EPISODE 230: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN

A-Block (1:43) SPECIAL COMMENT: Special Counsel Jack Smith may be readying an indictment against Trump for illegally attempting to coerce Mike Pence to defy his legal duties in the Electoral College count? Ryan Goodman from “Just Security,” whom I cite here frequently though I don’t know him and only because he knows this stuff, told Bill Kristol’s podcast that he thinks Jack Smith quote “going to indict Trump for the False Slate of Electors scheme” – and with Goodman saying the odds Fonny Willis indicts on False Electors and election interference in Georgia are 90 percent, Trump could face twin federal and state cases on overlapping topics. And then Goodman adds something that took my breath away. Indicting Trump for False Electors, “AND quite probably/possibly the pressure campaign against Mike Pence.” Wait – what?

Goodman sets the odds on Jack Smith indicting Trump ABOUT PENCE… at 60 to 70 percent. Pressuring the Vice President, Goodman says, quoting him again “is independent of whether or not he thought he won the election. He can think he won the election, doesn’t matter. But you can’t try to coerce a public official to defy their legal duties – which is just to count the votes.” Goodman doesn’t mention that, but you will remember that Stewart Rhodes and other Oathkeepers were prosecuted for – and convicted of – interfering with Congress’s ability to complete its legal duties. Ponder for a moment the prospect of Smith indicting Trump, running for the Republican nomination, for attempting to coerce PENCE, running for the Republican nomination. Oh and necessarily having Pence TESTIFY AGAINST TRUMP either before Trump is nominated or before the election. 

I’m beginning to think we may have WILDLY under-estimated how many MORE things Jack Smith is about to indict Trump for. There is reason today to believe that the number of separate indictments OF Trump BY Smith could be as many as FOUR. Maybe even FIVE.

B-Block (20:11) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: Nikki Haley tries to make it sound like she DIDN'T say The Confederate Flag was just a symbol of "sacrifice, service and heritage" until Dylann Roof came along and spoiled it with his mass murdering. The Joe Rogan-JFK "debate" stink. The Bland leading the Blind? What on earth would they debate? HOW stupid Rogan is? And Military Mean Tweets (25:07) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Why was Lou Dobbs' wife subpoenaed in the Smartmatic case? David Clarke tries to get the Saudis off the hook for the Khashoggi murder. Curt Schilling says it's time for more shots, like at Concord, but he only means shots metaphorically. And the Chia Pet of Fox, Jesse Watters, has a plan for the homeless.

C-Block (33:35) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: The New York crisis continues, with poor 3-year old Dior and her pneumonia (34:35) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Speaking of Lou Dobbs' wife, it was just 42 summers ago when she and Lou had to leave CNN New York in a hurry and they had to hire as an emergency temp a radio sports guy with no TV experience - me. THEY started my career!