The Wildest Things About Trump From Bob Woodward's New Book, 'Fear'

[bostonangler]

 

Wow the White House staff is filled with Deep State members, read their quotes in the story.

 

 

 

President Donald Trump’s job is to lead the nation, but Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear: Trump in the White House,” describes the White House as “an administrative coup d’etat” and a “nervous breakdown” of the executive branch.

According to an excerpt from the book published in the Washington Post on Tuesday, administration staffers often have to engage in stealthy behavior to prevent Trump from being impulsive and to minimize disasters that could hurt the president and the country. In some cases, senior aides would reportedly pluck official papers from Trump’s desk before he could sign them.

White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly frequently lost his temper, telling colleagues he thought the president was “unhinged,” according to Woodward. 

In one meeting, Kelly reportedly said Trump was “an idiot,” and it was “pointless to try to convince him of anything.”

“He’s gone off the rails. We’re in Crazytown. I don’t even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I’ve ever had,” Kelly said, according to the book.

Woodward, best known for his acclaimed reporting on the Watergate scandal at the Post, describes multiple eyebrow-raising anecdotes about the Trump White House in “Fear.” You can read the full excerpt here, but some of the most shocking highlights include:

• John Dowd, Trump’s lead attorney with the Russia probe, led a practice session for Trump’s potential testimony with special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating possible Russian interference in the 2016 election. According to the book, the president stumbled, contradicted himself and lied so much during the practice session that he eventually lost his cool, ranting, “This thing’s a goddamn hoax,” before deciding, “I don’t really want to testify.”
• After Trump said “both sides” at the Charlottesville white supremacist rally were to blame for the violence that occurred in August 2017, advisers urged him to make another speech condemning white supremacists and neo-Nazis. According to Woodward, he almost immediately told aides, “That was the biggest ******* mistake I’ve made” and the “worst speech I’ve ever given.”
• Woodward also compared Trump’s paranoia about the Russia investigation as very similar to former President Richard Nixon’s final days as president. According to sources, the president was angered by Mueller’s appointment, saying “Everybody’s trying to get me.”
• During a dinner with various military leaders including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Trump falsely suggested Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) cowardly took advantage of his father’s military rank to get early release from a prisoner-of-war camp in Vietnam. When Mattis corrected his boss, Trump just replied, “Oh, okay.”
• Trump reportedly mocked Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ accent, saying, “This guy is mentally retarded. He’s this dumb Southerner. … He couldn’t even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama.”

Woodward’s book is scheduled for release Sept. 11. CNN reports that Trump is irritated that he wasn’t interviewed for the book.

 

"He’s an idiot," Kelly is quoted as saying. "It’s pointless to try to convince him of anything. He’s gone off the rails. We’re in Crazytown. I don’t even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I’ve ever had.”

"Mattis was particularly exasperated and alarmed, telling close associates that the president ... had the understanding of — ‘a fifth- or sixth-grader,’ ”

"Don't testify. It's either that or an orange jumpsuit," Dowd told Trump, "You are not a good witness…Mr. President, I'm afraid I just can't help you."

 

 

[bostonangler]

Trump denies saying Sessions 'mentally retarded'

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and a new book by journalist Bob Woodward (all times local):

11:10 p.m.

President Donald Trump is denying that he called Attorney General Jeff Sessions "mentally retarded" and "a dumb southerner."

Trump is reacting on Twitter to one of the more incendiary claims in Bob Woodward's forthcoming book "Fear: Trump in the White House."

The president says he "never used those terms on anyone, including Jeff." He adds that "being a southerner is a GREAT thing."

Trumps claim Woodward "made this up to divide!"

Trump has previously accused Sessions of failing to take control of the Justice Department. And the president has repeatedly complained about Sessions' decision to recuse himself from the federal investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia because he'd worked on Trump's campaign.

__

7:20 p.m.

President Donald Trump is decrying quotes and stories in an incendiary book by journalist Bob Woodward as "frauds, a con on the public."

Trump tweets: "The Woodward book has already been refuted and discredited by General (Secretary of Defense) James Mattis and General (Chief of Staff) John Kelly."

He adds: "Their quotes were made up frauds, a con on the public. Likewise other stories and quotes. Woodward is a Dem operative? Notice timing?"

Trump comments on Twitter Tuesday come ahead of the publication of Woodward's book, "Fear: Trump in the White House," which includes descriptions of current and former aides calling the president an "idiot" and a "liar."

