Punxsutawney Phil has predicted six more weeks of obstruction in 2018.

It’s unclear what the impact of the Nunes memo will be, as Republicans and Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, who have already seen the memo, strongly disagree on its implications. Some Republicans argue that the memo is evidence of an anti-Trump conspiracy within the FBI.

Devin Nunes is a longtime Trump ally. He served on Trump’s transition team after the election and defended Michael Flynn when he was accused of lying about his contacts with Russia.

Nunes held the press conference to announce that “the intelligence community incidentally collected information about US citizens involved in the Trump transition.”

As interesting as the “Nunes memo” is, everything it reveals occurred before Robert S. Mueller III was appointed. How does anything in the memo impact the validity of the special counsel’s investigation?

In the past, Rep. Devin Nunes's credibility was questioned as the Russia investigation went on. Mar. 28, 2017

Nunes was under fire from Democrats who say the House intelligence committee chair should recuse himself from the committee's investigation into Russia, because he's too close to President Trump.

Oh well, wait for the closing credits.

FAKE MEMO

Rep. Devin Nunes and House Speaker Paul Ryan have less credibility when commenting on the Russian investigation than a groundhog has forecasting weather.

Thursday, Ryan, with a straight face, claimed the controversial Nunes memo simply represented legitimate Congressional oversight and not an attempt to discredit the FBI and Mueller Russian investigation.

"Congress is doing its job in conducting legitimate oversight over a very unique law, FISA. And if mistakes were made, and if individuals did something wrong, then it is our job as the legislative branch of government to conduct oversight over the executive branch if abuses were made."

"What this is not is an indictment on our institutions, or our justice system" Ryan said from the Republican retreat (after the train wreck) in West Virginia.

Not even President Trump believes what Ryan said about the Nunes memo.

Trump has been telling friends and staff, that he believes the memo will discredit the FBI and Robert Mueller's investigation.

Trump may also use the memo as justification to fire deputy Attorney General Rod Rosentein.

The F.B.I. clashed publicly with Trump for the first time last Wednesday, condemning release of a memo that claims the bureau and the Justice Department abused their authority to obtain a warrant to spy on a former Trump aide.

The Republican memo is upsetting Washington while revealing how many republicans are tripping over their own feet.

The “FAKE MEMO” is the second GOP train wreck in one week.

The first was a garbage truck.

The second was a garbage Trump.

It is an Omen!

A chartered train carrying GOP lawmakers to a Republican policy retreat at the Greenbrier (West Virginia) struck a garbage truck on Wednesday.

One lawmaker who was aboard the train, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said the garbage vehicle, like the GOP itself, had been ripped in half.

Cole said he felt “a tremendous jolt” when the accident occurred at about 11:15 a.m. EST, nearly two hours after it left Washington headed to the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.

Cole said that GOP lawmakers who are doctors got off the train to assist, including Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, who was also at last June’s shooting of Republicans at a baseball practice.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., was on the train and was unhurt, aides said.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump had nothing to do with this particular train wreck.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said about 100 Republican lawmakers were on the train to Greenbrier when the crash occurred.

White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., in the Allegheny Mountains has been a vacation spot for the powerful and the privileged since the early 1800s. What began as an inn and scattered summer homes is now a 6,500-acre luxury resort, the Greenbrier. It includes a spa, three golf courses, horseback trails, trout streams, skeet shooting, bowling, opulent shops, a culinary school, a museum, and its own Amtrak station.

State of the Union Impression

As for the State of the Union speech, it was more like a glazed donut than just another Trump train wreck. Trump’s speech was hollow and none too deep with a little grease and sugar but no real substance.

Some claimed that Trump “hit it out of the ballpark” except a) Trump has no balls and b) Trump is hardly “a star at bat.”

Democrats questioned the President's tone during the speech.

"The President had the opportunity to unite the country tonight. But instead he doubled down on his divisive rhetoric and empty promises. I'm deeply disappointed," said U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM).

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) felt the president presented a speech that included "hateful rhetoric."

U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce (R) said that Trump highlighted "consecutive victories" achieved in the last year.

Those victories, Pearce said, include thousands of "Obama-era" regulations repealed and passage of the Tax Cuts. "And it's just the beginning," Pearce said.

U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said she is concerned that Trump's policies will create "instability" and "uncertainty."

"Tonight (Tuesday), President Trump repeatedly touted his accomplishments, but over the past year, the Trump Administration has turned the United States government into chaos," Lujan Grisham said.

True State of Disunion

"Trump to Display Names of Campaign Donors During State of the Union Speech Livestream"

Donald Trump promoted sales of his State of the Union address Tuesday night to boost funding for his 2020 re-election campaign (out of which he was paying lawyers in Russiagate) , claiming to display the names of campaign donors during a live broadcast internet streaming of the speech.

Trump on Monday afternoon sent a text message to supporters with an offer to flash their names across the screen during the “Donald J. Trump for President Live Stream” of the event.

The text linked to an official webpage soliciting donations between $35 and the legal maximum of $2,700. A donation is called “a movement” (a bowel movement?) on the webpage, which said: “It’s not about just one of us. It’s about ALL of us. Which is why your name deserves to be displayed during Tuesday night’s speech.”

Critics were not thrilled with the idea of monetizing the State of the Union event.

“Goodbye America. We had a good run,” tweeted Austan Goolsbee, a former adviser to President Barack Obama.

“Why not sell each paragraph to the highest bidder?” joked Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

Trump praised himself for the economy and revealed his current immigration and infrastructure plans. He talked tough on gangs but got into no specifics. Do not FACT CHECK Trump's speech!

This is not the first time Trump has used such a tawdry fundraising tactic.

Trump also once descended a bankruptcy-addled restaurant for a private fundraising dinner with “major GOP donors.” Trump is 3rd rate bush league when he is at the very top of his game!

In 2016, he displayed the names of donors who gave more than $50 on jumbo screens at the Republican National Convention. Trump promoted the idea as “the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Trump’s State of the Union speech was a HUGE double-flusher with large double and triple skid marks all the way down.

There are no new sanctions on Russia!

Fortunately, the sanitation district was informed well in advance so they had extra equipment and manpower on hand to insure SOMETHING in Washington DC continued working.





The wall?

One thing is clear. Trump has built a wall!