January 11, 2017

"Christopher Steele, Ex-British Intelligence Officer, Said to Have Prepared Dossier on Trump/ Former spy is director of London-based Orbis Intelligence Ltd."

 The Wall Street Journal reports on what "people familiar with the matter say."
Andrew Wordsworth, co-founder of London-based investigations firm Raedas, who often works on Russian issues, said the memos in the Trump dossier were “not convincing at all.” "It’s just way too good,” he said. “If the head of the CIA were to declare he got information of this quality, you wouldn’t believe it.”

Mr. Wordsworth said it wouldn’t make sense for Russian intelligence officials to expose state secrets to a former MI6 officer. “Russians believe once you are an agent, you’re an agent forever,” he said.

126 comments:

Big Mike said...

Here's a question for people to gnaw on. Are we better off with no CIA than with a CIA whose analyses we cannot trust?

robother said...

I'd go a ways beyond that: how can we have a CIA that acts as the tool of a Deep State and still have a constitutional republic?

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Heckofa team you picked to side with, Chuck et al. Good work.

The Media is garbage. They're garbage even when they stain people you don't like...and it's worth remembering that they just happen to not like the non-Left.

Stupid report, stupid contents, and even most of the stupid reporters out there were smart enough to stay away from it for months...but hey, Chuck et al. got their headlines and those headlines are supposed to make Trump look bad, so #WorthIt.

Any thought, guys, to the very likely possibility that by running this obvious bullshit now you've effectively inoculated Trump and his team from future damaging info--possible TRUE stories that might come up over the next 4-8 years? How funny is that? You geniuses inoculated an anti-vaxxer, huh!? Sooo smart.

Oso Negro said...

Goddamn Brits need to quit interfering in our elections.

Chuck said...

Last week, we had Sean Hannity twisting Julian Assange in every way he possibly could, to get Assange to say that it wasn't Russia who gave Wikileaks the hacked Podesta emails.

Assange, a smart and careful (however devious and destructive) guy, kept saying that "no Russian state actor" gave them the info. And Hannity, a dumb and careless guy, kept exclaiming, "So it wasn't Russia! Right?"

And today, we finally have Donald J. Trump essentially confirming that he and his campaign are convinced that Russian state agents were behind the hacking of the emails in question.

The CIA, in that case, and after weeks of disparagement and criticism, appears to have been right.

I feel certain that Julian Assange is technically telling the truth. No Russian state actor supplied Wikileaks. It was an independent individual. Who was cultivated, supported, endorsed, trained, sheltered and/or whatever by Russian intelligence.

What the hell is Hannity going to say tonight, after Trump's admission?

Tarrou said...

Does this count as British interference in our domestic politics?

I hear Democrats just hate that sort of thing.

Original Mike said...

"The dossier consists of a series of unsigned memos that appear to have been written between June and December 2016. Beyond creating the document, Mr. Steele also devised a plan to get the information to law-enforcement officials in the U.S. and Europe, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to a person familiar with the matter."

How much was he paid?

Just asking.

Gahrie said...

I feel certain that Julian Assange is technically telling the truth. No Russian state actor supplied Wikileaks. It was an independent individual. Who was cultivated, supported, endorsed, trained, sheltered and/or whatever by Russian intelligence.

So you're accusing Robert Cook?

tcrosse said...

Hillary should unpack. None of this is going to put her in the White House. Nor will it turn the House and Senate.

mccullough said...

Of course, the former M1-6 officer could be a cut out for Russian disinformation. MI-6 has a history of its officers working as Russian spies. No matter how bad the CIA may be M1-6 is worse.

Anonymous said...

More "fake" news!

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/bbc-correspondent-ex-british-intelligence-officer-not-the-only-source-for-russias-trump-dossier/

The existence of a compromising Russian dossier on President-elect Donald Trump has been confirmed by multiple sources, BBC Washington Correspondent Paul Wood revealed on Wednesday.

During a BBC 4 radio broadcast on Wednesday, Wood revealed that the former British spy was not the only source claiming to have knowledge that Russia is possession of sex tapes that could embarrass the president-elect.

“The rumors or the allegations or whatever you want to call them have been circulating for a number of months now,” Wood explained. “I saw the report, compiled by the former British intelligence officer, back in October. He is not, and this is the crucial thing, the only source for this.”

Wood said that he had been told by a member of the U.S. intelligence community that at least one East European intelligence service was aware “that the Russians had kompromat or compromising material on Mr. Trump.”

He added: “But it is viewed as credible by the CIA, and that’s why it landed on President Obama’s desk last week, on the desk of the congressional leadership, and was given to Mr. Trump as well. And even congressional Republicans are talking about investigations, and Democrats, I know, are talking about impeachment.”

Chuck said...

You know, a steady diet of fantastical Trump stories, about grabbing pussies, and Russian prostitutes, and crazy vaccine shit, with Trump up at all hours Tweeting responses and complaints about Saturday Night Live, or the Golden Globes, or the Oscars, or a football game, or Seinfeld re-runs...

... will so completely occupy the national press corps that Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan could very quietly manage the United States of America.

#Sweet!

Original Mike said...

"The existence of a compromising Russian dossier on President-elect Donald Trump has been confirmed by multiple sources,"

As far as I can tell, its existence isn't in question, Annie. It's its truthfulness.

Quayle said...

And then one day, the East Germans went to the gate and said, "Hey, they said the gate was going to be opened." And the guard didn't know what to do, and placed some calls, but nobody knew what was official, so the guard opened the gate, and it was all over. The entire wall soon came down. And the people scurried into freedom.


And then one day the American left, secure in its ascendancy, ordered their Praetorian Guard to fire all their weapons - "racist!", "sexist!", "homophobe!", "Nazi!", and the press amplified the sound of armies coming to put it all to rest, and the experts all harrumphed together in solemn unison, and the street theaters danced and sang as they usually do, and the sorcerers furiously rubbed their magic lamps to call forth the genie to appear as zer always had, and.....to everyone's surprise nothing happened. And just like that it was all over. And the wall very soon came down. And they scattered and scurried into the dark, their world and world view collapsed under the weight of its own internal contradictions.