__

6:05 p.m.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is denying he uttered comments critical of President Donald Trump that are contained in a new book by journalist Bob Woodward.

Mattis said Tuesday in a statement: "The contemptuous words about the President attributed to me in Woodward's book were never uttered by me or in my presence."

The book recounts that Mattis told "close associates that the president acted like — and had the understanding of — 'a fifth- or sixth-grader.'"

Mattis says in the statement: "While I generally enjoy reading fiction, this is a uniquely Washington brand of literature, and his anonymous sources do not lend credibility."

Mattis says the notion that he would "show contempt" for Trump or "tolerate disrespect" to the office of the President of the United States "is a product of someone's rich imagination."

___

4:45 p.m.

President Donald Trump is calling journalist Bob Woodward's explosive new book "nasty stuff," denying certain scenes in the book occurred.

Trump spoke to the conservative Daily Caller Tuesday after details emerged about the book.

Trump calls it "another bad book" and says Woodward has "a lot of credibility problems.

The president also denies that senior aides took sensitive documents from his desk, saying, "there was nobody taking anything from me."

"Fear: Trump in the White House" says Trump's chief of staff privately called him an "idiot" and presidential aides plucked documents off Trump's desk and thought he was often unaware of foreign policy basics.

Trump says he "probably would have preferred to speak to (Woodward), but maybe not. I think it probably wouldn't have made a difference in the book."

___

3:50 p.m.

President Donald Trump's former attorney in the Russia investigation says scenes and comments in journalist Bob Woodward's explosive new book on Trump did not occur.

Dowd resigned from Trump's legal team in January. The book, "Fear: Trump in the White House," says he did so following a mock-interview he conducted with Trump in anticipation of sitting down with special counsel Robert Mueller.

Dowd is quoted as telling the president, "Don't testify. It's either that or an orange jumpsuit."

In a statement issued Tuesday, Dowd says, "There was no so-called 'practice session' or 're-enactment' of a mock interview at the Special Counsel's office."

He adds: "Further, I did not refer to the President as a "liar" and did not say that he was likely to end up in an 'orange jump suit.'"

___

3:15 p.m.

White House chief of staff John Kelly is denying an account in journalist Bob Woodward's new book that he called Trump an "idiot."

Kelly says, "The idea I ever called the president an idiot is not true."

In a separate statement, the White House is dismissing the book as "nothing more than fabricated stories."

Press secretary Sarah Sanders says in a statement: "This book is nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the President look bad."

She adds that President Donald Trump's accomplishments don't get enough coverage in the press, saying "Democrats and their allies in the media understand the president's policies are working and with success like this, no one can beat him in 2020 - not even close."

___

12:25 p.m.

An upcoming book by journalist Bob Woodward says President Donald Trump's chief of staff privately called him an "idiot" and presidential aides plucked sensitive documents off Trump's desk and thought he was often unaware of foreign policy basics.

Those are some of the explosive anecdotes in Woodward's book on Trump's first 18 months in office. The Washington Post on Tuesday published details from "Fear: Trump in the White House."

Woodward quotes an exasperated Chief of Staff John Kelly doubting Trump's mental faculties, declaring during one meeting, "We're in Crazytown."

Trump's former lawyer in the Russia probe, John Dowd, is also said to have doubted Trump's ability to avoid perjuring himself should he sit down with special counsel Robert Mueller.

[yota691]

 

[bostonangler]

5 minutes ago, yota691 said:

 

 

Great tune Yota....

 

B/A

[Shabibilicious]

Gen Mattis owes American 5th and 6th graders an apology.

 

GO RV, then BV

[Shabibilicious]

          X  2

 

GO RV, then BV

[umbertino]

'Lies and phony sources': Trump dismisses Bob Woodward's book

 

The US president says the acclaimed journalist’s White House portrayal is a ‘con’

 

 

Matthew Weaver in London and Joanna Walters in New York

Wed 5 Sep 2018 09.41 BST

 

 

Bob Woodward (left), whose book Fear – which details the chaos and dysfunction at the heart of the Trump administration – has been condemned by the US president

Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

 

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/05/donald-trump-dismisses-bob-woodward-book-fear

[md11fr8dawg]

