The apex of #FakeNews targeting U.S. president Donald Trump actually took place a few weeks before he took office as America’s forty-fifth president …
It was the infamous allegation – first raised in January 2017 – that Trump engaged in “perverted sexual acts” with multiple prostitutes years ago at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow. These acts – alleged to have included “golden showers” (urination for sexual gratification) – were said to have been part of an “arranged/monitored” Russian intelligence operation launched to exploit “Trump’s personal obsessions and sexual perversion.”
This, of course, is the foundation of the since-discredited Steele dossier – prepared by British spy Christopher Steele at the behest of #NeverTrump “Republican” operatives and, later, the presidential campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
As we learned last week, this dossier – which wound up in the hot little hands of America’s most aggressive warmonger, U.S. Senator John McCain – was used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to obtain warrants from the Foreign International Surveillance Act (FISA) court which were in turn used to spy on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Which is where the “Russian meddling” yo-yo of an investigation began …
“The FISA court was not told that the Clinton campaign was behind Steele’s work,” noted Andrew McCarthy for National Review. “Nor did the FBI and Justice Department inform the court that Steele’s allegations had never been verified.”
Oops … right?
Love Trump or hate him (and believe it or not, we’re actually agnostics at this point), that’s just wrong.
Unverified political smears should never be used as a pretext to violate individual liberty – no matter whose liberty is being violated. The only thing that ought to justify a FISA warrant is a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States.
But Democrats – who have gone “all in” on the Russian meddling narrative – are now betting everything on the notorious “golden showers” allegation.
For the house of cards to remain upright, it has to be true.
Take congressman Jim Clyburn of South Carolina. Asked point blank by BuzzFeed News editor-in-chief Ben Smith and AM to DM host Saeed Jones whether he believed the Russians have a “pee tape” on Trump, Clyburn answered in the affirmative.
“Yes I do,” he said. “Whenever you see smoke, you need to investigate it to see there’s a fire that’s causing it.”
“There’s a lot of smoke here, and when you see this much smoke, there’s fire somewhere and we’ve got to put it out … before you know it, we’ll all go up in flames,” Clyburn continued.
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So … is there a “golden showers” tape?
Who knows. Russian president Vladimir Putin didn’t directly deny the existence of “compromising” information on Trump when asked about it at a recent summit, but so far there has been nothing to corroborate Steele’s assertions … and plenty to debunk them.
Clyburn’s ultimate goal is clear: To keep the Russian meddling narrative going in the hopes that the American people will eventually join the Washington, D.C. establishment in caring about the scandal (so far, they have completely tuned it out).
“I believe the American people ought to be very careful about the investigation that’s been going on,” Clyburn continued. “I think we should focus on the perseverance of this democracy that is very tenuous … I know this country is not perfect. I have been a recipient of some of its imperfections (but) the investigation must be continued, and we, as American citizens, must get to the bottom of what is causing this president to act so irrationally.”
Irrationally?
Frankly, we think Trump’s posture in Europe has been spot on, not to mention entirely consistent with his campaign promises.
And his critics? Well … let’s just say they are less than consistent …
Anyway, the ongoing Democratic/ GOP establishment “overcommitment” to the Russian narrative is telling … especially considering it is a narrative that has yet to be followed (let alone embraced) by the vast majority of voters, who are simply focused on making ends meet.
Clyburn had some curious comments related to a growing rift within the Democratic party, as well, but we will address that in a future post …
In the meantime, Democrats had better hope a “pee tape” emerges something between now and November.
Otherwise, they are continuing to bet big on a losing hand …
What do you think? Vote in our poll and post your thoughts in our comments section below.
Do you think Russia is manipulating Donald Trump with a "pee tape?"
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