Patterico's Pontifications

5/15/2017

Washington Post: President Trump Revealed Highly Classified Info To Russian Officials (Update Added)

Filed under: General — Dana @ 4:01 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Here we go:

President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week, according to current and former U.S. officials, who said Trump’s disclosures jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State.

The information the president relayed had been provided by a U.S. partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the U.S. government, officials said.

The partner had not given the United States permission to share the material with Russia, and officials said Trump’s decision to do so endangers cooperation from an ally that has access to the inner workings of the Islamic State. After Trump’s meeting, senior White House officials took steps to contain the damage, placing calls to the CIA and the National Security Agency.

“This is code-word information,” said a U.S. official familiar with the matter, using terminology that refers to one of the highest classification levels used by American spy agencies. Trump “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.”

It was during that meeting, officials said, that Trump went off script and began describing details of an Islamic State terrorist threat related to the use of laptop computers on aircraft…

Further:

In his meeting with Lavrov, Trump seemed to be boasting about his inside knowledge of the looming threat. “I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel every day,” the president said, according to an official with knowledge of the exchange.

Trump went on to discuss aspects of the threat that the United States learned only through the espionage capabilities of a key partner. He did not reveal the specific intelligence-gathering method, but he described how the Islamic State was pursuing elements of a specific plot and how much harm such an attack could cause under varying circumstances. Most alarmingly, officials said, Trump revealed the city in the Islamic State’s territory where the U.S. intelligence partner detected the threat.

The report clarifies that President Trump “has broad authority to declassify government secrets, making it unlikely that his disclosures broke the law.”

This statement from H.R. McMaster is being volleyed back and forth by various factions as to whether it is a denial of the story, or a tacit confirmation of it:

“The president and the foreign minister reviewed common threats from terrorist organizations to include threats to aviation,” said H.R. McMaster, the national security adviser, who participated in the meeting. “At no time were any intelligence sources or methods discussed, and no military operations were disclosed that were not already known publicly.”

The White House has begun to push back against the story, with Deputy NSA Dina Powell claiming that it’s false:

“This story is false. The president only discussed the common threats that both countries faced.”

Allahpundit raises a couple of interesting points:

Two U.S. officials told BuzzFeed after WaPo’s story dropped that it’s true and “it’s far worse than what has already been reported.” Reportedly the Senate Intelligence Committee has been briefed about it. Exit question one: Hey, remember this story from January? Exit question two via David Frum: If you’re a U.S. natsec professional, how do you prevent this from happening again? Start withholding information from the president? There’s no way to stop him from blurting out classified info in the course of conversation once the conversation’s begun. The only way is to keep it from him in the first place. Although the fact that this incredibly embarrassing mishap has been leaked may be their way of trying to shame Trump into preparing more diligently for meetings going forward and being far more careful about what he says. (Especially since he’s leaving on his first foreign trip as president soon.) In the end, maybe the only way to get through to him is with bad press.

Apparently National Security Adviser HR McMaster will be addressing the Washington Post report any moment.

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

UPDATE:
Untitled

UPDATE 2: McMaster at this morning’s presser. Relevant portion begins at the 30:23 mark:

–Dana

409 Responses to “Washington Post: President Trump Revealed Highly Classified Info To Russian Officials (Update Added)”

  1. I’m pressed for time, so just slapping up the particulars. Will update as time permits.

    Dana (023079)

  2. I remember the Obama administration was proud of getting Osama bin Laden and bragged that Bin Laden’s presence was verified by a doctor getting DNA while doing a routine medical visit. What happened to that doctor? Woops!

    AZ Bob (f7a491)

  3. Yes Brennan actually burned a key asset inside aqap, the investigation found a part time fbi contractor as scapegoat

    narciso (ae786b)

  4. Let’s see what one of the people who were present have to say about it… McMaster.

    Or we could always ask Seal Team 6, circa 2011 or 2012 what they think about it. Oh… wait…

    Colonel Haiku (33b771)

  5. So let’s look at this logically, who would be in a position to know, a translator since trump knows little russian?

    narciso (ae786b)

  6. > If you’re a U.S. natsec professional, how do you prevent this from happening again? Start withholding information from the president

    If you’re a US natsec professional and you are withholding information from the President, then you are a rogue actor who has forfeited any claim to be acting under color of law.

