The White House is claiming that Bolton’s book is top secret, especially the criming parts (probably). The Times has it. The Post probably has it too. The obvious thing to do if Trump continues this ridiculous charade is to publish the parts that relate to Trump (which the Times has already sorta kinda done, in summary form), just as those two papers did back in 1971.
The other obvious thing that could happen is that Bolton and his mustache of destiny could transport themselves to literally any media outlet in this here US of A and tell their story using his piehole, which we here at Balloon-Juice have on good authority works well at saying things, since he was able to use it to tell Eliot Engel to investigate Trump. Most of the things he says are fucking stupid, but the point remains.
Either way, this fucker’s story is going to get out, only when when and how are at stake.
Open thread.
Roger Moore
It’s very important that it come out sooner rather than later. If the Times and Post have any sense of public spirit, or even of how to sell a lot of papers- they’ll try to get it out during the impeachment trial. It could easily make the difference between Trump staying in office or not, and what newspaper doesn’t want credit for taking down a President?
pamelabrown53
One can only dream that Trump actively seeks to block the publication of Bolton’s book! Then we may finally see Trump’s approval rating drop to that magical 27%!
Mnemosyne
His publisher is going to be delighted that they now have thousands of printed books that they’re going to have to pulp with no compensation.
Joe Falco
If the Post has it, they should do it and pay Tom Hanks to read out loud all the incriminating parts even if I have to pay to listen.
Redshift
We found out during the testimony that they’ve been classifying incriminating and embarrassing information right and left, so why wouldn’t they think it would work this time? I know it’s an old joke that the government hides it’s mistakes by classifying then, but it is actually illegal.
MattF
Retirement has certain advantages, after all. Since I no longer have a security clearance, I can read Bolton’s book.
Baud
Maybe WikiLeaks will release it.
Barbara
Every day there is an argument about what John Bolton said in his book is another day of free publicity for the publisher. But I would go for the samizdat option, for sure. Get it out there to the point that no matter how hard they try they can’t put it back in the bag.
Also, although I think it should be obvious, any involvement by Rudy Giuliani as the president’s “personal lawyer” in any of this means ipso facto that it is not a matter of national security and it does not involve classified information.
I am really happy that the president’s defense lawyers now look like complete nincompoops and their “defense” has been totally superseded by revelations that came out practically as they were speaking, and thus not in a position to do anything about.
The Dangerman
I think maybe I saw this downstairs as the coffee was kicking in, but why doesn’t the House just call Bolton to testify right now? Is there Double Jeopardy in Articles of Impeachment? I don’t think so. Subpeona him and then give the Senate another article of impeachment.
JaySinWA
@Mnemosyne: Given that it hasn’t finished the security review, I doubt they have more than review copies printed. But I am not a publisher.
There may be risk in serious delay or broad leaks tanking sales so pre publishing costs are lost, so they may have agita though.
Kent
This, ladies and gentlemen, is a master class in book promotion. Bolton has orchestrated this to a fucking T starting with getting fired at EXACTLY the right moment in time to avoid getting implicated in Trump’s cesspool. Holding off on testifying before the House with the convenient excuse that he needed a court order, and then dropping this turd on McConnell’s and Trump’s lap.
Yes, he will earn a ton of money with the book. But he is also elevating his name to the stratosphere for the serious people commentator grift role. And seriously, Bolton is a fucking genius. He is the first person to escape the Trump orbit with his reputation enhanced. That takes some fucking skill. Other than Bolton, I can’t think of a single person who has touched Trump and not come away with 3rd degree burns to their reputation.
Kent
Not now. There’s no rush. August 24 on the first day of the GOP Convention sounds like a good time to call Bolton to testify in front of the House. Play the game like a pro.
janesays
If you genuinely believe that there is ANYTHING that could happen that would result in a senate conviction of Velveetamort, I’ve got some real nice beachfront property in Wichita, Kansas to show you.
This trial is not now, nor has it ever been, about getting Trump removed from office, because there has never been any plausible scenario in which that would occur. It’s about destroying Trump’s re-election chances, and the re-election hopes of every one of these GOP scumbags who carries his water. Whether witnesses get called or not, Trump is getting acquitted, no matter how damning the testimony of those witnesses might be. That ship sailed a long time ago.
We absolutely need to keep pressing for witnesses to be called – Bolton specifically – but don’t kid yourself into believing there is any witness testimony in the world that would ever change what has been a pre-determined outcome before the impeachment inquiry even began back in September.
