By George!

History 7 Minutes

I went looking for some interesting facts about our first President on what I thought was his birthday.  According to this article in MENTAL FLOSS, I got it wrong.  Read on for more interesting facts about George Washington.

By Arthur Holland Michel | Feb 22, 2019

You know that George Washington was the first president of the United States. Is that where your knowledge of this fascinating guy’s life and history ends? Here are 25 George Washington facts that may be new to you.

George Washington didn’t have a middle name.

With a name like George Washington, you don’t really need one.

George Washington’s birthday was not February 22, 1732.

Washington was actually born on February 11, 1731, but when the colonies switched to the Gregorian calendar from the Julian calendar, his birthday was moved 11 days. Since his birthday fell before the old date for New Year’s Day, but after the new date for New Year’s Day, his birth year was changed to 1732.

George Washington’s hair was all real.

It looks white because he powdered it.

George Washington was made an honorary citizen of France.

The quintessential American received this honor in 1792.

For a time, George Washington was a non-president commander-in-chief (but he didn’t do much).

In 1798, when fears were growing of a French invasion, Washington was named (by John Adams) commander-in-chief of the U.S. military, even though he wasn’t president anymore. Apparently, this was a strategy to help recruiting, as Washington’s name was very well-known. He only served in an advisory capacity, since he was pretty old by that point. But he felt he should have been a bit more involved. According to this letter, he was frustrated that even though he was the commander-in-chief, nobody really told him much about what was going on with the military.

No one will ever rank higher than him in the U.S. military.

In 1976 Washington was posthumously awarded the highest rank in the U.S. military—ever.

According to Air Force Magazine:

When Washington died, he was a lieutenant general. But as the centuries passed, this three-star rank did not seem commensurate with what he had accomplished. After all, Washington did more than defeat the British in battle. Along the way he established the framework for how American soldiers should organize themselves, how they should behave, and how they should relate to civilian leaders. Almost every big decision he made set a precedent. He was the father of the U.S. military as well as the U.S. itself.

So, a law was passed to make Washington the highest-ranking U.S. officer of all time: General of the Armies of the United States. Nobody will ever outrank him.

George Washington made a pretty hefty salary …

According to the Christian Science Monitor, in 1789, Washington’s presidential salary was 2 percent of the total U.S. budget.

… but he still had cash-flow problems.

Washington actually had to borrow money to attend his own first inauguration.

He was one of the sickliest presidents in history.

Throughout his life, Washington suffered from a laundry list of ailments: diphtheria, tuberculosis, smallpox, dysentery, malaria, quinsy (tonsillitis), carbuncle, pneumonia, and epiglottitis—to name a few.

He may or may not have died as a result of medical malpractice.

On the day he died—December 14, 1799—Washington was treated with four rounds of bloodletting, which removed 5 pints of blood from his body. It seems that it proved to be too much. In 1999, The New York Times wrote:

“On Washington’s fateful day, Albin Rawlins, one of his overseers and a bloodletter, was summoned. Washington bared his arm. The overseer had brought his lancet and made an incision. Washington said, ”Don’t be afraid.” That day, Rawlins drew 12 ounces of blood, then 18 ounces, another 18 ounces and a final 32 ounces into a porcelain bleeding bowl. After the fourth bloodletting, the patient improved slightly and was able to swallow. By about 10 p.m., his condition deteriorated, but he was still rational enough to whisper burial instructions to Col. Tobias Lear, his secretary. At 10:20 p.m., Dr. James Craik, 69, an Edinburgh-trained physician who had served with Washington in the French and Indian Wars, closed Washington’s eyes. Another Edinburgh-trained physician, Dr. Gustavus Richard Brown, 52, was also present. The third physician, Dr. Elisha Cullen Dick, 37, who had been appointed coroner the previous year, stopped the clock in Washington’s bedroom at that moment.”

George Washington might have been infertile.

Washington had no children of his own. In 2007, John K. Amory of the University of Washington School of Medicine proposed that Washington was infertile. Armory goes through a number of possible reasons for Washington’s infertility, including an infection caused by his tuberculosis:

“Classic studies of soldiers with tuberculous pleurisy during World War II demonstrated that two-thirds developed chronic organ tuberculosis within five years of their initial infection. Infection of the epididymis or testes is seen in 20 percent of these individuals and frequently results in infertility.”

