A Ridiculous Amount of Russiagate

Something big has to happen soon, before this becomes a singularity and sucks up all the digits. Do you notice how little Russia actually gets discussed?

Via Wombat-socho's In The Mailbox: 04.18.18: Twitchy: Attorney For CNN, NYT Reportedly Talked Judge Into Publicly Naming Sean Hannity, Don Surber: The Comey Boomerang, Internet Works Feverishly To Identify Stormy Daniels’ Alleged Threatener After Her Attorney Promises Reward, Weasel Zippers: Lawmakers Make Criminal Referral On Clinton, Comey, Lynch & McCabe To Justice Department:

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee member Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Florida, along with nine other colleagues sent the letter Wednesday to Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray criminally referring former FBI Director James Comey, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe for their involvement in the investigations into President Trump and alleged violations of federal law. FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok and his paramour FBI lawyer Lisa Page, whose anti-Trump text messages obtained by the DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, were also included in the referral.

In the last administration, the DOJ simply denied Congressional requests, like the one to refer Eric Holder for prosecution for contempt of Congress in the Fast and Furious scandal. Let's see if Sessions is any better. Being a former senator, he may actually respect the institution a little.

From Ace's Morning Report: "No-Nads" Nadler Kvetching that Push to Reveal Comey Memos Could Land RosenSteinPenis in Contempt of Congress, Shut Down Mueller, Comey Book Event in DC Packed with Press; Only One "Normal Person" Attended  Comey Debunks the Steele Dossier, Coulter: One Percent Chance Comey Not a Self-Dramatizing Fruitcake

PJ Media's Wednesday's HOT MIC: Meghan McCain faces off with Stormy Daniels on ‘The View’: ‘Seems like a publicity stunt’, Stormy Daniels reveals sketch of man who allegedly threatened her, Judge shoots down CNN request for audio of proceedings in Cohen case, WaPoABC poll: Majorities want more sanctions on Russia — and a summit, Americans have conflicting views of Mueller probe: polls, Trump anti-leak drive nets first guilty pleas, Mitch McConnell shuts down the idea of passing a bill to protect Mueller from being fired by Trump

And at Thursday's HOT MIC: The band is back together! "Politico ran this story with the headline: Trump allies urge criminal investigations of Clinton, Comey, Lynch. Can you ever remember the mainstream media describing Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer as "Obama allies" in their official actions and public statements?" Comey says McCabe lied, confirms he kick-started probe that led to his firing, Lanny Davis: Obama Should’ve Fired Comey, House Judiciary chair plans to subpoena to get Comey memos, If you've got the time, we've got the fear, Mueller fear. Heh.

Regarding James Comey: John Podesta thinks he's an idiot. From the guy who gave away the DNC emails to a phishing scam. Comey: I Didn’t Leave The Republican Party, The Republican Party Left Me and that's a good thing. Comey Claims Nobody Asked About Clinton Obstruction Before Today but maybe he just wasn't in the mood to listen. Comey Pushed for the Investigation That Ended McCabe’s Career, accidentally doing the right thing. Actually, Comey Had Good Reason To Announce The Clinton Email Probe Wasn’t Over But his reason was self-aggrandizement, so it doesn't count. Meghan McCain to James Comey: Are You Sure You're Not a Partisan Political Commentator? Cuz You Sorta Sound Like a Partisan Political Commentator to Me

By the way, does anyone else notice that Comey looks luminously orange, with ghost-taint white half-moons under his eyes, in all of his media appearances? Check out Comey's Hunter Moon make-up on the former Bill Clinton communications director's nonpartisan political show, and this other picture from that appearance here, and then compare those looks to the lambently-orange glow he sports on The View appearance (video at the link).

Who's orange now, bub?

It's almost as if that's a fairly standard make-up application for tv appearances, and it's almost as if someone who spent a decade on TV might have just adopted it as a habit.

James Comey Delivers Stephen Colbert’s Third Biggest ‘Late Show’ Ratings Ever but No One Shows Up for His Book Signings Except the Press, showing, I suppose, that democrats watch TV but don't read books.

On the matter of Sean Hannity and Michael Cohen: Attorney for @CNN and @NYTIMES convinced judge to publicly name Sean Hannity but Flashback: Clinton Lawyer Represented Tons of Journalists. It always different when democrats do it. Chuck Todd: I Am "Stunned" Sean Hannity Wasn't Suspended For A Week. Who's your lawyer, Chuck? “You Only Hire Cohen for One Reason”: Inside Fox News, Sean Hannity’s Michael Cohen Disclosure Stokes a Crisis as Murdoch Wavers on Trump, Hannity’s rising role in Trump’s world: ‘He basically has a desk in the place’ Hannity ain't my cup of tea. I'm more of a Gutfeld guy.  Judge Napolitano To Sean Hannity: You Can’t Have It Both Ways. Limbaugh Rips Media in Full-Throated Defense of Hannity: He’s ‘Three Times as Honest’ as Rest of Media. Not a high bar. Cohen Would Turn Against President if Charged, Counselor Warned Trump He wouldn't be the first. American history is loaded with people how betrayed their boss under pressure.Michael Mukasy: Trump, Cohen, and Attorney-Client Privilege: The protection has limits, but is it worth testing them over a possible campaign-finance offense?

