It was a weekend of funerals and Trump-bashing, simultaneously. Of course, everything now is about Trump, and hating, and hating Trump, and almost no one is acting like an adult these days. I don’t know what Aretha Franklin’s personal politics were, or even if she was very active politically at all, but she deserved better than to have her funeral hijacked by politics. Does every occasion have to be about that? Every bit of sentiment at that event should have been focused on Aretha and the glorious voice she shared with the world.
As for John McCain’s funeral, it’s true that neither Trump nor Sarah Palin got an “invite” to John McCain’s funeral. (By the way, when did people start issuing/withholding invitations to funerals? What would Miss Manner say about this? It sure isn’t a Southern thing. In the South, everybody comes, everybody goes to the house afterwards, and everybody brings food. But I digress.) On the other hand, Trump surely wouldn’t have wanted to be there, anyway. I imagine that, to Trump, a sit-down with Robert Mueller might have been preferable. So the best thing to do was to follow the advice of fictional news anchor Ron Burgundy and stay classy.
Perhaps these two men were so estranged because they were too much alike in their brashness. Neither has been known for his diplomatic reserve or lack of narcissism. Trump said an awful thing when he bluntly dismissed McCain’s heroism following his capture in Vietnam, and it might have been asking too much of McCain for him ever to forgive Trump for such a remark. On the other hand, McCain did some things that significantly affected Trump and his administration, things so damaging that it’s hard to imagine Trump ever forgiving him. (And note the interesting contrast: we’re talking about what Trump SAID vs. what McCain actually DID.) In retrospect, one of the things McCain did to Trump is particularly significant right now.
McCain passed along the unverified Steele dossier to then-FBI Director James Comey.
Now, keep in mind that the dossier was making the rounds to a number of people who might have been highly motivated to get it to the FBI, so Comey surely would have seen it regardless of McCain’s decision to give it to him. But Trump knows he did it –- McCain wrote candidly about receiving it and passing it to Comey in his recent book, THE RESTLESS WAVE, which came out in May.
John Haltiwanger at BUSINESS INSIDER offered some commentary at the time the book was released, and it’s enlightening now to take another look at that. What happened to McCain is by now a familiar scenario: as with some of Trump’s campaign associates, he was approached by a person who wanted to tell him something about what the Russians were up to.
It happened in November of 2016, shortly after Trump had won the Presidential election. McCain was in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for an annual national security conference when Sir Andrew Wood, a retired British diplomat, approached him. (McCain thought he might previously have met Wood in passing but wasn’t sure, and he did not recall conversing with him before this.) McCain accompanied Wood to a room off the main conference hall, where they were joined by two other men, David Kramer, a former assistant secretary of state with Russian expertise, and Chris Brose, a staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. For the first few minutes, they talked about Russian election interference, according to McCain.
Then Wood revealed to McCain the reason he’d wanted to talk. “He told me he knew of a former MI6 agent named Christopher Steele,” McCain wrote in the book, “who had been commissioned to investigate connections between the Trump campaign and Russian agents as well as potentially compromising information about the President-elect that Putin allegedly possessed.”
Let’s pause for a moment. It’s been confirmed that Christopher Steele was a passionate anti-Trumper who was “commissioned” by a political oppo research company being paid by Hillary’s campaign and the DNC to get whatever gossip and trash he could pick up. That’s the reality. Now, let’s continue with McCain’s story.
Wood said the information in the Steele dossier was unverified but that Steele “strongly believed” it “merited a thorough examination by counterintelligence experts.”
Let’s pause again. We now know that Steele himself wasn’t at all confident in the truth of the dossier. So if what McCain wrote about Wood is true, Wood was really overselling what was in it. Or perhaps Steele had oversold it to Wood.
But McCain sensed this dossier might be extremely important. “Our impromptu meeting felt charged with a strange intensity,” he wrote. “No one wise-cracked to lighten the mood. We spoke in lowered voices. The room was dimly lit, and the atmosphere was eerie.” (In another reference to fictional news anchors, this sounds like the scene in NETWORK in which Howard Beale is confronted by conglomerate chairman Arthur Jensen in the dimly lit, eerie boardroom and comes away saying, “I have seen the face of God.”) But all this drama was over a piece of oppo research garbage. McCain wrote that the scenario seemed “too strange” to be believed but that he felt “even a remote risk that the President of the United States might be vulnerable to Russian extortion had to be investigated.”
