Can't Take a Joke

For John, BLUF:  I think President Trump and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Rosenstein should appear together on the front steps of the White House, tomorrow, saying "like asking the Russians for Hillary's EMails, this was a joke."  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Rosenstein Suggested He Secretly Record Trump and Discussed 25th Amendment

From WRAL, but of an article from The Old Gray Lady, by NYT Reporters Adam Goldman and Michael S. Schmidt, 21 September 2018.

Here is the lede:

The deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, suggested last year that he secretly record President Donald Trump in the White House to expose the chaos consuming the administration, and he discussed recruiting Cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office for being unfit.

First off, this has been denied by Mr Rosenstein.  Denied. The alternative story, as mentioned this evening by Ms Laura Ingrham (FOX News Source) is that it was said in jest, as a joke.

But, except to beat another news source to the headline, why would The Old Gray Lady publish this kind of thing.  The President (and a lot of Republicans) is complaining about a "Deep State", and Democrats and the Media are denying it, and here comes the Newspaper of Record talking about it.

Maybe it is part of a Democratic Party political action to further disrupt the Confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh.  This would perhaps be in line with Mr Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals.  Or perhaps something out of some old Soviet Playbook, as maskirovka.

Given that this revelation comes from former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who supposedly forwarded it to Mr Robert Mueller, perhaps that is where to look.  Was this just another part of the confusion and deception that involved the Steele Dossier and the FISA Court and mid-level DOJ Officials who felt a disturbance in the force on Election Night 2016?

I like the simple answer, which is The Old Gray Lady playing to the prejudices of its readership, the clerisy, trying to give them hope that someday 2016 will be reversed and cosmic order restored.

Hat tip to the Drudge Report.

Regards  —  Cliff