Althouse: "So we are supposed to believe here that Bill Clinton, a 70-year-old man with a history of heart trouble played golf in Phoenix where it was 108, 110 degrees..."

June 30, 2016

"So we are supposed to believe here that Bill Clinton, a 70-year-old man with a history of heart trouble played golf in Phoenix where it was 108, 110 degrees..."

"... maybe he played on Sunday when it was 108, I don't know. And then he's on the way to the airport to leave, is told that Loretta Lynch, the attorney general, is soon due to arrive, delays his departure, goes to a vacant private jet on the tarmac where she happens to be. He delays his departure to go have the meeting at which they discuss their grandchildren and their travels.... I try to envision that and it just doesn't work for me. It just doesn't work for me. So what else might have been going on at this meeting?..."

Rush Limbaugh applies his skeptical mind to the Bill-meets-Loretta story.

172 comments:

Jaq said...: With any luck for America, she was delivering bad news in person. Although since Obama sees the position as primarily scandal goalie, she was probably reassuring him that the fix was in and she was going to use her "prosecutorial discretion" to ignore any and all wrongdoing.; 6/30/16, 4:39 PM
Jaq said...: Little Miss Can't Be Wrong will skate again.; 6/30/16, 4:40 PM
buwaya said...: "she was probably reassuring him that the fix was in"

No, this would have been done privately, most likely verbally through intermediaries.
This is a public act, probably meant to broadcast that the fix is in.; 6/30/16, 4:41 PM
Mary Beth said...: Sure it was 108 degrees, but it's a dry heat.

Lynch should have refused to meet with him. If they want to talk about travels and grandkids, they can do it when they're around other people. You don't need a private meeting for that.

I'm still not convinced that Bill Clinton wants his wife to be president but I doubt that he wants her in prison either.; 6/30/16, 4:46 PM
Earnest Prole said...: the genius of the Clintons is that they can brazen out anything; 6/30/16, 4:48 PM
Just an old country lawyer said...: Not even the appearance of impropriety.; 6/30/16, 4:50 PM
exhelodrvr1 said...: Maybe they shared a cigar.; 6/30/16, 4:50 PM
Tommy Duncan said...: These are professional politicians. "Optics" are their first concern. It is hard to fathom why they would risk this meeting being discovered.

Perhaps something big is about to break?; 6/30/16, 4:50 PM
Valentine Smith said...: There must have been a blow job in it for him.; 6/30/16, 4:51 PM
Hagar said...: Or, it was supposed to be a secret meeting, but someone decided to alert the media. Maybe even Ms. Lynch herself. It is hard to tell these days.; 6/30/16, 4:55 PM
harrogate said...: If it "just isn't working" for Rush Limbaugh, then for realz there is something badly amiss! Maybe Rush can get to the bottom of it for us, with his speculations!; 6/30/16, 4:56 PM
JackWayne said...: Obama reassures us there is not a smidgen of corruption.; 6/30/16, 4:57 PM
Clayton Hennesey said...: I believe Loretta Lynch when she said they discussed neither Benghazi nor emails and that they spoke mostly about grandchildren. The only other thing they discussed was the price.; 6/30/16, 4:59 PM
Unknown said...: Believe a Clinton? Enen their cronies aren't so clueless.; 6/30/16, 5:00 PM
lgv said...: No attorney would willingly meet about anything with a party that is involved in a case. This would be like a juror shooting the breeze with an attorney when court is not in session. Every attorney with a trace of intelligence would simply walk away without interaction.

Her only words should have been, "I can't speak to you."

More of the "We are above the law" mentality. How Nixonian.; 6/30/16, 5:02 PM
Carol said...: I thought normal guys teed off at 6 am in that kind of weather. Who the hell plays in the heat of the day?; 6/30/16, 5:06 PM
Bob Ellison said...: This is getting difficult.

It is indeed a dry heat, and that's a factor.

The bigger factor is that the plane was the place in which to have the meeting. Let's meet on my plane, on the tarmac, at Sky Harbor.

Why do that? Because they are somewhat confident that none of their conversation will be be overheard.; 6/30/16, 5:09 PM
Deb said...: Nothing ever "just happens" with this crowd.; 6/30/16, 5:11 PM
Bob Ellison said...: By the way, it's not easy to get a private meeting on the tarmac at an international American airport. Try calling your buddy Jake next time you show up at JFK: "Hey, let's have a conversation!" This does not happen.; 6/30/16, 5:12 PM
Chuck said...: Rush tried to make the point today (I heard him, in real time) that the mainstream media refuses to cover this story. I don't know about that, but NPR has featured the story on its two leading news programs for the last 36 hours. If anyone wants to suggest some mainstream media outlets that have suspiciously avoided the story, feel free to enlighten us.

Rush also tried to make the point today, that the plane on which Lynch and Clinton met, was not the plane that Lynch flew in on, or that Clinton was soon to be flying out on. Rush alleged that a third plane had to be arranged, for the two to meet, and that such arrangement(s) made it all the more suspicious. If Rush's information is correct, I think he has a valid or at least an interesting point.

But in NPR's reporting on the story, NPR states that the two met on Lynch's government-assigned plane.

So either NPR is wrong, or Rush is wrong. In any event, NPR is certainly reporting on the matter.

This story link is right now the second-lead story on the NPR home page:

http://www.npr.org/2016/06/30/484192533/bipartisan-disapproval-follows-bill-clintons-meeting-with-loretta-lynch; 6/30/16, 5:13 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: They discussed the optics after the FBI recommends an indictment. What language will Lynch and the media use to minimize and politicize so that the Clinton's lust for power is never extinguished.; 6/30/16, 5:14 PM
mockturtle said...: Golf in Phoenix in the summer. LOL!!! The only question is: Did they WANT this to become a media issue or not? How does it play into their agenda? Do the Clintons WANT a special prosecutor assigned in order to delay the proceedings?; 6/30/16, 5:17 PM
William said...: Bill Clinton probably wanted to personally warn her of all the bad things that happened to Eric Holder after he did the paper work on the Marc Rich pardon for Clinton. That's a cautionary tale for any AG to consider.; 6/30/16, 5:18 PM
JCC said...: That any attorney would agree to a meeting like this is astounding, and only suggests that the attorney was getting some first person shake-down in place, something subtle like "We are carefully perusing the facts now and any statutes which may be implicated. By the way, my husband and I are wondering if we should continue the lease on our house in DC or make plans to return to New York. What do you think?"

This would be grounds for dismissal (or a demanded resignation) in an honest administration.; 6/30/16, 5:26 PM
cubanbob said...: harrogate said...
If it "just isn't working" for Rush Limbaugh, then for realz there is something badly amiss! Maybe Rush can get to the bottom of it for us, with his speculations!
6/30/16, 4:56 PM "

Apparently some people on this blog still believe in the tooth fairy.; 6/30/16, 5:30 PM
Chuck said...: I was surprised to hear Rush questioning whether Clinton played golf in Phoenix.

Rush knows as well as anyone, that if the former President did play golf, there would be an entire club of people who could vouch for the round. The Secret Service would likely have limited access to the course. Parking attendants, locker room attendants, pro shop staff, caddies and who knows how many others would all know about it. Nobody plays a secret round of golf.

