February 10, 2018: Link to R.A.T. Television, A Favorite Weapon, Dubious and Scurrilous

On January 26^th I received an email from “Mother Jones” in which Denise Clifton wrote about the relationship between Russian hackers and FOX News, especially its star anchor Sean Hannity. In an article entitled “Sean Hannity Is Now A favorite Weapon of Russian Trolls Attacking America,” Clifton reports on how “Kremlin propagandists are piling on the Fox News war against the Mueller investigation.” (1) Here, then, is the article in its entirety:

“Soon after Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn agreed to a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller on Dec. 1, Kremlin-linked trolls began ramping up their social-media attacks on the Russia investigation. They tweeted out dozens of articles from Fox News and far-right outlets aimed at undermining the credibility of the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the so-called deep state. And Vladimir Putin’s trolls would soon have a new vein of material to exploit.

As Christmas approached, a drumbeat against the FBI grew louder in certain quarters of Congress: GOP Rep. Jim Jordan led the attack, claiming on Fox News that the FBI had conspired against Trump’s 2016 campaign. President Trump himself launched broadsides against FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and “leakin’ James Comey.” And on December 20, Fox News star Sean Hannity tweeted “CONSPIRACY: GOP Lawmakers Says FEDERAL CONSPIRACY to Prevent Trump Presidency.”

That day, Hannity’s website ranked among the top 10 shared by the network of Twitter accounts linked to Russian influence campaigns and tracked by the nonpartisan Alliance for Securing Democracy on its national security project, the Hamilton 68 dashboard. Hannity content had not registered much previously—but since December 20, links from Hannity’s site have appeared frequently on the dashboard, often ranking among the top 10. “It’s now up there with other top most-shared domains,” says Bret Schafer, an analyst who monitors the dashboard for the Alliance.

Another storm kicked up last week when House Republicans began calling for the release of a memo produced by Rep. Devin Nunes, purportedly alleging surveillance abuses by the FBI and the Justice Department in the Trump-Russia investigation. On January 18, Hannity inveighed against Mueller specifically: “I have a message tonight for the special counsel, Robert Mueller,” he said at the outset of his Fox News prime time report on the memo. “Your witch hunt is now over. Time to close the doors.” By the end of the following day, the hashtag #releasethememo had been tweeted about 3,700 times in 48 hours by the 600 accounts monitored on Hamilton 68, boosted in part by a tweet from WikiLeaks offering a reward for the memo. Hannity also posted “#releasethememo” to the top of Hannity.com.

On Tuesday, as #releasethememo sat among the top hashtags of the Hamilton trending list for the fifth day in a row, senior congressional Democrats called on Twitter and Facebook executives Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg to investigate the extent of the Russian influence campaign happening on their platforms in real time. “If these reports are accurate, we are witnessing an ongoing attack by the Russian government through Kremlin-linked social media actors directly acting to intervene and influence our democratic process,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Adam Schiff wrote to the tech leaders.

Former senior CIA official John Sipher says the smear campaign by Fox News and Trump’s allies in the House plays directly into Kremlin hands. “A weak FBI is in the Russian interest. They will use all the tools at their disposal to pile on and amplify the negative messages,” he told Mother Jones. “At the very same time that we should be coming together to defend ourselves, partisan supporters of the president are attacking the institutions that are protecting us. There needs to be a level of trust and awareness that [FBI and DOJ] are working on behalf of the people, and are not partisan hacks. While it might be in the immediate, short-term interest of a few right-wing politicians, they are helping our enemies and risk doing long-term damage to our democracy.”

Since the Hamilton dashboard launched last August, Fox News in general has often appeared on the trolls’ most-shared list. “Anecdotally, Fox is the go-to news source for breaking news,” Schafer says. But the more recent Hannity links seized upon by the Russian trolls echo a deceptive style seen with content from far-right conspiracy sites like Gateway Pundit and True Pundit. One recent example: a Hannity.com link headlined, “KNIVES OUT: Elizabeth Warren GOES AFTER Oprah Winfrey over 2020 run”—leading to a story quoting Warren as praising Winfrey for a “fabulous speech.” Another Hannity link shared by the trolls recently carried a headline claiming “Fusion GPS says FBI likely funded ‘Trump dossier’ author” and crediting Breitbart News. The Hannity links shared this week continued to demand the release of the Nunes memo and hammered at the freshest conspiracy theory, the alleged disappearance of FBI officials’ allegedly biased text messages.

