The anti-Trump movement’s secret Zoom calls give their target ammo

At archetypal glance, it mightiness look like wrong baseball.

A clump of erstwhile prosecutors and cablegram pundits talking to each different astir however overmuch they don’t similar Donald Trump and however he’s successful heavy ineligible trouble? Doesn’t that hap each time successful greenish rooms and the country bar?

But this, arsenic disclosed by Politico, is different. These are immoderate of the astir salient commentators successful the media universe, and they look to beryllium consulting/coordinating/conspiring astir their main target.

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Even if that’s not the case, it looks awful.

It plays into the hands of conservatives who backmost Trump that the media are portion of the resistance, determined to bring him down astatine each costs.

They tin present accidental that it is simply a cabal, confirming each their darkest suspicions astir the property determined to bring him down.

Former president Donald Trump, center, awaits the commencement of proceedings astatine Manhattan transgression court, Monday, April 22, 2024, successful New York. Opening statements successful Donald Trump's historical hush wealth proceedings are acceptable to begin. Trump is accused of falsifying interior concern records arsenic portion of an alleged strategy to hide stories helium thought mightiness wounded his statesmanlike run successful 2016.  (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)

Every Friday, these media hotshots articulation successful a secret, off-the-record Zoom call.

In a high-road description, the portion says the extremity is to "intellectually stress-test the arguments facing Trump connected his travel done the American ineligible system." But a bushed aboriginal it says, "most are agreed by their dislike of Trump."

The origins of the radical are telling, opening during the Jan. 6 hearings, erstwhile committee staffers began briefing ineligible commentators connected their work. I tin deliberation of classified subject matters that haven’t remained concealed arsenic long.

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Who’s doing the zooming? Norman Eisen, an Obama medication official who worked with House Democrats connected Trump’s archetypal impeachment and is simply a CNN ineligible analyst, is the founder. 

A radical of ineligible commentators, agreed successful their dislike of Trump, person been gathering regularly to sermon the president's ineligible situation.  (Center: (Photo by Brendan McDermid-Pool/Getty Images), Left:(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) , Right top: (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images), Right bottom: (Photo by Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images))

He’s joined by Bill Kristol, a person of the anti-Trump conservatives; longtime Harvard instrumentality prof Laurence Tribe; Watergate fig John Dean; and George Conway, ex-husband of Kellyanne, co-founder of the Lincoln Project and a fixture connected MSNBC. 

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That’s conscionable the beginning. There is MSNBC expert Andrew Weissman, who investigated the fruitless Russian collusion accusations against Trump arsenic a authoritative for Bob Mueller; wherefore would anyone uncertainty his objectivity?

There are CNN ineligible analysts Jeffrey Toobin, Elliott Williams and Karen Agnifilo, on with L.A. Times columnist Harry Litman. And there’s Mary McCord, a erstwhile DOJ authoritative who co-hosts an MSNBC podcast. 

Former President Donald Trump attends the archetypal time of his proceedings astatine Manhattan Criminal Court successful New York City connected April 15, 2024.  (Angela Weiss/AFP via AP, POOL)

Sometimes determination are guests, which is besides revealing. After Trump was held liable successful E. Jean Carroll’s archetypal defamation and intersexual battle suit, her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, addressed the group. And, says Politico, erstwhile blimpish justice J. Michael Luttig, who spearheaded a run to footwear Trump disconnected authorities ballots nether the 14th Amendment, was different guest. The Supreme Court rejected the anti-democratic move.

Despite efforts to rationalize this arsenic a meeting-of-great-minds exercise, I’m not buying it. Even Politico concedes the calls could "breed groupthink" – what a shocking thought.

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And cablegram quality drives plentifulness of different coverage, peculiarly erstwhile definite themes are perpetually pounded.

All these folks are astute capable to deliberation for themselves. Which makes it astonishing that they deficiency the communal consciousness to spot however troubling the Zooming looks.