The Stormy One and The Donald

For John, BLUF:  Who knows what Mr Trump is thinking, but his thought process seems to be working for him, at least so far.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Is it ever a good idea to admit to paying off a porn star?

From The Boston Globe, by Ms Annie Linskey, 4 May 2018.

I am stopping right here.  The answer to such a question is YES.

If you get such an absolute question ("is it ever"), the odds are with yes.  Somewhere out there is the answer yes.  You just have to search for it.  Then there is the involvement of Mr Donald Trump and that just increases your odds.

It is pretty clear to most people that:

• Mr Trump, before the nomination, had carnal knowledge of Ms Stormy Daniels.
• Because she is "Stormy" Daniels, Mr Trump, to protect himself, used a contract.
• At some point it becomes known to Mrs Trump.
• At some point it becomes known to the Fourth Estate.
• At some point Ms Daniels goes rogue.
• At some point lawyers for Ms Daniels see a way to make a buck, or
• Democratic Party Operatives see a way to make mischief.

So, given all that, Mr Trump sees a way to get his name out there just a little more and also sees a way to drive the media and the Democrats (do I repeat myself?) crazy.

Yes, absolutely, this is a violation of the Commandment, Thou shalt not commit adultery.  On the other hand, "for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God."  And, there is the woman taken in adultery, where Jesus said "let him who is without sin cast the first stone."  Leading to the famous line, "No, not you Mother."

Regards  —  Cliff

"Publish and Be Damned"

For John, BLUF:  Do we really think that 60 Minutes (or The View) think this is the final nail in the coffin, or that President Trump is even in the same room as the coffin?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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60 Minutes interview with Stormy Daniels to be broadcast Sunday

Here is the sub-headline:

The adult-film star and director describes the affair she says she had with Donald Trump in her first television interview about the alleged relationship

But this isn't anything new.  The Independent, in the UK, had a 20 March 1994 article titled "Rear Window: When Wellington said publish and be damned: The Field Marshal and the Scarlet Woman".  The Writer was Mr Brian Cathcart.

Here is the lede, plus:

ONE morning in December 1824, the Duke of Wellington received an unpleasant letter.

'My Lord Duke,' it began, 'in Harriette Wilson's Memoirs, which I am about to publish, are various anecdotes of Your Grace which it would be most desirable to withhold, at least such is my opinion.  I have stopped the Press for the moment, but as the publication will take place next week, little delay can necessarily take place.'

The letter, signed by one Joseph Stockdale, a pornographer and scandal-monger, was a naked attempt at blackmail.  The Duke was a field marshal, cabinet minister, national hero, husband and father, while Harriette Wilson was a famous London courtesan past her prime, then living in exile in Paris.  Wellington was being asked to pay money to be left out of her memoirs.

His response is famous: 'Publish and be damned]' And they did. Through 1825 the memoirs appeared by instalments, each with a dramatis personae listing the notables named in order of rank - 'Dukes: Argyll, Beaufort, de Guiche, Leinster . . .' and so on through earls and viscounts down to humble esquires.

London society was thrilled and scandalised.  Half the aristocracy was named in the book, and painted in a most unflattering light.  The memoirs went through 31 editions in one year; excerpts were pirated and sold as illustrated broadsheets and French and German editions quickly appeared to delight the gossips of the Continent.

To repeat the quote

Publish and be damned.

I think that sums it up.

And, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, went on to be Prime Minister from 1828 to 1830 and again in 1834, and to hold several other high offices, including Leader of the House of Lords.  It appears the scandal did him little harm.

I do think Mr Trump should suggest the money given to Ms Stormy Daniels be returned, since she seems to have been unable to uphold her end of the bargain, although I getting it back is a game not worth the candle.

Hat tip to my Brother Lance.

Regards  —  Cliff

IRS Scandal Update

For John, BLUF:  Someone needs to shake up the IRS.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The IRS Scandal, Day 1420:  A Hidden Cause

This was from yesterday.  And the TaxProf, Paul Caron, on his blog.

