The Bogus Story That Launched a ‘Collusion’ Probe

Andrew C. McCarthy

A minor functionary’s farcical encounter with a self-promoting schemer provided the excuse for an investigation.

Editor’s note: Andrew C. McCarthy’s new book is Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency. This is the fourth in a series of excerpts; the first can be read here, the second here, and the third here. 

"The George Papadopoulos Origin Story has never added up. It has been portrayed as the Big Bang, the Magic Moment that started the FBI’s investigation of “collusion” — a suspected election-theft conspiracy between Donald Trump’s campaign and Vladimir Putin’s regime. But if the young energy-sector analyst had actually emerged in early 2016 as the key to proving Trump–Russia espionage, you would think the FBI might have gotten around to interviewing him before January 27, 2017 — i.e., a week after President Trump had been inaugurated, and six months after the Bureau formally opened its “Crossfire Hurricane” probe.

"You would probably also think Papadopoulos, Suspect One in The Great Cyber Espionage Attack on Our Democracy, might have rated a tad more than the whopping 14-day jail sentence a federal judge eventually imposed on him. You might even suppose that he’d have been charged with some seditious felony involving clandestine operations against his own country, instead of . . . yes . . . fibbing to the FBI about the date of a meeting.

"That, however, does not scratch the surface. We are to believe that what led to the opening of the FBI’s Trump–Russia investigation, and what therefore is the plinth of the collusion narrative, is a breakfast meeting at a London hotel on April 26, 2016, between Papadopoulos and Joseph Mifsud, a Maltese academic we are supposed to take for a clandestine Russian agent. We are to take Papadopoulos’s word for it that Mifsud claimed Russia possessed “dirt” on Hillary Clinton in the form of “thousands” of “emails of Clinton.” We are further to believe that “the professor” elaborated that, in order to help Donald Trump’s candidacy, the Kremlin would release these “emails of Clinton” at a time chosen to do maximum damage to the Democratic nominee’s campaign.

"The story is based on no credible evidence. If it were ever presented to a jury, it would be laughed out of court." . . .

Hong Kong is a huuuuuuuge embarrassment for Democrats

Monica Showalter  "The turmoil in Hong Kong is a huuuuuuge embarrassment for Democrats. Hong Kongers are waving the stars and stripes, singing the national anthem, and issuing a global cry for freedom. For a Democratic Party that loudly supports bend-a-knee leftists who hate the U.S. flag, such as Colin Kaepernick, that's a problem. And for a party that is trying to sell socialism to the U.S. public, well, oppressive China's got socialism in spades.

"President Trump has taken flak for his response to the crisis, arguably so, but the real clown show is in what's coming from the Democrats.

"Axios did some homework and here's what it found when it tried to get answers from Democratic presidential candidates about what to do, particularly if the Chicoms get violent with the Hongkongers:" . . .

This is what the Democrats are offering as one of the world's greatest beacons of freedom stands to fall into the jaws of communism. Trump's response is still developing, so I'm not going to criticize him entirely for weakness, though I hope he moves things along.

Pelosi sticks up for her 'squad' after their failed Israel stunt  "You'd think someone as savvy as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would want to distance herself from the failed stunt of two of her squad members, Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. The pair of them were up to no good in their announced trip to Israel. Far from going there for the reasons normal people go, they wanted to hang out with terrorist-sympathizers and promote an anti-Israel boycott-divest-sanction campaign. The political nature of the trip was exposed by their refusal to go on a pro-offered bipartisan trip to the country, their acceptance of a different trip hosted by terrorist-linked sponsors, and creepiest of all, Tlaib's refusal of an invitation by Israel's prime minister for a humanitarian visa to make that one last trip to see her 90-year-old granny who might not be there for her next time, something Tlaib declined. Those detailed proved the whole trip to be nothing but a political stunt, and not surprisingly, Israel wasn't up for letting them do it on their time. 

They tried to damage Israel in other words, but failed miserably because Israel was smarter than them.

Wouldn't that be a good reason to pretend you didn't even know these losers? Not for Nancy Pelosi. According to Fox News:

“Israel’s denial of entry to Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar is a sign of weakness, and beneath the dignity of the great state of Israel," Pelosi said in a press release.  . . .

