Accusations of stalking, prostitution, and racism are merely the appetizer. The main course features Jacob Wohl and claims of falsified tweets and stolen phones. https://t.co/UCZU9NKXcL
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) August 5, 2020
Last time we talked about Jacob Wohl, he was trying to convince the media that Senator Elizabeth Warren had turned a hunky young Marine into her personal sex slave. That was just risible, even if it lead to unsettling speculation about Wohl’s mindset. This latest stunt sounds like the sort of ‘cry for help’ where a deeply disturbed individual who isn’t put under supervision goes on to… well, you be the judge:
… The setting of the entire mess was the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), an agency known largely as a bit of a backwater when it comes to the government’s foreign policy apparatus, but one with a $16.8 billion foreign aid budget. On Monday a political appointee and deputy White House liaison there, Merritt Corrigan, took to Twitter to accuse her employer of “anti-Christian” bias.
Corrigan’s appointment at USAID has been under fire for months over anti-gay tweets she made in 2019 and 2020, including accusing the United States of being a “homo-empire” devoted to a “tyrannical LGBT agenda,” tweeting that “female empowerment is a civilizational calamity,” and advocating for the creation of a “Christian patriarchy.” But on Monday, her targets were both USAID itself and House Foreign Relations Affairs Committee Chair Eliot Engel (D-NY), whom she accused of soliciting prostitutes. As Corrigan’s initial tweets went up, she claimed USAID gave her a 3 p.m. deadline to resign or be fired. When the deadline passed, Corrigan said she was fired…
Corrigan, who is/was apparently dating Wohl, announced that she’d be appearing Thursday in front of Wohl associate Jack Burkman’s Northern Virginia house—a site that has previously hosted farcical attempts to smear Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) with lurid sexual allegations. There, she would further denounce USAID, accuse a Politico reporter who covered her resignation of stalking her, and demand that Engel debate her and Burkman. In a press release announcing the press conference, Burkman and Wohl claimed that Wohl, who is currently facing two felony charges related to security sales in California, had “been working behind the scenes with Corrigan for months.”…
On Tuesday afternoon, Corrigan deleted her tweets attacking USAID and stopped responding to messages from The Daily Beast. Wohl claimed in an interview Tuesday that a coterie of Trumpworld personalities had convinced Corrigan to backtrack on her claims. And Burkman claimed that Corrigan had “buyer’s remorse” after sending her tweets…
But later in the day, a conduit sent a statement from Corrigan herself that was darker in implication. Corrigan now claimed she’d become the pawn of individuals who had attempted to “ruin” her.
“I would like to apologize,” it read. “Especially to the people who have been affected or hurt by the messages sent from my Twitter account, and the claims made in my name over the past 24 hours. I did NOT send these messages, and while I vehemently protested about them being sent in my name, my devices were not in my control. I see now that I was part of an abusive scheme and I was used to attack people that have nothing to do with me.
“I will not be participating in any press conferences as claimed in my name, and will have nothing to do with individuals who forced me to hand over my devices so they could control me and the output in my name. Due to naivete and inexperience, I became involved with people who abused my trust, conned me, and claimed they were working in my interest. I became powerless in a situation, and I deeply regret not reaching out to people who knew better, or could help me.”…
Thing is… the Trump administration didn’t hire Corrigan because she was ‘involved’ with Jacob Wohl; she was given a no-supervision sinecure because she represented what Trump’s handlers wanted to hear. Sorting out the various crimes for which this cartel can be punished is going to be even more complicated than the usual Truth & Retribution Reconciliation Commission, because it’s gonna require teasing out so many strands of genuine delusion mixed with the general criminality.
Another Scott
Nobody heading a government agency should be on Twitter. It’s madness, and there are well documented rules about how communications should be done, what records must be kept, and on and on.
But this is extremely weird…
Cheers,
Scott.
Msb
So she calls for women to live in chains, and doesn’t like it when they’re tried on her. Amazing.
Emma from FL
I think I’ll go read some fanfic. Better executed plots, if nothing else. Better human beings, for certain.
laura
The “Ladies Against Women” Junior Division Regional Finalist regrets that she will not be up for any press avails due to a Leopard eating her face.
Adam L Silverman
@Another Scott: If Corrigan’s actuations are true, it looks like Jacob finally managed to commit some real crimes. Not to mention he’ll be the focus of a counterintelligence investigation. We’ve got impersonating a Federal official. We’ve got theft of her property. Someone in the National Security Division of the DC Field Office of the FBI is facepalming right now.
dmsilev
@laura: Truly, the leopard is always hungry for more face.
Raoul
Didn’t the last Wohl-orchestrated accuser several months also claim that their phone was taken over and they didn’t write the tweets? No doubt these people are stupid enough to not have pins on their home screens — or, g-d help us, trusting enough to let a convicted securities fraud perp know their screen lock code.
Wohl really is just a complete trash human, and will surely do some sort of prison stints in his complicatedly dumb-shit life. If not for this, he’ll just keep sinking into the muck.