Washington’s body was almost buried in the Capitol.

Washington requested that he be buried at Mount Vernon, and his family upheld his request, despite repeated pleas by Congress. They wanted to put his body underneath a marble statue in the Capitol.

He was not very religious.

As Edward Lengel, writer of the George Washington biography Inventing George Washington, told NPR in 2011, “He was a very moral man. He was a very virtuous man, and he watched carefully everything he did. But he certainly doesn’t fit into our conception of a Christian evangelical or somebody who read his Bible every day and lived by a particular Christian theology. We can say he was not an atheist on the one hand, but on the other hand, he was not a devout Christian.”

But what about the story of him kneeling in the snow at Valley Forge to pray? According to Lengel, “That’s a story that was made up by [early Washington biographer] Parson Weems.”

While he would attend church, Washington wouldn’t take communion. According to biographer Barry Schwartz, Washington’s “practice of Christianity was limited and superficial, because he was not himself a Christian. In the enlightened tradition of his day, he was a devout Deist—just as many of the clergymen who knew him suspected.”

He never chopped down that cherry tree.

Parson Weems, who wrote a myth-filled biography of Washington shortly after he died, made up the cherry tree story. The Mount Vernon Digital Encyclopedia identifies that book, The Life of Washington, as ” the point of origin for many long-held myths about Washington.”

He was an inveterate letter-writer.

We don’t have an exact number, but the best estimates seem to put the number of letters he penned somewhere between 18,000 and 20,000. If you wrote one letter a day, it would take you between 50 and 55 years to write that many.

Before becoming the father of the nation, he was a master surveyor.

Washington spent the early part of his career as a professional surveyor. One of the earliest maps he created was of his half-brother Lawrence Washington’s turnip garden. Over the course of his life, Washington created some 199 land surveys. Washington took this skill with him into his role as a military leader.

Before fighting the British, he fought for the British.

At the age of 21, Washington was sent to lead a British colonial force against the French in Ohio. He lost, and this helped spark the Seven Years War in North America.

He was a dog lover.

Washington kept and bred many hunting hounds. He is known as the “Father of the American Foxhound,” and kept more than 30 of the dogs. According to his journals, three of the hounds’ names were Drunkard, Tipler, and Tipsy.

He lost more battles than he won.

According to Joseph J. Ellis’s His Excellency: George Washington, our first president “lost more battles than any victorious general in modern history.”

He was lucky, but his coat wasn’t.

In the Braddock disaster of 1755, Washington’s troops were caught in the crossfire between British and Native American soldiers. Two horses were shot from under Washington, and his coat was pierced by four musket balls, none of which hit his actual body.

He didn’t have wooden teeth.

He did, however, have teeth problems. When he attended his first inauguration, he only had one tooth left in his head. Throughout the rest of his life, he had different sets of dentures. They were made of a variety of materials, including ivory, brass, horse teeth, and, yes, even human teeth, possibly from slaves.

George Washington is the only president to actually go into battle while serving as president.

But only if you don’t count Bill Pullman in Independence Day. According to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, “On September 19, 1794, George Washington became the only sitting U.S. president to personally lead troops in the field when he led the militia on a nearly month-long march west over the Allegheny Mountains to the town of Bedford.”

He fell in love with his best friend’s wife.

According to Joseph Ellis’s His Excellency, several letters show that before he married Martha, Washington was in love with Sally Fairfax, who was the wife of George William Fairfax.

In 1758, Washington wrote to Sally his famous “Votary to Love” letter:

“‘Tis true I profess myself a votary to Love. I acknowledge that a Lady is in the case; and, further, I confess that this lady is known to you. Yes, Madam, as well as she is to one who is too sensible of her Charms to deny the Power whose influence he feels and must ever submit to … You have drawn me, my dear Madam, or rather I have drawn myself, into an honest confession of a Simple Fact. Misconstrue not my meaning, ’tis obvious; doubt it not or expose it. The world has no business to know the object of my love, declared in this manner to you, when I want to conceal it. One thing above all things, in this World I wish to know, and only one person of your acquaintance can solve me that or guess my meaning—but adieu to this till happier times, if ever I shall see them.”

George Washington was widely criticized in the press in the later years of his presidency.

