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To: scion who wrote (10739)	8/9/2018 12:26:27 PM
From: scion	Respond to of 12881

The worst -- and most intriguing -- parts of the secret Devin Nunes tape VIDEO By Aaron Blake August 9 at 7:30 AM washingtonpost.com MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Wednesday night broadcast a secretly recorded tape of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) at a closed-door fundraiser talking about the Russia investigation — a more Trump-friendly version of which his own committee conducted. And while plenty have focused on his comments that the GOP needs to keep the majority to protect President Trump, that might not even be the most interesting — or objectionable — part of it. First off, here’s the full quote, in context: [quote]So therein lies what’s like your classic Catch-22 situation where we’re at a -- it puts us in such a tough spot. If Sessions won’t un-recuse and Mueller won’t clear the president, we’re the only ones, which is really the danger. That’s why I keep -- and thank you for saying it by the way -- I mean, we have to keep all these seats. We have to keep the majority. If we do not keep the majority, all of this goes away."[/quote] We don’t know quite what Nunes was responding to, regrettably. But what first strikes you is how quickly he pivots from talking about Trump’s fate in the Russia investigation to the GOP’s electoral fortunes — as if the purpose of keeping Republicans in power is to shut the whole thing down. That said, Nunes and others of his ilk have been arguing for months that the Justice Department, and even Mueller, are treating Trump unfairly and conducting a witch hunt. Nunes would perhaps argue that he’s talking about trying to protect Trump from an already-overzealous prosecution and a Democratic Party that is intent upon impeaching him and removing him from office. Republicans may indeed need a House majority to guarantee that Trump isn’t impeached. But Nunes isn’t just your average congressional partisan; he’s the guy who was tasked with running a fair investigation into the Russia situation for the usually bipartisan House intelligence committee. His investigation is finished, so perhaps he can let loose a bit. But here he seems to let his true feelings come rushing out — behind closed doors, at least. And it confirms everything we thought we knew about the man behind that probe and his suspiciously pro-Trump actions. But what sticks out to me here are two things: First, he talks about Attorney General Jeff Sessions “un-recusing” himself as if it were a way out of this whole mess. That’s making a real assumption about the nation’s highest law enforcement officer, but it’s one that Trump himself has hinted at. Reporting has regularly described Trump ruing Sessions’s recusal because he believed his attorney general should be there to protect him. But it’s one thing for Trump to reportedly muse about such an unholy alliance behind closed doors; it’s another to have Nunes doing it on tape. And the second is the last part: “If we do not keep the majority, all of this goes away.” Again, Nunes is the House intelligence committee chairman, and he’s privy to all kinds of things we don’t know about. The committee’s report concluded there was no evidence of collusion with Russia, but it clearly made pains not to reflect poorly on the GOP president. (The whole thing created a rift between the GOP majority on the committee and the Democratic minority, which didn’t sign off on the report.) But removing Trump from office would require a majority vote to impeach in the House and a two-thirds vote to remove in the Senate (which means plenty of Republicans going along). Nunes is leading the crowd to believe that this would happen. Perhaps that’s just overheated partisan rhetoric — the kind of thing you say to fire up the base — but the fact that the guy running the House intel committee’s Russia probe suggests it’s actually possible Trump could be removed from office based upon Mueller’s Russia probe seems significant. VIDEO washingtonpost.com

To: scion who wrote (10739)	8/18/2018 4:04:27 PM
From: scion	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12881