Why Israel Made the Right Move with Omar and Tlaib

. . . "Omar and Tlaib Support BDS, Which Supports the Destruction of Israel 

"Omar and Tlaib both support the BDS movement and voted against a bill, passed in the House of Representatives 398-17, that condemned BDS.  The BDS movement is anti-Semitic as it applies a double standard to Israel, the only state for the Jews.  BDS activists, including cofounder Omar Barghouti, have frequently asserted that the intention of the BDS movement is not to force Israel to leave Judea and Samaria (commonly referred to as the "West Bank"), nor is it to promote a two-state solution, but to bring about the destruction of Israel itself." . . .

Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib Share Antisemitic Cartoon by Participant in Iran’s Holocaust Denial Contest  "Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) both reportedly shared an antisemitic cartoon by an artist who participated in Iran’s Holocaust denial contest on their respective Instagram accounts on Friday, according to Forward editor Batya Ungar-Sargon." . . .

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Claim About The Homeless Was So Absurd Even Politifact Couldn’t Spin It

Hot Air

"Back in June, California Gov. Gavin Newsom made an incredible claim about homeless people in his state. Asked why the homeless population hadn’t declined when he was Mayor of San Francisco, Newsom said, “The vast majority (of San Francisco’s homeless people) also come in from — and we know this — from Texas. Just (an) interesting fact.”

"Newsom’s claim was discounted by the LA Times last month but Politifact decided to investigate independently. This week the least reliable fact-checker in the business agreed that Newsom’s statement was absurd, giving it a “Pants on Fire” rating." . . .

Proposed California Curriculum Riddled With Anti-Police Rhetoric, Anti-Israel Bias

Daily Caller  "A proposed California schools curriculum includes anti-Israel programming and also aims to teach students a one-sided view of police officers and police brutality.

"The Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, proposed by the California Department of Education, includes anti-Israel bias and aims to teach students about the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, a Palestinian-led anti-Israel initiative. The curriculum also has students study issues of police brutality and asks teachers to find incidents of bias by police in their own communities.

The “#BlackLivesMatter and Social Change” portion of the curriculum is aimed at grades 9–12, according to the proposed curriculum reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The purpose of this lesson is to expose students “to contemporary discussions around policing in the U.S., specifically police brutality cases where unarmed African Americans have been killed.”

The teachers are asked to discuss “a recent incident in your community where an African American has been subjected to racial profiling or police brutality.” Students are then asked to read “41 Bullets Off-Broadway,” a poem by Wille Perdomo.

The poem includes rhetoric such as “you bumped into four cops who happened to/wake up with a bad case of contagious shooting” and “Before your mother kissed you goodbye/she forgot to tell you that American kids/get massacred in gym class and shot during Sunday sermon.' ” . . .

https://youtu.be/aQMqWAiWPMs

CNN discovers that combining Trump Derangement Syndrome with ignorant reporters leads to embarrassing corrections

Beyond all that, imagine the fun of such an investment. Major League Baseball and soccer teams. The Ice Bowl. The Arctic Burger. The Iditarod Cup. Ice fishing. Glacier ice cubes like what John Wayne used, denser than ordinary ice so that a cube lasts all evening in a mixed drink. The possibilities proliferate. Richard Jack Rail*

CNN discovers that combining Trump Derangement Syndrome with ignorant reporters leads to embarrassing corrections

"CNN’s Chris Cillizza tried valiantly to hew to the Party Line when writing about the story that President Trump is exploring the concept of acquiring Greenland from Denmark. We know that everything the 45th President does is bad, so the only question for CNN people is how to pick and present the data that tries to prove the point.

"Alas for Cillizza (a graduate of Georgetown University), he chose (or more likely was assigned) the task of using the precedent of acquiring Alaska from Russia to comment on the possibility of a second Arctic acquisition, and he came up with this howler, caught by Ellie Bufkin and Jerry Dunleavy of The Examiner:

CNN stated that the 1867 purchase of Alaska by the United States "didn't work out so well" in an analysis article outlining potential problems if the U.S. pursued the purchase of Greenland.

"One of the last times the United States bought land from a foreign country was in 1867, when Seward orchestrated the purchase of Alaska from the Russians for $7.2 million," reporter Chris Cillizza wrote. "It didn't work out so well -- and has gone down as 'Seward's Folly' in the history books."