He was accused of having an overly monarchical style and was criticized for his declaration of neutrality in overseas conflicts. Thomas Jefferson was among the most critical of Washington in the press, and John Adams recalled that after the Jay Treaty, the presidential mansion “was surrounded by innumerable multitudes, from day-to-day buzzing, demanding war against England, cursing Washington.”

He owned a whiskey distillery.

He installed it at Mount Vernon in 1798 and it was profitable. According to Julian Niemcewicz, a Polish visitor to the estate, it distilled 12,000 gallons a year. In 1799, Washington wrote to his nephew: “Two hundred gallons of Whiskey will be ready this day for your call, and the sooner it is taken the better, as the demand for this article (in these parts) is brisk.”

SOURCE: MENTAL FLOSS

By Arthur Holland Michel | Feb 22, 2019

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Published by pat frederick

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150 thoughts on “By George!”

  1. Morning All!

    got a late start this morning. had to clean out the ashes from the wood stove, start the laundry and i woke up late. we’ve got freezing rain currently. the temp is sitting at 30*. i stepped out on the deck and nearly slid halfway across! sigh…where are Filly’s warmer temps???

    Liked by 1 person

    1. They’re still here for a bit, altho some snow is in the forecast, with a drop in temp. But they’re predicting up to almost 70 next week….before more possible snow. It will be up and down like this for some time.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Good morning, Pat! I posted a bunch of really good memes last evening at M’s – check ’em out if you have time. Temp this morning is at 38 – we’ve actually got some possible light snow headed our way but it won’t last long. Temps are supposed to go right back up – almost 70 next week! But also more possible snow after that.

    Interesting, altho incorrect in some cases. It was Washington who insisted on the blood-letting – he was 100% convinced that would be the cure. As for no-one outranking him…..

    “In 1976, as part of the American Bicentennial celebrations, a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress stated that “it is considered fitting and proper that no officer of the United States Army should outrank Lieutenant General George Washington.” Hence, it was resolved that “the grade of General of the Armies of the United States (be) established” and George Washington be posthumously appointed to this grade.[9] President Ulysses S. Grant, who served as a general in the American Civil War prior to his presidency, was also posthumously promoted to this rank on 23 December 2022, the bicentenary of his birth.”

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I posted this at M’s yesterday:

        Just got back from a haircut and a trip to Norfolk for a few staples; got my gas meter changed earlier – the guy who did it repaired my furnace years ago. Only then did I discover that, buried in the fine print, was an exclusion for replacement parts for my furnace under my service plan, meaning I would have to pay out of pocket. He was nice enough to go to a little extra effort and found a re-built part in Norfolk; he went and picked it up and it didn’t cost me a dime extra. Super nice guy! We’ve got a lot of them around here, which is one reason I wouldn’t ever want to move….unless I win PCH! In that case, all bets are off! LOL

        Ran into our local gossip at WM; he was already headed out the door but came back just to tell me that my old boss at SM, Jamie, got fired – she was stealing from the store, messing with people’s payroll and actually illegally used the fricking MAYOR’s debit card!!! When I saw her a couple of months ago, I was astonished at how much weight she had lost. Now I’m thinking she has gotten started down the meth rabbit-hole. It is a BIG issue around here. That really makes me sad….she’s had a hard row-to-hoe for some time now, with 3 kids and a wackjob boyfriend who threatened every other week to commit suicide. I guess it all finally took it’s toll on her! SMDH

        Liked by 1 person

          1. I’m really sad about Jamie – I really liked her and she is all about the Constitution and a Trump fan! She does have family here – her Dad & Mom, sister who have helped her out when they can – I did hear some time ago, tho, that her sister’s marriage had broken up. They both have 3-4 kids! With this happening, I’m afraid she is going to bottom out fast! I sure hope someone will help her….

            Liked by 1 person

              1. That just crossed my mind…I’ll have to think about this….when I intervened successfully before, we had the pharma Rx connection since it was the same doctor who got HB addicted. And her situation came about due to a bad accident – she had a stable, happy family with both of them having good jobs before that with 2 kids. Big difference from Jamie!

                One of the first things Jamie ever told me when I first met her back in 2015 (after talking about my daughter) was that her fiance had tried to hang himself – same guy she has been with all along, while also screwing guys in the back room at the store! I’ll be blunt – her entire family is one of those backwoods, shady types every state has here and there – a real-life “wrong side of the tracks” kind. No “class” whatsoever!

