Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

Republicans in disarray!

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Petty moves from a petty man.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

This fight is for everything.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Russiagate Open Thread: Hey, Remember Elliot Briody’s Girlfriend’s Abortion?…

Russiagate Open Thread: Hey, Remember Elliot Briody’s Girlfriend’s Abortion?…

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When this report appeared yesterday, I figured we could wait a bit, see what the professional news media would do with the theory:

…The Wall Street Journal published a story on April 13 revealing the existence of another nondisclosure agreement involving an affair between an adult entertainer and a client of Cohen’s. The NDA employed the pseudonyms David Dennison and Peggy Peterson — the same names used in the Stormy Daniels NDA — and was otherwise very similar to the Trump-Daniels agreement…

Whatever source revealed the existence of this NDA to the Journal also disclosed that, according to another document in Cohen’s office, the Dennison in this agreement was not Donald Trump but rather Elliott Broidy, a top Republican fundraiser, while Peterson was Shera Bechard, Playboy’s Miss November 2010. Apparently, Bechard had been Broidy’s mistress until he got her pregnant, at which point she hired Davidson, who contacted Cohen to demand the payment of hush money.

By a stroke of good fortune, Cohen already had a sex-scandal-with-an-adult-entertainer-hush-money-NDA template in his hard drive, since he had recently drafted at least one for Donald Trump. Indeed, Cohen didn’t even bother to change the pseudonyms. (That economical use of attorney resources explained away what otherwise could have been a very awkward detail in the narrative.)…

Let me offer an alternative explanation of the affair and the payoff. It is still just a hypothesis, but, I would argue, it fits more comfortably with what we know about the various players than the reported version of events: Donald Trump, not Elliott Broidy, had an affair with Shera Bechard. Bechard hired Keith Davidson, who had negotiated both Playboy playmate Karen McDougal’s deal with the National Enquirer and Stormy Daniels’s NDA with Trump. Davidson called Cohen, and the two of them negotiated a $1.6 million payment to Bechard.

At this point Cohen needed to find a funding source. Cohen asserts he took out a home equity loan to come up with a mere $130,000 to pay off Stormy Daniels, so it seems clear he couldn’t have fronted the $1.6 million for the Bechard deal himself. So Cohen reached out to Elliott Broidy, a very rich Republican fundraiser with several pending and highly lucrative business deals with foreign governments: deals that hinged on whether Broidy could convince the U.S. government to take various actions. By stepping up to take responsibility for the affair and to fund the seven-figure settlement, Broidy was ensuring that he could continue to peddle his influence with Trump to governments around the world.

Which is to say, it was a cover-up concealing a bribe. Indeed, it turns out that Broidy not only has a history of bribing public officials, but of bribing them in an uncannily similar fashion to the method which I hypothesize he employed in this case…

So far, not much! Possibly those professional newspeople are busy doing the legwork. Professor Campos has posted a couple of times at his usual outlet, Lawyers Guns & Money:

Elliott Broidy not only bribes public officials, he has bribed at least one by paying off his girlfriend

Are any journalists going to investigate whether Elliott Broidy paid a $1.6 million bribe to the president of the United States?


(Write your own joke about whether a guy like this would be averse to bragging he’d banged a Playboy model)

Reader Interactions

175Comments

  2. 2.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Imagine the conversation. “You can take this hit a lot easier than me. I’ll do something very nice for you, okay?”

    “Believe me.”

  3. 3.

    Yarrow

    Avenatti pointed out that in court Cohen did not say Broidy was a client.

    Edited because mixing up names.

  5. 5.

    Corner Stone

    Is there a pool going for when a bimbo eruption is going to happen? The payoffs have to be to a multitude of women over the last 15 years, don’t they?

  6. 6.

    trollhattan

    Broidy looks like somebody Trump would keep nearby to make himself look better by comparison. Does not look like “playmate-datin'” material, regardless of wallet thickness.

  11. 11.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Yarrow:

    Yup, there were three: Donald Trump, the Trump Organization, and HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Sean Hannity.

  12. 12.

