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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump and his Monkey
Donald Trump incorrectly believes that the pathetic Nunes memo a document that White House aides and others wrote for Nunes, who has not read the underlying material removes the monkey from his back. Rather, it simply suggests that the monkey wears a fisherman's hat, similar to the sailor's cap he wore while serving in the US Navy. As retired Office of Naval Intelligence officer Malcolm Nance noted after the memo's release, there is reason to suspect that Page is a double agent .which puts the Trump team's efforts to discredit the evidence gathered from the FISA warrants as the poison fruit from a poison tree.
It may be that Page isn't actually a double agent, turned by American intelligence agencies in 2014, after Russian intelligence attempted to employ him. I'd put it at about one-in-three that he's not, and simply is as strange as he seems. Certainly, not all former ONI people are good people, with Steve Bannon serving as a prime example. But, even if Page isn't a double agent, he is no more likely to put his neck on the line to protect Trump, than is Bannon.
Neither Trump nor Nunes have the intellectual capacity to grasp what is in play in terms of the effort to promote the memo. Yet Trump is convinced that it somehow clears him in the Mueller investigation. It could be that he is equally likely to claim that today's Super Bowl clears him. But it is likely that someone perhaps John Kelly who played a role in this curious play has convinced him that it aids his legal team. Whoever it was, they were clearly wrong.
The Nunes memo was, at very best, a re-make of Nunes' classic failure in March of 2017. It is obvious that there is no lie he won't tell, or any humiliation he will not suffer, in order to protect Trump. One might question why this is? I would suggest it is related to his role in the Trump transition, as well as his family business which involves significant Russian investment. If any republican congressman is implicated by the Mueller investigation, it will be Nunes.
For a few months now, I've mentioned that Page appears to have some characteristics of a double agent. Last week, a day after I commented on this in an essay here, Malcolm Nance said the same thing. I, of course, was speculating. Malcolm Nance is definitely the expert on this topic, and the best source we have. I'm also confident that Michael Isikoff and David Corn will be releasing some explosive information soon, possibly this week. I'd recommend listening to those three closely.
Were I to guess, I'd think that Trump's belief that everybody around him has something to hide, and thus can't testify to his wrong-doings, will take a hit. The Carter Page issues, quite interestingly, lean more to the topic of conspiracies between the Trump campaign and Russia, rather than with the obstruction. That would seem important.
Peace,
H2O Man
Me.
(35,454 posts)As to Kelly, what is the deal with him and how did everyone read this racist so wrong?
RandomAccess
(5,210 posts)just a little refresher on devin nunes and his investment in alpha omega winery:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029585838
Nunes-Linked Company Just Began Covering Up Its Russian Ties
The Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), has been under intense criticism amidst charges of obstructing the very investigation into Russian collusion with the Trump campaign that hes supposed to be leading. Both Democrats and even some staunch Republicans have called on Nunes, who was a member of the Trump transition team, to step down from his position leading the committees probe because of his leaking of confidential intelligence info to the subjects of his investigation and his own newly-revealed financial ties to Russia. Just last week, The Los Angeles Times revealed the details of Nunes net worth, disclosing that the vast majority of his money is tied up in an investment in the Alpha Omega Winery LLC.
If you happened to have visited the website of the Napa Valley-based vineyard before the story broke, the site clearly listed the Luding Trading Company, a major Russian alcohol distributor, as the winemakers outlet in Russia. Once the news of Nunes investment became public knowledge, however, Alpha Omega Winery suddenly removed Luding Trading Companys name from their website. They also tweeted out a claim that their only business with Russia consisted of the one-time sale of 22 cases of wine to an un-named broker.
The only time Alpha Omega did business in Russia was in 2013 when a broker handled a one-time transaction for 22 cases of wine.
Alpha Omega Winery (@AOwinery) March 23, 2017
A visit to the website of Luding Trading Company tells a different story altogether. A 2009 Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon is clearly listed as available to purchase, as is a 2012 vintage Chardonnay that was surely still sitting in a barrel waiting to be bottled when the 2013 transaction allegedly took place. Besides both of these wines from Alpha Omega, Luding Trading also offers their own Kremlin Award brand cognac, a brand name that the company licensed directly from the Russian government.
To give you an idea of just how involved Luding Trading Company is with the Russsian government, it would be helpful to note that the companys management was awarded the order of The Star Of The Fatherland with the First Deputy Chief of Administrative Services of the President of the Russian Federation, and representatives of the Administration of the President, State Duma, and Council of Federation present.
http://occupydemocrats.com/2017/03/28/nunes-linked-company-just-began-covering-russian-ties/
Me.
(35,454 posts)RandomAccess
(5,210 posts)Go ask Schumer why he's not publicizing it. Or any other Dem.
Me.
(35,454 posts)H2O Man
(73,605 posts)I also think the media should focus on it. And I'd like to see some Democrats talk about it, too.
Carter Page alluded to Ryan releasing the memo a couple of months ago. Ryan has the power to slap down Nunes and his antics, but didn't do it.
leanforward
(1,077 posts)I read something about the cited cover-up somewhere, most likely here on DU. I thought the above item was lost forever. Nice to see it bubble up.
RandomAccess
(5,210 posts)H2O Man
(73,605 posts)Much appreciated. Great information.
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)H2O Man
(73,605 posts)He seems so honest. Je often says, :Honestly" while lying, er, speaking.
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)myself included, had hoped that Kelly had enough character to stand up to Trump. But obviously, he doesn't. He fits the description that Erich Fromm provided in his book on "The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness" of a systems man who complies with the lead of an evil ruler.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,699 posts)H2O Man
(73,605 posts)I tend to watch a lot of The Beatles on YouTube. Best darned music ever.
malaise
(269,157 posts)Rec
Hekate
(90,793 posts)H2O Man
(73,605 posts)me pleased when DUers are aware of issues that aren't being fully reported on the news. There are a few other OP/threads on this topic that I've enjoyed participating on in the past 48 hours.
Hekate
(90,793 posts)...and a real eye-opener. She is one connected lady, from birth.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210188375
H2O Man
(73,605 posts)so thank you for bringing it to my attention. She's definitely not Brooke Shields with a lobotomy. She's part of the criminal enterprise.
an eye-opener it is