Unfortunately, the two mass shooting events are not a surprise to me. Predictably, Democrats and the MSM are blaming everyone and everything else but themselves. But the sad truth is that this blood is on their hands. It is not Donald Trump who is stirring up rage, it is his opponents who constantly and falsely accuse him of racism and supporting white supremacy.

When Trump dared criticize those Democratic congresswomen who are bad mouthing the United States, he was accused of racism.  No one in the MSM noticed what they were saying about our country. They were women of color, so criticizing them is by definition, racist.

When Trump pointed out, correctly, the Rep. Cummings screamed insults at the acting Border chief based on blatantly false information, while ignoring worse problems in his own district, he was accused of racism.

When Trump condemned white supremacists at Charlotte and pointed out that some people demonstrating against removing the statute of Robert E. Lee were good people, he was accused of supporting white supremacists. When the New York Times sent a reporter who quickly discovered that Trump was right, the media ignored this and still said he supported white supremacy.

This goes on daily. CNN anchors constantly claim Trump is a racist. Beto O’Rourke claims Trump is an avowed racist. Now some of them are, predictably, trying to blame Trump for these mass murders. None of them gave any consideration to evaluating the impact of their own rhetoric. Which is more dangerous, real racism or false accusations of racism. What could possibly be more racist than blaming all our problems on white privilege.

Imagine you are an angry young white man. Democratic candidates for President are apologizing for their white privilege. You are white. You do not exactly feel privileged. What you feel is anger. Anger that results in you writing a manifesto. You blame both parties, pointing out that while both Democrats and Republicans are to blame, there appears to be no hope for Democrats. You don’t mention Donald Trump. You don’t mention David Dukes.

You buy a gun.  You go to El Paso and start shooting people.  The reason is beyond obvious. It’s Donald Trump’s fault.

You are another angry man in Ohio. You are a registered Democrat. You are a Satanist. You shoot up a bar and kill your own sister. Clearly, this too, is Donald Trump’s fault.

A lot of our problems could actually be solved by buying CNN anchors, Democratic Candidates for President and the entire staff of MSNBC mirrors. That way they could see who is actually stirring up this level of hatred.

TDM

John Ratcliffe has withdrawn as a candidate to become the next DNI. Trump was getting a lot of push back from Republicans in the Senate. That is too bad, because Ratcliffe is exactly what is required. But this does not mean Trump has backed down. He also refused to let Sue Gordon, the number 2 at the DNI to become acting DNI. Trump probably realized something else. He needs a DNI that Democrats are going to find very difficult to discredit. I predict he will pick someone at least as strong if not stronger than Ratcliffe, only without the baggage. Democrats may rue the day they got Ratcliffe to withdraw.

Trump is almost certainly looking for someone not embedded in the current intelligence community that has impeccable credentials. It is clear he is determined to materially change the culture at the DNI and that is a very good thing.

It is increasingly clear that William Barr and John Durham are pursuing serious criminal charges. The decision regarding whether or not to prosecute James Comey is proof of that. If they were primarily motivated by politics, they would have indicted him. Even if he was acquitted he would have endured an expensive and embarrassing trial. That is exactly what Democrats would have done to a Republican FBI Director under similar circumstances.

But ultimately the decision to base this on the law and facts actually makes them more dangerous. When they do indict people, it is going to be much more difficult for opponents to accuse them of playing politics. That, of course, will not stop Democrats and their lackeys in the MSM from trying. Democrats are always willing to politicize any situation. It is in their DNA.

But ultimately, this will be decided in a court law and if someone is indicted with a serious crime and convicted after a fair trial, everything will change. Those who tried to play the political card will only be embarrassed, assuming they are capable of feeling embarrassed. The vast majority of people will understand.

If you want to see how this plays out, watch “A Few Good Men.” Look for the scene where Jack Nicholson playing Col Nathan R. Jessep learns that he is going to be charged with a crime.

The link is below.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=jack+nicholson+a+few+good+men.+you%27re+charging+me+with+a+crime.&view=detail&mid=597AEEA8A3B8FF5843DF597AEEA8A3B8FF5843DF&FORM=VIRE

The judge dismissed the jury after Jessep admits that he ordered the Code Red.

Jessep. “What is this? What’s going on? I did my job, I’d do it again. I’m going to get on a plan and go back to my base.”