    Snarki, child of Loki

    Aaaaand, it turns out that in 2016 the white evangelicals voted for the candidate that had PERSONALLY arranged for abortions. And either paid for them, or did a quid pro quo.

    Time to start planning postnatal abortions of acephalic god-botherers, I think.

  13. 13.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    I could use a flow chart mural at this point.

    FTFY, in the interest of space required.

  14. 14.

    Raoul

    Semi-off topic, but this seems utterly insane. We may as well just roll over and play dead. (And no, I’m not suggesting we give up. I’m suggesting that the Trump Admin is giving up, and that is fucked up beyond reason).
    The cleanup from this reign of error is going to take years. Years that the press and our electorate probably won’t tolerate. “Why is my bank being hacked monthly now? Can’t Dems fix this?” they’ll ask, because they won’t remember all the ways Bolton + Trump screwed the pooch.*

    Bolton pushing to eliminate White House cyber job
    The move could send the message ‘that the U.S. is taking the gas pedal off of cybersecurity,’ one former NSC official says.
    By Eric Geller 05/09/2018

    *Admittedly, an incredibly long list. Huuuge even. But we will need to catalog every damn thing they ruined, and preach tolerance of how long the recovery will be. Far worse than Bush II, possibly.

  15. 15.

    Corner Stone

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Sure, but really only post-Melania might even make a blip on the radar. Trump would be like 60 and impregnating 20-something year olds who he paid to have abortions.
    And, no, I am not caring that that description would give his base tiny little chubbies. We still have a few voters we can persuade/dissuade.

  17. 17.

    Yarrow

    @Raoul: Punishments need to be severe. No more ‘looking forward not back.’ These people are traitors.

  18. 18.

    Feebog

    @trollhattan:

    That was my impression when I first saw Broidy’s mug. I don’t care how much money the dude has, getting laid has to be a hard sell.

  19. 19.

    Corner Stone

    @Raoul:

    The cleanup from this reign of error is going to take years. Years that the press and our electorate probably won’t tolerate.

    We’re about to confirm a torturer during the Bush admin to be CIA Director. As a nation we have no stomach to do the work of recovery.

  20. 20.

    Mike in NC

    @Baud: Rather than a simple flowchart, one of those insanely complicated whiteboards like they show on TV cop shows, with strings leading to photos of all the perps.

  23. 23.

    Mike in NC

    @Raoul:

    Bolton pushing to eliminate White House cyber job

    Putting 12-year-old Barron out of work?

  27. 27.

    Mike in NC

    Trump appears to have used several aliases over the years. That’s just something every good businessman does, isn’t it?

  31. 31.

    TenguPhule

    @Baud:

    I could use a flow chart at this point.

    We could have a computer modeled quantum string theory model for this and it still wouldn’t cover all of the links.

  32. 32.

    MomSense

    I just want to rub the media noses in this trump shit. Look at what you did. LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID.

  33. 33.

    hitchhiker

    @Feebog:

    cough (roger ailes) cough

    There are women (and men, I suppose) who find giant pots of money irresistible.

    Btw, there’s a new Josh Marshall podcast today that’s an interview with him and an investigative reporter who’s just published a book called Trump/Russia. It documents the history of Trump’s many, many relationships with mobsters.

    “Trump is a mob-friendly business man. And he’s the president of the United States.”

    Sounds worth checking out — the book, I mean. I already listened to the podcast.

  36. 36.

    Montanareddog

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Imagine the conversation. “You can take this hit a lot easier than me. I’ll do something very nice for you, okay?”

    Broidy did not ‘fess up because he was asked to take the fall. He lied about an affair because, otherwise, he would be admitting to paying a $1.6 million bribe. And he has previous.

  37. 37.

    Steeplejack

    @RSA:

    Coming soon to a congressional hearing: “Who did you bang and when did you bang him?”

  38. 38.

    TenguPhule

    @Baud:

    A kick in the balls is more appropriate.

    Trying that with Maggie the Maggot seems destined to fail.

  41. 41.

    rikyrah

    Avenatti all but said that Briody wasn’t the father a couple of weeks ago on Morning Joke.
    None of the MSM picked it up.
    He said to go back to who Cohen, while under oath,said were his clients.

