Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

In my day, never was longer.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

After roe, women are no longer free.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

People are complicated. Love is not.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

You are here: Home / Politics / America / The Wilderness of Mirrors: Open Sourcing a Counterintelligence Investigation Edition

The Wilderness of Mirrors: Open Sourcing a Counterintelligence Investigation Edition

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The Wilderness of Mirrors is a reference to getting lost in both the overwhelming amount of information and disinformation, as well as the minutiae of that information and disinformation, when doing intelligence and counterintelligence work.

“Angleton is credited with coining the term “Wilderness of Mirrors ” meaning the confusion of the world of intelligence and espionage. He wrote that the “Wilderness of Mirrors “consists of the myriad stratagems, deceptions and all the other devices of disinformation that the Soviet Union and its coordinated intelligence services used to confuse and split the West, producing an ever-fluid landscape where fact and illusion merge. The term was used by David Martin as the tittle of his book about Angleton, Wilderness of Mirrors.

The open source news reporting into Russia’s ongoing active measures and cyberwarfare campaign, as well as all the secondary analyses – including that done by me here at Balloon Juice – is, essentially, the largest open sourced intelligence and counterintelligence investigation in history. And like all intelligence and counterintelligence work, those of us doing it, for whatever reasons people are doing it, are all too susceptible to getting lost in the Wilderness of Mirrors.

Yesterday I came across this item that was originally tweeted out on 24 July 2018 at what would be 9:15 PM 12:13 AM EDT on 24 July 2018  in the US:

Here’s the translation via Google translate:

Ex-CIA directors John Brennan and Michael Hayden, ex-FBI director James Komi and his deputy Andrew McCabe, ex-director of the National Intelligence Service James Clapper, ex-national security adviser Susan Rice say goodbye to access to classified materials. Welcome to the real world!

I already knew that the date on the original, uncorrected Statement from the President revoking DCI (ret) Brennan’s clearance was 26 July 2018.

And I knew that Klyushin is a 30 some odd year old millionaire and aspiring Russian oligarch who has claimed that he discussed a new project, supposedly by FaceTime or Skype (as he’s not in the photo at of the tweet I linked to – that’s Emin Agalarov, not Klyushin) with the President at the 2013 Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow. And that he helped to get the President elected in 2016. Given that Klyushin isn’t in the picture at the first tweet and there’s no reporting I’ve been able to find that can actually verify that he played any role in Russia’s active measures and cyberwarfare campaign during the 2016 election, it is impossible to verify if he’s just a really wealthy troll or he’s decided to rub everyone’s nose in the well documented Russian interference in the 2016 election. Or, perhaps, both. But one of my first thoughts, which seems to have been the case for a number of people, is that the Russians got a heads up that the President was thinking of revoking clearances. This could’ve been directly or indirectly through Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) capture of, say, one of the President’s late night phone calls with Sean Hannity.

However, this is most likely not the case!!!! Since I want to stay out of the Wilderness of Mirrors, because I don’t want to lead you all into it with me, I decided to do some checking. I know that Speaker Ryan, during the weekly GOP House leadership press conference on 24 July 2018, stated that: “I think he’s trolling people, honestly”. He being the President. The question was asked of Ryan in response to the White House’s statement on the potential revocation of clearances on Monday of that week.

Speaking at the regular press briefing, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Trump was considering revoking clearances for former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of the National Security Agency Michael Hayden, among others, over their remarks on the Russia investigation.

“The President is exploring the mechanisms because they politicize and in some cases monetize their public service,” Sanders said, explaining why Trump is looking at what power he has to revoke the clearance of a former officials.

Huckabee-Sanders’ remarks were made on the afternoon of Monday 23 July 2018 and widely covered by the news media as soon as the press conference ended. This provided both plenty of time and plenty of coverage for Kkyushin to work with before he tweeted about possible clearance revocations. Given the timing of the White House’s initial statement on 23 July 2018 and all the coverage that it got, this is most likely just trolling by an aspiring Russian oligarch. That doesn’t mean that Klyushin’s trolling itself is not a part of the ongoing Russian active measures and cyberwarfare campaign, but trying to conclude anything more than that would risk getting lost in the Wilderness of Mirrors.

Stay on the path!

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

151Comments

  7. 7.

    bluehill

    I’m guessing it’s going to get much worse as we get closer to the midterm election. Russians have probably taken advantage of repub willingness to rollover on the cyber front and embedded themselves further into every relevant federal, state and local government entity that could have influence on election results along with the infrastructure of both parties and the news media. Can’t imagine what the October surprise will be, but given currently polling it’s gotta be a doozy.

