it now!
Ha!
Good riddance to another filthy rotten vermin Traitor, Eh!?
Our son is a professor of computer science at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.His area of research is in data search and and retention. His comment is that it is always there. He is paranoid about hacking of banking accounts to the point of having a separate computer that is used for investment accounts etc. and turned off when not in use.
I think the hearing of June 23 is more than a smoking gun, it a smoking howitzer.
Ah....aptly stated. I don't really have the words to describe the relief that what many of us knew is finally having giant lights shed upon it and the instigators. There is much more, but this is now a new kind of tension and I am breathing better knowing the wannabe Narcissus Nazi king is going to be defeated along with all, or at least most, of his comrades. Take heart, friends, Garland is on this as much as the J6 Committee has been on this. What heroes they all are.
Yes!
Clark had less than two (2) options: Full data recovery is very likely from a single device, single server particularly if linked to a cloud network. Toast. UPDATE: Back on October 3, 2021, the Select Committee already served a letter on "Jeffrey Bossert Clark, Esq.' to appear before the Select Committee on October 29, 2021. Likely, the Select Committee already has substantial direct evidence on Clark from other co-conspirators.
He may have chucked his old devices and purchased new, clean ones. If he still has his old devices, deleted material is still accessible to a pro before it's written over by new material. So Clark's writings may still be there.
Yeah if FBI is looking for new info, it's a bit late. BUT if FBI can (or did) obtain info via DOJ servers, Cloud storage, etc. and show attempts to hide the writings via Clark being cute with his devices, that is Obstruction of Justice. 18 USC 1501-1521. Often it's easier to convict of the cover up than the crime itself.
Watergate was all about the cover-up, not the burglary itself. Every one of the major participants, save the burglars themselves, went to jail over the cover-up.
Aye, but now Trump has six "pets" on the Supreme Court. Very unsettling. We can only hope that at least two of them haven't been completely domesticated yet.
Ha! They've all be domesticated. Roe v Wade was reversed today.
Exactly
Hi there, dear! I was sorta near you last month, but I sure wish I'd been able to visit Merida instead of Cancun (which I view as an angler fish lure dangled into the Caribbean to attract Americans). The cenotes we saw were gorgeous! The two-hour, unair-conditioned, bus ride to get there, less so.
Excellent, always hated “the cloud,” but glory.
INDEED!
If not, he is a moron of MAGA proportions.
He hasn't shown much evidence that he is NOT 'a moron of MAGA proportions'.
Hopefully arrogance blinded him to the danger. These folks thought they were above the law.
You can't clean them. You either physically, utterly destroy them or they can be scraped.
True, they can be degaussed by a data destruction company, but the devices would be useless afterwords.
I very much doubt Clark is smart enough to be able to clean those devices well enough to evade the expertise of the computer/electronics forensic analysts from the FBI. Clark strikes me as more of an opportunist as opposed to a savvy strategist.
Remember how hard it was to get rid of Sec. of State Clinton's emails? It's even harder now, both to get rid of data and to conceal the attempt.
Except if you are trump whose phone logs are incomplete for Jan 6; whose old phones can’t be found or more classified documents taken from the White House are floating in his cesspool at Mar a Lardo.!
There is a phone record of EVERY phone call conducted from one phone to another, the problem is that is all there is, e.g. the only data saved is the record of the transmission time and location.
Who actually made the call remains unknown.
However a strong supposition of who made and received the call is never much in doubt.
However such supposition when in a court of law is the job of the judge or jury to determine whether evidence, (such supposition is referred to in court as heresy and is often objected to by the opposing attorneys with the judge sustaining such objection), offered as proof is credible.
George E. Dobbs just a quick question-did you mean "Hear Say"? "heresy" is a religious term.
Hi Barbara D. Reed:
Both probably while discussing Clark, Eh!?
Thanks!
Jackal Jeffrey Clark seems like a nefarious character from a Tom Clancy novel. He is as despicable as the worm in A Man for All Seasons who testified falsely to satisfy Henry VIII’s wish to kill Sir Thomas More.
