The subject line of today’s post comes from the title of a 1969 comedy album by the now shamed and culturally exiled Bill Cosby.  I first heard this album on cassette tape (I kid you not).  The performance was recorded at the same time Cosby co-starred with Robert Culp in the series I Spy.  As a result, Cosby shared some of his experiences when the series was filmed in foreign locations.

One particular narrative involves Cosby and his wife’s stay at a five-star hotel while filming in Japan.  Cosby is anxious to verify the stories he has heard about Keishas and Japanese bath houses.  There is one located in the hotel and after convincing Camille he sorely needs a bath, he heads downstairs to the bath house.  Upon entering, his reaction is a drawn out, “It’s True! It’s True!”  [Historical Footnote:  Ironically, the track that includes this bit is titled, “Spanish Fly.”  When producer Sheldon Leonard informs Cosby and Culp they are heading to Spain, Cosby tells Culp, “You know what the first thing I’m going to do when we get to Spain?  I’m gonna get me some Spanish Fly.”  If we had only known not to laugh at this supposed joke.]

I thought of Cosby’s album following this morning’s latest tweet from Comrade Trump concerning the Russian investigation.

Workers of firm involved with the discredited and Fake Dossier take the 5th. Who paid for it, Russia, the FBI or the Dems (or all)?

Per usual, the tweet opened with two lies.  Christopher Steele’s account of Trump’s Russian connections has been anything but discredited and no one associated with the dossier has invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination.  But it was the second sentence that caught my attention.  The conspiracy theorist-in-chief had attempted to kill THREE birds with one stone.  1) By implying Russia had sponsored Steele’s work, Trump can argue the Kremlin is an adversary, not a collaborator.  2) To further discredit James Comey, why not imply that the agency he directed conspired to bring him down?  3) Suggesting Russia, the FBI and Democrats were in cahoots was Trump’s way of again saying critics and the media are chasing the wrong conspiracy (his way of once more charging “You’re the puppet” as he did in the presidential debates).

Classic Trump.  Except for one thing.  The timing of the tweet makes no sense.  The dossier had not been in the headlines or on cable news for weeks.  With special prosecutor Robert Mueller conducting day long interviews with Reince Prebus and Sean Spicer, John McCain’s Liberty Medal acceptance speech denouncing Trumpism and questions surrounding the death of four special forces in Niger, Trump had numerous tweet targets.  Yet he chose to raise the specter of the Steele dossier.  Why now?

Trying to discredit the document at this particular point in time suggests the White House and/or Trump’s legal defense team has been informed accusations contained in the report have checked out.  Otherwise, imagine the White House response if Trump had been told there was no truth to the allegations.  Wouldn’t he be railing at Mother Jones, BuzzFeed, the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC for reporting fake news or leading his lemmings in chants of “I told you so”?  Absent such push back, in accordance with Occam’s Razor, there is just one logical conclusion. “It’s True!  It’s True!”  The only questions are,  “How much of the dossier has been substantiated and how quickly will that be shared with the public?”

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP