Earlier this week the NYTimes published an investigative story that had several revelations including an account of TFG demanding that yet another lawyer lie for him early last year that he had returned all the documents and that lawyer refusing.  More important, it’s damned likely he still has government documents somewhere else like his NY apartment, in Bedminster, or even Mar a Lago.

But the story also recounted TFG’s desire to used the stolen documents as trade bait.  The key quote:

“Mr. [TFG], still determined to show he had been wronged by the F.B.I. investigation into his 2016 campaign’s ties to Russia, was angry with the National Archives and Records Administration for its unwillingness to hand over a batch of sensitive documents that he thought proved his claims.

In exchange for those documents, Mr. [TFG] told advisers, he would return to the National Archives the boxes of material he had taken to Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla.”

So there it is.  Not only did TFG recklessly steal top secret and other government documents, he then concocted a plan to use his unlawful possession of stolen documents as a hostage to get evidence to support his contention that the FBI was out to get him.  It’s classic mobster behavior; worse, it’s stupid, careless, and another example of the danger this man poses to not only the country but to himself.

I’ve had several theories about why TFG stole these documents and then toyed with the DOJ for over a year and a half; first, obviously TFG is a dumbass with shit for brains; second, I figured he saw value in them to sell to the highest bidder; third, he loves all the trappings of being president and continued playing Oval Office and pretending he’s still there; lastly I figured he just likes pissing off the “deep state”.  All of these theories are plausible and damned likely; what I hadn’t thought about that he believed he could use the stolen documents to steal more documents.  That act is just a glimpse into how evil TFG truly is.

Since Monday, I’ve been cogitating on the FBI’s search of Mar a Lago and why TFG would’ve so stupidly taken potentially top secret documents from the WH to hide in his basement in Florida.  What was he doing?  What was he thinking?  As all of us have experienced, TFG does lots of things without thinking, and being a malignant narcissist, everything is always about him and his effort to gain some kind of advantage over his perceived enemies.  What was this about?

My first thought was that TFG was going to release documents throughout his next campaign trying to impugn his enemies and using them to back his false claims that there is an effort by the “deep state” to take him down.  But as more information comes out about this sorry episode, it now looks to me like he was intentionally trying to provoke the FBI into doing exactly what they did.  Since it was discovered that he stole secret documents when he finally vacated the WH, he and his lawyers have been playing games with the FBI which lead to a search back in June after he virtually ignored a subpoena to disgorge the documents they sought.  Since then, he and his lawyers have been slow-playing the agency, and they acted on Monday after apparently a TFG insider “ratted” him out by confirming the location of the documents.

“During the search on Monday, TFG took to Truth Social and public statements to rage about the “raid” and the FBI “breaking into” his safe.  The facts so far haven’t supported his claims, especially since the Secret Service let the agents in and one of Trump’s lawyers was present during the search.  Almost immediately, TFGland went to DEFCON 1 and started firing up the rage machine. One of the main accusations, lead by his allies in congress, was that the FBI was “planting evidence” to take him down.

Well, there it is.  It appears, and I believe that this is true, that TFG’s plan all along was to provoke the FBI to act against him personally so he could claim the “deep state” was out to get him.  I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised that the “rat” was someone TFG picked to be the informant.  We’ve all heard about Schedule F, TFG’s plan to unravel the federal government by firing thousands of career public servants and replacing them with his loyalists at all levels of the federal government.  Part of this plan is to empty out DC, moving agencies out into the heartland like he did the USDA, which he moved to Kansas City.  The agency has struggled to recover, having lost thousands of career employees who quit rather than move.

Call me cynical, call me a conspiracy theorist, but I believe that all of this is TFG and his enablers creating a new reality for his supporters as part of his relentless campaign to take over the US government for himself.  It’s already working; thousands of his supporters are raging on social media and in their be-flagged jacked-up TFG Train trucks, and one nut has already been killed after trying to break in to the FBI field office in Cincinnati.  I can only hope that Merrick Garland is one step ahead of him; my fear is that he’s not.

Last night at a major GOP donor conference, Trump was in fine form (for him), unleashing attacks on everyone who have not continued to give him full-throated support.  He attacked, by name, everyone who supported the Constitution by certifying the election for Biden.  He attacked all of his nemeses including Nancy Pelosi, “Barack Hussein Obama”, Anthony Fauci, and Brian Kemp of Georgia, the governor who refused to buckle to Trump’s demands that he throw his career out the window by illegally throwing the election to him.  But he saved his juiciest insults for Mitch McConnell calling him a “dumb son of a bitch” and a “stone cold loser.”  He also repeated all the same lies he’s told countless times, even attacking Mark Zuckerberg directly claiming that he spent $500 million on a “lockbox” that delivered every vote for “Saintly Joe Biden.”  He did praise a few, like Jim Jordan and the January 6 protestors, while lamely trying to distance himself from those who sacked the Capitol (even though he incited them to do so).

As he rails against all of his enemies, the GOP continues to struggle for its own identity and direction.  Even this weekend when donors gathered at the nearby Four Seasons, Trump was holding a competing “investor” conference at Mar a Lago for his big donors.  And to get face to face with him, the donors attending the Four Seasons conference had to trek to Trump’s property and pay his club for the privilege.  This weekend was symbolic of the turmoil that is tearing the GOP apart.  Even as his former staffers, including Mark Meadows and career grave robber, Stephen Miller form their own PACs and political operations.  While they all want the enthusiasm for Trump among the faithful, they don’t want Trump himself.  He’s insulted and pissed off all of the establishment Republicans, and has frozen dozens of 2022 and 2024 campaigns, especially for the GOP nomination for president next time around.

As Trump continues his multi-hundred million dollar grift, he’s unforgiving of what he perceives as disloyalty, and future candidates are lined up at the gates of Mar a Lago seeking the blessing of His Orangeness.  Not doing so will draw his wrath and most certainly a primary opponent.  He is desperately clinging to his control of the GOP, even as many maneuver to wrest that control from his iron grip.  In his wake he leaves nothing but toxic waste and destruction.

In case you missed it, here is the Mar-a-Lago war room —

You’ll note that they are all sitting on the standard issue war room delicate gold rattan chairs.

If some of these names are not familiar to you, here’s a handy guide.

Seriously, y’all, what the hell is that Steve Miller guy doing in there?  I mean, except to make Bannon look sane.

I agree with El Jefe below.  This whole bombing thing was a fake reality show.

And in Irony of the Hour, Sean Hannity on September 3rd, 2013.

UPDATE:  Well, here ya go.

Raytheon stock surged Friday morning, after 59 of the company’s Tomahawk missiles were used to strike Syria in Donald Trump’s first major military operation as President.

…

The shares of other missile and weapons manufacturers, including Boeing(BA, +0.83%), Lockheed Martin(LMT, +1.17%), Northrop Grumman(NOC, +0.90%)and General Dynamics(GD, +0.93%), each rose as much as 1%, collectively gaining nearly $5 billion in market value as soon as they began trading, even as the broader market fell.

Goes a long way explaining everything, doesn’t it?