Rush knows all of that, and he wisely hedged his comments, to say essentially that, okay, let's assume that the golfing part of the story is true; but the rest of the story raises all kinds of questions...

I don't care who gets to be made to look bad in this story. I just want all of the correct facts.; 6/30/16, 5:30 PM
Anonymous said...: screw the email scandal. Perhaps Bill wasn't trying to nudge that case at all. After all, it's not his ass headed to the slammer, and maybe he'd like to bed Huma after Hill heads to Sing Sing. However, what Bill must care about is that the FBI is also investigating "pay-to-play" involving the Clinton Foundation, and that could put Bill or Chelsea in the slammer as well. After all, all those deleted emails that the FBI has salvaged lead right to the Foundation.

Bill ought to care about that.; 6/30/16, 5:32 PM
Paddy O said...: I don't think it's necessarily a given that Bill Clinton is on Hillary's side.; 6/30/16, 5:34 PM
Carol said...: Rush tried to make the point today (I heard him, in real time) that the mainstream media refuses to cover this story.

Ya know..it seems like he and Savage et al always say a story "isn't being covered" when I just saw Matt Lauer or someone lead with it.

They exaggerate. I know, duh.; 6/30/16, 5:38 PM
Bill Crawford said...: I wonder if he was interviewing her for a future position with the Clinton Foundation.; 6/30/16, 5:39 PM
Fernandinande said...: So what else might have been going on at this meeting?..."

"Department of Justice officials filed a motion in federal court late Wednesday seeking a 27-month delay in producing correspondence between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s four top aides and officials with the Clinton Foundation and Teneo Holdings, a closely allied public relations firm that Bill Clinton helped launch.
...
During Clinton’s four years as America’s chief foreign diplomat, her aides communicated with officials at the Clinton Foundation and Teneo Holdings where Bill Clinton was formerly both a client and paid consultant, on the average of 700 times each month, according to the Justice Department filing."; 6/30/16, 5:39 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: This stinks. Clinton and Lynch have no personal history. There would be nothing to 'catch up on.' The statement that Clinton 'walked over to her plane' is meant to imply a casualness that could not have existed. Clnton would have had to request the meeting. Lynch would have had to agreed to it.
Since journalists cannot know what they talked about, they should have tried to get meta information that would have given them an idea of the purpose of the meeting. Was it planned ahead of time? Clinton says no. How did he just happen to be there? How did Lunch just happen to be there? Who initiated the meeting, and how? Who was the go-between? Who was with Clinton? Why did Lynch agree to meet the politically powerful husband of a politically powerful woman who is being under investigated by the FBI?; 6/30/16, 5:40 PM
Chuck said...: Terry:

Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch actually do have something of a personal history.

Bill Clinton, while in office as the 42nd President, nominated her to be the U.S. Attorney for Eastern District of New York.

I appreciate the point you were trying to make. And my suggesting that there was something of a history between the two of them does little to justify their stories in this apparent scandal.; 6/30/16, 5:47 PM
Tim said...: Just crooks being crooks. The LIV dem voters don't care as long as the EBT card is filled.; 6/30/16, 5:49 PM
Megthered said...: Rush also said they were discussing their grandchildren. Loretta Lynch has no children. He said she had step children, but no grandchildren in the picture. So did they spend the entire time talking about Clinton's grandchildren. Why did he have to meet with her on a plane to do that. Couldn't they have met in DC, at a cafe, and shot the breeze? Or would there be too many prying ears and eyes?; 6/30/16, 5:50 PM
MayBee said...: Ridiculous cover story.; 6/30/16, 5:54 PM
buwaya said...: "Department of Justice officials filed a motion in federal court late Wednesday"

The fix is in.; 6/30/16, 5:56 PM
buwaya said...: " but NPR has featured the story on its two leading news programs"

Making sure every Democrat knows the fix is in. Also rubbing it the faces of anyone not yet on board that there's no hope of an alternative to Hilary.; 6/30/16, 5:58 PM
MayBee said...: Why is Loretta Lynch on a government plane anyway? When did that start?; 6/30/16, 5:59 PM
JackWayne said...: I'm waiting for Althouse to publish her "How Clinton and Trump both lost me and I'm voting for Gary because a mainstream conservative like Cruz is just too scary".; 6/30/16, 6:00 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Blogger Chuck said...
Terry:
Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch actually do have something of a personal history.

I appreciate the info, Blogger Chuck!
Another question my mythical journalist with integrity would ask is "have there been any other informal meetings between JD lawyers and the Clintons, Clinton cronies, or Clinton lawyers?""; 6/30/16, 6:03 PM
madAsHell said...: I'm guessing the he squelched a RICO investigation into the Foundation. Hillary may have been thrown under the bus.; 6/30/16, 6:03 PM
Quaestor said...: What time is it, boys and girls? IT'S SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TIME!; 6/30/16, 6:06 PM
FullMoon said...: Mary Beth said... ]

Sure it was 108 degrees, but it's a dry heat.

Does everyone near Phoenix say that?

Considered buying property and visited one summer. Opening the front door is
just like opening the oven door to check on your prime rib. It is a dry heat, and it will bake you.; 6/30/16, 6:09 PM
Mike Sigman said...: Loretta Lynch, the black response to Janet Reno ... no special prosecutor will be appointed.; 6/30/16, 6:09 PM
ObeliskToucher said...: I'm sure that it was just an innocent discussion about nuclear proliferation...; 6/30/16, 6:11 PM
Pettifogger said...: Mary Beth said: "Lynch should have refused to meet him."

Of course, but since when did "should" govern the conduct of anyone associated with this administration.; 6/30/16, 6:14 PM
ObeliskToucher said...: A short discussion of the new fellowships that the Clinton Foundation is planning to set up for retired Attorneys General?; 6/30/16, 6:15 PM
rhhardin said...: It was a meeting between crime families, probably dividing the turf.; 6/30/16, 6:16 PM
Publius said...: This is the perfect opportunity to discredit the Justice Department and go for a special investigator--like Kenneth Starr did for Bill's problems. That should delay any tawdry news until after the election and defer action against Hillary for at least a year. If elected...she will be pardoned by Obama.
Very shrewd.; 6/30/16, 6:17 PM
The Grey Man said...: Not serious, but just for fun.

1) It is widely reputed that there has been animosity between the Clinton camp and the Obama camp.

2) Also rumors of friction between the Clintons.

3) Is it possible Bill was selling Hillary! out? Say she said she's got the goods on them. But needs one to roll on the other? Maybe the AG leaves the Foundation alone, to his benefit, but he gives the AG the goods on her on the emails or another matter?

Damn, that could be the basis of a really good thriller novel.; 6/30/16, 6:20 PM
Dr Weevil said...: Teneo Holdings? Teneo is the Latin verb meaning 'hold': specifically 'I hold' - 'to hold' is tenere - but it's the first form listed in any Latin-English or English-Latin dictionary.
Anyway, calling a company "Teneo Holdings" is like calling it "Business, Inc." or "Money Bank" or "Production Factory". It's absurdly generic, only slightly disguised by the use of Latin.; 6/30/16, 6:21 PM
harrogate said...: The Grey Man is getting the spirit of it. Rush would find your ideas "interesting" and the kind of Reporting that the media ought to be doing.; 6/30/16, 6:26 PM
MaxedOutMama said...: A federal prosecutor will shortly be contacting you regarding these vicious, slanderous hate-crime lies.