    I *despise* this President. I think he’s a walking national security catastrophe.

    But once the intelligence agencies decide to stop subjecting themselves to the command and control of the elected executive, that genie is *never* going back in the bottle.

    aphrael (e0cdc9)

  7. Narciso, at 5:

    The quoted text says

    > senior White House officials took steps to contain the damage, placing calls to the CIA and the National Security Agency.

    If that’s true, then whoever took such steps was in a position to know, and whoever they called and talked to would be, as well.

    aphrael (e0cdc9)

  8. McMasters issued a classic ‘non-denial denial’ denying what wasn’t in the story to begin with and has destroyed his credibility. Another one bites the dust. It’s a brown shoe day for opur Captain. He really stepped it in this time. Early to bed and no strawberries for you, sir! Rooskies will ‘reverse engineer’ and ferret out sources and methods and get a source(s) snuffed… oy vey!

    “Captain, we’ve steamed over our own tow line!” – Steve Merrick [Van Johnson] ‘The Caine Mutiny, 1954

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  9. Time to cashin on all those milkshakes: the new press secretary will be Bill O’Reilly.

    “Mama-mia! That’s a Spicey meat-a-ball!” – Alka-Seltzer commercial, 1970’s.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  10. How would former officials know, this is more Rhodes gaslighting.

    narciso (ae786b)

  11. Narciso: please be a bit more clear and explain how this is “gaslighting”.

    aphrael (e0cdc9)

  12. Omg o’keefe wiretapped Landrieu, yes it’s that level of bafflegrab.

    narciso (ae786b)

  13. Narciso, it would seem tongues started wagging when as the WaPo reports:

    Thomas P. Bossert, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, placed calls to the directors of the CIA and the NSA, the services most directly involved in the intelligence-sharing arrangement with the partner.

    One of Bossert’s subordinates also called for the problematic portion of Trump’s discussion to be stricken from internal memos and for the full transcript to be limited to a small circle of recipients, efforts to prevent sensitive details from being disseminated further or leaked.

    Whether warranted or not the DHS decision to request limited distribution of parts of the transcript and internal memos provided the impetus to get the gossip going.

    I’m glad the press and government officials are concerned about protecting classified information. I just wish they’d stop gossiping to one another in public for no apparent reason other than political attacks.

    crazy (d3b449)

  14. LT. GEN. H.R. McMASTER, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: “I have a brief statement for the record. There is nothing that the president takes more seriously than the security of the American people. The story that came out tonight as reported is false. The president and the foreign minister reviewed a range of common threats to our two countries, including threats to civil aviation.

    At no time, at no time, where intelligent sources or methods discussed. And the president did not disclose any military operations that were not already publicly known. Two other senior officials who were present, including the Secretary of the State, remember the meeting the same way and have said so. Their on the record accounts should outweigh anonymous sources. I was in the room. It didn’t happen.”

    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2017/05/15/mcmaster_the_story_that_came_out_tonight_as_reported_is_false.html

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  15. Why couldn’t Trump just lie about giving billions plus nuclear info to the mullahs…….that got a pass from the msm.

    harkin (299d24)

  16. Sigh

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  17. One would almost think there were people in Washington who’d like to undermine the relationship between the U.S. and Russia.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  18. I’m sorry, Dana, but there’s no story here. Obama did it with Osama bin Laden, so that makes it okay for Trump to do it.

    nk's Trumpkin twin (dbc370)

  19. aphrael, it’s kind of an upside down inside out drinking game I play. You say certain things, I drop and pump out ten push-ups.

    You said a certain something but the dog walked in front of me and I only got to seven. Then I fell on my face laughing.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  20. Two U.S. officials told BuzzFeed after WaPo’s story dropped that it’s true

    Buzzfeed? You’ll never believe these 10 HIGHLY CLASSIFIED LEAKS Trump gave to Russia!

