Pierce: While You Were Sleeping, Trump Pushed A Wiretap Conspiracy Theory Into The Red Zone

[mcar]

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a53602/trump-wiretap-accusations/

The president* had another episode.

At some point, I guess, you just have to walk away. Not forever, and not for long. But, sooner or later, you have to arrange one morning where you wake up and deliberately decide not to find out how the country has lost its mind overnight. I'm getting to that point, I have to tell you.

Around 5:30—in the freaking A.M. morning!— the president*, or someone like him, got on the official Donald Trump electric Twitter account and threw the ongoing controversy over Russian influence on his campaign and on the 2016 presidential election deep into the red zone. In short, he is now accusing his predecessor of using the powers of the intelligence community and of the national law-enforcement apparatus to spy on his campaign. Kudos to The Washington Post for the "citing no evidence" disclaimer....

I think the whole thing started percolating to draw attention away from Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III's unfortunate collision with his own confirmation testimony this week. But I think the real match tossed into the powder magazine was an interview that Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, gave to Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC Friday afternoon.

In that interview, Coons as much as said that he believes that transcripts of conversations between Trump campaign officials and Russian officials exist. In my opinion, if those transcripts exist, and the Trump people know it, and know what's in them, it is in the interest of the administration to flip the script pre-emptively to how the transcripts were obtained as opposed to what they might contain. If administration officials are in contact with the Breitbart people—which isn't exactly a leap in the dark—then they slip the possibility of wiretaps to those people and then the president* reacts to news that some of his own people may have planted. (Think Dick Cheney, Judy Miller, and the aluminum tubes.) In any case, the stakes in this matter just became mortal.

[Amaryllis]

1. What you said about Breitbart - here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016179884

[mcar]

4. A feedback loop

Thanks!

[Eyeball_Kid]

2. Good and common sense speculation on Pierce's part. Again, watch what Trumpy DOES, not what he says.

[Nitram]

3. This: "In any case, the stakes in this matter just became mortal."

[mcar]

5. Yes

It's both fascinating and horrifying.

[Cha]

6. "In that interview, Coons as much as said that he believes that transcripts of conversations

betweenTrump campaign officials and Russian officials exist. In my opinion, if those transcripts exist, and the Trump people know it, and know what's in them, it is in the interest of the administration to flip the script pre-emptively to how the transcripts were obtained as opposed to what they might contain"

The plot gets thicker and thicker, mcar!

Thank you for Charlie Pierce's take on this!

[mcar]

7. I can't keep up, Cha

SO and I have been following it all day and we're both

[Cha]

9. I certainly can't keep up so far.. maybe I'll

catch up tonight with some more reading.. but events are happening so Fast!

[sarcasmo]

8. When you're coked out, the party is in mid swing @ 5:30 AM.

[6000eliot]

10. The whores have barely begun pissing!

[sarcasmo]

13. Maybe 6 AM is golden showers time?

[Hekate]

11. Love Chaz Pierce. Kick

[mcar]

12. He usually gets is just right

Thanks.