Hannity did not respond to a request for comment about his rising popularity among the network of Russian-linked accounts.

“Because Russian accounts promote a certain political position is not evidence of coordination” between the trolls and Trump partisans advocating for the release of the memo, Schafer notes. The key takeaway with #releasethememo, he says, “is that Kremlin-oriented trolls have used that hashtag to promote divisiveness, distrust, and to negatively influence our public discourse.”

Former FBI special agent Clint Watts pointed out Tuesday that attacks on the FBI have been increasing as the Russian investigation continues to accelerate. After reports Tuesday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions and James Comey had been interviewed by Mueller’s team, Watts tweeted: “Interviews are getting closer to the top & suddenly attacks by @GOP on FBI have increased.”

The 600 Kremlin-linked live Twitter accounts that Hamilton 68 monitors are separate from the 2,752 accounts Twitter revealed last fall that were operated before the 2016 presidential election by the Russian Internet Research Agency. Last Friday, Twitter updated that number to 3,814 IRA-linked accounts—plus more than 50,000 automated bot accounts linked to the Russian government. Twitter says it is sending emails to 677,000 users to notify them that they interacted with the Russian accounts.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who has been involved in the Trump-Russia investigation via the Judiciary Committee, called on Mueller in December to “clean house” of partisans. Cornyn tweeted Saturday that Twitter had notified him that he had shared content from or followed known Russian accounts.

“Finally social media is waking up to manipulation of public opinion by our adversaries,” he wrote. But he seemed to downplay the role of Congress: “All of us need to step up to meet this challenge,” he said, “especially the Press.” (2)

There you have it. Russian bots and trolls picking up upon and amplifying the dubious and scurrilous 'conspiracy' theories of the tin-had idiot wrong, and boosting “FOX and 'friends' profiles in the anti-social media, all the while sowing discord, divisiveness, and distraction.

Fox News, is either a knowing or unknowing accomplice serving nothing but the interests of Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation. FOX News is Russian Affiliated Television—RAT television, doing its worst to subvert the rule of law if not the constitution itself.

“an' Br'er Putin, he jus' laugh and laugh.

Impeach and Imprison.

_____________________

1. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/01/sean-hannity-is-now-a-top-weapon-for-russian-trolls-attacking-america/
2. ibid

December 17, 2017: Case Against Fox, Minions of Disgustus, Obstruction of Justice

“It is clear that Fox News, otherwise known as Russian Affiliated Television (RAT), is a clear accomplice in the ongoing obstruction of justice.”

----from “The Quotations of Chairman Joe”

State-run television, otherwise known as Russian Affiliated Television, otherwise known as Faux News, alias Fox News has been squealing like a stuck pig over the weekend. The Mueller investigation draws its nets ever more tightly about the neck of our very own Caesar Disgustus creating absolute panic in the ranks. Screaming foul and screeching like banshees in the wind, the likes of “Fox and Friends” (as if Murdoch has any friends), and Seen Hannity claim 'bias' in the investigation with 'guests' appearing and likening the FBI with the old KGB or Gestapo. Lately they have been claiming that there is an organized 'coup' in the works designed to overthrow the 'will of the people' and, therefore, nullify the last election. Never mind that Mueller is a known Republican, as was James Comey. Never mind that the Mueller investigation was set up by the very agents of Caesar Disgustus himself. Disgustus, however, now finds himself cornered by these very agents not reckoning that honesty, integrity, and a dogged determination to follow the facts and evidence—traits wholly lacking in the White House. Now we find that the venom has spread from hate radio to RAT television to the very chambers of the congress as Rescumlicans on the House Judiciary Committee parrot the nonsense filling the airwaves and threatening contempt of congress charges against any federal official who has the guts to stand up to them.