The TaxProf provides an extract from the Executive Summary (further extracted below) of Sensitive Case Reports:  The Hidden Cause of the IRS Targeting Scandal

Executive Summary: Beginning in February 2010, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS’) singled out certain non-profit organizations for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status. Numerous subsequent congressional investigations and media reports demonstrated that the targeting involved invasive questioning and years-long delays, and focused disproportionately on right-leaning groups, especially those with “Tea Party” in their name.  These reports, however, have almost entirely overlooked a hidden cause of the targeting scandal,which remains in effect today.  As a result, American taxpayers are at risk for similar treatment in the future.

Contrary to the conventional storyline, there exists an institutional policy that was the first impetus in prompting IRS employees to target groups based on their political viewpoints.  That policy is embodied in an internal IRS rule—which is still on the books—that singles out applications from any group interested in issues that might garner attention from either the media or Congress.  In such cases, the merits of the application are ignored as IRS employees develop “Senstive Case Reports” for consideration by those above them in the IRS hierarchy.  The result is a process that interferes with the unbiased review of applications for tax-exempt status designed to apply to all eligible organziations, regardless of their political viewpoints or affiliations.

Seven years after the targeting scandal began, the rule that enabled this inexcusable behavior still exists.

So, it appears we have been slow rolled for several years on this issue.  It is time for President Trump, or his recently confirmed Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, to take action.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Thoughts on Why Director Comey Moved

For John, BLUF:  Whatever one does, it is wrong.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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OBSERVATIONS ON THE FBI’S CLINTON EMAIL “REENTRY”

Today, on Power Line, Mr Paul Mirengoff looks at the FBI reopening the Hillary Clinton EMail Server issue.  The trigger for this appears to have been the investigation of Mr Anthony Weiner and his sexting with a 15 year old.  The examination of computers revealed additional Department of State EMails.

The question is why would Director Comey reopen this wound?

There are three related reasons why Comey would nonetheless reopen the investigation now.  First, he may have been under intense pressure from within his agency to do so.

Second, he may have wanted to insulate himself from criticism for taking sides.  Imagine the abuse Comey would have taken if he had waited until after the election to reopen the investigation.  Imagine the fallout if FBI agents or officials leaked word that Comey was waiting until after the election to investigate.

Third, it may be that Comey is trying to fashion some sort of compromise in the way his agency presents this scandal to voters.  His initial approach had compromise written all over it:  Don’t throw the FBI’s weight into the election so strongly as to indict the Democratic nominee for president, but provide voters with damning facts uncovered in the investigation — something the FBI almost never does in a case where there is no indictment.

The thing is, as Joe Klein says, "if you walked into a Hollywood studio pitching this plot, they’d throw you out the door.”

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Ms Clinton Tries Fog

For John, BLUF:  Admit it and move on.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Hillary Clinton’s Reaction to Her Foundation Scandal Is Disastrous

Miss Elise Jordan,♠ of NBC, got an item in Time, a couple of days ago.

Here is the sub-headline:

'It's not only about what the Clintons did, but how they react'

So, the story starts out with a personal remembrance:

I recently sliced the tip of my toe on an ocean barnacle.  This happened at 6pm on a Friday of a long-awaited beach weekend, so I avoided the emergency room for stitches.

Overdosing on rosé was no cure.  My minor wound kept bleeding.  I finally went to the doctor when I got home where I got crutches, antibiotics for the infection, and an avoidable weeklong recovery for a tiny cut, for no reason other than my bullheadedness.

As I watch Hillary Clinton wish away the fallout of the Clinton Foundation’s unseemly ties with the State Department during her tenure as Secretary of State, I can’t help but think that her self-inflicted wound just bleeds and bleeds and bleeds.  Every day that she fails to seriously address the rotten consequences of her poor judgment, Clinton further erodes the already lacking public trust in her.  By avoiding a sincere display of contrition, she risks her candidacy and the foundation her family built.

Does no one on the Clinton team remember the aphorism "It's not the crime, it's the coverup"?

Had young Lawyer Clinton left the the Watergate Committee, and Washington, before we learned that lesson?

Ms Clinton brings all the paranoia of Richard Nixon, but without the Foreign Policy acumen.

