Spokespeople for Ryan and McCarthy denied this happened. Post told them they had audio. They changed their tunes! https://t.co/Y6cSlhABUE
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) May 17, 2017
They knew Trump was dirty even before he became their candidate. Another Pulitzer-worthy report from the Washington Post — “House majority leader to colleagues in 2016: ‘I think Putin pays’ Trump”
A month before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, one of his closest allies in Congress — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — made a politically explosive assertion in a private conversation on Capitol Hill with his fellow GOP leaders: that Trump could be the beneficiary of payments from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, according to a recording of the June 15, 2016, exchange, which was listened to and verified by The Washington Post. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a Californian Republican known in Congress as a fervent defender of Putin and Russia.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) immediately interjected, stopping the conversation from further exploring McCarthy’s assertion, and swore the Republicans present to secrecy.
Before the conversation, McCarthy and Ryan had emerged from separate talks at the Capitol with Ukrainian Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman, who had described a Kremlin tactic of financing populist politicians to undercut Eastern European democratic institutions.
News had just broken the day before in The Washington Post that Russian government hackers had penetrated the computer network of the Democratic National Committee, prompting McCarthy to shift the conversation from Russian meddling in Europe to events closer to home.
Some of the lawmakers laughed at McCarthy’s comment. Then McCarthy quickly added: “Swear to God.”
Ryan instructed his Republican lieutenants to keep the conversation private, saying: “No leaks. . . . This is how we know we’re a real family here.”…
Evan McMullin, who in his role as policy director to the House Republican Conference participated in the June 15 conversation, said: “It’s true that Majority Leader McCarthy said that he thought candidate Trump was on the Kremlin’s payroll. Speaker Ryan was concerned about that leaking.”
McMullin ran for president last year as an independent and has been a vocal critic of Trump.
When initially asked to comment on the exchange, Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Ryan, said: “That never happened,” and Matt Sparks, a spokesman for McCarthy, said: “The idea that McCarthy would assert this is absurd and false.”…
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy: My comment that Putin is paying Trump was a "bad attempt at a joke" https://t.co/BQLLSpHPyV pic.twitter.com/gTh7rgPFLy
— CNN (@CNN) May 18, 2017
Ryan swearing everyone to secrecy and his spokespeople denying the conversation ever took place really belie the notion that this was a joke
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) May 17, 2017
House GOP is like a family, where every brother is Fredo
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) May 17, 2017
===========
That is totally devastating. A reputation for honesty is something you can only lose once. https://t.co/ZNClc163X2
— Alex Burns (@alexburnsNYT) May 17, 2017
@alexburnsNYT Honesty can't tell if this is or isn't sly humor
— Teddy Goff (@teddygoff) May 17, 2017
@teddygoff Right in the strike zone
— Alex Burns (@alexburnsNYT) May 17, 2017
“Paul Ryan on the impact of current White House crisis: “I don’t worry about things that are outside of my control.” https://t.co/8DQ5ySFS4w
— CNN (@CNN) May 17, 2017
rikyrah
Wipe them out. All of them.
bystander
There’s only one way this day could get better: If Melania was in bed with Ailes at the time his pacemaker went to eleventy-forty.
Weaselone
Lucky he doesn’t have a reputation for honestly to lose, isn’t it?
Patricia Kayden
Because it’s knee-slappingly hilarious that a foreign country (also an enemy) is paying a presidential candidate, right?
Wag
I have to disagree with Speaker Ryan. I worry about things that are beyond my control. I worry about having a complete idiot as President and its effect on the world. I worry about anothe GOP triggered financial meltdown. I worry about a lot of things. I try to limit my worry to daylight hours, but I worry.
Jeffro
LOVE. IT.
Why, next it’ll be common knowledge that the Senate Majority Leader was warned about Trumpov/Russia collusion by the former President, and insisted on doing nothing.
germy
@bystander: Sean Hannity is making multiple tributes to Ailes on twitter. Replying to himself, running through every emotion from grief-stricken to anger at hypocritical liberals who “cast the first stone” etc.