Let us make no mistake here. The minions of Disgustus, parroting hate radio are fast becoming accessories to the obstruction of justice and as such should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

It has been largely agreed that one cannot indict a sitting president. The rationale for this position is that to do so would violate the separation of powers that theoretically exists between the three branches of government and that to indict would mean that the Judicial Branch would, in effect, be declaring jurisdiction over the Executive. This, in my youth, was the general understanding, but admittedly the question has never been resolved and with the federal courts re-writing fundamental law in recent decades one is never quite certain. Nevertheless, the minions of Disgustus are presently laying the foundation for the firing of Special Counsel Mueller and ending the investigation through false claims of bias and violating legal procedures.

Or, alternately, discrediting the investigation so that when Mueller does issue his conclusions to the Congress and the people, the idiot wrong both within Congress and without will find cause to discount the conclusions and not act upon the recommendations. Either way, the investigation is therefore stymied

Since impeachment is necessary before charges are brought against the idiot-in-chief such action producing such outcomes would, therefore, abort any impeachment proceedings resulting in no charges being brought and Justice effectively obstructed.

Let's make no mistake about this. RAT television and the minions on hate radio as well as within the tin-hat fringe of the Rescumlican Party are, by their behavior, obstructing justice.

Rupert Murdoch, Fox News, Limbaugh and his ilk on hate radio as well as members of Congress participating in this smear of the FBI and the Mueller investigation should be charged with obstruction after the fact and face prosecution.

Impeach, Convict, Imprison.

December 10, 2017: Russian Affiliated Television (R.A.T.), Murdoch's Slime Machine, Hand it to Putin

“Fox (Faux) News is nothing more than Russian Affiliated Television (R.A.T)”.

----from “The Quotations of Chairman Joe”

The investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller proceeds, and is slowly closing in on the oval office. The recent revelations that former tRUMP foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous had pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I, and, more recently, the National Security Advisor to Caesar Disgustus has likewise copped a plea and is now cooperating with the investigations has hit the conservative community like a sledge hammer upon a tuning fork.

So, as predictable as the morning sunrise, Fixed Noise, Rupert Murdock's slime machine, is about the business of savaging both Mueller and his investigation as well as the FBI.

Sean (SEEN) Hannity, ever the reliable scumbag, ever the slime bucket for the cause, has taken to the airwaves condemning Mueller, protesting that he has no credibility and must step down. On his 'show' Hannity could be seen with a guest that with a straight face compared the FBI with the former Soviet KGB, if not the Guestapo, complaining of wiretaps and midnight raids. Hannity, limiting himself to simple charges of political bias, nevertheless nodded in agreement.

Never mind that both Mueller and former FBI director James Comey are life-long Republicans, that is until the recent emergence of Disgustus and his gang. Never mind that every 'institution' is filled with people who hold political beliefs and act upon them in their private lives. Never mind that the confessions of now two principles of possible colluding with the Russians and lying about it have given clear evidence substance behind the suspicions. Never mind that the professionals investigating these matters have experience and a long and noble track record of getting to the bottom of these things. Mueller has put together a first-rate team, including investigators who got to the bottom of the Enron scandal. Until now, no one has questioned the integrity of either Mueller or his investigation. Not until he started getting close to the truth.

But this is the problem for the White House. Disgustus knows he is guilty; Hannity and his corporate paymaster knows likewise that he is guilty; as do several brain-dead members of Congress, and that is why they have turned upon the authorities in an effort to lay the groundwork to discredit these investigations. The time of reckoning will, sooner or later, be upon us and the alternate universe of the idiot wrong will by then have done their work—discrediting the evidence, negating the facts, so that their knuckle-dragging constituencies can continue on their blessed paths of denial.

But in so doing, Faux News and the hate mongers on talk radio, InfoWars, Limbaugh and his ilk, will not only further enable Disgustus but will be material accomplices in the obstruction—by discrediting the facts—of justice. They will also be material accomplices of the Bannon-inspired efforts by Disgustus to discredit, diminish and besmirch everything about him.

You've got to hand it to Putin. He knows his 'useful idiot' very well, and the return upon his investments in this bastard 'presidency' are now obvious for all to see. Caesar Disgustus is our gift to Russia that keeps on giving.

Disgustus must go. It will be ugly, and the stench will linger for decades, but he must go.

Impeach and Imprison.