Anonymous said...

Hahahahaha, 4Chan tried to say it was they that started the Golden Showers story, FAKE news.

http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/01/4chan-really-wants-to-take-credit-for-trump-russia-rumors.html

"Other than that, there’s tons of confusion. And who better to step into a confusing situation, shouting more confusing things, than 4chan? Last night, shortly after the story broke, and as everyone on the internet was going crazy about it, rumors began to spread that the whole thing was just a chan op. Pissgate Truthers — as we’ll call them — began linking to an archived 4chan thread in which, indeed, it appears that at least one channer had been trolling Rick Wilson, a Republican operative who has been quite critical of Trump, by feeding him false information. The thinking goes that Wilson accepted the veracity of this false info, passed it onto his intel buddies, and the whole thing spiraled from there.

Quickly this rumor was picked up by individuals and outlets who couldn’t resist the idea of the media having fallen so catastrophically for such over-the-top trollery."

Anonymous said...

"Other bits of “evidence” have emerged as well. For example, here’s an excerpt from a, uh, block of text posted on PasteBin that some are holding up as proof of 4chan’s involvement:

The remarkable thing? It’s all fake. And not only fake; it’s a prank perpetuated by 4chan, on Rick Wilson himself. A post on 4chan on october 26 stated “mfw managed to convince CTR and certain (((journalists))) on Twitter there’ll be an October surprise on Trump this Friday” along with a picture of a smug face with a hash name.

Despite how much of a stretch this rumor is, in all likelihood a lot of people probably believe it. That’s in large part because the internet is rife with bad actors who will spread anything that is salacious without checking it (an ironic problem to mention in this particular instance). Naturally, there was a Gateway Pundit post pinning the whole thing on 4chan last night. Naturally, Mike Cernovich, both tweeted and Periscoped about the rumor, spreading it further. “Right now it is looking like 4chan hoaxed the fake news media,” he opined in his video, allowing that “right now I don’t know for sure.” But probably!"

MAJMike said...

The Department of State and the "Intelligence Community" actively worked against G.W. Bush by regularly leaking classified material. The traitorous bastards in the CriminalLiberalNewsMedia eagerly published any documents they received regardless of legality or truth.

The bureaucracy and the minions of the CriminalLiberalNewsMedia are willing and active agents of the DemCong.

William said...

Was Christopher Steele recruited by an agent who was recruited by Kim Philby? Was his father ever involved in a clandestine affair with Guy Burgess? Has he ever officially denied these reports which are circulating around the internet........I like salacious rumors. They're so much more fun than gossip about Trump's tax returns. It's interesting to note, however, that there is no rumor so outlandish or so bizarre about Trump that a certain amount of the American press will not believe it. Dan Rather is an exemplary rather than a cautionary tale among these people.

Drago said...

It's amusing that "lifelong republican" and Democrat meme repeater Chuck now wants to write and comment as if his entire body of work on this blog over the last 2 days has been blown out of the water by the NBC report!

That's the spirit "lifelong republican" Chuck. Team Dem needs good foot soldiers like you!

I'm Full of Soup said...

I bet this guy had some connections to the Clinton operation.

Mark said...

Does this "Christopher Steele" even really exist? Even the name sounds like made up satire -- reminds me of Remington Steele.

Drago said...

William: "It's interesting to note, however, that there is no rumor so outlandish or so bizarre about Trump that a certain amount of the American press will not believe it."

Well, the American press and certain "lifelong republicans".

Original Mike said...

"It's interesting to note, however, that there is no rumor so outlandish or so bizarre about Trump that a certain amount of the American press will not believe it."

I see no reason to believe that they actually believe it. Now Chuck ....

rhhardin said...

I find with noir crime drama flicks, where the last 15 minutes are with a completely black screen and there are only fighting noises, that wikipedia usually has the plot summary so you can figure out what happened, not that the plot was clear even up to the black screen fight point.

Maybe the same thing works with intelligence narratives.

Anonymous said...

"“It’s very, very difficult, of course, to talk to US intelligence people. They’re breaking the law if they talk to you,” the BBC correspondent pointed out. “But I did ask somebody with connections in the CIA to pass a message to them, and I got a message back that there was allegedly more than one tape, not just video, but audio as well, on more than one date, in more than one place, in both Moscow and St. Petersburg.”"

From raw Story link.

D.D. Driver said...

Does anyone believe that this was written by a "spy":

"6. Finally, regarding TRUMP's claimed minimal investment profile in Russia.... TRUMP's previous efforts had included exploring the real estate sector in St. Petersburg as well as Moscow but in the end TRUMP had had to settle for the use of extensive sexual services there from local prostitutes rather than business success."

This sure reads much more like a smart ass prank as opposed to a "dossier" by a British spy. Unnnnleeeeess: https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/3383921406/ee66502598c6802ea3875a58a60705e3.jpeg

exhelodrvr1 said...

A new cottage industry for millennials - making up fake news about Trump. It's like shooting fish in a barrel with the media and the Demos

mccullough said...

Ryan and McConnell don't have the votes to override Trump's veto. They will go back to the roles they played when W was president, voting for more government.

David Begley said...

1. Trump's lawyer blew the thing out of the water with his passport. He's never been to Prague.

2. Has anyone contacted the Moscow Ritz Carlton? Was there a ruined bed? Did people move it out? This stuff is easy to check.

3. It is astounding to me that this fakery was supposedly floating around for months and was apparently considered credible.

4. CNN now has less than zero credibility.

Chuck said...

Wait just a minute, Original Mike.

Where did I say that I believed this story about Trump? Where did I say that I supported the reporting, except insofar as to say that media outlets were reporting that the allegations were unproven.

I don't. I have zero knowledge about the proof or falsity or even the likelihood of any of this.

I posited that many more outlets might have avoided the story altogether, if Trump had not himself started Tweeting denials and attacks on the media.

