What Mr. Hinderaker Gets Wrong — By Blindly Channeling Andrew McCarthy…

The excellent Marcy Wheeler, at EmptyWheel, has this well in hand. Do go read it all. In other words, John Hinderaker’s latest is quite a bit of a… mess, actually.

That is because he cannot read Mr. McCarthy with a critical eye, and independent skepticism.

I’ll make it short, as Christmas Eve approaches — and the lustrous night-snows are already flying here (and my family awaits at the fireplace, with cocoa and marshmallows and Quincy Jones’ Soulful Messiah)….

Ahem. One cannot take McCarthy seriously, if one cannot address these “inconvenient truths” satisfactorily:

“…McCarthy ignores that longtime Trump associate Felix Sater was brokering deals with Russian oligarchs that he believed would get Trump elected in 2015. McCarthy ignores the likelihood George Papadopoulos warned the campaign of stolen emails, referred to as “dirt on Hillary,” even before the Democrats knew about any stolen emails. He ignores that Don Jr took a meeting (with Fusion associate Rinat Akhmetshin) based on a promise of dirt.

….He ignores that the broker behind the meeting, Rob Goldstone, found it eerie that stolen emails were released right after the meeting. McCarthy ignores that the substance of the meeting — sanctions relief — is precisely what Flynn was ordered to broker even before Trump was inaugurated, which Flynn is now explaining in depth in part because Jared Kushner withheld information that might have exonerated Flynn’s actions.

That is, McCarthy ignores that there’s a great deal of evidence, even in the public record, that Trump welcomed the release of stolen Hillary emails in a meeting at which sanctions were discussed, and that Trump promised to give Russia sanctions relief even before he was inaugurated….”

And… one cannot refute any of that, for it is established fact. Thanks, Marcy.

In sum John, Andrew’s doesn’t withstand careful examination.

Mr. Mueller will get Mr. Trump. No doubt, now. And those $285 million (minimum) of Deutsche Bank loans may well be the proof — allegedly a ham-handed conduit from Russia to Kushner… to Trump.

There you have it. And my cocoa is waiting. To all of good will, good-night!