Long story short: Kramer met with Steele, reported back, told McCain he thought Steele was reputable. McCain agreed to receive copy of dossier even though he had no idea if anything in it was true. McCain locked it in his safe, called Comey, requested a meeting. On December 19, 2016, he met with Comey for about 10 minutes and gave him the dossier.
“I did what duty demanded I do,” McCain wrote in the book. He said he’d do it again. And if anyone disagreed with what he did, they could “go to hell.”
“I trust the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, an experienced, skilled prosecutor, and a man of exceptional probity and character to separate fact from fiction, and get to the bottom of the so-called dossier,” he actually wrote.
McCain’s book came out a few months ago. Though we’ve learned much since that time, we knew then of the dossier’s stunningly political origins. And though the FBI has proved itself to be quite untrustworthy on the subject of Trump, and Mueller has packed his team with Hillary donors and partisan attack dogs, it doesn’t sound as if McCain ever took one second to rethink his decision to pass along the dossier. I may really be going out on a limb here, but I suspect this might be one reason why Trump didn’t much care for John McCain. (Of course, there were other reasons, including the little matter of his vote to save Obamacare, but I digress.)
McCain wrote in his book that he suspected Wood approached him about the dossier because he had been such a staunch critic of Putin over the years that he would likely take their concerns about a Trump-Russia connection seriously. I don’t doubt he believed that, but I wonder if it’s more likely he was chosen because he was known to be so strongly anti-Trump that they were confident he’d get the dossier where they needed it to go.
https://www.businessinsider.com/john-mccain-conspiracy-theories-steele-dossier-trump-russia-2018-5
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Comments 1-25 of 133
John and Nancy Miles
09/26/2018 01:46 PM
Remember Jeremiah Denton......if I am not mistaken he spent more time as a prisoner then Mc Cain and he never gave the enemy any information. McCain gave them so much information that he made it necessary for the US to change some of it battle plans. And when he came back he thrashed the families of the POW, MIA organizations and lied by saying there were no Americans left. When are the records that he had classified going to be declassified so we can see what really happened in Viet Nam and the families can get the information to work to get their loved ones home. A hero ......no more than any other serviceman who served or my uncle who died on Iwo Jima going to the aid of a brother soldier and being shot in the back by sniper. My Uncle John is my hero.
Delene Stern
09/25/2018 12:18 AM
TY Mike for your articles of truth....And tell Sarah she was called for such a time as this and I appreciate her service... As I watched todays circus and the Kavanaughs heart break interview, I rose up higher in my prophetic intercessor role for politics (called by the LORD in June of 2016 into a subject I knew little about nor cared much for). Over 20 years saved and called to church intercession, Israel and others salvation. I found myself given a "WORD" in that 2016 summer, raised up in group prayer for sickness, and on my way into Portland Maine in Aug with "that "word" clutched in my hand...(A wonderful testimony of how GOD put me in front row and able to hand that "word" to Mr Trump...I have watched and carried prayer over that "word" to this day...I also was given another I need to give him in its time...Never cared for him but called and ready to obey and serve and never regret a min...He has been called and chosen for this time...He is GODs mercy on us.....(9-27-18- NO show,Vote, confirmation~~in JESUS name...The fleet IS rising up and cofefe DES
J. D.
09/18/2018 11:47 AM
I respect McCain's military service, but I believe he was too often the pawn of Democrats. Known for marching to the beat of his own drum, he often seemed suspicious of other Republicans while having a certain credulity around influential Democrats. He seemed to be someone they could deceive simply by making him feel like he was "in the know." I thought it was very revealing that he met secretly with Obama on a regular basis during the 2008 campaign. And given his close friendship with Joe Biden, what information did he entrust to them that might well have compromised his campaign, not to mention countless conservative initiatives over the years? I don't know why he thought he could trust his political enemies behind closed doors, but he did. Naivety is not a sin, but I sure wish he had chosen better friends.
Kathy Proctor
09/17/2018 10:07 PM
Thank you for your opinion on John McCain; I wholeheartedly agree with you. I liked that you pointed out "what Trump SAID vs what McCain DID". (I also thought not inviting someone to a funeral was extremely tacky; but then the vastly elaborate series of funeral events that he planned HIMSELF to make sure he was properly hallowed was pretty tacky, too---but now I digress.) Sure, McCain could be commended for his military service and deemed a hero for what he endured while captured. However, this did not give him free reign to betray the Republican Party----or falsely claim to be a Conservative---by siding so frequently with the Democrats. His beef with Trump should have never overcome the duty he had to the people he supposedly represented as a Republican Senator. His voting against items that the Republicans---and obviously the American people---wanted to change was a betrayal to the people who trusted him: certainly not heroic in any way.
