I have speculated this before. Who could it be? Somebody EXTREMELY close to Trump.
Consider these two articles this weekend. This WEEKEND. First one on Saturday. Then one today, Sunday. So, somebody with him in Bedminster. His inner inner circle. Somebody who has such access to Trump and to information that (s)he can relay info about words Trump speaks and reactions he displays. And most remarkably, somebody who can relay info to M&M almost in real time! Same news cycle anyway: story, reaction to story, follow-up story.
More than one person was source for Saturday's article but I bet only one gave M&M Trump's reactions to Saturday's article. That person saw first hand on Saturday the "scramble" that Saturday's article's set off among Trump's "advisors" in Bedminster; (s)he saw first hand that the Saturday article "rattled" and "jolted" Trump personally; (s)he was present when Trump ordered Giuliani to lie, to tell the media publicly that the Saturday story was "Fake." AND this one person was able to get to M&M this intel in time for a "fallout" story Sunday. This person either made multiple communications to M&M or one long one at the end of the day. How did (s)he get the time to step away discretely to do either: multiple texts or calls, or one long one? Probably one long one when the Day Care Staff but the baby to bed.
When Trump read both of this weekend's stories the normal reaction would be for him to start go hunting the leaker. Trump is obsessed with leaks, obsessed with leakers. This is such a personal betrayal. Trump knows who was there. Trump knows who would have been in a position to see his reaction to Saturday's story. It has to be a pretty goddamned small universe of people.
I have speculated before that it is John Kelly. It could be Kellyanne Conway. Her husband is a major Trump critic. I was not being coy in using the "(s)he," it could be either of them. But I think the universe of potential candidates is down to those two. It seems to me Trump could get to the bottom of this very quickly. Call each of them in individually; confront them, gauge their reactions. Conway would cry. Kelly would be cold and stone-faced. Both would deny. "I want every communication device you have," he could say to each of them.
What kind of person does this to his or her boss? Kelly strikes me as far the more likely to be Trump's Salieri than does Conway. Yet, just last week it was reported that Trump asked Kelly to stay on through 2020.
Trump's survival instincts have failed him. He was blindsided by the McGahn revelations, "rattled," "jolted" that he was so dumb. And that the cause of his being rattled and jolted is someone who he is intimate with, someone he has entrusted with his thoughts on survival, on his "obsession" with John Dean and how Dean took down Nixon. There should be an enormous sense of betrayal, that should be Trump's reaction. But it's not there.
Trump would have good reason not to sweat this. It apparently is fact that Mueller told Giuliani that he is going to follow DOJ guidelines and not indict a sitting president. All he has to fear is a negative report by Mueller, that Rosenstein need not release publicly, that a Republican house will deep-six if Rosenstein does give it to them, and which Trump and his team can write a rebuttal to. The only realistic thing Trump has to fear is loss of the House to the Democrats. If that happens, Trump WILL BE IMPEACHED. But Trump does not seem to realize this rigged end game in his favor because he continued to be "rattled," "jolted" and continues to be "obsessed" that there is a Salieri next to him who will do to him what John Dean did to Nixon.
Trump is failing. His instincts, his mental acumen, his judgment, they are not aiding him they are abetting Mueller. He is a bird brain.
Consider these two articles this weekend. This WEEKEND. First one on Saturday. Then one today, Sunday. So, somebody with him in Bedminster. His inner inner circle. Somebody who has such access to Trump and to information that (s)he can relay info about words Trump speaks and reactions he displays. And most remarkably, somebody who can relay info to M&M almost in real time! Same news cycle anyway: story, reaction to story, follow-up story.
More than one person was source for Saturday's article but I bet only one gave M&M Trump's reactions to Saturday's article. That person saw first hand on Saturday the "scramble" that Saturday's article's set off among Trump's "advisors" in Bedminster; (s)he saw first hand that the Saturday article "rattled" and "jolted" Trump personally; (s)he was present when Trump ordered Giuliani to lie, to tell the media publicly that the Saturday story was "Fake." AND this one person was able to get to M&M this intel in time for a "fallout" story Sunday. This person either made multiple communications to M&M or one long one at the end of the day. How did (s)he get the time to step away discretely to do either: multiple texts or calls, or one long one? Probably one long one when the Day Care Staff but the baby to bed.
When Trump read both of this weekend's stories the normal reaction would be for him to start go hunting the leaker. Trump is obsessed with leaks, obsessed with leakers. This is such a personal betrayal. Trump knows who was there. Trump knows who would have been in a position to see his reaction to Saturday's story. It has to be a pretty goddamned small universe of people.
I have speculated before that it is John Kelly. It could be Kellyanne Conway. Her husband is a major Trump critic. I was not being coy in using the "(s)he," it could be either of them. But I think the universe of potential candidates is down to those two. It seems to me Trump could get to the bottom of this very quickly. Call each of them in individually; confront them, gauge their reactions. Conway would cry. Kelly would be cold and stone-faced. Both would deny. "I want every communication device you have," he could say to each of them.
What kind of person does this to his or her boss? Kelly strikes me as far the more likely to be Trump's Salieri than does Conway. Yet, just last week it was reported that Trump asked Kelly to stay on through 2020.
Trump's survival instincts have failed him. He was blindsided by the McGahn revelations, "rattled," "jolted" that he was so dumb. And that the cause of his being rattled and jolted is someone who he is intimate with, someone he has entrusted with his thoughts on survival, on his "obsession" with John Dean and how Dean took down Nixon. There should be an enormous sense of betrayal, that should be Trump's reaction. But it's not there.
Trump would have good reason not to sweat this. It apparently is fact that Mueller told Giuliani that he is going to follow DOJ guidelines and not indict a sitting president. All he has to fear is a negative report by Mueller, that Rosenstein need not release publicly, that a Republican house will deep-six if Rosenstein does give it to them, and which Trump and his team can write a rebuttal to. The only realistic thing Trump has to fear is loss of the House to the Democrats. If that happens, Trump WILL BE IMPEACHED. But Trump does not seem to realize this rigged end game in his favor because he continued to be "rattled," "jolted" and continues to be "obsessed" that there is a Salieri next to him who will do to him what John Dean did to Nixon.
Trump is failing. His instincts, his mental acumen, his judgment, they are not aiding him they are abetting Mueller. He is a bird brain.