And he was viewed with contempt by the people who testified yesterday. One flat out said he was incompetent. Let's hope as some here have suggested that he is also full of hubris and didn't get rid of his devices and destroy the evidence. Nice also to see the committee name names of those begging for pardons. I do love the reference to A Man for All Seasons too. Was the worm Richard Rich...whose name I hope I am remembering correctly.
Michelle Yes, wormy Richard. What a scene when Thomas More spoke to Richard about his betrayal in service to Hank VIII—-you do all this for the this title (attorney general?) of Wales—Wales?
Loved the movie, which I first saw in about 1966, or earlier. Time flies when you’re having fun.
I remember the movie too. Since I read a lot of history of that era....every time I come upon the name Richard Rich, I am reminded of how oily he was. I read a bio of More and discovered that he had quite an earthy vocabulary especially when referring to Luther.
Hey Keith!
Nice referenced segue!
"P.J. Clark" as someone dubbed him on CNN....
That was Ari Melber on MSNBC.
Thank God and the January 6 committee!
Well, so here we are Michael. Some scant hours after posting. And the Supreme Court, in two consecutive rulings, sealed the fate of the radical right. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned or really run over and relegated to back alleys. This never would have happened if Trump had not been electedso there is something. Expect blue sweep and fall of radical right.
Received poll last night and another today. Constructed by Repub pollsters. Crist ahead by a percentage point over DeSantis.
I’m going for long walk despite heat. Sweat out any thought of Thomas and Stench Court.
Unitad all women and supporters of such! 🙋🏻🙋🏼🙋🏽🙋🏾🙋🏿
Thomas has already given the Repugs permission to attack ALL personal rights. (I believe there's also a possibility that SCOTUS would allow Jim Crow laws be reinstated as well, given it's track record regarding voting rights) Please read: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/24/thomas-constitutional-rights-00042256
From your lips to God's ear! If this doesn't turn the tide, all hope is gone.
Waiting for the amoral criminal dopey don to be in the street in a prison jumpsuit!
All these conspirators have high priced lawyers who get their hearing delayed, their trial delayed, their incarceration delayed. Sleazy Bannon is a perfect case of delay, delay, delay, while poisoning the airways with their venomous lies!
Kudos to Rosen, Donahue and all who refused to cave to the thug who occupied the White House til Jan 20, 2021!
Louis Tip of my hat for Dopey Don.
Oh, I profoundly hope all crimes are are exposed and that those who committed them go to jail.
No pardons!
It seems to me that the most obvious possibility is that the Committee has finally forced the hand of the DOJ. I have noted often how how the Committee’s work has been patient, professional, and broad in scope. They have released information when it was in their interest (read: the interests of America) and they have been as silent as the grave the rest of the time. I had great faith that the hearings would lay out a coherent story that was close to the truth of what happened. But the weight that each hearing is placing on the thugs who tried to commandeer America’s democracy is even more imposing than I expected. Their work will go down in history as an example of democracy at its finest - the checks and balances that America prides itself on have worked.
It is not so clear with the Department of Justice. I have been skeptical of Merrick Garland’s leadership from the start. At a moment in history when America needed a deliberate but *aggressive* AG, they were given a deliberate and ultra-cautious one. His primary objective seemed to be to restore faith in the DOJ, and in the early going his actions were even handed - he seemed to be bending over backwards to assure Republicans and supporters that his department would be fair to them.
There is no question that the DOJ has moved exceedingly slowly on the events surrounding Jan. 6. A tremendous amount of energy and resources went into picking off the small fry, the useful idiots who stormed the Capitol. In a rare public speech Garland explained that this was the way to build a case.
In a normal situation I would agree. But here there were really two cases - one about the actual events of that day and a second to focus on the buildup to the day, the schemes being hatched in the White House, the lawsuits and false set of electors plan and so forth. This second part was far more important because it drove the actual insurrection and could have been a blueprint for those in the future who would seek to drive the final nails into the coffin of American democracy.
Both parts should have been pursued in tandem. Clearly they were not. Now the DOJ is playing catch-up to the Committee. It must be embarrassing to some in the Department that their raid on Clark’s house was completely overshadowed by the Committee’s total evisceration of that same Jeffrey Bossert Clark in a hearing on the very same day.