Some of the replies to his tweets are brutal and hilarious.
amk
traitorous thugs.
and alex, you can’t lose something that you didn’t have to begin with.
ruemara
Republicans, traitors. It should be spread all over that they fully knew Trump and Rohrbacher were paid off by a foreign government and they did nothing but go along. Disgusting.
Elizabelle
I want the Republicans to go down hard.
philpm
As usual, “it’s only a joke”. That should become the Republican Party’s official motto.
amk
And look who is having the last laugh.
Fucking #deplorables
Kay
The funniest part is they all said he was dirty! In the primary. They said over and over he was unfit – Cruz, Rubio, Bush, Kasich- and their base completely ignored them.
It’s the worst-kept secret in the history of the world. Trump was being sued for ripping people off during his campaign. There’s a Trump money laundering case!
None of it mattered to the GOP leaders OR the GOP base.
Walker
@philpm:
“It’s only a joke” is the classic white-supremacist handshake. Say something inflamatory to see if the other person is one of “your people” and back off with “it’s a joke”if they are not.
Republicans use it in much the same way.
mai naem mobile
@bystander: Nah, the only way would be if Ailes,Ivanka and Melania were having a threesome.
Major Major Major Major
“I never said that, and besides I didn’t know those microphones were on, you misheard me and it was a joke. Sheesh, liberals, amirite?”
Kay
This is why Congressional R’s are unfit to investigate the Russian interference in the election. They thought it was great! They were thrilled.
It benefited all of them. They have a conflict.
Major Major Major Major
@Kay: of course his base ignored it. They’re don’t actually care about corruption. Waste fraud and abuse is just code for black people.
Kay
My big question in the Russian interference is the congressional races. How did that work? Were the fake stories used in local media? Were GOP candidates pointing to them?
I want to know what happened, specifically. I feel like voters can’t operate without more information.
philpm
@Walker: It seems to have morphed into the misogynist and homophobe handshake as well, considering how often it gets used in those contexts as well.
Greg
My big question about this Washington Post story: why is the dateline filed on it Kiev, Ukraine? Is that where WaPo got the recording? If so, how / from whom?
Weaselone
@Major Major Major Major:
Just like swamp = liberals and competent government employees
Patricia Kayden
@germy: If Hannity is angry, I’m ecstatic. That is one man who should spend the rest of his life being miserable. I’ll never get over how he coddled George Zimmerman for killing an unarmed Black teenager.
laura
@rikyrah: and then salt the earth and forbid the speaking of their names.
Kay
@Major Major Major Major:
They do care about it. Key to conservatism is moral superiority to liberals. They’re adrift without it. It’s a big part of the appeal, “upstanding”. I’ve been saying that local Republicans don’t crow about Trump and that’s true. They want that. They want to be able to say he is more ethical than Clinton.
Patricia Kayden
@Kay: That’s why they were slow walking and otherwise obstructing the weak House and Senate committees which were supposed to investigate Russian interference. Chaffetz is throwing a fit about the appointment of a Special Counsel. Good.
Elizabelle
@Patricia Kayden: Trayvon. I will never forget him, or his beautiful face.
Ryan
Forget health care, they’re probably going to lose tax reform under reconciliation at this point. And… Trump is about to leave for a foreign trip, where he will have many opportunities to rave against radical Islamic terrorism in Saudi Arabia, talk about his wall at the Vatican, and defend sharing Israeli intelligence with the Russians… in Israel.
Patricia Kayden
@Elizabelle: With catastrophic injuries from which they never recover. Let it be so.
Kay
@Patricia Kayden:
I wonder a lot about the Facebook stories. This is just one example but a lot of people here were absolutely convinced Obama “outlawed” the Pledge of Allegiance in schools. They ALL saw it on Facebook. These weren’t the craziest wingnuts. That was somehow mainstreamed.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
Last year somebody said something, and I wish I knew who it was so I could give credit, but it stuck with me. I call it Trump’s Law: Nothing you find out about Donald Trump ever looks bad but then kind of turns out to be O.K. It’s always worse than you think with this guy.
Trump’s Law has never let me down.