Barring him choking to death on a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese on Air Force One, we’re stuck with this miserable fucker until January 20, 2021. But if we play our cards right, we can take him out in epic fashion, and knock out every last one of those vulnerable GOP senators who decide to toe the party line in his defense.
joel hanes
@Roger Moore:
what newspaper doesn’t want credit for taking down a President?
The New York Times
MJS
This maneuver by the White House also gives Republicans cover for not calling witnesses – “Gee, we can’t, because Bolton may include classified information in his testimony.”
Fuck every single person that calls themselves a Republican
Ella in New Mexico
Goddamn it HRH Mistermix I’m in a library and now I’m getting mean looks for laughing too loud next time give us a trigger warning
:-D
Gex
So everything coming out if it is both a complete fabrication AND is highly accurate disclosure of state secrets? Interesting.
Gin & Tonic
@Kent:
In the sense that any positive number is greater than zero, I guess you may be right.
janesays
@Kent: Eh, Scaramucci certainly looks better today than he did prior to his time in the White House or during the ten days he was employed there. He’s still an extremely sleazy dude, but I love seeing him completely trash Trump every time some cable news program gives him the time of day.
The Dangerman
@Ella in New Mexico:
Done.
randy khan
I don’t know how this is going to play out, but the White House letter is no surprise. At a minimum, it delays the release of the book, but the process also puts constraints on what Bolton will be able to say once the book is released.
That said, if the review process really does result in significant changes, it actually will be very easy for the Times and Post to figure out what was removed, since they have the original manuscript, and you can bet that they will highlight anything that looks like it was removed to make Trump look less guilty.
HumboldtBlue
Marty Baron truly shat himself in regards to his reporter Felicia Somnez who is guilty of the heinous crime of linking to a 2016 Daily Beast story regarding the Kobe Bryant sexual assault incident in Colorado.
Bryant admitted he sexually assaulted the victim but it seems mentioning that very salient fact about his career is in some way a horrible thing to do now that he has died in a tragic accident.
Bill K
Yeah, just like his tax records, or the Apprentice videos or…umm, wait a minute…
Amir Khalid
Hmm. By any chance, is there a federal penalty for frivolously classifying information?
Chris Johnson
@janesays:
Assumes all the Republicans are Russia conspirators and none of them are patsies getting kept in the dark. Plays into a ‘Putin has godlike power and influence’ narrative that I’m sure Russia would love people to believe, but which is actually bullshit.
No. We’re off the map, there is no pre-determined outcome, and you are playing along with Russian narratives and trying to further them. Moscow does NOT control all the Republicans directly. It controls some of their leaders, which is playing a dangerous game. It could still backfire and it looks like it is in the process of backfiring.
My question becomes, if Putin wanted to get rid of Trump (as he has outlived his usefulness), who else does he have to take over? I think Pence is just as dirty, McConnell is obviously a traitor, Paul Ryan has known too much for a long time now, but who else is there?
Removing Trump doesn’t necessarily fix things, but the man serves as a wrecking ball and Russia would want him to get impeached AND removed if it can be done in a way that damages the USA worse. So they’ve got to be trying to game out something that would hurt the USA as much as possible.
West of the Rockies
@Baud:
Oh, yeah, totally! After all, Rapist Assange is definitely not a rightwing POS.
Yutsano
@janesays: The Mooch only had 10 days. It was just enough for him to count as an alumnus without getting too much stained on his clothes. And man does he dress the part of a made man. Just sayin’.
West of the Rockies
@Bill K:
When the Orangemondyias croaks, the secrets will come out. Any Trumpian thing worth a halfpenny will be stripped and sold. It will be like the tombs of the Pharaohs being gutted.
Yutsano
@Bill K:
Be careful what you wish for. If I thought I could get away with it that could be leaked…
Kent
@janesays: The Mooch! Has he improved his reputation post White House? I honestly don’t know. I guess he is never on any shows that I watch. In terms of A-listers though, Bolton seems to have been the first who has actually managed to leverage a White House stint into an improvement in reputation.
Cermet
@Chris Johnson: There is zero chance the orange fart cloud is removed from office; those thugs care only about their own reelection and that never occurs if they are primaried by an even crazier dump lover. They don’t pass go nor collect their mountains of money stealing the republic blind if they lose that election. That rabid base will take anyone down that dares cross fearless leader.
Kay
It’s so disheartening that this person was considered smart for all those years. Good Lord.
Mo MacArbie
@Baud: I LOLed
MJS
@Baud: “John Bolton’s assistant, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the manuscript that has been blocked.”
