So Pence is saying he was out of the loop on Flynn, not misled or misleading.
— Rick Klein (@rickklein) May 18, 2017
Start with Pence. He certainly has a strange habit of only learning about blockbuster issues after they become public. 2/
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) May 18, 2017
1/26/17: Yates informs WH that Flynn is compromised by Russia.
Pence was in the building, per his Twitter feed. 4/ https://t.co/aNeDjT36Pz
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) May 18, 2017
3/9/17: Flynn's Turkey lobbying breaks.
Pence claims he didn't know about that, either.
Fool me once… 6/https://t.co/hErtl3fRhb
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) May 18, 2017
Now, Pence continues to claim he knew nothing about the major events transpiring on his watch as transition head. 7/ https://t.co/fvzJHrZ92F
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) May 18, 2017
@AJentleson Rep. Cummings sent Pence a letter about Flynn's Turkey ties in *November* — see #1 here https://t.co/qyoNowrgyX
— Amanda Katz (@katzish) May 18, 2017
@rickklein Elijah Cummings also said today Pence told him he was "in a fog" doesn't recall letter he sent on Flynn November18
— trifecta (@3fecta) May 18, 2017
“Out of the loop” worked as an excuse for VP ‘Poppy’ Bush during the Iran-Contra investigation. “In a(n Alzheimers) fog” worked for Reagan. But that was twenty-five years ago, Bush was (however crooked & compromised) smart, and Reagan was popular. “Mike Dense”, as he was known back in Indiana, isn’t even popular with the guy who gave him his current job.
@rickklein He bears the responsibility for either ignoring what was told to him, or doing a poor job at "vetting" Either way, buck stops with him pic.twitter.com/0EoXyZmsFp
— Chuck ? (@wilnd) May 18, 2017
magurakurin
“Han indicted Pence first.”
M. Bouffant
Can’t wait for “President” Ryan; then the media can note what a granny-starving empty suit he really is.
?BillinGlendaleCA
The problem is that Pence is so Dense that it’s almost believable.
Major Major Major Major
Not a real trump tweet at the end there.
Keith P.
@M. Bouffant: Who would he suck up to if he’s the president?
westyny
Pence must not be allowed to escape the net. His “fog” is damning in its unbelievability.
seaboogie
I have reached my outrage limit, and just can’t anymore…
One of the conservatives who hasn’t quite pegged his outrage meter walked into our artisan jewelry shop today. I actually espied him seeing “jewelry” on our awning, and walking in for his purpose – which was to buy solid gold and silver (?!) for the coming apocalypse.
Rewind to several minutes before when I was sharing conversation with our local indy bookseller from next door, and said “in good news today, Roger Ailes died!” high-five. He gave me the five, then felt bad about celebrating a death, and then thought about it again, and gave me five more.
Then this tall, handsome dude came in wanting to buy gold and silver for the coming apocalypse – I learned a lot about accepted Korean haircuts from him (six for men, four for women, and only Kim Jong Un gets to have that weird coif of his.) And eight stories down bunkers for the coming nuclear war, and a bunch of other stuff that was all initials and satellites and pew pew pew. So fuck Roger Ailes and his floppy jowls with a rusty pitchfork. I have no patience left for this nonsense, nor any media that does not expose this insanity to daylight.
Splitting Image
My impression of Pence is that he’s only marginally smarter than Trump himself, so I think it’s completely believable that he failed to absorb enough information to be “inside the loop”.
On the other hand, I have no problem with seeing them both walk the plank for this. They both took the job claiming to be smart enough to do it, so they should be held accountable as though they are.
Elizabelle
Alexandra Petri is at it again. You must use a WaPost click to view the whole column. Catnip.
Is Donald Trump a witch?
M. Bouffant
@Keith P.: Plenty of Randian Supermen out there. (And they have money for their “friends”, unlike Trump.)
amk
@Elizabelle:
Dems: “No, mr trump, this is not a witch hunt, this is a russian mole hunt.”
Lord Dingleton
Mike Pence… the Plan B contraceptive for the Republican party.
Or maybe he’s just the Anti-Forrest Gump (name any event, and HE WASN’T THERE!), depending on your credulity.
Patricia Kayden
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Denseness is not an excuse for ineptitude. If he should have known something because of the position he holds, he’s responsible for not acting appropriately with that knowledge. Ignorance is no excuse.
