# The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making Part Deux (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 22, 2020, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083 "2020-06-22T03:36:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 199
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3978 "2020-09-25T20:38:22Z")
Qatar appears to be paying Trump for an unused office. Coincidentally, these payments started at the same time Trump decided that Qatar was actually not supporting terrorism. > **[Qatar Is Paying the Trump Organization for What Appears to Be a Fake Office....](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/trump-organization-money-qatar-empty-office.html)** > > And the country started doing this at about the same time the president completely reversed his position on whether Qatar is bad. HUH! ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3979 "2020-09-25T21:03:47Z")
Considering that it was the Republican primary ballots that they were canvassing for “errors”, it is not that unlikely that any errors they found would be for Trump. He did get 92% of the vote. However, people are stupid, and when they hear this, they will think that there is some sort of conspiracy against Trump voters, because people are stupid. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2020, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3980 "2020-09-25T22:56:09Z")
Here’s another piece about those “naked ballots” > **[Barr and Trump Campaign Lied About the "9 Missing Ballots" Story - And Used...](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/9/25/1980735/-BARR-AND-TRUMP-CAMPAIGN-FAKED-THE-9-BALLOT-FRAUD-STORY?utm_campaign=trending)** > > {UPDATE, 8pm/EST: MSNBC’S Chris Hayes reported on this story tonight and the NYT is aware of it as well and was interviewed.} This is just incredible. By now, I’m sure you’ve read the screaming headlines, prompted by the DOJ’s unprecedented public... > [@](#): > > This is just incredible. > > By now, I’m sure you’ve read the screaming headlines, prompted by the DOJ’s unprecedented public memo about “ _9__Ballots Tossed Out! 7 of them were for Trump! Fraud!_ ” etc., causing apoplectic reactions from the right-wing media, Trump supporters and the “We’re following the story” MSM? > > Yeah — **the Trump Campaign SUED TO HAVE THEM TOSSED**. > > > The Trump campaign and the Pennsylvania GOP in a lawsuit argued that “naked ballots” should not be counted. They [won that lawsuit](https://www.vox.com/21452393/naked-ballots-pennsylvania-secrecy-envelope). These nine ballots appear to be “naked ballots,” and that appears to be the reason they were thrown out. > > In other words: The Trump campaign WON their lawsuit to have “naked ballots” NOT be counted and thrown out — “naked”, meaning, ballots that aren’t mailed in a secrecy envelope. The 9 ballots in this story were all naked ballots — and because the Trump campaign won their lawsuit to have them tossed out and uncounted, they simply WERE. > > **They did it THEMSELVES**. > > And here’s where it gets TRULY messed up: > > It’s been reported that Barr “[BRIEFED TRUMP](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/barr-briefed-trump-investigation-discarded-pennsylvania-ballots/story?id=73244344)” about the whole thing and the GOP’s “investigation” into it — _FULLY KNOWING_ that the reason they were tossed was because of THEIR OWN LAWSUIT, wanting naked ballots to be tossed — so it APPEARS as if Barr conned Trump, seeing a political opportunity to create a FAKE “fraud” story, to make him think there was “fraud” against him with his votes being thrown out, so Trump would angry and get all Twitter-frenzied about it — and then — amazingly — released a FAKE “OUTRAGE” memo to the public, **INTENTIONALLY USING THE OFFICE OF THE DOJ TO MAKE THE PUBLIC THINK THERE HAD BEEN “FRAUD” against Trump, when he knew damn well that wasn’t the case and that the campaign had caused it to happen, themselves.** > > And if the FBI is truly investigating this — and Barr isn’t faking that “FBI investigation” as well — then it means that the FBI could likely discover that Barr INTENTIONALLY MADE THE PUBLIC THINK THERE WAS VOTER FRAUD going on, when he knew there wasn’t — which, if I’m not mistaken, is a FELONY — and, lest it be forgotten — [**is SPECIFICALLY what the FBI warned that foreign bad actors would be doing against the 2020 election.**](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/fbi-warns-against-foreign-disinformation-regarding-november-election-results/ar-BB19k1Do?ocid=uxbndlbing) > > Now, I’m no lawyer — but I’m guessing that any future attempt by the Trump campaign or Barr to go to court, citing “fraud” over missing ballots (or at least over “naked” missing ballots) isn’t exactly going to sit well with any judge, given that **a)** they’ve now established a precedent of FAKING “fraud” stories and USING THE OFFICE OF THE DOJ to do it, which, again, I’m pretty sure is illegal — and **b)** because it’s a BIT hard to sue over something you literally sued to make sure happened in the first place. > > But even more importantly — it shows that Barr is not only ACTIVELY HELPING Russia in spreading disinformation about “voter fraud” to the American public — but USING THE OFFICE OF THE DOJ TO DO IT. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3981 "2020-09-26T01:24:43Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > it shows that Barr is not only ACTIVELY HELPING Russia in spreading disinformation about “voter fraud” to the American public — but USING THE OFFICE OF THE DOJ TO DO IT. ^From the Daily Kos story linked to in your post. Serious question: why shouldn’t the House impeach Barr? It’s not as though they’d have to scramble to find counts of impeachment. And it’s also not as though lots of Americans would say ‘what, again?!?!?’ (which is the main reason for refraining from impeaching Donald again, richly though he deserves it). Why not impeach this lawless AG? Why not hold hearings to place before voters all the facts of his malfeasance? ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3982 "2020-09-26T01:29:06Z")
pa is going to have a total saturation psa thing on how your vote by mail ballot needs to be filled out. during the court case it was estimated that 40 thousand to 60 thousand votes could be thrown out due to being “naked”. there is around a dozen states that require the envelope. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3983 "2020-09-26T02:34:17Z")
Of _course_ this happened 🤦🏻‍♂️ > **[Judge removes Trump public lands boss for serving unlawfully](https://apnews.com/article/billings-montana-archive-only-on-ap-472201d09bc69de32fbf3e110c094fa6)** > > BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump's leading steward of public lands has been serving unlawfully, blocking him from continuing in the position in the latest pushback against the administration's practice... ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3984 "2020-09-26T02:34:35Z")
Something doesn’t smell right about that Daily Kos story (based solely on my reading of the quote a few posts above). First, the other MSM reports I’ve seen suggest that some or all of them were indeed in security envelopes, and were removed and then (sloppily) re-inserted into security envelopes. (Or, perhaps, not in those envelopes to begin with but were then put into them? Unclear.) But, bigger qualm: I can’t believe in a ~~million years~~ well, at least not in 30-40 minutes, that any rejected ballots are (or should be) thrown away into a dumpster. Those things are always subject to further review/dispute. I expect that ballots rejected, for any reason, would be segregated and kept in a separate pile/stack/safe/shippingcontainer. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3985 "2020-09-26T02:42:26Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > pa is going to have a total saturation psa thing on how your vote by mail ballot needs to be filled out. Is this something PA has announced they will do (cite?) or just your expectation/assumption of what they now must/will do? It’s certainly what all the states ought to do. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3986 "2020-09-26T03:21:53Z")
I’m careful about citing Daily Kos, too, as it’s a clearly left-leaning blog. But the story of the ballots has been posted on other websites. I see this as an attempt by Barr to assert more federal jurisdiction. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3987 "2020-09-26T03:54:40Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > But the story of the ballots has been posted on other websites. The _Washington Post_ seems to have the most depth (bold and italics theirs). > **[Analysis | What we know about those discarded Trump ballots in Pennsylvania](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/09/25/what-we-know-about-those-discarded-trump-ballots-pennsylvania/)** > > We don’t know all the details, but it seems likely that it isn’t Democrats who are seeking to skew the election. > Because these ballots were returned in envelopes similar to absentee ballot _requests_ , elections officials opened them. If the ballots weren’t then enclosed in another envelope that shielded the actual vote being cast, they may have been considered [“naked ballots,”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/09/22/hanging-chads-meet-naked-ballots/?itid=lk_inline_manual_34) a term used to describe mail ballots returned without the voter’s intent being protected. > > If that’s the case, which again isn’t clear, that meant that elections officials who were opening the envelopes to see what they contained may have _had_ to discard the votes, given a recent ruling by the state’s Supreme Court. > > The Associated Press [reported](https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-voting-pennsylvania-elections-voting-2020-46bf3a1171c6485387d9b9e1c94a5589) on that decision, writing that the court’s extension of the period in which ballots could be returned was a win for Democrats. > > “In wins for Republicans,” the report continued, the court “rejected requests to let voters who aren’t disabled give their mail-in ballot to someone else to deliver; to require counties to let voters fix disqualifying problems with their mail-in ballots, such as not signing their return envelope; **and to require counties to count mailed-in ballots that arrive without a secrecy envelope.”** The Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected the requirement to count naked ballots. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3988 "2020-09-26T15:42:26Z")