Elizabelle
I want greennotGreen’s family to be telling her of Ailes’ death, and of the GOP stepping into it badly enough to be all over the front pages. Past the point of hiding the complicity and rot.
Keep telling green. She can hear it. Justice is happening, slowly, even as she is being taken from us too early.
hovercraft
These leaks are all coming from inside the house. They keep accusing the dems of sabotage, but this is all self inflicted, McGummpy was on Morning Joke today whining that democrats are slowing down all of Twitlers nominations which is not helping his administration get it’s act together. Dude if they are good for them and maybe someone would give a shit if your side wasn’t sucking up all the oxygen with all these constant fuckups. At this point the democrats are barely lifting a finger to bring you down, you seem to have that well in hand.
D58826
I guess what I find frustrating is the definitions of obstruction of justice and collusion. For very good reasons, both terms have very strict legal definitions but they also have ‘definitions’ as understood by non lawyers. I was just listening to a couple of lawyers talk about the legal definition of obstruction and that w/o any other evidence Der Fuhrer’s comment does not meet the standard. But as a lay person it seems like the ‘if it walks like a duck, etc’ then its a duck. Why would Der Fuhrer kick everyone out of the Oval office and then make the request if he wasn’t trying to obstruct the investigation? If he wasn’t trying to hide something then he would not have cared what Comey was investigating.
Spanky
@amk: Sadly, it won’t be the last laugh.
The sooner indictments are handed down on these clowns, the better.
Booger
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Sounds like Josh Marshall/TPM.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
Also, how indefensible is it that Ryan says he doesn’t worry about anything Trump does because he doesn’t worry about anything beyond his control? This isn’t some guy reading the news in Wisconsin. He’s the fucking speaker of the House. He has some fucking control. He could try to rein Trump in, or at least beat–metaphorically or otherwise–some sense into the asshole. This is his fucking job. Shitbag…
GregB
Neutron Don is in the process of wiping out the entire GOP human infrastructure in DC.
Parfigliano
If only they werent Democrats…..they would know how to run with this.
Gotta be civil though.
Cant bring a gun to a knive fight.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
@Booger: I think I read it there, but he wasn’t the one who said it. I think it was somebody who had been speaking to him about Trump.
Major Major Major Major
@Kay: Bush funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into war machine components that his VP and other admin officials profited handsomely from and they didn’t say a peep. I don’t know if they cared about Iran-Contra either. They don’t turn on their own until they start sucking at their jobs, at least not in numbers enough to prevent reelection.
hovercraft
@germy:
Yes because if a democratic icon dropped dead today, Sean would not be dancing on their grave within two minutes of the announcement. Ding dong motherfucker
Kay
Because Ivanka and Kushner are supposedly secret liberals (or something!) and because Kushner wanted Comey out I was wondering if the person who told Trump that Democrats would embrace Trump firing Comey was Kushner.
It’s something you would ask ‘the liberal’ on the team – “will they like this?” The punch line is he’s not really a liberal so he doesn’t know! :)
It’s like a double-flip backward lie. Trump gets bad information on Democrats because he asks fake Democrats!
bystander
@mai naem mobile: Hmmmm…now we’re getting into dangerous territory when we start embellishing. I like it! Let’s throw in a couple of wetsuits and a sling!
Just read EJ Dionne’s column and he asserts that the Democrats’ narrow interest is in making sure this focus on Trump’s corruption continues into 2018. I don’t know that I agree, but he also observes that the repubs’ footdragging is helping the Dems interests. It would be nice if their collective stupidity proved to be their ultimate downfall.
Jeffro
@Kay:
It’s because Trumpov was the loudest, most vile spokesperson for the party, and that’s what their base wanted, and that’s what the rest of the GOP “leadership” had to go along with. They cultivated that kind of moronic, fact-free mindset for decades. Trumpov’s the logical end point.
I thought this was pretty interesting in today’s NYT: Why Republicans Are Always Looking Over Their Shoulders. Nothing too terribly new to BJ regulars, that increasingly partisan districts and big ‘Dark Money’ = representatives that are way outside the mainstream on the Right.