  8. 8.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    One thing I thought wise was a comment by an experienced investigator that “there are always unlikely coincidences,” and I realized it was just another aspect of the Law of Large Numbers. There’s *so* much information that there’s probably more than a million chances for a one in a million event to be part of the investigation. I saw some people discussing Benghazi and discussing coincidences. I didn’t trust them to be reporting accurately, but I did realize that they were being led astray by the “wilderness of mirrors” of their own making. There were so many unanswered questions, and that meant Benghazi had horrible secrets to reveal. Maybe – but the odds are that most of their questions *did* have answers.

    (Modest peeve: most people use “coincidence” to mean “*chance* coincidence.” If the nurse gives you a needle, and just as you get stuck, you feel a stabbing pain, that’s a “coincidence” but not a random one!)

  9. 9.

    NotMax

    August is supposed to be the doldrums, the month when next to nothing of note happens in steamy, sweltering D.C.

    Another norm shattered.

  10. 10.

    daverave

    Somebody get me off of this path, please! It’s sucked for the last 20 months or so….

  13. 13.

    JPL

    Now we know what trump meant when he said that firing Brennan was a popular decision. His buddies already let him know.

    @daverave: I’m not even sure what path we are suppose to take.

  15. 15.

    Brachiator

    Who is the audience for Klyushin’s Twitter messages? Is there a regular group who follow him?

    Also, I briefly checked in to the Federalist Radio Hour podcast. Some columnist named Michael Tracey was pushing the idea that “security clearances are not free speech” and blaming media elites for propagating this message.

    I think that Adam has made a persuasive case for all the abuses of power and the First Amendment in Trump’s actions. But what continues to amaze me is the degree to which the right wing establishment defend Trump and give him cover for his actions even when they clearly violate what used to be pushed as “conservative principles.”

    These dopes clearly believe that they will be immune to whatever damage Trump’s actions might cause.

  18. 18.

    low-tech cyclist

    @Nettoyeur:

    Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, but three times is enemy action.

    Happenstance is the word you’re looking for.

    “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it’s enemy action.” – Auric Goldfinger

  19. 19.

    Uncle Cosmo

    Maybe let’s call it Klyushin’s Razor (бритва Клюшина):

    Never attribute to penetration at deep levels what can be adequately explained by access to US news feeds & Twitter & sufficient math skills to add два & два & get четыре

  21. 21.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    I’m trying to avoid mirrors myself. I’m presently sporting a magnificent black eye, because (I am not making this up):

    A ukulele fell on me.

  23. 23.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    this is most likely just trolling by an aspiring Russian oligarch.

    I’m inclined agree. At first I thought it was weird but given this had been talked about a few days earlier it’s not too surprising.

    I don’t know if this is a useful question or not but does this Artem guy even believe what he spouts? Or is it just cynical trolling? Either way he disgusts me with his casual disregard shown in that tweet for the lives of hundreds of millions that are daily being ruined by his leader, Putin.

  25. 25.

    Uncle Cosmo

    (grrrrr) FYWP throws post into immoderation because uses Cyrillic characters. Please to rescue!

  26. 26.

    JPL

    If Trump strips security clearances from Ohr and his wife, does that put their testimony to Mueller in jeopardy? I assume his wife has clearances because she is a consultant and it would not be unusual.

  27. 27.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Off topic but …

    https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-replaced-melanias-white-house-furniture-choices-2018-8?yptr=yahoo

    But while she was away, sources said the president replaced Melania’s furniture with pieces in the “gilded, triumphal style of Louis XIV” that he so favors.

    Rush now Trump with the Lousis XIV WTF is there Real Conservative most manly of manly men and dressing their homes up like a young girl’s bed room? To bad Trump wouldn’t go full Sun King with a wig and high heels.

  28. 28.

    Jay

    “Judge: Trump’s release of dossier memos opens door to disclosures from FBI
    By JOSH GERSTEIN 08/16/2018 09:40 PM EDT
    President Donald Trump’s decision to declassify competing congressional memos about the validity of the so-called Steele dossier means the FBI has lost its authority to rebuff Freedom of Information Act requests about the bureau’s efforts to verify the report’s intelligence linking Trump to Russia during the 2016 campaign, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.”

    https://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2018/08/16/trump-dossier-fbi-disclosures-782237

    And the Goddess of Irony, Eirion, farted.