It seems entirely likely that Clark’s devices have long been scraped clean of inculpatory evidence. However the hearing presented him in such a light that he appears to be thick-headed and obtuse, as well as much too confident in his own abilities. So perhaps he has been dumb in regard to his devices.
Finally, it is only fair to point out that the DOJ’s task is far more daunting than that of the Committee. Bringing a case against Trump + + is going to be exceedingly difficult. Trump has been cunning in not committing things to paper, in inferring rather than saying what he wants done, and so forth. His defence would be that he simply was following the advice of those lawyers on “Team Not Normal”. Much would go to mens rea and it seems the likely (and difficult) legal petard upon which to hoist Trump would be the legal concept of “willful blindness”.
The Committee is perhaps not actually embarrassing the DOJ into action. But their thorough and damning presentation is focusing the attention of the public on punishing the perpetrators, and so the pressure is on Garland and his department. Their raid yesterday, rightly or wrongly, appears reactive and a bit lame.
I don't claim to know the inner workings of the Justice Department. But I believe things are headed in the right direction. A critical element is playing out: the J6 Committee is exposing the truth with compelling narratives. The public is being educated about what happened and absorbing the most effective theme: Republicans appointed by Trump are revealing The Big Lie as the real fraud and proving that he directed the conspiracy to overthrow the election.
Meanwhile, Garland is working in parallel. When he delivers indictments, the MAGA cult will howl but the rest of the country will know that there's been no politically inspired rush to judgment. And the hundreds of cases, going all the way to the top, have been built methodically and fairly.
To have done otherwise would have vastly increased the chances of a violent reaction from the far right, and there still might be one. But those denying the truth that's now as evident as the sun rising in the East will look like the extremist, hateful fools that they are.
Michael, let us all hope that Clark was caught by surprise, and didn't take preemptive steps to wipe his electronic devices and burn any incriminating hard copies of his musings.
In view of these revelations and today's SCOTUS scuttling of Roe v. Wade, it is my fervent hope that the revelations that have been proven through these Hearings are enough to overcome a history of midterm legislative purges and voter malaise, and the Democrats enlarge their majority in the Senate and House in November. The criminal legislators currently in office, and the Federalist fanatics on the Supreme Court must be neutralized. The legislators must be held accountable and ousted, if possible; a code of ethics for the Supreme Court must be enacted and Clarence Thomas must be censured. Cultist Ginni Thomas must never again be allowed to use her influence to engage in criminal behavior, and we should take measures to expand SCOTUS and return the Court to the neutrality that was intended.
Agree on every point you made! How do we get the attention of the DNC to initiate the groundswell that is needed to make this happen? My texts and emails today have been nothing but an avalanche of requests for $ - more so than ever. This seems to be the only "strategy" as far as the DNC and DNCCC and other entities are concerned.
The big question is whether there's anything at all on his electronic devices after almost a year and a half, and does he even have the same ones?
Hopefully we’ll find the premature, first chapter, of Jackal Jeffrey’s book entitled My Afternoon as Acting Attorney General [He was thus identified when he was scheduled at the White House for the ‘Clark totally incompetent’ showdown. Will he dare show his face on Fox?
Lol. Great title. He was already whining with Tucker C. about how he was being persecuted by the Stasi. (The Stasi would have rubbed him out, not just confiscated his electronics -- and besides, aren't the Stasi *his* people??)
Bam. A “barnburner”. Indeed. One would think Trump might contemplate being on the red-eye to Moscow. A total betrayal of trust of every American. One would “wish it weren’t true, but it is.”
I stand in grim awe of Richard Donoghue’s testimony today. And thank you, Professor Richardson, for your sobering summary. It is tempting and sad to pretend today’s hearing was an imagining. How can any citizen trust a mere man to ever be Commander-in-Chief again?
I’ll have to sit in all of it for a spell. And to think it wasn’t the only barrage today to suffer. Can the Supreme Court majority opinion written by Thomas regarding gun ownership be any more pernicious or loathsome?