JR
They are so stupid. They’re claiming that much of his book is classified information. If it is determined that what they’re trying to censor need not be classified that is them again mis-classifying information to hide it from scrutiny which is a crime. Committing crimes to cover up crimes.
Yutsano
@Kay: His reputation is already trash. Why not go whole hog and destroy the last of your dignity in your remaining years? Yeesh. Yale has to be embarrassed right now.
(Yale or Harvard. One of the two.)
Dan B
It seems that several things are being set up re: Bolton /witnesses, and more.
1. Bolton must testify behind closed doors because security!
2. Then no public testimony because same, except for fabricated facts by known secret leftist with moustache.
3. Dems = Danger! Can’t remove Orange Daddy because of invaders: others, darks, germs, etc.
4. Secret trial run for “saving” the election from Deep State, Fake News, and Lieberals who hate real Americans.
5. Don’t look behind the curtain at that strong, handsome, bare-chested man. It’s just a fabric-cation.
Bruce K
Lots of people keep saying the chances of the Senate turning on Trump are a flat zero, but I keep thinking that’s not quite the case. The odds are lousy, but not zero, that some members of the Senate will come to the conclusion that convicting Trump might be less harmful to their futures than defending him to the bitter, flaming end. Yeah, the odds are that he’s going to avoid conviction, but another revelation – like the several we weren’t expecting to happen at this time last year – or an uncontrolled meltdown on Trump’s part that eclipses what’s happened so far might just tip the scales. Not great odds, but not zero either.
We’ve got to be prepared either way.
Kay
@Yutsano:
Ideally defeating Trump would rid us of all his awful private sector hires along with the public sector hires, as a reward. They all have to resign if we beat him. From any work that exposes the public to them. We could have a fleet of helicopters on the White House lawn, but they have to pay for theirs.
Kay
@Dan B:
I do think it’s become obvious that Bolton is smarter and more experienced than any of them. Not more ethical, and probably with no purer motives, but he does win “smarter”.
He was way ahead of them at every turn. I love how he carefully checked the CYA boxes. Here, and here, and HERE.
Immanentize
Just an FYI — Bolton cannot just go on TV and talk about this stuff, because that would be revealing potentially classified material that has not yet been pre-cleared. A jailable offense. Luckily, it looks so far like:
1) Bolton — or more likely the publisher — sent ONE hard copy to the White House for pre-clearance.
2) People at the White House, because they are big idiots, made many copies and passed them around. Maybe they even sent copies by email.
3) One or several of the people who received it, or found it in the trash or were cc’ed, etc. shared it with people from the press.
4) Bolton gets to keep his advance. (He probably knew the idjits would do exactly what they did, so it was a really good play on his part, either way.)
Mnemosyne
@JaySinWA:
Most books published in the US are printed in China and then sent over on a literal slow boat. If the book is supposed to be on sale in the next couple of weeks, the paper copies are probably in transit right now.
Immanentize
@Kay: The call or memo or discussion or whatever it will turn out to be between Bolton and Barr was simple bureaucratic battle strategy. Brilliant.
janesays
No, it assumes I know how to count. Look, we’re not talking about swaying a small handful of Republicans, we’re talking about swaying 38% of the entire GOP senate caucus (20 out of 53). I don’t assume all or even most Republican senators are Russia conspirators, I assume virtually all of them are craven transactionalists who love tax cuts and wingnut judges and who know that the overwhelming majority of their electoral support comes from people who adore Trump. I’m looking at a list of 53 names, and while I can possibly imagine some scenario in which a few of them – maybe 4 or 5 at most – could eventually be persuaded to vote for Trump’s removal, I’m just not seeing TWENTY – or even half of that number. My senators are Hawley and Blunt. Donald Trump could step out onto 5th Avenue this minute and shoot someone, and both of these assholes would still be fully behind him, probably arguing that Trump’s victim shouldn’t have stood in front of the bullet. And the reason is simple – they have no choice in this state if they want to keep their jobs (which doesn’t make their choice any less cowardly). Abandon Trump, and they are absolutely guaranteeing they get primaried out of their seat the next time they are up for re-election.
So please, if you have a list of 20 Republican senators who you honestly think could be persuaded to vote for Trump’s removal based on John Bolton saying that there was in fact a quid pro quo with Ukraine for dirt on Biden (or literally anything else), I’d love to hear who those people are. Because I’m not seeing it.
jonas
When Bolton spills the beans on some program and basically confirms that yes, Trump was continually criming during my whole tenure in the WH, GOP senators will make frowny faces and say, “Well, how can we take this seriously? It’s not like he came to the impeachment trial and testified under oath!”