Just between us Althousians, I was more interested in the Trump/RFKJr vaccine commission weirdness.

David said...

I bet this guy's partners are just thrilled about this.

mccullough said...

Intelligence officers or agents recruit foreign nationals to spy on their own governments. They aren't spies unless they are spying on their own governments for foreign intelligence agencies who recruited them, i.e. they are double agents. MI-6 has had many double agents over the years.

Drago said...

Take a gander at the Ace Of Spades posting with the video of Chuck Todd grilling "lifelong republican" Chuck's new BFF Ben Smith of BuzzFeed.

One imagines "lifelong republican" Chucks squirming along with his narrative BFF.

It's good for the soul.

Again, the best aspect of Trump's election (and there are many...Sorry "lifelong republican" Chuck) is that all the masks are off and everyone is exposed.

It truly is a new era.

Drago said...

Of course, we all remember "lifelong republican" Chuck's BFF, Ben Smith, calling Trump a mendacious racist so he has credibility in any discussion of Trump.

Drago said...

I can't wait to see what "lifelong republican" Chuck's beloved Rachel Maddow has to say about all this.

Hopefully Rachel won't have on any icky conservatives to water down the already approved Chuck narratives.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Perhaps the Russians did dangle this as part of their disinformation campaign directed against Hillary Clinton. Feed bad info to Hillary that would make her look bad when she tried to traffic it. It has been established that someone did try to plant the story in the press last fall. Or maybe they were trying to get money out of Hillary as surely she would have laid down a lot of Clinton cash for the proffered goods on Trump.

But maybe Putin's game was to make the American governing class, including Donald Trump, look crooked all the way down. Well played, Putin. Well played.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Chuck said...
I don't. I have zero knowledge about the proof or falsity or even the likelihood of any of this.

I posited that many more outlets might have avoided the story altogether, if Trump had not himself started Tweeting denials and attacks on the media.


Well, no--you called the existence of a "dossier" and the fact that its existence was apparently made known to Obama (and possibly Trump) "significant." You thereby strongly implied that its existence and/or the briefing were newsworthy and something that merited Media coverage.

The idea that outlets would have ignored the story had Trump not tweeted is laughably stupid, Chuck--that's why no one's addressing that point, because it's obviously false.
CNN ran their story before Trump tweeted anything. Then Buzzfeed ran their story (dumping the entirety of the unverified, uncofirmed, bullshit allegations and rumors) before Trump tweeted anything. So Trump's tweets didn't cause any of that, and THAT has been the big story. Trying to blame this on Trump (because of his propensity to tweet) is stupid on its face, man.

Just to swing back, though, CNN's hook for running the story at all is that Trump was briefed on this dossier's existence/these allegations, right? Well, check it:

NBC: Trump Was Not Briefed on Dossier

President-elect Donald Trump was not told about unverified reports that Russia has compromising information on him during last week's intelligence briefing, according to a senior intelligence official with knowledge of preparations for the briefing.

A summary of the unverified reports was prepared as background material for the briefing, but not discussed during the meeting, the official said.


So: the story is fake, the hook the Media used to get the story out there is likely fake/wrong, and professionals pushing the story now have demonstrated their complete lack of standards and ethics.

Like I said, good job joining that lot, buddy.

Guildofcannonballs said...

Guildofcannonballs said...
Let me apologize to Chuck: You Sir were right about everything all along.

This leak, in the sense Trump is taking a leak on my leg as I read it, proves Trump is no more than a lying Prog Wolf in sheep's skin.

I repent, and could never dream of forgiveness in a million years.

1/8/17, 12:12 PM

Chuck said...

David Begley said...
1. Trump's lawyer blew the thing out of the water with his passport. He's never been to Prague.


Fair point! Was Cohen in any EU countries during the summer? That was the other locale/meeting/series of meetings. One allegation was that Cohen met an agent in Prague. The other, independently, was that Cohen met someone in an EU country. Reported second-hand.

We'll need to see the passport, of course, and his long-form birth certificate. Until he proves he wasn't born in Kenya, er-, traveling in an EU country, we have to presume that he was.

robother said...

"Christopher Steele, Man o' Mystery" has certainly had time to photoshop, er, obtain, the damning video. I look forward to viewing Trump in Anime mode in flagrante delicto complete with monotone sound. (Shooting billionaires in this humiliating mode adds value to the blackmailability, according to top KGB spy Natasha.)

Lewis Wetzel said...

Until he proves he wasn't born in Kenya, er-, traveling in an EU country, we have to presume that he was.
Why would you think Cohen was born in Kenya? There is no logical basis for that assumption. Wait! Did he write a book with the author bio stating that he was born in Kenya? And did he write that author bio himself?

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Only semi-related, but: Clock Boy's Lawsuit Tossed

They're likely to have to pay fees and expenses, too.

Drago said...

"lifelong republican" Chuck octuples down on already disproven far left memes and lies because he is a "lifelong republican"!

Lol

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Chuck said...Fair point! Was Cohen in any EU countries during the summer? That was the other locale/meeting/series of meetings.

Really? "This rumor I was helping push is demonstrably false, but what about these OTHER rumors I don't have any proof for, huh?? What about those? They're "independent," by which I mean they're completely separate unverified rumors, so clearly they should all be considered valid until and unless each of them is definitively proven false."

Lewis Wetzel said...


Blogger HoodlumDoodlum said...
Only semi-related, but: Clock Boy's Lawsuit Tossed

They're likely to have to pay fees and expenses, too.

If you something, say nothing.
That meme is operable for another ten days.

Drago said...

Don't worry "lifelong republican" Chuck. Surely no one will remember how you beclowned yourself yesterday and today!

Stay chipper. There's always another Democrat talking point you can latch on to!

Bob Loblaw said...

Mr. Wordsworth said it wouldn’t make sense for Russian intelligence officials to expose state secrets to a former MI6 officer. “Russians believe once you are an agent, you’re an agent forever,” he said.

So it turns out, as expected, the Russians aren't actually stupid. I wish I could say the same for US spooks.