Great timing for a book like this to come out huh? How did Woodward get exclusive access to all of the White House staff. And you can bet that they all spilled their guts and aired all that dirty laundry knowing there would be no repercussions. Right? Woodward is a has been liberal hack who misses the lime light of days gone by. And trying to stay relevant in his old years. He could not wait to spilled the beans about Trump when Lanny Davis was his source and how did that work our Bobby? Egg on your face!!😩

[md11fr8dawg]

Subject: “Give me an ******* who can play …”

Don’t know who wrote this, but certainly something to ponder……
AUGUST 22, 2018
27 COMMENTS
image
“Give me an ******* who can play …”
This is a famous quote from iconic drummer, Buddy Rich. Buddy only wanted the best on stage with him. He didn’t care about their “moral character” or if they were pleasant to be around. He didn’t even care if he, himself, liked them. He hired only guys who could burn the room down with him …not boy scouts who were mediocre. Hence, the famous quote.
President Donald Trump appears to be in trouble. A series of confessions and convictions, of and by people around him, are casting a strange, dark light on his presidency at the moment. There is a perception (at least) that shady stuff has gone on around this guy. And when shady stuff constantly goes on around someone in charge, you have to conclude that the guy in charge is okay with shady stuff.
Has he hung around tax evaders and money launderers? Clearly. Did he pay off porn stars and Playboy Playmates to keep their dalliances quiet? I think we can safely conclude that he did. Is he a petulant child in the Twitter-verse? One hundred percent. Does he say things in public my mother would slap me for saying? Literally, everyday. Did he conspire with a foreign power to win an election? Maybe. Will any of this make a difference to his supporters? That’s a complicated answer. Let me explain …
I have a theory that all presidential elections are reactions to the sitting president at the time. I’m old enough to remember Jimmy Carter getting elected (in large part) because he was a wholesome, moral breath of fresh air in an atmosphere of corruption and scandal created during the Nixon years. I was only a kid, but I distinctly remember entire churches being excited to go out and vote for an openly Christian man for president. Then, after four years of that disaster, I remember those same people breaking speed limit laws to get to the polls to vote for Reagan as fast as they could.
The conditions that created a “president Trump” kinda started with Bill Clinton, who led to George W Bush …who led to Barack Obama.
By the time we got to him, Mr Obama was going to be the antidote to incompetence and corruption and war mongering and, yes …even racism. But a very strange thing happened during Mr Obama’s presidency. Racism didn’t end. Corruption didn’t end. Wars didn’t end. And incompetence might’ve actually gotten worse. My full day of talking to the customer service agent at the newly created healthcare exchange, did NOT leave me confident.
And what was discovered during Mr Obama’s 8 years, was that in a free market nation, over-taxing, over-regulating and a leader who constantly berates the business community and supports policies that place more emphasis on celebrating the “diversity” of people groups than on law and order for every individual, and foreign policies that take everything but the nation you’ve been elected to lead into account, simply doesn’t work.
What was also exposed in those 8 years was how feckless and weak Republicans had actually become in their opposition to such things. And with candidates literally talking openly about socialism and nationalizing private institutions, a guy like Trump comes along and promises to re-set the foundation of the nation the way Americans understand it …and the way they want it. Is he really that much of a surprise?
I talk occasionally about the fourth revolution. And Donald Trump is the leader of it.
If you’re appalled at the lewd behavior of your president, you’re behind. That ship sailed when one was getting blow jobs by an intern half his age, in the Oval Office …AND. NOBODY. CARED.
If you wish your president was decent and measured and refused to return fire at his critics, you’re behind. We already had that guy and he was called a war criminal, who should be tried at the Hague (Rosie O’Donell’s public announcement) and “retarded” (Chris Rock’s word – DEFINITELY not mine), someone who should force his daughters to go to war (Matt Damon’s suggestion) a monster who deliberately broke the levies in New Orleans to drown black people (Spike Lee’s claim) and on and on and on …AND. NOBODY. CARED.
If you wish your president was upstanding and righteous and said all the right things, you’re behind. Mitt Romney already ran. AND. NOBODY. CARED.
If you wish your president was a humble and honorable true public servant, without moral blemishes, you’re behind. Bob Dole (a man who gave his right hand to his country) and John McCain (a man who gave both arms to his country) already ran. AND. NOBODY. CARED.
Donald Trump was the last branch to grab before the nation hit the ground. But he has changed the game in some ways. Nobody believes a nice guy can get it done, anymore. We’ve had nice guys …and nothing changed.
Cutting taxes and repatriating a trillion dollars was the right thing to do. And it’s working. And only a guy who doesn’t give crap about what people think of him could’ve gotten it done. Moving the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem was the right thing to do. It sends a message to the rest of the middle east and, in turn, creates a stability hard to quantify. Presidents on BOTH sides of the aisle have promised to do it. It should’ve been done decades ago. But only a guy who doesn’t give a crap about what people think of him could’ve gotten it done.
Taking Kim Jong Un on …head on …is looking like it was the right thing to do. But only a guy who doesn’t give a crap about what people think of him would’ve even attempted it.
While Mr Trump’s lawyers and campaign people were perp-walking in and out of ivory towers, a teenaged girl in Iowa – as middle-America a place as you can find – was being murdered by someone in the country illegally. That creates real world fear for Americans everywhere. We have enough fear of our own citizenry, breaking our own laws. And reasonable Americans don’t think it’s UNreasonable to ask people wanting to come to our country …to sign the hell in. They don’t see how that makes them racists. It simply doesn’t compute. And the only elected leader giving them any cover is the flawed president.
So, did Donald Trump collude and conspire with Russians to win an election? What the media and his opponents (and even a lot of Republicans) STILL don’t or can’t or won’t understand is that it doesn’t matter. He didn’t have to collude with anybody. He was going to win either way. He had millions of Americans at “build a wall” and “cut your taxes” and especially at, “I don’t give a crap what people think.”
Donald Trump may get impeached or arrested or disgraced or unseated or whatever. But what people had better realize is that if he’s gone, a large percentage of the population will be looking for something or someone JUST like him …to replace him. There’s too much at stake; too many socialists on the horizon, too many empty suits looking for lifetime political gigs, too many “nice guys” with great smiles and weak spines, to take anymore chances.
We just want an ******* who can play. And with the economy roaring and North Korea neutralized and ISIS basically contained and defeated, it appears that despite all the weirdness that surrounds him, he can, indeed, play.
 