Another Scott
OT? Example #12,436,362 for why notorious trial proceedings should not be held on Zoom – at least not without sensible measures being taken:
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2020/08/porn-clip-disrupts-virtual-court-hearing-for-alleged-twitter-hacker/
Cheers,
Scott
Omnes Omnibus
@laura: Does she know Miss Otis?
Redshift
After all the shocking-but-not-surprising of the Trump era, it’s refreshing to have something that’s just weird and stupid.
Calouste
Pretty easy actually: “You accepted a nomination from the shitgibbon? : guilty as charged.” We can determine the actual penalty by duration and level of the position.
Roger Moore
@Another Scott:
I would disagree. Every person heading a government agency should have an official Twitter account; Twitter has become an essential tool in communicating with the public. What they should not be doing is treating their official account the same way they treat their personal one. The official Twitter account needs to be treated with the same seriousness as any other official communication. There needs to be a process by which the official tweets are written and considered before they’re tweeted. As long as tweets are seen as an alternative- or complement- to traditional press releases, they’ll be OK. It’s only when the official account is treated like a personal extension of the department head that it gets in trouble.
Another Scott
@Adam L Silverman:
Popehat doesn’t seem persuaded.
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
laura
@Raoul: I get a thirsty Roger Stone understudy vibe from Jacob (scuzzy monster energy swilling Eve Harrington), and Roger’s not going to be around forever, and those rats wont fuck themselves.
Redshift
Since Engel’s career in Congress is ending, I hope he’s willing to be a hero and sue for defamation, for discovery against Wohl and Burkman if nothing else. I know defamation has a high bar for public figures, but it seems likely that reckless disregard for the truth was involved here.
Another Scott
@Roger Moore: It’s impossible to have meaningful communications in, what is it now, 280 characters? … checks … Yup.
Government agencies need to be able to convey information clearly and minimize chances for misinterpretation. Twitter is specifically limited in ways that guarantees that messages will be misinterpreted. Not only that, it’s designed for immediacy rather than careful consideration.
Sure, every agency should have its own official T account (and squat on it if nothing else), but I don’t see how it can be used for meaningful communication (as opposed to posting links from elsewhere).
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
Roger Moore
@laura:
I would say “the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce”, except I can’t bring myself to treat Roger Stone as tragedy. “The first time as farce, the second time as slapstick” just doesn’t have quite the same ring, does it?
mrmoshpotato
SPW’s sidepiece should punch Wohl in the face.
Roger Moore
@Another Scott:
Twitter is not limited to 280 characters, since it can include links, videos, and images. Plenty of government agencies make good use of twitter by using those capabilities.
mrmoshpotato
Hot! Damn! I wanna say “Nutjob!” but that would insult nuts and jobs.
jonas
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m getting a very Kanye West-like, off-her-meds vibe from Ms. Corrigan. She isn’t well.
Quinerly
@Omnes Omnibus:
https://youtu.be/nvqEg9XbwJA
SFAW
I guess I’m a little amazed that both Jacob Wohl and Jimmy O’Keefe are still able to walk this world, relatively unmolested, and not six feet under.
mrmoshpotato
@Emma from FL:
LOL Dinosaur erotica probably has better executed plots.
Kent
No, that’s different. Every government agency has a public affairs office who’s job it is to do this sort of thing and they generally maintain the official social media feeds on behalf of different agencies. There is no reason for actual individuals to be maintaining separate twitter feeds. They represent the agency, not the other way around.
So it is appropriate, for example, for the Seattle EPA office public affairs person to maintain a twitter presence on behalf of the office. They are the ones who are sending out news releases for everything they do as well as keeping the news releases up to date on their web site. There is no need for the actual regional administrator of the Seattle EPA office to maintain a separate twitter feed to talk about government affairs.
Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.)
I know I speak for everybody here when I say: What the motherfuckety fuck?
Betsy
@jonas: That’s what I got, too. Sounds as though the woman may have symptoms of delusion and paranoia. Of course, that’s not necessarily inconsistent with the irrational and defensive tendencies of “sane” right-wingers.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Roger Moore:
Like @RealDonaldTrump?
Ruth C Wright
@Omnes Omnibus: I didn’t know anybody else remembered Miss Otis.
mrmoshpotato
@Redshift:
BWHAHAHAHA!!!!
piratedan
based on the “penalties” that were levied against O’Keefe and the President’s penchant for taking care of his soldateri, I can understand Mr. Wohl’s pervasive feeling that perhaps those laws and societal mores do not apply to the likes of him.
Brachiator
Wow, it’s getting to the point that you can’t distinguish between a Trump appointee and a staffer on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
How did this person get hired in the first place? Are her family Trump donors?
CapnMubbers
@Omnes Omnibus: …regrets?
mrmoshpotato
@Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.): You took the words right out of our keyboards.
Major Major Major Major
Oh man, following that whole trainwreck has been hilarious.
Major Major Major Major
@Emma from FL:
What’s good in fanfic these days?
Alison Rose
Sounds like someone’s been reading my dream journal.
