Intelligence Committee Ranking Republican Member Devin Nunes Thursday afternoon appeared stunned when he questioned a U.S. State Dept. official during the impeachment hearings and did not get the answer he anticipated.

Rep. Nunes has been spewing far right wing conspiracy theories during each impeachment hearing over the past two weeks, including the thoroughly debunked lie that Ukraine – not Russia – attacked the U.S. 2016 election.

(Earlier one of today’s witnesses, Dr. Fiona Hill, publicly lambasted the spreading of the false Ukraine conspiracy theory as she sat just feet away from Nunes. The video is here.)

Nunes asked David Holmes, who is the State Dept.’s counselor for political affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine about the “black ledger.”

That line of questioning did not go well for Nunes.

Nunes asked if Holmes had “ever heard of the black ledger.”

“I have,” Holmes replied.

“The black ledger – is that seen as ‘credible’ information?” Nunes asked.

“Yes,” Holmes responded without hesitation.

Surprised, Nunes repeated his question.

“The black ledger is credible?”

“Yes,” Holmes again replied.

Nunes did not look pleased.

“Bob Mueller did not find it credible. Do you dispute what Bob Mueller’s findings were? – They didn’t use it in the prosecution or in the report.”

“I’m not aware that Bob Mueller did not find it credible. I think it was evidence in other criminal proceedings. Its credibility was not questioned in those proceedings, but I’m not an expert on that.”

As Nunes goes back to the well of Ukraine 2016 conspiracy theories, Holmes shoots down his nonsense regarding the black ledger that exposed Manafort’s corrupt dealings in Ukraine: pic.twitter.com/JIo1mvl3Kt

— The Moscow Project (@moscow_project) November 21, 2019

Holmes is correct – it was used as evidence in prosecutions (see below).

The black ledger is a register of off-the-book payments made by the corrupt now-former ruling party of Ukraine – not today’s ruling party.

It contains details of 22 payments allegedly made to Paul Manafort, totaling $12.7 million, by his former client, the ex-President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych. Manafort later became Donald Trump’s election campaign chairman. When the ledger was exposed Manafort was forced to resign from the Trump campaign. He is now in prison, serving a 90-month federal sentence.

Mueller actually did find the black ledger credible, as The Washington Post reported one week ago. It was used as evidence in Mueller’s indictment against Manafort.

Rep. Nunes appears to believe the existence of the black ledger and its authenticity are conspiracy theories. He is the one spreading conspiracy theories. The black ledger is real.

Fox News Business channel’s Maria Bartiromo Wednesday morning interviewed pro-Trump guest Lee Smith who told the top anchor the House impeachment inquiry is a “secret ritual” where Speaker Pelosi is the “high priestess” and Chairman Schiff the “high priest.”

“Here is how I see what we’re calling the impeachment process, inquiry — I see it as a secret ritual conducted by a cult,” Smith told Bartiromo (video below). “I mean, they’re doing most of this in secret. And I think it’s worthwhile thinking of Speaker Pelosi as the high priestess of the cult, and Adam Schiff as a high priest of the cult.”

“And the purpose of the cult is to protect the swamp and what the swamp has done,” he adds.

Smith appears to not understand how investigations are conducted, or how President Trump has grown the swamp.

Smith is author of the book, “The Plot Against the President: The True Story of How Congressman Devin Nunes Uncovered the Biggest Political Scandal in U.S. History,” which is currently number one on Amazon’s list of Political Commentary & Opinion books. It does not appear to be listed as fiction.

The Amazon page for his book says he was given “unprecedented access to Congressman Devin Nunes, former head of the House Intelligence Committee, to expose the deep state operation against the president–and the American people.”

Last year The Daily Beast ran a profile of Maria Bartiromo, declaring: “Once a titan of apolitical financial reporting, Bartiromo has made an unmistakeable pivot toward conspiratorial and occasionally alt-right-assisted Trump cheerleading.”

Fox Business guest: "Here is how I see what we're calling the impeachment process, inquiry — I see it as a secret ritual conducted by a cult … And I think it's worthwhile thinking of Speaker Pelosi as the high priestess of the cult, and Adam Schiff as a high priest of the cult." pic.twitter.com/g5vhE24qye

— Eric Kleefeld (@EricKleefeld) October 30, 2019

The White House on Tuesday announced President Donald Trump and the First Lady had accepted an invitation to meet with Queen Elizabeth II in early June, for his first official State Visit.

As usual, the White House’s announcement contained a “Royal Mistake,” as People magazine noted. But the really royal mistake came hours later, early Wednesday morning, when the President of the United States accused British Intelligence of spying on him.

Citing far right wing conspiracy theorist Larry Johnson, who has accused former First Lady Michelle Obama of making a racist slur against white people, and former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry of rape via doctored audio, President Trump tweeted a supposed quote from One America News (OANN), a right wing media outlet more extreme than even Fox News.

“Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson accuses United Kingdom Intelligence of helping Obama Administration Spy on the 2016 Trump Presidential Campaign.” @OANN WOW! It is now just a question of time before the truth comes out, and when it does, it will be a beauty!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2019

The claim that British Intelligence spied on Trump is nearly two years old, and GCHQ, the British Intelligence agency that broke the Nazi Enigma codes in World War II, flatly denied the allegations.

But note the sheer excitement Trump displays in his tweet. He’s literally giddy that the British supposedly spied on him.

Tea with the Queen at Buckingham Palace should be fascinating.

Image by The White House via Flickr