I guess Ornstein and Mann could’ve told them that…
sdhays
@Ryan: It amazes me that Trump is going to lecture the Saudis on Islam when Mr. “Two Corinthians” doesn’t even know the basics about the religion he supposedly belongs to. I expect him to say “Mohammed is a great guy who is being more and more recognized. Is it true you can have multiple wives???”
Actually, I don’t expect him to say that. It’s too respectful.
hovercraft
@Elizabelle:
Amen.
To gnG and your family, you are in our thoughts. Love and Peace to you all.
Repatriated
The timing of this story is interesting.
The Special Counsel appointment makes it salient, but it’s also a warning of sorts that there may be more such audio where that came from… and that it might see the light of day if Congress tries to stonewall the investigation.
Patricia Kayden
@hovercraft:
Democrats are in the minority in the House and Senate. How exactly are they impeding Trump? We know exactly how Republicans were able to hamper President Obama’s policies after they took over the House and the Senate but the reverse is not true for Trump. Hopefully, if all goes well in 2018, by 2019, Democrats will be in a position to shut down Trump completely and actually begin impeachment proceedings.
sdhays
@Kay: The fake news is coming from inside the house!!!
Comrade Nimrod Humperdink
@Patricia Kayden: Fuck Chaffetz. I thought that shameless scandal-mongering chipmunk was on his way to Fox news anyway. The only possible fleeting downside to Billo’s departure is trying to figure out if any other person there might threaten to take a whack at his incredibly punchable face. Maybe he could goad Hannity into by piling on when Cheetolini’s damaged enough?
geg6
@Kay:
That’s exactly what I think happened, too. Lolita’s beard has no idea what Democrats like or don’t like. Not a fucking clue.
Willard
At this point it wouldn’t surprise me to find out that vote totals were changed
West of the Rockies (been a while)
Reports that Ailes has died are causing smiles I suspect.
Patricia Kayden
@sdhays: Trump probably has only been to church for his three weddings and a couple of funerals. Otherwise, Trump worships the only true god in his world — which is Trump.
AnonPhenom
Yglesias has a good take on this whole thing;
Elizabelle
@Willard: I think we will find out there was malfeasance, and that Trump did not win some of those Electoral College votes. And what then?
Elizabelle
@West of the Rockies (been a while): Yes. We have been celebrating for quite some time now.
If you venture to the Sic Semper Tyrannis thread, you can be the fourth or fifth commenter to suggest Betty Cracker have a mimosa.
And I hope she’s sipping as she reads this.
Weaselone
The thing is that Trump is proving that one of those two hyperpartisan groups is actually right.
Comrade Nimrod Humperdink
@Major Major Major Major: People often had to look for that information in order to find it though. Tillerson’s nom to State followed shortly by a request by Exxon to get around the Ukraine sanctions is more Trumpian. The quid pro quos are out in the open now, either on the assumption that nobody cares or that since they got away with similar things in private business that the new gov’t gig will work the same way. Even the Bushes would’ve had enough sense to say, turn up all kinds of heat on Iran for ideological cover reasons, then “negotiate” a new deal that incorporates Russian cooperation in exchange for sanction “relief.” These guys just go straight for the grab. Plausible deniability is for little people.
Major Major Major Major
@geg6:
Please be more respectful. Ivanka is ‘Lucrezia’.
hovercraft
From yesterday:
CNN Reporter Says State Department Staffer Demanded She Name Sources
CNN reporter Michelle Kosinski on Wednesday alleged that a State Department communications adviser demanded that she reveal her sources or else be cut off from further access to the agency.
Kosinski wrote in a Facebook post she headlined “This Is How Your Government Responds to Unfavorable News Coverage” that R.C. Hammond (pictured above), communications adviser to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, leveled personal attacks against her and ultimately resorted to threats when she refused his demands.
“He kicked off the conversation with a venomously irate ‘What the hell are you doing??!!’” Kosinski wrote.
She said Hammond then asked her to “at least tell him what jobs” her sources held at the State Department.
“I had to explain to him that wasn’t how it worked,” Kosinski wrote. “This, mind you, is someone employed by the US government to act as a communications professional.”