[umbertino]

Quote

iconic drummer, Buddy Rich.

End Quote

 

I certainly agree on that...Fact...Undeniable

[bostonangler]

Politics

Donald Trump's Old Tweets About Bob Woodward Have Aged Very, Very Badly

 

 

President Donald Trump may currently have a bee in his bonnet about Bob Woodward over the veteran journalist’s new book, Fear: Trump in the White House.

Trump used Twitter on Tuesday to try to discredit the tell-all tome, which describes his administration as a “nervous breakdown” of the executive branch, by claiming it contains “so many lies and phony sources.”

He also speculated as to whether Woodward is a “Dem operative.”

But Trump hasn’t always been so disparaging of the journalist, acclaimed for his work covering the Watergate scandal at the Washington Post ― as these tweets from 2012 to 2017

 

demonstrate

 

Donald J. Trump

 

✔ @realDonaldTrump

 

 

Sean's interview with Bob Woodward on @hannityshow was very interesting--Woodward was great. http://bit.ly/PLccPK 

3:30 PM - Sep 28, 2012

 

 

Donald J. Trump

 

✔ @realDonaldTrump

 

 

Must read column by Bob Woodward explaining how Obama pushed for sequestration & promised no tax increase http://wapo.st/X0MlqB 

4:28 PM - Feb 25, 2013

 

 

Donald J. Trump

 

✔ @realDonaldTrump

 

 

Only the Obama WH can get away with attacking Bob Woodward.

4:04 PM - Mar 1, 2013

 

 

Donald J. Trump

 

✔ @realDonaldTrump

 

 

Thank you to Bob Woodward who said, "That is a garbage document...it never should have been presented...Trump's right to be upset (angry)...

4:04 PM - Jan 15, 2017

 

 

 

I guess it depends on what day it is as to who is good or bad...

 

B/A 

Edited September 5, 2018 by bostonangler

[Shabibilicious]

3 minutes ago, bostonangler said:

Politics

Donald Trump's Old Tweets About Bob Woodward Have Aged Very, Very Badly

 

 

President Donald Trump may currently have a bee in his bonnet about Bob Woodward over the veteran journalist’s new book, Fear: Trump in the White House.

Trump used Twitter on Tuesday to try to discredit the tell-all tome, which describes his administration as a “nervous breakdown” of the executive branch, by claiming it contains “so many lies and phony sources.”

