Chaos erupts over latest Epstein update - Another Day - Brian Tyler Cohen

[TexasTowelie]

BTC: Lauren Boebert makes Hillary Clinton's deposition all about her. It's that age-old saying, self-promotion first, truth second. This is just another day.

After months of negotiating, Hillary Clinton finally testified today before members of the House Oversight Committee about what she does and doesn't know in regards to Jeffrey Epstein. And things were going quite smoothly until…

(cut to video)
Clinton spokesman: The hearing just went off the record for a moment uh because it seemed as some of you may have seen that there was some uh there were some photographs shared on social media which is uh against chamber rules that were read at the top of the meeting. So uh the hearing has been paused briefly while they figure out where the photo came from.

(cut to studio)
BTC: Whoa, this is huge. A closed-door deposition with a former First Lady about billionaire sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has been infiltrated. Now, this could be the work of any number of entities looking to sow distrust in our country. Was it Russian hackers who somehow coded their way into a low-level lawyer's laptop? A Chinese spy drone hundreds of miles above the meeting, but still able to snap visual photographs? Or was it one of Epstein's co-conspirators attempting to penetrate our justice system and silence anyone who dares threaten to expose them? Or that. {photo of Lauren Boebert’s name card at the deposition displayed}

Yes, whether it's her cell phone or her date's crotch, Lauren Boebert just can't watch the show without doing something stupid with her hands. Hey, Congresswoman, you don't need to prove to everyone that you were in the room where it happened. You are supposed to be there. It is your job. So, maybe take a break from treating this closed-door testimony about a sex trafficking ring like you ran into John Cena on the street.

Now, something you may notice on the photo here is the watermark for the Benny Show. And that's because the person Lauren Boebert sent this photo to was none other than objective journalist Benny Johnson, who then tweeted it, saying, "Breaking the first image of Hillary Clinton testifying under oath about Jeffrey Epstein to the Republican Oversight Committee. This is the first time Hillary has had to answer real questions about Epstein. Clinton does not look happy."

So during a testimony about the degradation of women, Benny Johnson is asking a woman to smile more. Where have I heard that before?

(cut to video)
Trump: You know, she's a young woman. I don't think I've ever seen you smile. I've

(cut to studio)
BTC: But no matter, Benny is right. Hillary doesn't look happy and that could be because she suddenly finds herself caught red-handed or, and I'm merely guessing here, it's because she spent decades getting blamed for her husband's horrific decisions. Just a thought.

And for the record, I think it's great that Benny put his watermark all over the photo so that people have to credit him when they use it. Honestly, I do the same thing every time I show this actual photo of Benny Johnson in a diaper.

Now, after Benny tweeted this picture out to the world, he caught a lot of flak, which frankly I think is unfair. Benny Johnson is going to Benny Johnson. And Lauren Boebert agreed, tweeting, "Benny did nothing wrong. Proceed with deposition." And I actually agree with Boebert when I say, "No shit, you were the one who did something wrong." That's like these two coming out and saying, "Guys, Coldplay did nothing wrong. Proceeding with concert."

Now, outside of seeing the work of one of our cultures most influential photographers, it's worth remembering the context with which this testimony is taking place. The Trump administration was legally required to release all 6 million of the Epstein files in December. So far, they have done half of that. And in their half-assed efforts, the DOJ has also withheld documents related to Trump, a point that James Comer, the man who will not rest until he gets to the bottom of this mess, addressed this morning.

(cut to video from Forbes)
Reporter: Are you concerned that there has been a cover up of sexual abuse of a minor by President Trump? There are missing FBI records that appear to be…

Comer: No, we're looking into the the accusation by the NPR.

(cut to studio)
BTC: Uh, quick point, that's not an accusation, it's reporting. But at least we know James Comer will take whatever it is seriously because no matter the news outlet, he respects quality journalism.

(cut to video from C-SPAN)
Comer: I don't even recognize the station anymore. It's not news. It it I feel like it's propaganda. I feel like there's disinformation every time I listen to NPR.

I've lost confidence in public radio. I don't think, Madame Chair, they should get a penny of federal funds.

(cut to studio)
BTC: Huh. I guess our only hope now is that Fox News picks up on this story.

(cut to video)
Jesse Watters: It looks like Massie just has a vendetta against Trump. You know, these margins are so small. So, he just goes over to the Democrat side. You get every Democrat plus Massie and they release this thing.

(cut to video)
Brian Kilmeade: And the key is, just so you know, part of the reason why they didn't want to throw this out is because he was hanging out with the the the the rich, the famous for 10, 15, 20 years, other country leaders, and if their name pops up in this, even if they were totally innocent, they're going to say, "Well, you're part of the Epstein file."