  32. 32.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Worth noting Trump likes calling up other rich guys out of the blue and just talking what ever is on his mind. Good chance that’s how Klyushin got this information.

  34. 34.

    Mnemosyne

    @debbie:

    I am so paranoid that I’m going to catch the flu right before my surgery date. I can’t catch it through the intertubes, though, right? Right? ?

  37. 37.

    Lee

    Did you consider that Rand Paul provided him (or the Russians in general) the information while he was there?

    I believe it was around the same time.

  38. 38.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @schrodingers_cat: While I agree Louise XIV is horrible by even baroque standards, no taste, man style is turning your house into a Viking fortress complete with a female staff dressed like Red Sonja. There is no taste and someone has something they need to honest about.

  41. 41.

    Another Scott

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Relatedly, GovExec:

    Over the past year, the Pentagon has awarded more than $34 million to install luxurious interiors in two of President Trump’s back-up Air Force One aircraft, which are also often used by the first lady and cabinet secretaries, according to U.S. Defense Department documents.

    The Boeing 757s require “an appearance more commensurate with [the] presidential section of the VC-25A,” the Pentagon said in a contract announcement this week. VC-25A is the military designation for the two Boeing 747s that serve as Air Force One.

    […]

    Funding for these upgrades was not sought in any of the Air Force’s last five budget requests to Congress. In those requests, the service asked for money to upgrade the planes’ classified satellite communications equipment, navigation system, and nitrogen generation systems.

    Boeing deferred comment to the Air Force, which did not respond to a request for comment.

    The twin-engine C-32s are often used by the vice president, first lady, and secretary of state — and the president himself, when an airport runway is too short for the much larger Boeing 747 that usually serves as Air Force One. Just this month, Trump took three trips on a C-32. The defense secretary and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also occasionally fly in these planes, which are based at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

    […]

    Not a huge amount of money, but the bolded section grates, especially since it’s for Donnie and his Minions…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  43. 43.

    NotMax

    @JPL

    First, IANAL.

    Second, as any such testimony would cover a period when the clearances were active, initial supposition is that such testimony would be unaffected.

    Third, if it is grand jury testimony, that may fall under different and less confined strictures (?).

  44. 44.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    Manafort judge says he’s received threats, won’t name jurors

    U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III revealed his concerns in explaining why he doesn’t intend to make jurors’ names public at the end of the trial, now in the second day of jury deliberations.

    A coalition of media organizations, including The Associated Press, filed a motion requesting the names of jurors, as well as access to sealed transcripts of bench conferences that have occurred during the three-week trial.

    Jury lists are presumed to be public unless a judge articulates a reason for keeping them secret.

    Eliis said during a hearing Friday afternoon he is concerned for the “peace and safety of the jurors.”

    “I’ve received criticism and threats,” Ellis said. “I imagine they would, too.”

    The judge said he is currently under the protection of U.S. marshals. He declined to delve into specifics, but said he’s been taken aback by the level of interest in the trial.

    First, I hope the people making threats are caught and nothing happens to the judge or the jurors. Second, has the judge been living under a rock? This is the first serious test of Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference. Of course it’s drawing attention.

    Of course we had to hear what El Presidente had to say on the trial:

    “I think the whole Manafort trial is very sad,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

    “When you look at what’s going on, I think it’s a very sad day for our country,” he said. “He worked for me for a very short period of time. But you know what, he happens to be a very good person and I think it’s very sad what they’ve done to Paul Manafort.”

    Over/under on a pardon if Manafort’s convicted?

  46. 46.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Lee: I did. Once I was able to confirm the timeline of the release of the info from the White House on 23 July, I discounted that.

  48. 48.

    Jay

    @JPL:

    Somebody will have to explain to The Insane Clown POSus, that declassifying the competeing summary memos, also decassified the foundation documents, and that a FOIA request can put those documents out into the public sphere.

    That requires that either Faux and Fiends, or Hannity, explain what is for The Insane Clown POSus, an incredibly complex concept, or White Flour Miller or Shitbird Kelly shoves a lengthy EO infront of The Insane Clown POSus and makes him sign it.

  52. 52.

    NotMaxn

    It’s all about him. 25/8.

    As tributes were shared for the “Queen of Soul,” who died Thursday at the age of 76, a line from Trump’s statement to reporters during a cabinet meeting stood out.

    “I want to begin today by expressing my condolences to the family of a person I knew well,” he said. “She worked for me on numerous occasions.”