He also speculated as to whether Woodward is a “Dem operative.”

But Trump hasn’t always been so disparaging of the journalist, acclaimed for his work covering the Watergate scandal at the Washington Post ― as these tweets from 2012 to 2017

 

demonstrate

 

Donald J. Trump

 

✔ @realDonaldTrump

 

 

Sean's interview with Bob Woodward on @hannityshow was very interesting--Woodward was great. http://bit.ly/PLccPK 

3:30 PM - Sep 28, 2012

 

 

Donald J. Trump

 

✔ @realDonaldTrump

 

 

Must read column by Bob Woodward explaining how Obama pushed for sequestration & promised no tax increase http://wapo.st/X0MlqB 

4:28 PM - Feb 25, 2013

 

 

Donald J. Trump

 

✔ @realDonaldTrump

 

 

Only the Obama WH can get away with attacking Bob Woodward.

4:04 PM - Mar 1, 2013

 

 

Donald J. Trump

 

✔ @realDonaldTrump

 

 

Thank you to Bob Woodward who said, "That is a garbage document...it never should have been presented...Trump's right to be upset (angry)...

4:04 PM - Jan 15, 2017

 

 

 

I guess it depends on what day it is as to who is good or bad...

 

B/A 

 

To Donald Trump's credit, he has an uncanny knack of "clearing the history" in his head daily.......leaving it virtually empty.  

 

GO RV, then BV

[bostonangler]

4 minutes ago, Shabibilicious said:

 

To Donald Trump's credit, he has an uncanny knack of "clearing the history" in his head daily.......leaving it virtually empty.  

 

GO RV, then BV

 

Clearing history may work for him and his followers, but the rest of the world remembers... And we are beginning to see those memories reflected in the latest polls... Many of his followers are beginning to see "promises kept" was not meant to mean them...

 

B/A 

[coorslite21]

Who knew Woodward was a "fiction" writer?.....2 sources...Kelly and Mattis deny the BS.....like why would they ever speak with him to begin with knowing full well what his intentions were????....duh...

 

Just more made up fake crap from the left.....just another day.......CL

[Shabibilicious]

1 hour ago, coorslite21 said:

Who knew Woodward was a "fiction" writer?.....2 sources...Kelly and Mattis deny the BS.....like why would they ever speak with him to begin with knowing full well what his intentions were????....duh...

 

Just more made up fake crap from the left.....just another day.......CL

 

Trump couldn't come close to matching Woodward's integrity.  He's no Omarosa or Art of the Deal ghost writer....He is the real deal, an investigative reporter of impeccable credentials and experience.  Trump world is a playground for a man like Woodward...He probably scratches his head every day and wonders can it really be this easy.  As always, just my opinion.

 

GO RV, then BV

[md11fr8dawg]

So Shabs, you think Kelly and Mattis said what Woodward wrote they said to him?? I call BS on that one!!

[Shabibilicious]

16 minutes ago, md11fr8dawg said:

So Shabs, you think Kelly and Mattis said what Woodward wrote they said to him?? I call BS on that one!!

 

I'm more inclined to believe they said it in confidence to another staffer and were then thrown under the bus.  I also find it near impossible to believe two retired generals who've spent most of their adult lives from war college to the battlefield to the inner workings of warfare would have any respect for a man like Trump.  They will certainly show the office the respect that comes with it....the man, on the other hand, must earn that respect...and I don't believe it's possible for a man of Trump's character.  As always, just my opinion.

 

GO RV, then BV

[umbertino]

Woodward book:

 

September 5, 2018 11:55 AM CDT By Mark Gruenberg

 

 

 

Stephen B. Morton/AP

 

 

 

http://www.peoplesworld.org/article/woodward-book-trumps-white-house-is-dysfunctional-and-the-president-is-crazy/

[bostonangler]

We already know Rex Tillerson called him a moron. It doesn't seem like a stretch that these quotes wouldn't be true. There is no question he refuses to listen to people who have spent their lives learning their jobs. He has said he is smarter than the generals. Let's face it, he is a real estate investor who has zero experience on the global stage. He could really show the world how smart he is if he would take advice instead of pretending to know everything about everything.  Do you know anyone who knows everything about everything? His inability to delegate and his need to micromanage is quickly becoming his downfall.