"Who could possibly write such drivel? And what kind of editor would let the contention that we’d be better off with Russia owning Alaska (and its vast natural resources including oil and many minerals) strategically placed at the top of the Western Hemisphere? And what about the nearly three quarters of a million Alaskans? I know that CNN wishes Sarah Palin had never been governor of a state, but really do we want to tell all those other Alaskans that they and their home state are a mistake?

"Apparently, Cillizza and his editor had never read about “Seward’s Folly” in a history course." . . .

NYT and WaPo hype Greenland ice cap melt – based on incorrect data  "Americans who get their news from the mainstream media that take their directions from the New York Times and Washington Post can be forgiven for suspecting the President Trump wants to buy Greenland because its ice cap is melting. Both newspapers reported that Greenland experienced temperature records in June this year.

"The Times hyped scares of melting ice and rising sea levels: . . ."

*Greenland: Something to think about . . . "It's doubtful that the Danes will sell Greenland.  Greenland's foreign ministry tweets that the country is "open for business, not for sale."  But if ever that changes, we need to be right there, first in line, check in hand.  Something to think about."

Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib Partnered with Vicious Anti-Semites to Plan Their Trip to Israel

"This should be a national scandal."

American Thinker

National Review  "To the extent that I care at all about Israel blocking entry to two U.S. congresswomen who partner with anti-Semites who seek its destruction, I agree with critics who argue that Bibi Netanyahu should not appear to bow to Donald Trump’s tweeted demands and that blocking Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from visiting Israel handed them a short-term propaganda victory. But that’s not the most important part of the story.
"The most important element of the story is the fact that two American congresswomen shunned a bipartisan congressional delegation to Israel to go on an independent trip to Israel sponsored by vicious anti-Semites. Another important element of the story is that, as of today, the mainstream media have whitewashed Omar and Tlaib’s vile associations.
"Writing yesterday, the Washington Post said that “Omar and Tlaib’s trip to Jerusalem and the West Bank was planned by Miftah, a nonprofit organization headed by Palestinian lawmaker and longtime peace negotiator Hanan Ashrawi.” The New York Times described it as an organization “headed by a longtime Palestinian lawmaker.” In its editorial, the New York Times editorial board identified it as a group “that promotes ‘global awareness and knowledge of Palestinian realities.’”
"This is a whitewash. Thanks to a Twitter thread from the Washington Examiner’s Seth Mandel — who pointed to multiple additional sources — I started looking at the articles and views published on the Miftah website, and it was like peeling an onion of evil. There was layer upon layer of vile anti-Semitism.
"First, the group actually published blood libel, posting an article that accused “the Jews [of using] the blood of Christians in the Jewish Passover.” When pro-Israel bloggers condemned the article, Miftah first claimed that the attacks against the piece were part of a “smear campaign” and minimized the reference to blood libel as merely “briefly addressed.' ” . . .

Jeffrey Epstein Spent Time Alone With Young Woman In Prison's Attorney Room

Forbes  "The day after he was taken off suicide watch, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein spent at least two hours locked up alone with a young woman, in a private room reserved for inmates and their attorneys, according to an attorney who was visiting the prison that day. 

" 'The optics were startling. Because she was young. And pretty,” said the visiting attorney, who asked that his name not be used because he didn’t want to create friction with the prison administration. He speculated the woman could be a lawyer—NBC News has reported that Epstein paid members of his team to sit with him in a room for eight hours a day for attorney-client meetings, allowing him to avoid his cell. 

"The visiting attorney went to the Manhattan Correctional Center on July 30, a day after Epstein was reportedly taken off suicide watch and transferred into the Special Housing Unit (SHU). During the hours the visiting attorney was present, it wasn’t Epstein’s main lawyer, Reid Weingarten, or other named attorneys who visited him. 

“ 'If I was him, I would have hired... an old bald guy,” said the lawyer, who said the young woman was in there with Epstein for at least two hours when he was there. He also pointed out that the room is locked when prisoners go in, after their handcuffs are removed, and unlocked only when prisoners leave and handcuffs are put back on.

"Weingarten and other attorneys representing Epstein have not responded to requests for comment by Forbes. 

"Epstein’s daily occupation of the room in the SHU was a sore point for attorneys trying to visit their clients. Instead of waiting 15 minutes for a room, the wait could stretch for two hours, as it was that day. “They wouldn't move anybody until he got where he was going, which is what they used to do with El Chapo, too,” the visiting attorney said. There are 12 attorney visiting rooms at MCC, but only two are for attorneys visiting SHU clients. That means Epstein was monopolizing a scarce resource. " . . .