That will go well for them.
Betty Cracker
@janesays: “Velveetamort!” Hahaha! Good one.
Spanky
Right! Line up the charges against Pence, stat!
Ruckus
@Roger Moore:
It might be debatable but I’m not sure the FTFNYT actually might want to take down trump. They seem to have an affinity for his people.
trollhattan
@Kay:
Impeachment is off the table so long as the president “believed” his action was warranted? The belief defense? Dayumn, that’s some big brain action right there.
Yutsano
@Kay: We should be so lucky. But you know once President Toadface is gone the Republicans will stuff him down the memory hole as fast as they can. The question is how much his cult will allow them to do that and still go along with being Republicans. Or split off into some other party.
Dan B
@Chris Johnson: It is apparent that removing Trump, or even Trump and Pence would not fix all the bad things. It wouldn’t even remove 1% of the bad apples. I can’t dig through the right wing sites but it would be valuable to know if their calls for civil war if Trump is removed from office have established any footholds in paramilitary organizations or within our military. Does Putin believe that a hot civil war or scattered insurrections in the US would be to Putin’s benefit? I tend to believe he wants the US out of NATO and Europe divided. Is he naive enough to believe that the genie of war can be contained? So much of the world is volatile that a match struck somewhere unexpected would reveal the powderkeg.
Does he believe that suspending the US election would help realize his goals or does he believe the election can be rigged and disputed after the fact? Serms like this Senate is softening us up for normalizing dirty politics. What’s next?
Hoodie
@Kent: Bolton has the reputation of a being a master bureaucratic knife fighter, so his success in this context is not surprising. Bolton is a lot of bad things, but he’s also been a pretty consistent a foe of Russia, which is not an unjustified position given what Putin’s been up to in the past few years, both here and in Europe. The irony is that Romney may have been right in 2012 when he said that Russia was our most dangerous foe, but I doubt he realized that it was because of Putin’s co-opting of the GOP.
Ruckus
@Barbara:
Nincompoops?
That might be the nicest thing said about them. Seems to be the least that could be said as well
Chip Daniels
@Joe Falco:
I would hold out for Alec Baldwin.
danielx
It must be even more unpleasant than usual to be in the shitgibbon’s presence these days, given his well-documented tendency to rage about whatever on a daily basis. Any bets on whether or not he has or is exploring the possibility of having Bolton arrested, on flimsy or no grounds at all?
jonas
@Yutsano: This is the big problem. There are no non-Trumpy GOPers left. The orangey fatborg has assimilated them all. So once he’s out of office, the party remains this Frankenstein’s monster of populist, white ethnoidiocy. There’s no going back.
Dan B
@Betty Cracker: Fun fact: Most common cheeses have a process version (fake factory non-cultured).
Velveeta is a real cheese. The process version is American, almost all American sliced (not actually sliced – made in flat strips). It’s American because for a long time it was the only cheese developed in the USA.
Velveeta is still a low bar to clear for “real” cheese.
Ruckus
@janesays:
It has been said before, “Never say never.” It’s not that what you wrote IS wrong, nor do I necessarily disagree with you, but the shitbird in charge is nothing but his own worst enemy and has, as always, backed himself into a shit filled snake hole. And there just might be some/enough snakes who don’t like the smell. The slime they seem to be OK with.
lee
“just as those two papers did back in 1971.”
LOL. It would never happen today.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: Josh Marshall today:
If Trump wasn’t such a vindictive, power-mad prick, he probably could have kept Bolton in the fold. If he didn’t believe loyalty was a one-way street leading only to himself, maybe Parnas wouldn’t have turned on him so fiercely.
I’m not saying that Trump’s fundamental awfulness as a human being will cause his downfall; too many powerful people who despise him have a stake in propping his ass up. But if he wasn’t such an asshole, he probably wouldn’t be in this situation — the Mueller investigation, the Ukraine scandal — all of it.
Dan B
@Chip Daniels: Alec Baldwin! How about Randy Rainbow or Mrs. Betty Bowers?
Or a collab!
Ruckus
@Gex:
You noticed that…….
That might just be an issue at some point.
LuciaMia
” Bolton has orchestrated this to a fucking T starting with getting fired at EXACTLY the right moment in time to avoid getting”
Thats what I couldnt remember if the guy was still at the White House.
janesays
@Bruce K: Twenty is just not a realistically attainable number.
