President Trump On Taking Information Offered By Foreign Sources
[guest post by Dana]
This is a portion of an interview that President Trump did with George Stephanopolous of ABC News:
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: Your son, Don Jr., is up before the Senate Intelligence Committee today. And again, he was not charged with anything. In retrospect though-
PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP: By the way, not only wasn’t he charged, if you read it, with all of the horrible fake news- I mean, I was reading that my son was going to go too jail — this is a good young man — that he was going to go to jail. And then the report comes out, and they didn’t even say, they hardly even talked about him.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Should he have gone to the FBI when he got that email?
TRUMP: OK. Let’s put yourself in a position. You’re a congressman, somebody comes up and says, “Hey, I have information on your opponent. Do you call the FBI? I don’t think-
STEPHANOPOULOS: If it’s coming from Russia, you do.
TRUMP: I’ll tell you what, I’ve seen a lot of things over my life. I don’t think in my whole life I’ve ever called the FBI. In my whole life. You don’t call the FBI. You throw somebody out of your office, you do whatever you do-
STEPHANOPOULOS: Al Gore got a stolen briefing book. He called the FBI.
TRUMP: Well, that’s different, a stolen briefing book. This isn’t a stolen- This is somebody that said, “We have information on your opponent.” Oh, let me call the FBI. Give me a break. Life doesn’t work that way.
STEPHANOPOULOS: The FBI director says that’s what should happen.
TRUMP: The FBI director is wrong.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Your campaign this time around, if foreigners, if Russia, if China, if someone else offers you information on opponents, should they accept it or should they call the FBI?
TRUMP: I think maybe you do both. I think you might want to listen. I don’t- There’s nothing wrong with listening. If somebody called from a country — Norway — “We have information on your opponent.” Oh. I think I’d want to hear it.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You want that kind of interference in our elections?
TRUMP: It’s not interference. They have information. I think I’d take it. If I thought there was something wrong, I’d go maybe to the FBI, if I thought there was something wrong. But when somebody comes up with oppo research, right, they come up with oppo research. “Oh, let’s call the FBI.” The FBI doesn’t have enough agents to take care of it. When you go and talk, honestly, to congressmen, they all do it. They always have, and that’s the way it is. It’s called oppo research.
Remember the Ukraine and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign??? Stephanopoulos, who obviously has long and deep ties with both Bill and Hillary Clinton, apparently forgot all about it as he didn’t mention it during the interview. President Trump also didn’t bring it up with Stephanopoulos.
Even on Trump-friendly turf, there was pushback as Brian Kilmeade at Fox & Friends took co-hosts Steve Doocy and Ainsley Earnhardt to task for their defense of Trump’s comments:
…Kilmeade threw cold water on Earnhardt’s mockery of Trump criticism saying, “Put it this way, nothing is free in this world.”
He continued, “You don’t want a foreign government or foreign entity giving you information because they will want something back. If anybody knows that it is the president. There is no free lunch. If someone wants information, they want influence. I think the president has to clarify that I’m glad he is coming on tomorrow. He opened himself wide up to attacks.”
On a side note, Kevin Drum scolds the Washington Post, Vox, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times for being misleading in their writeup of the interview (thus giving Trump red meat to cry Witch Hunt!) by claiming that Trump said he would be “willing to accept information on his political opponents from a foreign government.” Except neither the President, nor Stephanopolous used that term.
President Trump defended his comments this morning:
(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)
–Dana
Good morning.
Dana (779465) — 6/13/2019 @ 9:04 amThe larger context here is I think folks are conflating gutter-politics with something criminal.
If you have a problem with Trump’s position here… (as I do)… then, you’d have problems with Clinton’s campaign funding the Steele dossier.
whembly (51f28e) — 6/13/2019 @ 9:29 amexcept stephanopolous is kind of blind of point, much like how did you like the play, mrs. Lincoln, of course the Ukrainians are seemingly proscribed from actually investigating biden’s kins activities,
narciso (d1f714) — 6/13/2019 @ 9:35 amAs I recall it, the Steele dossier was originally funded by one of Mr. Trump’s opponents prior to his election, and when that funding source ceased supporting Mr. Steele, a source from the Democratic Party stepped in with additional funding. Further, I seem to remember that the late Senator McCain received a copy of the dossier and then quickly contacted the FBI. It looks like neither political party can claim clean hands on this one, which is as good a comment as any on the current state of American politics at the highest level.