Actually, that's probably unfair. US intelligence agencies get the rough end of the pineapple whenever they pay someone unsavory for information or have an operation blown. So over the years they've tended more and more to electronic data collection. It's a response to the political environment that makes them less effective. I suspect if the FSB leaves a trail of bodies the whole thing gets covered up.

Though if the CIA doesn't stay out of domestic politics it becomes a net negative. We have fourteen separate agencies that collect intel as their primary mission (like the CIA, NSA, or NRO) or as support for their primary mission (DoD, FBI, DEA). We could probably afford to ax the CIA. The agency was created by Eisenhower because he didn't trust the information he was getting from the military (and with good reason). If the CIA is playing domestic games with intelligence it literally has no reason to exist.

Lewis Wetzel said...

AAAAH! Donald Trump is over at the neighbor's house right now, pissing all over the Obama bumper sticker on their Volvo!!

Sebastian said...

@Chuck: "we finally have Donald J. Trump essentially confirming that he and his campaign are convinced that Russian state agents were behind the hacking of the emails in question." So effing what? The hacking is kid stuff. The emails exposed the truth. No one was surprised. It changed no votes at all, unless some Bernie bros were really really upset to find out how the DNC stiffed him. DJT has expressed skepticism about lots of stories floating around, and rightly so -- and one of his underestimated talents as a BS artist is to sniff out other people's BS. And if he didn't know it before, he now knows there are a lot of bad guy out to get him.

Bob Loblaw said...

The hacking was kids stuff? IMO the "kids stuff" was a guy who set his password to "p@ssw0rd".

Alex said...

The whole point is to spread FUD. How can we be sure Trump didn't pay Russian hookers to watch them pee themselves?

Drago said...

I meandered on over to democratic underground to get an early look at what "lifelong republican" Chuck will be talking about tomorrow and surprise surprise surprise they are doubling and tripling down on today's story....Gee, just like "lifelong republican" Chuck.

Unexpectedly!

Lewis Wetzel said...

"Christopher Steele, Ex-British Intelligence Officer, Said to Have Prepared Dossier on Trump/ Former spy is director of London-based Orbis Intelligence Ltd."
"Steele"? Isn't that the English word for STALIN!

Henry said...

So it's all yellowcake, all the way down.

Drago said...

Alex: "How can we be sure Trump didn't pay Russian hookers to watch them pee themselves"

Because there is no possible way Trump cuts that deal. He would make them pay him to watch.

#ArtOfTheDeal

StephenFearby said...

'[BBC Washington Correspondent Paul] Wood said that he had been told by a member of the U.S. intelligence community that at least one East European intelligence service was aware “that the Russians had kompromat or compromising material on Mr. Trump.”

He added: “But it is viewed as credible by the CIA, and that’s why it landed on President Obama’s desk last week, on the desk of the congressional leadership, and was given to Mr. Trump as well. And even congressional Republicans are talking about investigations, and Democrats, I know, are talking about impeachment.”'

Fake news.

(CIA?) Intelligence employees briefed Trump at Trump Tower about the extent of Russian involvement in hacking. They also had a two-page classified summary evaluation of the fake dossier in case that subject might be raised. Since it wasn't, the briefers left with the summary...particularly so because Trump's residence didn't have a secure classified repository for it.

I suggest all the wanna-be sleuths measure their abilities by taking one of William V. Haney's short Uncritical Inference Tests:

THE STORY: Babe Smith has been killed. Police have rounded up six suspects, all of whom are known gangsters. All of them are known to have been near the scene of the killing at the approximate time that it occurred. All had substantial motives for wanting Smith killed. However, one of these suspected gangsters, Slinky Sam, has positively been cleared of guilt.


STATEMENTS about the story (Mark each one with T, F, or ?):

1. Slinky Sam is known to have been near the scene of the killing of Babe Smith.
2. All six of the rounded-up gangsters were known to have been near the scene of the murder.
3. Only Slinky Sam has been cleared of guilt.
4. All six of the rounded-up suspects were near the scene of Smith’s killing at the approximate time that it took place.
5. The police do not know who killed Smith.
6. All six suspects are known to have been near the scene of the foul deed.
7. Smith’s murderer did not confess of his own free will.
8. Slinky Sam was not cleared of guilt.
9. It is known that the six suspects were in the vicinity of the cold-blooded assassination

Both the questions and answers can be found (scroll down) on pages 5 & 6 at:

https://www.coursehero.com/file/p7cpemq/Meanwhile-Arnie-kept-trying-to-read-the-book-However-he-was-really-upset/

Guildofcannonballs said...

In fact I do indeed understand poker and the losing.

Winning too.

The name of my first album.

Eaty Boby Dillian's heatr.

eric said...

Blogger Chuck said...
David Begley said...
1. Trump's lawyer blew the thing out of the water with his passport. He's never been to Prague.


Fair point! Was Cohen in any EU countries during the summer? That was the other locale/meeting/series of meetings. One allegation was that Cohen met an agent in Prague. The other, independently, was that Cohen met someone in an EU country. Reported second-hand.

We'll need to see the passport, of course, and his long-form birth certificate. Until he proves he wasn't born in Kenya, er-, traveling in an EU country, we have to presume that he was.


Written without irony.

You see, conspiracy theories are fine, as long as they are on CNN and given respectable airtime on all the major networks.

Pushed by Trump on twitter though? That's just silly!

And this, again, is why trump was elected. We are sick of the double standard.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Unknown said...
More "fake" news!

And then Unknown posts something from "Raw News!"

Ah, an impeccable news source! Almost as credible as Buzzfeed!

Trump pissed all over you today and you thought it was rain.

Guildofcannonballs said...

IT IS NOT EEN THE RIGHT COEN'S!!!

i KNOW/

BEEN TELLIN' Y/ALL YEARLS.

Guildofcannonballs said...

So, sans caps lock, it transpires thus: it's all good.