In a Mrs. Clinton administration, I think that might happen! We're almost at the part where they stop pretending - which is probably why they are more worried about the average citizen having a gun.; 6/30/16, 6:35 PM
The Vault Dweller said...: Hmm, when I heard about this meeting, I didn't think this was Lynch telling Bill, the fix was in.

I imagined it more like Bill asking Lynch what her plans were after the Obama administration is over. Perhaps he might mention that the Clinton Foundation is perhaps looking for a new Chief Legal Officer, that gets a total compensation package of around 1.5 million a year.

I suspect the Clintons still have lots of people that would be willing to to reveal the results of the FBI investigation to them. This seems like them hearing the results being a recommendation to pursue an indictment, and them trying to just on a completely unrelated note speak to Ms. Lynch about her post AG employment plans.; 6/30/16, 6:39 PM
lonetown said...: There was a crooked man,
He walked a crooked mike,
He found a crooked AG,
Within the crooked pile,
He bought a crooked AG,
which loosed a crooked louse
Then they all lived together,
in the crooked White House.; 6/30/16, 6:44 PM
james conrad said...: There is no chance that AG Lynch can be credible in any decision regarding the Clinton email/foundation investigation after this incident, she needs to step aside on this case and put someone else in charge.; 6/30/16, 6:45 PM
Anonymous said...: "A federal prosecutor will shortly be contacting you regarding these vicious, slanderous hate-crime lies.

In a Mrs. Clinton administration, I think that might happen!"

http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/02/donald-trump-libel-laws-219866

"One of the things I'm going to do if I win, and I hope we do and we're certainly leading. I'm going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money. We're going to open up those libel laws. So when The New York Times writes a hit piece which is a total disgrace or when The Washington Post, which is there for other reasons, writes a hit piece, we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they're totally protected," Trump said."; 6/30/16, 6:46 PM
Taxfree TEA said...: Sure, the talked about family and grandchildren.

"So Loretta honey, How many pieces do you want your grandchildren in?"

"I love golf. I had a game with Vince Foster once. Just once."; 6/30/16, 6:46 PM
Humperdink said...: Carol asked: "I thought normal guys teed off at 6 am in that kind of weather. Who the hell plays in the heat of the day?"

Phoenix forecast for 6AM tomorrow is 81 degrees.; 6/30/16, 6:51 PM
David Begley said...: MayBee

I think top gov't officials have access to a G-4. DOJ might have its own fleet. State, for sure, has jets.; 6/30/16, 6:51 PM
Lyle Smith said...: We are a Banana Republic.; 6/30/16, 6:58 PM
Anonymous said...: If there was any plotting going on, don't you think it would be in the dark of night in some hidden location? Amusing to see such speculation, Bengahzi! fell through, now on to the next fantasy. Oh look, Hillary's newest grandchild's nanny is the 2nd cousin of Loretta Lynch's husband! A conspiracy is underfoot!; 6/30/16, 6:58 PM
Anonymous said...: Perhaps she was giving Bill a haircut.; 6/30/16, 6:59 PM
Gahrie said...: Wow..for being a Republican Establishment Lackey, Chuckles sure does spend a lot of his time defending the Left and attacking the Right.

Moby.; 6/30/16, 7:00 PM
Jimmy said...: In HRC's case, it seems that the fix is in. If you have money, power, or celebrity, then the law doesn't apply to you. At all points in the so called justice system, things, facts, the law itself, has been politicized. Including the Supreme Court. America has finally become like every other third world country. YAY! The political class must be so happy.
Totalitarianism is great, as long as you are on the winning side. Over half this country isn't, but they don't fucking matter anymore.; 6/30/16, 7:05 PM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: Humperdink said...
Carol asked: "I thought normal guys teed off at 6 am in that kind of weather. Who the hell plays in the heat of the day?"

Phoenix forecast for 6AM tomorrow is 81 degrees.

If I don't have my days mixed up, this happened this past Sunday. It was about 98 at 6 AM that morning. I can attest as I was out in it fixing a broken sprinkler head in my back yard. I seriously doubt Bill played golf that day.; 6/30/16, 7:06 PM
rehajm said...: Yah, you can get 18 in if you start early. It's actually quite pleasant early in the day. The issue is sitting in a parked plane- by mid morning that sucker's hot, even with the aux air going...; 6/30/16, 7:07 PM
Anonymous said...: Well, it probably centered on prosecution or no for Hillary.

And then, there was probably some acknowledgement of implicit mutual interests and acknowledgement of political strategy that springs from them.

The Clintons were always extra paranoid because there's lots of evidence they're extra ethically challenged and there's a lot of political marriage weirdness going on.

Id just prefer enough Americans send them away for good.; 6/30/16, 7:08 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Rush tried to make the point today (I heard him, in real time) that the mainstream media refuses to cover this story. I don't know about that, but NPR has featured the story on its two leading news programs for the last 36 hours. If anyone wants to suggest some mainstream media outlets that have suspiciously avoided the story, feel free to enlighten us."

You heard it wrong.

What he said was that it was only because of local media that the atory surfaced at all.

Once it surfaced, other media had to deal with it.; 6/30/16, 7:12 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: The appearance of impropriety.

Slick Willie probably pantomimed the following message:

You give: no indictment

Me give: $1.5 Mill/year partnership at Williams & Connoly and many big clients coming your way.; 6/30/16, 7:14 PM
Anonymous said...: And I'm seriously left with the choice between an ethically challenged, relatively seamy power grubber wearing a pantsuit of Light on the one hand, and a not so good ethically, brand-name former casino and NYC real estate developing blowhard who talks about policy about 12% of the time on the other.

Hopefully, we can pull out of this without too much damage; 6/30/16, 7:15 PM
Michael K said...: Golf in June in Arizona is a test of manhood.

I used to play in Tucson and the club had a shotgun start at 6 AM on weekends. That was so no emergency rooms were needed.

My golf partner was not the healthiest guy in the world and one June morning, at 10 AM before we finished, he was so red and weak, we quit. I took him back to the condo and put him in a cold bath because he refused to go the ER.

I thought he was going to die. Golf in Tucson, let alone Phoenix which is hotter, in June is a test of your heat regulation system.

I doubt the story.; 6/30/16, 7:15 PM
Chuck said...: Gahrie I just don't care about anybody like you.

I've never gotten much enjoyment out of the plebian Right. Bill O'Reilly; Sean Hannity; Rush Limbaugh; Michael Savage; Mark Levin; there is so little use for any of them. They are some of the least-reliable conservatives, along with Glenn Beck, who I thought was something of a nutjob back when he was threatening his doctors with malpractice actions on YouTube while lying in a hospital bed. Beck's standing up to Trump has improved his standing in my book.

I prefer the National Review and the Weekly Standard. I like Fox's Chris Wallace and Brett Baier. As well as George Will and Brit Hume. Steve Hayes, and Charles Krauthammer. They will all still be there, after a Trump loss. Saying, "I told you so."

I never once "defended the Left" in the comments above. And I never once "attacked the Right," either.

