Day 552

Day 552 Wednesday July 25, 2018 1,026 Days to Go

It’s coming fast and furious now. Are we seeing the beginning of the end?

Let’s see, where to begin:
– The White House released a doctored transcript of the meeting in Helsinki. They left out part of the question asked by the reporter as to whether Putin wanted Trump to win and did anyone in Russia help. Just in case anyone thinks it was a mistake they also doctored the video. The Kremlin cut out the whole question.
– The Kremlin also said that Trump promised in his one on one that no other America other than the translator was present for, which the Republicans have blocked from having her tell what she remembers, that he agreed to have the U.S. be on the same side as the Russians in Syria. The commander in the field says he knows of no such thing and hasn’t been told. The Russians have now publicly attacked that commander in the press. This is standard Russian disinformation. It’s an attempt to drive a wedge between the commander in chief and his general. But we don’t know what was said in that meeting. We know both the Kremlin and the White House lied about what was said in public so there’s no way we are going to know. Nice. Just as predicted btw.
– Trump also had a rally and told his supporters not to listen, read or believe anything that was said except directly from him (or something like that.) Quotes from 1984 immediately started being circulated.
– Sean Spicer released a book. It’s not doing well. Surprise. One person said that Spicer at least seemed pained when he had to lie. Sanders doesn’t.
– Speaking of Sarah it will be interesting to see what she says about all this. NOT!
– Trump signed a bill giving farmers billions of dollars. Why? They’ve been hurt by his trade policies.
– Meanwhile the deadline looms to reunite children separated from their parents. The administration is dealing with the little kids that were supposed to be reunited already with their parents. Some 450 were declared “ineligible.” What does that mean? I suspect it means the administration can’t find the parents. Most likely because they have already deported them. What to do? I like the idea of locking up the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Health and Human Services until all the kids are reunited. Nothing like time in jail to motivate one (so I am told.)
– Manafort’s lawyers have been asking for all kinds of pre-trial motions. They have lost all of them but one. They asked for a four month delay; they got a week. Jury selection should have started.
– Late yesterday one of the 12 Cohen tapes was released. At first it seems like nothing. Then you get some analysis and you begin to understand what is going on. Cohen and Trump are talking. Someone else comes in the room and gives someone a coke. There’s a phone call and what else? The conversation starts with Cohen telling Trump his poll numbers are good. They discuss setting up a company and Trump’s lawyer, who was also Trump’s dad’s lawyer, has told Michael what to do to set up this company. Trump says the word “cash.” Cohen talks about “our friend David.” There is discussion about the company being used to funnel information and payment. They, Trump and Cohen. also talk about Trump’s first marriage and divorce and how they only need to keep it out of the papers for four months.
So what’s this all about? Supposedly it’s about setting up a company to pay off the Playboy bunny who had a year long affair with Trump. “David” is speculated to be either the David who runs the National Enquirer who is said to be the one who paid the bunny for her story and buried it, or it is the phony name used in the agreement so that Trump’s name doesn’t appear on the document. I suspect it’s the phony name because of the use of the term “our friend.” If it had been the Enquirer guy I think Cohen would have said David straight up, or David and the fellow’s last name. Others have heard it differently.
Why is the tape coming out now? And, who released it?
Speculation is that it was Trump’s lawyers who released the tape. Why? To get ahead of the story (whatever that means.) It seems they knew the FBI had seized the tapes and they knew what was on this tape.
What we now know is that two months before the election Trump and Cohen were talking about hush money payments and that it was done in the context of effecting the campaign. Legal minds say the tape in and of itself is not enough to make the case of illegality. Really? We’ve got Cohen starting by talking about a poll, thus this is a political discussion. We have them saying they only need to keep his first divorce out of the papers for four months ie past the election. We have Trump saying, “cash,” as in “pay her in cash.” We have the two of them talking about setting up a company to route the money and “information.” There is no reason to set up a company unless you are trying to hide the source of the money. You have the president saying he knew nothing about this, that there was no affair, and that he knew nothing about payments. All lies.
Therefore this is an illegal campaign contribution. This is conspiracy. This is collusion. This is obstruction of justice. Next.

Paul Manafort’s trial delay. Wanna know one of the reasons he wanted the delay? He didn’t want to pay his accountant. Yeah, that’s right. His accountant didn’t get paid and therefore won’t share his financial records with him. Manafort hoped to stall until the prosecution turned over the records to him in the discovery part of the trial.

Speaking of not paying – Michael Cohen wasn’t by Trump. Seems to be a habit with these folks.

Ivanka is shutting down some of her businesses. She says to concentrate on her government job. I say becuase her crap wasn’t selling.

Let’s review Trump’s current legal problems, just so we don’t miss any:
-Manafort’s first trial
– Cohen’s legal woes
– Carter Pages potential legal woes
– Stormy Daniels’ suit
– Playboy bunny caper
– The Apprentice contestant suit (forgot about that one did you?)
– The Mueller probe

There’s more stuff that happened, but I’ve forgotten. It’s starting to not only slip over the transom, but gush out the sides of the door and under it.

1,026 Days to Go

PS Salt evapoation bins by the Dead Sea