Judge: “You’re not going anywhere, Colonel. MP’s guard the Colonel.”

At that point Captain Ross, played by Kevin Bacon, reads Jessep his rights.

Jessep. “I’m being charged with a crime? Is that what this is? I’m being charged with a crime? This is funny. That’s what this is. This is..”

Then he lunges at Lieutenant Kaffee, played by Tom Cruise. The only response is by Capt. Ross who asks Jessep if he understands his rights.

Jessep says: “You f@## people…you have no idea how to defend a nation. All you did was weaken a nation today, Kaffee, that is all you did. You put people’s lives in danger. Sweetdreams, son.”

At this point, Jessep is arrested.

We could just possibly see a repeat of this scene. The people who conspired to frame Donald Trump still believe they were the ones protecting the country. They will be shocked to learn that instead, they are going to be charged with a serious crime, possibly treason.

Watch that scene again, and notice something important. Not one single person in that courtroom showed an ounce of support for Jessep. The MP’s physically restrained Jessep when he tried to attack Kaffee. Eventually, even Jessep realized he had no support and he quietly went off with the MP’s. That too will be repeated. If these men are indicted for criminal acts, including the possibility of being charged with treason, they will also discover that the people they thought were friends and supporters are no long around.

TDM

I did not watch either of the two DNC debates. Based on the reviews, from both sides of the aisle, that was a wise decision. Both liberals and conservatives agree on one thing. None of these people are ready for prime time.

That does not mean that we didn’t learn anything. There were some major changes and that were very noticeable. There was almost no mention of Russian collusion either night. There was no mention of Robert Mueller and no one suggested impeachment. There wasn’t even any mention of foreign interference in U.S. elections.

They still trashed Trump, but mostly with ridiculous accusations of racism. But they did more than that. They attacked a lot of things done by the Obama administration. Some of this was clearly an attempt to hurt the front runner, Joe Biden, by tying him to Obama. Some of this criticism was toward the Obama administration immigration policy. But Obama was also criticized for foreign policy decisions, particularly the worthless surge in Afghanistan. Even Biden criticized Obama with regard to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This was so obvious that even Erik Holder noticed and chimed in:

To my fellow Democrats. “Be wary of attacking the Obama record.”

I believe this is a lot more than trying to take down Biden. I believe that smart advisers in those campaign know that Obama is about to take some serious heat with regard to the origins of the Russia investigation. Horowitz, the IG, has provided his report to William Barr and there are reports he made a criminal referral regarding James Comey. That report is about to be publicly released. There are also reports that Barr will not indict Comey.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/threads/its-official-doj-barr-refuses-to-indict-comey-as-recommended-by-us-ig-for-crimes-committed.770084/

“The Justice Department has decided against prosecuting former FBI Director James Comey for leaking classified information following a referral from the department’s inspector general.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-will-not-prosecute-comey-for-leaking-memos-after-ig-referral-source

Don’t assume that Comey is getting off free. He is about to be publicly humiliated by the IG report. In addition, this investigation is separate from the review of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) abuse. There is an ongoing investigation by Attorney General William Barr and U.S. Attorney John Durham.

This could mean there are several reasons for the decision to not indict Comey, that are not necessarily good for him. One is that you don’t indict someone for jay walking if you intend to indict them for murder. The only decision, at this point, was to not indict Comey for leaking documents to the press. This does not mean that Comey will not be indicted for something else. It does mean that Comey is about to be publicly humiliated. Ironically he is about to get treatment very similar to what he delivered to Hillary Clinton.

He may also soon be getting offers he can’t afford to turn down. It is quite possible that another reason Comey is not being indicted is that they are after bigger fish and more serious charges. Comey hardly seems like a person who has the moral character necessary to take one for the Gipper or anyone else. Behind the scenes, he just may be singing like a canary.’

Which brings us back to the DNC debate. No one, other than Biden, even mentioned Obama in a positive light. If they though Obama was so great, they would be embracing him. They would be desperate for a red carpet ride on his massive coat tails. Instead, they are rapidly distancing themselves. This is remarkably at variance with the MSM which still worships at Obama’s feet. For example: Michael Moore is practically begging Michelle Obama to run.