Remember how we mocked and ridiculed Democrats? Now it is wise to fear this party.

"Thank you Israel.  Thank you for doing what today's Democrats won't do."

Bibi does what Dems don't have the courage to do

"It was great to see it on the news:   

Israeli officials have decided to block U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., from entering the country as part of a planned visit, a reversal that comes amid pressure from President Trump and concerns about their support for boycotts of Israel.

The country's deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely announced the decision Thursday, despite prior assurances that the congresswomen would be allowed in.  

"Israel has decided -- we won’t enable the members of Congress to enter the country,” Hotovely told public broadcaster Kan. "We won’t allow those who deny our right to exist in this world to enter Israel. In principle, this is a very justified decision." 

"Wow, Israel just made my day!" . . .

For example, the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Also, referring to Israel as "Nazi Germany," an insult of the worst kind to a people who have direct connections to the Holocaust.

. . .

 Tlaib and Omar: Ineligible to hold public office in America  "Congressional representative Rashida Tlaib and congressional representative Ilhan Omar are ineligible to serve as congressional representatives, according to American law.  But they enjoy the support of every member of Congress, from both sides of the aisle.

"No one may hold any public office in America who does not honestly and without reservation swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.  That is the law, which is being ignored by virtually everyone in authority in every branch of government." . . .

Banning Omar and Tlaib May Help Trump, but It Hurts Israel
"As odious as the far-left congresswomen are, denying them entry will hurt the Jewish state far more than their visit would have."

. . . "Omar and Tlaib were scheduled to conduct their own tour of the country beginning on Friday that would, in contrast to the visit of Hoyer’s group, highlight Palestinian grievances and bash Israel. But their trip was canceled Thursday morning when, only an hour after President Donald Trump tweeted that he thought it would “show great weakness” for Israel to let them visit, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government announced that they would be denied entry into the country." . . .

The REAL Reasons Israel Barred Reps Omar And Tlaib (It Wasn’t Trump)

. . . "President Trump lobbied hard for Israel to ban the two members of Congress. However,  his urging had little to do with the decision to bar Reps Omar And Tlaib. Despite the pressure, two weeks ago, US Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer made it clear that Israel would allow the two inside Israel. His tweet on Thursday morning was made after Israel decided to stop the two from entering Israel.

"The change in the Israeli position was made when the government saw the Omar/Tlaib trip itinerary. Their trip schedule made it clear they would be spending their entire trip in Judea, Samaria, and  East Jerusalem and was intended to provoke hatred of the Jewish State and advance their BDS agenda." . . .

Ilhan Omar (D-MN) Introduces Resolution Supporting Anti-Jewish Bigotry

. . . "The present leaders of the BDS movement support a “one-state solution.” Which will destroy Israel as the Jewish state. " . . . 

Rep. Rashida Tlaib rejects Netanyahu’s terms and forgoes trip to visit grandmother

The Spectator’s Superb Article on Political Correctness

Rich Terrell

Sarah Watching  Rarely will you find a better-written piece on political correctness than The Spectator’s Ed West article called “Is Political Correctness Speeding Up?”

"I would love to post it all here–but The Spectator is subscription-based, though you can read 3 articles for free.

"West says “…though [political correctnes] is an imperfect phrase, because it applies both to a code of politeness (much of which I agree with) and also a method of enforcing orthodoxy. Unfortunately, it is the former, especially the stupider and more mundane examples, which attracts most attention, when in reality it is the latter which has far more impact.”

“Enforcing orthodoxy,” Is that great phrasing or what? With its enduring religious connotations “orthodoxy” refers to one group’s beliefs—and don’t doubt that liberalism serves the purpose of religion for modern liberals. “Enforcing” captures the true purpose of political correctness which is to enforce silence of the opposition.

Silence The Opposition?
"By making someone believe that it is not polite to point out, for instance, that “most terrorists are Muslims” is silencing those who dare speak truth regarding this world atrocity. Barack Obama, who attempted to fundamentally change the United States–for the worst–is infamous for 1) refusing to call Islamic terror, Islamic terror, 2) lying to American citizens about an Islamic attack at Ft. Hood, instead referring to it as “workplace violence,” 3) from his bully platform, severely criticizing anyone who raised a red flag against unvetted Muslim refugees being allowed into the United States." . . .

