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| Oh damn, did I say something stupid again? |
A month before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, one of his closest allies in Congress — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — made a politically explosive assertion in a private conversation on Capitol Hill with his fellow GOP leaders: that Trump could be the beneficiary of payments from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, according to a recording of the June 15, 2016, exchange, which was listened to and verified by The Washington Post. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a Californian Republican known in Congress as a fervent defender of Putin and Russia.
Before the conversation, McCarthy and Ryan had emerged from separate talks at the Capitol with Ukrainian Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman, who had described a Kremlin tactic of financing populist politicians to undercut Eastern European democratic institutions.
News had just broken the day before in The Washington Post that Russian government hackers had penetrated the computer network of the Democratic National Committee, prompting McCarthy to shift the conversation from Russian meddling in Europe to events closer to home.
Some of the lawmakers laughed at McCarthy’s comment. Then McCarthy quickly added: “Swear to God.”
Ryan instructed his Republican lieutenants to keep the conversation private, saying: “No leaks. . . . This is how we know we’re a real family here.”
The remarks remained secret for nearly a year.
I saw an interview with one of the reporters who wrote this story and he said that when they notified the House Republicans that they were writing this article, the Republicans claimed that it was "fake news."
When they then told them they had a transcript, they were told that it was falsified.
And that point they told them they had heard the actual tape of the conversation, and the House Republicans are now saying that McCarthy was only joking.
Here's the response from Ryan's attorney.
Yes, this is dumb. He was just kidding. No one took it seriously. https://t.co/CguAAzid66— Brendan Buck (@BrendanBuck) May 17, 2017
So first you call it fake news, then you claim the evidence is manufactured, and then you say it was all just a joke.Goodness, I don’t lie. Period. What was presented to me originally was far different than what they ultimately presented: an obvious joke.— Brendan Buck (@BrendanBuck) May 17, 2017
Nice to see the GOP playbook exposed to the light of day.
Fire each of them. This is an outrage and shouldn’t be slipped under the rug again.
ReplyDeleteO/T Slightly.
ReplyDeleteHuffpost has good article on why Democrats (and the nation) should hold off and slow down talk of Impeachment.
Mostly that they don't want to feed directly into those who don't trust the government. Let them see facts as they unfold and convince themselves (some anyway) that Impeachment is the way to go.
Keeps country from splitting anymore than already.
Good read. I recommend it as we head into these even more devisive, turbulent times for our dear country which is wounded, but not down.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/democrats-impeachment-not-demanding_us_591cbbe4e4b094cdba50d952
That is all well and good, however the republicans spent 8 years talking about impeaching Obama.
DeleteAlso threatened to impeach Hillary and she wasn't even elected.
We at least have several reasons for impeaching trump and those that believe in the deep state will never be appeased anyway, so I say what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
Also one of the reasons that they finally set up impeachment hearing for Nixon was the American Public was calling for it and they could no longer ignore us.
Except those dumb shits will never accept the facts, no matter what is exposed with how much proof.
Delete"Goodness, I don’t lie. Period."
ReplyDeleteBrendan. Of course you don't/do. You're a law-boy.
Tell your Boy Scout Ryan Capone to start writing love letters to Eliot Ness.
We are all learning what fucking liars the white, Republican guys are in Congress to include the big blob who sits in the White House. They need to lose their seats when they come up for reelections as they are total idiots that do not represent the majority of Americans!
ReplyDeleteRyan instructed his Republican lieutenants to keep the conversation private, saying: “No leaks. . . . This is how we know we’re a real family here.”
ReplyDeleteThat part of the conversation says it all.
Luckily that part of the conversation was preserved
Imagine all the Republican crooked conversations in the dark alleys that were not recorded.
Doesn't sound like they were joking to me. Sounds more like a cover up.
DeleteBeaglemom
If they caught Democrats with the same evidence, they would be calling for resignations.
DeleteYup, beaglemom. Shure as Hell sounds that way to me as well. Oops we got caught, our constituents are dumb just spin it in our favor!!
DeleteYes, who says stays in the family, people who shared inappropriate things. Ryan, ryan, your arse is toast. You like the striped blk and whites or orange jumpsuits?
DeleteYeah, my big boss says that, this stays in here.
DeleteGlad the person who preserved it is so ethical.
DeleteIn the press conference, Trump claimed that "speaking for himself' there was no collusion with Russia. I suspect he is laying the groundwork to throw other members of his campaign under the bus to save his own fat ass. If so, it shouldn't surprise anyone that he tosses aside - they knew he was a snake when they picked him up.
ReplyDelete"speaking for himself"
DeleteGood catch
It was also interesting in his interview with Holt he was refering to himself in the third person.
DeleteSomething along the lines, I was thinking of trump and this russia thing when I decided to fire comey.
Oh my. Maybe Melania won’t have to move to D.C.
ReplyDeleteI never thought she would, but she will use any excuse to stay away from the White House and this "turmoil" fits her plans perfectly.
DeleteYes, well i hope this gets sorted out before we have to pay to move all her shoes, clothes and makeup.
DeleteWouldn't it be fun if Melania is really a double Russian agent and takes tRump out with some polonium tea?
DeleteSaves all that packing....
Trump, Pence, Ryan....all need to go immediately. They have obstructed justice, aided in crimes committed against the American people. All must resign terminate quit and be charged.
ReplyDeleteFlynn charged with obstruction of justice for not honoring orders to turn over information.
This is a mess. And at least 100 will go down enabling Donald john trump the assclown.
Don't forget McConnell.
DeleteThis image of Bitch McConnell with his orange jumpsuit down around his ankles.
DeleteAs he coughs with a finger up his ass to be sure he isn't kiesterizing anything into his cell at Leavenworth...
The joke is on the entire republican party for the nomination of a lousy loser corrupt actor liar.
ReplyDeleteCalling something a "joke" seems to be a favorite fall back answer for Republicans nowadays. I heard one republican representative this week saying Trump might have been joking when he asked Comey to leave Flynn alone. That's a pretty lame excuse. Something a 9 year old says when they are caught in a lie.
ReplyDeleteEvery time the republicans get caught making lewd, racial, misogynistic or damaging remark they are “only joking”.
ReplyDeleteThey are running a regular comedy club in Congress, but they are all bad comedians.
By the way Chaffetz is leaving Congress next month, that will leave an open seat or as i see it, one less rethug in the house.
Chaffetz is from UT, most likely to be replaced by an even worse Rethug.
DeleteThey remind me of teens about 2 decades ago that would say something outrageous and then when they saw your reaction and sensed negative consequences would then smile and say "TRICK!".
Deletemialuppa, sad, but true assessment.
DeleteTheir behavior---when not on film---is that of fraternity pledges.
ReplyDeleteTime to boot them all from office.
We behave better, why shouldn't they?
The impeachment of Richard Nixon and the ending of the Vietnam War as it went down is the reason this country is so divided today. Republicans have used each of these events to their advantage. One, Richard Nixon “was run out of office” and the other narrative, “We were winning, it was the anti-war movement that made us lose ... and now we need to man up and make this country great!” Conservative radio hosts have never evolved beyond the crazy notions/fantasies they absorbed watching The Lone Ranger or Combat. Both shows were utter hogwash, but a lot of white guys believed this was historical fact during their white bread 1950s-‘60s childhoods.
ReplyDeleteWhy did Ryan have "his attorney" respond?
ReplyDeleteIs Ryan afraid of something, after all he claims it was a joke :)