I’ve gotten so used to these Celebitchy Daily Briefings that I feel like my work-day isn’t complete if I don’t chat, however briefly, about some of the big political stories of the day. Even though gossip seems to be picking up, let’s be real: the current political stories are so much more fascinating and crazy. So, let’s get to it.
The Susan Rice stuff. Woe is Susan Rice. I actually feel sorry for her. She was President Obama’s National Security Adviser and during the Obama years, the Republicans tried their best to make her sound like an incompetent lunatic. When really, she’s just a dry intellectual who is sort of bad at giving interviews. Well, the GOP thinks Susan Rice is the key to understanding everything about the unfair investigation into Emperor Bigly. Keep in mind, most Republican legislators only give a sh-t about finding out who is leaking damaging information about Trump and Trump’s people, they don’t actually care about Bigly’s illegal activities. So now they’re saying that Rice had access to classified material as NSA, and something something she’s probably the leaker! Rice spoke to Andrea Mitchell yesterday and she was like “WTF?” Personally, I hope Republicans haul Rice in to testify just so she can whip out all of the receipts.
Neil Gorsuch’s plagiarism. Bigly’s SCOTUS nominee was very careless about attribution when he wrote a book in 2006. He Melania’d the crap out of several other authors’ works. Ha.
The New Trumpcare. While Obamacare is more popular than ever before, Bigly just can’t admit his own failure, so he and his people are trying to jumpstart the health care debate again, and this time their proposal will probably be even worse.
Reimagining a Hillary Clinton Administration. NY Magazine published this piece: “Before This Is Over, Republicans Are Going to Wish Hillary Clinton Won.” I thought that immediately after the election. The Republicans haven’t had to own their own failures this hard since George W. Bush was in office.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Sisters.. Doing it for themselves… per ush…. Also that said Susan Rice isn’t bad at Interviews, Susan Rice happens to not give any f*cks about appearing personable and such AND she likes blue eyeliner, per her “Drunk Assertive Auntie that don’t f*ck around with you Kids ” interview in Another Round
Susan Rice interviews as if her audience is comprised of intelligent adults, which is why she comes across as a poor interviewee to most people. The plague if ignorance and anti-intellectualism in this country will be our undoing.
THIS
PREACH.
It’s so terrifying that this is true. It seems like people are actively against logical, rational arguments and critical thinking. How is this our reality??
YES
YES! She refuses to dumb down.
She is a brilliant woman. And it’s disgusting how she’s been attacked over the years.
Yeah, a brilliant liar.
So true, she is the left’s boogie man. Pod Save America was spot on last week about how unhinged the Right gets regarding her logical and responsible actions (e.g. doing her job). Thanks @Kitten for introducing us celebitches to that podcast.
Yes they hated her before but now she will also be the new replacement to HRC. She should do a few interviews and ghost like Comey did. Or get a team of lawyers and avoid Benghazi fake outrage part2. I’m sick of women being dragged out and verbally beat up in congress by these men.
I was thinking Elizabeth Warren was the replacement for Hillary to be demonized by the right. I guess there can be more than one. Grr.
The blue eyeliner is a “don’t f*ck with me” not-so-subliminal message to Cheeto & Company.
It was refreshing to hear an intelligent, experienced person speak about the responsibilities of a NSA director —
QQ you nailed it. She interviews the way black women do when they no longer have time for the fuckery.
Ugh, Emperor Bigly is now calling Rice a criminal. These old white men are truly terrified of powerful black women.
In the same press conference, he is defending O’Reilly. Says he should not have settled.
How the f*ck did we get here? How? How? How?
These old white men are afraid of ALL intelligent women. Just take away their Viagra.
So Bigly’s picking on another woman again. Can everyone see a pattern?
Blame and deflect. That’s all these assholes are good for.
These assholes do and say whatever they want cause they know, like Telfon, it won’t stick. They’re never held accountable for any of the vile, hateful shit they do. Sick of em all
I spy another red herring. ..tick tock, how much longer before it’s all spilled out, my graciousness, we’re still focused on McConnell trying to slam Gorsuch on the SC.
Diversion not working.
Yep that’s what Dan Rather said in his facebook page (brilliant analysis of the times! Everyone should read Dan’s facebook!). He said the repubs are just whipping out new shiny allegations to take the focus on what matters – Orangino colluding with the enemy of the state and treason.
We should stick to that that tune out all these baseless claims.
So desperate to distract and pin his problems on others. Susan Rice was doing her job. It was her job to know who was doing what and she had to go through procedures each and every time she looked at something. It isn’t her fault Donald that you were caught talking to Putin’s spies.
Yes, this was what I was going to say. She was doing her freaking job. These people are despicable…sigh….I know I’m preaching to the choir…..
