TWGB: All Roads With You Lead to Putin

There really just might be something to this idea of Trump being self-impeachable after all, as is becoming more evident with each advancing news story.  I've been an advocate of impeachment, but also an admirer of Speaker Pelosi's slow-burn tactics--she seems to be running the impeachment inquiry at a pace that gives the unstable non-genius enough rope to hang himself (and several of his cohorts) with.

This unravelling of the president was in disturbing force today, as President Trump had a bit of a public meltdown where he demanded to know where "the server" was like an unsatisfied patron at a midrange chain restaurant. (Which is about a nonsensical conspiracy theory it is hard to believe that the president actually takes seriously, but in a world of hurricane nukes and windmill cancers, who am I to judge?) He then had a meltdown behind closed doors, when Madame Speaker treated him to exactly the message his disastrous recent policy with respect to Syria deserved:

Pelosi explained to Trump that Russia has always wanted a “foothold in the Middle East,” and now it has one with the U.S. withdrawal, according to a senior Democratic aide who was also granted anonymity.

“All roads with you lead to Putin,” the speaker said.

 And they certainly do. Both the Ukrainian exploits which have brought about his impeachment inquiry and his precipitous Syrian decision with respects to Erdogan do not at all seem to further US interests, so much as Russia's. Trump can pretend that it was she, not he, who "melted down", but the picture above shows a woman with more political experience than Trump ever will have, letting him know something about himself. And once again, he is responding by reflex--"I'm rubber and you're glue".  A schoolyard tactic--not a presidential one.

Perhaps Trump has reasons for his obvious disturbance. I'm going to elide the steady drip-drip-drip of the Ukraine testimonies by simply saying: It looks bad because it is bad, and the testimony of various officials seem to be painting a picture where people were clearly acting on Trump's behalf, not for broad policy goals, but specifically to be of use to Trump and where Energy Secretary Perry, OMB/Acting COS Mulvaney, Ambassador Gordon Sondland and special envoy Kurt Volker apparently conspired to ensure certain business and political outcomes were ensured. It is looking like the very opposite of a bid to combat corruption; a directed effort to control who benefits from it.



The view from Trump's Syrian folly is also not very good. In the same spirit of ignorance and bluster that gave us the call summary of "A perfect phone call", Trump has now produced for us his perfect letter to Turkish President Erdogan, sent shortly after he honestly did green-light the invasion. It is brief, in poor tone, and definitely Trumpian: "Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool!"

Yes. That is exactly the tone you want to take to divert a state leader from doing a thing you might have strongly implied it was very okay with you if you did. That certainly doesn't sound like an insult and a dare. This is why Pompeo and Pence were initially told to pound sand by Erdogan (which Trump has said they are fighting over in Syria, which is also exceptionally tacky and ignorant) and the same sort of thoughtlessness that makes their job that much more difficult.

That is to say, the job of mopping up Trump's mess. Like the way the pull-back (not pull-out) of troops could expose US intelligence about our methods and materials to Russia and Syria, the way we ended up bombing our own munitions so it doesn't fall into other hands, the way it was kind of exposed that the US really does have nukes in Turkey that could be held hostage if shit really went south, and that if Trump wasn't a goober, none of this would have had to be this way.

But that's a superficial read--it looks like Turkey and Trump have tried to manage deals before. Trump's lawyer Giuliani lobbied Trump to get rid of Fethullah Gulen (Trump's former NSA Mike Flynn only talked about kidnapping the man) and it looks the story of Reza Zarrab, as represented by Giuliani, is way bigger than originally thought. It's a whole Turkish bank trying to avoid Iran sanctions for doing business.

So many deals! Part of a lifetime of Trump-style dodgy-dealing all coming to light right now! It is like Trump is not very competent, but is very, very corrupt!

I thought we all knew that, but if anyone was wondering or did not know, this is the message: Trump is not very competent, but is very, very corrupt. And Nancy Pelosi has his number, and he's mad because he knows it.