    Dejectedhead (0c7c2f)

  21. Does buzz feed enjoy the taste of shoe leather, gubarev has already got a piece of their hide?

    narciso (ae786b)

  22. if the wapo propaganda sluts had a smidge of credibility this might be marginally interesting

    but alas

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  23. Excuse me. WASHINGTON POST and BUZZFEED?

    I’m sure that horse[edit] impresses the h e double hockeysticks out of {hands in the} Tillman.

    For the rest of us with functioning synapses it carries about as much weight as a Hillary Clinton has 97% chance of winning the Presidency prediction.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  24. When Trump met with the Russian ministers, the one complaint I remember seeing all over the place from liberals, was that no journalists were allowed into the room.

    Dejectedhead (0c7c2f)

  25. The media are blinded by their hatred for the man and it clouds their judgement, they can’t see clearly. The media suspends all objectivity regarding coverage of the other party, they tell half-truths or lie in service of a political agenda. And they wonder why the American people distrusts them and disregards their reporting.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  26. i’m lovin’ that president trump

    he’s doing so good he’s doing so good

    sparklebunnies and wizzlesticks

    we should have a party

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  27. McMasters says the story is false:

    “There’s nothing that the president takes more seriously than the security of the American people. The story that came out tonight as reported is false.”

    Dana (023079)

  28. seems like these are the same leaky pigs corrupt fbi loser jimmy comey refused to investigate

    sleazy sleazy comey

    this is why you ain’t got no job

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  29. The lack of objectivity also affects #NeverTrump to an extent. Most supporters of the president know the man is seriously flawed but find themselves cheering for him in the face of an onslaught from all sides and they recognize a basic lack of fair play that hasn’t been seen for decades. They see the Democrats and their political operatives in the media as an enemy and a threat to our basic freedoms.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  30. Yeah except for the interference of the dog, easily ten.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  31. @14/29. Haiki! Gesundheit.

    A non-denial denial, folks. The WaPo and NYT piece does not mention sources and methods. McMaster’s allowed his credibility to be destroyed protecting a boast by Queeg. And another one bite’s the dust. Th chow must be pretty good at the WH cafeteria– can’t be any other reason these folks keep selling off their personal integrity so cheaply. Can’t wait for Press Secretary Bill O’Reilly to come aboard. What a show!

    “Pinhead! Next question!” Bill-o presser.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  32. I suspect this ‘leak’ is the exasperated WH staff’s effort to coral the man baby currently masquerading as POTUS and get him to treat classified information seriously.

    Spartacvs (2db708)

  33. I am inclined to believe McMasters, but the WaPo story is so very “Yeah, that sounds like something Trump would do”.

    nk (dbc370)

  34. Antelope country, coronello, antelope country. Here’s to me making myself dissappear. A whole &&&&ing family of otters used to not be able to see me.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  35. I’d say that I will await you walking your usual horsestuff back at the appropriate time, DCSCA, but I’ve learned that’s not your style. If it were, you’d be having personalized service at AAMCO.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  36. I don’t see anything about a treacherous press making stuff up on the fly and reporting it as fact
    backed up such sources as who [jpg]?

    papertiger (c8116c)

  37. Happy hunting, Steve!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  38. 38 is reply to # 26 {Karnak the magnificent}

    papertiger (c8116c)

  39. When I wanted to, I I’d turn myself into a tree. And the deer would step across my legs like they were roots.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  40. NK, at 35: yeah, that’s really the rub, isn’t it? McMaster has earned credibility on this subject, AND the story is *so* consistent with how Trump has behaved in other circumstances that it’s hard to disbelieve.

    aphrael (e0cdc9)

  41. Wapo is a dry hole. Pinched out.

    BuzzFeed – can’t claim it’s pinched out when it hasn’t produced pay dirt ever.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  42. Cheers, Coronello. Indeed.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  43. Those are mining terms – motherlode, placerville, gold country,

    papertiger (c8116c)

  44. AND the story is *so* consistent with how Trump has behaved in other circumstances that it’s hard to disbelieve.

    aphrael (e0cdc9) — 5/15/2017 @ 5:58 pm

    I’ll go as far as to say it matches the level of your myopia.