 

B/A

Edited September 5, 2018 by bostonangler

[coorslite21]

6 hours ago, Shabibilicious said:

 

Trump couldn't come close to matching Woodward's integrity.  He's no Omarosa or Art of the Deal ghost writer....He is the real deal, an investigative reporter of impeccable credentials and experience.  Trump world is a playground for a man like Woodward...He probably scratches his head every day and wonders can it really be this easy.  As always, just my opinion.

 

GO RV, then BV

 

Not so fast with this Woodward integrity theme.......True....he is a very articulate writer.....and has been a part of some big things...........but he writes to make a profit.......and that can call for sensationalism........

 

For years there have been rumblings of him 'ginning" his writings up......so he can sell..........is that the definition of integrity??

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

https://www.politico.com/story/2012/04/6-bob-woodward-controversies-075738

 

Bob Woodward's reporting has been questioned before. | REUTERS

6 Bob Woodward controversies

 

By TIM MAK

 

04/30/2012 11:19 AM EDT

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With a New York magazine article’s revelation Sunday that legendary Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee once expressed “fear in my soul” that Bob Woodward had embellished elements of his reporting in the Watergate scandal, POLITICO has put together a list of six occasions where critics have questioned Woodward’s reporting:

1. The potted plant to signal “Deep Throat”

Adrian Havill, author of “Deep Truth: The Lives of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein,” wrote in the book that Woodward’s claim of signaling his “Deep Throat” source for meetings using a flowerpot on his balcony “does strain credulity,” since Woodward’s balcony faced an inner courtyard and isn’t visible from a nearby alleyway.

( PHOTOS: The Watergate story)

Woodward later claimed in the Sydney Morning Herald that the courtyard behind his apartment building had not yet been closed off at the time and that his balcony could be seen from “dozens of apartments or offices,” speculating even that the FBI had “surveillance or listening posts nearby,” though he admits he is not sure how Mark Felt — later unmasked as “Deep Throat” — monitored the flowerpot.

(Also on POLITICO: New York Magazine writer calls out Bob Woodward)

2. CIA Director William Casey’s deathbed scene

Woodward claimed in his book “Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA 1981-1987” that Casey admitted on his deathbed that he had known about the diversion of Iran arms sale money to the Contras.

But Casey’s daughter, Bernadette Casey Smith, claimed that Woodward “never got the deathbed confession,” according to the Houston Chronicle. In addition, Kevin Shipp, a member of Casey’s security detail, asserted in a self-published memoirthat none of the agents standing guard over the Casey allowed Woodward into his hospital room at Georgetown University Hospital, and that in any case the former CIA director was not able to talk at the time Woodward cited.

In his defense, Woodward quotes William Donnelly, head of CIA administration, who said “Woodward probably found a way to sneak in,” and argues that the guards weren’t there 24/7 at the time.

3. Tenet’s WMD “slam dunk” quote

In his 2004 book “Plan of Attack,” Woodward claims that CIA Director George Tenet said that there was a “slam dunk case” that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

However, Tenet claimed that his words were taken out of context and that he was being set up as a scapegoat for the failures of the Iraq War. In a “ 60 Minutes” interview, Tenet said that he had said “slam dunk” to suggest it would be easy to build a public case for the war.

 

By TIM MAK

 

04/30/2012 11:19 AM EDT

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4. Did Justice William J. Brennan Jr. vote against his judgment to win favor?

In Woodward’s 1979 book “The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court,” Justice William J. Brennan Jr. is alleged to have voted against his own personal judgment in the case Moore v. Illinois in order to avoid offending Justice Harry A. Blackmun. According to Woodward and co-author Scott Armstrong, Brennan had realized his initial vote was incorrect but declined to change it in order to avoid pushing Blackmun’s vote away on abortion and obscenity cases.

Anthony Lewis challenged this account in the New York Review of Books, saying that the charge was leveled “without serious evidence” and that the story “leaves doubts not only about the authors’ understanding but about their scrupulousness.”

Lewis said in a follow-up that he had reached all 30 law clerks that were at the Supreme Court in the 1971 term.

“Their verdict on the story told by Woodward and Armstrong was overwhelmingly negative. The prevailing tone of their comments was disbelief, verging on contempt. The clerks who had personally worked on the case or had any direct knowledge of it all flatly rejected the story,” Lewis claimed.