  43. 43.

    gene108

    @Snarki, child of Loki:

    Even if the story that Broidy knocked up Shera Bechard and paid for an abortion, Elliot Broidy was A FINANCE CO-CHAIR FOR THE RNC (along with Michael Cohen).

    Why are no Republicans publicly condemning Mr. Broidy for agreeing to pay for an abortion? Instead of doing what the Republican platform demands and have Shera Bechard carry the baby to term.

    Fucking hypocrites

  44. 44.

    dmsilev

    @TenguPhule:

    We could have a computer modeled quantum string theory model for this and it still wouldn’t cover all of the links.

    I know people who make those sorts of things.

    They’re …of dubious utility. (the models, that is. Most of the people are fine.)

  45. 45.

    dmsilev

    @Steeplejack: Remembering some of the less savory bits of the Kenneth Starr investigation, do we really want testimony on any distinctive features of Little Donald?

  52. 52.

    TenguPhule

    John Bolton has an Op Ed about how the Iran deal was bad.

    Et Tu, Wapo!

  55. 55.

    TenguPhule

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    What will we tell The Children?

    When a Daddy doesn’t love a Mommy and needs to relieve his primal urges, he finds a Woman in Sin to cleanse his precious bodily fluids. After he has made the Sign of the Beast with Two Backs, a little legal angel makes her go away by using the power of money.

  56. 56.

    MisterForkbeard

    @TenguPhule: To be fair, an op-ed from the NSAdvisor is a thing that most newspapers might want to run. It’s newsworthy.

    They might also want to point out that he’s full of shit.

  57. 57.

    cain

    Well to check the truth, I looked at this woman’s picture, then I did a side by side comparison with Ivanka, and Stormy. I note that there are somewhat similar. Thus, I believe Trump banged her and got her pregnant The sick fuck desperately wants to have it out with Ivanka and is ready to forsake everything for it.

  58. 58.

    dmsilev

    @Major Major Major Major: At the level of abstraction of string theory, explain and predict really amount to the same thing. In both cases, what you’re asking is “can this theory serve as an underpinning for the more mundane theories that are everyday-useful?”. The problem is that typical string theories have lots of tweakable knobs that let them meet that test, but all of the different variants have different knob settings (or often, completely different knobs) and there’s no good way of telling which one is meaningful. Or if any of them are meaningful.

  60. 60.

    TenguPhule

    @dmsilev:

    and there’s no good way of telling which one is meaningful. Or if any of them are meaningful.

    So a perfect solution to trying to chart the Trump appointees and the GOP half of Congress.

  68. 68.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Trump deserves credit for at least dealing with this issue [trade].

    ~ Bernie Sanders

    This guy

  73. 73.

    danielx

    @Corner Stone:

    Is there a pool going for when a bimbo eruption is going to happen?

    Going to happen?

    Trump is a bigger manwhore than Bill Clinton ever was in his wildest dreams. The only question remaining is how many more such episodes are waiting to surface.

  82. 82.

    Jeffro

    @Baud:

    Cut him some slack. He’s running for re-election in a deep red state. Not like that Manchin fellow

    That’s so dry, the Atacama is jealous.

  86. 86.

    Mnemosyne

    @Major Major Major Major:

    If I was running that late, I probably would have called my boss to say I had food poisoning the night before and had only just stopped throwing up. But I’m a bad person.

  87. 87.

    Jeffro

    Just a quick funny from George Will in the WaPo today (not linking, but still) as he bashes Mike Pence about the head and neck:

    There will be negligible legislating by the next Congress, so ballots cast this November will be most important as validations or repudiations of the harmonizing voices of Trump, Pence, Arpaio and the like. Trump is what he is, a floundering, inarticulate jumble of gnawing insecurities and not-at-all compensating vanities, which is pathetic. Pence is what he has chosen to be, which is horrifying.

    L
    O
    L

  89. 89.

    Corner Stone

    @danielx: Yeah. All the women he got pregnant through the raw dog experience. Not just the sexual misconduct allegations.