Hat tip to the Breitbart.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  "Elise Jordan is an NBC News/MSNBC political analyst. She has worked for the Department of State and the National Security Council."

The IRS Scandal, Day 1011

For John, BLUF:  When Republicans win it is because The People are (1) upset and (2) have penetrated the MSM veil.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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So says the Tax Prof Blog, and Professor Paul Caron, here.  He sources The Washington Times.

Two intrepid Media Research Center analysts went through 13,022 news stories that appeared on ABC, NBC and CBS evening news broadcasts during 2015 — that’s 18,549 minutes of coverage — to determine what the Big Three broadcasters deigned to cover.  “The results show a network news agenda heavy on crime, terrorism and weather, but light on Democratic scandals, ObamaCare’s failings, the out-of-control national debt, sanctuary cities and Planned Parenthood’s grotesqueries,” report Mike Ciandella and Rich Noyes. …

Here’s what the networks virtually ignored: Ongoing questions about Hillary Clinton’s “Benghazi scandal” got a whopping 46 minutes; shortcomings of Obamacare warranted 34 minutes; misconduct within the Clinton Foundation got 27 minutes; videos revealing Planned Parenthood trafficking fetal tissue 25 minutes; and negative outcomes in sanctuary cities 8 minutes.  The $18 trillion national debt drew 4 minutes — and last but not least, IRS targeting of conservative groups got zero.  None.  No mention.

“The ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts failed to produce any coverage of the IRS scandal, even as the House committee investigating the matter introduced a resolution calling for the impeachment of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen for his alleged failure to comply with committee subpoenas and making false statements under oath,” the researchers say, adding that the networks did manage to produce 54 minutes of coverage about assault charges made against Bill Cosby, and 127 minutes on the “Deflate Gate” scandal surrounding New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady.

Or, as Police Captain Louis Renault said:

I'm shocked, shocked to find that covering up is going on in here!

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

A Snow Storm of EMails

For John, BLUF:  Coverups, all the way down.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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From the Tax Prof Blog we have a link to an Editorial in The Washington Examiner.  It is, after all, Day 989 if the IRS Scandal.

"The dog keeps eating IRS hard drives"

In Oscar Wilde's comedy, "The Importance of Being Earnest," Lady Bracknell is indignant to hear that Jack Worthing is an orphan. "To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness."

If only one could enjoy a similar belly laugh over President Obama's IRS repeatedly losing hard drives loaded with data related to scandals at the agency. To lose one might be regarded as suspicious happenstance; to lose two looks like conspiracy.

And it isn't just the IRS.  It appears that DOS wants an added month from the courts for the next dump of EMails from Ms Hillary Clinton.  They are blaming the snow storm.

This is from The [Manchester] Guardian, "Hillary Clinton emails: State Department seeks extension for release".

The US State Department asked a judge on Friday for a one-month extension to finish publicly releasing thousands of emails sent by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state, in part because a winter storm closed government offices.

The department said in a federal court filing it needed until 29 February after realizing this week that it had “overlooked” emails amounting to 7,254 printed pages that it should have already shared with other agencies for them to review for sensitive information.

It said expected heavy snow in Washington DC had interrupted delivery of these emails to other agencies. Many federal offices closed early on Friday afternoon.

They couldn't have used EMail to solve this?  I know DoD is clamping down on the use of EMail (see below), but still, …

As one of my friends noted in an EMail this morning:

Please don't tell me that State is sending over 7,000 pages over to the various agencies to be declass vice scanning and sending over in PDF, as 3 or so gigabytes, or searchable PDF?  Crazy

Well, yes, there is the fact that DoD is putting limits on mail folders.  From The Army Times

“Since February 2015, the number of Defense Enterprise Email mailboxes [with] more than four gigabytes had been increasing at a rate of approximately 4,000 accounts per month,” said John Howell, Army product director for enterprise content collaboration and messaging.

In a time of limited budgets the servers needed for this EMail are too costly and unsustainable.

Yes, the Washington Times Editors have it—"careless" or "conspiracy".