A lot to bear for We the People…All of Us This Time. 🗽
All the clues were there before chump was elected. The question is, why weren't people aware of it? Or maybe it takes someone who has lived under Hitler or Russia's communism to understand that chump embodied a dictator, or was striving to become one. As soon as chump took office, he began eliminating governmental positions and not refilling them - - this was a clue that his goal was to solidify his power and eliminate opposition. It was a coup from the inside.
Then he began filling judicial vacancies with those who would support him, to prevent him from losing his power. We have seen this in other countries that succumb to autocratic rulers.
Anyone who liked chump was a "good man, a very good man." Anyone who stood up against him, or disliked him was a traitor. No difference here from any other world autocrat. All of the clues were there.
Anyone who saw him mock someone with a disability, talk about pussies, say he could stand on 5th Ave. and shoot someone and get away with it, yet still voted for him. (twice) .... these are the people I both loath and detest, for he is they and they are he. That there are so many dark and evil Americans must be studied if we are to move forward and upward. Beyond Hitler were the minions who did his bidding.
Actually, one of the first things Hitler set himself to do, was to nationalize the church. Here's a good synopsis of how, along with Hitler's rise to power, most of the church and its leaders were corrupted - Outliers were few. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-german-churches-and-the-nazi-state
One thinks of how the so-called Christians in the US now have sold their souls to another Hitler. Ironically (or not) Martin Niemöller spent his first night out of 7 years in prison in the pastor's house at the Bergkirche in Wiesbaden - the church I came to work with in 2013, and the only "resistance" church in the entire area.
I want to correct my above statement to say that there are many (not enough) churches in the US who are devoted to social justice of the kind that the Jewish Rabbi Jesus tried to get us to understand and to practice. I'd love to hear from others who know of, or who is a member of a church that has at its core social justice. I'll start: my US Church is Judson Memorial on Washington Square, Manhattan.
Rosalind - Every Unitarian Universalist congregation Worldwide has social values at its core. To clarify, I am Phyllis husband of 33 years, Fred Dodge. Phyllis' great question to me yesterday - most days now, is: "Why would the Heroic witnesses from the J6 committee meetings still admit that they would vote for Darnold Rump if he were the Candidate again???? It boggles the mind.
Yes - it was through the UU Church of All Souls on Lexington Ave. that I was brought back to church. A Jewish baritone in the Met Opera chorus invited me. If I remember, engraved above the entrance is something like "Bring your intelligence in with you." All Souls was a founder of the Red Cross during the Civil War.
I think they might be just saying that figuring that the rat will not run in 2024, maybe in the hopes that the vile messages they and their families are receiving will at least lessen.
Good morning Rosalind - My church is the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Platteville, WI. Our denomination, the "United Church of Christ", https://www.ucc.org/ was the first to ordain a black man, the first to ordain a woman, and the first to ordain an openly gay person into the clergy. The UCC has long been at the forefront of social justice. It is the only church I have attended where I can just be myself.
I did not know this abt UCC, Robin. Thank you for this and for the link.
All Saints Church, Pasadena: "...we are committed to audacious examination and challenging of power and privilege in the world and in our church; to pursue truth relentlessly, not for retribution but toward trust and reconciliation. We chose love over fear to overcome prejudice and promote healing to address oppression and to restore environmental equilibrium." We have an action table on the lawn each Sunday to help put our words into action for positive change. We have a long history of radical inclusion and social justice. Our former rector spoke out against the Vietnam War from the pulpit and Desmond Tutu was a frequent visitor when in town (I heard him preach perhaps 5 times over the years).
Thanks to you, MaryB, and to all of you who are sharing your congregations of social justice. My take is that the Jewish rabbi was all about social justice. We just didn't take him seriously - then or now.
Although they don't worship in a "church," Quakers - members of the Society of Friends - have always been devoted to social justice. (I'm not a Quaker, but I graduated from a wonderful Quaker high school.)
I have high respect for the Quaker life and its devotion to social justice.
First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Eugene Oregon.
Taking your question to include synagogues and mosques, I reply that Congegation Beit Simchat Torah in Manhattan surely qualifies.
Absolutely! The rabbi Jesus tried to teach the social justice of Torah, sadly to lots of deaf ears even now.