  91. 91.

    Barbara

    The detail that seems most inexplicable about Broidy’s alleged affair is why Broidy –why anyone — would hire Cohen as the lawyer to help cover it up.

  93. 93.

    Viva BrisVegas

    Has Amir been posting or is he busy dancing in the streets?

    Intriguingly, there is a Broidy 1MDB connection.

    Why do the same names keep popping up in different scandals, are there not enough corrupt assholes to go around and they have to double up?

  94. 94.

    Baud

    Some good news via Vox.

    Pakistan’s transgender rights law is a historic step

    Yesterday, Pakistan’s parliament passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, a wide-ranging and historic new bill protecting the country’s trans people, a group that has faced serious discrimination. [Independent / Samuel Osborne]
    The bill allows citizens to choose their gender and bans discrimination in public places like schools, work, public transportation, and doctors’ offices. [NPR / Sasha Ingber]
    It comes at a time when Pakistan’s trans people are becoming more visible. The country has a trans news anchor, 21-year-old Marvia Malik. Many hope the new law will pave the way for more acceptance. [Reuters]
    But trans people in the country still face a lot of discrimination and the threat of violence. Already, four transgender women have been killed so far this year, and 57 have been killed since 2015, according to law enforcement statistics. [Human Rights Watch / Saroop Ijaz]

  96. 96.

    trollhattan

    @Jeffro:
    George Effing Will does not get a pass. His boy Ronny laid the path that led to Trump. Cause, meet effect.

  99. 99.

    PVDMichael

    I took a deep dive into Shera Bechard’s twitter feed. She’s the playmate.

    She appears to be honoring the NDA.

    Sometimes towards the end of April her timeline goes from typical meme retweets, dog photos, beauty/fashion/spa posts (ie sometime after the WSJ story) to some of that PLUS lots of retweets about narcisstic personality disorder.

  100. 100.

    Joyce H

    Saw on Twitter a claim that a source claims that Broidy had a vasectomy in 2008. Since the Playmate pregnancy was in 2010, well, hmm…

  101. 101.

    Shana

    Based on the two photos at the top of the post, I’m thinking Elliott Broidy must have terrible teeth based on that “smile.”

  102. 102.

    Mike in NC

    @Jeffro: Haven’t read George Will in quite a while but that was brutal.

    The oleaginous Mike Pence, with his talent for toadyism and appetite for obsequiousness, could, Trump knew, become America’s most repulsive public figure.

  103. 103.

    Platonailedit

    Malaysians show tribalism and gerrymandering can be overcome.

    “Najib is a liability. His narcissism cost them the elections,” she said, of a Barisan Nasional campaign that featured Najib and his election promises as a centrepiece.

    “He used racial politics and money, like he did in 2013, but it did not have the same traction.

    “This was a Malaysian tsunami across races, generations and background.”

    …Najib was still playing the bribery game — you give me your vote, I give you this or that. Mahathir, on the other hand, came across as a statesman and appealed to Malay dignity,”

    ..two things that helped turn the tide against Najib — a high voter turnout and the swing in rural support.

    And Mahathir does not look 92 at all.

  104. 104.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @Platonailedit:

    There is even a Trump connection:

    1MDB – Elliot Broidy – Michael Cohen – Donald Trump

    Not even 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon.

    Perhaps an extra source of those billions in cash that Trump has been splashing around. The Russian mafia is not the only group in need of money laundering services.

  106. 106.

    Amir Khalid

    @Viva BrisVegas:
    Well, I’m not a dancing-in-the-streets kind of guy. Even though we are now having a four-day post-election weekend here, so I expect many others will be tempted. (Najib promised to make Thursday and Friday public holidays if we re-elected him; Dr M won and actually declared the holiday.) Given what Dr M was like before, I’m a little wary of what lies in store. I’m bearing in mind that there are no saints in politics.

  107. 107.

    Van Buren

    @gene108: I have reached the point that when a republican ISN’T a total hypocrite I sit up and take notice.

  108. 108.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Viva BrisVegas: FYI I know a woman who was in a movie with Kevin Bacon, therefore I am two degrees from him.