    Feel free to list the numerous examples where the Wapo and BuzzFeed presented the outrageous that actually survived two days of sober scrutiny.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  45. Now they wrap the lie in a seed of truth, was not a Russian airliner taken down by a concealed explosive device by IslAmic state’s Egypt affiliate?

    narciso (ae786b)

  46. In turn, papertiger, feel free to list one thing upon which El Presidentalissimo kept a discreet silence.

    Besides his taxes.

    nk (dbc370)

  47. https://mobile.twitter.com/MZHemingway/st
    atus/864271061763936256

    narciso (ae786b)

  48. Link doesn’t work, narciso.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  49. nk – the WH taping system……other than alluding to it of course.

    Spartacvs (2db708)

  50. I’m not referring to Wapo or Buzzfeed stories. All you need to do is look at Trump’s erratic tweeting; the behavior which generates that is entirely consistent with the behavior of bragging to his guests and *accidentally* disclosing protected information while bragging.

    aphrael (e0cdc9)

  51. I’m not referring to Wapo or Buzzfeed stories. All you need to do is look at Trump’s erratic tweeting; the behavior which generates that is entirely consistent with the behavior of bragging to his guests and *accidentally* disclosing protected information while bragging.

    aphrael (e0cdc9)

  52. In turn, papertiger, feel free to list one thing upon which El Presidentalissimo kept a discreet silence.

    Besides his taxes.

    nk (dbc370) —

    Is that surrender? Looks like surrender.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  53. Teh Washington Post… “Journalism Dies in a Cloud of Flatulence”

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  54. WaPo reporter just confirmed on MSNBC code word classified info boated by President Queeg to the Rooskies was sourced from an ‘ally’ not a ‘liaison.’

    Oy vey.

    Should be a jolly trip to the ‘allies’ in the Mideast this week, eh, Captain?

    “Take the tow line. Defective equipment, no more no less!” – Captain Queeg [Humphrey Bogart] ‘The Caine Mutiny’ 1954

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  55. Reminding that Blumenthal was a fake marine, for forty years is not a state secret, even though its treated as such.

    narciso (ae786b)

  56. Oohhhh MSLSD!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  57. It appears the topic being discussed was the proposed laptop ban. We’ve already seen news that some of the underlying intel was from the SpecOps raid in Yemen.

    Discussion of the laptop ban with aviation partners is obviously going to take some intel disclosure. I believe that this story is exaggerated bullshit.

    Possibly in discussing the intel with the Russians, Trump included bits beyond what the intel community expected.

    SPQR (a3a747)

  58. And some people revealed highly classified information to the Washington Post, especially the fact that it was important.

    This “highly classified information” is probably the identity of the terrorist group that is supposedly plotting to put explosives that can’t currently be detected into laptops. Donald Trump could not have gone into much more detail than that,

    And there’s a very strong chance that the information that was given to the United States was FALSE and that’s why the United States was told not to share this even with close allies. Taht way we wouldn’t find out out it was false. At least in part. By now they really ought to know the kind of games the Saudis play.

    The attack method itself is hardly a secret – that’s why all this is going on about possibly prohibiting the carrying of laptops aboard planes coming from Europe. First it was from some 10 airports in the Middle East, now they want to extend it to Europe. Airlines complain that checking laptops in luggage is maybe not actually safer – if the laptop really contains explosives, it might be worse for it to explode and if you have so many laptops in checked baggage there’s a higher probability you could start a fire in the cargo hold. If a laptop starts a fire in the cabin, it’s less dangerous and easier to put out.

    http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/12/news/laptop-ban-batteries-fire-risk-europe

    Passengers on flights covered by the restrictions are required to carry anything bigger than a smartphone in checked baggage. But aviation experts say storing large numbers of devices with lithium batteries in the cargo hold of a plane constitutes a fire risk.

    So he’s not supposed to discuss any of this stuff? Or say he agrees a certain group in Syria are terrorists?

