Tuesday, March 07, 2017

Message to JC

You're being stupid and getting sucked into the Catallaxy conspiracy zone.  Kates has gone down the rabbit hole completely - don't follow him.

Here are key points you conspiracists are ignoring:

*  the FBI was reported as being party to the warrant applications;

*  you have to be nuts (like Kates) to think that Comey is a Democrat stooge, given the obvious advantage it gave to Trump to declare that the email investigation was being re-opened, so close to the election;

*  Comey is already reported to have taken offence at Trump's claim - he is obviously prepared to stand up and be counted about the bona fides of the application for a warrant, and whatever it was it authorised them to do;

*  it doesn't matter if Obama knew what was going on - and he presumably was advised.   That is not corruption in any way, shape or form.   What upset Democrats, after the loss of the election - was the fact that Obama did know some of what was going on, and studiously avoided making any official comment on it.  Obama (if I recall correctly) even felt, post election, that he had to make it clear to his fellow Democrats that he just couldn't do that, due to perception that it would be an abuse of his position during an election.
 
Update:  CL, who is prone to partisan fantasy, calling it "bigger than Watergate" if Obama knew of the warrant and investigation, is just ridiculous.   (He is, clearly, becoming more and more ridiculous with what he will claim as he ages.)    If intelligence agencies believe there has been hacking and release of emails by a foreign nation with a clear intent to influence an election, and there is a string of contacts between Trump connected people and that foreign nation preceding a change in party policy more favourable towards it - of course the existing Presidential administration of any party should be concerned, and knowledge of further investigation about it is entirely appropriate.

Update 2:   A CNN report just out starts with:
FBI Director James Comey was "incredulous" over the weekend after President Donald Trump's allegation via Twitter that former President Barack Obama ordered a wiretap of his phones during the campaign, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.
Update 3:  message to monty:  for goodness sake, can you just point out to them that the FBI and Justice Department are not the same entity as President Obama.   And yes - we do not know the details of the warrant, and what and who it authorised as the target.

But it is 100% clear, from Comey's reaction, that he is deeply offended at the suggestion - implicit from Trump's tweets that it was Obama personally telling them what to do -  that he was dancing to the tune of Obama.

Update 4:  Sheesh - CL is just like Trump:  will just say anything, completely and utterly without concern for detail and accuracy and established fact. Leaves the rest of us wondering if he's nuts, prematurely senile, or knowingly bloviating and trolling for deliberate effect? 

There is no point in engaging with such blowhards...


9 comments:

not trampis said...

Kates was always away with the fairies. How else could you explain his absurd all statisticians are keynesians statements from moons ago.!

What you have not stated and JC for one does not understand is that if Trump had any information /evidence to support his claim he would have produced it by now. He is the ?President.

Apart from fantasists everyone who should know is denying everything.
Obama,Clappers.Comey all say it did not happen.

The ONLY people who know different are Trumpists who are stark raving mad at their best. They are conspiracy mad as is Trump.

It is all so sad but was very predictable from someone who was never fit for office and is showing it every day he is there.
Perhaps he will claim Alzheimers as an excuse if he can rememberr.

Steve said...

Actually, Homer, I have been meaning to caution you up about what Trump can find out directly about it. The NYT reported it this way:

"But a senior White House official said that Donald F. McGahn II, the president’s chief counsel, was working to secure access to what Mr. McGahn believed to be an order issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court authorizing some form of surveillance related to Mr. Trump and his associates.

The official offered no evidence to support the notion that such an order exists. It would be a highly unusual breach of the Justice Department’s traditional independence on law enforcement matters for the White House to order it to turn over such an investigative document.

Any request for information from a top White House official about a continuing investigation would be a stunning departure from protocols intended to insulate the F.B.I. from political pressure. It would be even more surprising for the White House to seek information about a case directly involving the president or his advisers, as does the case involving the Russia contacts."

So it is not as simple as you think it is...

Steve said...

I meant to write "pull you up" not "caution you up".

not trampis said...

Steve,
The President can open up any damn files he wants to. As President elect not the actual President he would be briefed on any such wiretaps because of how important they are.
The national Security advisor to Obama made this very point. He simply said Provide the evidence because you have the authorisation to do so. In fact he hared him to do it knowing there aint no evidence at all.

The other thing of course is if Obama did order the wiretaps why did he not leak them to discredit Trump.

not trampis said...

The Catallaxy clowns are somewhat confused.

Apparently Obama authorises to wire tapp (get it) Trump but then does nothing with what must have been highly damaging information.

Also does nothing when Comey intervenes in the last week which made the difference.

John said...

Trump should have kept his mouth shut. Now that he has raised the issue the intelligence community might decide to give him a hiding to nothing ...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-russia-collusion-campaign-us-spies-nsa-agent-considerable-intelligence-a7613266.html

Paul Montgomery said...

They don't see any difference between an administration and its law enforcement arms. To them, there should be no Chinese walls, because that's the way Putin does it. Putin is their new model for governance.

not trampis said...

and thus far NO evidence.

Steve said...

Yes, that's a good observation, monty.

Putin's a leader's leader, because he just gets things done...