John B Boddie (72f331) — 6/13/2019 @ 9:38 amForeign sources are working for foreign interests. The President can not put himself into the position of being reliant on them. Wrongdoing by Joe Biden or Hillz does not excuse any wrongdoing by anyone else. Trusting Russian intelligence services will result in being their slaves; that’s why they have an intelligence service in the first place. Supporting these assertions by Trump is putting party above country plain and simple.
Slugger (80ff2d) — 6/13/2019 @ 9:44 am“As I recall it, the Steele dossier was originally funded by one of Mr. Trump’s opponents prior to his election, and when that funding source ceased supporting Mr. Steele, a source from the Democratic Party stepped in with additional funding.”
John B Boddie (72f331) — 6/13/2019 @ 9:38 am
No. You’re confusing FusionGPS with Steele. Steele was not involved until after FusionGPS was being paid by Clinton.
Munroe (ea46a3) — 6/13/2019 @ 9:50 amFifth Avenue values. Is the information being offered at wholesale price?
nk (dbc370) — 6/13/2019 @ 9:55 amyes, that part was mostly against cruz, the stuff they shopped to the enquirer,
now when an maltese asset for british and Italian intelligence is misrepresented as being a Russian asset, and that fellow conveniently disappears, unlike say rocco martino of the niger matter,
narciso (d1f714) — 6/13/2019 @ 9:55 amlet us just say, ed burke didn’t stay in power for 50 years, just because of his winning smile,
narciso (d1f714) — 6/13/2019 @ 9:57 am“The FBI director says that’s what should happen.”
Who said that and when?
And what is the basis for that? If something is not criminal (even if sleazy), why does one need to call law enforcement?
Finally, what is the difference, in practical terms, between foreign and domestic offering of dirt on one’s opponent. Someone calls my campaign and says they have dirt on my opponent. Am I supposed to check their visa? Their accent? What if the Russians decide to hire an American as a front-man (front-person) to offer me the dirt?
The whole thing sounds to me like an inflated nothing. Digging dirt on your opponent is sleazy, but has been part of politics for a very long time. The distinction between a domestic and foreign source seem contrived, at best.
Bored Lawyer (998177) — 6/13/2019 @ 9:58 amin the Clinton era, they usually used igi, that was the shop founded by terry lezner, that future chief frank Reagan, I mean ray Kelly fronted for, earl silbert’s daughter worked for them, she’s the one of the renaissance mysteries about Marlowe and Caravaggio,
narciso (d1f714) — 6/13/2019 @ 10:00 amThanks for posting the TRANSCRIPT. My local radio news gave me 12 words by Trump plus a lot of paraphrasing. And you can imagine how fair it was to Trump.
And this:
Al Gore got a stolen briefing book. He called the FBI.
What in the world does that have to do with the price of potatoes? Its just Stephopolous trying to interrupt and derail Trump. But then Stephop was Clinton’s Press Secetary who now poses as an objective journalist (LOL!)
rcocean (1a839e) — 6/13/2019 @ 10:05 amThe conversation is absurd. First we start out by talking about reality. Trump Jnr. didn’t call the FBI after he got an email from some Russian. OK. Trump says for 100th time in row, nothing wrong with that. We have the Mueller report. This happened 3 years ago. Why are we still talking about it?
Then we race off to a hypothetical. Which isn’t even precise or specific. i…if foreigners, if Russia, if China, if someone else offers you information Which means what? Anyone? any non-American? foreign governments?
Anyway, Trump talks about Countries, Governments. And says, I’d maybe call the FBI – depends on what it is. And? Sounds reasonable to me.
rcocean (1a839e) — 6/13/2019 @ 10:11 amThis reminds me of the time some reporter during the Primaries waylaid Trump after a speech, and asked him one of those absurd 3 subject questions. What do you think about A,b,c? Trump then responded to Subject C, and the reporter than interrupted and asked about B again, Trump bulldozed ahead and continued to talk about Subject C.
