On Tuesday, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) appeared on Fox News to declare that a text message he had seen between fired FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page was a smoking gun that proved there was a “secret society” within the Federal Bureau of Investigation dedicated to bringing down President Donald Trump. By Thursday, however, when the text had been revealed by ABC News to appear to be harmless banter between the pair, Johnson was forced to admit to the “real possibility” that the text was a joke.
Naturally, Twitter pundits were very happy to pounce on the news, heaping scorn on Johnson and the other Republican congressmen pushing the “secret society” conspiracy.
This latest controversy actually began several months back when the Robert Mueller investigation into possible collusion between the Russian government and members of the Trump administration to affect the outcome of the 2016 presidential election announced that agent Peter Strzok was being fired after it was discovered that he had sent text messages insulting to the president. Republican members of both the Senate and House Intelligence Committees, who are also investigating the Trump-Russia scandal, then asked to see the texts in question to determine if there was an anti-Trump bias in the FBI. The FBI released some texts to the committees but announced that texts from a five-month period were “lost.” According to a report from CNN, this alarmed Republican members of the House Committee, such as Trey Gowdy (R-SC) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who were proponents of the theory that there was a “deep state” coup being attempted by members of the intelligence services to unseat President Trump. The FBI has said that the texts were “lost” due to a “glitch” in the system.
Donald Trump himself commented on the missing emails, tweeting it was “one of the biggest stories in a long time.”
Of course Trey "Benghazi" Gowdy and Fox News also took the bait:
Investigative journalist Sara Carter joined "Fox & Friends" Tuesday morning to react to newly revealed text messages exchanged between top FBI counterintelligence official Peter Strzok and senior FBI lawyer Lisa Page, with whom Strzok was having an extramarital affair.
According to Reps. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), who saw the messages, Strzok makes reference to a "secret society" of anti-Trump agents within the Department of Justice and the FBI who had their first meeting the day after Trump won the election in November 2016.
Can you say "smoking gun?"
Well don't say it yet, because as it turns out this is all based on a joke.
Courtesy of HuffPo:
One text that Page sent Strzok early on the morning of Nov. 9, 2016, has dominated the conservative media world this week, serving as a springboard for a Republican conspiracy theory suggesting that the nation’s premier law enforcement organization was plotting a coup against Trump within hours of his stunning victory.
“Are you even going to give out your calendars? Seems kind of depressing,” Page, a FBI lawyer, wrote in the text to Strzok from her FBI-issued phone. “Maybe it should just be the first meeting of the secret society.”
Republican lawmakers seized upon the “secret society” reference this week, claiming to see sinister motives, and it started popping up all over cable news chyrons. But, in fact, it was almost certainly a joke, a bit of gallows humor after an election that featured Russian interference.
So what was that “calendars” reference all about? Out of context, it’s a bit confusing. But the backstory is actually kind of funny. The New York Times first reported that the “calendars,” which the Times said had a “Russia theme,” were a gag gift for those working on the early Russia probe.
A source familiar with the text messages filled HuffPost in on the details. It turns out that, as a joke, Strzok had purchased calendars featuring “beefcake” photos of Vladimir Putin doing manly, tough-guy things like riding a horse.
I have to say at this point I do not know how anybody takes Fox News or the Republican party seriously anymore.
As juvenile as it sounds, maybe that's what needs to be done. Fight fire with fire to where the bait-taking Fox is reduced to imbeciles status and no longer trusted by anyone.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.rawstory.com/2018/01/rnc-finance-chair-paid-7-5-million-keep-rape-allegations-secret-report/
ReplyDeleteOT?"“After she gave Mr. Wynn a manicure, she said, he pressured her to take her clothes off and told her to lie on the massage table he kept in his office suite,” The Journal’s sources claim. “The manicurist said she told Mr. Wynn she didn’t want to have sex and was married, but he persisted in his demands that she do so, and ultimately she did disrobe and they had sex.” "The manicurist was not the only person who worked at one of Wynn’s casinos to accuse him of sexual misconduct either, as the Journal interviewed dozens of his current or former employees who “told of behavior that cumulatively would amount to a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct” by Wynn that included “pressuring employees to perform sex acts.”
Wynn, whom President Donald Trump has in the past described as a “great friend,” became RNC finance chair shortly after Trump was elected president."
http://www.politicususa.com/2018/01/26/wynn-sexual-misconduct.html
Deletehttp://www.politicususa.com/2018/01/26/dozens-people-accused-wynn-resorts-ceo-sexual-misconduct-wsj.html
It is #nationalpopcornday
Deletehttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUewpIgVwAEkzQN.jpg
Can't help but remember the "secret society" that met on the night of Barack Obama's inauguration and conspired to deprive him of any Republican support in Congress. Hypocritical, amnesiac assholes, every last one of 'em.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!
DeleteRepublicans = Idiots!
ReplyDeleteMoar breaking news-
ReplyDeletehttp://juanitajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/9669D8F1-8E32-45C0-91BB-DD80F1056E66.jpeg
Keep it to yerselves.
