Washington Bloodbath: Is the McCabe Firing the First of Many?
“When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history,” former CIA director John Brennan tweeted at President Trump on Saturday morning, just hours after Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe. “You may scapegoat Andy McCabe, but you will not destroy America . . . America will triumph over you.” Well, let us hope so, sir, though that dustbin is getting pretty crowded, stuffed as it is with cowardly members of Congress, who seem paralyzed in the face of venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption.
Why was McCabe subjected to such rough treatment, less than two days before he was set to retire and collect his full pension? Could it be that the White House is desperate to discredit him, fearful that he will soon be telling all to the Mueller committee? Here is what the President, with his usual restraint, had to say on the subject: “Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI - A great day for Democracy. Sanctimonious James Comey was his boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy. He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!” For his part, McCabe countered, “This attack on my credibility is one part of a larger effort not just to slander me personally, but to taint the FBI, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals more generally. It is part of this Administration’s ongoing war on the FBI and the efforts of the Special Counsel investigation, which continue to this day. Their persistence in this campaign only highlights the importance of the Special Counsel’s work.”
McCabe’s firing, though stunning, was not the only sacking of the week. Could it have been Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s refusal to retract his comment from last summer—that he thought Trump was a “fucking moron”—that had him unceremoniously exiting through the White House gift shop on Tuesday? The same day Tilly was booted—via Twitter, without even the courtesy of a phone call from the Oval Office—Trump’s personal aide and body man, John McEntee, was hustled out of the building—not even allowed to retrieve his jacket—allegedly for his uncontrolled Internet-gambling habit. (Are we nuts, or does this guy look a lot like Rob Porter? Why do all these guys look alike?)
If Johnny could be shoved coatless into the cold, who is next? There are plenty of other heads rumored to be on the chopping block: bigger dustbin, please! Among the candidates for the unemployment line are National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster (Trump has complained that his briefings are way too long); Chief of Staff John Kelly (he’s the guy who took son-in-law Jared’s security clearance away); HUD Secretary Ben Carson (he spent $31,000 on a table for his office); Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (not only did she suck on 60 Minutes last week, but she told Today she wished Trump didn’t curse so much); and even AG Sessions (because if he hadn’t recused himself, he could be firing Mueller right now!).
But time for some happier news: Guess who won the special election in the 18th district in Pennsylvania last Tuesday, a place so red Democrats haven’t even run a candidate there in the last two contests? Conor Lamb, the Democrat, despite millions thrown at the race by Republicans and personal appearances in Western PA not just by Trump Jr. and senior advisor Ivanka, but even the commander in chief himself, who gave an unhinged 73-minute speech meant to bolster Lamb’s hapless opponent.
In other startling events of the week, Stormy Daniels, aka Stephanie Clifford, the porn star who claims that Trump’s people paid her $130,000 to shut up about her affair with him, is set to spill. Amid a spate of lawsuits and countersuits—one of which, from Trump’s team, is demanding she pay $20 million for dissing the big guy—Daniels/Clifford insists an interview she gave to 60 Minutes will be broadcast next Sunday. Well at least we hope it will air. Describing the many clumsy attempts the president’s lawyers have made to quash this TV segment, her attorney stated, “To put it simply—they want to hide the truth from the American people. . . . The fact that a sitting president is pursuing over $20 million in bogus ‘damages’ against a private citizen, who is only trying to tell the public what really happened, is truly remarkable. Likely unprecedented in our history. We are not going away and we will not be intimidated by these threats.”
And talk about not being intimidated: On Wednesday, the one-month anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre, millions of students walked out of high schools all over the country, a rolling protest that began when the East Coast woke up and continued across America. Even if you are far too old to be in school (and admit it, aren’t you happy about that?) you can join these brave young people in their quest for sane gun laws in Washington next Saturday. As Parkland student Emma González explains: “We are speaking up for those who don’t have anyone listening to them, for those who can’t talk about it just yet, and for those who will never speak again. We are grieving, we are furious, and we are using our words fiercely and desperately because that’s the only thing standing between us and this happening again.”
What a weekend it will be! Saturday with Emma on the streets of D.C.; Sunday with Stormy at 7:00 p.m. on CBS.