    Further bulletins as events warrant.

  111. 111.

    Amir Khalid

    @Platonailedit:
    Dr M might not look like your idea of 92, but he is. He says that Anwar Ibrahim’s wife is going to be deputy PM, and he will step aside as PM for Anwar himself in two years — subject to Anwar winning a seat in Parliament, of course, which should not be a problem. Like most Malaysians I expect what Pakatan promised: a lighter hand, competent government, with less ethnic and religious divisiveness, and without the corruption and indulging of crony capitalists that were among the failings of Dr M’s first stint as PM. We’ll see if that’s what we get.

  114. 114.

    gene108

    @Van Buren:

    I know, but I just wish someone in the media would start asking the question why there are no public condemnations of a high ranking RNC official paying for an abortion. Do elected Republicans approve?

    They seem like they are condoning it by their silence, and this should be brought up over and over again, because holy fuck do Republicans get obsessed with declaring abortion the worst thing ever and never shut up about, except now, when a high ranking Republican paid his mistress to get one.

  116. 116.

    gene108

    @Mary G:

    As bad as Trump is politics in other countries can be far more corrupt than here. Pay to play is the expected norm and if you aren’t bribing government officials up and down the line you get nothing done.

  118. 118.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @Amir Khalid:

    Given what Dr M was like before

    We well remember Dr M. He was a touch recalcitrant.

    It will be interesting to see if he holds up his end of the deal with Anwar Ibrahim or just leaves him in gaol.

  121. 121.

    Amir Khalid

    @Mary G:
    He was an able if autocratic leader the first time around, Dr M was. Always maintained decorum. Never an issue with porn stars or Russian meddling or owning a hotel in the capital where visiting foreign dignitaries felt obliged to stay. I think I ,mentioned that he and my dad, whose funeral he came to in his early years as PM, were friends as medical students.

  122. 122.

    TenguPhule

    Wapo now reporting that Iranians in Syria opening fire on Israeli units with rockets.

  125. 125.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Omnes Omnibus: I know what the Internet Movie Database is. People keep writing 1(One not the letter I)MDB, and I had no idea what that was. As far as I can tell it seems to be some Malaysian scandal that has T connected somehow.
    You were patronizing.

  127. 127.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @Amir Khalid:

    Always maintained decorum.

    From this end he was an inflexible martinet who enjoyed trolling Australia for reasons which always eluded us.

  128. 128.

    Iron City

    @rikyrah: That leaves Hannity or the Trump Organization…Jr or Eric? Not Ivanka surely? Don’t call me “surely”

  129. 129.

    Amir Khalid

    @Viva BrisVegas:
    I remember that bit of business. It could have been more interesting, as petty quarrels go, if your guy had called him pig-headed, don’t you think?
    As for Anwar, Dr M says he will recommend a royal pardon. I don’t really care if Anwar ever becomes PM or not. He’s been slick and overtly ambitious all his political life, which got him fired as DPM 20 years ago bcause Dr M saw him as a challenger. Anwar will be 73 when he becomes PM under the deal, older than Dr M when he retired in 2003. I’m not too keen on that.

  130. 130.

    B.B.A.

    Sure to be top story on Fox News for the next few months:

    Monica Lewinsky
    ‏Verified account @MonicaLewinsky

    dear world:
    please don’t invite me to an event (esp one about social change) and –then after i’ve accepted– uninvite me because bill clinton then decided to attend/was invited.
    it’s 2018.
    emily post would def not approve.
    ✌?Me
    2:07 PM – 9 May 2018

  131. 131.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @schrodingers_cat:
    1MDB was a Malaysian government slush fund that ultimately left billions of dollars in hot cash roaming around the globe looking for a laundromat.

    What is the probability that Trump would let something like that pass by without grabbing a piece?

    Broidy tried to use his Republican influence to kill US investigations into the flow of this cash. He expected to get $75 million for his trouble.

    He would have been an excellent contact for anyone wanting to help the 1MDB cash find a home.

  133. 133.