5. Reagan recovery scene

In “Veil,” Woodward also describes Ronald Reagan’s recovery from the 1981 attempt on his life as quite poor. He reports on a scene in which Reagan collapses into a chair. Woodward further writes that in the days after his release from the hospital, Reagan could “concentrate for only a few minutes at a time” and in the following days would only be able to “remain attentive only an hour or so a day.”

Reagan’s physician, Dr. Daniel Ruge, disputed this portrayal, telling the AP that “his recovery was superb … I never saw anything like that [description in the book] … it’s certainly news to me and I was there all the time.”

6. John Belushi portrayal in “Wired”

Close confidants of Belushi expressed outrage at the way the comedian was portrayed in Woodward’s biography “Wired,” alleging that some of the scenes were fabricated.

“There were certainly things that he just got patently wrong. He painted a portrait of John that was really inaccurate — certain stories in there that just weren’t true and never happened,” said Dan Akroyd, a fellow Blues Brother and close friend, in the book “Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live.”

Akroyd did not specify which incidents in particular were made up.

 

There are dozens more examples if you want me to post them.......CL

 

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Criticisms of content

• Woodward has been accused of exaggeration and fabrication regarding "Deep Throat," his Watergate informant. Ever since W. Mark Felt was announced as the true identity behind Deep Throat, John Dean^[45] and Ed Gray,^[46] in separate publications, have used Woodward's book All The President's Men and his published notes on his meetings with Deep Throat to argue that Deep Throat could not have been only Mark Felt. They argued that Deep Throat was a fictional composite made up of several Woodward sources, only one of whom was Felt. Gray, in his book In Nixon's Web, even went so far as to publish an e-mail and telephone exchange he had with Donald Santarelli, a Washington lawyer who was a Justice Department official during Watergate, in which Santarelli confirmed to Gray that he was the source behind statements Woodward recorded in notes he has attributed to Deep Throat.^[47] However, Stephen Mielke, an archivist at the University of Texas who oversees the Woodward-Bernstein papers, said it is likely the page was misfiled under Felt because no source was identified. The original page of notes is in the Mark Felt file but "the carbon is located with the handwritten and typed notes attributed to Santarelli." Ed Gray said that Santarelli confirmed to him that he was the source behind the statements in the notes.^[48]
• J. Bradford DeLong has noted considerable inconsistencies between the accounts of the making of Clinton economic policy described in Woodward's book Maestro and his book The Agenda.^[49]
• Some of Woodward's critics accuse him of abandoning critical inquiry to maintain his access to high-profile political actors. Anthony Lewis called the style "a trade in which the great grant access in return for glory."^[50] Christopher Hitchens accused Woodward of acting as "stenographer to the rich and powerful."^[51]
• Writer Tanner Colby, who co-wrote a biography of John Belushi with the late actor's widow Judy, wrote in Slate that, while Woodward's frequently criticized 1984 book Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi is largely accurate in its description of events, Woodward either gets the context wrong or doesn't find any context at all. For example, Belushi's grandmother's funeral, which led him to make a serious effort to sober up, gets merely a paragraph in Woodward's retelling, while a 24-hour drug binge in Los Angeles goes on for eight pages simply because the limo driver was willing to talk to Woodward. "It's like someone wrote a biography of Michael Jordan in which all the stats and scores are correct, but you come away with the impression that Michael Jordan wasn't very good at playing basketball," he concluded. Because it was unique among Woodward's books in that it made no use of confidential or anonymous sources, Colby was able to interview many of the same sources that Woodward had used, making comparisons of their recollection of events to Woodward's accounting of them relatively easy.^[52]
• Woodward believed the Bush administration's claims of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction before the war, and the publication of the book At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA by former Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet led Woodward to engage in a rather tortuous account of the extent of his pre-war conversations with Tenet in an article in The New Yorker in which he also chastised New York Times op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd for being critical of him.^[53]
• Woodward was also accused of fabricating a deathbed interview with CIA Director William Casey, as described in Veil. Critics say the interview simply could not have taken place as written in the book.^{[54][55][56][57]} Robert M. Gates, Casey’s deputy at the time, in his book "From the Shadows", recounts speaking with Casey during this exact period. Gates directly quotes Casey saying 22 words, even more than the 19 words Woodward said Casey used with him.^[58] The CIA’s internal report found that Casey "had forty-three meetings or phone calls with Woodward, including a number of meetings at Casey’s home with no one else present" during the period Woodward was researching his book.^[59]Gates was also quoted saying, "When I saw him in the hospital, his speech was even more slurred than usual, but if you knew him well, you could make out a few words, enough to get sense of what he was saying."^[60] Following Casey's death, President Ronald Reagan wrote: "[Woodward]'s a liar and he lied about what Casey is supposed to have thought of me."^[61]