I questioned a couple of comments from Rush Limbaugh. For ditto-heads like you, I suppose that means I need to be punished for the crimes of thinking independently and questioning the premises.

If Trump loses, what is somebody like you going to have left? You won't even have an opposition party to join. Republicans will have nothing to do with you. You'll have no representative, no party, no structure. You'll have angry talk show hosts. Happy jerk-off to you.; 6/30/16, 7:16 PM
Publius said...: To begin...this was not a coincidence. They NEVER do things by chance. A third plane may have been in play becuse it had been swept for bugs. No surrepticious recordings here! For someone [me] who has watched the Clintons skate on every scandal I have the following scenario---this was preplanned. It creates a cloud of doubt regardsing the "independence" of the Justice Department, and calls for and independent counsel to be named. Time progresses. Choices are made...Hillary agrees with the concept---"nothing to hide." Election time arrives. Hillary gets elected. Special counsel is still getting his act together. Obama grants a pardon to close out the issue. FINI; 6/30/16, 7:16 PM
Humperdink said...: Chuck lamented: "I've never gotten much enjoyment out of the plebian Right. Bill O'Reilly; Sean Hannity; Rush Limbaugh; Michael Savage; Mark Levin; there is so little use for any of them."

Chuck, do you have any idea the impact Rush has had on the conservative movement? Apparently not.

Your credibility has gone into negative territory.; 6/30/16, 7:22 PM
Temujin said...: Bill: Hello Madam Attorney General. I just wanted to ask you about your grand-kids and golfing.
Loretta: Mr. President. My 'grand-kids' won't talk. I promise.
Bill (handing her a slip of paper): Well, just to be sure, here's little info we'd like to share with you.
Loretta: (reading note) Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh...what the fuck!!? How'd you get this?
Bill: Gotta run now. You keep those grand-kids well, ya hear?

Loretta (later to the press): We talked about our Grand-kids and blurb, blurb, blurb.

This country is in such bad shape. But, hey- at least Obama beefed up the wardrobe for our military today.; 6/30/16, 7:24 PM
Anonymous said...: Either you're 100% loyal to Trumpianism or you are the enemy. No old guard Republican's shall be tolerated! Join the Trump movement, or else.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-primaries/286034-trump-rivals-who-dont-back-me-shouldnt-be-allowed-to-run-for

"Donald Trump on Wednesday hammered his former primary rivals for going back on a pledge to back the eventual GOP presidential nominee.

Trump said his primary opponents who now refuse to support his candidacy should not be allowed to run for office in the future, since they've gone back on their word."; 6/30/16, 7:28 PM
Bob Boyd said...: You can bet Bill brought a carrot and a stick to the meeting.

But they probably did talk about her grandchildren.
Bill asked her to think about how she wants her grandchildren to speak of her, as a Supreme Court Justice or a disgraced, disbarred former AG.; 6/30/16, 7:31 PM
Chuck said...: No, Pprofessor Althouse; with all due respect I heard that part of the broadcast. Yes, Rush correctly said that the story was broken by a local ABC affiliate. I think you quite accurately summarized that part of Rush's program. That is how the story was broken to begin with. You are not wrong in any of that.

But Rush also said that the mainstream media resists covering stories like this.

Can I ask, Professor, is an ABC affiliate in Phoenix not a part of the "drive-by media"? That term is of course Rush's patented epithet. The Drive-By Media. I think that some of the best exemplars of Drive-By Media are the local affiliates of the major networks. And of course all the local folks dream of having their contracts picked up by the networks.

Anyway, back to my original point; yes, I do claim that Rush accused the mainstream media of not wanting to cover such a story. This, from the Limbaugh transcript:

"And again, folks, I want to remind you, we wouldn't know about this were it not for a local Phoenix affiliate. That's not an insignificant thing. The Drive-Bys were nowhere near this. And even if the Drive-Bys had gotten wind of it, do you think they would have reported it complete with photos like the ABC affiliate in Phoenix did? Doubtful."

I don't think I have ever heard of the "liberal media bias" being refined down to the national networks but not their local affiliates.

I'd ask you and Rush, together, these questions. They aren't leading questions; I honestly don't know the answers. But what national media outlet has NOT covered this story? Have any of them ignored the story?

I'd contend that who broke the story is irrelevant. Local media often breaks stories. Only one reporter can truly "break" a story, essentially.

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/06/30/what_i_think_bill_told_loretta; 6/30/16, 7:34 PM
Unknowable said...: The Left half of the Globalist Establishment in America is becoming increasingly brazen because they are running scared of the anti-establishment sea-change apparent here that gave us Sanders and Trump and the rest of the Western world as well.

Bottom line however, elite Leftists like Hillary, Bill and AG Lynch don't think they are above the law - they *ARE* above the law.; 6/30/16, 7:34 PM
Rusty said...: "Chuck, do you have any idea the impact Rush has had on the conservative movement? Apparently not.

Your credibility has gone into negative territory."

That assumes he was ever in positive territory.

My take on this is that Lynch was giving Bill the heads up on what the FBI have on Hillary to date.
Her excuse for being there was to investigate how 'fast and furious' arms wound up in Paris.; 6/30/16, 7:40 PM
Humperdink said...: Incredibly, Chuck said: "But Rush also said that the mainstream media resists covering stories like this."

Oh my. Wowee.; 6/30/16, 7:41 PM
Birkel said...: Remember, this is the thing for which Althouse voted.

Corruption, perfidy and economic malaise.; 6/30/16, 7:41 PM
Kathy Antley said...: Rush tried to make the point today (I heard him, in real time) that the mainstream media refuses to cover this story. I don't know about that, but NPR has featured the story on its two leading news programs for the last 36 hours. If anyone wants to suggest some mainstream media outlets that have suspiciously avoided the story, feel free to enlighten us.

Rush also tried to make the point today, that the plane on which Lynch and Clinton met, was not the plane that Lynch flew in on, or that Clinton was soon to be flying out on. Rush alleged that a third plane had to be arranged, for the two to meet, and that such arrangement(s) made it all the more suspicious. If Rush's information is correct, I think he has a valid or at least an interesting point.

Nice to see a life long Republican defending the Clintons...; 6/30/16, 7:42 PM
SukieTawdry said...: I knew this was a problem when Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid rushed out to publicly proclaim what a fine and honorable woman Lynch is.

I can imagine amidst the grandchildren and golf talk, Bill complimenting Loretta on the fine job she's doing, regretting that her tenure is ending so soon, implying that need not be the case.

Shouldn't the Attorney General of the US be held to at least as high a standard as Caesar's wife?; 6/30/16, 7:46 PM
Birkel said...: I doubted you lot when you first called Chuck on his (now apparent) concern trolling.

I was wrong.

Carry on.; 6/30/16, 7:48 PM
buwaya said...: "I've never gotten much enjoyment out of the plebian Right."

No doubt. You may, however, be making a great error. Limbaugh, Reilley and co. speak to more actual voters, and generally people interested in politics, than all the "intellectual" journals.

That means they are important in a way that these journals are not. These journals are good only as hobby papers for, well, political hobbyists.

