IRS (It's Russia Stupid)

  The only possible explanation for Traitor Trump's insane foreign policy is that it is being done to please Russia.  To this day I do not discount the possibility that Russia has him on videotape at the Moscow hotel.  Separately, his real estate empire has been financed by Russia.  Who knows how many 10s of millions or hundreds of millions he owes Russia.  His son admitted that their main source of financing is Russia.  This is separate and apart from the untold millions of  laundered dollars spent by Russians to buy units in his Manhattan and other facilities.

         The thing about tRUMP is that a lot of stuff he does in plain sight.  The perfect example is when during the campaign he asked whether Russia was listening to him.  Then in Helsinki he said he believed Putin rather than his own intelligence agencies.

 

       I could give an exhaustive list of examples of the tRUMP/Russia quagmire.  I will give only the ones that have come up in the last week   The vast majority of commentators discussing the Ukraine scandal hardly mention Russia.  For me, Russia is at the heart of the scandal. Russia is the story, not Ukraine.  The two men who were indicted for illegal campaign violations to the tRUMP campaign did so with laundered Russian money.  It was in Russia'a interest to destabilize Ukraine.  

         There  has been absolutely zero explanation from the White House about why tRUMP personally withheld military funding from Ukraine.  If you realize that withholding the funds was in Putin's interest, then it make sense.

          Pulling U.S. troops away from protecting our allies also makes perfect sense if you look at it through the Russia prism.   The Assad regime would have been defeated if not for Russian military aid.  Assad fought bitterly against the Kurds. By failing to protect the Kurds, tRUMP is helping to support Assad who in turn is supported by Russia.

          Trump was asked if his withdrawal of support for the Kurds will hinder other alliances.  In a total non sequitur tRUMP basically said that we don't need alliances.  He went on to bash NATO with his old canard that NATO has not paid enough money.  He basically said that there is no reason for us to be in NATO.  Let them face Russia by themselves.  This was music to Putin's ear. 

                Moscow Mitch was totally offended by any suggestion that he is not tough on Russia.  He claims that he has opposed Russian influence for his entire career.  Where was Moscow Mitch's outrage when the Mueller report said that the tRUMP campaign encouraged Russian interference in our elections?  Where is  Moscow Mitch now when faced with  the fact that laundered Russian money went into the tRUMP campaign.

             The walls are crumbling.  The former ambassador to Ukraine made a blistering statement about the State Department and tRUMP's hatchet men  who got her fired.  A top adviser to Pompeo has quit in disgust.  tRUMPists are are scrambling to get rid of laundered Russian money.  Unless tRUMP's  S.Ct. decides to reverse well established law his tax returns will be turned over to Congress.   tRUMP has viciously turned on Fox.  If Fox turns or if even a few Republicans grow some, Russia's favorite asset is going down.  As every new breaking story comes out, hope is building. Yesterday more rats left the stinking ship.  

                                                                  Richard

Bizarroworld

The last 24 hours may be the most bizarre in all of tRUMP's presidency.  And that's a very low bar.  The State Department inspector general had an urgent meeting with the house intelligence committee.  It turns out that the urgency was because he was in position of crazy conspiracy documents and he wanted to get them off his hands as  soon as possible.  The documents were in an envelope addressed to Mike Pompeo, attn. Ruth.  The envelope was apparently hand delivered.  The return address said, "White House."  Inside were several  folders which contained documents on Trump Hotel stationary.  How did they come into the possession of Mike Pompeo you may ask?  Rudy Giuliani.  He put together a bunch of junk trying to show that Ukraine interfered in our elections to help Hillary Clinton.  This is, of course, directly opposite of the unanimous conclusion of 17 intelligence agency as well as the exhaustive Mueller investigation.  It is the equivalent of tRUMP suggesting that the DNC might have been hacked  by a 500 pound man sitting on his bed.

           Trump's press conference with the president of Finland could be Exhibit 1 in tRUMP's involuntary confinement hearing.  He was crazed. He turned red in the face.  He did his usual screaming and yelling.  He did his usual name calling. Then he took off on Adam Schiff.  He  said that Schiff could not hold the blank strap of Mike Pompeo.  He said it twice.  After some headscratching, people figured out that tRUMP must have meant jockstrap.  Who knew that jock is a dirty word?  tRUMP's aversion to bad language did not last long since he said that the impeachment investigation is total bullshit.  

       Back to Giuliani.  It turns out that he has visited Manafort several times in prison.  Please recall that Manafort was on the payroll of the corrupt Ukranian government.  Giuliani was probably on two missions.  First, to prove that  Ukraine supported Hillary 

Clinton.  And second, that  Joe and Hunter Biden were criminals.  Both of those theories are nonsense.  And coming from Manefort they have zero credibility.

It is tempting to laugh off these visits.  But  there is a very important  point to be made.  What  is the message that Manafort is receiving when President tRUMP's personal attorney is asking him for something?  The message is obvious.  tRUMP can pardon him if he gives some  dirt.  In my view this is another example of obstruction of justice.

    Then there is Pompeo.  After feigning complete ignorance of tRUMP's conversation with Zelezny, he finally, and  very sheepishly,admitted that he was listening to the conversation.  Pompeo's people are saying that he  recalled the ambassador to  Ukraine because he was worried about her safety.  Unfortunately for Pompeo he was listening to tRUMP say that the ambassador was a very bad person and things were going to happen to her.  As with all of tRUMP's acolytes, Pompeo's reputation for whatever it was worth is now forever sullied.

    And finally today  tRUMP said  that everyone has no doubt that the Bidens are not criminals.  Read that again.   In addition to all of his other unfamiliarity with the English language, tRUMP can't figure out double negatives.   He did exactly the same thing at his press conference with his brother Vladimir.

          This is a very brief rundown of bizarroworld.  I am sure you can give plenty of other examples that I missed from the last 24 hours.  In the world of sanity, Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff had a fabulous news conference.  They are so smart and so objective and so patriotic.  I think they are going to prevail and tRUMP is going down.  Before that happens he is going to flail  and attack even more outrageously.  It won't be pretty but he is going down.  Take care all.

                                                                 Richard