Go through all of the states these senators represent, and you can immediately start knocking people out of play:
The GOP senators representing Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and South Carolina are all immediately off the table. That’s 28 GOP senators who you will absolutely never get on board with removal, because there is absolutely no upside for any of them. That leaves 25 Republican senators in play, and you need 20 of them on board, so you can only lose five.
The TWENTY-FIVE:
Richard Shelby (AL), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Dan Sullivan (AK), Martha McSally (AZ), Cory Gardner (CO), Marco Rubio (FL), Rick Scott (FL), David Perdue (GA), Kelly Loeffler (GA), Chuck Grassley (IA), Joni Ernst (IA), Pat Roberts (KS), Jerry Moran (KS), Susan Collins (ME), Steve Daines (MT), Deb Fischer (NE), Ben Sasse (NE), Richard Burr (NC), Thom Tillis (NC), Rob Portman (OH), Pat Toomey (PA), Mike Lee (UT), Mitt Romney (UT), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), Ron Johnson (WI)
Right off the bat, I think you can immediately take Shelby, Sullivan, Grassley, Moran, Daines, Fischer, Lee, Capito, and Johnson off the table. They are going to acquit, and can’t imagine any possible scenario where they won’t. Even if every other remaining Republican on that list votes for removal, you still fall short with a 64-36 vote. And honestly, can you really see all 17 of the Republicans left on the list voting for removal? I can’t. In the absolute best case scenario you get Murkowski, McSally, Gardner, Ernst, Collins, Sasse, Tillis, Portman, Toomey, and Romney. I can’t see anyone other than those ten as even gettable, and I’d be quite surprised if we get even five of those ten.
Yutsano
@jonas: None of any significance. Certainly none in the current Congress or White House. And you’re right it’s a huge problem. Dolt45 won’t last forever. After him…what?
Ruckus
@The Dangerman:
Thought you were going to do a countdown.
Barbara
@Ruckus: It’s the idea that they were standing there for hours lying their heads off as the outside world started buzzing about material in Bolton’s book that makes clear that they are just making stuff up. And there is no question that they knew all about the book and what was in it. So they can’t even claim they didn’t know they were lying. All that high priced lawyering and the realization that there is no legal reasoning at work here, just someone willing to be a complete patsy.
James E Powell
If we were dealing with a book written by a Clinton insider, the NYT would have already beaten the WaPo in a furious bidding war and it would be featured on the front page every day. Every cable show would be talking about nothing else.
Chris Johnson
@Kay:
There’s a reason he has to go with so many private sector hires. He doesn’t have access to literally all of the Republicans to cooperate with him and do what he wants, because he’s a fucking traitor serving Russia and some of the Republicans are Russia hawks, and this is their worst nightmare.
So he HAS to go private sector, a lot, in order to get people who won’t simply start conspiring against him. (which of course is already happening, bigtime, and boy does he know it, and it’s not going to get any better for him).
Dan B
@Yutsano: Apres him, le deluge?
I’m hoping for a close shave. That would take the media and the influencers to wake up the low info folks in time.
satby
@Yutsano: how bad would the penalties be? Could we fundraise them or is jail time involved?
Kent
So, anyone here know exactly what would be the mechanism of removal if lightning strikes and the Senate actually votes to remove him from office? Since this has never actually been done before?
Would he be considered “removed” upon final vote by the Senate? I mean, at that exact moment? And then would they go swear in Pence that same day? I don’t recall ever seeing this spelled out. Seems like we have about 6 possible scenarios of how the next 12 months play out.
Impeachment still feels like a sideshow somehow. So #1 or #2 still seem the most likely. What Dems need to be doing is using impeachment to decrease the odds of #1 and increase the odds of #2.
danielx
@Betty Cracker:
Truth, but OTOH if he wasn’t the colossal asshole that he is, he likely wouldn’t be in the White House now. That is key to his appeal for his base, being mostly (totally?) assholes themselves. The bigger an asshole he is, the better they like it. I’d go so far as to say that is THE key to his base, since they don’t seem to care about anything else he has done, is doing or may do in the future.
Thinking back to the salutation inside a joke (maybe) greeting card I saw once: “Most people I know have hemorrhoids, but you, you’re the perfect asshole.” He really is the perfect roaring, screaming, flaming asshole, and given his diet he probably does have hemorrhoids the size of walnuts. Maybe a clue to rage tweeting while on his golden throne?
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
That is wild.