More important, consider this, is the attitude to their audience. Limbaugh and co. are created by their listeners. They are not the cause but the effect. All those millions of competent, useful, employed people - these Limbaugh listeners are the people who literally keep you alive. You and I and every professor in Harvard University and the entire population of New York City are ancillaries to them, not necessities. They can very easily do without the lot of us.; 6/30/16, 7:48 PM
SukieTawdry said...: But they probably did talk about her grandchildren.

No children, no grandchildren.; 6/30/16, 7:50 PM
Chuck said...: Humperdink, I do think I have a pretty good idea about how important Rush Limbaugh has been.

That is why I never called him "unimportant." And it is why I specified that "I have never gotten much enjoyment" from right-wing talkradio.

I will say that the word "plebian" is not my best choice of words. I might prefer to say, "populist right." Because I actually dislike Bill O'Reilly more than Limbaugh. But even saying that I dislike "the populist right" doesn't quite work. I'll have to think about it.; 6/30/16, 7:56 PM
narciso said...: O'Reilly gives me gas, Rush is an autodidact, and hence he works best with mark steyn, a fellow autodidact, the thin gruel that passes for news, is mined for fresh insights.; 6/30/16, 8:01 PM
traditionalguy said...: As I recall, Rush's most powerful point was that this story was very likely to get out, but Clinton, Inc still went ahead with the meeting. His implication is that the Clinton's need for a last minute meeting with their last hope to stop the FBI guys was very great in Clinton Inc's eyes.; 6/30/16, 8:02 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Secret meetings on tarmacs to discuss grand-kids. Hey - the mob will snow you with whatever excuse they want.; 6/30/16, 8:03 PM
Chuck said...: I want everybody to red Kathy Antley's post above. Because thank goodness she quotes me.

She accuses me of "defending the Clintons" when not one word of mine ever defended the Clintons. For merely questioning Limbaugh, I am accused of "defending the Clintons."

You've got a lot of fucking nerve, Kathy Antley. You just don't have any sense, or any reading comprehension.

And you really need to ask Donald Trump about support for the Clintons. I've never given the Clintons a single word of support or a single dollar for their foundation or for a campaign. Donald Trump can't say that.

http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2016/news/160314/donald-hillary-800.jpg; 6/30/16, 8:03 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Terry @ 5:40.

All questions the hack press will never ask.; 6/30/16, 8:04 PM
Anonymous said...: Trump Loyalty Oath being written in gold ink...; 6/30/16, 8:08 PM
narciso said...: they pre spin the story, think irs, with lerner, sanford with the crump/julian team, the cair people in san bernardino and orlando,; 6/30/16, 8:08 PM
Phil 314 said...: "Sure it was 108 degrees, but it's a dry heat.

Does everyone near Phoenix say that?"

It's dry before the monsoon. This week has been humid, so no it's dry heat.

Someone from Phoenix; 6/30/16, 8:09 PM
Chuck said...: Rusty said...
...
My take on this is that Lynch was giving Bill the heads up on what the FBI have on Hillary to date.
Her excuse for being there was to investigate how 'fast and furious' arms wound up in Paris.

Cool story, bro!; 6/30/16, 8:10 PM
Crimso said...: It seems to me that an Obama pardon of Clinton to protect her only works if we're looking at President Trump. If she's elected, and Obama pardons her to head off any potential future impeachment proceedings, that would be a huge (YUGE!) turd in the punchbowl of a Hillary Presidency. They may not be able to impeach her, but the pardon would make it damned clear she could have been and perhaps should have been.

Politically speaking, she would be too toxic even for the party of Alcee Hastings. It doesn't have to be about whether you've broken a law, sometimes the political cost alone is way too high to pay. And can he pardon her for anything and everything she's ever done? A blanket pardon? I know it can be conditional, but can it be done without specifying offenses? Because if not, then the pressure grows to get her on something else (or Bill and Chelsea). There is a political calculus here to a pardon that is not as cut-and-dried as it seems.; 6/30/16, 8:20 PM
Q said...: Chuck - "I prefer the National Review and the Weekly Standard. I like Fox's Chris Wallace and Brett Baier. As well as George Will and Brit Hume. Steve Hayes, and Charles Krauthammer. They will all still be there, after a Trump loss. Saying, "I told you so.""

I'll put you down as a Fabian Socialist rather than a revolutionary one then. "They" won't be saying "I told you so", they'll be directly and heavily responsible for a Trump loss, an outcome they all are working towards with infinitely more energy than they ever expended in trying to defeat the Democratic party and the left.; 6/30/16, 8:20 PM
dbp said...: We don't believe it, but then we are not strongly motivated to believe it. For others; where there's a will, there's a way.; 6/30/16, 8:22 PM
Temujin said...: What do Loretta Lynch and Jeffrey Epstein have in common?; 6/30/16, 8:22 PM
rwnutjob said...: Cute grandchildren you get there Loretta. Shame if something were to happen to them.
~Willie; 6/30/16, 8:24 PM
Q said...: Chuck explained - I've never given the Clintons a single word of support or a single dollar for their foundation or for a campaign.

Your relentless criticism of the Clinton's opponents would be seen as "support" by any rational person.; 6/30/16, 8:24 PM
John Henry said...: Where did Clinton's jet go after leaving Phoenix?

I expect somewhere in the US.

Did it? Where is Bill now?

John Henry; 6/30/16, 8:25 PM
Rae said...: I agree it looks bad, but I'm finding it hard to believe they couldn't arrange for a more secret secret meeting. If something truly untoward is happening, they would use an intermediary.; 6/30/16, 8:28 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: Of course, the fix is in. It has been from the start. AG Lynch owed her start in high level federal service to Bill Clinton, who first appointed her US Atty for the ED of NY (which was later repeated by Obama).Still, this makes me think that something is getting ready to happen. And, I think that it is the FBI report/referral of Clinton's wife. As I suggested before, the FBI has a serious incentive to do their thing before the Dem Convention. After that, it would be more and more likely that any attempt to substitute someone else for Hillary would not work as desired. The problem being state filing deadlines enforced by Republican dominated state supreme courts. FBI Dir Comey is a Republican with a strong reputation for integrity. Which suggests to me that if there is evidence supporting a criminal referral, it won't get buried on his watch, but he will also try to make sure that the Republicans are not unfairly advantaged by it. We shall see.; 6/30/16, 8:29 PM
GlobalTrvlr said...: And no questions on why the AG is flying her husband out to Phoenix in time for a holiday weekend on the government plane?; 6/30/16, 8:29 PM
Anonymous said...: "What do Loretta Lynch and Jeffrey Epstein have in common?"

http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/n_7912/

"I've known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,'' Trump booms from a speakerphone. "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it -- Jeffrey enjoys his social life.""; 6/30/16, 8:33 PM
Rae said...: I just had a thriller movie plot pass through my head. Bill has been working for the FBI the whole time. He's coming in from the cold, and going into witness protection! The raids are going to start July 4th.; 6/30/16, 8:34 PM
Original Mike said...: Blogger Mary Beth said..."I'm still not convinced that Bill Clinton wants his wife to be president but I doubt that he wants her in prison either."