(cut to video)
Kayleigh McEnany: I don't think we're going to learn anything new with regard to Trump in this. The same facts that have always been out about Trump are still out.

(cut to studio)
BTC: Ah, guess they probably got to it a little bit later. Now, I think the Clintons deserve to testify as much as anyone else out there who had a significant relationship with Epstein and believe that anybody found guilty of any wrongdoing should be held accountable.

But that being said, James Comer has specifically had it out for the Clintons. And I think today we might have gotten a glimpse into why.

(cut to video from Forbes)
Comer: No one brought more women in and lied to more women about what was going to happen with their involvement with Jeffrey Epstein than Ghislaine Maxwell. We know that uh obviously Maxwell was a guest at Chelsea Clinton's wedding. There weren't many people that went to that wedding.

(cut to studio)
BTC: Not many people that went to that wedding?

(cut to video)
CBS Early Show Host: As you think about some of the people who will be attending, not just of course the parents of the bride, but but other dignitaries.

Unidentified Guest: Exactly.

CBS Early Show Host: Although sort of a smaller guest list than probably folks would imagine. Right.

Unidentified Guest: Right. I mean uh when you say a 400 person wedding to a normal person, that sounds like a ton. But when you think of all the people the Clintons know and how many people they've interacted with over the years, how many people have given them money, um, it's actually not such a big wedding.

(cut to studio)
BTC: Holy shit. James Comer isn't pursuing justice. He is holding a 16-year long grudge because he didn't get a fucking invite.

Well, grudge or not, at least today, as chairman of this committee, he urged every member to use their time wisely in the pursuit of justice.

(cut to video post-deposition)
Hillary Clinton: It then got at the end quite unusual because I started being asked about UFOs and a series of questions about Pizzagate.

(cut to studio)
BTC: I guess we'll have to wait for the full video to come out, but I'm guessing the person who asked those questions has a name that rhymes within Schmauren Schmobert.

Republicans finally got what they wanted, a closed- door or testimony from their biggest boogeyman, Hillary Rodham Clinton. And try as she might, Congresswoman Boebert was not going to be able to distract conservative news outlets on today of all days.

(cut to video)
Fox News Host: Obviously, that's a live picture of Lauren Boebert there in Chappaqua.

Reporter: Why did you send the picture? Why did you send the picture?

Boebert: Why not?

(cut to studio)
BTC: Why not indeed? I believe that's the same response Matt Gaetz gave when asked why he was accused of paying underage women for sex. And when you don't think about it, it kind of makes sense. But she must have had something more to say, right?

(cut to video from CNN)
Reporter: And when I asked her uh what has stood out to her so far from this deposition of Hillary Clinton, she said uh I admired her blue suit.

(cut to studio)
BTC: Yes. Sitting Congresswoman Lauren Boebert bringing the same level of insight as one would expect from Brick Tamland.

{Inset video of Steve Carell: I love lamp.}

(cut to studio)
BTC: So comforting. But if there was any doubt that Republicans wanted to turn today's testimony into a spectacle, once it wrapped, a peculiar phenomenon took place among all these conservatives. Lauren Boebert tweeted, "I did not hang myself in my hotel room later tonight." Nancy Mace tweeted, "I am not suicidal. The tires on my car were recently rotated. All of my security cameras work." And Benny Johnson tweeted, "I pissed off Hillary Clinton today. I am not suicidal." That's right. Benny's not suicidal. He is in his element like a true MAGA conservative rolling on Molly at the Abbey in West Hollywood.

But if you're wondering why the warnings about suicide, it's because they're all pretending that now that we know Hillary Clinton's secret, she's going to have us all killed. Get it? Because it's just one big joke. The Republicans snapped their secret photo and got their laughs because that was what this all was ever about to them. And now they'll all go back to saying nothing while the DOJ suppresses 3 million files, including those that include the actual co-conspirators of Epstein's actual crimes.

Hillary's testimony was not about pursuing truth, justice, or accountability. It was about creating a spectacle, diverting attention onto the long-standing boogeyman, and of course, scoring points for your side, and maybe even yourself if you're lucky.

Republicans in Congress don't have to search far and wide for answers here. Donald Trump's DOJ has the files. So, I would love to know why Lauren Boebert, James Comer, and every other member of the GOP, who swears they care about the victims, are wasting their time creating a circus with photos, memes, and every other trolling tactic imaginable.

(cut to video)
Boebert: Why not?

(cut to studio)
BTC: Well, that sums it up, doesn't it?

[malaise]

1. K & R

Nicely done