UU
Presbyterian (the liberal branch). My specific church’s mission: Engage our un-churched neighbors of every age and ethnicity to experience Jesus. Our process is simple: …Worship, Community, Service, and Generosity…to experience the peace, purpose, and power of Jesus Christ.
It seems that social justice was a goal among some denominations during the 1980's, but the concept has fallen by the wayside.
Thank you for this. I think that you would be someone so interesting to know and have conversations with.
I agree!
Thank you, Gailee. Any time...
That would be easy - the study of evil Americans. But for a start we'd need to make A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn required reading for every person that holds a US Passport. We have told our children fairy tales, and very dangerous ones, since the fairytale of the good and godly pilgrims...actually even before their decimation of the indigenous nations through the introduction of European illnesses and, dare I say, guns.
I call it the European Invasion of the New World.
You call it correctly, dear Roland!
Thank you Sweetheart. I love you too.
Absolutely, Rosalind! Absolutely!
Hear hear, Gailee. A fraud like Trump would never have gotten near the White House were it not for 62 million deplorable (Hillary got THAT right) voters in 2016. To think that, after watching his abhorrent, incompetent clown act for 4 years 11 million MORE voted for him in 2020 is unthinkable. There is no justification for voting for Trump. I can never forgive them.
Amen, JR. That so many people were so easily swayed, tells me that it didn't take much to 'sway' them. And of course, Rupert's Fox entertainment 'news' deftly prepared the way.
Although I have been a Dem for well over forty years, it must said that the Dems, especially the DNC, the DCCC and the DLC (ended in 2011) from 1985 to 2011 to the present have done less than nothing to counter the Repub strategies.
Speaking, TC Mills, about Rupert's impact, I was heartened to read Margaret Sullivan's column yesterday in the Post about the Handbook on how to Protect Democracy, an excellent Guide, but should have been available when Trump came down the golden escalator in 2015, imho!
How journalists can spot the signs of autocracy — and help ward it off - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/06/23/protect-democracy-media-jan6-journalists-autocracy/
If you understand history, it was pretty obvious from the get go. But trump loves the uneducated.
We are not totally sure that the election was not "rigged." Remeber that Twittler did project outwards that if he did not win, it meant it was rigged. That was a telltale sign to me that he had help from within in 2016. He had the paid thugs, Manafort, Flynn, Conway and Bannon funded by hostile foreign entities and a conspiracy-crazed billionaire American oligarch and his daughter financially supporting other ruin of America. And despite all that, he lost the popular vote in 2016. That must eat at his ego every day.
⚘⚘⚘ Neither can I
He got the anti abortion vote.
Those people (believe me I was married into a family of them) will make any excuse because they are saving all those unborn babies.
Funny how the only people I know personally who had abortions are the people in that group.
By the way, the majority of the group are well educated and have great jobs.
Bet you can't figure out what they all have in common.
We as Democrats or Independents STILL have not wrapped our heads around this fact. TFG got elected ONLY because of his anti-abortion position - which was a clever way to rope a dope the bible thumpers.
This is and has been a one issue problem that Democrats just don't get. Long ago, we could have made the case that we want less abortions - but making them illegal wouldn't stop them.
We have not been clear that education and readily available birth control are the answers to less abortions. We could have been speaking at churches and rural community centers - telling the TRUTH about this issue. But we foolishly underestimated the ignorance and single minded commitment of the anti-abortion mindset. I didn't. All you had to do was drive down route 95 into the south and see the billboards with pictures of a fetus.
We made mind altering drugs illegal - did that stop people from using them? We made gambling illegal - how did that work out? We had a prohibition of alcohol - was there a shortage of booze?
All of these and other "prohibitions" don't work. They simply push the activity underground. We have yet to make that case.
There are two proven ways to reduce abortions. 1. Give women as much control as humanly possible over whether or not they get pregnant. 2. Provide enough social support so that every child has food, shelter, clothing and education. (It also helps if fixing the problem of a missed menses is categorized as a womens health concern, as it had been for thousands of years.) Both progressives and people genuinely opposed to abortion on moral grounds can agree on both those points. But they don’t serve the needs of the grifters who used anti-abortion as a tool to get themselves money and power.