The MSM then made it appear like Trump’s words were addressing Subject B, and criticized him for being so evil/racist/awful. I’m sure there’s some label for this rhetorical technique.
rcocean (1a839e) — 6/13/2019 @ 10:18 amthen there’s the matter of how mark warner used adam waldman, an atty for deripasha and Assange, as a contact for steele,
narciso (d1f714) — 6/13/2019 @ 10:19 amDon-Don Jr. turned out to be right in not calling the FBI because, in the end, Veselnitskaya was bullsh!ting him and he would have looked like the little boy who cried wolf. But he should have told her intermediary that he didn’t want to have anything to do with her, either, and that she should call the FBI. The way he did it, he looked like an idiot, which he is; and like a colluder, which he is too stupid to be.
nk (dbc370) — 6/13/2019 @ 10:27 am“This happened 3 years ago. Why are we still talking about it?”
Ooh, now do Benghazi.
Davethulhu (fab944) — 6/13/2019 @ 10:29 amher intermediary was glenn simpson, now of course how did the magnitsky bill come to pass, well you have to ask jonathan winer and Julia glover Weiss, one was isikoff’s confirmation source the other is the doyen of the antitrump milieu,
narciso (d1f714) — 6/13/2019 @ 10:31 ammifsud, Greenberg, halper downer, and miss turk, were all sent by one or another government agency on either side of the pond, you you what mi5 wasn’t focusing on,
narciso (d1f714) — 6/13/2019 @ 10:34 amhow we ended up here in the first place:
https://dailycaller.com/2019/06/13/devin-nunes-mueller-memo-dossier/
narciso (d1f714) — 6/13/2019 @ 10:37 am“Ooh, now do Benghazi“
Trump’s failure to collude is about equal to Obama/Hillary’s failure to protect Americans.
The msm treatment of the two issues, on the other hand…..
harkin (470cbb) — 6/13/2019 @ 10:39 amit was a speed bump, that got in the way of the fundraiser at jayzees house,
https://twitchy.com/dougp-3137/2019/06/12/will-lefties-who-tried-to-mock-trump-about-tractors-and-the-internet-dunk-on-joe-biden-for-his-g5-pitch-video/
narciso (d1f714) — 6/13/2019 @ 10:42 amGiuliani, Trump et al. have been fact-checked on the Hillary-Ukraine “scandal”. There is no evidence and no equivalency.
Paul Montagu (cbbfc4) — 6/13/2019 @ 11:48 amEven if Trump taking “oppo research” from a foreign government apparatchik is not illegal, it is unpatriotic and un-American for him to do so, taking aid from a foreign power. In the case of a Russia, a hostile foreign power.
4. John B Boddie (72f331) — 6/13/2019 @ 9:38 am
That’s the story Fusion GPS and the Democrats tried to peddle, but its’ not true.
Fusion GPS , not Christopher Steele, was hired by a anti-Trump Republican source, and also, separately, by Perkins Coie, a law firm acting on behalf of the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratc National Committee, but it was hired to do two different things, and the two hirings in fact overlapped. One client did not replace the other. Neither had anything to do with the other.
Can you imagine that working, anyway? Firms and detectives soliciting clients, like they were a stock market tip sheet that had research to sell, and not the other way around? When you do have something like that to sell, you don’t restrict yourself to one client!
Yes he did, when he heard about it after the election at aconference in Halifax, Nova Scotia. At that point Steele was trying to spread his information all over.
McCain didn’t contact the FBI, by the way, before he had a chance to read it. He contacted the FBI because he didn’t know whether to believe it or not but he felt it needed to be investigated. Comey didn’t tell him he already had the information.
Sammy Finkelman (9974e8) — 6/13/2019 @ 11:55 amNo they fired the attorney general before he began the investigation, like Hillary was pre exonerated before the June statement.