    His belief that she “worked” for him stunned people. Source

  53. 53.

    JPL

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??: As soon as the trial is finished, Manafort will be pardoned. He’ll get the same treatment as Nixon, so there will not be another trial. His supporters won’t care, and Paul Ryan will say ah shucks.
    The verdict won’t matter.

  55. 55.

    Mike in NC

    James Jesus Angleton was quite a piece of work. What relationship might he have had with Trump’s slimy mentor Roy Cohn?

    Also, we can pretty much assume that the White House, Bedminster, Mar-A-Lago and everywhere else where Trump hangs his MAGA hat has been penetrated by Putin’s people. They can follow him in real time. Putin REALLY does only hire the best!

  56. 56.

    Geoboy

    @Brachiator: Brachiator – regarding your comment that “These dopes (right wing stooges) clearly believe that they will be immune to whatever damage Trump’s actions might cause.” I think the more likely reason for many of them is that they know that they are so complicit that if Trump goes down, they’re going down with him, per MacBeth: “I am in blood. Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more,.returning were as tedious as go o’er.”

  57. 57.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @JPL:

    As soon as the trial is finished, Manafort will be pardoned.

    How do you know this? Trump has only ever pardoned loser nobodies. I truly don’t think he’ll stick his neck out for Manafort of all people

  59. 59.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @NotMax:
    I personally don’t think he will either. Just wanted to hear what others thought the odds were

  62. 62.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??: The judge said he is currently under the protection of U.S. marshals. He declined to delve into specifics, but said he’s been taken aback by the level of interest in the trial.

    So the man I’ve repeatedly heard described as a “brilliant jurist”, and who may well (attys’ opinions vary) have Comey’d that jury into a hung state ( a- I cannot believe he’ll be acquitted b- minds out of the gutter, class) is a fucking moron? Interesting

  65. 65.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @JPL: Hmmm, a Nixon like pardon, all crimes committed against the United States. He could be forced to testify against others, including Trump both in the Courts and Congress. Any refusal to testify could lead to contempt charges and false testimony would lead to perjury charges, neither of which would be covered under a pardon(you can’t pardon future crimes).

  70. 70.

    NotMax

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    There is no upside for him, nothing in it with which to burnish his iron pyrite halo.

    The base doesn’t give a fig about Manafort (if they even know who he is) and a pardon would be a de facto acceptance of the validity of both the charges coming from Mueller and the investigation as a whole.

    Have said it before, as well: Dolt 45 is not and never will be coy. Zero hint of even consideration of a pardon is the tell that it is not in the cards. That said, would not rule out a later commutation of the sentence.

  71. 71.

    Jay

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    He’s a Republican.

    As a result, only the “incivillity” that he personally experiences, shape his world view.

    All the other death threats reported, “never happened”, because they didn’t happen to him.

  72. 72.

    JPL

    @Jay: Because the case is about documents, I’d be surprised if he was convicted on all counts. I do think he will be convicted on some. The questions didn’t bother me, because there was a high profile case here where a man was being charged with his son’s death. He left the child in a hot car. Anyway two days before a guilty on all counts verdict, the jurors asked questions that seemed to be pointed towards a not guilty verdict. I’m pretty sure one of the questions was about reasonable doubt.
    ianal

  75. 75.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @JPL: I’m pretty sure one of the questions was about reasonable doubt.
    ianal

    Chuck Rosenberg, MSNBC formerfederalprosecutor and all around justice department mandarin, a man for whom the phase ‘sober-sided’ would have had to be invented had it not existed, said it’s one of, if not the, most common questions juries ask

  76. 76.

    jl

    @NotMax: But in real life the more you try to shoot out of the wilderness of mirrors the larger it grows. Bwah-hah-hah-HAAHHHH!!!

    And, I don’t know why ALS is all skeerdy pants about a wilderness of mirrors, he’s been dealing with the BJ comment section for several years now. Bwah-Hat.. &etc.

  79. 79.

    Aleta

    @debbie:
    I got the flu 6-7 days ago. I couldn’t believe it. It was rough. Finally better today. Take it easy.

  81. 81.

    NotMax

    OT.

    Stoked that finally managed to get back in to one of my gmail accounts. Was locked out on the home computer after I had used Mom’s laptop in NY to get in.

  82. 82.

    Jay

    @JPL:

    The Bookies odds, as of Friday, were 2/7 for a conviction, 1/7 for no pardon. They are putting their money where their reseach shows.