The story so needs a turncoat. In the beginning I think we were all hoping for a patriotic or principled turncoat and it is so perfectly Trumpian that instead we get someone who wants to sell a fucking book
Kent
@janesays: Ted Cruz absolutely HATES Trump and would see himself as an instant frontrunner for the 2020 nomination (or 2024 if Trump loses). Don’t discount his possible vote to convict. He thrives on being hated and isn’t up for re-election until 2024 at which point he may have moved on from the Senate anyway
If the winds are shifting against Trump I could see Cruz as being the nail in his coffin. Texas is fast becoming purple.
jonas
…le deluge
Barbara
@Kent: There is no way that will happen. None. It doesn’t matter how much any of them hates Trump. Most of them hate Trump because he has exposed them as pusillanimous quislings and they have to show fealty to someone who is so beneath them in their own minds. Their hate should be considered a matter of fact. This is all about calculating their own political best interests.
germy
@Kent:
You’re more optimistic than I am.
jonas
@Kent: As Yatsuno and I have been going back and forth about, the problem is that if anyone votes against Trump, they’re toast as a Republican. They’re Justin Amash. They’d have to literally leave the party to have any political future, and then there’s the question of what kind of non-Trumpist conservative party could attract a base big enough to even remotely challenge the TrumpGOP or the Democrats.
They are so screwed.
Immanentize
@Kent: You are way ahead of yourself.
The Senate’s first vote would be for conviction on the two articles of impeachment.
Then I suspect, if either article was agreed to, the Senate would debate the punishment. There are only two punishments beyond conviction (which is itself punishment):
A) Removal from office
B) Banning him from ever holding another office, elected or otherwise, under the US Government.
The Senate could do either or both or neither. Your question would come only if they decided to both convict and remove, but not bar him from further office.
zhena gogolia
Good question from Collins and Murkowski. Did Drumpf ever mention corruption by Hunter Biden before 2019
ETA: And the pres’s lawyer lies like a rug. “the Burisma affair”
zhena gogolia
Oh, blaming it on Poroshenko!
Betty Cracker
@danielx: Good point.
Immanentize
@zhena gogolia: Uh oh, Trump sexist tweet in 10, 9, ….
jimmiraybob
You mean like outlawing the Democratic Party and locking up their leadership and sending loyal militia and foreign mercenary troops to secure the public peace – you know, Article II powers? But not to worry, only a president with absolutely no moral or ethical convictions or mitigating conscience and one whose only waking thought is how to secure power and absolute loyalty to him – the State – would ever do something this crude and drastic.
And besides, we have a constitution and democratic traditions and norms to protect us.
Wait a minute…..something seems askew……….a disturbance in the force……
jonas
@Kent: Based on his addled performance at his NJ rally yesterday, I’d say resignation due to health issues is more likely than conviction or resignation to avoid conviction. More and more psychiatrists and neurologists are concluding that he’s displaying unmistakable signs of frontotemporal dementia.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@zhena gogolia: Yeah, it seems like something happened in 2019 that got Trump’s attention, seems to have happened around April. It’s a mystery.
zhena gogolia
Kamala asking about “take her out”
germy
Burisma! Emailz!
And there’s always folks at the NYT or WaPo to play along with the charade.
Tenar Arha
@Kay: I truly hope vile Mr. “my underwear was on” never has a welcoming summer on the Vineyard ever again.
ETA typo
germy
Just Chuck
@jonas: They’re less than even odds, but I still imagine T could resign before the election. Of course it would be via a Tweet.
zhena gogolia
Casablanca reference!
germy
“This world was never meant for one as beautiful as me.”
zhena gogolia
@Immanentize:
It was the first serious question from a Repub that I’ve heard (I can’t listen uninterruptedly).
Just Chuck
@germy: That’d almost certainly be the most eloquent thing T would have ever said, or even read off a teleprompter.
Howard Beale IV
Looks like the letter from the NSC to Bolton was signed by the in-DUH-vidual who squirreled the whistleblower’s mail to that TS/SCI server.
Steeplejack
@Bruce K:
This reminds me that at this time last year we were all waiting for the Mueller report to bring Trump crashing down. How time flies!
germy
SOTU will be subdued, with some slurred words and sniffles
I think it’s at his rallies when he really cuts loose. (The last scenes of “Lenny” starring Dustin Hoffman)
zhena gogolia
These liars are banking on the fact that the American public doesn’t know that Shokin was CORRUPT.
Ooh, Blumenthal gets a question.
jl
I wonder if Bolton anticipated or got word from his remaining connections that Trumpsters would try to shut down the book entirely. So, maybe Cheryl and Adam were a little to quick to impute a 100 percent insane and selfishly egomaniacal reason for his procedure. Though, it’s Bolton so I am sure that played a large part. If other evidence emerges to back Bolton up, then he may have mini Pentagon papered already.