                IDT any of them have ever been on the up-and-up for any length of time. So I just don’t see what I can do this time….I truly believe at some level, it is genetic….maybe just because of repetition….IDK

                Liked by 1 person

      1. I’m thinking it was either some kind of accident or a doctored picture maybe? I can’t see why someone would set that up just for a picture! LOL

        Liked by 1 person

  22. Supposedly late yesterday, many AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile phones lost the ability to connect, wide outage across the country. I checked and my AT&T phone was fine so it wasn’t universal everywhere.

    Liked by 1 person

          1. I remember….when you have a partner, that’s ok but a person by themselves? I wouldn’t want to do it alone….I like isolation to a certain extent but I want my little comforts, too! LOL

            Liked by 1 person

  23. found this comment in a reply to ultra maggot’s indigenous people/canceling oil/gas leases…thought it was good

    If you were to open a factory making windmills for power and used only windmill-power to make them, you could not make them.

    Liked by 1 person

  24. “Cellular outage reports increase at AT&T, Verizon and others as some 911 services affected—People in need of emergency services in San Francisco are being instructed to use a landline if their cell phones do not work.” 

    By Madeleine Hubbard, Just The News

    Published: February 22, 2024 7:22am

    Updated: February 22, 2024 10:00

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “More U.S. cell phone users are reporting service outages Thursday at major networks, including AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, and the outage is impacting some 911 networks.  

    Most of the problems are being reported at AT&T, per Downdetector, a website that tracks network outages. Around 7 a.m. ET, about 48,000 AT&T consumers reported that their network was out. Three hours later, that number increased to more than 71,000 outage reports.

    Additionally, more than 12,000 Cricket Wireless consumers are reporting outages, as well as more than 3,500 Verizon users and nearly 1,900 T-Mobile users. 

    The San Francisco Fire Department posted on X, formerly Twitter that it is “aware of an issue impacting AT&T wireless customers from making and receiving any phone calls (including to 911).” People in need of emergency services are being instructed to use a landline if their cell phones do not work. 

    The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, which serves 1.3 million Michigan residents in the Detroit metropolitan area, released a similar statement advising people in need of emergency assistance to “continue attempting to contact their local 911 center if they receive no signal or service on the first try.”

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Troublemaker10
    February 22, 2024 10:49 am

    Are they looking for her sources?

    —

    CBS faces uproar after seizing investigative journalist’s files

    Excerpt:

    Many of us were shocked after Herridge was included in layoffs this month, but those concerns have increased after CBS officials took the unusual step of seizing her files, computers and records, including information on privileged sources.

    The position of CBS has alarmed many, including the union, as an attack on free press principles by one of the nation’s most esteemed press organizations.

    I have spoken confidentially with current and former CBS employees who have stated that they could not recall the company ever taking such a step before.

    https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4481433-cbs-faces-uproar-after-seizing-investigative-journalists-files/

    Liked by 1 person

  26. i dunno…i’m not buying the wizard suddenly fixing this…

    FTA

    Drastic budget cuts across several city agencies are now canceled. 

    Mayor Eric Adams said new savings on the cost of sheltering migrants will allow him to restore planned budget cuts and lift a hiring freeze. 

    He’s now the budget magician of City Hall. With an apparent wave of a magic wand, Adams has made the budget gloom and doom of three months ago disappear. All it took was higher-than-expected tax receipts, and a determination to cut the cost of migrant services

    “I would love to say that it was magic, but it really was about discipline,” First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright said. 

    Part of that discipline includes cutting the cost of migrant services. Adams announced another 10% cut in the asylum seeker budget. That’s an additional $600 million, on top of a previous $1.7 billion in savings. 

    https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nyc-slashing-spending-on-asylum-seeker-services-by-another-10-mayor-adams-says/

    Liked by 1 person

  27. From Fox: The coach of the team whose players were injured by the trans basketball player chose to forfeit the game and end it at half-time. Oh, man – talk about a fucking cop-out by the school!!! Then again, it is the law in that state….realistically, the school has no choice.

    Charter School: “The Charter School supports this decision and reiterates its values of both inclusivity and safety for all students.”

    And their comment about negative public comments about the situation:

    “We work to create joyful and identity-affirming schools… We also support state laws and regulations, which provide students with the right to participate in all extracurricular activities and sports based on their gender identify or expression.”

