Thread by @soychicka

TOL: An observation on the Trump-Russia investigation timeline:

October 17, 2017, Jeff Sessions officially created a new position:
Director of Asset Forfeiture Accountability

Note that he didn't fill that position himself: he ordered Rosenstein to do the hiring.

Interesting.

Manafort's condo had been searched in July 2017, and Whitaker was successful whoring himself out on CNN to discredit the Mueller investigation, so the White House pushed Sessions into hiring him as his new chief of staff on Sept 22, 2017.
huffingtonpost.com/entry/matthew-…

~1 week later: the Las Vegas terrorist attack.

4 days later, Niger attack on US troops

2 weeks later, Sessions makes this announcement.

2 weeks later, Kush's slumber party with MBS, death of a few Saudis, MBS imprisoning many more, including Al Waleed bin Talal.

We'll see if the what events have any bearing on the other events in this timeline sometime, I assume... but the timing is interesting, as Trump now had a straight-up mole on the inside of DOJ.

So now that we have the temporal context, let's look at the behavioural context.

In the announcement, Sessions calls out Trump's knowledge of asset forfeiture as an effective tool in undermining organized crime.

Now... how would Trump know about that? 🤣🤣🤣
Hint: it's the same way he knows about 'flippers.' He's mobbed up AF.

But the real dig: Rosenstein was the one who would do the hiring. I don't know if he normally would be tasked with that type of personnel management or not, or if they would normally proclaim it publicly in advance in this way... I'd assume not, though I could be wrong.

What this suggests to me: Sessions, already on Trump's bad side, knowing there's a mole digging up his yard, is baiting Trump by handing the task to Rosenstein publicly as a thinly veiled implication that the new position is linked to the Russia investigation.

I don't see any rage tweets from the surrounding days yet, and have to look more thoroughly at context of other October events and what happens when the position is filled in December.

But the expertise of the new Director is kinda interesting.
justice.gov/opa/pr/deputy-…

Are there any other events around that time period pop into your mind to suggest motivation for the creation of that position, or Trump's subsequent response?

A bit different in context: Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico just before Whitaker was hired as well. 🤔

That was a time that Trump's malignant narcisissm was undoubtedly enflamed, for soon to be obvious reasons. (check my 'Dethroning' moment for more)