Perhaps, just perhaps, these campaigns have figured something out. If the investigation by William Barr and John Durham yields even a portion of what is suspected there are going to be serious criminal indictments for actions that took place under Obama’s watch. Even if Obama is not personally implicated, this has the potential to be a massive political scandal. None of the candidates look particularly bright, but all of them, with the exception of Biden, appear to be smart enough to understand this.

The MSM was quick to accuse Donald Trump of racism for daring to criticize Rep. Elijah Cummings. However, almost none of them have bothered to report on the conduct by Cummings that led to this rebuke. Before engaging in the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, perhaps we should consider the reprehensible conduct of Rep. Cummings. The press reported this as “tough questions” for acting Homeland Security Chief Kevin McAleenan. There actually was no question at all. What Cumming engaged in was screaming insults without any basis in facts for his accusations:

McAleenan said he was doing his “level best” to handle the ongoing crisis at the U.S. Border. Cummings exploded with rage and said:

“What does that mean? What does that mean when a child is sitting in their own feces, can’t take a shower? Come on man, what’s that about. None of us would have our children in that position. They are human beings.”

Trump responded by pointing out, accurately, that the congressman was a “brutal bully” who unfairly attacked border agents:

“Rep, Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men & women of Border Patrol about conditions at the Southern Border, when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous. His district is considered the Worst in the USA,” Trump posted.

“Why is so much money sent to the Elijah Cummings district when it is considered the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States,” he continued. “No human being would want to live there. Where is all this money going? How much is stolen? Investigate this corrupt mess immediately!

Trump was more than a little harsh and probably overboard. But so was Cummings.  The real problem here was failure of the MSM or anyone in the Democratic Party to hold Cummings accountable. If Trump had not tweeted about this, the MSM would have gladly ignored it. The double standard is beyond obvious and it is long past time to expose this hypocrisy. Since Trump made this statement there has been a lot of evidence that he is right about Baltimore. But this has been drowned out by screams of racism. That unfortunately is the Democratic response to everything or everyone who dares criticize them. Screams of racism, racism, racism is a poor substitute for actual dialog.

Trump is using the bully pulpit, to criticize people like Cummings who have been using their positions in congress to bully others for a long time. Although the MSM never seems to notice this, the rest of us are very much aware. Everyday Democrats literally accuse Trump of every imaginable crime and the MSM rejoices. CNN anchors have even accused him of treason. None of them have a shred of evidence to support their opinion. The news media never even asks for evidence. Hating Donald Trump is all that is ever required.

So, which is more racist? Criticizing someone who is black or refusing to criticize someone because they are black? In my personal opinion, both are racist, but the second is more destructive. George W. Bush called it the racism of low expectations. Real equality comes when the opportunity for success or failure is the same for everyone.

TDM

We saw a new Donald Trump this week. One who is no longer worried about the Mueller report. He is also not worried about the investigative nonsense that will continue to be generated by Democrats in congress. Trump realizes, what almost every Republican realizes and what a majority of Democrats in congress realize, Casey has struck out. The Mueller hearings were a disaster for everyone, but Donald Trump.

It is extremely important to pay attention to what Trump said during his phone interview with Sean Hannity. He said the Mueller investigation was:  “a witch hunt that should never be allowed to happen to another president again. This was treason. This was high crimes. This was everything as bad a definition as you want to come up with.”

The MSM is desperately trying to “fact check” Trump and Republicans who challenged Mueller during the hearings. The following is an example of that.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/national/the-most-over-the-top-lines-from-donald-trump-s/article_b0a0ba93-ee0e-5e7b-930e-50826bd54e91.html

This actually does nothing more than document the incredible bias and stupidity that passes for journalism in the MSM today.

When Trump went on to say this was: “a coup attempt, in my opinion” the author responded by writing:

“!!!! A coup attempt! How? What? Where? Also, this isn’t some commenter on “The Donald Trump” subreddit suggesting this. It is the President of the United States.”

At least the author, Chris Cillizza, who happens to be CNN editor at larger, acknowledged that Donald Trump is President of the United States. If this is the best CNN has, then it has nothing.

Trump is the President of the United States and yes, he did say this was a coup attempt and it was treason. At a minimum, that should give any journalist with an ounce of common-sense pause. Cillizza is right to ask: “How? What? Where?” The problem is that no one is the MSM has even attempted to answer those questions. If and when they do, the answer is likely to be earthshattering.

Although Donald Trump appears to be unscripted, one must assume that he had help in preparing for this interview. It is quite possible that William Barr knew in advance exactly what Trump was going to say. If that is true, then Barr and Durham are investigating people for treason and a conspiracy to remove a sitting U.S. President without cause. Is it really a coincidence that the day after this interview William Barr announced that the U.S. was going to start executing people again? Perhaps he is warning people that he is investigating the most serious possible crimes with the most serious possible consequences. Now is the time for all good men, and bad men who want to survive, to come to the aid of their country.

One will note that John Ratcliffe, at one point, told Mueller he knew Mueller was unable to answer his questions, so he yielded back to Nunes. In an interview on July 25, 2019, Ratcliff explained that the Christopher Steel dossier was off-limits because there is an ongoing federal investigation into how that was generated and how it was used. That, folks, is the real bombshell and it is unlikely that anyone at CNN even noticed.

One last comment on the idiot article by Chris Cillizza. He quoted Adam Schiff, as if that somehow equals evidence:

SCHIFF: “Trump and his campaign welcomed and encouraged Russian interference?

“MUELLER: “Yes.”

SCHIFF: “And then Trump and his campaign lied about it to cover it up?”

MUELLER: “Yes.”

This was a bald-faced lie by Schiff and the low point of the hearing was when Mueller agreed with this. This lie is discredited by, gasp, the Mueller report.

“The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election activities.”

In their haste to conduct a coup against Trump, his enemies forgot something really important. If you shoot at a king and you miss, you’re are in deep trouble.

Today, Donald Trump announced that he will nominate John Ratcliffe to be DNI. This means the person in charge of our intelligence agencies will be a former U.S. Attorney who is determined to follow the facts and the evidence wherever they leave. We can expect Democrats to do everything possible to block this nomination, but I think they will fail. John Ratcliffe is well respected in both political parties. To those of you who have longed for someone to hold people accountable for their actions, your prayers have been answered.

I know nothing about the Jeffrey Epstein other than what has been reported in the news or online.  However, there are certainly some very interesting questions. So, I decided to just imagine how some people may be viewing this and what actions might be considered.

Imagine you were Bill Clinton or one of the numerous other high-profile individuals who allegedly were participants in Jeffrey Epstein’s party world. Perhaps you flew on the famous Lolita express or visited his little Island in the “Virgin Islands.” Like many extremely wealthy people, you do not believe the restrictions placed on “ordinary” people should apply to someone like you. Jeffrey Epstein used to be a valuable asset, now he is nothing more than a worthless liability.

You wake up one morning and learn that Jeffrey Epstein has been arrested. His attorneys are desperately trying to arrange bail. The last time Epstein was arrested a lot of convenient coincidences resulted in him pleading guilty to a misdemeanor and serving a short prison sentence in what can only be described as an accommodating environment. Like being allowed to leave jail every day for 12 hours to “work.” I am sure no one would suspect that one or more of those “high-profile” individuals may have had some influence on that result.

This time that clearly isn’t going to work. There is just too much publicity and there are hints that the entire story may become public. There are even reports of eyewitness testimony and perhaps, gasp, secret video recordings. There are hints that Jeffrey made a lot of his money by blackmailing people. This is very close to the worst-case scenario.

If you could quietly arrange for him to get another sweetheart deal you would do that. If you could arrange comfortable quarters where Jeffrey would have a strong incentive to shut up, you would do that. If you can get him out on bail you would do that. If you could just prevent this case from getting wide-spread publicity you would do that. But none of those options are on the table.

So, what can you do? Perhaps you can get him temporarily assigned to a local jail. One where the conditions are horrible and where, conveniently, there is no video. What if he was assigned to general population? Perhaps the problem would solve itself. Any scenario where Jeffrey Epstein either exited this planet or suffered an injury that rendered him incapable to testifying would be a good result. Perhaps this would provide strong incentive for Jeffrey to solve the problem himself. If this was the plan, it failed miserably.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epstein-found-injured-in-manhattan-jail-cell

Jeffrey Epstein was been found lying in a fetal position on the floor of his cell. He has apparent bruising on his neck. There appear to be no witnesses. There is no mention of video. What genius thought it was a good idea to put him in to the general population at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. Perhaps there was an incentive for someone to make this brilliant choice? He was only moved to protective custody after other inmates threatened him. He is in the Special Housing Unit which is described as “inhumane” including insect and rodent infestation, dirty linen and broken equipment.  All of the information comes from “sources.”