Roger Moore
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
IIRC, that is Trump’s personal account; the official account is @POTUS. The problem there is pretty much the opposite: Trump likes to use his personal account to announce official actions. Of course he also uses it for all kinds of noxious unofficial stuff. He certainly would be better off if he made a clear distinction between his personal and official accounts.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Adam L Silverman:
Nope. Barr’s FBI won’t investigate this guy. And Trump could always just pardon him.
Emma from FL
@Major Major Major Major: I haven’t gone on the prowl for a long time, but hear that James Bond/Q stuff is running neck in neck with Harry/Draco….
The Lodger
@mrmoshpotato: Hey, dinosaur erotica has been nominated for Hugo Awards. Try that with Jacob Wohl stories.
Major Major Major Major
@Emma from FL: I didn’t know Bond/Q was a pairing. Whishaw is cute from angles, or was last time I saw him.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@mrmoshpotato:
Rule 34 notwithstanding, I refuse to allow that concept to exist in my brain. My psychic shields are impenetrable.
Emma from FL
@Major Major Major Major: I think they are the archetype of the romantic older/younger couple these days.
Roger Moore
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
He’d better watch out, though, since the statute of limitations will last long past January 20th.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Major Major Major Major:
Really? I can see how Q would be paired with Bond. He is played by Ben Whisaw after all who I can see why people would view him as attractive
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Roger Moore:
Did you read Adam’s post downstairs? It wasn’t optimistic
mrmoshpotato
?
mrmoshpotato
@Roger Moore:
?He better not flee
Lady Justice will cave in faces tremendous bigly
The law will bash in faces!?
mrmoshpotato
@The Lodger:
Sorry if it sounded like I was bashing dinosaur erotica.
mrmoshpotato
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice:
There is no shame in enjoying dinosaur erotica with poorly executed plots. You do you. ?
Major Major Major Major
@mrmoshpotato: ew, poorly-executed plot
smike
@mrmoshpotato:
Wow! “Dinosaur erotica” is another good band name. They pop up all the time around here.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Roger Moore: Agreed.
mrmoshpotato
Wow. Take 10 minutes, and wow.
Sister Golden Bear
Ruh-roh, who leaked the plans?! All will be assimilated—and fabulicious, dahlings!
lumpkin
TS (the original)
Slightly off topic
Just saw a video of trump on our local news – raving about the explosion in Beirut – and can only put my hands over my face & weep.
That boy just ain’t right & what on earth he is doing as the political leader of anything other than the gold plated loo is beyond sanity.
NotMax
@dmsilev
Continues to remind me of the “face-eating wombat” which came up a couple of times as a gag throwaway in Big Wolf on Campus.
Can’t readily find the scene as a stand alone, Here’s a link which should be cued up to the start of the particular bit, which runs only about 20 seconds, involving a certain product substitute.
:)
mrmoshpotato
@Sister Golden Bear: LOL
prostratedragon
In over a decade of Alfred Hitchcock tv productions, the fundamental subject was
bullshitpropoganda:opiejeanne
@Ruth C Wright:
Any parent who sat through enough dance competitions in the 90s knows “Miss Otis Regrets” pretty well.
opiejeanne
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): You think Trump even knows who those two pissants are? Let alone if he cares what happens to them.
scav
But will our homo-empire be equipped with the promised level of taco trucks?! I insist on fabulous taco trucks!
mrmoshpotato
@scav:
Where do you live with taco trucks that aren’t fabulous?
eldorado
if my erotica isn’t inspiring a deep level of shame, it’s not doing it’s job properly
oatler.
@prostratedragon:
I saw that episode this very night on MeTV.
SFAW
@opiejeanne:
Given his history, I expect he wouldn’t not know them until after they’re indicted for doing something illegal or evil on his behalf.
Ken
@The Lodger: How about a Velociraptor / Wohl fanfic? Putting the slash back into slash fiction.
Ken
@SFAW: And even then, unless they’ve given him money or have some info that Trump doesn’t want to come out, there’d be no pardon.
artem1s
ah yes, patriarchy for thee but not for me! how did they ‘force’ you to turn over you devices? isn’t that called assault? kidnapping? when are you filing charges against your BF?
Uncle Cosmo
@dmsilev: I recently finally finished reading Giuseppe di Lampedusa’s Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) – in an English translation that’s been sitting on the avunculocosmic shelf for dogonlynosehowlong – & as reactionary as the protagonist is, he doesn’t seem much interested in dining on face unless it’s toasted (faccia tosta).
Uncle Cosmo
@SFAW: If stochastic terrorism worked on the left side of the aisle, they’d both have caught a three-group in their homo-disabilis foreheads long ago. For good or ill, it seems to be restricted to the knuckledragging mouthbreathing maskless RWNJs.
J R in WV
@Another Scott:
First, I am not a Twitter user, nor educated in how it works. That said, I’m pretty positive that Twitter allows embedding of links to seriously large documents, as well as multiple linked posts about complex issues. I would be surprised if the owner of a Twit account can’t keep others from posting to that account.
Designed for immediacy, not sure what that has to do with any of this. Anyone can push out a press release that makes them look stupid, evil, or criminal, if they’re stupid enough to do so.