Greg Olear's Blog, page 3

Dirty Rubles: An Introduction to Trump/Russia (My New Book)

I have written a short book called Dirty Rubles: An Introduction to Trump/Russia. It is available in print, and as an e-book.

It is a 120-page Trump/Russia primer, similar in tone to my summary threads on Twitter, and drawn extensively from my work here and at The Weeklings. I hope that it will be a useful resource in broadcasting the truth about Donald Trump.

Writing a book about Trump/Russia is like jumping off a moving train. Trump is a locomotive, hurtling down the tracks, spewing filth a m...

What’s Putin Got on Trump?

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I mean, let's be realistic: everything, and I mean everything, indicates that the president of the US is a Russian puppet; it almost has to be blackmail. But then the question is, blackmail with what? What could be worse than what we already know? 2/

 — @paulkrugman

The New York Times columnist and economist Paul Krugman asked a question that more media folks should be considering: Given wh...

Archive of Trump/Russia Threads

Below are links to the Trump/Russia threads I’ve produced on Twitter (@gregolear).

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Let's talk about Devin Nunes. [THREAD]

 — @gregolear

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Let's talk about Paul Ryan. BLUF: @SpeakerRyan is complicit in #TrumpRussia. To what extent remains to be seen, but he is, at best, an accessory to obstruction of justice by his refusal to remove @DevinNunes from the House intel committee. At best. [THREAD]

 — @gregolear

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Let's examine the seemingly-random pattern of #TrumpRussia-related tea leaves from the last few days, and see what we can divine. [THREAD]

 — @gregolear

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Let's talk about Michael "Says Who?" Cohen, @StormyDaniels's overmatched antagonist, who is basically Trump's Michael Clayton/Ray Donovan/Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction. [THREAD]

 — @gregolear

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Let's talk about Jared #Kushner: son-in-law & senior adviser to 45, wife to The Scientist, son to a scumbag convicted felon, head of a failing RE company, recidivist SF-86 liar, and traitor to his country. [THREAD]

 — @gregolear

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Let's talk about what happens if Trump tries to fire Mueller. [THREAD]

 — @gregolear

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OK, my head is spinning from so much #TrumpRussia news. I'm going to lay it out here, so I can keep it straight. [THREAD]

 — @gregolear

Resist Dirty Rubles

Trump/Russia is a complicated story, made more complicated in the initial months by inadequate coverage in the mainstream media. Journalism tends to be siloized, so links between key reports often went un-linked in the press.

My role during this Age of Trump was to take these disparate news stories and stray tweets and giving them shape and structure. Using my novelist’s skills. I sought to develop a narrative of Trump/Russia, one that could easily be followed. A gander at my archive for the l...

Whataboutism’s Next Defense: Equating Trump/Russia with Clinton/China

As I wrote back in April, Trump/Russia is best understood as a sort of three-tiered layer cake, with each tier representing a distinct hypothesis:

Tier 1: Russia “hacked the election.”Tier 2: the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians to help their candidate prevail.Tier 3: a quid pro quo deal was brokered in which Trump agreed to lift sanctions and soften the US stance on NATO in exchange for financial considerations and help with the election.

As each of these charges is flung in his face,...

The Only Sane Response to Trump is a Black Canary-Style Scream

Uncle.

There, I said it.

You want to hear it in Russian, just in case? Fine: дядя.

I’m sick and tired of it. Sick and tired of the racist gaffes. Sick and tired of the sexist remarks. Sick and tired of the media taking the abuse, enabling him. Sick of all of these incredibly smart, kind, generous, funny folks on Twitter patiently pointing out his daily hypocrisies, and those of the party that aids and abets him, only to be attacked by Putin’s bot army.

I’m sick and tired of being teased by the Pa...

FEATHERS 14–20: An Analysis of the Counterchekist Trump/Russia Missions

Over the past 18 months, as the evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia became incontrovertible, I have come to rely on a dozen or so Twitter accounts to keep myself informed. Chief among these is the pseudonymous @Countercheckist, a shadowy but extremely well-connected personage Louise Mensch refers to as “The President.”

(Sidenote: At this late date in the Trump/Russia story, if you still doubt Mensch’s credentials, her sources, or, worst of all, her commitment to the ant...

If Trump/Russia is Fake News, Why Did You Vote Yes on Russia Sanctions Act?

Seditionists seditioning.

On August 2, 2017, Donald Trump signed into law one of the precious few significant pieces of legislation in his first year of office: the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (H.R. 3364, Pub.L. 115–44), which imposes sanctions of Iran, North Korea, and, most exigently, Russia. CAATSA requires Congressional approval before the executive branch can ease or lift sanctions on Russia.

The bipartisan measure passed the House by an overwhelming vote of 419...

The Rosenbergs & The Trumps: A Russia Story

The Rosenbergs would get the electric chair for their treason.

On June 19, 1953, the traitors Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sent to the electric chair for conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. The execution took place at sundown at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York (its location on the Hudson north of Manhattan, incidentally, was the genesis of the term “up the river”).

As the full details emerge of Donald Trump’s partnership with Vladimir Putin, it’s instru...

Karl Rove, the End of the World, and Ancient Coins

I’ve been so busy with The Weeklings that I’ve neglected this, my personal webpage. If you have not yet checked that out, please do so. A single post a day, a three-minute investment of time, and always well worth the … Continue reading →