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Scandal in the IRS

For John, BLUF:  Is it any wonder so many are registered "independent"?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Yesterday was day 960 of the IRS Scandal.  The Tax Prof, Professor Paul L. Caron, of Pepperdine University School of Law, writes about it here.

The question is, what kind of embedded scandal is it:

• It is the typical scandal, created by the political party in power and will flip to anti-Democrat activities should the Republicans win in November, or,
• The current efforts against more conservative political elements is inherent due to a large number of embedded progressives in IRS Middle and Upper Management and will continue regardless of who wins in November.

Our current Civil Service system was developed to prevent the first kind of problem, by creating more of a career path for government employees.  The assumption is that if civil servants are immune from partisan activities they will be inherently neutral, or at least cancel each other out.♠

The current ongoing IRS scandal calls that assumption into question.

And how would a new President and a new Congress fix this problem?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  And, it seems to work pretty well for the vast majority of employees.  It is those few in positions to cause problems, and do, who are concerning.

IRS Scandal Goes On and On

For John, BLUF:  Shouldn't George be outraged by this.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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As Pepperdine University School of Law Tax Law Professor Paul Caron reminds us, It is Day 832 of the IRS Scandal.  And Ms Lois Lerner is still walking around.  She did retire from the IRS almost two years ago.  The thing is, Wikipedia claims she is a member of the Massachusetts bar.  I hope that isn't true, and if true, that someone will challenge her membership.

But, with this item from Ars Technica (Reporter Sean Gallagher), we have two scandals running.  Should they run in parallel or should the days be additive?  Anyway, here is the headline:  "IRS’ estimate of tax records stolen by fraudsters soars to over 300,000".  The sub-headline is "Using data from previous corporate breaches, fraudsters frolicked in IRS transcript data."

Regards  —  Cliff

Mandy Rice-Davies RIP

For John, BLUF:  John Profumo went and did charity work to atone for his sins.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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I am probably the only one, aside from my Wife, in Lowell, who remembers the Profumo Affair, Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies.  Ms Rice-Davies got a good sendoff on the pages of The International New York Times this morning.

Ms Rice-Davies, who made a success of her life, recently summed up that life with this comment.

My life has been one long descent into respectability.

Regards  —  Cliff

Mass GOP to Meet Wednesday

For John, BLUF:  Like anyone cares.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Over at The Boston Herald is an article by Reporter Hillary Chabot,♠ "GOP feud could hurt Baker".

If this is cleaned up now it will not hurt Candidate Charlie Baker, but might help Candidate Mark Fisher.

Yours truly is mentioned in the second paragraph.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Formerly of The [Lowell] Sun.

Those Pesky EMails at IRS

For John, BLUF:  As a minimum we should be hearing about letters of counseling in some permanent personnel files.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The New York Times gives us an "even handed" view of the House Hearings on the IRS missing EMails, the ones that were on Federal Civil Servant Lois Lerner's computer, before they weren't.♠ 

“Sitting here listening to this testimony, I don’t believe it,” Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, told the commissioner, John Koskinen, at a hearing of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.:  “That’s your problem.:  No one believes you.”

And that is a problem.:  It will be more of a problem if the mainstream media doesn't believe the IRS Commissioner and the ultimate problem if the Democrats in the US Senate not only don't believe him, but also think it is a big deal.  Normally, they wouldn't think it is a big deal, but if both the mainstream media and Democrats back home think it is a big deal, so will the Senators

From Ed Morrissey we have "IRS commissioner:  You know, e-mail isn’t necessarily an “official record”; Update::  IRS Manual says it is".  From the blog post:

Regarding email as "official record", it would seem Section 1.10.3.2.3 of IRS Manual would destroy that argument

Destory it like a crashed hard drive.

Oh, and Reason Magazine says that "The IRS Had a Contract With an Email Backup Company".  Sonasoft.  A 2009 Tweet from Sonasoft:

If the IRS uses Sonasoft products to back up their servers why wouldn't you use them to protect your servers?
http://www.sonasoft.com

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Her hard drive crashed, as did those of several others.