After anthrax spores killed five people, infected 17 others, and showed up in envelopes mailed to U.S. senators and media organizations in 2001, the current special counsel, then director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, spent years chasing and destroying the reputation of a microbiologist named Steven Hatfill, zealous in the belief that Mr. Hatfill was the guilty party. Another zealot, James Comey, then deputy attorney general, said he was “absolutely certain” no mistake had been made.

After Mr. Hatfill was exonerated—he received more than $5.5 million in damages from the government—Mr. Mueller then decided that another microbiologist, Bruce Ivins, was the culprit. When Ivins committed suicide, Mr. Mueller pronounced the case closed. A subsequent investigation by the National Academy of Sciences suggests Ivins too was innocent.

Mr. Mueller is not a bad man, nor is Mr. Comey. It’s just that both show particular confidence when making mistakes, which makes one grateful for safeguards like the attorney-client privilege.

Stormy Daniels to donate to Planned Parenthood in Trump and Cohen's names if she wins case: report

Adult film star Stormy Daniels reportedly told Penthouse Magazine that she will donate $130,000 to Planned Parenthood in President Trump and Michael Cohen’s names if she wins her legal case against the men.

Daniels, who will be featured on the cover of Penthouse next month, made the commitment during an interview with the magazine, The Daily Beast reported Tuesday. Cohen, Trump's longtime personal attorney, paid Daniels $130,000 to stay quiet about an alleged affair with Trump.

The cover of the magazine shows Daniels with an American flag and the headline, “Penthouse Pet of the Century: Getting Intimate With the Most Wanted Woman in America.”
. . .
“I don’t have shame. You can’t bully me,” Daniels told the magazine, according to the Daily Beast.

Well, she has room in that chest for a big heart.

Karen McDougal Freed From “Catch And Kill” Deal As Stormy Daniels Lawyer Threatens Trump With Defamation Suit

This seems like the worst of all worlds for POTUS and Michael Cohen. They had two routes to choose from on the hush-money stuff. One: Don’t enforce the NDAs. Let Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal and whoever else say what they want publicly about Trump. How much could it hurt, really? Maybe warn them publicly that they could be sued at any time, but don’t actually sue. The chief benefit of this approach is that neither Trump nor Cohen nor their friend David Pecker at the National Enquirer would be subject to discovery.

Two: Enforce all the deals. Daniels, McDougal, anyone else who comes forward — they all get dragged into arbitration, not necessarily because what each of them has to say is damaging in isolation but because there *may* be other women under NDAs and the cumulative effect of all of them coming out of the woodwork could inflict real political pain on POTUS. The risk here, obviously, is that each woman would do what Daniels is trying to do, removing the matter from the privacy of arbitration to the public spectacle of a courtroom. That means discovery and lots of dirty laundry potentially aired via discovery. Trump and Cohen would need to assess their jeopardy on that point if they were to go this route. The chief benefit of doing so, though, is that any other woman under an NDA who’s watching all of this play out might be deterred from coming forward. If they know Trump and Cohen will play hardball, if they know they’re going to be buried in legal bills and at risk of paying Trump millions in damages if they lose the arbitration/court case, maybe they decide that silence is golden after all.

Instead we’ve now got a hybrid approach. Trump and Cohen are suing Daniels but the Enquirer’s parent company, AMI, is *not* suing Karen McDougal. They just reached a settlement with her that frees her from the “catch and kill” deal she signed with them in 2016. Now, if you’re a secret former Trump mistress who’s mulling whether to come forward, you can talk yourself into believing that it might work out well for you no matter what happens. Maybe you’ll be let out of your contract because the other party, whether Trump, Cohen, Pecker, or all three, is terrified of the prospect of discovery. Or maybe you’ll get yourself a good lawyer like Stormy Daniels did and go on offense, winning your suit and then cashing in on your story with the tabloids or even recovering money from Trump or Cohen via a defamation claim.

Slate? Please Stop Predicting the End of Trump’s Presidency, Unless you can explain exactly how he gets impeached or why he resigns.

A good question from The Lid: IG Report Shows Andrew McCabe Is A Criminal – So When Is He Going To Jail?

The Deep-State Liars of the #Resistance, Democrats are rehabilitating the deservedly poor reputations of surveillance-state officials who were caught lying to the American people. Whatever tool they need.

That pesky constitution: Schiff: Let’s Put Some Real Oversight On Trump’s … Pardons?

And speaking of wishful thinking: Pittsburgh police told to prepare for protests over potential Mueller firing: report

Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Tammie Jo Shults" and "FMJRA 2.0: Search & Destroy" up and running for your viewing pleasure.