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  59. @57. Ahh, but which Trump foot had the bone spur is.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  60. I have a comment in moderation

    SPQR (a3a747)

  61. You see why Donald Trump is trying to pretend that he’s taping some conversations.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  62. @61. Forward it to the WH and he’ll tweet it out for you by dawn.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  63. Double A, M C O, DCSCA.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  64. If it wasn’t the Sauudis it was Qatar. The same people who told the CIA that attack in Benghazi was inspired by a video.

    (If we’re talking a country that may have possibly infiltrated Islamic State – except wasn’t it Original al Qaeda ® ™ that was going to do that? The big secret is supposed to be the identity of the terrorist group that is supposedly plotting or researching this line of attack.)

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  65. Scorpions on a frog

    http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/04/yemeni_government_of.php

    narciso (ae786b)

  66. And there’s a very strong chance that the information that was given to the United States was FALSE and that’s why the United States was told not to share this even with close allies. Taht way we wouldn’t find out out it was false. At least in part. By now they really ought to know the kind of games the Saudis play.

    This! +1

    We already ban laptops on flights that originate in some Arab countries, and it affects mainly Arab airlines that fly to the United States with stopovers in Europe to pick up more passengers. Well, Europeans are avoiding them and taking flights which did not originate in Arab countries. The Arabs want to eliminate the difference, and the competitive disadvantage, by giving Ivanka trademark protection and Trump all their hotel and resort business, and getting him to ban laptops on all flights to the United States.

    nk (dbc370)

  67. In other news, the State Department announced that the government of Syria had built crematoria to dispose of the bodies of people it was executing.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  68. You would get him to ban laptops on all flights by saying the danger can’t be contained.

    But I think maybe the whole laptop bomb technology is made up, and it wouldn’t actually work, or be beyond the skills of small groups, and would probably not be undetectable at any rate.

    If it undetectable, why do you even need to use laptops??

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  69. Wherever Osama bin Laden and Yasser Arafat are, they gotta be slapping each other on the back. When it comes to air travel, the terrorists have won and keep on winning.

    nk (dbc370)

  70. The WaPo source is the Russians.

    Think it thru.

    Learn from this Mr. Pres.

    Shipwreckedcrew (d6b59b)

  71. Well the scalding lake of fire would likely prevent such congratulations

    narciso (ae786b)

  72. Shipwreckedcrew: that’s an interesting thought. It would make a fair amount of sense – I think there’s good reason to believe that the real Russian interest here is just creating chaos and noise in the US.

    I also like the theory that this is deep state retaliation for Comey.

    aphrael (e0cdc9)

  73. That would seem more probable shipwrecked, may be they heard of it first, didn’t they lose an asset spectacularlu recently

    narciso (ae786b)

  74. I’m looking forward to the Twitter storm. If one is not forthcoming, we’ll need to send in the Secret Service to release Trump from the closet where Bannon and Kellyanne have him hogtied and gagged.

    nk (dbc370)

  75. 72. 74. The Washington Post said its sources were “officials” – and one of them was “a U.S. official familiar with the matter” and another was “a former senior U.S. officials who is close to current officials.”

    And how would the Russians know how he was not suppposed to reveal this even to allies?

    Now, none of the sources that said there was a problem were in the meeting – at best their knowledge could stem from the fact that somebody thought some form of compartmentalization had been broken and the CIA and the NSA needed to be told.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  76. I don’t trust the Washington Post.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  77. 6. aphrael (e0cdc9) — 5/15/2017 @ 4:34 pm

    But once the intelligence agencies decide to stop subjecting themselves to the command and control of the elected executive, that genie is *never* going back in the bottle.