 

 

[coorslite21]

4 hours ago, bostonangler said:

We already know Rex Tillerson called him a moron. It doesn't seem like a stretch that these quotes wouldn't be true. There is no question he refuses to listen to people who have spent their lives learning their jobs. He has said he is smarter than the generals. Let's face it, he is a real estate investor who has zero experience on the global stage. He could really show the world how smart he is if he would take advice instead of pretending to know everything about everything.  Do you know anyone who knows everything about everything? His inability to delegate and his need to micromanage is quickly becoming his downfall.

 

B/A

 

Yet among all this chaos ....Trump is clicking off.....one by one......all those things he promised he would do if he was elected.......he must be a miracle worker!!!

[Pitcher]

I’m not a fan of President Trump’s bluster, bragidocious, in your face style, but he is doing some good stuff that needed to be done.  All while being under constant harassment from a bunch of lying, crooked, unlawful Democrats and their supporters in the Congress, the DOJ, FBI, and media.  If the shoe was on the other foot the media would be calling for blood.  How any Democrat or Democrat voter can think what HRC and her merry band of supporters did with the phony Russian Collusion story as lawful is beyond me.  They broke so many laws and have been covering it up with a sham of a Special Investigation.  They have made a mockery of our laws, and our judicial system.  

 

People better think long long and hard about giving the Democrats any power in Congress.  Their only plan for America is embarras, harass, degrade, and impeach President Trump.  They have NO economic plan except tax the rich, tax and over regulate businesses, open the borders, put as many people on unemployment and disability as possible.  They have no ideas to help the working man or the middle class. 

 

I can also say with a straight face I have little use for most of the Republicans in Congress.  Our political scene isn’t that much different than Iraq’s. DC like Baghdad is a ceasepool of power hungry, egotistical, greedy, lying, arrogant, self serving, worthless politicians. 

 

 

[justchecking123]

1 hour ago, Pitcher said:

I’m not a fan of President Trump’s bluster, bragidocious, in your face style, but he is doing some good stuff that needed to be done.  All while being under constant harassment from a bunch of lying, crooked, unlawful Democrats and their supporters in the Congress, the DOJ, FBI, and media.  If the shoe was on the other foot the media would be calling for blood.  How any Democrat or Democrat voter can think what HRC and her merry band of supporters did with the phony Russian Collusion story as lawful is beyond me.  They broke so many laws and have been covering it up with a sham of a Special Investigation.  They have made a mockery of our laws, and our judicial system.  

 

People better think long long and hard about giving the Democrats any power in Congress.  Their only plan for America is embarras, harass, degrade, and impeach President Trump.  They have NO economic plan except tax the rich, tax and over regulate businesses, open the borders, put as many people on unemployment and disability as possible.  They have no ideas to help the working man or the middle class. 

 

I can also say with a straight face I have little use for most of the Republicans in Congress.  Our political scene isn’t that much different than Iraq’s. DC like Baghdad is a ceasepool of power hungry, egotistical, greedy, lying, arrogant, self serving, worthless politicians. 

 

 

Spot on, Pitch.Well stated.

 

Unfortunately we have crazies in the street who go apesh-t on both sides of the aisle.

 

This country's going nuts over stuff they have no control over, because they're being amused to death. 

 

Why can't people deal with themselves rationally with this whole scenario? 

 

Foaming at the mouth never solved any problems.

 

Hence Alex Jones and all thin-skinned idiots get airtime for wind-bagging BS. Jones is no worse than Hillarious Clinton, Ted Cruz,  etc. he just feeds the masses what they so desperately seem to need right now. Politics right now is like a sick drug people take for their own egoic meanderings.

Edited September 6, 2018 by justchecking123

[coorslite21]

Tick Tock!......change is coming....

[bostonangler]

2 hours ago, coorslite21 said:

Tick Tock!......change is coming.... 

 

I agree, but I never thought it would come as a coup from inside the White House.... Now it seems his staff is working to save America from a guy who is incapable of grasping his responsibility as president.

 

B/A