Nunes’ ad strategy: When you have no confidence in your message, attack the messenger BY MAREK WARSZAWSKI marekw@fresnobee.com August 15, 2018 12:16 PM Updated August 15, 2018 12:58 PM fresnobee.com What’s wrong, Devin? Scared of a little sunshine? Politicians who can’t stand on their own track record, or who have something to hide, typically are. Officially, Congressman Devin Nunes is running for re-election to the House of Representatives in California’s 22nd district against challenger Andrew Janz in November. Unofficially, Nunes is campaigning against The Fresno Bee. The same “left-wing rag” that has endorsed him every two years since 2002. What have we done to trigger Nunes into chipping off at least $30,000 from his $7 million war chest in an absurd, desperate attempt to discredit Central California’s leading news organization? Let’s sum up: * We had the temerity to ask Nunes why he doesn’t hold town halls or do meet-and-greets with anyone except wealthy donors. (For this, he went on a petulant rant.) * We reported Nunes is an investor in a Napa Valley winery, owned by a friend, that was sued by an employee for civil rights violations, intentional infliction of emotional distress and sexual harassment following a fundraiser held on a yacht. Never did the story imply that Nunes was present or had knowledge of the events. It simply reported on the lawsuit, and Nunes was given the chance to respond. He’s a part-owner of the winery and our Congressman. That makes it newsworthy. * We, through our McClatchy D.C. colleagues, reported Nunes used political donations to pay for $15,000 worth of Boston Celtics tickets, nearly $43,000 on hotels, meals and site rentals in Las Vegas and thousands more on wineries and limousine service outside his district. Those are facts, not attacks. * The Bee’s editorial board called Nunes a “stooge” in a headline and charged him with “doing dirty work for House Republican leaders trying to protect President Donald Trump in the Russia investigation.” Nunes may not appreciate being described in such a fashion. Except he himself all but confirmed it during a closed-door fundraiser that was secretly taped. Whoops. * I, too, have been tough on Nunes, and for reasons that have nothing to do with Trump, Russia, collusion, deep states or Communist fish. Why? Because after 16 years on Capitol Hill, you can’t point to any major legislative victories that benefit his constituents. Water? Not an extra drop. Immigration? Still no bill for farmworkers or Dreamers. Highway 99? Still dreadful. Tariffs on Valley-grown nuts and fruits? Not a peep. As opposed to previous elections, Nunes is facing a strong opponent in Janz. But because he has no platform to campaign on besides a few conspiracy theories, he resorts to attacking the local newspaper. Take Nunes’ latest radio ad. A female voice tells us Fresno businessman, philanthropist and Nunes campaign chair Bob Smittcamp wants us to hear this message, though evidently not enough to lend his own pipes. “On behalf of the campaign committee, we’re responding to The Fresno Bee’s personal attacks on Devin and by extension on us.” Except there haven’t been any personal attacks on Nunes. Only illumination of his business and campaign dealings and criticism about his job performance. All fair game. And the “by extension” part couldn’t be more preposterous. Besides the fact that Nunes isn’t “us” by any means – when was the last time you sat courtside at an NBA game or ate at a five-star restaurant on someone else’s dime? – the criticisms are of Nunes alone. “We have implemented sound strategies to ensure the Valley’s strong representation in Washington and for Devin to travel the country to help Devin elect other Republicans who will support water and other Valley priorities.” What those “sound strategies” are, the ad doesn’t say. They certainly haven’t produced results, even though Nunes is such a star in the GOP. See the disconnect? Oh, by the way, guess where Nunes spent his August recess. Not at home meeting with constituents but in Azerbaijan. Are there Republican candidates there, too? “Based on our direct personal experience we know that The Bee’s stories attacking Devin are entirely false.” What’s false? Please tell us. Not his eyebrow-raising campaign-donor spending. Not his financial ties to a Napa winery that got sued and settled. And certainly not his self-admitted protection of Trump, “or else this all goes away.” “Derived from baseless insinuations by liberal groups this reporting violates basic journalistic standards on ethics, objectivity and fact checking.” Refuse to speak to us, then claim “fake news” when stories aren’t balanced per paragraph or facts come out that Nunes would rather keep hidden away. It’s a flimsy tactic. “As lifelong members of the Valley community and overseers of Devin’s campaign activity we view these false charges by The Bee as intolerable attacks on our own integrity and honesty.” Again, what false charges? The ad doesn’t say, because they’re make believe. Just more distortion to cover up Nunes’ sorry legislative track record and abandonment of his district. Everyone assumes Nunes’ seat is safe, since voters of the 22nd district tilt so heavily Republican. But his attack ads on my place of employment suggest he’s squirming behind the scenes. When you don’t have confidence in your message, attack the messenger. Marek Warszawski: 559-441-6218, @MarekTheBee fresnobee.com