You hit the nail on the head. The vast majority of my friends vote Repubiqan on the single issue of abortion. tRumps abhorrent behavior is overlooked because . . . abortion.
And once the cord is cut these holier-than-thou hypocrites don’t care one iota what happens to those poor children.
Good point!
America has been terrible dealing with addictive vices. The solution to opioid addiction exists in Portugal and Switzerland, but it's "understood" that can never happen here.
Johann Hari analyses it in 15 minutes:
https://www.ted.com/talks/johann_hari_everything_you_think_you_know_about_addiction_is_wrong?language=en
Just got an alert that the Supremes have overturned Roe v. Wade. Will that make a difference for the midterms?
Kathleen-now that Thomas has gotten what he wanted regarding a woman's autonomy, he has voiced the idea that ALL personal rights should be undone. He didn't waste any time telling the state level R's to go after those rights as well. Please read: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/24/thomas-constitutional-rights-00042256
Abortion AND tapping into the macho, white male superiority (FEAR) of the "other" as a backlash to the first bi-racial president in our country. And others I know for whom it was all about not paying taxes in the highest income brackets. This is complex. As are humans.
Save the unborn babies and follow up by failing to provide for their future.
Yep. And how many young women have they helped except themselves?
Same here. One thing that has surprised - and disheartened me since 2016 is learning how many mean-spirited people we live among. I knew many of my neighbors were of such stripe, but I had no idea it was so pervasive across the country.
THAT is it. Disheartening, incredulous, shock, dismay and how many other adjectives to describe heartache for our "civil society" that turns out to be not so civil. Not such a shining beacon on the hill after all. Uh oh, am I "woke"?
I know. I’ve gone from “how did I miss this?” In 2016 to “This must be who we are” on January 6th, 2021–and 147 Republicans from across the nation voted No that night.
I feel exactly the same.
INCLUDING Speaker Rusty Bowers and Secretary Brad Raffensperger. Let's not be too tempted to hold them up as heroes at this point for providing testimony to Trump and his team's criminality. They openly admit under oath they wanted him re-elected despite all you mentioned followed by a horrible term dominated by a totally bungled pandemic threat.
Bowers lost me when he said the Constitution was divinely inspired. Religious zealots give up their own power, own agency, and that of others, and turn everything over to a god they believe speaks to them. Not a big jump from that to membership in a cult.
Agreed. I had the same reaction, Gina. But at least, in his confused way, he has respect for the institutions of this country. Most of today’s Republicans have lost it completely, starting with the corrupt ex-Prez and R members of Congress.
How much does he respect women, I wonder. Anyone who respects a p-grabber and is into the "divine" has some loose screws. (not really a pun...).
Me too. Red lights began to light up and circle. And this guy also admitted he would vote for Trump AGAIN, if placed against Biden in 2024. WTF????
Mormons believe Jesus visited America before He rose again to consecrate what would be a new nation under His rule, and asked God to write the Constitution when that time was right. It’s been a while since I attended Mormon Sunday school for a very short while, but think that’s the basics. Slightly less bizarre to me than being marooned for all eternity on your own planet
I think that their fortitude in holding to their oath of office, irrespective of what their personal beliefs are should not be so shocking to us. The very purpose of an oath is to make a commitment to the greater whole, rather than just your personal interest. The fact that they are held up for being heroes for keeping their promise (oath) says far, far more about us as a people than just about anything else.
Ally, exactly! They just did their job, in this instance at least. I appreciate that but that doesn't make one a hero. It's what they're supposed to do. The fact that a whole bunch of Trump's cronies did/are not upholding their oath doesn't mean those who do are especially heroic.
Unfu**ingbelievable!
These human beings are a lost cause
That alone precludes any bestowal of 'hero' status as far as I'm concerned.
Absolutely right! Just turns my stomach. When I read that, I wish I hadn't given them respect.
They deserve the respect we would’ve given 10 or 20 or 30 years ago to a Republican with at least the minimum amount of dignity to support the Constitution and our laws. At least they’re not MAGA anarchists. The lesser of two evils. But certainly not people to admire or idolize, unless you’re one of those clueless white supremacists who call themselves Republican in 2022.