We Face the Threat to Our Culture Right Now, Not in the Future. . . "Now, look, folks. I know this is… I want to be very clear here. I am not obsessed or possessed here of fatalism or negativism. I just read something that triggered me, when I read the line (paraphrased), “If this stuff ever becomes mainstream, then we’re gonna have problems.” I’ve been frustrated for so long that so many haven’t seen what’s coming, that haven’t seen what was in front of our faces and has been on the way to getting us to this point. It needn’t have happened, but it did, because nobody has ever stood up and told basically a bunch of kids to shut up and grow up, or to sit down and grow up.

"Instead, we’ve been bending over backwards with political correctness. We haven’t wanted to hurt anybody’s feelings and so forth. We’ve allowed these renegades to totally just destroy the public education system, not to mention much of higher education at the university level and so forth. We’re dangerously closer to this. But it’s interesting. We’ve got a guy. One of the guys waiting to speak on the phone thinks that I’m a little overwrought, that the Nike thing is actually one of the best things that could ever happen in terms of reelecting Trump. Now, we had somebody make this point yesterday in a different way." . . .

Peter Thiel: Political Correctness Is an Indicator of Greater Social Illness

Breitbart  via Sarah Watching   

Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel addressed a group of young conservatives on Wednesday evening.

"Speaking at the Turning Point USA High School Leadership Summit on Wednesday evening, Silicon Valley giant Peter Thiel spoke to students about America’s current political climate, his views on President Trump, and the dangers of political correctness.

"Thiel spoke about the importance of ideological diversity. When hiring new employees for his various businesses, Thiel said that he often asks them to share with him a controversial opinion that they hold. “Tell me something thats true that few people agree with you on,” he said. “It’s a way to get people thinking outside of the lemming-like herd that we find ourselves in.”

"Thiel then spoke about his support for President Trump. He explained that his support for the president has made him feel like a contrarian at times, especially in Silicon Valley.

“ 'When we come to politics in this country, I supported Trump for president in 2016, it was in some ways it was least contrarian and the most contrarian thing I’ve done in my life,” he said. “How far off can something be if half the country agrees with you? But in some contexts, in silicon valley and in some high schools, it felt incredibly contrarian. How can someone who is in such a small minority ever be right?”

“ 'I’m one of the few people who supports President Trump in Silicon Valley,” he added. “I am constantly told that I can’t possibly be right because so few people agree with me.”

"Thiel argued that President Trump has polarized America because he has addressed issues that were previously considered to be sacred. “Why is it so polarized? What is the substance behind this uniformity of thought?” he said. “I think the president has called into question some sacred ideas that do need to be questioned some great deal.”

"Thiel briefly attacked political correctness and suggested that its an indicator of a greater social illness. “Political correctness is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “Its an indicator that there is so much more than is unhealthy about our society.”

Video at the link.

Bobby Francis (Beto) O'Rourke to Re-Re-Set His Failing Campaign With “Major Address” on Thursday

Legal Insurrection

According to a Monmouth University poll from August 8th, Beto is polling at less than one percent in Iowa. The “major address” tomorrow will likely be the death rattle of a campaign which should have closed shop weeks ago. Beto is finished and no one has the heart to tell him.

. . . "Of course, this is the second time that Beto has tried to “reset” his campaign, and the second time Garrett Haake of NBC News has reported on it.

The first time was on May 15th:

O’Rourke, seeking a reset, reaches out to national Democrats

Beto O’Rourke is asking for a second chance to make a first impression.

After a rocky rollout — punctuated by a Vanity Fair profile in which he was quoted saying he was “born” to be in the 2020 presidential race — the former Texas congressman imposed on himself a period of major-media and fundraising abstinence while he held scores of town hall meetings in early caucus and primary states.

It didn’t seem to help. Dismissing him as thin on substance, The New Republic mocked his “profound emptiness” and Politico concluded that he had “a long history of failing upward.” He’s watched his national poll numbers dwindle — from a high of 12 percent in a Quinnipiac survey in late March to 5 percent in the same survey a month later — and he’s been at 3 percent in several other recent polls.

But with a round of national TV interviews, fresh additions to his campaign team and a more substantial platform beginning to take shape, O’Rourke will now be watched closely by Democratic insiders to see if his soft re-launch — Beto 2.0 — can propel him back into the forefront of the national conversation.

. . .  Video even more relevant now: