Robert Mueller Deals More Collusion Crack to the Desperate Media Addicts
Last Friday, the Russia collusion crack addicts took another hit, supplied by their main source, Robert Mueller. The Special Counsel announced a plea deal with Michael Cohen, in which the disgraced Trump fixer admitted that he had lied to Congress about his contacts with Russia regarding a potential Trump business deal. According to the plea, Cohen was reaching out to the Russians well into 2016, after the time when Trump’s nomination appeared likely.
OMG!!!! THIS IS IT! TRUMP IS DONE! COLLUSION HAS BEEN PROVED! HE WILL HAVE TO LEAVE OFFICE! TOP OF THE WORLD! THERE IS A GOD! I CAN SEE HIS FACE!
Dudes, put down the pipe and check into rehab. Though to be honest, there’s nothing that can fix your addiction. You don’t have a monkey on your backs: you have Bushman.
As is almost always the case with these pipe dreams, the media hot take is 180 degrees from reality. Rather than showing Trump’s deep connections with Russia, and his obligation to Putin, it shows the exact opposite. Namely, it demonstrates that even as late as 2016 Trump had absolutely NOTHING going on in Russia, but was still begging for the opportunity to talk about business opportunities. (Or at least, his flunkies were.)
Indeed, to indicate just how how much nothing he had going on, Cohen sent an email with an offer to Putin’s PR flack, Dmitri Peskov. But wait! It gets better! Cohen didn’t even have Peskov’s private email address, so he sent it to the address used for general press inquiries. And to add insult to injury Peskov didn’t respond. In fact, nobody responded, not even an intern saying “Thank you for your inquiry.”
In other words, Cohen rated the same response as Peskov probably gave to Nigerian princes offering the opportunity to make a vast fortune, in exchange for a little help. That being no response at all. He might have even given offers from Nigerian princes more thought.
Just as the Trump Tower meeting demonstrate beyond cavil that Trump had no deep connections in Russia, this farce demonstrates that Trump was not even remotely a player. To use a Rumsfeld category, this represents evidence of absence. Overwhelming evidence. If Trump was in deep with Putin prior to January, 2016, one of his flunkies wouldn’t have been sending plaintive pleas to a public email address. And if Putin was hot to collude, there would have been an answer.
It’s not that complicated. But then again, I’m not on crack.
Further, to the extent that Trump encouraged the outreach: (a) it’s kind of embarrassing, and (b) it’s hardly the actions of a man who thought he had the remotest chance of becoming president. In fact, it screams the opposite.
If Cohen and the other person involved in attempting to gin up Trump business in Russia were acting on their own hooks, it would suggest they didn’t rate The Boss’ prospects too highly either.
The worst thing about this entire affair is that Trump relied on low-lifes like Cohen and Sater. This hardly speaks highly of him.
So yet again, Mueller has delivered the collusion junkies a short term high in the form of a guilty plea to a process crime that does not get him any closer to proving that Trump colluded with Putin (or anyone else in Russia), let alone proving that he committed a crime (collusion per se not being illegal). Indeed, this latest “bombshell” merely proves yet again that when it comes to Donald Trump and Russia, there’s no there there.
Fair enough. So, within your model, an unscrupulous businessman is DESPERATELY pleading with a mafia for permission to make money off of the mafia-controlled territory. A sophisticated deal-maker that he is, he cannot be expecting to get something for nothing. Clearly no impressionable pussy to be grabbed in this picture. A natural question to ask then: what’s in it for the mafia? What is he offering?
Comment by Ivan — December 4, 2018 @ 1:13 am
He was offering the obvious: the cachet of being a host-city for a Trump Tower.
Given how many cities around the world have sought these towers of opulent, conspicuous consumption, it was not unreasonable that it would have appealed to Russians.
Comment by I.M. Pembroke — December 4, 2018 @ 9:44 am
My bookmark folder “Slow-Motion Coup” is getting awfully full.
Trump is a businessman who has spent much of his career in two sleazy fields: NY real estate and showbiz. And still they can’t come up with anything of any consequence. Remarkable.
Maybe Mueller is just a dud.
Comment by dearieme — December 4, 2018 @ 11:30 am
@Ivan–The offer was allegedly quite transparent, and had absolutely nothing to do with doing Putin’s political bidding. He (or rather Cohen/Sater, with Trump’s direct knowledge/agreement being unknown) offered the capo dei capi a free condo (worth an alleged $70 million) in exchange for blessing the project. Apparently that was not enough, and there is no indication of a subsequent offer.
I would add that this inducement was probably far more valuable than any promise of political favors, given that everyone–including Putin–put the probability of Trump being able to deliver on those promises at approximately zero, making them worth approximately zero.
This looks exactly like business as usual, based on the assumption that Trump would continue to be doing business as usual after 1/20/2017.