The Story Becomes Less Credible

For John, BLUF:  Do Democrats really believe this stuff?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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I have mentioned IRS lost EMails before.

Now it seems they have lost more that Ms Lois Lerner's EMails.  Here is the National Review article.

Given that one excuse being passed around is that the IRS didn't have the money to follow Federal law regarding EMails, maybe they didn't have the money for all employees to have their own computers and they were all using Lois' computer.

Regards  —  Cliff

The Never Ending Story (IRS Version)

For John, BLUF:  The IRS "Non-Scandal" just goes on and on.  I blame the lawyers.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The reported loss of the EMails of former IRS employee Lois Lerner has prompted action by lawyer Cleta Mitchell, who represents True the Vote.  She has sent a letter to the attorneys at the Department of Justice representing the IRS in True the Vote’s pending lawsuit.  And, she also addressed Ms Brigida Benitez, partner in the firm Steptoe & Johnson, who represents the IRS defendants who are sued in their individual capacity.  This issue of Lois Lerner♠ is not yet over, notwithstanding the assertions of various supporters of the Administration.

RE: TTV v. IRS et al, 1:13-cv-00734 (D.D.C.), Litigation Hold – Preservation of Responsive Evidence

Dear Counsel:

As you know, True the Vote (“TTV”) filed its lawsuit in the above-referenced matter on May 21, 2013.  By the time TTV filed its suit, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and its employees and officials were on notice of the commencement of several congressional investigations.  The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (“Oversight”), the House Committee on Ways and Means (“Ways and Means”) and the Senate Finance Committee (“Senate Finance”) (collectively, “the Committees”) have each provided notice to the IRS of their ongoing investigations into the IRS, and specifically, Defendant Lois Lerner and her activities related to the issues involved in the TTV litigation for over a year now.

Late Friday, the IRS apparently advised the Ways & Means Committee that the IRS has “lost” Lois Lerner’s hard drive which includes thousands of Defendant Lerner’s e-mail records.  However, several statutes and regulations require that the records be accessible by the Committees, and, in turn, must be preserved and made available to TTV in the event of discovery in the pending litigation.  Those statutes include the Federal Records Act, Internal Revenue Manual section 1.15.6.6 (which refers to the IRS’s preservation of electronic mail messages), IRS Document 12829 (General Records Schedule 23, Records Common to Most Offices, Item 5 Schedule of Daily Activities), 36 C.F.R. 1230 (reporting accidental destruction,) and 36 CFR 1222.12.  Under those records retention regulations, and the Federal Records Act generally, the IRS is required to preserve emails or otherwise contemporaneously transmit records for preservation.

And so it goes for many paragraphs, in language only a lawyer would like.  You can read the whole thing at this Powerline blog post.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Funnily enough, on Wikipedia "Lois Lerner" goes to a page titled "2013 IRS controversy".  This has not been recently updated, as it does not mention the "loss" of EMails to and from Ms Lois Lerner.

IRS Loses The Documents

For John, BLUF:  Friday bad news dump by Administration, buried in a letter.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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It is Friday the 13th, so i guess this is no surprise.  A new record!  Ms Rose Mary Woods managed to lose 18 minutes of a tape transcription.  The IRS has lost two years of EMails.

This is from a Press Release from the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Washington, DC – Today, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) issued the following statement regarding the Internal Revenue Service informing the Committee that they have lost Lois Lerner emails from a period of January 2009 – April 2011.  Due to a supposed computer crash, the agency only has Lerner emails to and from other IRS employees during this time frame.  The IRS claims it cannot produce emails written only to or from Lerner and outside agencies or groups, such as the White House, Treasury, Department of Justice, FEC, or Democrat offices.

As I said, it is Friday the 13th.  That said, don't YOU try this.  It would cost you, big time.

Regards  —  Cliff

The IRS Scandal

For John, BLUF:  Yes, Virginia, there is an IRS Scandal.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Day 81.

Those who keep saying there’s no scandal here need to acknowledge that the IRS admitted targeting conservative groups months ago.

Quoting from the Instapundit.

Regards  —  Cliff