When I saw James Comey’s testimony before Congress on Monday, I immediately noted and wrote about the bizarre situation laid out in the cartoon below. The backstory was that President Trump had somehow figured out that the Obama Administration had been spying on him during the campaign. So as is his wont, he tweeted about it. However, he did not provide any evidence to back it up.
There has been immense blowback against Trump for what he did, although I thought it was quite brilliant, as I wrote at the time.
When Comey testified on Monday, he revealed for the first time that there has been an ongoing FBI investigation into Trump and his associates since July … but he also said there has been absolutely no surveillance of Trump or Trump Tower. Hence, the cartoon.
For a couple days now we’ve been discussing this here, but with nobody else in the media picking up the story I was starting to think that either I’d lost the plot, or that none of the media were paying attention.
During the evening I go channel-surfing around the news. I listen to most of them, although I usually can’t take CNN for long. Even PBS is better. Anyhow, last night I got to Fox News, Tucker Carlson’s show, which is always worth watching. I had to laugh when I saw the following exchange:
HUME: There is one other thing that’s worth mentioning here. The FBI Director also said in answer to the questions that he had found no evidence no information pointing to a wiretap of Donald Trump or of Trump Tower. No evidence of that. However. What about this investigation that has been going on that he announced since last July involving the Trump campaign and Trump associates?
CARLSON: Great question!
HUME: Are we to believe there was no surveillance associated with that? We do know, as you pointed out, that Mike Flynn was caught up in a wiretap that might be a routine national security wiretap with the Russian ambassador to whom he was speaking, but who knows? But remember, when he made this announcement, Comey, that there was this investigation going on — which he said he received permission from higher-ups to do — the announcement, there was a story back on January the 19th in The New York Times which basically laid this whole thing out and said it was based on surveillance that indicated that there had been these contacts.
…
CARLSON: You just made the smartest point of the month, if not year. If there was an investigation, and there was, there was surveillance!
Dang … for two days we’ve been discussing what Tucker Carlson belatedly thinks is the smartest point of the month if not year! What’s not to like?
There you have it, friends. What you’ve been talking about here for two days, so far only one TV network has even noticed … on this website, you’re way ahead of the curve.
My best regards and wishes to all,
w.
Skating Under The Ice 
The press likes to say that the White House is distracted by everything that’s happening and all the other talking heads are always recommending that Trump focus on just a few things.
But it’s the they are the ones who have the problem, they have tunnel vision, they can only keep track of a small number of things at one time. For too many years, Washington has moved slowly and they’ve gotten used to that. Businesses can’t afford to only work on one thing at a time (never mind Trumps schedule), and they are not keeping up.
If Trump can maintain this pace, and drag the rest of the Executive Branch along, it will be a very interesting few years
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(Best Foghorn Leghorn voice)
“I say, I say… those boys in the Yellow Stream Media are as shahp as bowlin’ balls, heh, heh.”
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“You’re built, I say son, you’re built too close to the ground. The fast ones go clean over your head!”
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My Foghorn Leghorn commemorative pint glass was my prized possession in college and for years after I graduated until it was finally broken. I think I got it at gas station, but I’m not sure.
God bless eBay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/282399546065?pb=14&&autorefresh=true
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Then, of course, Fox News are probably keeping an eye on your blog.
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Thanks, Tim. Seems doubtful …
w.
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It is surprising how influential quite small inputs to the Web can be. Even occasional comments can get picked up by the most unlikely sources.
I put it down to the fact that the media nowadays spend their time reading tweets or blogs. Never the ones that are very well informed. But others, who are looking to make their mark on these blogs, can trawl the more obscure parts of the Web, pick up new ideas, and present them to the media – often with very few people in the chain. So informed or considered points of view do get a bit of a chance at distribution…
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Maybe more apropos the name of the blog than the topic, but
http://www.rcuniverse.com/articles/shot-of-the-moment/why-drive-over-the-ice-when-you-can-drive-under-it/
Not Skating under the ice, but….
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Electric motors don’t need air. Surprised it didn’t short out, though.
