Trump Sought to Fire Mueller in December
Here is another Times story co-authored by Maggie Haberman.Wake up Maggie I think I got something to say to you. The lede is new and is, of course, supported by the reporting. But Maggie does the same thing she has done before, she is goading Trump into firing Mueller and in the same weasley way. Here's the lead up, on the December almost firing:
Trump...told advisers in no uncertain terms that Mr. Mueller’s investigation had to be shut down.
[Trump's] anger was fueled by reports that the subpoenas were for obtaining information about his business dealings with Deutsche Bank, according to interviews with eight White House officials, people close to the president and others familiar with the episode.
The last sentence in that paragraph, which I have seperated for emphasis is the lead in to the goading:
To Mr. Trump, the subpoenas suggested that Mr. Mueller had expanded the investigation in a way that crossed the “red line” he had set last year in an interview with The New York Times.
When she does this, goad Trump, she ALWAYS refers back to that interview. I read it at the time and have always remembered it as the Times reporters giving that line "red line" to Trump; that "red line" wasn't Trump's term--to warrant the quotation marks around it in today's article. So I just checked it and I was right. Here's the exchange:
SCHMIDT: Last thing, if Mueller was looking at your finances and your family finances, unrelated to Russia — is that a red line?
HABERMAN: Would that be a breach of what his actual charge is?
TRUMP: I would say yeah. I would say yes...
That was the Times' line, not Trump's. That Michael S. Schmidt's line. They, Schmidt (co-author of today's article) Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman, put that term in Trump's head, something that had not been there before! Otherwise, his response would not have been "I would say yeah...yes." If Trump had thought it before he would have said "Absolutely." "Absolutely, and I've talked to my personal lawyer Michael Cohen about it and absolutely, it was Michael, by the way, who said 'Mr. President, that would be crossing a red line.'"
It has always irked me that the Times created the "red line," fed it to Trump who then, of course, is going to adopt it as his own. "I've said since July 19, 2017, going into my personal finances is a red line!" And then having created the red line they constantly throw it up to Trump as red meat.
Now, here is the money shot paragraph from today's article:
The December episode, which has never been publicly reported, has new resonance following the disclosure on Monday that F.B.I. agents had carried out search warrants at the office and hotel room of Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen. In that action, the Justice Department seems to have walked directly up to — if not crossed — Mr. Trump’s red line by examining something that seems unrelated to Russia.
You see the weasley words: Justice "seems to," IN HABER-SCHMIDT'S OPINION Justice has "walked directly up to--if not crossed--Mr. Trump's red line"..Which "red line" line was not Trump's to begin with but Haber-Schmidt's. They are signaling. They are signaling Trump that firing Robert Mueller is, in their opinion, now justified. And they have done this before.
Incidentally, read, or skim the July 19, 2017 interview. Maggie, what I got to say to you is you are a total suck up.
HABERMAN: [In Paris], I don’t think I’ve seen you look like you were enjoying yourself that much since the convention, really.
...
HABERMAN: [Macron] was very deferential to you. Very.
TRUMP: He’s a great guy. Smart. Strong. Loves holding my hand.
HABERMAN: I’ve noticed.
TRUMP: People don’t realize he loves holding my hand. And that’s good, as far as that goes.
......
TRUMP: But the Bastille Day parade was — now that was a super-duper —
HABERMAN: It was beautiful.
...
TRUMP: We had dinner at the Eiffel Tower, and the bottom of the Eiffel Tower looked like they could have never had a bigger celebration ever in the history of the Eiffel Tower...
HABERMAN: You must have been so tired at, by that point.
Maggie, you must have been so wet in that interview. TIMES, WATCH HER! THIS IS NOT NORMAL! OR IF IT IS NORMAL IT'S FUCK-ED UP-ED NORMAL! Fingernails on blackboard, I can't take anymore. Read it and squirm.