The most miraculous thing about this may be that he survived long enough to be transferred to protective custody. It may be an even bigger miracle that he survived protective custody. Obviously, this level of protective custody is not all that protective.

If the allegations against Epstein are true, then I have zero sympathy for him. These living conditions seem to be about right. However, this story is a little too convenient for a lot of very powerful people. Who knows? But, if someone was  waiting for breaking and convenient news of how Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, they are probably very disappointed.

We will probably never know what really happened. We just know that a lot of people are very interested in Jeffrey Epstein and few, if any, are all that concerned about his personal welfare. Some of those people just want to see him receive his just deserts. Others are focused primarily on self-preservation.

All we know is that the problem not only didn’t go away, it got even worse. At this point almost anything seems possible. I wouldn’t even rule out a horrible accident of some kind that kills a lot of prisoners, one of whom just happens to be Jeffrey Epstein. Imagine that.

TDM

On previous occasions I have suggested that Robert Mueller may be secretly working for Donald Trump. The reason was quite simply that otherwise he was either hopelessly biased or totally incompetent. If a skilled prosecutor was assigned to be special counsel, he or she would have been careful to hire a staff that was above reproach. The last thing they would do is hire someone like Andrew Weissman who has a horrible record for bias and incompetence. We all now know the real answer.

Robert Mueller was not hopelessly biased nor was he incompetent. Sadly, he was mostly absent. I think history will show us that the biggest victim of the Special Counsel’s staff was the Special Counsel himself. He, and those who love him, have to be humiliated and furious with yesterday’s hearing. Someone, anyone, should have told the truth and saved him from this tragic public humiliation.

A lot of people woke up this morning with egg on their face. The Russian collusion story was a joke from day one. That was obvious to anyone paying attention. There was a mountain of evidence,  unreported by the MSM, proving this was a gigantic hoax. Yet some supposedly sharp people have been all in on Mueller who was not all in on himself.

This reminds me of a personal incident observing the agony of defeat. My wife and I were traveling back home from a business trip to Bermuda. We had secured great tickets to the World Series, if the Detroit Tigers managed to get there. We had a layover lasting several hours at O’Hare Airport in Chicago. The Chicago Cubs were playing San Diego in the NLCS. The game was going on all during our layover. The series were tied 2 -2 and the winner of this game would go to the World Series. The Loser would go home. Everywhere we looked there were Chicago Cub’s signs and banners. It seemed like everyone working at O’Hare was wearing a Cub’s button. Every eye was glued to a television screen. It actually looked great for the Cubs, for a while. They were leading 3-0 in the bottom of the 6^th. Then it all fell apart. San Diego scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 6^th. Cub fans started to show signs of fear. Then San Diego scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 7^th and went on to win the series. All those Cub fans were deflated in a heartbeat. By the time we got on our plane, all of the Cub’s gear, the banners, the signs and the buttons were all gone. It was as if they had never existed. That, friends, is the cost of this type of public humiliation. Your strongest supporters will be the first to turn on you.

A lot of people are going to learn this the hard way. This is the ultimate self-inflicted wound by people who should have known better. While I feel nothing but sympathy for Robert Mueller, this should actually be fun to watch.

TDM

During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany Black September, a Palestinian terrorist group took eleven Israel Olympic team members hostage and then later killed them.

Jim McKay, a sports broadcaster, was on the air fourteen hours. He reported on the situation, including the rescue attempt. When that rescue failed, completely, McKay said the following:

“When I was a kid my father used to say “Our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized.” Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They have now said there were 11 hostages; two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight. They’re all gone.”

Today, the Mueller hearings resulted in a worst case scenario for Democrats. Mueller was a pathetic witness when it became apparent that he literally did not know what was in his own report. He looked frail and defensive. It became clear, to people on both sides of the aisle, that Mueller did not manage the investigation and he probably didn’t write the report. It really doesn’t get any worse than this. Much was promised, less than nothing was delivered.

