US Politics, January 2020. Because we hate ourselves.

(If only they'd shot the interview in extreme close-up through a fisheye lens as Lev exaggeratedly mopped flop sweat from his brow.)

And a glazed donut to go!

and good morning!!

On the other head, he is so clearly sketchy and self-interested a la Michael Cohen that everything he says should be taken with a grain of salt.

Unlike his boss, Donald J. Trump.

There's no reason not to believe this guy. You don't just go ratting out the president, his lawyer, the secretary of state, the attorney general, the vice president, and the former chair of the house intelligence committee on a whim

unfortunately for us guys like this and Michael Cohen are more credible than most any elected Republican

There is every reason not to believe this guy! (At least not entirely.) He's trying to stay out of jail and/or not get whacked. But there is every reason to believe him, too, as the people he is ratting on are criminals and liars. Tbh I'm not sure I heard anything new from him as opposed to just more/further corroboration of stuff that's been reported. But since it's corroboration from the mouth of a sketchy, not trustworthy guy out to save himself ... we're a bit back to the beginning.

Like, everything he said is definitely within the realm of truth, don't get me wrong. I'm just not sure what it offers yet beyond a bit more pressure, more reasons others with more direct knowledge should testify. But that may be up to the aforementioned criminals liars.

The police in Ukraine have opened a criminal investigation into whether allies of President Trump had the United States ambassador to the country under surveillance while she was stationed in Kyiv, the Ukrainian government said on Thursday.

See, it’s not THAT hard to get Ukraine to announce a criminal investigation!

To be the first of millions of people to make that joke today

xp Josh you have effectively put over Lindsey Graham's talking points next week.

And you are levaing out the big difference between his story and the accounts he effectively corroborates and fleshes out: he has evidentiary documents, audio recordings, and texts

It's far from getting the president removed from office but it's hardly "back to the beginning."

Between this and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thread on ILM, Josh is in a very "eh, I don't see the big deal" mood this week.

I watched excerpts of Parnas talking to Anderson Cooper this morning and I was way more stunning than I expected it to be, particularly since he also provided evidence to back up his claims

I haven’t read the rock HOF thread but it sounds like he might be otm there

Parnas has also—I think persuasively—dismissed claims that Yovanovich was physically surveilled or in any physical danger

KM have you seen the interview?

Yeah, I dunno, I feel like we have been here before. For example, the author of that New Yorker piece exposing thoroughly reported Trump inc. corruption and money laundering in Central Asia has been reminding people of his piece, saying, basically, hey, it's all here, tons of crime! But Congress, law enforcement, the press, all seem unwilling or unable to do anything with this information. as of yet. who knows, things might change.

That's different than saying, "It's no big deal," though.

again I'm not saying this is going to lead to a conviction, but it absolutely significantly complicates things for senate R's. The documentary evidence they are trying to suppress is not longer any mystery. It's different in kind and available to the public: a first-hand account implicating the president directly, bolstered by texts and voicemails and contemporaneous handwritten notes.

Plus Pat Benatar has had operatic training.

what do Don 'n' Ghost of Glenn think?

get over it

trying criminal conspiracies generally involve the testimony of criminals

Parnas has also—I think persuasively—dismissed claims that Yovanovich was physically surveilled or in any physical danger

This was basically Fox News' headline last night, the one cherry they could pick from Parnas' interview.

DON: The arrogance of this administration is something to behold. As key chroniclers of ol' Tricky Dick in songs like "On The Border" and "The Last Resort"--and then again of Reagan on my own releases "If Dirt Were Dollars" and "All She Wants To Do Is Dance"--I have think, "Are ever really done with this shit?"

GLENN: I'm still wondering why we could never get Giraldo out of the room so we could tell Pat, "Love Is A Battle Field...and we surrender!"

DON: Well, yeah.

xpost Don't need to tell me! It seems like it should be a big deal. But we just had hours and hours of testimony from career government officials, in theory the opposite of criminals, saying esentially the same thing as this guy. And Asshole was impeached as a result. He can't be more impeached, and as far as removal goes I'm not sure this moves the needle much. It's just further fodder for a future book.

The problem is we are running with the shadows of the night.

Les Parnas may be a real tough cookie with a long history, but I don't feel this disqualifies his testimony

Politics is a battlefield

He's been a tarred and feathered criminal but his testimony seems credible. No promises, no demands, just facts

guys don't harden your heart towards lev

wait that's Quarterflash

Does he distort the facts?

I dunno. Seems like there's no looking forward or turning back. He belongs to the light.

lol brownie - classic blunder! At least you didn't hit us with Sheena Easton or Laura Branigan.

Politics is a battlefield

― Yeets don't fail me now (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, January 16, 2020 9:46 AM (fourteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Lev is a Battlefield

otm

the weirdest thing is parnas is the most perceptive, most interview adept, and maybe the most informed and most skilled person in all of trumpland i've heard so far. by a bit. that makes him neither honest nor credible, but i admit i did not see it coming.

One presumes that these flailing, dysfunctional public figures are dependent upon at least a handful of people who are content to stay in the shadows while demonstrating some semblance of competence (however debased those competently-handled acts may be). Like if it's abject morons all the way down they would've blown themselves up on a runway by now.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/trump-fire-and-fury-smart-genius-obama-774169%3famp=1

Why u gotta burn fourth-graders so harshly, Newsweek

Newsweek is 100% garbage now, avoid

https://splinternews.com/what-the-hell-is-going-on-at-newsweek-1822742941

It's Lev whose head i've seen showing that even his haircut is more there by intention than fact isn't it?
Looks like a few black strands combed over nothing in several of the shots I've seen.

BUt did sound like what he was saying on Rachel Maddow was pretty damning. & i think there's more to come tonight isn't there? Think I heard word of a part 2 at the end of the podcast version I was listening to.

good luck usa

Hard to overstate how unpredictable talking to voters can be: Melissa from Algona, Iowa, caucused for Bernie in 2016, then voted for a Trump; she supports Medicare for All but supports Buttigieg, but will likely vote for Trump again if Buttigieg doesn’t win the Dem nomination. pic.twitter.com/ZgvQQ7NoW2

— Matt Pearce 🦅 (@mattdpearce) January 16, 2020

i can...uhm...just....ugh...err....oh my....huh...what?

didn't mean to go full Mystikal there but that is just baffling internal consistency there.

We’re so fucked.

Lo... I have been to Iowa, it is indeed a mystical place.

yes we're gonna be fucked by this one voter

We’re so fucked.

Yep, and not just the Americans.

It's just attention grift

My takeaway is "don't ask people political questions when they're high"