    In the final run up to voting the Bookies had 2/7 for Trump winning the 2016 Election.

  86. 86.

    NotMax

    @jl

    now am mildly dejected that did not remember that. Borges was one among other Latin American authors whom I studied while in college.

    In my meager defense, that was nearly 100 years of solitude* ago.

    ;)

    *Yeah, that’s García Márquez, not Borges; call it snarketic license.

    ““Mirrors and copulation are abominable, since they both multiply the numbers of men…”
      – Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, Jorge Luis Borges

  87. 87.

    germy

    So Maggie H. has a new article in the NYT about Melania.

    Before I dive in—please tell me this article reminds everyone that she’s a birther.
    — Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) August 17, 2018

  90. 90.

    hueyplong

    @JPL: The 350 is the one based on a multiple of 10. 100 to 350 simplifies down to 3.5 to 1, or 7 to 2 if you seek the smallest integers (without fractions involved).

  91. 91.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Jay:
    Is 2/7 good or bad in terms of a conviction?

    ETA: Never mind. Is that a bet on whether Manfort will be found guilty at all or on all charges?

  92. 92.

    JAFD

    Debbie – Try a big mug of strong hot tea, with honey and lemon and a shot of Scotch. It may not kill the germs, but at least it’ll show them a good time. (And hope you’ll feel better soon)

    Enhanced Voting Techs – Since, y’know, seats on an airplane need seatbelts, and to be fastened down so they won’t bounce around in a _really rough landing_, wondering howyeheck you’d do them in Louis XIV style ? One-off craftsmen’s work, obviously. Gonna cost $$$

    Or maybe there’s Private Aircraft Decorator firms, showrooms at Teterboro, they’ll pick up the airframe from the manufacturer, deliver it plush as you can imagine…

  93. 93.

    JPL

    @hueyplong: Thanks. I’m still not going to gamble, although I do throw a few dollars away at the holidays to buy the family scratch off tickets.

  94. 94.

    hueyplong

    @JPL: I don’t gamble, either. Working at a casino for a while in my youth gave me a sense of contempt for the players.

  101. 101.

    joe hanes

    Stay on the path!

    And do not drink of any water flowing through out of Mirkwood.

    Keep your spirits up, hope for the best, and with a tremendous slice of luck we may come out one day and see the end of this Presidency and all its works.

  102. 102.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @JPL:

    As soon as the trial is finished, Manafort will be pardoned.

    Not bloody likely. There are half a dozen people Trump should have pardoned already to protect himself. He’s a mean, stupid, self-obsessed asshole, and throwing people who would have protected him to the wolves is the only way he knows how to operate. Manafort is on his own.

  109. 109.

    Corner Stone

    @joel hanes: Fuck that. Stay away from any motor vehicles, farmers, fields, dog walking, gutter cleaning, deck surveying, tank walking on…sheesh. I am exhausted way before I get to mustard for dog’s sake.

  115. 115.

    joel hanes

    Stay on the path!

    And do not drink of any water in or flowing out of Mirkwood.

    Keep your spirits up, hope for the best, and with a tremendous slice of luck we may come out one day and see the end of Trump and all his works.

  119. 119.

    NotMax

    Oh gawd.

    During a White House meeting with veterans early in his tenure…
    [snip]
    …
    [Trump] asked if Agent Orange was “that stuff from that movie.” Though he did not name the film, per the Daily Beast, attendees soon realized he was talking about the Vietnam War film “Apocalypse Now.” When the representatives caught on and tried to tell Trump that the film depicts the use of napalm, not Agent Orange, he dug in his heels.

    “No, I think it’s that stuff from that movie,” he reportedly kept saying.

    He then made everyone in the room voice their opinion on if he was right or not. Source

  121. 121.

    Gelfling 545

    @Mike in NC: Charles Stross names one of his characters in the Laundry Files James Angleton but of course this is psuedonymous for …well, no spoilers.

  122. 122.

    NotMax

    HeleninEire, if you’re reading this, batten down the hatches. From the National Hurricane Center:

    “On the forecast track, the post-tropical cyclone Ernesto and its remnants will move across Ireland and the United Kingdom Saturday night and early Sunday. Maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph with higher gusts. Ernesto is expected to become post-tropical this evening, and some gradual weakening is forecast to occur Saturday and Saturday night. The post-tropical cyclone is expected to merge with a frontal zone by early Sunday. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles mainly southeast of the center.”

  123. 123.

