US cable and broadcast channels scheduled its coverage. So did PBS, NPR, the BBC and CBC.
All or parts of it can be watched on C-Span, local TV stations nationwide, YouTube, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire and various web sites.
Bars in DC and elsewhere opened early to air it. The Capitol Hill Union Pub offered a free drink every time Trump tweets about his testimony. Schoolteachers intend discussing his testimony with young students.
Trump, his lawyers and other aides tuned in, preparing to respond as necessary.
It’s more spectacle than substantive, much ado about nothing, a tempest in a teapot. Comparing it to the Army-McCarthy hearings or Nixon tapes is pure nonsense.
No smoking guns exist, no blockbuster revelations, nothing to claims about another Watergate or worse, no evidence of obstruction of justice or other wrongdoing in Trump’s face-to-face and telephone conversations with Comey.
The most highly anticipated hearing in decades is all smoke and no fire, all hype and no meat. The most “(un)trust(ed) name in news” headlining “James Comey just went nuclear on Donald Trump” made CNN more of a laughing stock than already.
The hype and surreal atmosphere are bizarre, nothing like it in decades on Capitol Hill.
Law Professor Jonathan Turley mocked it, saying
“(t)he only thing missing is a Vegas betting line and bunting. No doubt children got up this morning screaming “it’s Comey day, it’s Comey day!”
Releasing his prepared remarks in advance created a media firestorm – twisting and misinterpreting what he said – anything to denigrate Trump, making stuff up out of whole cloth.
He had nothing on Lyndon Johnson, his political career built on a foundation of massive electoral fraud. He was intimidating in dealings with others, bullying them to get his way.
Historian Robert Dallek said he
“viewed criticism of his policies as personal attacks.” He called political opponents “disloyal to him and the country.”
He insulted reporters, acting uncivilized much of the time. His press secretary George Reedy called him
“a miserable person…a bully, sadist, lout…egoist (and) colossal son-of-a-bitch.”
His bigger than life persona got things done. Trump is a business tycoon elevated to the nation’s highest office.
LBJ was a longtime politician, both involved in imperial wars. Vietnam was Johnson’s undoing. Trump is at odds with America’s deep state.
After trouncing Barry Goldwater in 1964, Johnson was too roundly disliked to run for reelection. Trump entered office widely despised.
Though unclear if he’ll avoid impeachment and removal from office, it won’t be from Comey’s testimony if happens.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].
His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
Featured image: credits to the owner
