Trump confession tape leads to errie laughter in Yorba Linda
Ironically Trump says "this totally wins my case" when, in fact this tape may totally lose his case.
Photo of Nixon from Wiki Commons and of Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum from PresidentsUSA.net. I wanted to share the illustration with the photo that comes up on Wikimedia Commons if you search for "Nixon laughing".
Below are a few of the articles in the news today:
By Hal Brown
If you haven't heard the tape yet it is on Twitter here:
It was a major scoop for CNN to obtain this tape. You can watch the Anderson Cooper broadcast where the entire tape was played here. The discussion on the show about what the tape means for Trump is included in this.
Ironically Trump says "this totally wins my case" when, in fact this tape may totally lose his case.
Lest there's a rare reader who doesn't make the connection in my illustration:
February, 2021 was the 50th anniversary of the first use of the White House taping system installed by Richard Nixon. You can read about this here.
Knowing who Alexander Butterfield was could score you a point in a trivia game. If you could identify him just by his photo you would deserve 10 points.
This is from Wikipedia (my emphasis):
Butterfield was questioned by Senate Watergate Committee staff Scott Armstrong, G. Eugene Boyce, Marianne Brazer, and Donald Sanders (deputy minority counsel) on Friday, July 13, 1973, in a background interview prior to his public testimony before the full committee. Butterfield was brought before the committee because he was Haldeman's top deputy and was the only person other than Haldeman who knew as much about the president's day-to-day behavior.
The critical line of questioning was conducted by Donald Sanders. Armstrong had given a copy of Buzhardt's report to Butterfield; now Sanders asked if the quotations in it might have come from notes. Butterfield said no, that the quotations were too detailed. In addition, Butterfield said that neither staff nor the president kept notes of one-on-one private meetings with Nixon.
When asked where the quotations might have come from, Butterfield said he did not know. Then Sanders asked if there was any validity to John Dean's hypothesis that the White House had taped conversations in the Oval Office. Butterfield replied, "I was wondering if someone would ask that. There is tape in the Oval Office." Butterfield then told the investigators that, while he had hoped that no one would ask about the taping system, he had previously decided he would disclose its existence if asked a direct question. Butterfield then testified extensively about when the taping system was installed and how it worked, telling the staff members, "Everything was taped... as long as the President was in attendance. There was not so much as a hint that something should not be taped." Butterfield later said that he assumed the committee knew about the taping system, since they had already interviewed Haldeman and Higby.
It shouldn't surprise anyone with any sense that Trump is spinning this like a whirling dervrish on (paranoia inducing) meth. This is his Truth Social post:
The Deranged Special Prosecutor, Jack Smith, working in conjunction with the DOJ & FBI, illegally leaked and “spun” a tape and transcript of me which is actually an exoneration, rather than what they would have you believe. This continuing Witch Hunt is another ELECTION INTERFERENCE Scam. They are cheaters and thugs!
As if anyone needed anymore proof that Trump lives as an insane Superman in his delusional Bizaro World this should put the case to rest, that is unless he meant to write that the tape is actually an execution or exsanguination (if he knows the meaning of the later word) instead of an exoneration.