You sure? In fact, did he carry a suitcase onto the plane which he did not have when he left?; 6/30/16, 8:35 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: It is suspicious in my view, because both Clinton and Lynch were, almost assuredly, both flying by private jet (Bush 43 put an end to this for Executive Branch employees, but was reinstated, with a vengeance, by Obama), and both had pretty good control over their schedules. If Bill was in PHX to play golf, it was only because either a lot of money was involved (I.e. big donors to the family foundation) or he was there to meet Lynch. While she had some leeway in her scheduling, she was the one scheduled to be in Phoenix the next day. The third private jet is the interesting twist. Neutral ground? Or, would meeting on her own plane be too visible?; 6/30/16, 8:37 PM
Hagar said...: For what it is worth, my barber, 70+/- years of age and obese, plays in a golf tournament in June in Phoenix every year. I tell him he is nuts; you go to Colorado in June, to Phoenix in December, but every year, he goes.

I am with O'Reilly on this one. The only way A.G. Lynch should have agreed to meet with Bill Clinton was out on the apron with reporters and cameras present.

It looks like this was Clinton's idea. He was already running late, but still delayed departure when he heard Lynch was coming in. Then he went to her plane and the Secret Service shoed everybody out of the way and forbade any picture taking by anybody.
The local TV station got a tip from "a trusted source" and checked with another such, who agreed, and went to A.G. Lynch's press conference loaded for bear.
At least Lynch was smart enough not to deny it happened.

And Obama has already told the DoJ and anyone else concerned loud and clear that there is nothing to find in Hillary!'s files.; 6/30/16, 8:40 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: Why doesn't Bill want his wife in prison? One reason may be that their family foundation is apparently part of the investigation (termed, I believe, "public corruption"), and he ran it, while she was Sec of State.; 6/30/16, 8:41 PM
Unknown said...: If it is 108 degrees F how did he survive in the heat and given his health history. More likely the plane was prepped and ready for the meeting. Probably had a cooling unit in place and the plane's electrical power running.

My guess is that Lynch got a SCOTUS appointment promise if Hills wins. Obama gets his girl on the court and Hills and Bill get act #2 together again.; 6/30/16, 8:49 PM
Humperdink said...: Chuck said: "Humperdink, I do think I have a pretty good idea about how important Rush Limbaugh has been.

That is why I never called him "unimportant." And it is why I specified that "I have never gotten much enjoyment" from right-wing talkradio.

I will say that the word "plebian" is not my best choice of words."

No kidding.; 6/30/16, 8:51 PM
Tom said...: She's lucky she didn't get sexually assaulted.; 6/30/16, 8:52 PM
Hagar said...: The local stations here in River City is as Democrat as anywhere else, but a story like this is NEWS! and at least one station manager would have gone for it regardless of party sympathies. So also in Phoenix.
One just have to wonder if Bill Clinton has lost his mind.; 6/30/16, 8:52 PM
Real American said...: They know what it looks like and they don't care. Why should they? They know they're covered and no one can do anything about it - certainly not the GOP.; 6/30/16, 8:56 PM
Humperdink said...: Maybe we should give the ol' horn dog the benefit of the doubt. He could have received a text saying the Pedophile Express was ready for boarding and he just got on the wrong plane.; 6/30/16, 8:59 PM
Chuck said...: Q said...
...
I'll put you down as a Fabian Socialist rather than a revolutionary one then. "They" won't be saying "I told you so", they'll be directly and heavily responsible for a Trump loss, an outcome they all are working towards with infinitely more energy than they ever expended in trying to defeat the Democratic party and the left.

You will never, ever get away with that one. Trump has said that the Republican Party was "corrupt" in the nominating process; he insulted Republican "donors" and all that they stood for; he said he would self-fund his campaign to be free of any donor influence; and the pundits who have criticized Trump from the right have all been condemned by Trump as "losers."

Trump hasn't wanted any help from the Republican Party and he's done nothing to earn or foster any cooperation. Trump has treated the Republican Party as an adversary.

You CANNOT now claim that Trump is not getting deserved support from Party officials, and conservative columnists. Trump never wanted it. Trump wanted to run against them all.

This is the big thing to me. Bigger than who actually wins in November. In 2017, I want to distinguish who was it that gave us "Trump" versus who fought against his nomination. There is no one to blame but Trump and the people who supported him.; 6/30/16, 9:01 PM
Hagar said...: And the State Dept. now says they will not release a part of Hillary!'s e-mails (in response to FOIA requests) until an estimated 27 months from now.
As Marc Thiessen(?) pointed out tonight, that is about when she will be cranking up the campaign for her second term, assuming she wins this first election.; 6/30/16, 9:14 PM
Anonymous said...: Chuck is a Dutch Oven Republican.; 6/30/16, 9:15 PM
cubanbob said...: I'm sure it a common enough occurrence although my memory fails me at this moment for some Unknown reason that US Attorney General's have meetings with the spouses of persons of interest and with persons who themselves maybe witnesses or persons of interest.; 6/30/16, 9:17 PM
narciso said...: 20 years of deferred promises on spending, national defense priorities, immigration, gave us trump, newt was kneecapped in order to make room for hastert who sold out the promise of '94,
the failure to articulate an effective strategy in the early years of the war on islamism, the increasing socio cultural decay, that the left has pushed, toppling whole institutions,; 6/30/16, 9:19 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Blogger Original Mike said...

. . .
You sure? In fact, did he carry a suitcase onto the plane which he did not have when he left?

. . .

"Now I am going to start laying ten dollar bills on the table here, Loretta. You just nod your head when its enough."; 6/30/16, 9:20 PM
Hagar said...: The Republican "establishment" has been a great disappointment this election cycle, and they still are. Every time one of them opens his mouth, from Romney or McConnell on down, it gets worse.
Donald Trump may not be what you wished for, but he is much to be preferred over such little people.

And anyway, he ran and garnered the votes, and these guys didn't.; 6/30/16, 9:26 PM
Hagar said...: Garner = Get and keep.; 6/30/16, 9:28 PM
Unknown said...: I take exception to the 'Hillary's in trouble' tag. Hillary is not in trouble, has never been in trouble, and never will be in trouble.; 6/30/16, 9:30 PM
Laslo Spatula said...: TCom said...
Chuck is a Dutch Oven Republican.
6/30/16, 9:15 PM

TCom Remembers!

Hey, the Elites say: we made you Febreze!.

Thank you, TCom!!

I am Laslo.; 6/30/16, 9:45 PM
Unknown said...: Igv stated, "More of the "We are above the law" mentality. How Nixonian."

Well said. But Nixon never tried to use "Because I said so." as exculpatory evidence.

Of course he had to worry about reporters, not sycophantic stenographers.

I've long since stopped asking about decency and a sense of shame, but do these out-to-save-the-world secular clerics all get their pride clipped off in J-School?; 6/30/16, 9:46 PM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: Grandkids, wedding plans, and yoga routines...what else would they talk about?
Doesn't matter. You assholes don't care. Rules are just tools to be used against the wrong people...and the Clinton's are the good people (women just love 'em) so rules aren't a problem.; 6/30/16, 9:57 PM
Original Mike said...: "Now I am going to start laying ten dollar bills on the table here, Loretta. You just nod your head when its enough."

