Something About Getting Stoned … Rogered … Trumped … (Never Mind)

#PutiTrump | #WhatTheyVotedFor

Via the New York Times:

Roger J. Stone Jr., an informal adviser to President Trump, has been asked by the Senate Intelligence Committee to preserve any records he may have in connection to a broader inquiry into Russian attempts to interfere with United States elections.

The letter sent to Mr. Stone, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, represents the first public indication of the scope of the committee’s inquiry, and possible connections to Mr. Trump’s campaign.

The Senate committee asked Mr. Stone, who is also under scrutiny from other federal investigators, to “preserve and retain all hard copies and electronically stored information as specified below in furtherance of the committee’s ongoing investigation into Russian actions targeting the 2016 U.S. elections and democratic processes globally.”

Mr. Stone confirmed the existence of the letter, which was dated Feb. 17. However, he said he had received it only on Friday, by email. Mr. Stone has acknowledged trading messages over Twitter with Guccifer 2.0, the online persona that officials believe was actually Russian intelligence officers.

Part of the trick is if you squint enough, you can focus on just one aspect of the #PutiTrump scandal and make it stand out just enough to say it’s actually nothing at all. If you stare hard enough, everything else becomes a blur, and then this bit in focus seems the only thing there is, and therefore nothing of any significance at all.

For now, there came a point in 2015 when, as the Washington Post put it, “Donald Trump has ended his relationship with Roger Stone, his longest-serving political adviser and a controversial consultant”. And, you know, that was before he became, as Salon put it, “the only named source in the National Enquirer’s article about Ted Cruz’s alleged mistresses”. Or, apparently, just happened to be in touch with “Guccifer 2.0”. And Julian Assange.

Exactly nothing Roger Stone does has anything to do with anything else he does. And it certainly doesn’t have to do with Donald Trump.

‘Twixt then and now the Clinton-obsessed, tinfoil-wrapped potsherd who once founded an organization called Citizens United Not Timid, you know, just because he could, and well, really hates c―… y’know, we’re not doing that joke.

At any rate, yeah, he’s been up to more than copulating with rodents.

Yeah.

That kind of guy.

That is to say, the kind with any manner of exposure to a line like that. Trump’s “longest-serving political adviser” right up until he no longer served a useful function.

No, really, that’s what Trump said: “I terminated Roger Stone last night because he no longer serves a useful function for my campaign”.

Nineteen months later, as the New York Times puts it, “Roger J. Stone Jr., an informal adviser to President Trump, has been asked by the Senate Intelligence Committee to preserve any records he may have in connection to a broader inquiry into Russian attempts to interfere with United States elections.”

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Note: Originally posted at #trumpswindle, 19 March 2017.

Image note: Roger J. Stone Jr. in La Quinta, California, in March, 2017. (Photo: Jenna Schoenefeld/The New York Times)

Costa, Robert. “Trump ends relationship with longtime political adviser Roger Stone”. The Washington Post. 8 August 2015.

Haberman, Maggie. “Senators Ask Trump Adviser to Preserve Any Russia-Related Documents”. The New York Times. 18 March 2017.

Hananoki, Eric. “A Comprehensive Guide To Trump Ally Roger Stone, A Racist, Sexist Conspiracy Theorist”. Media Matters for America. 9 May 2016.

Kaufman, Scott Eric. “Donald Trump proxy Roger Stone claims to have seen women Ted Cruz allegedly had affairs with: He’s ‘copulating with rodents'”. Salon. 28 March 2016.