Oren M. Spiegler – 6/11/17

 


This page was last updated on June 13, 2017.


Comey told the truth; Trump continues his lies; Oren M. Spiegler (OMS); Beaver County Times; June 11, 2017.

Mr. Spiegler is such a prolific letter writer the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review gave him a little tribute back in 2003.  Google “Oren M. Spiegler” and you’ll get more hits than you know what to do with.  Unfortunately, prolific is not a synonym for competent.  Mr. Spiegler claims to be a Republican.  In my critique of “Breathing more freely,” I cited reasons why I was “beginning to believe Mr. Spiegler is simply another Republican impersonator,” but he sealed the deal with “Greatest foreign policy debacle.”  Subsequent letters provided more confirmation.  The group of local Republican impersonators also includes Messrs. William A. Alexander, Arthur Brown, Edward J. Hum, Bill Ralston, and George Reese, all claiming to be disgruntled Republicans.  While he has previously claimed to be a Republican, this appears to be the first time Mr. Spiegler claimed to be a registered Republican in a BCT letter.  If true, Mr. Spiegler joins Mr. Hum in going the extra mile to further his impersonation of a Republican.

ALERT!  Though I missed it by several months, Mr. Spiegler finally did the honorable thing and ended his charade and deregistered as a Republican.

You can find links to previous critiques of Spiegler letters I critiqued here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

The BCT has or had a limit of 12 letters per writer per year.  In 2014, the BCT either ditched that limit or made a huge exception for Mr. Spiegler.  By my count, the BCT published at least 25 Spiegler letters in 2014.  Mr. Spiegler and/or the BCT dialed things back a bit in 2015; the BCT published only 15 Spiegler letters in 2015 and 10 in 2016.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.


“The obvious question that arises from the stunning and spellbinding testimony of former FBI Director James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee is who is telling the truth: Comey or the president.  Fortunately, the answer is easy to determine.”

[RWC] During Mr. Comey’s (JC) “stunning and spellbinding testimony,” he confirmed he told President Trump (DT) at least three times he wasn’t under FBI investigation, just as DT claimed.

Something else OMS failed to mention about the “the stunning and spellbinding testimony” is JC admitted to being a leaker.  JC claims he kept notes during his meetings with DT then typed them into “memos” later.  According to a transcript of JC’s testimony, “I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter.  Didn’t do it myself for a variety of reasons.  I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.  I asked a close friend to do it.”  JC identified his leaking buddy as “A close friend who is a professor at Columbia law school.”  What was JC afraid of; as FBI Director, he was one of the most powerful persons in the U.S.  Legal or not, it’s pretty sleazy and beneath an FBI director.  Further, how do we know JC hasn’t been leaking for years?

To date, our security agencies have testified they found no evidence the Russkies tampered with our voting systems.  If you believe former FBI Director James Comey, three times he told President Trump he wasn’t under investigation.

“The best predictor of the present is the past.  Donald Trump has a well-known history of lying and obfuscating on a daily basis and without shame.  His nose grows when he talks about both important matters and the trivial, neither of which cause him to have any compunction about making it up as he goes along.”

[RWC] It appears OMS shot himself in the foot.  As I wrote above, OMS was a faux Republican for “many years” until he ended the charade in April 2015.  As a result, OMS “has a well-known history of lying and obfuscating on a daily basis and without shame.”  After “many years” of impersonating a Republican, why should anyone believe him?

“He lies even when his misstatements are easily called out and debunked.  He told us for five long years that President Obama was not born in the United States.  He told us that his inauguration crowd was larger than that of President Obama.  He was proven wrong in both instances and in countless others, but it does not matter to him.  If this president tells us that black is white and day is night, all he has to do is say, ‘Believe me, OK?’ and many members of his base will lap it up.

“Richard Nixon said that if the president does it, it is not a crime.  Donald Trump’s mantra is that if this president says it, it is true.

“It is gratifying that former Director Comey has complete faith in the distinguished Robert Mueller as he investigates all of the smoke that surrounds this president on the Russian connections and other matters.  The plot is bound to thicken.” 

[RWC] I’d be surprised if JC didn’t have “complete faith in the distinguished Robert Mueller.”  According to CNN, “[CNN anchorman/reporter John] King noted that ‘Bob Mueller, the special prosecutor, is a very close friend of James Comey.  I don’t think trashing James Comey, especially if you’re trashing him in ways that are demonstrably false, is going to help your legal case.’”

Is anyone surprised OMS didn’t mention JC and “the distinguished Robert Mueller” are friends?

As for “all of the smoke that surrounds this president on the Russian connections and other matters,” JC confirmed he told President Trump (DT) at least three times he wasn’t under FBI investigation, just as DT claimed.


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