Ed Morrissey:
Report in haste, repent at leisure. ABC is no longer alone this week in wiping the dripping egg off its face over a Trump “scoop” that never was. Today it was Bloomberg’s turn to correct the record, rendering yesterday’s breaking news about subpoenas at Deutsche Bank from a four-alarm Mueller Alert to a nothingburger, at least as far as it concerns Donald Trump.
Yesterday’s report had special counsel Robert Mueller crossing Trump’s Rubicon by subpoenaing financial records for Trump and his family:
Special prosecutor Robert Mueller zeroed in on President Donald Trump’s business dealings with Deutsche Bank AG as his investigation into alleged Russian meddling in U.S. elections widens.
Mueller issued a subpoena to Germany’s largest lender several weeks ago, forcing the bank to submit documents on its relationship with Trump and his family, according to a person briefed on the matter, who asked not to be identified because the action has not been announced.
The news was stunning because Trump had made public comments that explicitly warned Mueller not to use the Russia-collusion probe as an excuse to dig into his business records. If Mueller was subpoenaing Deutsche Bank to get to the Trump family’s finances, it meant that a constitutional crisis could erupt at any time if Trump fired Mueller. Knowing this, one would assume that Bloomberg made sure that it had the facts down cold before reporting that Mueller had “zeroed in” on the Trump.
This week, though, that would be a bad assumption. Bloomberg had to issue a correction earlier today and dash hopes (among some) for the impending Muellergeddon. The special counsel had subpoenaed Deutsche Bank, but the records related to Paul Manafort, not Trump:
Those records pertain to people affiliated with President Donald Trump, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the action hasn’t been announced. Several news outlets — including Bloomberg — reported yesterday that the subpoena targeted Trump and his family’s bank records, which was disputed by Trump’s personal lawyer and the White House.
“We have confirmed that the news reports that the Special Counsel had subpoenaed financial records relating to the president are false. No subpoena has been issued or received. We have confirmed this with the bank and other sources,” Trump’s lawyer John Dowd wrote in an email Dec. 5.
AFP reported late Dec. 5 that the subpoena was issued in connection with Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman who was indicted in October. Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni declined to comment.
So much for the big scoop. We already know that Mueller has targeted Manafort and his business partner Rick Gates, thanks to the long indictment that his office released and the multimillion-dollar bail arrangements for both defendants. Subpoenaing bank records for an already-indicted defendant in a money-laundering case barely qualifies as news at all, let alone a major development.
The corrupt liberal media has become an absolute total joke. They exist now only to serve themselves and promote their failing ideology. At some point, the liberal gobbling this garbage (those who might care about truth) will come to realize they are being lied to. Then, the media will no longer have any purpose.
Maybe you need to give the possible implications that statement a bit more thought. As has previously been noted, the Mueller investigation is working up the chain. What they’re likely trying to do at this point is to get the goods on Manafort, putting him in the same cooperative position that Gen. Flynn is now in.
It’s also worth remembering how the investigation of records pertaining to one party involved in any conversation or transaction invariably reveal something about the other party or parties to it.
Robert Mueller knows how to do this stuff, and he’s been fully empowered and equipped to do it.
@Greg:
Seems the only chain involved is the one they are yanking the MSMs then they make nothing burgers as a feast for their dwindling watchers.
@Greg: He’s fishing. He’s flailing in the dark, desperate to justify his existence. There never was any “collusion”, you’ve all known there never was any “collusion” and this is a fishing expedition to see what can possibly be found.
Most of the liberal press are liars and scoundrels but the New York Pravda(Times)is the #1 worst of americas liberal news rags the Old Grey Hag is not worth anything except maybe as a Birdcage Liner/Parrots Toilet/Fish Wrap
@kitt, #3:
We must have different definitions of “nothing.” A number of people under investigation who were prominent figures in the Trump campaign organization and/or the Trump administration have already been charged with or have already pleaded guilty to entirely real crimes. The charges aren’t minor stuff. They include conspiracy to launder money, violations of the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act as unregistered agents of a foreign principal, false and misleading FARA statements, and conspiracy against the United States.
Mueller is working up the chain, not down. Most of what they know hasn’t yet been made public.
@Bill… Deplorable Me, #4:
Robert Mueller has no need to “justify his existence.” That may soon be more than can be said for republicans who are attacking him in an effort to damage or stop the investigation. They may find that they’ve been protecting people who have been secretly working as paid agents of foreign governments acting against the interests of the United States—from inside the Trump organization.
Mueller isn’t “flailing in the dark,” either. He’s a highly competent, highly principled public servant who knows exactly what he’s doing.
If Mueller were incompetent and ineffective he wouldn’t be under attack, because he wouldn’t be viewed as a serious threat.
@Greg:
Yes, that’s why he loaded his staff with Trump-hating, Hillary/Obama-worshiping ideologues who celebrate someone that was insubordinate, refusing to carry out a lawful order because of her liberal beliefs.
He has found some violations (all of which the Clinton Foundation and Podesta are guilty of as well, but of course, they get the liberal “Get Out Of Jail Free” unlimited pass) with the hopes of intimidating Manafort and Papadopoulos into confirming some of their fantasies about Trump. Not only do you not have a smoking gun… you don’t even have a gun. You are unarmed and defenseless.
He is not being criticized because of his Columbo-like ability to find the facts. He is criticized because he has a ideologically biased team that has proven they have an agenda to attack Republicans and shield liberals.
@Greg: No one is saying Mueller is incompetent what we are saying is he is not and never was investigating Russian interference with our election and the extent to which our duly elected President may have been involved
SEE ANY ELECTION TAMPERING HERE?
I see an out of control investigation looking for even an unpaid parking ticket to punish those that helped Trump in any way to save us from a very corrupt and grossly negligent Clinton being crowned.
@kitt: No, he isn’t incompetent. Neither was Hitler, or Stalin, or Goebbels, or Mao, or Castro. They were all very capable and competent. But they could not be open minded.
Mueller simply appears to be incapable of conducting a non-biased investigation and willing to accept whatever findings there may be. This is an investigation in name only with the intent to reach a predetermined conclusion.
@Bill… Deplorable Me:
Sounds like its the global warming investigation of impeachment.
No new strategies with these global bootlickers.
@Greg: The Clintons and Obama colluded with Russia and it backfired. They are retrofitting the dots to fallaciously inculcate the rubes into believing that Trump…the guy running anti-Putin ads…won the election because of Russian help.
“The 80s called”…remember that?
So fun to watch you liberal hypocrites reap what you sow.
This will never stick. Move on.
@kitt: Yeah, I was going to mention that but didn’t want to draw Greg offsides and off on another tangent.
@kitt, #8:
Everything Mueller is looking into has to do with Trump’s relationship to Russia. Questions about election interference can’t be understood or answered outside of that context.
Trump pretty much told Mueller, Yeah, go ahead and investigate Russian election meddling. Just don’t look into the financial dealing of myself or my family. Seriously?
If republicans want to investigate Bill and Hillary Clinton some more—a decades-long republican tradition—nobody is stopping them. Republicans control both the White House and Congress; they’ll never be in a better position to do so than now. The fact that they aren’t doing so should tell you something about the reality of the accusations against them.
@Greg:
Only the completely politicized DOJ. Once liberal 5th columnists are removed from the Justice Department, it can again BE the Department of JUSTICE and, rest assured, the Clinton’s will be looked into.
You need to catch up on current events to learn how truly corrupt the investigations into Hillary and Trump has been.