"Just tell me how much is in the case, Bill. I mean, Mr. President."; 6/30/16, 10:30 PM
Real American said...: On the hand, Bill wants to make sure Hillary goes away for good so he can take more rides on the Lolita express.; 6/30/16, 10:32 PM
readering said...: It would be a more interesting story had Bill learned that Melania was landing and she had agreed to meet on a private jet.; 6/30/16, 10:46 PM
Gahrie said...: If Trump loses, what is somebody like you going to have left?

The same thing i have had since 1988...frustration and disappointment.

You won't even have an opposition party to join.

That's my point...there is no opposition party to the Democrats at this time.

Republicans will have nothing to do with you.

I quit the Republican Party a long time ago. (When Arnold Schwarzenegger betrayed us in favor of the Democrats in Sacramento) You know what, they still regularly beg me for money.....

You'll have no representative, no party, no structure

So pretty much the status quo?; 6/30/16, 10:47 PM
Chuck said...: I really marvel at how all of you guys who quit the Republican Party years ago suddenly became interested in the Party's nominee for president this year. Couldn't you all get a hobby or something?; 6/30/16, 11:05 PM
Quaestor said...: Gahrie wrote: So pretty much the status quo?

Hardly.; 6/30/16, 11:09 PM
narciso said...: hey I was for cruz, I tried not to do stupid and counterproductive things, as is the hallmark of the #willing for hillary,; 6/30/16, 11:09 PM
Mary Beth said...: I don't think he wants her in prison - it would tarnish their reputation as a power couple, Chelsea would be pissed - but I also wouldn't be surprised if he found he could live with it as long as he skated on any sketchy business he's done. Hillary in prison would help improve his standing as the "better" spouse. He lied about a bj, she lied about everything.

I doubt having her locked up would give him more freedom although her being president would give him less. He'd be back to being closely watched and that's no fun.; 6/30/16, 11:21 PM
Drago said...: Chuck: Worst concern-troll ever.; 6/30/16, 11:53 PM
Anonymous said...: There was once a time when politicians knew enough to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Something like this getting out there suggests Clinton and Lynch either didn't care or they didn't think anyone in the press would bring it up. The former doesn't speak well of them, but it would also indicate they don't think their voters really care about appearances. If it's the latter, that indicates the contempt with which they view the national press, expecting them to ignore something like this (and it had to be supremely annoying to see some local press blow the lid off it).

The big loser is Lynch. This puts pressure on her to indict to avoid making it seem like she had her thumb on the scale of justice, but if she does, she'll be burning a lot of bridges in her own party. On the other hand, if she doesn't, outside of partisans it's hard to see how she escapes the impression that she did Hillary a favor.; 7/1/16, 12:09 AM
cubanbob said...: You CANNOT now claim that Trump is not getting deserved support from Party officials, and conservative columnists. Trump never wanted it. Trump wanted to run against them all."

Chuck it may surprise you but some people put country over party. Someone who really cared would at this point when the corruption and criminality as well as treason of the Democrats is so blatant and obvious to all but the willfully blind would vote for and strongly support for the far from perfect, indeed garish and buffoonish other candidate. This time its important: vote for the buffoon and not for the felonious traitor.; 7/1/16, 12:10 AM
cubanbob said...: If Trumpy gets elected, will the Federal Bureau Of Prisons give the Clinton's a double wide conjugal prison cell?; 7/1/16, 12:13 AM
Gahrie said...: I really marvel at how all of you guys who quit the Republican Party years ago suddenly became interested in the Party's nominee for president this year. Couldn't you all get a hobby or something?

Some of us actually give a shit about our nation and our fellow citizens, instead of our 501Ks. Some of us realize the real damage the Left is doing to our society, nation and civilization, and are desperate for anyone to oppose them. We tried the tea Party, and you insulted and ignored us. The Republicans keep promising to oppose them, only to get elected and cooperate with them, and oppose the few who do try to fix things.

By the way...you depend on our votes (well, that is the REAL Republican Establishment lackeys do) more than we do your "leadership". If the Trump Republicans leave, the Republican Party will never win another national election. (remember how the Republican Party came into existence); 7/1/16, 12:24 AM
Bob Loblaw said...: If it "just isn't working" for Rush Limbaugh, then for realz there is something badly amiss! Maybe Rush can get to the bottom of it for us, with his speculations!

Oh, you're right. There's nothing improper in a private meeting with the husband of someone you're investigating regarding a criminal matter. Nothing at all. I'm sure they're old friends just shooting the breeze.; 7/1/16, 12:39 AM
eric said...: Blogger Gahrie said...
Wow..for being a Republican Establishment Lackey, Chuckles sure does spend a lot of his time defending the Left and attacking the Right.

Moby.

You know, I've heard this accusation before. Here at Althouse. And I didn't believe it.

I just figured he really hated Trump and therefore, everything Trump had to be spun in a negative light.

But now I'm really starting to wonder.; 7/1/16, 12:50 AM
M Jordan said...: Let's see, Trump says a Mexican judge shouldn't be on his case because of conflict of interest and he's pilloried for two weeks.

Bill Clinton speaks privately with the Attorney General of the United States of America who will decide whether or not to prosecute that case and he's Bill being Bill.

The double standard in this country is disturbing. I feel subterranean plate shifting about to release an incredible amount of energy.; 7/1/16, 12:52 AM
Jason said...: Chuck sure does seem to have been reading the same Email talking points tha garage used to get every day but wasn't smart enough to use.; 7/1/16, 3:31 AM
Matt said...: Chuck, have you tried listening to Dennis Prager? He is, to me, by far the best talk radio host. He doesn't have the bluster some of the other radio personalities have.; 7/1/16, 3:55 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Chuck: "But Rush also said that the mainstream media resists covering stories like this. Can I ask, Professor, is an ABC affiliate in Phoenix not a part of the "drive-by media"? That term is of course Rush's patented epithet. The Drive-By Media. I think that some of the best exemplars of Drive-By Media are the local affiliates of the major networks. And of course all the local folks dream of having their contracts picked up by the networks."

What the local media person did was what Rush might characterize as an accidental act of journalism.

After that happened, other media had to deal with it, because it was so significant.; 7/1/16, 5:18 AM
tim maguire said...: There's so much to speculate that it's basically impossible not to go down the rabbit hole. My current best guess--Bill tried to make deal to save himself from prosecution over the financial crimes of the Clinton Institute. He promised not to bring the Clinton Hammer down on Lynch if she left him out of the indictment of his wife. Lynch's statement about the FBI signals that he was successful.

Sounds good, takes everything into account, and was completely made up right here in my comfy chair.; 7/1/16, 5:57 AM
damikesc said...: You will never, ever get away with that one. Trump has said that the Republican Party was "corrupt" in the nominating process; he insulted Republican "donors" and all that they stood for; he said he would self-fund his campaign to be free of any donor influence; and the pundits who have criticized Trump from the right have all been condemned by Trump as "losers."

McCain ROUTINELY trashed the Republican Party for years. Fairly consistently.

I really marvel at how all of you guys who quit the Republican Party years ago suddenly became interested in the Party's nominee for president this year. Couldn't you all get a hobby or something?

You enjoy supporting a party that nominates losers so regularly for the Presidency and whose "Congressional leadership" has a tendency to govern in near total-opposition to how they campaign?