Claudia Bilvrey
09/15/2018 10:58 PM
I just want to say you have an amazing daughter.
Ark Tiv
09/15/2018 01:29 AM
So let me get this straight. McCain didn't vouch for the Dossier's truth, didn't go public with it's content but gave it to the FBI to investigate. You are saying that if a US Senator learns of serious allegations about a Presidential candidate being compromised by a foreign power he should keep it to himself? Why exactly are you saying that?
Mary Yigon
09/14/2018 01:24 PM
So far Mr Governor, you are the only voice to denounce McCain's dealing with the dirty dossier. No one spoke about it the week after he died! Thank you!
Michele Miller
09/13/2018 07:46 AM
Thank you for sharing this Governor Huckabee. Yes, surely during Senator McCain's family members' time of mourning we ought to extend comfort and weep with them for their loss. We should celebrate what can be celebrated, and honor what can be honored. I am glad that President Trump demonstrated great restraint and sensitivity in not airing what he could to justify all of the whys as to his not wanting to lower the flag at the White House at length, or make flowery speeches in Senator McCain's honor. Thank you for sharing this, and for those that wish to understand why not all are hailing Senator McCain as a hero, there is plenty of information out there that is not rumor or hearsay. We surely all need grace and mercy.
Carol Lynn Rebandt
09/12/2018 05:32 PM
Now that is one of the best summation of the facts I've heard! Short, to the point, and fair. Thank you, Mike. Your efforts to educate the American people is noble and your dedication to truth does not go unnoticed. There are many in the media and political spotlight who do not speak the truth, and unfortunately don't even recognize it anymore. Their world is fake, their news is fake, and their message is fake . . . but now I digress:)
Roberta B. Schuetze
09/10/2018 05:48 PM
Why don't you tell the truth about McCain? Why was he called a "Songbird" while a POW? Why was the fire on the U.S.S. Forrestal covered up?
Laura Vest
09/10/2018 02:51 PM
My dad, retired USCG Captain, sent me an email detailing McCain's exploits: poor Naval Academy standing ( ranked 394 out of 395 graduating class), poor piloting skills (disobeyed flight orders which caused crash, poor paraschuting skills caused broken arms (not torture),his nickname was Songbird (gave VC intel to AVOID torture), marital affairs, multiple marriages--he manipulated, played/conned his way through his years in Congress--voted against repealing Obamacare, saying "Let's see how Trump makes America great now!" What a turd...glad he's gone...and I'm a Christian, love Jesus. I prayed for McCain, mostly that God would take his head out of his butt....but He didn't, and John got brain cancer....hmmmmm......Have a blessed day, Mike! Praying for you!
Catherine Uff
09/09/2018 02:36 PM
Enjoyed your comments about McCain and his involvement in the dossier. His funeral was that of a former president not Senator, complete with horse-drawn carriage carrying casket. McCain would never have gotten all the hoop-la if the politicians wouldn't have wanted to get back at TRUMP FOR SPEAKING about his capture (which was a very unkind statement). Such praise for a Republican even by the Democrats and Obama as if they loved the guy. Sad how everything is aimed at hurting Trump - or really aimed at hurting Trump supporters because I don't think Trump gives a d__ !!! Thanks for your great insights into todays political scene. P.S. We love your daughter, Sarah and her intelligent common sense rhetoric.
Linda Porter
09/06/2018 11:22 PM
Thanks Mike. This was a good read, very interesting. I also believe that deep in his heart, McCain was jealous of Trump. I think he was deeply hurt and angered that he, a long suffering veteran and former POW could not get elected president and Trump, who came out of nowhere, politically speaking, did get elected.
Saundra Sillaway
09/06/2018 04:46 PM
Its the idea that a hero goes down with the ship, he is never captured, He fights to the end. If captured he has to try to escape. The pilot of the spy plane over Russia , captured during the Eisenhower administration, was given a poison pill to take in case of capture. He was to destroy the plane and all its techno equipment as well . He was criticized as a coward for not doing the heroic deed required. Trump said heroes are not captured.So for all of you who did not understand what he was saying. Remember that McCain was a prize the enemy could manipulate the press with, he was the son of an Admiral.
Ellen pomponio
09/06/2018 09:18 AM
I think Trump is doing a great job and think there is a conspiracy going on to do what ever to take down Pres Trump. Very sad for our country but we would have never known how corrupt the FBI, and White House is. We all wish Trump would time it down but he is who he is, and he truly has the USA first. Just think it’s a no brainer, he’s not taking a pay ck and has given up his life for this!!!!