Narciso (b0b7ad) — 6/13/2019 @ 11:57 amNote: The Republican client that hired Fuson GPS was the Washington Free Beacon which is heavily supported by one man, and what they hired Fusion GPS to do was to conduct a public records search. No private detectives, no British ex-spies, no Russians interviewed, directly or indirectly.., no Christopher Steele.
Statement by the Washington Free Beacon, October, 2017:
https://freebeacon.com/uncategorized/fusion-gps-washington-free-beacon/
Sammy Finkelman (9974e8) — 6/13/2019 @ 11:58 amAll games sammy like false defectors from ncir ‘open up’ to the intercept which works with a front for the Iranian regime
Narciso (b0b7ad) — 6/13/2019 @ 12:02 pm@7. Saks Fifth Avenue ain’t the Garment District.
‘Never Mind The Quality: Feel The Width’ – ITV, 1967-71
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/13/2019 @ 12:05 pmGeorge Stephanapolous would like things to be like 1992.
In 1992, the George H W Bush campaign refused to listen to any begative infrmation about Bill Clinton that came over the transom.
And Bill Clinton publicly decried negativee campaigning even planted a question in a presidential debate about that. This was the questions from the audience by undecied voters debate. Moderator Carole Simpson harrangued the crowd about begative campaigning and also piked teh questioners after knowing what they wanted to ask.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?33137-1/presidential-candidates-debate
(at 00:13:09 into the debate)
Sammy Finkelman (9974e8) — 6/13/2019 @ 12:08 pmncir = ?
The Intercept is some publication.
Sammy Finkelman (9974e8) — 6/13/2019 @ 12:09 pmSammy – Thank you for the clarification. I stand corrected.
John B Boddie (72f331) — 6/13/2019 @ 12:12 pmJust amazing how he does this.
Looking forward to our Captain stating an opinion on UFOs and two days of news cycle chatter on flying saucers.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/13/2019 @ 12:17 pm23) You are simply incorrect.
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/ukraine-sabotage-trump-backfire-233446
They claim this article is false by saying that Clinton officials say they never received information the way politico says they did.
That’s the extent of their fact checking. Heck of a job by the Post.
NJRob (7f99ee) — 6/13/2019 @ 12:19 pmWasn’t the brefing book in connection with the 1980 campaign, that came out in 1983/4? And it wasn’ts stolen, but apeared to be lost? (accoring to whoever passed it on)
And in my opinion wasn’t the real Carter briefing book, but something to get Reagan focused on things that Carter wouldn’t say.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debategate
In 2009, something closer to the truth about it came out: (but probably still not the truth)
Was the Al Gore things anotehr story?
https://www.politico.com/story/2009/10/new-book-pins-debategate-on-dem-028317
Debategate was one of the things that Jimmy Carter tried to se to blame for his defeat. Anoher one was the October Surprise, which can be traced to Jimmy Carter himself. All 3 publicizers, barbara Honnegger, Abbie Hoffman, and Garey Sick had toes to Jimmy Carter and Jimmy Carter actually privately edited Gar Sick’s book.
Sammy Finkelman (9974e8) — 6/13/2019 @ 12:22 pmThe ncir is the umbrella group of Iranian resistance, which has provided info in the past, niac is the regime front.
Narciso (b0b7ad) — 6/13/2019 @ 12:27 pmThat last link has to do with aversion of 1980 story.
Apparently in the 2000 campaign, Al Gore said the same thing happened to hi as happened to Ragan but he was more virtuous:
https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/14/us/the-2000-campaign-the-debate-gore-aide-receives-then-lets-go-of-hot-potato.html
You notice, even here, nobody turns anything over to the FBI sight unseen, or before consulting a lawyer.
In 2001, a woman pleaded guilty to stealing and sending the material. I onlyy read the Google snippet of a Washington Post article.
Sammy Finkelman (9974e8) — 6/13/2019 @ 12:29 pm31. Sammy – Thank you for the clarification. I stand corrected
The mistake is understandable because this was the story that Fusion GPS attempted to spread, and the truth has some running to do to catch up with the lie..