The Coen's in Burn After Reading with the grammar and junk, ya knmow, they predicted this, abnd the Saddam Hussein Hollywood dthematic shoe tingy.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Raw Story is a disgusting fake news source.
Raw Story used to out homosexuals -- or people it believed to homosexuals -- who did not want to be outed.
Because Justice!

Anonymous said...

Mr.Main Street believed 4Chan put out the Golden Showers story, hahahahaha, dumbass.

GWash said...

its not so funny when the fake news is aimed at you!.. herr trump is very active in fake news himself... we are doomed for the next 2 years... he will be impeached after the dems retake the congress in 2018 and then quit before the trial... parting words will be 'i am not a crook' what is the over/under we stumble into a war by the incompetence of this gang of thieves... ? watch your wallets... if you have kids in the military, get them out... lies, upon lies... he is a great showman though...

khesanh0802 said...

@Big Mike You pose an interesting question. I think the the "intelligence community" is going to regret their actions of the last few weeks. They are now being lumped with the MSM as purveyors of fake news. That will do them no good.

The intelligence community, like the armed forces, needs a thorough housecleaning and reorganization. In this century they have proven themselves incapable of accurate analysis and forecasting and have been politicized beyond any usefulness. Skepticism is crucial in dealing with anything coming out of the civilian intel community.

Big Mike said...

@GWash, looking at his enemies right now, it seems more likely Trump will serve two terms than that he'll serve only two years. That could change, but right now I have yet to see any lefty commentator who doesn't seem totally mentally unhinged.

That includes you.

BN said...

The Deplorable Chuck: "You know, a steady diet of fantastical Trump stories, about grabbing pussies, and Russian prostitutes, and crazy vaccine shit, with Trump up at all hours Tweeting responses and complaints about Saturday Night Live, or..."

Hmmmm...

I might start selling bullets again.

GWash said...

i'm not unhinged, i've said a couple times here, i'm at the top of the food chain, white male, college grad, employed, invested past military age... what i am not is an ideologue... trump will never run for a second term unless he can profit from it... and chances are he will either have to actually divest and get rid of his conflicts of interest, be indicted by a democrat congress and quit or call it a day in 2020 with the announcement that 'america is now great - you're welcome'... and what i don't get is the bloggers here are so much about the founding fathers and constitution this or that but along comes a pt barnum and you all are gaga and then it's to hell with the constitution... kind of hypocritical

bleh said...

Disturbing that a foreign firm with close ties to a foreign intelligence service tried to influence our election and was paid by Democrats to do so. Am I doing this right?

Fabi said...

To be indicted (impeached) by a Democrat congress (House) could happen when, GWash? Not in 2018. Probably not even by 2020. Any other fantasies up your sleeve? I won't ruin your day by reminding you of the upcoming redistricting.

GWash said...

yes fabi you hit it... redistricting and 'voter suppression'... what a great country.. a minority party can rule the roost for a while.. the next piece will be a constitutional amendment allowing only propertied males to vote and then we will be right back to the beginning.i miss 1789.. ... reality has a habit of coming back around... it was only a couple of months ago that i read of the demise of the republican party.. so things change quickly...

GWash said...

Arent you the least bit interested i trumps taxes? where are his conflicts? it's not enough to just hate (whatever it is you are hating today, the press, hilary, intelligance community etc)
this is your country and if you are going to just blindly go with the flow, i believe you will be sorely disappointed ..

damikesc said...

And then one day, the East Germans went to the gate and said, "Hey, they said the gate was going to be opened." And the guard didn't know what to do, and placed some calls, but nobody knew what was official, so the guard opened the gate, and it was all over. The entire wall soon came down. And the people scurried into freedom.

TECHNICALLY, an official was given the press release about the opening of the wall but the release did not say WHEN it was to happen, so when the press asked, he simply said "Far as I know, now". East Germans then flooded the wall and the commander on the scene, who was not told about what had happened and whose superiors gave him increasingly useless orders (i.e "Let the most angry ones through only") eventually told his men to open the barriers to avoid bloodshed.

It was not meant to open when it did.

FullMoon said...

Unknown said... [hush]​[hide comment]

Mr.Main Street believed 4Chan put out the Golden Showers story, hahahahaha, dumbass.

Unknown believed the Golden Showers story, hahahahaha, dumbass.

rcocean said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rcocean said...

Just call him "Commie Chuck" from now on.

Basically, the MSM and the FBI/CIA had this story since Summer 2016. Why wasn't it released before, when it would've damaged Trump? Answer: None of its true.

BTW, Cohen's passport doesn't prove he was never in Prague, it proves he was never in Europe during the time frame in question. As Trump stated, he never left the USA when the "Story" had him in Prague.

Lewis Wetzel said...

"Arent you the least bit interested i trumps taxes?"
No.

Fabi said...

Minority party? Voter suppression? Do tell!

Hagar said...

Rumors of this "dossier" apparently have been around since last summer, and no news organzation would touch it as being unsourced, making no sense, and the sheer smell of it.
I think that "the intelligence community" now making a 2-page summary and including it with an intelligence briefing, is a transparent move from inside said community to give the mainstream press at least a thin excuse to publish it ("we never said it was true, we just reported what those other guys said!").

Tucker carlson just had a professor from NYU on, who suggested it may not be just Democratic "dirty tricks," but may as well be die-hard Cold War warriors, who are desperate to prevent any signs of "detente" with the Russians. Maybe, but I think it is just party-line dirty tricks.

damikesc said...

Fair point! Was Cohen in any EU countries during the summer? That was the other locale/meeting/series of meetings. One allegation was that Cohen met an agent in Prague. The other, independently, was that Cohen met someone in an EU country. Reported second-hand.

Fortunately, he's geeky enough to geo-tag shit constantly, so based on that, he was in Manhattan most of the time.

Arent you the least bit interested i trumps taxes?

Honestly, no.

Lewis Wetzel said...

"redistricting and 'voter suppression'"
Like those specially drawn districts to make sure Blacks are in the majority? I thought the Repubs would be against that. And 'voter suppression' is in quotes, which means 'voter suppression' is meant to be ironic.