The odds of impeachment just dropped from zero, to less than zero. On the other hand, there were times when Republicans absolutely hammered Mueller. John Ratcliffe was extremely strong in showing that Mueller’s statement that he could not exonerate Trump regarding obstruction is absurd and not supported by DOJ policies and procedures. John Ratcliffe is a former U.S. Attorney and the American public got a chance to see a real prosecutor in action.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2019/07/24/congressman-ratcliff-rips-mueller-for-making-up-a-bogus-standard-of-guilt-for-president-trump-n2550523

But the strongest condemnation of Mueller came from Tom McClintock. This was so bad that even the Sacramento Bee noticed and published this in a Capital Alert. When McClintock gets positive press from the Sacramento Bee, it is a clear sign of end times.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article233061607.html

“For example … you have left the clear impression throughout the country, through your report, that it was the Russian government behind the troll farms,” said McClintock, who represents California’s 4th congressional district. “And yet when you’re called upon to provide actual evidence in court, you fail to do so.”

The Sac Bee made a feeble attempt to spin down the damage, but the report is still devastating for Mueller and the entire Russian Collusion myth. If you get this kind of report from one of the most liberal newspapers in the country, this was an unmitigated disaster.

This is beyond bad. For over two years and Democrats have been screaming Mueller, Mueller, Mueller, Russia, Russia Russia. Just wait until Mueller finishes his report. The legal noose is closing in on Trump and Happy Days are just around the corner. Many people on the left and most of the news anchors on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, and ABC etc. bought this hook, line and sinker. So did a high percentage of supposedly objected newspaper editors. All of them have already paid a heavy price for this stupidity. Ratings are dropping like a stone and some newspapers are literally gone.

Now we learn that the Mueller Report, like the Kings wardrobe, was not manufactured out of thin cloth, it was manufactured out of no cloth at all. What we saw today was nothing less than an unprecedented and embarrassing display of public nudity. No one on either side of the aisle was impressed. At best, people were reduced to making excuses for Mueller. Wow!

TDM

Robert Mueller is going to testify before Congress this week. Democrats are hoping and praying that this will breathe some air back into the Russian Collusion theory. At a minimum, they want Mueller to say he thought Trump obstructed justice. There is almost no chance of that happening. Mueller already turned in his report and if he says anything different than what is in the report, he would put himself in legal jeopardy. He knows that, even if Democrats haven’t figured it out.

William Barr gave a subtle warning to Mueller when a few days ago when he said the Justice Department would back Mueller if he refused to testify. This was also a reminder to Mueller of the consequences for getting this wrong.

This is also not balanced between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats cannot ask Mueller any questions regarding Donald Trump or the Russian Collusion investigation that have not already been answered by the Mueller Report. It appears as though Nadler thinks the American people will be outraged if they hear what was reported by the Mueller Report. This, of course, assumes the American people are really stupid. There is almost nothing in the Mueller report that will be news to anyone who has been paying attention. In addition, Democrats totally misinterpreted what Mueller said in his press conference. He did not say that he found evidence of obstruction. He simply said that he could not have charged a President of the United States with obstruction. But William Barr has already said, on the record, that Mueller admitted he did not rely on this to reach his conclusion. He is extremely unlikely to say anything different. When Democrats ask questions, we are going to get hours of Mueller referring them to the Mueller report.

Republicans, on the other hand, have a lot of questions for Mueller that are not addressed in the Mueller Report. For example: the prosecutors on Mueller’s team are in serious trouble with regard to the trial of Bijan Fafiekian, the Michael Flynn associate. The problem is that they are trying to convict this guy for a crime they can’t actually define. They are so desperate they asked the judge to change the jury instructions: https://theconservativetreehouse.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/flynn-july-1.png

This is incredible and it does not appear as though the judge is buying it.

The liberal female reporter who interviewed Julianne Assange said that the DNC emails were not obtained from Russian source and Assange was pissed that Russia was trying to take the credit. A video recently surfaced showing her admitting this. The MSM has tried to ignore this aspect of the story. But they actually helped document this. Among other things Anderson Cooper interviewed Assange and he said he had even more material on Clinton:

https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2016/07/29/wikileaks-hacked-dnc-emails-julian-assange-intv-ac.cnn

Mueller incredibly relied solely on CrowdStrike’s analysis of the DNC server which was never evaluated by the FBI or the NSA. While Democrats cannot ask Mueller to change what was in the report, Republicans can sure ask him why he didn’t investigate this.