> **[Democrats in Pa. scramble to limit number of 'naked ballots'](https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-pennsylvania-joe-biden-voting-2020-voting-c7ef583c7b7981513830cae8fc1f0174)** > > HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democrats are launching a digital ad targeting Pennsylvanians voting by mail to explain how to correctly fill out and return the ballots, hoping to avert worried predictions that 100,000 votes or more could be invalidated... There will be a big push as the ballots are mailed. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3989 "2020-09-26T15:59:42Z")
Next we can expect the Republican lawsuit to shut down the public information campaign. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3990 "2020-09-26T16:20:20Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > pa is going to have a total saturation psa thing Pennsylvania Public Address system is called what, again? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3991 "2020-09-26T18:20:01Z")
HHS [is about to embark on](https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/25/trump-hhs-ads-coronavirus-421957) an ad campaign to “defeat despair over COVID-19”, featuring celebrities like Dennis Quaid and CeCe Williams, and they are also trying to get Mehmet fucking Oz and Garth Brooks. The budget for this effort to make people feel better about the trainwreck will be $300M, overseen by department spokespiece Michael Caputo. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3992 "2020-09-26T18:22:04Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > The budget for this effort to make people feel better about the trainwreck will be $300M, overseen by department spokespiece Michael Caputo. - How much goes to the effort and how much goes to the spokesthing? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3993 "2020-09-26T18:26:42Z")
From the linked story, > [@](#): > > “The Democrats — and, by the way, their conjugal media and the leftist scientists that are working for the government — are dead set against it,” Caputo told his Facebook followers in the Sept. 13 video. “They cannot afford for us to have any good news before November because they’re already losing. … They’re going to come after me because I’m going to be putting $250 million worth of ads on the air.” So, only fifty million. A pittance. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3994 "2020-09-26T18:56:38Z")
I thought Caputo was on sabbatical in some Home for the Bewildered. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3995 "2020-09-26T19:10:25Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I thought Caputo was on sabbatical in some Home for the Bewildered. - Is that what they’re calling the White House? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3996 "2020-09-26T19:12:33Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > How could we forget the Bald Eagle that [attacked Trump](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7_OWYrLVOU) back in 2015? > > Do you suppose it was trying to tell us something? To be fair, I don’t think the eagle was attacking Trump. I think it was attacking the thing on top of his head, which is easily mistaken for a small prey animal, possibly an orange marmoset: [![](https://cdn.britannica.com/01/143601-050-BD9DC0C3/Golden-lion-tamarin.jpg) ](https://cdn.britannica.com/01/143601-050-BD9DC0C3/Golden-lion-tamarin.jpg) > [@eschereal](#): > > HHS [is about to embark on](https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/25/trump-hhs-ads-coronavirus-421957) an ad campaign to “defeat despair over COVID-19”, featuring celebrities like Dennis Quaid and CeCe Williams, and they are also trying to get Mehmet fucking Oz and Garth Brooks. > > The budget for this effort to make people feel better about the trainwreck will be $300M, overseen by department spokespiece Michael Caputo. Isn’t Michael Caputo the guy on _The Godfather_ who was played by Al Pacino? Anyway, I admire the spirit of this. It’s how Free-dum in Republican America is supposed to work. If you totally fuck something up and instead of fixing a problem, you bungle it so badly that you make it far worse [and become the object of pity and ridicule in the rest of the world](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwkvTBgTO7A), the solution is to spend $300 million on ads lying about it. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083/3997 "2020-09-26T19:17:13Z")
But this isn’t good news. This is consolation for continuing bad news. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=198) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making-part-deux-part-1/911083.md?page=200)