/Mr Lynn
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Source or creator of the cartoon? Credit is due.
/Mr Lynn
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Sorry, it was on an FB page without attribution.
w.
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I first saw it on a UK Blog and posted it here.
You’re right, no attribution there either.
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House Intelligence Committee chair Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) announced on Wednesday that he had learned that members of President Donald Trump’s transition team had been under surveillance by the Obama administration, that individual names had been “unmasked” by the intelligence community, and that those names had been leaked to the media.
Nunes’s information — which he said he would deliver to the White House later — vindicates the bulk of Trump’s claims earlier this month.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/22/nunes-unmasking-report-vindicates-trump-claims-surveillance/
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Doesn’t fit the MSM narrative…hence “…all’s quiet on the western liberal media front” – that and those Ruskies sure are scoundrels 😉
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Hummmm, incidental collection?
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/devin-nunes-donald-trump-surveillance-obama-236366
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Wait…
is Comey saying that the investigation that wasn’t happening has revealed the following…
or
is Comey saying that the investigation that did happen, while revealing, didn’t discover anything?
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Some people say tomato, some people say potato, Comey says “What you talking about, Donald?”.
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Well, what do we have here?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-22/nunes-trump-transition-members-and-possibly-trump-himself-were-under-surveillance-du
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Anyone remember what Steve Bannon said a few weeks ago about the former admin activities and possible legal issues? Just sayin….. the protection didn’t get elected.
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Tucker Carlson’s show has been getting about 3.5 million viewers — if I found the correct information. People that watch are the ones that are “interested” in the sorts of questions mentioned. By that, I mean viewers are not the bloke that has just finished a 6 pack and is half asleep.
Thus, this issue that jumped up and bit W.E. in the butt, has bubbled to the surface of the Political Class.
How cool is that!
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See the end tail of the previous thread for some logical continuity to this thread. Including lots of exact word quotes as demanded. Trying to subtly but slightly change the subject no longer works in the indelible internet memory era.
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Thanks for the pointer Rudd. I concur, there is a difference between the apparent and the legal tight ropes. I think of it like poker. There are those who are lucky winners, and there are those who are professional winners, who have consistency via particular experience. A similar trait that Comey has earned and leveraged.
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I agree with Ristvan that comments at the end of the last post are relevant. See my comments here and here.
.
w.
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Second hot link “here” doesn’t work.
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Thanks, fixed.
w.
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Dropping in late, wanted to see if you updated after Nunes walked in and threw a bag full of shoes into the room.
As I said in the other thread, when I heard the first two sound bytes from Comey on Mr Limbow Monday, and I was only half listening at the time because I was installing stove and deep fryers at the time, this is premium grade doublespeak.
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Oh, yeah, it’s just been getting more interesting …
w.
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This AM I see Democrats scrambling to find cracks to hide in now that the lights have been turned on, and no few Republicants, too. Going to be some yuge document dumps this evening, I’m going to clear out one of my older external hard drives and scoop up as much as possible before it is all pitched in the toilet Sunday night.
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Who’s overseeing the overseers ?
Trust has left the building.
Good news ? : old alliances have been rent asunder.
Bad news ? : the clock is ticking to form new ones, and the current leaders are wanting.
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You know, in all honesty, the persistence of Comey’s “dancing” to Gowdy’s questions, asserting that to say anything about the media articles would be admitting that they actually got classified information, thus making it worse, actually couldn’t really be taken any other way other than an admission that the leaks had been classified. If they hadn’t been, he wouldn’t have bothered to stake out that ground.
Also, to pretend that the “leak” of Flynn’s name and the material involved might not have been from a classified document was a true slap in the face to anyone that has more than 12 working brain cells- that is 2 more brain cells than it appears is necessary to be an elected Democratic House member. I think the average US citizen that pays attention to politics has more than 12. We are fully aware of the fact that the source would have had to be classified, though we might not know if it had been declassified. Since he “danced” on, we can tell that the document had not been declassified, or he wouldn’t have had to dance.
I have no idea what he thought he was gaining by his actions.
