Much is made of the gaggle of Trump falsehoods, fallacies, and fake news. I’ve been known to broach the subject myself. Today’s post is not about Trump, at least not directly. Instead, my focus is on the right wing incubator of false and misleading information that the Prevaricator-in-Chief has spawned.
I am going to use the KISS principle and (K)eep (I)t (S)hort and (S)weet. In doing so, I will cite just one example of the desperate measures Trump supporters, surrogates, and sycophants go to, to blame Obama for any and everything under the sun that can be viewed in the shadowy light of negative connotations.
This week’s news has been littered with references to the sentencing fiasco that was the so-called Epstein-Acosta plea deal. Without getting too deep in the weeds on the details, the story, in summary, is a tale about a rich and powerful man, Jeffrey Epstein, who is alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct with underage girls, up to and including trafficking.
Epstein is the epitome of a high roller. By many accounts, he is a billionaire. His historical connections include Donald Trump and Bill Clinton. Needless to say, the aforementioned Trumpsters have emphasized his connections to Clinton, and have been largely silent on those Trump ties. Trump, who has distanced himself from Epstein since the latter was arrested over the weekend, claimed the two fell out 15 or so years ago. It’s worth noting that Trump’s posture was different at an earlier time. Speaking for a 2002 profile of Epstein, Trump said:
“I’ve know Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it – Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
Epstein gained notoriety for a 2008 non-prosecution deal that allowed him to plead guilty to lesser charges while maintaining a lavish lifestyle. A deal brokered under the auspices former Miami U.S. Attorney…and current Trump Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, enabled Epstein to serve 13 months in jail, settle with a number of the victims, and register as a sex offender, while avoiding a possible life sentence. The deal was reached with no prior consultation of victims, and allowed Epstein to be picked up by a driver, and to spend most of his days at his office.
An extensive story by the Miami Herald has blown the cover off Epstein’s sweetheart deal. Now, that Epstein has resurfaced as the subject of a juicy news item, the finger pointing has begun. And to date, no finger has been more pointed than that of Fox Contributor Lawrence Jones. In an appearance on Fox News yesterday, Jones patently asserted that it was Barack Obama’s fault that Epstein got such a joke (relative to the charges) of a sentence. Jones appeared on Outnumbered, ostensibly in support of Acosta, but as always, in obeisance to Trump. In response to a question about why people are suddenly taking such a close look at the Epstein case, Jones said:
“Well, I don’t think people are taking a total look at this. Because there’s a lot of things that go into these decisions. A, when it’s someone like this involved, this does not skip Washington. That means that AG knew about it, that means the investigative agency, the FBI, Bob Mueller.
(Host) Harris Faulkner: “Well as Christine Pelosi said, some of the faves in the Democratic Party may be on a list here somewhere.” Notice the effort to deflect to Democrats.
Jones: “Exactly. Well, this was 2008, under a Democratic administration.” (Wrong! Actually, Obama was inaugurated until 2009, but when you’re trying to make a point on Fox News, what’s a little misinformation between friends?)
Faulkner: Right. (Right? Is there an adult in the room? Surely she knows better.)
Jones: So it’s not just [Alex] Acosta making decisions like this. Other factors go – and if there was corruption, then every investigative agency that was involved with it, including the Attorney General’s office, knew something about it. (That may very well be true, Mr. Jones. But just so we’re clear, Bush’s last AG, Michael Mukasy, was U.S. Attorney General from 2007-2009.
While the clearest result of the brouhaha emanating from the Epstein fallout is renewed, and rightfully so, heat and light focused on Jeffrey Epstein. Another aspect garnering attention, unwanted, I’m sure, is that there have been numerous calls for Mr. Acosta to resign. I don’t expect him to, of course. Moreover, not surprisingly, when Trump spoke on the issue yesterday, one of the few things he said was to offer praise of Acosta. Oh well.
I really am not that guy who believes all Democrats are angels and all Republicans are demons. Each party has its fair share of miscreants. But allow me to be perfectly clear about this one thing. The Fox fixation, and the Trump trend of trying to hang every ill-conceived act by any American on Democrats in general, and on Barack Obama in particular is asinine, and until more Republicans stand up, speak up, and own up to the facile ignorance that undergirds that strategy, their claim to the legacy of Lincoln, and to anything approximating status as a major political party thought leader is in a word bogus. Jones’ assertion is, on its face, fake news. As asked and answered in the Title, “When Is The Past Not The Past? When It Didn’t Happen!”
I’m done; holla back!
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Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=yJ1FEcXjcdY
https://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2019/07/when-is-past-not-past-when-it-didnt.html
https://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2019/07/when-is-past-not-past-when-it-didnt.html
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