I’ve been musing over how much people rush to suggest that it’s a distraction when FOTUS does something in light of his current crisis regarding Jeffrey Epstein or his previous crises. A is a distraction for B, B is a distraction for C. Maybe some of it is distraction, but so much is also on brand.
ITEM: Over his family’s objections, the regime released records about the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The files had been sealed since 1977, when the FBI turned them over to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). They were scheduled to be released in 2027. But know that the records were specifically from COINTELPRO, the FBI program (1956-1971) designed “to discredit and neutralize organizations considered subversive to U.S. political stability. It was covert and often used extralegal means to criminalize various forms of political struggle.”
Distraction? Maybe. On brand: Absolutely; trying to tear down a black American icon because he is too DEI. Incidentally, on Juneteenth, he took the opportunity to say that America has “too many non-working holidays.”
ITEM: Attorney General Bondi announced that the DOJ has released additional documents from the FBI’s investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email server.
Distraction?: Almost certainly; isn’t that a rerun? On brand? Definitely! In 2016, then-Republican candidate insisted that her use of a private server had been criminal and made “Lock her up!” a chant at his rallies.
BHO
ITEM: FOTUS also attacked former president Barack Obama, claiming that he and Hillary “tried to rig the [2016] election, and they got caught. And there should be very severe consequences for that.” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is getting back on FOTUS’ good side, after her Iran intel ‘betrayal,’ by calling for their prosecution for participating in a ‘treasonous conspiracy’ against FOTUS for indicating that Russian operatives had worked on his behalf during the 2016 presidential election.
Distraction? Obama believes so, but I think not. FOTUS’s continued insistence that he ‘won’ the 2020 election and suggesting that they ‘rigged’ 2016 proves the ‘truth.’ This would ‘justify’ the Jan 6 insurrection as merely righting a wrong, and pardoning the insurrectionists as fair. On brand: From his 2011 ‘birther’ claims against Obama on, he’s obsessed with outdoing the black guy. He can count on his media sycophants to buy in. Red State: Tulsi Gabbard Posts Russiagate Evidence Obama Had Been Fearing. Gabbard to Newsmax: New Docs Will Refute Obama’s ‘Coup’ Denial. It’s all part of the retribution campaign, “this time with aides more inclined to carry out his wishes.” Not to mention an obsequious Congress.
Quid pro quo
ITEM: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that under AG Pam Bondi’s direction, he had talked to the lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of grooming victims for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Blanche wrote that he anticipated meeting with Maxwell in the coming days.
Distraction? I don’t think so. There’s more than a slight chance that Maxwell will somehow immunize FOTUS in exchange for reducing her prison sentence or even a pardon, despite FOTUS’s obvious relationship with Epstein. On brand: 100%.This week, the White House account posted on X an image of FOTUS in front of American flags, eagles, and fireworks with the caption: “I was the hunted—NOW I’M THE HUNTER.”
Oh, you might want to read this background on the Epstein files: She Exposed Epstein and Shares MAGA’s Anger -the reporter (Julie K. Brown) who took down Jeffrey Epstein on what’s still hidden (NYT). Also, watch The Epstein File Fiasco (Legal Eagle).
ITEM: In railing against Joe Biden, FOTUS complains about 46’s competence. Yet 47 does his own word salads. For instance, recently speaking in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, FOTUS claimed that his late uncle John Trump taught Unabomber Ted Kaczynski at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He then claimed that he quizzed his uncle about his supposed student. This did not happen.
Distraction? I don’t know what to make of these ramblings – he does it a LOT – where he tells a demonstrably false story, with no obvious takeaway. And he was doing this in 2024, before the election Distraction? Maybe. Or dementia?