Can you imagine Democrats claiming that they were so dense that they were not aware of crucial information even though there’s proof that they were informed? Me either.
Joyce H
@Splitting Image:
The great thing about Trump being so damn stupid is that I’m sure he can’t be brought to understand, however often it’s explained to him, that he doesn’t have attorney-client privilege with the White House Counsel. That fact will probably come in handy sooner or later.
hellslittlestangel
How long before the whole world is sick of hearing the “I’m too fucking stupid to form intent to commit a crime” defense?
hellslittlestangel
@hellslittlestangel: Remember when this was considered funny because it was so silly?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l00GGEy_72c
?BillinGlendaleCA
@hellslittlestangel: I have that album.
rikyrah
@westyny:
He is up to it with Flynn .he knew
NotMax
Putting the vice into the vice presidency.
The taint is pernicious.
sm*t cl*de
@NotMax:
By strange coincidence. “Pernicious Taint” is the name of my Death-Metal band.
Morzer
Pence lied frequently and shamelessly during the campaign and I have no doubt that he’s lying now. We shouldn’t give him the benefit of the doubt precisely because he has consistently shown that he doesn’t deserve it throughout his sordid career as a smug, dishonest and vicious theocratic wannabe.
OzarkHillbilly
@Morzer: Anyone anywhere near the circle of Trump lies. It is a job requirement.
Frankensteinbeck
Echoing @Morzer. Pence is supremely good at repeating what he was told to say, over and over, with no improvisation or sign that he knows he’s lying. He demonstrated this astonishing ability to say black is white in the vice presidential debate. He is that exact level of stupid.
AnonPhenom
shorter Pence…
Morzer
Speaking of incompetent liars, frauds and other Republicans, looky here:
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-05-18/house-may-be-forced-to-vote-again-on-gop-s-obamacare-repeal-bill
Now that’s what I call quality legislatifying.
Tony J
Hopefully helping to nail Pence for his role in aiding and abetting the Kremlin’s takeover of Congress and the White House is a priority for Congressional Dems. I really can’t envisage Boyar Boo-Hoo surviving the IC’s drip-drip-SPLASH campaign for more than a few months, and when he topples its hard to see the higher reaches of his administration not coming down with him.
I know that the rules of succession will keep cycling through GOP placeholders unless and until there’s a Democrat sitting in the Speaker’s chair, but it can’t be bad politically to be going into the 2018 Mid-Terms facing a mandateless President Pence or Ryan and a GOP Congress half of whom are probably also under investigation.
If there’s one undoubted and historically significant purpose Comrade Cry-Baby can serve it’s to self-destruct with such force that the expanding shit-storm strips the malcontents in the GOP caucus of their sheen of undeserved credibility. They need to face 2018 and 2020 exposed as exactly who and what they are. Many of them will still win re-election (Tribalism Uber Alles and all that) but you’ve got to think that margins in tightly gerrymandered races will be tilted against the Treason Party just enough to let the tide wash in.
OTOH, who am I kidding? The second Fishmouth Frack-Up is out on his ear the MSM will do what it always does to balance the scales and go after Democrats with everything they have, but stranger things have happened.
Morzer
The WaPo seems to have noticed that the VP for Straightfaced Lying has a mendacious tendency:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/05/18/vice-president-pence-has-a-growing-credibility-problem/
Jake the antisoshul soshulist
Maybe someone should remind the VP about “bearing false witness”.
Calouste
@Jake the antisoshul soshulist: Works the other way around. Evangelicals think that Pence is “a good Christian man”, so of course he doesn’t lie.
Wapiti
@Jake the antisoshul soshulist: I wonder if “bearing false witness against your neighbor” has been parsed in right-wing evangelical circles to mean:
It’s okay to tell untruths about circumstances, if they don’t involve people.
It’s okay to tell untruths about people who aren’t in your community or circles of acquaintance, because they aren’t neighbors.
It’s okay to tell untruths if you aren’t under oath, actually providing a witness statement.
It’s okay to tell untruths, even under oath, that support your friend, because they aren’t “against” him.
And even if you tell an untruth, you’ll be forgiven by God because you’ve been born again in his son, Jesus.
The Golux
@AnonPhenom: One of my favorite Declan McManus songs.
stinger
@Wapiti: I watched Pence’s speech at the R nominating convention, and every sentence was a lie. I could hardly believe my ears. Not what “Christian” used to mean.