    Well, they never told Truman that they broke the Russian code that proved Alger Hiss had been a spy.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venona_project

    Senior army officers, in consultation with the FBI and CIA, made the decision to restrict knowledge of Venona within the government (even the CIA was not made an active partner until 1952). Army Chief of Staff Omar Bradley, concerned about the White House’s history of leaking sensitive information, decided to deny President Truman direct knowledge of the project. The president received the substance of the material only through FBI, Justice Department, and CIA reports on counterintelligence and intelligence matters. He was not told the material came from decoded Soviet ciphers. To some degree this secrecy was counter-productive; Truman was distrustful of FBI head J. Edgar Hoover and suspected the reports were exaggerated for political purposes.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  78. Of course, if it is true, another member of the Cabinet is probably looking up Amendment 25.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  79. Kevin M – probably best to wait and see what Fox & Friends have to say in the morning, no?

    Spartacvs (2db708)

  80. The irony there is wideband the tech assigned to the project had already tipped off the Soviets in 46. Re Verona.
    Several years there was another enlisted man who have up codes, which became really handy in korea

    narciso (ae786b)

  81. Seeing as he’s paying tribute to law enforcement, he’ll figure out what (redacted) carp has really been going on.

    narciso (ae786b)

  82. I *despise* this President. I think he’s a walking national security catastrophe.

    But once the intelligence agencies decide to stop subjecting themselves to the command and control of the elected executive, that genie is *never* going back in the bottle.

    aphrael (e0cdc9) — 5/15/2017 @ 4:34 pm

    Extremely good point. Like it or not, the people have spoken, and Trump is the president. Undermining him at that level is fundamentally opposing our democratic process.

    However, I think our allies probably should figure out the truth of this story before sharing intel with us.

    If it’s true, the same crowd will defend. They impress eachother, but no one else.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  83. You mean like the raid in yemen that actually yielded actionable info, the misunderstanding with the Vinson, what other carp has been blown up and corrections have lagged by a parsec?

    narciso (ae786b)

  84. More foaming at the mouth from the left. Is this what we have to look forward to for the rest of our lives whenever a non-leftist wins an election?

    NJRob (9954aa)

  85. R.I.P. Powers Boothe

    Icy (6ce65a)

  86. In the Bush administration a former air force official William arkin (That name rings a bell) published a whole book worth of code word programs, subsequently his colleague dana priest (who had previously received leaks about rendition sites) released a virtual map of our intelligence archipelago.

    narciso (ae786b)

  87. @6. And I love this President.

    He has successfully neutered the modern ideological conservative movement defeating a can of weenies who revealed how weak the ideological right truly is; shifted government ops to a pragmatic platform while setting the stage for a massive Democratic wave election in 2018– simply by demonstrating what colossally incompetent manager he truly is. Yet so marvelously entertaining at it. What a show! He’ll do at least three full seasons if he lays off the chocolate cream pie and sticks just to ice cream… and strawberries.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  88. DCSCA really captures why a conservative who saw this coming would be so frustrated, and admittedly biased, against Trump. Same reasons he loves him is why I dislike his little movement.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  89. Right the toughest atty general since Mitchell Palmer, a very resolute doctor performing surgery at hud, I’m not crazy about tillerson, but not a soft touch.

    What you have to understand, man of mystery is neither Peter George or Stanley Kubrick intended any reality in their satire.

    narciso (ae786b)

  90. He’s,a trull *(Elizabethan term, from John guy’s bio) like pikachu, what else is new.

    narciso (ae786b)

  91. If DCSCA were right, the Left and the counterculture would not be in a constant foam-flecked rage with “Trump” as a swearword about anything and everything. The election of Trump may be a repudiation of the neo-conservative agenda, but it is an even more profound repudiation of the neo-progressive agenda.

    nk (dbc370)

  92. Tudors had remarkable publicists like Thomas Morton, who Shakespeare relied as source material, as the borgia had il macchiA,

    narciso (ae786b)

  93. narciso @86. This is too much of a yes-yes infomercial type interview.

    The first big problem here is they use the term “KGB” But it wasn’t called the KGB until 1953. Now that’s to make things simpler for people, but that’s the whole problem. At some point it should at least explain what it was called. This is oversimpliflying and they shouldn’t do that. The name changes do mean something and it’s also how contemprary sources – and much later ones – will refer to the spy agency. It should be called the NKVD. They actually had another name too for a few years. The members of that organizatioare called Chekists, after the first name for that organization – the Cheka.