Once again, I am awed by how Trump thinks something like this vindicates him. He was speaking to someone under a FISA warrant. He is implicated.
I believe the public has the right to know if the NSA has close, personal ties to the government of a sworn enemy of the US. Whoever provided the info on Flynn to the press isn’t a leaker, he or she is a whistleblower. Huge difference.
No. No, Dr.Susan Rice has nothing to do with Habenero Hilter’s problems. Current or otherwise.
Hoping a black woman takes them all down.
Saw this great story. It is worth a read.
http://www.theroot.com/april-ryan-maxine-waters-and-now-susan-rice-black-wom-1793984869
This is major nothingburger of a story. Post-Snowden and the original Wikileaks dump that showed how much intel the gov’t was (illegally) collecting on American citizens, intelligence is more diligent about protection of citizens privacy, at least superficially.
Citizen names collected in legal intelligence gathering of foreign nationals suspected of spying must be blacked out in transcripts, but it’s totally legal for security officials with clearance, which Susan Rice as NSA most definitely had, to ask to have those names un-redacted — or “unmasked,” as the Trumppettes like to say, because it sounds more sinister — if they have reason to assume they might be relevant to national security. That’s the ONLY criteria, and it can apply to literally any redacted name, and most definitely would apply to high-ranking members of the incoming president’s staff discussion with known spies.
This doesn’t mean they were investigated. Nor does it even KINDA’ mean that Obama, or anyone in his administration, had Trump or his team wiretapped in any way. All just total bogus, nonsense.
That so many members of the Trump team were TALKING, repeatedly, to known Russian spies and being constantly picked up on routine surveillance IS the story. Always has been the story. Always should be the story.
I also don’t even sort of understand how this story makes sense to even the rightest, right winger? I mean, so their theory is that Obama’s NSA acquired Trump team names for nefarious reasons and then … Did absolutely nothing with them? Is that their story? Because it makes ZERO F’ING SENSE. Like, ‘Oh, they did this big, bad, shady thing and then just let everything proceed as normal and left office without a single word. Get the pitchforks!’
Thank you.
Yes but it’s not the unmasking that’s an issue. They are accusing her of leaking the unmasked names which is a felony.
Agree completely that would absolutely be the part that is a genuine issue, IF it occurred, but if you watch/read any right-wing media, including Fox News, the unmasking itself is being portrayed as a big bad, which it absolutely is not.
Many point to a March 22 interview on PBS where she says she had no knowledge of any individuals involved as “proof” she’s a nefarious liar; rather than just someone carefully choosing her words to NOT reveal/say anything she isn’t legally allowed to disclose because it’s classified … Which is how I see the same clip the Right sees as damning.
YES I noticed that too. They are perpetuating this notion that unmasking in and of itself is a felony! Um NO.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the people who voted for a liar would frequent media sites that lie directly to their faces. SMDH.
If you’re talking leaking, it’s important to note that Trump’s White House leaks like a rusty rowboat. While there is zero evidence that Susan Rice EVER leaked anything classified, there’s firm evidence that not only did someone in Trump’s admin leak the existence of the documents that show the incidental collection, they also leaked Susan Rice as the person who requested the documents unmask names … Because otherwise we wouldn’t know about it. Those docs remain classified, so leaking their existence, let alone what’s in them and who did what with them, is a crime. Full stop.
There’s also a great Buzzfeed article about the botnet that got #SusanRice trending on Twitter this weekend. Nothing genuine about it.
And, last but definitely not least, let’s not forget that the person who originally put out this Susan Rice story, Mike Cernovitch, who Donald Trump, Jr. tweeted should “get the Pulitzer,” is a man who has publicly, repeatedly, denied the existence of date rape, bragged about liking to, “chok[e] a woman right up until her eyes almost go lifeless,” (actual quote) and claimed that women are addicted to his semen. These are not jokes, or hyperbole, but true things this disgusting garbage person has “reported on” prior to his Susan Rice “scoop.” (For more, see today’s in-depth New York Times story, and check Twitter for the grosser tweets the NYT wouldn’t even touch … There’s much worse than I’ve shared here, if you can believe it.)
So, yeah, definitely seems on the up and up that Trump, today, granted an exclusive interview to the, “failing New York Times,” in which he said that he believes Susan Rice is a criminal. The second person, if you don’t count Clinton, from the previous admin that Trump, our sitting U.S. president, has accused of a felony with zero evidence to back up that claim.
Everything about this entire story stinks. Every. Single. Thing.
“That so many members of the Trump team were TALKING, repeatedly, to known Russian spies and being constantly picked up on routine surveillance IS the story.”
Important point! Great post.
All of the Grifter-in-Chief’s problems are caused by himself. Always have been, always will be. And he never has, never will take responsibility.