    Roger Moore

    @gene108:

    Even if the story that Broidy knocked up Shera Bechard and paid for an abortion, Elliot Broidy was A FINANCE CO-CHAIR FOR THE RNC (along with Michael Cohen).

    Which says the job of the RNC finance committee is to pay bribes for their candidates. Good to know.

  134. 134.

    Amir Khalid

    @Viva BrisVegas:
    Don’t take it too personally. He’s trolled quite a few Malaysians too. He spent much of his retirement trolling Najib with his blog. I sincerely hope he will curb the habit this time.

  136. 136.

    Fair Economist

    @Amir Khalid:

    He says that Anwar Ibrahim’s wife is going to be deputy PM, and he will step aside as PM for Anwar himself in two years

    This is worthy of a soap opera!

  137. 137.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Viva BrisVegas: Was this before or after he became President. I haven’t kept up with this scandal. So many scandals, so little time. Thanks for the brief primer, BTW.

    ETA: So clearly after he assumed office, otherwise how could he make it go away.

  139. 139.

    Peale

    @TenguPhule: I’m glad cooler heads will prevail. FWIW, the conservatives at work are all in for bombing Iran at this point. For all the good prudent reasons they were for Iraq. We just need to do this today to prevent a bigger war tomorrow.

    Frankly, I’m sitting this one out.

  141. 141.

    Corner Stone

    @Omnes Omnibus: You seriously thought she was asking about IMDB.com ? I thought you were giving her the business and didn’t realize her sense of humor doesn’t work that way.

  148. 148.

    Amir Khalid

    @Viva BrisVegas:
    Najib launched 1MDB (1 Malaysia Development Berhad) as a state investment corporation for the benefit of the Malaysian public, but it very quickly got mired in controversy over dubious investment choices — even before Najib’s stepson Reza Aziz started using it to pay for bankrolling a Hollywood movie and buying its star a Picasso. “1Malaysia” is a Najib-era bit of national-unity branding for his various government initiatives. I expect we won’t be seeing it much longer.

  151. 151.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @schrodingers_cat:

    So clearly after he assumed office, otherwise how could he make it go away.

    For this particular scandal, basically 2017.

    “A top republican donor close to President Donald Trump tried to negotiate a $75 million fee from the man at the center of the 1MDB scandal if he could get the U.S. to stop investigating the Malaysian state investment fund, the Wall Street Journal reports.

    Elliott Broidy, a longtime Republican donor, and his wife, Robin Rosenzweig, discussed setting up a consulting contract with Jho Low, who has been accused of embezzling state funds, the WSJ, according to emails that the publication reviewed.

    One email showed a proposal that would have given Broidy and his wife $75 million if they got the Justice Department to drop its probe into 1MDB.

    Broidy also prepared talking points for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak for his 2017 visit to Washington that included a meeting with Trump. Some of the talking points included talking up Malaysia’s relationship with the U.S. in fighting North Korea and arguing against the legal pursuit of 1MDB.”

    But of course the 1MDB scandal goes back a lot further than that. Back to when Trump suddenly and surprisingly found millions in cash to spend on real estate.

  152. 152.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @dmsilev:

    I’m afraid that we’ll learn that Donald’s little head has the same unique hairstyle as his big head.

    DO
    NOT
    WANT!

    BRAIN
    BLEACH,
    STAT!!

  153. 153.

    Corner Stone

    @SiubhanDuinne: You mean a serious hair combover hiding a significant insecurity? Imagine how long he has to comb that each morning. Just imagine.

  154. 154.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @Amir Khalid:

    I expect we won’t be seeing it much longer.

    Do you think that Mahathir has any interest in turning over 1MDB stones to see what scuttles out?

  157. 157.

    Amir Khalid

    @Viva BrisVegas:

    the 1MDB scandal goes back a lot further than that. Back to when Trump suddenly and surprisingly found millions in cash to spend on real estate.

    I never made that connection before. I find it … intriguing.

  159. 159.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Well, bummer. Just learned that the husband of a former colleague died suddenly and unexpectedly on Monday. I met him only once, but she was and remains a close friend. Devastated for her. The mutual friend/colleague who let me know asked me to get in touch with a few former bosses who have returned to Canada. Very sad and shocking.