I watched Bowers and Raffensperger. And Cheney and Kinzinger. They are Republicans with a brain, but they are certainly no heroes of mine. They wouldn’t be voted into office in California that’s for sure. Except if they got very lucky, like in McCarthy’s Bakersfield district.
Oh it's worse than that Beth - Bowers said if the opportunity arose that he would vote Trump over Biden. That would make it three times!! Barr said the same thing. These are not heroes at all. Their twisted minds actually like what he did in office, minus an attempted coup.
I cannot loathe or detest all tRump voters because I have several friends who voted for him . . . twice. It was simply “I am a Republican, and I always vote straight ticket”. It is legacy, apathy and lack of interest in current events that led them to vote that way. Some of them are now embarrassed and regretful.
That kind of acquiescence to Trump despite his obvious disqualifying characteristics as well as support for Trump based on his willingness to bully others and to elevate self interest above the common good I find to be despicable.
I hope those friends have learned their lesson! We need them to vote blue.
Them I will pardon from my loathing.
The loathing is well justified. I loathe even my own father, although of course I have to love him as well.
That is close to how I feel for my son. Not him. His beliefs and how he got that way.
Wonder how many of us in this group of followers would privately vow to never vote for anyone but a Democratic candidate? My motto is Never a Republican again will I vote. Of course, my lifetime pledge is only worth 5 or so years.
Right now that is me.
Precisely: Hitler's minions.
Same here, sorry but they are not my tribe… it is sad, but a good thing that they have been exposed
But what is crucial is that the exposure brings punishment and sends the vermin back under their rocks. Also, that more Americans become invested in our government and understand that it is everyone's responsibility to be a watchdog.
👏 👏 👏 👏
Or how about "Russia if you are listening...". I do not proclaim to be omniscient. But it was plain as the nose on my face in 2016 just what kind of scheister this guy was. My wife too, who is not as progressive as I am. Alot of us did. I have (or had) friends who hated HRC, would not vote for her, and felt or hoped Trump would "grow into the office" and abandon his awful campaign tactics, so voted for him. I try not to loath or detest them for that. I save that for the folks who voted for him again in 2020, after seeing for real that the real Trump was indeed the evil malignant clown we saw during the 2016 campaign. God almighty what damage this guy has done to our country. Our current SCOTUS is a cancer he laid on us that will go on and on regardless of what happens to Trump, and may ultimately be fatal.
The loathing did not begin until well into his term when his throng continued despite all of his lies and open corruption. That's when I began unfriending former friends who idolized him. He is deep into debt to the putmaster.
I’m not sure the folks who drank the MAGA Kool-Aid are all that different from anybody else. We’re susceptible to such derangements. It’s like the folks given opioids after surgery who become addicted and are completely overcome by the addiction. We’d like to think it couldn’t happen to us, that it’s some defect in them. I’m not so sure that, under some circumstances anyone couldn’t be corrupted. We need to be vigilant and to understand what happened to folks duped by the MAGA fraud.
Were they duped, or is he their excuse to let their brand of freak fly?
Most Republicans were staunch advocates of the Whites + Males Rule society long before 2016. My dad‘s favorite presidential candidate of all time was Mitt Romney, and then later John Kasich. To these people, like my dad, Trump was just the latest standard-bearer of what I call the Neanderthal society, the leftovers from Nazi Germany and the Confederacy.
I don't believe John Kasich ever spoke up for toad. We even considered him. My parents were lever pulling Republicans. I wish they were here now so I could experience their views. I have never voted for a party. Always for the platform as an independent. But with both Bushes, I have only supported the Democrats. So few seem to get that women like Hilary and Nancy are truly gifted leaders. I think it is because they are so strong. Which in men, would be a credit but in women is a liability.
Yes, but for him, they might not have gone there. He brought out the worst in them. It’s a devilish business. Makes me think of that Emily Dickinson poem. (764, I looked it up. My reading, in this context: In this life, action is unavoidable and irreversible, so be careful what you do, how you commit.)