The FBI and Trump: Understanding their strange alliance is key to unpacking the Russia scandal

[DonViejo]

TUESDAY, FEB 28, 2017 08:20 AM EST

The FBI and Donald Trump: Understanding their strange alliance is key to unpacking the Russia scandal

Once again, James Comey and the FBI have Trump's back in a crisis. An independent investigation is urgently needed

HEATHER DIGBY PARTON

There are dozens of important political stories percolating at the moment, from President Trump blithely saying that “nobody knew health care could be so complicated” to an administration proposal to slash necessary government programs to the bone to pay for a massive increase in military spending. There are also discussions about putting large numbers of troops on the ground in the Middle East and ongoing horror stories about large-scale deportation of immigrants and harassment at the borders and other points of entry.

But there are two stories that keep bubbling up to the surface no matter what else is going on: the investigations into Trump’s possible connections to Russia and his holy war against the press. Indeed, according to Chuck Todd of “Meet the Press,” the two are related. On Sunday’s show Todd reported an apparent pattern: Every time a news organization publishes another story on the Russian investigation, Trump has another tantrum about the media. It’s like clockwork.

This pattern doesn’t prove anything other than that the administration is touchy about the story. We can’t conclude it is consciously trying to punish the press for reporting on the Russian stories, or attempting to distract attention from them. Nevertheless, the way the administration has been dealing with the Russian story in other ways certainly raises questions.

On Sunday we found out that the White House was so obsessed with leaks that Sean Spicer gathered the White House lawyers and forced his own staff to turn over their personal and work phones to be searched. On Monday it was revealed that Trump had personally signed off on the order. Calling such behavior “Nixonian” is a cliché, but there’s just no way around it. This is paranoid behavior. It’s also revealing, since Trump likes to say the media has no sources and is just making stories up — and yet he’s obsessed with leaks. Something doesn’t add up.

more
http://www.salon.com/2017/02/28/the-fbi-and-donald-trump-understanding-their-strange-alliance-is-key-to-unpacking-the-russia-scandal/

[Bayard]

1. Dishonest

If he keeps harping on how dishonest the media is (always accompanied by painful sighs), his minions will dismiss any reporting on the Russians and other scandals.

I don't see how they can confiscate White House staff personal phones. ACLU should go after that......maybe make some alliances.

[GeorgeGist]

2. SBS:

Spoiled brat syndrome.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Russian money laundering via Trump's projects, that's whats up.

and more and more people have figured it out.