That casts serious doubt on the entire basis for the Mueller investigation. Mueller never even bothered to interview her. Mueller cannot answer these questions by referring people to the Mueller report. In addition, the Republicans on that committee are far sharper than the Democrats who tend to rely on talking points.

The bottom line is this. If, and that is a big IF, there is any news at all out of this testimony, it is almost certainly going to be the result of questions asked by Republicans. If anything, the Mueller report is far more likely to be discredited than it is to be expanded.

One bombshell Democrats are ignoring is that Mueller is probably going to say that it is never the duty of prosecutors to exonerate someone, they either bring charges or they don’t. He will then repeat that he neither exonerated nor indicted Trump for obstruction. He actually has to say that. Democrats will try desperate to spin that, but they have been trying to do that for weeks with zero success.

This hearing is an act of desperation by Democrats who aren’t even close to impeaching this President. The left wing of the Democratic Party is furious about this, because much was promised but nothing delivered.  All the attacks on Trump have just made him stronger.

My prediction is that after this hearing Democrats will have no choice but to go cold turkey on the Mueller Report. It is always painful to break an addiction.

TDM

In the early 1800s Barbary Coast pirates were attacking shipping in the Mediterranean Sea. Some of those ships were U.S. ships and American sailors were often abducted and then sold back to the U.S for a ransom. President Thomas Jefferson ordered U.S. Navy vessels to the Mediterranean Sea to stop this nonsense. In 1803 the United States Marines were ordered to attack Tripoli. In 1805 the United States won a major victory when U.S. land forces in North Africa supported by the USS Argus and the USS Hornet along with U.S marines captured Derna and deposed Yusuf Karamanli. Marine Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon commanded the victorious Marines and was awarded a special sword. That sword now serves as the pattern for swords carried by Marine officers and most of us recognize “to the shores of Tripoli” from the official song of the Marine Corp.

The point is that the United States has always been more than a little prickly about people who attack our ships in international water. In 1798, at a dinner in honor of John Marshal, Robert Goodloe Harper made a toast: “Millions for defense, but not a cent for tribute.”

Iran would be wise to study this history. It is extremely unlikely that Great Britain will ignore the seizure of two tankers today. One was sailing under the flag of Great Britain; the other was under another flag but was staffed by British sailors. Many pundits are talking about a measured response and a bump in the road. I fear they are wrong about that. I doubt that Trump or anyone else will go to war over this, but they also won’t ignore it. My guess is that military action is already being planned and at a minimum any further stunts like this will result in an immediate and overwhelming response.

It wouldn’t be surprising to learn that the leaders in Iran neither approved of this action nor even knew it was happening. Some local militia commanders may have thought this a sterling plan. If that is true, there Iran may already be desperately negotiating a face-saving resolution behind the scenes. It would literally be suicidal for them to allow this to escalate any further. Just recently they offered strong hints that they wanted to negotiate their way out of this mess.

Rand Paul has been authorized by Donald Trump to meet with Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif next week. Paul may be a brilliant choice, because he has been a long and frequent critic of foreign intervention by the U.S. This may be the ultimate good cop, bad cop routine. Paul is there to advise them there is a way out and to offer to negotiate with them. But he will also warn them that Donald Trump is more than willing to take them on, and if he is unable to reach a deal, they will be dealing with a highly unpredictable Donald Trump.

These are dangerous times, made more dangerous by the irresponsible rhetoric from the liberal left and the MSM. This is one time we should all unite behind our President so that Iran will have the strongest possible incentive to negotiate a solution to this.

In the meantime, things have crossed a line that cannot be ignored. No U.S. President will be willing to tolerate attacks on our ships in international waters. I take it back, Barack Obama did exactly that. But this President is not Barack Obama and he is unlikely to take this lying down. More importantly, it looks like Boris Johnson is poised to be the next Prime Minister of Great Britain. If that happens, he is extremely unlikely to start his term in office by letting Iran commandeer British vessels in international waters.

This is 2019, and not 1798, but some things never really change. This is one of them.

TDM