Sammy Finkelman (9974e8) — 6/13/2019 @ 12:33 pmThe same Ken Vogel who hid klimnik state department contacts, and only ran half of the Biden story, quelle surprise.
Narciso (b0b7ad) — 6/13/2019 @ 12:44 pmForeign National works as a paid staffer for the campaign? Probably OK. If someone wants to hire Piers Morgan seems legit to me so long as it’s just a employment relationship. Does merit scrutiny.
Foreign National works for free? Seems potentially corrupt. Definitely merits scrutiny and shouldn’t be a common thing. But if some foreign student wants to stuff envelopes I don’t see a lot of harm.
Foreign government is involved in a way that has some impact? Merits scrutiny and the election interference needs to be clearly secondary. e.g. if the Ukraine were to open an investigation on Biden’s son (or China on one of Trumps kids) It would be suspicious. Not saying it’s completely unacceptable, but any action should be clearly justified in it’s own right.
Foreign Government is involved in a way that has impact and is intended to have impact? 100% NOT OK
Seems like pretty easy distinctions when you think about it. May have been what Trump meant. Too bad he doesn’t think quickly enough on his feet to give a good answer.
Let me suggest one for him;
“It’s never OK for foreign powers to interfere in our elections. I’ve been harder on Russia for what they did than anyone and I’ve sent a clear message that such things won’t be tolerated and honestly I don’t need that sort of help. But it does get a complicated. Some Canadian emails us embarrassing info on an opponent? We’ll vet it and do the right thing tell the FBI or whoever. We’d only use it if it were ethical. I don’t need to cheat to win.”
Too bad we don’t live in a Universe where our President is smart enough, and honest enough to say something better than what he did.
Time123 (457a1d) — 6/13/2019 @ 1:01 pmWay the heck OT, but had it not been for a baby she had with the then-leading contender for PAN (Santiago Creel), there could have been a wide range of might-have and might-not-have-beens, such as AMLO 12 years earlier and a less-clumsily and less-1-cartel-sided drug war.
http://abc7chicago.com/entertainment/edith-gonzalez-mexican-soap-opera-star-dies/5345352/?fbclid=IwAR38Ivj5ewTYktsr1W6rKwyeo7YCQys5fXiqUdNPtvGgdgm2N4uRas80w9A
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 6/13/2019 @ 1:05 pmA sad story, the Sinaloa was considered the same ones vs the Zetas and the govt which is considered another gang
Narciso (b0b7ad) — 6/13/2019 @ 1:15 pmSorry, but why did we have a 2 year Mueller investigation? Why are we STILL talking about Don Junior and Summer 2016? Mueller investigated all this. 450 page report. Did anyone in the MSM read it?
rcocean (1a839e) — 6/13/2019 @ 3:09 pmIRC, one of McCain’s aides went to London to GET the Dossier. Came back and gave it to others, besides McCain. He decided to contact Comey. He DID NOT contact Trump. Why? McCain never said. He just said – in his book – that anyone who criticizes his handling of the Dossier can -DIRECT QUOTE “Go to He*l”. That was our Maverick!
rcocean (1a839e) — 6/13/2019 @ 3:13 pmReuters:
When he lost Brian Kilmeade, I guess he knew he went too far.
DRJ (15874d) — 6/14/2019 @ 5:59 amDid you?
DRJ (15874d) — 6/14/2019 @ 6:00 amTrump didn’t Reverse Course – that’s just more MSM Lies. He was forced to clarify and amplify his remarks because the MSM lied and deliberately spun his original statement. But the MSM has been playing this game for 3.5 years now.
Trump: Well, i might do X. Depends.
rcocean (1a839e) — 6/15/2019 @ 10:35 amMSM: Trump says he’s 100% for X. Others criticize his incredible statement!
Trump: I never said 100% for X. I said it depends. blah, blah.
MSM: Trump Retreats from Crazy Statement he’s 100% for X. Others criticize his weakness!
Trump is misunderstood. Hourly. We might even say every time he speaks.
DRJ (15874d) — 6/15/2019 @ 10:59 am