    Liked by 1 person

  31. “Biden gives away Commander after dog drew blood with attacks on Secret Service at White House, vacation home: documents”
    By Social Links for Steven Nelson
    Published Feb. 21, 2024, 7:11 p.m. ET

    EXCERPT: “WASHINGTON — President Biden has given first dog Commander to relatives, the White House said Wednesday following revelations of more brutal attacks on Secret Service employees — including a case in which White House tours were suspended to mop up blood from the floor of the East Wing and another attack in which an agent suffered a “severe deep open wound” at Biden’s Delaware vacation home.

    Commander’s propensity for biting Secret Service members was first revealed by The Post in July 2023, with internal documents showing at least seven agents were injured — but the president didn’t immediately part with the German shepherd after reportedly claiming that an agent lied about an attack by his prior dog, Major, who also was re-homed after also terrorizing protective agency staff and others.

    On July 29, just five days after The Post’s exclusive report on the first dog evoked allegations that the president was creating an unsafe workspace, Commander brutalized an agent at Biden’s Rehoboth Beach getaway, according to new records acquired by journalist John Greenewald through a Freedom of Information Act request.

    “[The agent] heard the voice of what [he/she] believes to be FLOTUS Dr. Jill Biden yelling ‘[redacted quote].’ Commander ran towards the direction of post [redacted] booth and bit [the agent] in the left forearm, [c]ausing a severe deep open wound,” an incident report said. “As [a] result of the attack [the agent] started to loose [sic] a significant amount of blood from [redacted pronoun] arm. [The agent] remained calm and walked away from the area looking for help. … [The agent] received six (6) stitches in the left hand forearm and antibiotics for the wound.”

    Although documents say the agent served out their shift after receiving stitches on site, an email from July 29 said they were “enroute [sic] to the hospital at this time.”

    In another newly revealed attack, on June 15, 2023, Commander bit an agent “inside of the Kennedy Garden” adjacent to the East Wing, where the first lady’s office is located, as they were walking to the driveway to help move parked trucks. “Video of the incident shows [the agent] enter the Kennedy Garden while Commander, who was off the leash and on the opposite side of the garden at the time, run at a high rate of speed towards [the agent and] jump towards [the agent] and take [them] to the ground,” a report says….:

    Many pictures: https://nypost.com/2024/02/21/us-news/biden-dog-commander-drew-blood-with-attacks-on-secret-service-at-white-house-vacation-home-documents/

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Probably but only because THEY ruined him!!! He could be re-trained but it would be a very long and difficult process and he would never be completely trustworthy. It’s a shame and should be a crime to abuse a good dog that way!!!

        Liked by 1 person

  37. sync

    February 22, 2024 12:52 pm

    @TonySeruga Greenlawn Capital Management

    They still have no idea what they’ve done. What is that sucking sound? I do not want to cause any additional anxiety for my partners but our family office is working on pulling $2B out of NYC as cleanly as possible. A number of pension funds that have already abandoned ESG are now divesting from NY real estate.

    I know many reading this think they are experts in everything. You’re not. Those of us who actually attended law school and have been doing commercial real estate for over 40 years, you’ve been lied to. You do not have the facts. You do not know what you are talking about. We employ two of the largest law firms in the country and they’ve been in meetings 16 hours a day in order to determine just how bad this all really is.

    Every one of these companies, representing trillions of dollars in real estate, is carefully evaluating whether to stay or exit.

    Chetrit Group
    Vorea Group
    Turnbridge Equities
    Extell Development
    Bldg Management Company
    Vornado Realty Trust
    L+m Development Partners
    United Construction And Development Group
    Beb Capital, Totem
    Howard Hughes Corporation
    Starrett Corporation
    Rfr Realty
    Jay Group
    Property Markets Group
    Rabsky Group
    Two Trees Management
    Heartfelt Townhouse Builders
    Lonicera Partners
    Taconic Partners
    Beitel Group

    Whether Trump wins on appeal or at SCOTUS, the precedent has been set. A wall has been broken and there are no take backs. Any company can now be targeted and have their assets seized at the whim of an over zealous AG or politicians. I don’t expect you to know or understand standard CRE practices, but every company below could be found guilty of the exact same actions the Trump Organization was accused of and found guilty, because it is NOT a crime.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That could be….if so, I’ll get something from Strange Sounds about it in the daily newletter, I expect. He covers a lot of solar and space stuff.