Anonymous said...

GWash: i'm not unhinged, i've said a couple times here, i'm at the top of the food chain, white male, college grad, employed, invested past military age...

So why do you post in all lower-case with only ellipses for punctuation, the preferred style of airhead 14 year old girls and xanax'd middle-aged cat ladies?

Honestly curious. Really, it's weird for an alleged educated adult male to write like that.

Big Mike said...

@GWash, I'm very interested in Trump's taxes. I hope he made ten gazillion dollars and thanks to our arcane tax laws paid zero in taxes. If that doesn't convince people of the urgent need to reform our tax code then nothing will.

eddie willers said...

i'm not unhinged, i've said a couple times here, i'm at the top of the food chain, white male, college grad, employed, invested past military age...


The lack of capitalization gives you away.

Bob Loblaw said...

i'm not unhinged, i've said a couple times here, i'm at the top of the food chain, white male, college grad, employed, invested past military age... what i am not is an ideologue...

Nobody who wasn't a leftist ideologue would write that sentence. I can't decide to award you the duplicity prize or the one for lack of awareness.

Unknown said...

Surprise! Trump lied. He said he hadn't been briefed on this report by The CIA. Clapper just said he was briefed months ago.

rhhardin said...

The NYT reports that the fabrication has cast a shadow over the new administration.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Unknown said...
Surprise! Trump lied. He said he hadn't been briefed on this report by The CIA. Clapper just said he was briefed months ago.


Oh dear.

Lock Him Up? Lawmakers Renew Calls for James Clapper Perjury Charges
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-11-17/lawmakers-resume-calls-for-james-clapper-perjury-charges

The inability to properly evaluate sources is a common problem on the left.

BN said...

"Christopher Steele" and "Mr. Wordsworth."

Obviously 2 blokes named Mohammed's code names.

MI5 deeply stated.


Lewis Wetzel said...

Liar Clapper:
Some lawmakers reacted to the long-expected resignation announcement from Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Thursday by wishing him an eventful retirement, featuring prosecution and possible prison time.

The passage of more than three years hasn’t cooled the insistence in certain quarters that Clapper face charges for an admittedly false statement to Congress in March 2013, when he responded, “No, sir" and "not wittingly” to a question about whether the National Security Agency was collecting “any type of data at all” on millions of Americans.

About three months after making that claim, documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed the answer was untruthful and that the NSA was in fact collecting in bulk domestic call records, along with various internet communications.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-11-17/lawmakers-resume-calls-for-james-clapper-perjury-charges

Humperdink said...

"voter suppression"

A LOL moment in Hump household.

In Philly, it's not voter suppression, it's the vote "multiplier".

In Kalifornia, it's an added twist. If you're breathin', you're votin'.

Chicago dispenses with the breathing part.

Chuck said...

Unknown said...
Surprise! Trump lied. He said he hadn't been briefed on this report by The CIA. Clapper just said he was briefed months ago.


That's not quite true. What Clapper's statement of just minutes ago suggests, is not what Trump was briefed on, but how the private security document (the thing, that Buzzfeed posted for all the world to see) was circulated widely some time ago. Clapper's quote, following a phone conference with Trump, tonight:

"We also discussed the private security company document, which was widely circulated in recent months among the media, members of Congress and Congressional staff even before the IC became aware of it."

So the easy presumption -- the obvious presumption -- is that if it was being widely circulated on Capitol Hill, it would surely have gotten back to Trump.

It puts the hurt on Kellyanne Conway, who was on Seth Meyers' show, denying that Trump was previously aware of the dossier-thing, and blaming the intelligence community for leaking the dossier-thing.

Here's the Clapper statement from tonight:

https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/224-press-releases-2017/1469-dni-clapper-statement-on-conversation-with-president-elect-trump



Francisco D said...

Chuck,

I am somewhat befuddled about your purpose on this site. You must be paid by never-Trumpers or the usual lefty suspects.

Most commenters see you as a phony. I see you as an obsessive, intellectually dishonest fool. You are too stupid to be a clever phony. Give it up dude. It is starting to get embarrassing.

I hear Buzzfeed and CNN may be hiring, although I suspect that your skill level is more of the towel and sponge variety.

Quaestor said...

Steele has said he has "no political axe to grind", but this only begs the question, who's axe is being ground? Orbis Intelligence, Ltd is a private entity that sells its services to corporations and individuals who desire information not available through legitimate channels — in other words, they're freelance spies working for money, they're mercenaries, to put it bluntly. Mercenaries work for somebody. Somebody pays them. Mercenaries don't do what they do just to pass the time. Who is the somebody? Is it the Clinton Foundation? Was Orbis hired to do what is euphemistically called opposition research on Trump as an October Surprise? Sounds plausible to me.

What follows is a scenario, I have no idea whether it is true, partly true, or just plain bullshit. It's just an idea. If I were writing a political thriller it would be an outline of the plot. It's the spring of 2016 and the likely nominees are girding up for the final contest. Clinton's handlers want to have more ammunition against DJT than their allies at the New York Times and the Washington Post have so far produced. Podesta wants an October Surprise, which means an extremely damaging news story that can turn the tide in favor of Hillary if she is clearly behind in the last 10 days before Election Day.

The wicked thing about an October Surprise is it need not be true, it need only be plausible and accompanied by enough corroborative data the MSM editors and producers don't spike it. Plausibility is more important in the Digital Age than ever before. CBS tried to destroy George W. Bush in 2004 and nearly got burned to death over their October Surprise (September, actually) when a no-name jerk, a mere blogger from Buckhead torpedoed CBS News, Les Moonves, Dan Rather and the deservedly obscure Mary Mapes with a simple animated GIF that proved their "scoop" was a vicious forgery. If Rather had been smarter (he has never been known for his intellect) he could have damaged Bush by sitting on the story for a few weeks. But true to form, Rather, who would rather be first in line with a lie than last in line with a truth, when public too early.