  161. 161.

    Amir Khalid

    @Viva BrisVegas:
    He might. One could even argue that he should; even if you take at face value what he’s said about not seeking revenge on Najib, there are still matters that need investigation. Najib was able to able to forestall a lot of that investigation because the agencies in charge all reported to him.

  163. 163.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @Amir Khalid:

    I agree, because there is not only the financial aspects to the 1MDB scandal, governmental processes were corrupted in aid of protecting the bad actors involved.

    If he doesn’t clean it up, they will eventually come back to bite him (or his successor) in the arse.

  164. 164.

    Kay

    The King of Spin
    How Dennis Kucinich remade himself from race-baiting bomb-thrower to liberal sweetheart.

    It’s a long read and I knew some of it- I know he is a fraud and I knew some of why he is a fraud-but I didn’t know all of it.

    But if history tells us anything, it’s that Kucinich will play any role to his advantage — be it race-baiter or liberal purist — only to spin himself a new image the next day. It’s a formula that hasn’t changed in 40 years.

    Still, most West Side ethnics were content to watch Kucinich throw tantrums about the men they loathed, primarily Council President George Forbes, the epitome of mounting black power. “Dennis started playing what Forbes calls ‘polka-dot politics’ way back,” Larkin says. “It was George’s cute way of accusing Dennis of playing racial politics. [Kucinich] denies today that he played racial politics, but there is no doubt that he did.”

  166. 166.

    Mnemosyne

    @Barbara:

    I have to admit, I’m on Monica’s side with this one. It’s rude to uninvite someone to an event. If they wanted Bill over Monica, they should have invited him first and waited to see if he accepted before inviting her.

  167. 167.

    Mary G

    @SiubhanDuinne: That is beyond selfish and inexcusable.

    @Mnemosyne: #MeToo. I’ve spent a lot of time cursing her for not taking that damn dress to the cleaners (Ew, ew, ew still today, and how many problems could have been avoided) and confiding in that harridan Linda Tripp, but for Town & Country to invite her, then I assume invite Bill Clinton, or invite them both at the same time, and then rescind her invitation, and I assume not his, is way rude and unprofessional.

  172. 172.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Corner Stone: who are we to get in the way of their happiness? As a Chicago native, I’m happy to have the Packers star quarterback distracted.

  173. 173.

    jl

    Josh Marshall wrote someplace on his blog today that this though just occurred to him today. I didn’t know Marshall was so naive. This thought has occurred to me every time Trump makes one of big pronouncements on anything, particularly economic, trade or finance policy. It did in fact occur to me the day he said he’d decided to go after high drug prices, which I remember. Maybe some of the incoherent jig jogs in his subsequent actually are because the Trumspters are waiting to see how comes to the table in the quiet back rooms with most cash.

    So, how did a naive chump like Marshall, who from this statement, appear to be a wet behind the ears kid who just fell off the turnip truck get to running a big savvy political news blog? I don’t get it. Some guys have all the luck.

    ” I think we need to ask whether this comment [Trump statement he would do something about high drug prices early in his term] wasn’t designed to push people into Cohen’s arms or other Trump insiders looking for cash. ”
    https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/994314848229036033

  174. 174.

    btom89

    @Corner Stone: I think they didn’t find him—he found them. The question is how. It may be that Trump told him who to seek out and he offered his services pro bono or part of the settlement money, to them, without revealing the conflict of interest between Trump and himself. It’s just too coincidental that he keeps representing multiple women known to have signed NDAs with Trump (the women couldn’t possibly have known each other or the fact they had affairs with Trump, and the NDAs barred them from talking about it, even to each other)….and that implies conspiracy against the women who signed the NDAs. Since the whole setup of the NDAs were tainted by the conspiracy, they may be null and void. A lawyer might know and I think that’s what Avenatti is hinting at. Avenatti is investigating the whole corrupt scheme right back to the original sources and conspirators. Trump could be in serious trouble just for this whole enterprise.

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