Today's news is all about the Leftist mainstream media and their overreaction to all things Trump. Admittedly, their Chicken Little routine is far more interesting to watch than the placid view from the Right.
CNN:
James Comey is at it again.Can't you feel that drama? It is like a 5 year old, dragging his parents into his bedroom, telling them, "Look under the bed? See? See? There IS a monster there!"
The FBI director, in his deadpan way, characteristically unleashed a new chain of political consequences Monday, in hours of steely testimony before a House hearing examining Russian meddling in the presidential election.
Just five months ago, Democrats were left fulminating at Comey's handling of the probe into Hillary Clinton's email server.
Now, as Comey wades back into the political swamp, it's Republicans who are left to fret after the FBI chief sensationally dispensed with protocol to confirm his agents were probing alleged collusion between then-candidate Donald Trump's campaign aides and Moscow.
By publicly confirming the probe, Comey sentenced the White House to months of uncertainty, potential leaks and distractions that already threaten to sap the President's political capital at a crucial moment.
Meanwhile, we are ignoring the LACK of an 800 pound gorilla in the room. Namely, what was the crime? The only crime was the illegal theft of emails from secured systems. Unfortunately, then-candidate Trump openly encouraged the Russians to do it.
But that isn't what is being investigated. The FBI is investigating connections between Trump and his campaign and Russia. To what end though? Even CNN doubts this investigation will bear fruit:
It is quite possible that no charges will ever be leveled against Trump aides and that the FBI counter-intelligence operation will find that there was no wrongdoing or collusion by Trump aides.
But the suspicion will hover for months over former Trump associates like former campaign chairman Paul Manafort — who denied any wrongdoing in a statement on Monday — and foreign policy expert Carter Page — and by extension over the President himself.The problem with this investigation is twofold:
First, there has to be an actual crime. For now, they cannot even prove it was the Russians behind the Wikileaks email theft. Other than that, the only possible allegation they can make towards Trump and his people is "talking with Russians". In itself, not illegal. Considering Trump's business dealings are international in scope, he has every reason to have had dealings with Russians.
Second, the FBI will have to prove there was intent to do something illegal. Until you can show that Trump, or one of his people, was actively and privately trying to get the Russians to steal emails for the purpose of embarrassing Democrats before the election, then there isn't a case. Add in the fact that the Russians surely had their own motives to impact the election results, then they didn't need any encouragement from Trump or his people.
But it all makes great copy, and helps the Democrats. Go team CNN!
CNN:
...two of the three men who introduced Gorsuch at the hearing were Democrats. Despite the bipartisan showmanship, both used some of their time to go negative, ripping into Republicans for blocking Merrick Garland -- President Barack Obama's pick for the same seat last year...It didn't end there, with more Democrats whining about Garland. Unfortunately, they are forgetting they gave up control of the Senate thanks to their partisan vote on Obamacare. This in turn gave the Republicans the ability to ignore the Garland nomination. As usual, Democrats love to point fingers even when they are directly responsible for their own problems. Give them a Pogo award:
One of them was Obama's acting solicitor general, Neal Katyal, who successfully challenged the Trump administration's new travel ban in federal court in Hawaii.
"It is a tragedy of national proportions that Merrick Garland does not sit on the court, and it would take a lot to get over that," he said. "Indeed, there are less than a handful of people that the president could have nominated to even start to rebuild that loss of trust, but in my opinion Neil Gorsuch is one."
Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado was respectful of Gorsuch, but he made it clear that his introduction didn't necessarily mean he would vote for the judge and that he was doing the introduction out of tradition.
"It is customary for senators to introduce nominees from their home states," he said. "I'm not here today to take a position or persuade any of our colleagues how to vote. I am keeping an open mind about this nomination and expect this week's hearing will shed light on Judge Gorsuch's judicial approach and views of the law."
Bennet called Senate Republicans' treatment of Garland an "an embarrassment to this body," and said "it is tempting to deny Judge Gorsuch a fair hearing" as well.
"But two wrongs never make a right," he added.
Finally, the last of the three CNN "lede stories" today:
CNN:
Ivanka Trump will work out of an office in the West Wing, a White House official told CNN on Monday.
The official also confirmed Trump will seek a security clearance and government-provided communication devices, although she will not be a government employee.
The move places President Donald Trump's eldest daughter -- long one of his closest advisers -- at the center of his administration, following weeks during which she held no formal role but appeared alongside the President and senior staffers in major meetings with world leaders and business figures.
Why is this a lede story?
Admittedly, presidents don't typically give their daughters such high profile advisory positions. Then again, most presidential daughters tend to be either children or very young adults during their fathers' administrations. However, Ivanka is an accomplished 35 year old businesswoman who has learned her father's lessons quite well. As the father of a daughter myself, I can fully appreciate why Donald Trump would want to get advice from his daughter. I won't call it a shrewd move for Donald, but it is an understandable move.
As for the Left, the Ivanka story is just another in a long line of petty complaints from them. There is plenty to dislike about Trump, but they keep missing it.
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