Edit: Trumpster SOP is evident again. Bolton followed lawful SOP in submitting book for review. But Trump and his flunkies comments indicate they are making arbitrary and lawless course in trying to cover it up, for personal benefit of Trump.
chopper
@Kent:
apparently trump’s event horizon follows a kerr metric (the furious spinning is a dead giveaway), and bolton knows his orbital mechanics.
jl
@Kent:
” I can’t think of a single person who has touched Trump and not come away with 3rd degree burns to their reputation. ”
True. We’ve learned that Mattis is no Smedley Butler, for example.
Quiltingfool
@janesays: I think you are right on the money. There aren’t 20 Senators who will look at McConnell and Trump and say, “Screw you! I was looking for a job when I got this one; I can find something else to do!” I believe these Senators don’t know whether to shit, run, or go blind. No matter what they choose to do, their choice will come with consequence. For example:
a. Choose to vote for witnesses and removal – gonna get slagged now, but, if more damaging info drops (and it will), Trump isn’t re-elected, and the newly elected Dem President unleashes the dogs of war on the corruption, well you might just be the first member of the “new” Republican Party.
b. Choose to side with Shitgibbon, er, Velveetamort. You’re okay now, but more bad info may play hell with your re-election…you may be out of a job, but if Velveetamort is re-elected, you might get a job working for him…that is if there isn’t any bad shit on you. Woe be to you if the House and Senate are held by Democrats. Good attorneys ain’t cheap.
c. Drink heavily. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
germy
@jl: But in their world, what we call the wingnut wurlitzer, their reputations are enhanced. They get love, respect and praise in the bubbles they’re living in.
Unless they go to jail, like Manafort or Cohen.
germy
@Quiltingfool: They’re not only protecting Trump, they’re protecting themselves. As more details emerge, we see many of them had relationships with people like Parnas, etc.
jl
@germy: How many knowingly have been going along with corrupt, illegal, and often foreign, and dirty foreign, money is a wild card we can’t know for sure. I think there is very good evidence that quite a few of them are in that group. But how many? And how many will face possibility of prosecution if more info comes out and there is ever an honest federal government again?
I think the way this is playing out, chances of GOP keeping Senate are dropping, though still uncomfortably high. Some may have more than their own seats, or Sen majority to worry about.
Chris T.
Trump’s lawyers would not have this kind of problem if they told the truth.
Of course, if they told the truth, it would be: Yeah, Trump did it, he’s totally guilty. It’s up to you Senators now.
germy
sdhays
@Immanentize: Really?? JFC, I thought that conviction automatically meant removal and banishment from ever hold public office. So stupid….
jurassicpork
If it feels like I’ve been around for 15 years, it’s because I have been. Yep, the Jurassic One wrote his first blog post about John Kerry and the 2004 election 15 years ago. But my rent’s gone up $150 over the last decade and Mrs. JP, Popeye the cat and I need help. So if you can help us out in any way possible, please do so. There are Paypal links on <a href=http://www.welcomebacktopottersville.blogspot.com/>my site</a>.
Chris T.
Sounds about right.
I also agree with your previous comment: Bolton looks like he’s about to be the only one winning from working with Trump. Though it’s too soon to say for sure. But as I never got around to saying earlier, for all his faults, Bolton appears to be (a) patriotic and (b) reasonably competent, both of which are uncommon among Trumpsters.
Captain C
@joel hanes: That only applies to Republican presidents.
germy
@jurassicpork: Every time you come here, you ask for money.
Sometimes it’s your landlord, sometimes it’s your car.
You hit all the liberal blogs. I guess you think we’re soft touches.
Ivan X
@Baud: that is some beautiful rueful humor right there
J R in WV
I have no idea what’s going to happen, but as long as the alcohol holds out I will be a fascinated observer from my library. I can hear much of the testimony from the kitchen table where wife is following this gruesome crash in real-time.
History is happening, people’s lives are being ruined (Mostly Republicans, so Yay!) and I’m still young enough (or old enuff!) to enjoy it for the most part. A little bit like revisiting Watergate back in my mid-20s. Time travel on a flat screen display. Live, too!
NotMax
@germy
It’s been pushing the ‘about to be put out on the street’ shtick on a variety of blogs for years and years and years. Please, people, don’t fall for it.
germy
@NotMax: I thought the pork had been banned. I guess I was wrong.