    Aleta

    @NotMax: By the way THANKS for the tip on the instan t pot sale deal a while ago. You provoked me to finally got one. We’re using it every night at the cabin. Several orders of magnitude better than the camp stove. Wow! So far just simple things, and even for plain rice and beans or vegetable soup, the flavor is really really good every time. I’m so impressed.

  127. 127.

    Platonailedit

    BREAKING: ESPN will not air the national anthem before Monday Night Football

    Apparently they don't want to expose viewers to the traumatic experience of watching kneeling NFL players

    Their parent company, ABC, will however continue traumatizing Americans by airing Trump Rallies

    — Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) August 17, 2018

  130. 130.

    Brachiator

    @NotMax:

    When the representatives caught on and tried to tell Trump that the film depicts the use of napalm, not Agent Orange, he dug in his heels.

    Trump is a senile old grandpa.

    He should be in a home, not the White House.

  132. 132.

    NotMax

    @Aleta

    Glad to hear you’re getting good (and tasty) use out of it. I too was among the skeptiest of skeptics, then was intrigued by accolades from raven and several others here and am now completely won over.

    Bon appetit!

  133. 133.

    WaterGirl

    @NotMax: Yeah, Google is “helpful” that way. Totally annoying!

    Someone should explain the concept of traveling to them.

  139. 139.

    Brachiator

    @lamh36: I love it. Omarosa has never been my favorite person. But in the world of reality TV, she is a super villain. And unlike a lot of the press, pundits and politicians, she knows how to fight exactly like Trump in the tabloid trenches.

    Manigault Newman has made clear that she plans to continue selectively releasing the pieces of evidence if President Donald Trump and his associates continue to attack her credibility and challenge the claims in her book, “Unhinged.” She’s already dribbled out audio recordings of conversations, and video clips, texts or email could follow, according to the person who described what Manigault Newman has called a multimedia “treasure trove.” The person was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and asked for anonymity.

    “I will not be silenced. I will not be intimidated. I’m not going to be bullied by Donald Trump,” the former Trump aide told The Associated Press this week as she seemed to dismiss a threat from Trump’s campaign. She spoke to the AP hours after Trump’s campaign announced it was filing an arbitration action against her alleging she’d violated a signed agreement with the campaign that prohibits her from disclosing confidential information.

    She is not in the least afraid of Trump, and she calmly responds to his threats and insults by releasing more damaging material.

    She is beating him at his own game. When his defenders tried to make it “he said/she said,” she dropped some audio. Now she’s dropping video. I bet she’s got the best shit in IMAX 3D.

  141. 141.

    Mnemosyne

    @Brachiator:

    Given what we’ve already seen about Trump’s crack legal team and Stormy Daniels’ NDA, I’m pretty sure that Omarosa is gambling that the NDA isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.

  142. 142.

    WaterGirl

    @Mnemosyne: Apparently even the White House attorney (not sure which one) told them it was unenforceable but asked them to sign anyway to placate Trump.

  143. 143.

    Brachiator

    @Mnemosyne:

    Given what we’ve already seen about Trump’s crack legal team and Stormy Daniels’ NDA, I’m pretty sure that Omarosa is gambling that the NDA isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.

    She already outplayed him. You can’t NDA a government employee. You could NDA her when she worked on the election campaign team.

    Also, I don’t think she cares about an NDA.

    Trump may be able to stop her, but he’s going to have to work a lot harder. And he will end up looking like a bigger fool.

  144. 144.

    Shana

    @Gelfling 545: Yep! We no longer allow bread roll throwing at the Saturday evening banquet after an unfortunate incident in Chicago several years ago, but all Saturday is lively talks on a variety of Wodehouse-related topics. Usually a cricket game, and a boat-load of really fun people.

  145. 145.

    Shana

    @Mnemosyne: There was one at UCLA a few years ago, and Seattle in 2015. The UCLA one had Curtis Armstrong (Revenge of the Nerds) speak on “Nodders I Have Known”.

  146. 146.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    @Brachiator:
    @Mnemosyne:

    Judge Rules That Mistake In Trump NDA Makes It Void, Could Apply To Others

    This could have far-ranging effects, as the NDA Denson signed seems to be similar to the one Trump uses in the White House and at the Trump Organization, along with his campaign. The ruling could be especially topical, as the Trump administration is currently trying to silence former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman by claiming that she violated the terms of the NDA.

    ?

    https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/judge-rules-that-mistake-in-trump-nda-makes-it-void-could-apply-to-others

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