How? My husband's father is very ill, which brought all four siblings together (all college educated, in their 60's) for the first time in decades. Three of them voted for Trump, and my husband said his sisters, both "Christian" were after him every day to watch Fox News, for 'the truth.' He fought back, but came home very disillusioned about the mental capacity of his siblings.
ReplyDelete'disillusioned about the mental capacity of his siblings.' <eyes wide opened...
DeleteThey remind me if chicken little running around the sky is falling.
ReplyDeleteoh and rememeber Benghazi!
"I have to say at this point I do not know how anybody takes Fox News or the Republican party seriously anymore."
ReplyDeleteThey are still a hit with the living dead.
The masons are the only society that is super secretive and involve high profile folks along with others.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_and_Bones
Deletehttps://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-grecian/the-most-exclusive-secret_b_5398914.html
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birch_Society
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wErvWqlMYY
ReplyDelete'Mariah Carey And Aretha Franklin Chain Of Fools'
Isn't K Street somewhat of a secret society in their own right?
ReplyDeleteWhat are the Traitor Tots up to today? "Secret Society" is a hoot!!!! Hilarious “beefcake” Vlad. Makes me want to thank Sarah Palin for all the hilarity she shoves at us.
ReplyDelete"Putin her dad" as “beefcake” Vlad.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/06/19/15/418D686700000578-4618136-image-a-55_1497881326486.jpg
Wishing he could be an Olympic doctor
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j8B-AiywkIk/Tn3SGqHdreI/AAAAAAAADLk/I769uokz7Q0/s1600/f.jpg
Role model and teacher
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/30/6c/93/306c9343c84ec64ae3310b0e02869bb6--sarah-palin-family-youth-hockey.jpg
Boys will be boys
https://i.pinimg.com/564x/f1/74/d8/f174d8ed65a07a1e6281c45ca5c5bcac.jpg
Failures
https://www.adn.com/resizer/1JA9Hwk3rabuWmXRdwfajf1sfuM=/992x0/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-wordpress-client-uploads/adn/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/20052510/171220-track-palin-0012.jpg
IT’S A TRAP!
ReplyDeleteTrump’s Friends and Advisers Are Terrified of What He Might Say to Mueller
“It would be monumentally and historically stupid,” a senior White House official said, regarding the possibility of Trump quickly submitting himself to a no-holds-barred sit-down, under oath, with the special counsel.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-friends-and-advisers-are-terrified-of-what-he-might-say-to-mueller
Stormy Daniels Will Appear on Jimmy Kimmel After Trump’s SOTU Address
ReplyDeletehttps://www.mediaite.com/online/stormy-daniels-will-appear-jimmy-kimmel-after-trumps-sotu-address/
Where is Melania now?
DeletePrepping for her silence breaking?
Yes, Melania you are abused.
Tell your MeToo. Evangelicals, Franklin Graham, forgive your husband and he skipped repenting to his public.
Melania, you will be forgiven, do the right thing.
@11:10 $hes MIA.
Deletehttps://www.thedailybeast.com/melania-trump-goes-mia-from-davos-as-stormy-scandal-brews?ref=home
Melanie made a detour visit to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington before slipping off to West Palm Beach, Florida. She had a few personal items she wanted from Mar-a-lago before going incognito and avoiding questions about Stormy Daniels. Trump had a spokeswoman do the dirty work, lashing out at the “laundry list of salacious & flat-out false reporting” Fake-news, of course.
DeleteAfter all Melania had just given birth when it is said her husband was doing the porn star and any or her friends that were game for sex with Donald Trump and his paid playmates.
When Melania re-emerges it must be for official work. Her husband works for the people as a government worker, he and his family are put up in public housing. It would be decent of Melania to behave as if she respects and honors the privileges she has since Donald Trump became president. Secrets are toxic and she could stop building up poison like that.
The GOP is covering up and ignoring more corrupt Republicans than sand on a beach. If Melania has half a brain and any heart she won't continue the way of the losers.
“Be kind, be useful, be a little fearless.”
ReplyDeletehttp://people.com/politics/obama-speech-nyc-synagogue-photos/
Republicans believe the most asinine conspiracy theories. They have no critical thinking skills. Various RW propagandists they trust tell them what to think, and that is what they think. Of course, their trust of these individuals/outfits is based on ignorance of pretty much everything that is going on in the world.
ReplyDeleteNo one trusts the Trump administration to tell the truth, and that has become a serious problem.
ReplyDelete...Currently, the dollar is continuing its trend down. You can see how this would be an unfortunate circumstance during the World Economic Forum. Trump was there to sell the idea that the US is open for business— meanwhile, the dollar was saying that anyone who buys America is buying a depreciating asset.
"'Words' in the world of FX do matter – the big turn in the dollar cycle in 1985 was driven by the Plaza accord, and in 1995 by Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin’s initiation of a strong dollar policy," Deutsche Bank analysts wrote on Friday morning. "We would argue the medium-term bear market in the dollar started with the inauguration of President Trump and President Macron in the US and France, respectively, last year. It has coincided with a structural shift in the relative flow dynamics between the US and the rest of the world."