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That is supposed to have said “he wouldn’t have bothered to stake out that ground” Isn’t it amazing how we only see what our minds KNOW we said, not what we said?
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Fixed.
w.
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Remember this name: Dennis Montgomery.
Short story… an NSA contractor who claims to have the goods (hard drives in his possession) on NSA and CIA spying on judges, politicians and prominent Americans (including Trump) going back several years. Apparently, for the last two years nobody in Congress wanted to talk to this guy… but he might have just peaked some interest from one of the lawyers associated with the House Intelligence Committee, with the help of Larry Klayman. We shall see. This might also be what has – all of a sudden – forced the hand of the NSA, now cooperating with Nunes and the investigation. My sense is that they do not do anything for no reason… and I have a hard time believing in any sudden bout of “altruism” on their part.
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Confused Brit here…
Don’t most of those with answers, as part of the executive, now work directly for DT? If so, can he not just bypass ‘investigations’ and simply demand the information that would settle the matter?
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If the issue is that they are spying on him, why wouldn’t they just lie to him?
Also, any evidence that Trump provides is going to be considered tainted (by some at least), so it’s better if he isn’t part of the investigation. Let the oversight groups in congress do the work.
On Fri, 24 Mar 2017, Skating Under The Ice wrote:
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But if the investigation is just pantomime…
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If it is, there are problems, but I think it’s clear from what’s happened this week that it’s not. It may have started out that way, but when they find actual evidence, it really bothers them.
Remember that Obama got caught wiretapping Congress, want to bet that this mess didn’t as well? Congress gets very upset when they are spied on.
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US politics (reporting) are a bit strange to Brits (speaking for myself) ..,
Hasn’t DT just become the GM of the ‘company’ (any executive branch)?
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3×2 March 24, 2017 at 11:49 am
Yes, and a person is definitely the GM of their own body. They can make it stand up or sit down. However, that doesn’t put them in charge of say their liver or their pituitary … and if one of them goes rogue …
In any case, having it all in the laps of the intelligence committees is just where the President wants it..
w.
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3×2, you are correct that the people with the answers work for the President.
However, you misunderstand his intention. He had two goals:
1. To get Obama’s misdeeds ADDED to the agendas of the two intelligence subcommittees. Otherwise they would just have been looking at his misdeeds.
2. To get EVERYONE looking at the question, not just the people he can control.
Note that neither of those goals are to get it resolved quickly.
He was also smart enough to know that any evidence that he brought up would be immediately discredited, so he wanted the evidence to be brought up by others.
See my original post on the subject here and the followup post here. Trump has no interest in coming up with evidence. He wants the focus to stay on Obama, not to be resolved and go away.
w.
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That is how it is supposed to work. We have lawyers involved, so we are f*cked.
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Trump’s advantage is that so many people in the “Anti-Trump” squad (including the media) seem to think that he is simply a stupid, buffoon; they do so at their own peril. If I were a car dealer, I would love to have somebody like them walk into my showroom. They’ll drive out of the place with a nice new car, but I’d be celebrating all the way to the bank for what they ended up paying me.
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U.S. Code › Title 50 › Chapter 36 › Subchapter I › § 1802
(a)
(1) Notwithstanding any other law, the President, through the Attorney General, may authorize electronic surveillance without a court order under this subchapter to acquire foreign intelligence information for periods of up to one year if the Attorney General certifies in writing under oath that—
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/1802
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So, Barrak Hussein Obama’s Attorney General is the criminal that needs to be focused upon. I seem to vaguely remember making that exact point several years ago.
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Would it be OK if I cross-posted this article to WriterBeat.com? I’ll be sure to give you complete credit as the author. There is no fee, I’m simply tryring to add more content diversity for our community and I liked what you wrote. If “OK” please let me know via email.
Autumn
AutumnCote@WriterBeat.com
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Autumn, you are more than welcome to post any of my many writings. My only request is that you post a link here to wherever they are posted. You might also enjoy or want to post my autobiographical writings, which are here.
Best to you,
w.
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