WC Fields once famously said, “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit” and again this weekend the president’s personal lawyer agreed. In his latest appearance on the pundit circuit, Trump’s bug-eyed barrister again managed to baffle us again. His latest response adds to a prodigious array of statements against the interests of his client.
- As far as I know, President Trump did not have discussions … in which he told (Michael Cohen) or counseled him to lie. If he had any discussions with him, they'd be about the version of events that Michael Cohen gave them, which they all believed was true.”
- There is not a single bit of evidence the president of the United States committed the only crime you could commit here, conspired with the Russians to hack the DNC..."
- "Look, I am not going to be rushed into having [Donald Trump] testify so that he gets trapped into perjury. And when you tell me that, you know, he should testify because he’s going to tell the truth and he shouldn’t worry, well that’s so silly because it’s somebody’s version of the truth. Not the truth. He didn’t have a, a conversation — "
- "Truth isn't truth."
What Rudy is saying, to be precise, is that he has no idea about what he is talking about---but if he did have an idea, the president certainly didn’t do whatever “it” was. Facts and evidence aside, Giuliani has managed to cloud the record with dust and spin in, what seems a frantic effort to save a client from his own words and deeds. Earlier this week offering up his own tattered reputation, Rudy denied that he had ever said that there was no collusion by the president or his team. This New York lawyer who served as a Federal prosecutor compounded his baffling defense by suggesting that collusion--even with Russians-- was not even a crime, and even if it were a crime, his client didn't commit it. In that one statement, Giuliani attempted to dazzle us with two competing inanities; first, that conspiring with a foreign power to win an election is not a crime (it is); and second, that even though he hasn’t a clue as to whether the president conspired or not (he did and Rudy knows it), Trump didn’t do it. Now that’s rich.
Here’s the thing. The president and his lawyers are reacting to facts that are not even in play since Robert Mueller has not released his report. They are reacting, instead, to news reports that they feel threaten the president because if proven, they will surely imperil his presidency. The mere fact that they are issuing specific denials to news reports seem to indicate the veracity of the reports. If there were proof otherwise, Rudy would undoubtedly prefer to be dazzling us with his brilliance. Instead, he lies, obfuscates, and opens himself to ridicule in order to confuse the issues. But then, his audience is not us, rather, it is “the ultimate base” ---the president himself. The president’s team, bereft of the appearance of innocence or facts to dispute evidence of guilt, plays the only hand it has—they make things up.
I am reminded of Bob Fosse’s musical adaptation of the 1926 satire “Chicago.” The original play was written by Maurine Dallas Watkins about two murderesses who attempt to use their notoriety to not only get away with murder but also to gain fame and fortune. Their lawyer, Billy Flynn, ascribes to the same philosophy adopted by Rudy and Fields. Fast on his feet and weak on argument, Flynn resort to the only defense available—the old razzle-dazzle”
Give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle
Razzle dazzle 'em
Give 'em a show that's so splendiferous
Row after row will crow vociferous
Give 'em the old
Fool and fracture 'em flim flam flummox
How can they hear the truth above the roar?
Razzle Dazzle lyric, Kander and Ebb
Sound familiar? The “Razzle Dazzle” is what Trump and his lawyers have left to them. The truth is their enemy, so they resort to bullshit in order to distract those unable or unwilling to believe the truth. The base, as they are known, have a stake in the razzle-dazzle because it is the only thing that shields a portion of them from the knowledge that they are fools. They resist the knowledge that they have been duped into supporting a traitor. There are, however, a subset of the base who value Trump and who are willing to trade his criminality and incompetence for the implementation of their own nefarious agenda. It is for them that Rudy Giuliani blusters and baffles.
But Rudy should know better. He has seen and felt first hand Trump’s incompetence and incapacity for loyalty. Giuliani signed on for this, likely his last presidential campaign, for the opportunity to serve as Secretary of State in the Trump Administration. Rudy worked for this prize and made his desires known. When the time came, however, Rudy watched as a campaign nobody, Rex Tillerson, was handed his prize, Rex “effing’” Tillerson! And to add to the slight, Donald had the temerity to interview Mitt Romney for the Rudy’s dream job.
So, what would make Rudy Giuliani, a man with a fairly good reputation after his years as the U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York and Mayor of New York, join forces with a slug like Trump? The easy answer is “money” since greed often takes the blame when something far more base is at fault. Rudy and Trump are cut from the same cloth and both share secrets that the other would prefer hidden. Rudy knew all about the transgressions perpetrated in New York by the Trump Organization—and Trump knows he knew. Who knows what other secrets the two bosom buddies (couldn’t resist) shared as they trolled the murky waters of NY politics and real estate. While greed is always a commodity that weakens resolve and destroys the soul, power is the ultimate motivator. This is as close to ultimate power as Rudy is likely to get unless their is a second Trump Administration.
W. C. Fields had a slew of pithy quotes that were coined in deference to his drunken sot character, who likely drank a bit less than the comedian. In character, and out, his wit often revolved around a cleverness of words that hid a kernel of truth:
“Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake’”
W.C.Fields
While Donald Trump may not imbibe, he has certainly retained his small snake whose hissing declarations in opposition to the truth have bitten a president who relishes his bite. On this day honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, it may be wise to quote his sane and sober thoughts on what was, in his time, a statement condemning white privilege and bigotry:
"There is nothing more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity"
Martin Luther King, Jr.
As Rudy is wont to shed the truth like a snake shedding his own skin, the question begs asking: which is it Rudy? Ignorance? Stupidity? Or worse?
Monday, Jan 21, 2019 · 8:49:27 PM +00:00
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vjr7121
Rudy is at it again! Reports today state that Giulianiis pulling back his statement from yesterday regarding the Trump Tower Moscow timing:
My recent statements about discussions during the 2016 campaign between Michael Cohen and then-candidate Donald Trump about a potential Trump Moscow ‘project’ were hypothetical and not based on conversations I had with the President
Any interview with RG is a waste of time. He should be banned from TV.