She went on to say Hammond then told her she was losing the “shred of credibility” she had left, and subsequently threatened to cut her off from State Department information and responses.
These people really should have made some effort to at least understand how the government they hate works. Sheesh, if they didn’t want to be held accountable and under constant scrutiny, they should have stayed in the cheap seats with the other hecklers.
Patricia Kayden
@Kay: You could be right about him asking Kushner or some other fake Democrat. Or it could be that Trump really believed that because Democrats criticized Comey’s handling of Secretary Clinton’s email they would be “Yeah, Cool Dude” about him firing Comey. It never occurred to him that firing the man who was investigating him looked fishy.
Barbara
@amk: The thing is, Putin thinks this is funny precisely because he thinks disorder is a sign of weakness when, in a democracy, it can be and in this case is, a sign of strength. If Russia had a free press and freer elections, it’s likely Putin would not have gotten away with what he has. And for all of his popularity, the point remains that Russia’s GDP is something like 1/3 less than that of Italy, which has less than half the population of Russia. Italy is used as a comparison because even one of the weakest European countries is way ahead of Russia. Whereas, the energy and talent of most Russian people is subjugated to Putin’s insistence that he get to deploy all the economic spoils within its borders to those he favors. So Putin can laugh until he chokes. He has nothing positive to teach us.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
@Patricia Kayden:
Hannity is a Trump fluffer. I hope he is enjoying every delicious moment of, uh, Trump’s unraveling.
feebog
Republicans. A political party or a cargo cult?
West of the Rockies (been a while)
@hovercraft:
Oh, that’s rich. Republicans complaining about slow appointments. After all, they would never do such a thing to, say, Obama.
The Moar You Know
So they’ve known the entire time. Well, I’ve seen Republicans skate on much worse than this, but not with a president that everybody hates. Should be interesting.
Major Major Major Major
@West of the Rockies (been a while): besides, isn’t Trump the one slowing down Trump’s nominations by not making any?
Cheryl Rofer
@D58826: From what I’m seeing lawyers saying, “collusion” is not a useful legal term. It would be something like “coordination” or conspiracy. But I’m willing to let the words run until the legal or impeachment come in, which won’t be fore a while.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
@Elizabelle:
Yeah, woke up at seven, California time. Reached for my phone and the story popped up on my feed. I thought it just broke.
Repatriated
@Comrade Nimrod Humperdink:
This reminds me of the 2002 SLC Winter Olumpics bid bribery scandal. Everyone knew that all the host-city candidates did it, but Utah’s business/political power structure was so unquestionably dominant that they didn’t understand the need to be covert about it. They got caught out because they didn’t expect in-depth investigation. Why would they? They hadn’t faced it before…
germy
Barbara
@Kay: The whole family is contaminated by their narcissism and insecurities and they don’t know how to separate the personal from the official. I imagine that when Kushner’s father was being prosecuted he had fantasies about having the power to fire the prosecutors, as if other prosecutors wouldn’t just take over where the originals left off. Now, he has power to fire the chief law enforcement officer who is bedeviling Trump and his minions and so figured he could use it and that no one would complain because other people feel about Comey exactly what he does. I am sure Chris Christie had nothing against the elder Mr. Kushner personally. Seriously, this is a billionaire’s way of hiding under the rug and thinking that because he can’t see anyone, that no one can see him. It was profoundly immature, in addition to being blitheringly incompetent.
Willard
@Elizabelle: Trump would be impeached in this scenario. Not sure what would happen to any house members that were unknowing beneficiaries.
SFBayAreaGal
@laura: And burn their bones so they can’t come back.
Corner Stone
What the shit is this?
Fuck Trump voters. Nobody wants to hear from these idiots who would still vote for Trump.
hovercraft
@Kay: @Patricia Kayden:
Yes it could be Lucretia and Rasputins whispering into Twitlers ear, but it could also just that he assumed that democrats are like him, all about revenge. We’re pissed that he helped Twitler win, even though he didn’t, the illegals totally inflated her vote, and if he’d bothered, he could have won even more bigly, but seeing him get fired would make us happy. He seems to think that we’re as dumb as his base, just telling us that he did it for Hillary would make us all happy and he’d be our new hero. He’s dumb as shit, but thinks he’s brilliant so to him this was a brilliant strategy, what could possibly go wrong?