People would buy the "I'm a Republican" line from you if the criticism from you was for anybody else. If you criticized Trump AND Hillary, people would buy you. But you don't. Nothing about you reeks of "disgruntled Republican". You reek of "Democrat".; 7/1/16, 6:31 AM
Jaq said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/1/16, 6:55 AM
Jaq said...: How many times in his life do you suppose Bill Clinton has used the words "It's not what it looks like"?; 7/1/16, 7:02 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: If appearances counted, this meeting would mean that Hillary would be indicted, if the FBI recommends it. But this is the Obama Administration, which will be supported by most Dems, including the MSM, regardless. They can do no wrong, and everyone laps up their explanations why the sky is green and not blue (with none of them questioning a 20 something fiction writer in charge of sellng foreign policy). I think by now, there is already a deal between Obama and the Clntons, or there won't be. My hunch is that it may include Hillary's support for Obama's failure to act on the night of 9/11/11. He is the anti-colonial, willing to easily let Americans die for a higher cause. I think given the options that Obama no doubt was that night, I think that she would have acted, when he didn't, and preventing anyone else in our govt to intervene either. Hillary is the one person whom I think Obama knows he can't have indicted on his watch.

What I expect right now, based on this, is a criminal referral from the FBI for Hillary's hide. I think that it was so blatant, that they have no excuses and no choice. The public knowing that Guccifer (and probably the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, etc) hacking her account was bad enough, but her having spam filtering turned off for the whole dept. so her emails could get through the firewall is maybe worse, esp with evidence that the Russians had hacked the dept. security, is worse. We are talking one of the biggest security breaches of The US govt. in recent years, all for her convenience and ultimately to protect her from FOIA and Republican oversight. Right now, I don't expect an indictment though, just Lynch slow walking her review of the referral, running out the clock, and then maybe a pardon after the election.

The reason though that I think that this was an unforced error is that they should have used surrogates. The problem for her here is that she is runnung against Trump, and if there is no prompt indictments, he will scream that the fix is in (as it no doubt was before), and this meeting is evidence of it, which they won't be able to successfully deny, since both Clinton and Lynch are known liers, and no one else (except for her husband) were there. Remember, Clinton is the President who lost his law license for lying. Who is going to believe him? In the end, I think this meeting is just going to further reinforce Trump's meme of "Crooked Hillary".

You can almost feel the worry here on their part with the almost frantic attempts yesterday by Unknown, an obvious Hillary shill, to change the subject. They know that this is a problem and want to distract us no matter how they do it.; 7/1/16, 7:30 AM
amielalune said...: Why do so many of you spend so much time on "Chuck" on this forum? I simply see the name as a reason to scroll past. He's not enlightening, or entertaining, and certainly not persuasive, unless you enjoy middle school level debates. He's not even generally honest.

What is it, you just like having someone to argue with??? Poor troll quality around here.; 7/1/16, 7:38 AM
khesanh0802 said...: Huma's deposition about the private server was a beauty apparently. See this from the WSJ.; 7/1/16, 9:45 AM
OldCurmudgeon said...: My theory is that the purpose of the secret meeting was to hand-deliver deliver a copy of the FBI report...It's really the only thing that makes sense. Secret meetings are more easily and more safely done nowadays via ordinary cell phones (encrypted and no potentially embarrassing eye witnesses). Emailing documents will leave many, many electronic records. And, it's not the kind of thing you'd want to delegate.

As a bonus, if ever asked, Ms. Lynch can truthfully say they primarily "talked" about grandchildren and never, never had any contact with the Hillary "campaign."; 7/1/16, 9:58 AM
Chuck said...: No one has as yet answered one of my early questions: Was Rush Limbaugh misinformed -- and was he in turn misleading his audience -- when he claimed that the Clinton-Lynch meeting took place on a third private aircraft that had been arranged for the occasion?

As I mentioned, NPR reported on the story, and reported that the meeting took place on Lynch's government (-owned or -leased) plane.

So someone is right, and someone is wrong. Either Limbaugh is right (and it is a seemingly significant added fact to the entire story, just as Rush said), or Limbaugh is wrong, and he has been shown up by the liberal mainstream media that he so detests.

Does anyone have any definitive answer? There were photographs, I gather. Do they prove which plane was used for the meeting?; 7/1/16, 10:09 AM
Kevin said...: It’s not the first time Bill has maneuvered to show up unexpectedly and get some one-on-one time with a woman who was surprised to receive him.; 7/1/16, 2:16 PM
Gahrie said...: Wouldn't it be great if Chuckles went after Hillary as hard as he does Rush?

Moby.; 7/1/16, 2:21 PM
CJ said...: If there's an indictment my faith in the American Experiment in self governance will be renewed. It would be a very nice gift for this 240th birthday of these United States, even if it comes later than July 4 this year.; 7/1/16, 2:57 PM
Robt C said...: From a supposed (and very convincingly so) eyewitness to the encounter:

http://observer.com/2016/07/exclusive-security-source-details-bill-clinton-maneuver-to-meet-loretta-lynch/; 7/1/16, 4:07 PM
Chuck said...: One thing I haven't seen yet; some form of golf course staff confirmation that Bill Clinton played golf in Phoenix.

I have not seen any of the golf blogs report about a presidential visits to any of the elite Phoenix clubs/resorts like The Boulders, Estancia, Troon or Whisper Rock. A president, at one of those courses, would be treated royally by a large group of locker room attendants, pro shop staff, caddies, etc. Members/guests would be warned to be clear of the front nine for a while, and the back nine later on. People would know.

I have seen lots of people in all corners of the 'net ask where Clinton played golf. No one seems to have an answer.; 7/1/16, 4:57 PM
Chuck said...: Robt C:

That is an interesting report on what happened. So it looks as though Rush Limbaugh misled his listeners on Thursday with a claim that there was a "third" aircraft that was used for an arranged meeting. The liberal mainstream media got that part right, and Limbaugh got it wrong.; 7/1/16, 5:01 PM
RichAndSceptical said...: Do I understand this correctly?

Because she was caught in a conflict of interest, AG Lynch has agreed to not play politics with the decision whether to charge Hillary Clinton.

It seems to me she is admitting that she might have let politics influence her decision.; 7/1/16, 5:15 PM
Jon Ericson said...: Chuck: This administration's most transparent moby.; 7/1/16, 7:27 PM
Paul said...: Lynch should have been forced to RESIGN. She is unfit to head the DOJ.

She knew what she was doing was wrong. They met secretly on a 'empty' plane that would have been hard to bug.They talked for 30 minutes. Plenty of time for her to give him all the info that the FBI had on Hillary and what Hillary should do in the upcoming talks with the FBI.

The whole thing stinks of crookedness.

So Lynch needs to resign. Immediately.

And Bill? Bill should be charged with obstruction of justice.

Man what a crooked bunch. Even Al Capone was smoother than these.; 7/1/16, 9:03 PM
Rusty said...: I warned you people that the politics of Chicago and Illinois would become the politics of Washington DC. You Democrats voted for this. You own it.; 7/2/16, 8:41 AM
Unknown said...: Bill Clinton has never lied. Or maybe it depends on what the definition of grandchildren is.; 7/3/16, 12:24 AM