It is here that we should note that currently money flows are headed to Europe (to Macron) and away from the US (Trump).
http://www.businessinsider.com/lack-of-trust-in-the-trump-administration-worsens-dollar-weakness-2018-1
This tOO:
Deletehttps://www.rawstory.com/2018/01/donald-trump-fell-well-promise-4-percent-economic-growth-2017/
MM "Michael Moore quipped Friday that he planned to televise President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial and dub it “Live From the Apocalypse.”
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/MMFlint/status/956920179232997376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-11972585191093524463.ampproject.net%2F1516833286380%2Fframe.html
Funny that Trump and his supporters don't seem to get so up in arms when the secret society being talked about is the Ku Klux Klan.
ReplyDeleteHELL-O "Manning claims she was acting as a double agent, trying infiltrate the alt-right world to gain insight into their plans for rallies, get togethers, and general political strategy. Her, at times convoluted, explanation for why she was featured in multiple photos and social gatherings with the who’s who of the alt-right, was told exclusively to The Daily Beast."“Charlottesville was a wakeup call for me,” said Manning, who at the time was just starting to rebuild her life after her release from prison. “I saw how these people will actually kill us, and we need to do something about it. I felt like I hadn’t done enough. I just can’t sit and watch everything get worse.”Manning disclosed to The Daily Beast that she was aware of Fairbanks’ history before deciding to develop her as a potential source of information. According to Manning, who received military intelligence training in her time in the Army, a friendship with Fairbanks was never her intent."“I viewed this as an opportunity to use the celebrity and fame I’ve gotten since getting out of prison to gather information and to ultimately find ways in which we who are against the alt-right can undermine the alt-right,”the group discussed some inside baseball on what was happening at the time with Steve Bannon and the White House, defending Mike Flynn as accepted a plea deal in the Mueller Russia probe, and generally mocking right wing troll Milo Yiannopoulos, who they knew personally, including revealing very personal details that aren’t publicly available. “The thing in all this that I’ve learned is that they don’t actually believe the things that they say. I just feel they’re opportunists and that they exploit their
ReplyDeleteTwitter followers’ fears,”
"The weekend of January 20, on the night of the Mike Cernovich alt-right cocktail party in New York City, Manning said it was time to out herself as a spy and to confront those in attendance on their own ground. She made it clear that she did not have a ticket to the event and that she did not pay for a ticket, but that Fairbanks helped her get into the event and get a wristband.. When reached for verification, Fairbanks confirmed that Manning didn’t pay for her own ticket but did state that an extra ticket was given to her by Cernovich to give to Manning and once inside, she was able to procure a VIP wristband for Manning." “I made it clear that I’m here because I’m not going to back down, I’m not going to hide, I’m not afraid, I will fight you… I view my presence in this event as a form of protest in and of itself because they would never allow somebody like me into a place like that.”he was able to confirm to the Daily Beast that she obtained information on the way that the alt right social media figureheads are connected with the Richard Spencer wing of the alt right, as well as the Trump administration, supporting the links between all three groups as reported in in Michael Wolff’s new book, Fire and Fury."
“Regardless of good intentions, I leveraged my privilege to gain access to spaces others couldn’t dream of entering safely. I never meant to hurt my supporters. No amount of information on the alt-right is worth losing the trust of my supporters.”"
https://www.thedailybeast.com/chelsea-manning-i-was-a-spy-not-a-racist?ref=home
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2018/01/chelsea_manning_running_for_us.html
Delete'Manning, 30, filed to run in the Democratic primary in Maryland. If elected, Manning would be the first transgender member of the U.S. Senate.'
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/01/watch-gop-governor-candidate-cosigns-christian-gun-cult-leader-thinks-schools-turning-kids-gay/
ReplyDeleteOh and those nipples on pooty...
WTF? the short bio list of trumps nasty cabinet listed their colleges. All the women attended college and did not graduate. A few of the men belong to the skulls and bones, masons, bohemian grove, birch, kkk, nra and more. Trump campaign slogan "the silent majority" while only one song played "sympathy for the devil". by the way? did the stones approve of that or his x wifey get rights to use it?
ReplyDeleteAll of trumps campaign slogans, his Screaming screeches, his lunatic insults, his useful bot idiots must be exposed. Compiling this info and spreading it around the USA and World is mandatory.
All of this harmful damage to humans so trump and pay off his debts to the mafia mobs. Trump and his ignorance is disgusting.
I don't have a problem with a business person with zero public service running for usa president.
ReplyDeleteBut I do have a big problem with a terrible business person, huge liar, nasty predator, lousy actor and useful idiot to enemies a "mulligan". So as the fraudulent religious right wing bowed to trump and throw their BS out the window to stay tax exempt for their con game, American's watch.
Notice all the convicted nasty predators align with the rump. Notice all the failed business people the nasty women bowing to rump, the Russian bots for years generating hate and divison in families and friends around the world. Heavy sanctions, arrest, and convictions await them.
ReplyDelete