Major Major Major Major
@SFBayAreaGal: doesn’t that only prevent ghosts? They’d probably come back as some sorta rage demon.
hovercraft
@Major Major Major Major:
Sshh! Don’t say things like that, everyone knows McCain is a straight shooter, an honorable man who tells it like it is. Did you know he was a war hero, but he doesn’t like to talk about it.
Thru the Looking Glass...
Paul Ryan –
Sounds like the words of someone who’s now resigned to his fate…
dogwood
@Repatriated:
Good analogy. And don’t forget those Games ended up with the Russians getting caught using bribery and intimidation to fix the pairs figure skating result.
Aleta
amk
@Thru the Looking Glass…: you know, there is one thing the poor baby could definitely do. the fucking ass kissing scum could fucking resign.
Elizabelle
@germy: Interesting. Blood clot complications.
Ailes was a hemophiliac, I think …
zhena gogolia
@Barbara:
Good comment.
I hate to be a pollyanna, but we may be approaching our country’s finest hour.
Ian
@Kay:
That’s an easy one to debunk. Have your child go to school and recite the pledge of allegiance. If you see UN helicopters and scary fully armored police- facebook is right. If your kid finishes the pledge, sits down, and nothing happens?
schrodingers_cat
When is the Great Religions speech, is anyone going to live blog it?
SFBayAreaGal
@Major Major Major Major: True, true Lol
LAO
@schrodingers_cat:
I nominate you, if available.
hovercraft
@schrodingers_cat:
I do not watch Twitler speak, ever, it’s bad enough when they show clips on the news, a full speech could trigger an epileptic fit, and I don’t have epilepsy*, add in the fact that Stephen Miller is writing it, hell no.
* Yes I know it’s a serious disease and what they did to whats his name was criminal
Jake the antisoshul soshulist
Funny that the conventional wisdom that the very wealthy are not held accountable is not something that concerns the villagers. Wonder why that is?
schrodingers_cat
@LAO: Thanks for the honor but since I am not a member of one of the great, huge and classy religions, I am afraid I am not qualified.
Boatboy_srq
@GregB: That’s my one worry. It’s too fast, and it’s too early, for the 2018 cycle to be corrective.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Greg: Hmmm. A related question had occurred to me. Who had a recording device going and why?
Ok, the comedy-spy version of this mess is starting to take place in my head (I insist Melissa McCarthy be in it somewhere, perhaps multiple roles). Ryan is meeting with his Russian bagman the first time. “Oops, so sorry. I spill wine which I just heppen to be carryink on jacket. Pliz let me take to my cleaner, my expense.” Jacket comes back a week later with bug in one of the buttons, which is a totally different color. Ryan doesn’t notice.
A week later a Ukrainian requests a meeting. In the middle of it.. “Oops, I spill coffee, etc.” A second button changes color.
Followed shortly after by NSA, CIA, FBI, MI5, etc.
Ruviana
@Booger: Josh Marshall and John Scalzi, who knew each other in high school as it turns out.
Mike in DC
@mai naem mobile: I just threw up in my mouth a little.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Boatboy_srq: I worry about that, then everything I read is Paul Ryan grabbing the anchor tight, along with various backbench Senators (Risch, I think, was using “witch hunt” or similar language yesterday)
Van Buren
@Ian: I’ve said the pledge 150 times this school year with no helicopters, but I work in the Brooklyn SSR , so things might be different here.
KS in MA
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Exactly.
EthylEster
I don’t see anyone asking WHO MADE THE RECORDING?
Oops…I see that #95 poses the same question.
Maybe I should always read the comments in reverse order.
TenguPhule
@Elizabelle:
Ideally, Republicans are found guilty of capital crimes.
And we fast track their appeals.
J R in WV
@schrodingers_cat:
S_cat…: doesn’t the fact that you ARE NOT a member of any of these “great” religions mean you are uniquely qualified to cover a speech about whatever bullshit Steve Miller is writing….???????????????????