Eh it depends. The unmasking is not an atypical thing for a National Security Advisor to do.
But it’s not the unmasking that’s the issue, the issue would be if she leaked the names to a member of the press or anyone else. I REALLY hope she’s telling the truth here because if she did leak the names, it will provide the perfect distraction for Trumpy and his supporters.
The thing is that Rice has been a target by the Right since Benghazi. It also doesn’t help that she’s a strong and capable woman who happens to be black. We know how the GOP feels about women in positions of power.
Regardless, the finger-pointing never ceases to amaze me. It’s like Bigly Toddler is saying
“But Ma, she hit me first!!”
So embarrassing.
If Susan Rice were going to leak names,and I don’t believe she would but if she did, I believe she would have done so a very long time ago.
My understanding is that so far there is ZERO evidence that she leaked names to anyone.
There’s no evidence YET. I’m not saying I don’t believe her–just that we don’t know for certain–all we have is her word at this point and it only takes one phone call where she leaked one name to constitute a felony.
I am hoping that she covered all her bases because otherwise this will be Christmas for the GOP and the Trump-zombies.
I think Rice is smart enough to not commit a felony.
Le Sigh. So do I.
Just taking a wait and see approach. I don’t want her to get caught up in the investigation and I hate seeing her being used as part of another ploy to distract.
I think she’d be protected by whistleblower laws, right? Someone who knows the law chime in (lightpurple?)
I feel like if the Right had actual information that she leaked, they would mysteriously find it (*cough*Nunes). However, what they are doing now is equating unmasking = leaking. That isn’t factually accurate. It gives me hope that they are as unsupported by facts as they appear.
Ah … the latest distraction, Susan Rice. So-called president Trump and his supporting cast are an embarrassment to America. Like any experienced authoritarian bully and cheat, he will pin the blame on others for anything and everything. However, Rice was aptly doing her job unlike Trump who is busy trying to distract from his Russian connections and possible collusions.
Trump wants to make Obama the story with the most recent chemical attack on Syrians. Deflect to the Obama administration because of that “red line” that was crossed in the earlier attack is Trump’s latest attempt at not taking responsibility. It is underreported that neither Trump nor the Republicans supported Obama going into Syria the first time around but they love to blame him now. Republicans, Trump and his voters and supporters all make me sick!!!!!! HYPOCRITES!!!!! Would be nice if they were all locked up.
“It is underreported that neither Trump nor the Republicans supported Obama going into Syria the first time around”
Yeap only McCain was supporting. And the press was pushing him to send troops but you know as soon as Obama would have given in to pressure, 24 hours later the press would be reporting on casualties and starting a count down clock to ‘bring the troops home’. We have to be honest that as a country we are hypocrites when it comes to sending troops to war zones. Obama didn’t fall for it and he is called weak.
Let Trump send troops and see how that goes. I think people afraid of Trump starting a war do not understand how much of a coward this guy is. The last thing he wants is to be a war president with 15% popularity. And would be really go see the troops in a country with no Trump hotel? He will just make empty threats and tweet.
Let’s send in Uday and Qusay to lead the troops first. Heck, Let’s send in Trump in full battle gear.
Keep up with the political coverage. With so much intended diversion from the White House, it’s important to be informed/reminded of what actually is going on. Great job!
El Cheeto’s problem is that he doesn’t know how anything works, and neither does his administration. They are quick to throw blame because they think they are distracting people from the fact that they have no idea what they are doing. It’s not working-we see them for what they are.
Even if Rice leaked the unmasked names, that’s not illegal if it’s for whistleblowing purposes, right?
Nope. Trump once again is trying to change the story. A BIG story that Carter Paige acted on his behalf, interacting with spies. then Betsy Devos brother meeting with Russians as a backchannel a few day before his inauguration. Very convenient comrade baby fists jump on Tweeter when those stories broke.
There are weird connections everywhere. Remember a computer server owned by Russia’s Alfa Bank in Cyprus looked up a computer server owned by Trump in the US. Turned out over eighty percent of the attempts to look up that server in the US were by Alfa Bank and oddly almost all of the rest were related to Spectrum Health, a medical facility chain connected to Dick DeVos, Betsy DeVos’s husband.
Exactly. Two bigger stories were conveniently shoved to the side in favor of Rice (at least by cable news).
The Rice story (at least what is currently known) sounds to me like pointing fingers at someone who checked surveillance tapes upon strong suspicion there has been a robbery.
Update — Bigly just gave the ‘failing’ NYT an interview. He says no one but Faux news is covering the Rice story enough! This is the newest “tapp” distraction.