NotMax
@NotMax
In fact I seem to recall he was banhammered at some time in the past. Fully deserving of it again if he has found a way around it.
Chris T.
That’s the interesting thing. I think Bolton does have principles. They’re bad/wrong: he wants the US to conduct wars of choice. But he wants the US to win these wars, too.
jl
If Josh Marshall is right, then prospects for any witnesses look very dim. He says GOP fake moderates are the ones coming out against witnesses now. Apparently they fear the wrath of Trumpsters, and GOP primary hell, more than trying wriggle their way through the general election while being on record for a sham trial and defying the wishes, and correct position, of the majority of the country. They think if they can sink the constitutional process asap for holding a corrupt and lawless president accountable , then the public will forget all about it in 9 months. I think the Democrats and that GOP bunch running ads against the Trumpsters will make that very much harder than the GOP fake moderates anticipate. And high probability that more and dirtier dirt will come out. Parnas is probably fighting to reduce or eliminate a probable long jail term, and an egomaniacal Bolton fighting for his gravy train and power future, and survival of his extreme neocon vision of US position in the world (which is not one of being an effective flunky, and gangster style muscle, for money from rich tyrants around the world).
It’s the ‘Moderates’ Who Want The Cover-Up Most of All
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/its-the-moderates-who-want-the-cover-up-most-of-all
Steeplejack
@jurassicpork:
Okay, if ever there was a troll we could unanimously agree to ban . . .
germy
@Steeplejack: Are the frontpagers aware?
topclimber
@janesays: What ever happened to the notion of a secret ballot vote? Doesn’t the Senate get to make whatever rules it wants for impeachment?
If the mythical 4 honorable GOPers help push over a majority vote on the process, then all the Republican ChickenIsts can vote to remove and then blame all those unknown RINOs for the result.
A guy can dream can’t he?
I have a feeling this idea was proven faulty in prior posts, but would love to know. Then again, what do the Dems do? Are they better off running against a sham Republican trial or riding the wave after Trump is disgorged from office? They should certainly insist on a tally of the secret ballots, not just a yes or no about whether the two-thirds threshold is met.
Corollary point: Some significant share of the GOP establishment must understand that his deplorables will be with them regardless if he wins (of course), loses (I was robbed!) or gets booted (damn the deep state!). He will be their whiny wanker til the day he dies, berating any attempts at bipartisanship and frustrating the emergence of any new leaders who are not subservient.
Republicans have to get rid of Trumpism someday and probably have to create a new party. They can still be a major force with evangelicals, the small business and corporate crowd, racists who don’t say it out loud and jingoists. They will control dozens of Red State legislatures and have a sufficient Senatorial presence to insure that they continue to do what they do best–gaming the system to insure any progressive or even-handed policies fail at any of the many veto points it provides.
Steeplejack
@germy:
Well, he’s probably using only one IP address, so he’s running under the radar for now.
Ruckus
@germy:
Was going to respond, to his begging self, in an ungentalmianly way, but it seems like it would be a waste of time and effort. This being a better person stuff is work, work I tell ya.
Yutsano
@Steeplejack: I know Cole dropped the hammer on him a year or so ago. I wonder if the site rebuild had something to do with allowing him to return. Regardless the scam comes up again and again.
J R in WV
@Yutsano:
I was a little surprised when we visited NE Spain and SW France to see beggars outside beautiful medieval cathedrals. Just like the folks outside the bus terminals here!
So this is just the same thing, transposed into the digital world. Some people have no pride. JurrasicPork should get a job in customer support… only he would wind up twisting that assignment to make personal monies.
minachica
@Steeplejack: I (think I) see what you did there.
chopper
@jurassicpork:
wow, that’s a real tragedy
dopey-o
if the gods are willing and bolton testifies in the senate, will some plucky dem ask him about the process of hiding the zelenskyy conversation on the classified server, whether that comported with standard classification procedures, and what other conversations have been (illegally) hidden there?
and if not, perhaps adam schiff could call mr. bolton in to tell the house intel committee about that secret server? it is my (mis)understanding that classifying information about criminal activity is itself a crime.
Steeplejack (phone)
@minachica:
?
janesays
@Kent: Impeachment typically includes being barred from ever holding office again, so if it were to actually happen, his 2020 campaign would almost certainly be over. They don’t have to do that, but in every successful impeachment of a non-president, I believe they have done that.
janesays
@Kent: Zero chance Cruz would ever vote to convict, because he knows it would absolutely be the end of his political career.