Eleanor P
09/05/2018 11:33 PM
This is all very sad! But I believe it began with Mr. Trump belittling Mr. McCain's status during the campaign. Mr. McCain seems to have been part of an Evangelical Baptist Church and should have turned the other cheek, but Evangelicals do not appear to be very forgiving theses days. How can a house divided against itself still stand? I know that God establishes and removes kings and I believe this is true of Donald Trump. I appreciate very much what he has accomplished in seeking to return us to a nation of sanity, but believe He needs to develop some self-control when it comes to striking back. Perhaps you can encourage him to stop the belligerence and be more dignified.
Margaret Coghlan
09/05/2018 09:41 PM
I had a lot of respect for McCain as a military man but not as a member of the Senate. I felt he was always a Democrat and should have gone to that side of the isle as it was a big knife in the back of the Republican party.
He must have had a huge ego to plan a funeral like that for himself. Actually tooting his own horn. I am sorry he had such a horrible disease and know the pain of that as both my parents passed from cancer. May he rest in peace and may the US move forward in a positive way.
Dorothy Gavin
09/05/2018 07:49 PM
I did not like McCain very much before his death and nothing has changed since he passed. I want to know why his funeral was such a long drawn out affair. The 30th person laid out in the rotunda ? I am sure others should have had this honor. What about "the Senator from Hawaii who lost his arm in Vietnam Sen. Daniel Inouye, highest ranking Asian American Politician in U.S. History, second longest serving Senator in U.S. History, but then the Democrats had nothing they could throw at a President they hated in that time. His family had no hate list of who they could ask not to come to his grandiose funeral party. Now I have lost much respect for the would be President.
Millie Kirschner
09/05/2018 04:54 AM
I thought Mike Hucksbee wrote the McCain article. Not sure but whoever did it was very good. I did not realize MC Cain’s involvement with the Dossier. I did not care for McCain because of a few things but am grateful to him for his and his families military service to our country. I imagine he was very hurt ?? re Trumps comment about heroes which I did not fully understand or has anyone explained. Trump usually has a background reason other than what meets the ear I learned. It did not seem to fit the conversation at the debate as I recall. So I am still reserving my judgement of Trump on that. I hope I will find out somehow what he was really saying. As dedicated as McCain was I have doubts about him. He said he did not like abuse of power regarding Trump trying to ram defeating ObamaCare. What does he think Clinton did with Abortion and Obama with Obamacare?
Good article whoever wrote it.
Pat
09/05/2018 12:22 AM
I always appreciate your comments - I thought J. McCain should have been respected for his service to our country but I also believe that he was definitely a RINO who could not be trusted...he proved that by showing his true colors by his choices for his own funeral.
Neta Manske
09/04/2018 11:24 PM
I thank you every day for giving us the Truth. May God continue blessings on you and your family!
Nancy Crichton
09/04/2018 08:40 PM
Thank you for your comments. I was repulsed by the ostentatious 5 day spectacle of John McCain’s “farewell “ which he wrote down to the last detail. My goodness, we didn’t have such blatant “I’m special” parades for JFK! McCain was a true DC RINO. I’m sorry he suffered from cancer and I would never wish that on anyone, but I sure feel that he had an inflated sense of importance and his daughter sure shot herself in the foot. I’m thinking that the only place she might be welcome is on The VIEW. So sad.
William Hazelrigg
09/04/2018 05:22 PM
https://youtu.be/KtqhYB42w1Y A friend sent me this video, it is amazing. It deals with the rabbi Johanna Chan on the Jim Baker show about President Trump recognizing Jerusalem the capital of Israel. This vedio is 42 minutes long but I hope you will watch it. To me it proves that the Lord is using our President just like He used President Harry Truman. by the way they both were supposed to lose their elections. I have put the webb address at the front of my comments. I believe that is why so many people are against Trump even if they are not aware.
Cecilia Sotomayor
09/04/2018 03:43 PM
Governor, you are right on the dot on the conflict between president Trump and senator McCain. I am also wondering if the senator has by now met in heaven with the MIAs that did not get to come home and their feelings about him blocking HR 3603. I also wonder how he feels about his years as a republican senator, voting against republican bills. I am not a fan of McCain, but give him credit for serving in the military, though I doubt his patriotism, and whether he deserved that many medals and a presidential funeral.
DON HUNT
09/04/2018 03:05 PM
Sorry Bill, (William A. (Bill) Cummins) we who watch aren't really interested in seeing you on Mikes's show.