      Liked by 1 person

  42. Huh….well….sometimes SS/Manuel does single subject posts…like this….bear in mind, he is NOT American and I often don’t agree with him. I’m not feeling this kind of alarm yet, personally, but what do I know?!?

    “Event 1; Event 2; Event 3; and BOOM! Connect the dots…”

    STRANGE SOUNDS

    FEB 22, 2024

    Event 1: Senators issued satellite phones…

    Event 2: FBI director warns of widespread cyber attacks…

    Event 3: Multiple network providers down…

    So it begins. Also peep how AT & T is the main network for first responders/ emergency services. This is a threat! Food, water, IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit), guns, and ammo if you don’t have them, get them.

    Thank you and have a great Thursday,

    Manuel

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I never look…but the things I buy for the most part are the same things I’ve been buying for 10+ years, before it became a serious issue. And at this point, with all the crap I’ve put in my body thru the years, I’m not going to start stressing about it now! LOL

        Liked by 1 person

  46. “Cool wall.  That should go on our southern border.  (It’s the new border wall Egypt put up.)  And I still want a minefield and lasers too.”

    Liked by 1 person

  48. “Just the News sues Fani Willis office to force release of communications with Biden White House—On Thursday, the foundation representing Just the News filed the complaint after the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office claimed there were no records of White House communications or meetings.”
    By Steven Richards
    Published: February 22, 2024 3:11pm
    Updated: February 22, 2024 3:20pm

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “The legal foundation representing Just the News filed a complaint in Fulton County, Georgia, Wednesday requesting the court compel the county’s District Attorney’s Office to comply with an open records request to obtain communications that DA Fani Willis or her office had with the Biden White House. Just the News is being represented by the America First Legal Foundation in the case.

    “AFL is pleased to represent Just the News in this critically important case. Georgia law recognizes that ‘open government is essential to a free, open, and democratic society.’ It encourages public access to government records so citizens may evaluate the efficient and proper functioning of its institutions. Here, there is substantial evidence that the Fulton County District Attorney’s office has ceased to function properly; the requested records must be produced.“ said Reed D. Rubinstein, America First Legal Senior Vice President.

    “Determining whether this local district attorney had any contact with the Biden White House in the Trump prosecution is a matter of public interest regardless of your political stripe. Prosecutions should be free of political influence. I want to thank America First Legal for representing us in this very important quest for the truth,” said John Solomon, CEO and Editor in Chief of Just the News.

    In January, Just the News submitted a request to DA Willis’ office after reports emerged that the special prosecutor she had appointed to handle the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump had met with Biden White House officials. Just the News requested records of any meetings and any communications between Willis or her special prosecutor and White House and Justice Department officials.

    On January 25, 2024, in a hearing before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, the DA’s office told the court that it had communicated with the White House in two written letters about “logistics and procedures.” On February 12, however, the DA’s office responded, claiming that there were no records responsive to the request despite acknowledging the aforementioned letters before the court.

    Willis has come under scrutiny for her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor which she appointed to handle the election interference case against the former president. One codefendant in the case filed a motion for Willis to be disqualified because of the alleged improper romantic and financial relationship: Wade was paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees and he subsequently paid for himself and Willis to go on vacations, according to the motion.

    Yet, little attention has been paid to the communications between Biden’s White House staff and the DA’s office, which would not mark the first time that the White House has been involved in one of the cases against Trump.

    In the summer of 2022, the Biden White House also facilitated the criminal probe by the Justice Department into his predecessor by waiving executive privilege claims and directly requesting the National Archives to provide the FBI access to documents delivered by Trump to the agency, which bolstered the classified documents case being pursued by DOJ special counsel Jack Smith. Smith’s aide also visited the Biden White House weeks before announcing an indictment against Trump in the case.”