Comment by cpirrong — December 4, 2018 @ 12:08 pm
As has been written before, British Petroleum learned the hard way about doing business with the Kremlinoids, as have others.
The thing is – with oil, the Kremlinoids can grab it and still have an income stream.
Grabbing a hotel or condo building – what does that get you, even if it’s worth an alleged $70 million? Nada
You’ve got to manage it properly – it’s more like owning a horse. You’ve got to feed the horse. Or a yacht – which is a hole in the water that you sink your money into.
How does a rooshan oligarch know when it’s time to buy a new Rolls Royce/Maybach/Mercedes/Porsche/Bentley?
When the ash tray is full.
Comment by elmer — December 4, 2018 @ 12:49 pm
If it was ‘just’ collusion I honestly think the Washington machine would give Trump a free pass, putting it down to his inexperience etc. I think Donnie is more concerned about what else they may have found. He certainly seems more distracted of late.
Comment by David Mercer — December 5, 2018 @ 4:21 am
Forgot to add: I often wonder if part of the Dems plan – and Mueller’s brief – is simply to string this investigation out for as long as humanly possible. I can’t believe we approaching the 2nd anniversary of Trump’s inauguration and its still rumbling on.
Comment by David Mercer — December 5, 2018 @ 4:25 am
“British Petroleum learned the hard way about doing business with the Kremlinoids, as have others.” Indeed: BP has also learned the hard way about doing deals with Yankoids.
Comment by dearieme — December 5, 2018 @ 1:39 pm
Indeed: BP has also learned the hard way about doing deals with Yankoids.
what do you mean, please?
Comment by elmer — December 6, 2018 @ 9:46 am
The rip-off of BP after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. No doubt many view this as a pretty ordinary example of the routine xenophobia of American courts, but I imagine BP had always assumed that it was just as good at bribing all the right people as US companies are. Apparently it wasn’t.
Comment by dearieme — December 7, 2018 @ 5:56 am
Mueller has another notch in his belt, and may have a few more before he’s wrapped up. I have no problem with the investigation as it has uncovered real criminal behavior(Manafort, Flynn) and now the process crime by Cohen. With each passing week, it become more clear to everyone, including the progressives that there is no connection AT ALL between the Trump campaign, and any/all Russian seeking influence. The same cannot be said for the Hillary campaign, but that is not in the media sphere of attention right now.
The convictions so far produced by the Mueller investigation are largely in keeping with Trumps plan to drain the swamp. Swamp-people are being put on notice all over the massive fedguv that at least on the right side – you will be prosecuted. Hopefully, soon the left side will undergo a similar fate, but I’m not holding my breath that Abedin or others in the Obama clan will face the bar of justice for their malfeasance during the 2016 election, and before.
The saddest part of he whole affair is the desire, and intent of the media, universities, and social platforms to dirty the Trump admin by sly innuendo, and parasitic tricks. This was made glaringly apparent with the stories on the UN ambassador furniture debacle attributed to the Trump camp when it was the Obama UN ambassador who spent the money. Had Hillary won, nothing would have been said, but since Trump won the election – he was tarred with the brush in the hands of the Obama UN chair. Further has been the double dealing on the immigration debacle. Which dems voted for enhanced border security back in 2003, and again in 2007? Of course it was – Obama, Schumer, Pelosi. And now, that Trump is trying to fulfill his campaign promise to build the wall, the two remaining in office have had a change of tune – simply based on the occupant of the office. They have no spine, and no conscience, clearly under the spell of cult of personality. What a shame.
Anyway, let the Mueller investigation continue for as long as they are finding swamp dwellers to excise. It would be nice if they were actually bi-partisan, but maybe we’ll get busy on the left after 2020 Trump re-election. Sadly, some of the possible crimes will have expired their time limits by then.
Comment by doc — December 18, 2018 @ 9:59 pm
As usual, you’re being a partisan hack on this. On June 9th, the trump campaign showed a willingness to accept dirt from the Russians. In August, the FBI came to them and notified them about Russian interference and the trump campaign said nothing to the FBI. This isn’t normal or legal.
Trump has openly lied about his ties and interests in Russia. Every time he’s been asked, he’s lied.
Comment by Willis Warren — January 4, 2019 @ 9:55 am
@Willis. The Russians offered bupkis, and Jr. walked on the meeting. Yawn.
Meanwhile, have you reserved any outrage for a campaign which used a law firm cutout which used a opposition research firm cutout who hired a foreign ex-spook to assemble a “dossier” which was either (a) made up out of the whole cloth, or (b) was based on “dirt from the Russians” (who themselves might have made it up out of the whole cloth), and which was used to frame an innocent chump in order to provide a pretext for US surveillance on said chump and anyone he communicated with–including the Trump campaign? If not, spare me the fucking lectures.
Comment by cpirrong — January 4, 2019 @ 6:01 pm