I hadn’t heard the Gorsuch tidbit. Yesterday a Dem friend posted a plea on FB for Dems in Congress to consider confirming him as sort of a concession to the GOP agenda…that maybe then they might be willing to move forward with impeachment and not also avert the nuclear option. I was happy to see people respond (since I don’t post on FB anymore, lol) with all the reasons why he’s such a bad choice, most notably his “humanity problem.”
Your friend must be an optimist or extremely naive or ignorant of history or all of the above to think that appeasement would work with this Republican Congress.
The biggest reason to oppose is that they did not confirm, or even hold hearings about the confirmation of, Obama’s nominee. Unprecedented anti-democratic behavior.
WATP, I agree about my friend. I was shocked because she’d been so adamantly resisting until now, it seemed like an odd thing to go soft on. And I agree that the biggest reason to oppose Gorsuch is because that seat absolutely should be Merrick Garland’s.
Essentially, the “nuclear option” is already in effect. If the Dems give in this time and approve Gorsuch, the next nominee will be even more extreme and the GOP will destroy the filibuster then.
There are serious questions about the legitimacy of this President, and I don’t think the Dems should give in on anything until the Russia matter is resolved.
The trap has been set.
Obama told Rice to go on TV and be vague.
Repubs hate Rice. Yell conspiracy!
Diaper Man seeks confirmation of Rice intel and “leaks.”
Repubs convince EZ-D to appoint special commission.
Commission blows the Trump/Russia scandal sky high.
Emperor Zero and his cronies in WH go to jail.
Rice walks away for doing her job.
Obama yucks it up with Michele and Hillary.
The end.
I think Sally Yates will play a role. She set the trap when she told the Administration about Flynn, and they did NOTHING. It was a test, imo. I can’t wait until she testifies.
Breaking news: Bannon stripped of NSC title. Anyone surprised? I’m not.
At least McMaster seems to know what he’s doing. I’m slightly heartened by this news.
Kitten.
Saw this too!
But what will the Mercer family say, Eric?
They won’t be happy about this..
I hadn’t heard that, thanks. YAY! I’m definitely heartened.
Wonder of McMaster will now be able to get rid of Ezra Cohen-Watnick, who supposedly passed info to Devin Nuñes?
The *official* excuse is that he was on the council to monitor Flynn. Flynn is gone, so Bannon is no longer needed on the council. My response to that excuse: “Sure, Jan.” Wouldn’t be surprised if McMaster told drumpf, “Either he goes or I go.”
Hahaha…are you f*cking serious? Is this coming from Spicy?
Amazing how dumb they think we are.
I initially thought the same: McMaster is behind this. He seems like such a decent guy—capable and honest.
I hope he doesn’t disappoint me.
Flynn has been gone for a while now and if you thought he needed monitoring, by someone with no expertise in the area, then why did you appoint him?
I wish this was a joke but, as usual, the WH is spinning an unbelievable tale to keep us from the truth. Quoting the NYT, one official said the move is a “logical evolution, not a setback” for that pickled turd.
There is some ass covering going on in the background – could it be that he’s protecting himself from the Feds who could be closing in on the Russia allegations. Could the wonder boy be behind this to set Bannon up to take the fall for the Russian campaign shenanigans? I always got the impression Bannon craved that role.
This also wouldn’t surprise me. God what a f*cking mess.
Did you guys see he’s calling O’Reilly a “good person”? What a f*cking piece of human garbage, both of them.
I don’t know, personally I think he is cutting and running. Syria, North Korea, China. Sh*t just got real and it has nothing to do with xenophobic, racism or attacking women so Bannon is peacing out.
Just like Trump is going to try to get out of dealing with these hot spots. They don’t care about the rest of the world IMO. The want to be White supremacist in the US and watch the rest of the world burn down.
The next question should be what are they going to do about Nunes, Ezra Cohen-Watnick, , and the 2 other WH staffers who were leaking these fake stories to Nunes? What the press is leaving out of the Susan Rice stories is that Ezra was the one who leaked the information about Susan Rice, first to Nunes and then to the press. I saw 3 shows-Rachel M address that the information about Susan Rice came from Ezra, but all of others are going through a lot to distance him from the Susan Rice story. Ezra needs to be held accountable. Trump lied about Obama. He didn’t want to apologize, so he had his staffers look for information to support his lie. When that didn’t work, they just started shift blaming. First it was Evelyn Farkas and when that backfired, they went after Susan Rice. Nunes created all of this trouble when he decided that his duty was to Trump instead of to the people and he is not even be held accountable for that. He lied, told several different stories depending on who he was talking to.
As for Bannon removed from the NSA, it looks like they are covering up for something just like they had Manafort step down when the stories about his ties to Russia wouldn’t go away.
Thanks for the daily dose of reality. Seriously. Thank you. Gives me some hope over here that this house of cards will, at some point, come crashing down. Plus, I get to borrow such linguistic gems as “that pickled turd”…. etc….!