The "Secret Society"

After seeing the full text of the email that sent Republicans into orgasms alleging there was a secret society in the FBI trying to undo Trump, I was left wondering what FBI agent Lisa Page was talking about when she mentioned calendars. Here's the explanation:

One text that Page sent Strzok early on the morning of Nov. 9, 2016, has dominated the conservative media world this week, serving as a springboard for a Republican conspiracy theory suggesting that the nation’s premier law enforcement organization was plotting a coup against Trump within hours of his stunning victory.

“Are you even going to give out your calendars? Seems kind of depressing,” Page, a FBI lawyer, wrote in the text to Strzok from her FBI-issued phone. “Maybe it should just be the first meeting of the secret society.”

Republican lawmakers seized upon the “secret society” reference this week, claiming to see sinister motives, and it started popping up all over cable news chyrons. But, in fact, it was almost certainly a joke, a bit of gallows humor after an election that featured Russian interference.

So what was that “calendars” reference all about? Out of context, it’s a bit confusing. But the backstory is actually kind of funny. The New York Times first reported that the “calendars,” which the Times said had a “Russia theme,” were a gag gift for those working on the early Russia probe.

[...]

It turns out that, as a joke, Strzok had purchased calendars featuring “beefcake” photos of Vladimir Putin doing manly, tough-guy things like riding a horse.

  HuffPo

And there you have it.

What’s remarkable about the “secret society” text message is that it has been available to reporters for more than a month, as it was included in a first set of texts that the Justice Department sent to Capitol Hill (and allowed reporters to view) in December. But it wasn’t picked up, even by Fox News (which had access to the texts), because it seemed like such an obvious joke.

[...]

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a prominent promoter of the “secret society” text, admitted Thursday there’s a “real possibility” that it was just a joke.

It's a testament to the GOP-Trump cabal desperation and fear that they are going back through everything they can to find something - anything - they can publicize to deflect attention and try to smear the Mueller investigation.

But, there actually was something of a secret FBI society. The only thing is, it was anti-Trump, it was pro-Trump, and aligned with Rudy Giuliani. Seth Abramson has a thread on that here, beginning with this post:

And here's a clip of Jim Comey's testimony before he was fired where Senator Leahy asks about those FBI agents, saying he'll be investigating that situation. No doubt another reason he got fired.

UPDATE:

Devin Nunes definitely knew better.  That was all for "the base."

UPDATE: