Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Trump + Intelligence

Actually, using the word intelligence in the same sentence as Trump is oxymoronic.
That said, recent reveals boggle the mind.  Apparently the door to the Oval is open and any staff can slip fake news reports among Trump's reading materials.  This method of providing him with fake news apparently is how he got the bug up his butt about Obama wiring Trump Tower.  Tht says all about the potential damage from this practice.
At the same time, he has directed that his written intelligence briefings get briefer.  Instead of three pages of paragraphs, he has directed that he wants one page of bullet points. Obviously, details and any subtleties will be lost.
There are multiple investigations into Trump and Russian collusion.  The Trump investigations are looking at his empire's finances.  There have been rumblings about Trump's use of his Atlantic City casinos for money laundering in the past.  There is Eric Trump's claim a few years ago that the Trump enterprises get all the money they need from Russia.
We hear accounts of Trump screaming at television sets and his emphasis on finding leakers, usually at the expense of the distressing content that those leaks have revealed.
Finally, there is the obvious chronology of events: Yates tells White House lawyer McGahn about the risk that Flynn could be blackmailed by Russia.  A couple days later she is fired.  Flynn continues to participate in top secret intelligence and is fired 18 days later for a lie to the Vice President.  Then FBI Director Comey revealed the criminal investigation into the Russian issues and the Congressman Nunes' contratemp ensued.  Then Yates testified as to what she told McGahn and Comey was fired a day later.  And a day later, the Russian foreign minister and ambassador were in the Oval.
The Russian Oval meeting was joined by Russian Press photographer but no American media.  It turns out that Trump revealed such highly classified info that intelligence staff literally left the meeting to immediately call the CIA and NSA, which is how these facts made their way into the American press. 
Trump'sfailing fall into two categories.  First is the general chaos, lack of knowledge and skill in Presidential management and respect for historical precedents plus his outright lies.  But  the worst is his inability to maintain the secrecy of intelligence.
This is a picture of total incompetence and risk to this country.  The Republican Party controls both houses of Congress.  Trump is their President.  It's all up to the Republican leadership.  The country does not need to spend two years of investigations which will goad Trump.   into ever greater levels of chaos. Simultaneously, the impeachment process will drag out as the country's government grinds to a halt or worse. 
The Republican leadership needs to step up and get Trump to resign.  Or to initiate proceedings under the 25th Amendment.
The time is now.

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