    Liked by 1 person

  50. interesting…

    TheseTruths

    TheseTruths(@thesetruths)

    Offline

    Wolf

    February 22, 2024 15:13

    Exclusive: One-on-One with Kash Patel on the Missing Trump Binder – Where Did it Go? Who Has It? – Plus the Latest on the Russiagate Investigation, Gina Haspel, Biden’s Classified Documents, and More with TGP’s Jim HoftThis is the part about the binder, emphasis mine:

    The mysterious Trump binder:

    Kash Patel:  [Lawyer Pat] Cipollone and Barr and Rosenstein and others blocked the release of this binder, yelling the same falsehoods about national security and sources are going to die. Did Christopher Steele ever die? No. Did Rosenstein and Haspell and Barr and Comey and McCabe, were they ever harmed in any way? No, because there’s a smart way to release this information, which we did, and we showed them how to do it. And they were terrified that if we release the rest, you guys are going to see a lot of the underlying information that you’ve been (TGP) reporting on so brilliantly. You’re going to be like, oh, my God, this is worse than we thought!

    Jim Hoft:  With this binder, this was a lot of the documents that you dug up, you and Devon Nunes and you had collected over the years. And who put this binder together then?

    Kash Patel:  I think it was a collaboration. I know then chief of staff Mark Meadows with people who just kind of knew what we should be looking for… And it’s the presidential prerogative to say, hey, if these documents are classified just to cover up corruption, let’s get them out there. And that’s what we felt. It’s just surprising to me that these deep state actors who swear they play by the law, had a Commander-in-Chief declassify these documents. And this DOJ under Joe Biden is the one withholding the release of that binder…

    …Look, it’s not a mystery, in my opinion, where that binder is. It’s been publicly reported that NARA, the librarians that launched the bogus Trump classified document case, and protected Hillary Clinton, they said that the binder was handed over to DOJ. Where is it? Why hasn’t it been released? Oh, we have to review for it for personal identifiable information. Okay, so redact people’s private names. Great. No problem. Take out their addresses and phone number. Great. I’m all for that.

    Jim Hoft:  Didn’t President Trump, too? We posted a document a couple of days ago that shows before he left office he signed to release the binder. He actually mentions the binder in his statement. And he mentions the binder several times, and he says, redact what you need. But he wanted it released. That’s an order from the president, isn’t it? I mean… He’s telling them to do this, and they never did it.

    Kash Patel: Pat Cipollone. Go ask him. He was White House Counsel. He didn’t do it. Him and Gina prevented the release of the ICA Report – prevented the release of this binder. And it’s my understanding of the law. Maybe I’m wrong, but the president is the ultimate arbiter of classification. If he says something’s declassified, that’s it. There’s no paperwork that has to follow in order to make it valid. He said it. That’s how it works…

    …The order was issued and the chain of command wasn’t followed. And that’s why guys like Cipollone and others, I think, are so damaging to the institutions. They covered up for these deep state operatives, because yet again, they wanted to protect the institutions. Look, Bill Barr had every opportunity as the Attorney General to put this information out there, every single one… He was told where it was and what it was and he sat around and didn’t release the information … he never released it. So he’s at fault, too, because he wanted to protect the institution of DOJ and its grandiosity. But in reality, guys like him are the ones that are destroying America’s faith in those very institutions.

    Jim Hoft: I want to reiterate one thing that you said, this binder is really documents that Kash Patel and some others put together . And that was so it was all in one place, I suppose. So that all this information is there and that’s the binder that Trump is talking about. But it’s really, I can say this, this is the Kash Patel binder.

    Kash Patel:…I personally don’t think that Donald Trump ever took it because per NARA that’s been reported publicly. It went to DOJ. So how could he have taken it if DOJ has had it for these three years and if DOJ has had it and that FBI used it as a justification to raid Mar-a-Lago. It was a false justification when they could have just called their boss, the attorney general, and said, hey, here’s the binder, it’s with us in Washington, DC.

    Some possible scenarios:
    • As some people believe, Trump has the binder, the DOJ knows he has it, and they were looking for it at Mar-a-Lago but of course wouldn’t admit it.
    • As Kash says, Trump does not have the binder. If the DOJ has it, then it couldn’t have been the reason for the raid on Mar-a-Lago.
    • Trump has the binder and Kash doesn’t know it. If Trump has it, I imagine very few people would know that.
    • Trump has the binder, Kash knows it or strongly suspects it, and he is being “coy” to set the enemy on the wrong path.
    • Trump really does not have the binder and believes the DOJ has it. If Trump doesn’t have it, how can he use it or get it strategically released?
    • The DOJ has the binder and Trump also has a copy, and it’s a cat-and-mouse game. The legal prosecutions are about keeping Trump out of office and also to keep him from releasing the information in the binder. But couldn’t he release it anyway, even from jail?

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