Podesta wants an October Surprise in his quiver. He's willing to pay millions for a good one, so he retains Orbis Intelligence, Ltd and gives them a mission: Get dirt on Trump. But be sure it's clean dirt, with a clean provenance. Bezos may love Hillary, but he ain't going to sink his empire for her. Steele takes the retainer and the mission and produces nothing for months. Finally, he delivers the "golden shower" calumny.

"And the corroboration?" says Podesta

Steele looks at the floor and grinds his toe like a schoolboy caught without a hall pass. "That's all that there is," he replies sheepishly.

"What? Even the Weekly World News won't touch this without evidence. Instead they'll run Batboy Endorses Trump. What did I tell you?"

"Well..."

"What did I tell you? I told you..."

"Get the dirt. Get the provenance," says Steele

"That's right. Now get outta my sight."

"Where's our money? We had a deal. Twenty million in cash..."

"You've got your retainer. And that's all you're getting until and unless."

"Five hundred thousand does even cover our travel expenses!"

"Suck it up, Steele. Now, get out."

Orbis is now stuck with a day old fish and no buyer. Until Obama, a man uninterested in anything but his own vanity, buys the day old fish.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Clapper said in a statement that he does not believe the U.S. intelligence community leaked a private security document alleging Russian intelligence operatives have compromising information on Trump. "I emphasized that this document is not a U.S. Intelligence Community product and that I do not believe the leaks came from within the IC," Clapper said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-russia-clapper-idUSKBN14W0BU?il=0

Boy, if there is anyone with a rock-solid reputation for telling the truth, it's James Clapper!

chickelit said...

Quaestor asks: Who is the somebody? Is it the Clinton Foundation? Was Orbis hired to do what is euphemistically called opposition research on Trump as an October Surprise? Sounds plausible to me.

Could also be Soros.

chickelit said...

Anglelyne asked: So why do you post in all lower-case with only ellipses for punctuation, the preferred style of airhead 14 year old girls and xanax'd middle-aged cat ladies?

Offered w/o proof: My guess is that it's someone else trying to affect a distinct style so as to not be obvious.

mtrobertslaw said...

"LOCK HER UP".

John henry said...

During a BBC 4 radio broadcast on Wednesday,

every time you hear someone refer to Russia Today and other Russian media as "State owned media", remember that the BBC is "state owned media" too.

As is PBS and NPR

John Henry

chickelit said...

After Soros kicks the bucket, Hillary will pen a bestselling tell-all subtitled "Why I did it" (Soros money).

Lewis Wetzel said...

I didn't vote for Trump. I voted for Darrell Castle, Constitution Party. I thought that Trump would be a replay of Jesse Ventura (that's not good).
But I love Trump's cabinet picks and his attitude. It's a nice change from both Bushes, Romney, and McCain.

Standing in front of ten US flags, with his fair daughter Ivanka to one side of the stage, he was itching to talk about the story – almost more so than the journos. He was loving it. If you sent this guy to Pamplona for the bull run he would quite possibly run towards the bull. And the beast might well, in such circumstances, do a quick U-turn and gallop to safety.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4111616/Donald-Trump-germaphobe-denied-QUENTIN-LETTS-watches-president-elect-comes-guns-blazing.html

John henry said...

One of the things that I have seen several places was that this was a "sex act". As far as I can tell, there was no sex involved. All it was was some women peeing on a bed. They call them hookers but give me a few bucks and I'll pee on a bed for you.

My granddaughter, 1 year old today, will do it for free.

That doesn't make me or them hookers.

Perhaps if we peed on someone rather than something, it would be a "sex" act and they would be hookers. For a ruling on that question, I'll have to wait for Lazlo.

John Henry

mockturtle said...

"f you sent this guy to Pamplona for the bull run he would quite possibly run towards the bull. And the beast might well, in such circumstances, do a quick U-turn and gallop to safety."

L'audace! Toujours l'audace!

John henry said...

Blogger Big Mike said...

@GWash, I'm very interested in Trump's taxes. I hope he made ten gazillion dollars and thanks to our arcane tax laws paid zero in taxes. If that doesn't convince people of the urgent need to reform our tax code then nothing will.

I've long thought it was something like this. That and the fact that he will not release them drives all the right people nuts.

If trump is worth $10bn then he should be getting 5% return on his money and paying tax on $500mm per year.

Trump is a pretty smart man. He realizes that the way you get rich is accumulating wealth (net worth) which is non-taxable. Not having a lot of taxable income.

I would not be surprised if his annual income is in the range of $10-15mm. Not counting what he gets from the Apprentice. Why would he need more?

This will drive the right people nuts. WHY IS TRUMP HIDING $490mm IN INCOME? IT'S CRIMINAL FRAUD I TELLS YA!!!!

Nobody, including me cares that Bezos, worth $70bn or so, only has about $4-5mm in annual taxable income. They'd sure care about Trump, though.

John Henry

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"Boy, if there is anyone with a rock-solid reputation for telling the truth, it's James Clapper!"

Unknown trots out "raw news" and Chuck quotes Clapper.

Clearly, unimpeachable sources.

John henry said...

Speaking of Soros, his chickens may be coming home to roost.


Hungary Plans to Crackdown on All Soros-Funded NGOs
by Zoltan Simon
January 10, 2017, 12:44 PM GMT-4 January 10, 2017, 1:39 PM GMT-4

Ruling Fidesz party vice president pledges to ‘sweep out’ NGOs
Premier Orban, Trump backer, vowed to build ‘illiberal state’

Hungary plans to crack down on non-governmental organizations linked to billionaire George Soros now that Donald Trump will occupy the White House, according to the deputy head of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s party.


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-10/trump-s-win-prompts-hungarian-call-for-crackdown-on-soros-groups
=================

Why now? Would this crackdown be happening if Crooked Hilary had won? What protection or cover was she giving Soros?

I think this is going to be an interesting story.

John Henry

Drago said...

This just keeps getting better and better with "Raw Story" Unknown, "lifelong republican" Chuck and "3/5ths Clause" GWash!

Really, althouse ought to be selling tickets!

madAsHell said...

"Allow me to introducing myself. I am Boris Badenov, world's greatest no-goodnik."

Big Mike said...

Clapper is a hack. He was a hack when he ran the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and insisted on inserting the hyphen so he could claim to be leading a "three letter agency." When Obama nominated him for the position of Director of National Intelligence it was strictly because he is a hack.

Alex said...

Amazing. President Trump will be forever tied to hookers peeing all over each other. You own it cons.

Big Mike said...

Has anyone besides me seen Trump's announcement of the sting he ran on senior intelligence briefers? Now that he's caught them in leaks they're in serious shit.

Chuck said...

rcocean said...
Just call him "Commie Chuck" from now on.
Basically, the MSM and the FBI/CIA had this story since Summer 2016. Why wasn't it released before, when it would've damaged Trump? Answer: None of its true.
BTW, Cohen's passport doesn't prove he was never in Prague, it proves he was never in Europe during the time frame in question. As Trump stated, he never left the USA when the "Story" had him in Prague.

You'd have to ignore several years of my posting comments praising Justice Scalia, Governor Scott Walker, Mitt Romney, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham and the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, all before there was ever a candidate Donald Trump, if you wanted to call me "Commie Chuck."

The business about Trump attorney Michael Cohen; the dossier-thing got it wrong. It appears (and this is sort of interesting) that US intelligence staff concluded that another Michael Cohen (with the same birthdate!?!) was in Prague at the time in question. A weird coincidence, but certainly no wrongdoing by the Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

I've seen in comments above the return of the Trump tax returns debate. And of course there are the Trump loyalists who say that Trump's taxes are none of our business, and especially not if there is an ongoing audit, as Trump has repeatedly claimed. Trump's lawyers, speaking to the issue, have said that Trump's tax returns are under "continuous review" by the IRS. Trump's lawyers did not confirm any audits as far as I know.

But as a lot of others way before me have noted, the simple fact that Trump himself has claimed a giant disability in releasing his taxes which is an audit, puts Trump's credibility at stake. And Trump should have in his possession a letter (or several letters) from the IRS notifying him of the fact of an audit being initiated. Such a letter would not reveal information about Trump's taxes or the details of any audit. Of course, even if Trump is under audit, he can voluntarily release copies of his returns. But let's not dwell on that, or the details of any audit, or how much or how little Trump pays in taxes. The simple issue is whether Trump himself has been lying to the entire world about his federal income taxes being audited; and he can prove that it is true that he is being audited, with one or more letters from the IRS that he would certainly have if there were in fact an audit. Trump has not done that.

Birkel said...

Alex:
Remind me again the thing to which President Hillary Clinton will forever be tied.

chickelit said...

Remind me again the thing to which President Hillary Clinton will forever be tied.

That's no yoke!

eddie willers said...

"Allow me to introducing myself. I am Boris Badenov, world's greatest no-goodnik."
I knew Moose and Squirrel were behind this!

Bay Area Guy said...

It's important for Trump supporters (including me) not to get bogged down by the "Mighty Wurlitzer" of disinformation and propaganda. Many different factions want to destabilize Trump. Not just Leftists either. There are factions within the intelligence community and defense industry whose interests don't align with Trump's agenda. So, they are gunning for him.

The key is to play the long game. Protect Paul Ryan and the House; make a good SCOTUS pick; get Sessions appointed as AG, expand the Senate Majority in 2018; enforce the tough immigration laws we already and, most of all, stay calm.

Anonymous said...

GWash, I am surprised you even dare to spout your crap again. You sharted yourself the last time you waxed elegant on the CONUS and politics.

That's why you are known here as being 3/5ths of an intellect but all asshole.

Qwinn said...

Of all the conspiracy theories I've heard lately, the silliest is Chuck's notion that it's even plausible that Obama's IRS *isn't* auditing Trump.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

Chuck said... You'd have to ignore several years of my posting comments praising Justice Scalia, Governor Scott Walker, Mitt Romney, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham and the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, all before there was ever a candidate Donald Trump, if you wanted to call me "Commie Chuck."
1/11/17, 11:41 PM

I may be wrong, since I don't keep logs on internet commenters, but I've been on this site regularly for nearly ten years and I never noticed any "lifelong republican Chuck" until this past year when the typical election-season astroturfers were disseminated through the blogosphere by the DNC. Maybe you went by a different handle then, maybe you're just full of baloney. Go ahead and repost some of your years-ago staunch conservative lifelong republican invectives- Otherwise, you're full of shit, Lifelong...

Chris N said...

Chuck works for the DNC, but is a 'lifer' with obligations to Moscow. One night he misses his drop, and a letter is found professing his love for Ivanka Trump. Caught in a web of secrets, lies, and passion, the bad comments pile up.

-'Meet Me At Mar-A-Lago'

Starring: Chuck

1star

Big Mike said...

@Chuck, I concur with Michael Fitzgerald. I've been reading Althouse's posts and commenting here since the 2008 campaign and as far as I can tell you're a newbie. Not only do I not recall a conservative commentator named "Chuck," but your writing style is pretty distinctive and If you were here before under a different name then you changed your style as well as your name.

Matt Sablan said...

Too bad Trump isn't like Edwards, where the media had to be brought kicking and screaming to report on things that were verified. Would save everyone some headaches and embarrassments.

Rusty said...

Here' the deal with taxes , Chuck.
Trump doesn't fill out a 1040 EZ.
In fact he most likely signs several very complicated returns for his various businesses. His personal return is probably the size of a short novel. Mine is over 30 and I don't have any where near his assets. As I and others have said before even if you had it in hand you wouldn't understand it. Besides his CPAs have no doubt advised him to keep mum .

bagoh20 said...

Trump should hire a couple prostitutes, film exactly what is allege to exists, and then publish it. Title it "So, Now Can We Get Back To The People's Business?"

Gusty Winds said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Known Unknown said...

Chuck would be easier to verify if ... oh darn, his profile isn't available.

That seems to happen a lot with certain types of posters.