    This “primer’ also doesn’t make things too clear about the codebreaking, alrhough it has some new facts/ What happened is the soviets re-used one time pads occasionally, and that was enough to break the code – I should say cipher. The code is use of different words.

    There’s a good explanation as to why they don’t know who all the people referred to are.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  94. The biggest danger conservatives Americans face from Trump is the same one we saw with Bill Clinton and Obama. The normalization of shameless fraud and hucksterism that propels the lowest caliber of persons into the highest office.

    nk (dbc370)

  95. Is it really, who is a forthright nationalist among the upper echelon,
    Flynn is out, at the next level, gorka bannon and Anton.

    narciso (ae786b)

  96. “Rod Wheeler, a private investigator hired by the Rich family, suggests there is tangible evidence on Rich’s laptop that confirms he was communicating with WikiLeaks prior to his death.

    Now, questions have been raised on why D.C. police, the lead agency on this murder investigation for the past ten months, have insisted this was a robbery gone bad when there appears to be no evidence to suggest that.

    Wheeler, a former D.C. police homicide detective, is running a parallel investigation into Rich’s murder. Wheeler said he believes there is a cover-up and the police department has been told to back down from the investigation.

    “The police department nor the FBI have been forthcoming,” said Wheeler. “They haven’t been cooperating at all. I believe that the answer to solving his death lies on that computer, which I believe is either at the police department or either at the FBI. I have been told both.”

    When we asked Wheeler if his sources have told him there is information that links Rich to Wikileaks, he said, “Absolutely. Yeah. That’s confirmed.”

    Wheeler also told us, “I have a source inside the police department that has looked at me straight in the eye and said, ‘Rod, we were told to stand down on this case and I can’t share any information with you.’ Now, that is highly unusual for a murder investigation, especially from a police department. Again, I don’t think it comes from the chief’s office, but I do believe there is a correlation between the mayor’s office and the DNC and that is the information that will come out [Tuesday].”

    http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/254852337-story

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  97. Sammeh I was trying to point out that gen. Bradley was closing the door after the horses left.

    We shall see, Bill Clinton was successful in neutering the military and intelligence service, the lAst with the torricelli/deutch purge, at a critical moment, the rise of al queda the CRA revisions, motor voter they accelerated the coward liven scenario.

    narciso (ae786b)

  98. Does anyone remember Obama whispering to the Russians that he would have more flexibility after his 2012 election?

    AZ Bob (f7a491)

  99. If DCSCA were right, the Left and the counterculture would not be in a constant foam-flecked rage with “Trump” as a swearword about anything and everything. The election of Trump may be a repudiation of the neo-conservative agenda, but it is an even more profound repudiation of the neo-progressive agenda.

    nk

    You’re right. People are SICK of PC. They are sick of the sneering at flyover America. They are frustrated with an agenda that is forced, and ignoring the basic responsibilities they count on this expensive, leviathan government to actually take care of (like border control).

    But now we see the other side of the two party coin. Either you take Hillary or Trump last round, and this episode is a good example of how Hillary was a lot better than Trump. I know that statement is sacrilege, but it’s also obvious. There are a hell of a lot of ways Trump was a lot better than Hillary, but if he really makes a mess, Americans will see the GOP as the party of golden palaces and golf, squandering enormous amount of money, and ineffective at keeping the many amazing promises of the hustler in chief.

    The democrats wanted to win, but they lost the very best guy they could lose to.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  100. Where was the Post then?

    AZ Bob (f7a491)

  101. Does anyone remember Obama whispering to the Russians that he would have more flexibility after his 2012 election?

    AZ Bob (f7a491) — 5/15/2017 @ 8:37 pm

    The other side of that statement is that the Russians were frustrated that Obama was apparently not flexible enough for them, and they walked away with a promise that would change… which it sure doesn’t appear that it did.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  102. Narciso, I recommend Rafael Sabatini. Not all his work is as good as his Captain Blood stories (yeah, the Errol Flynn one), but he is amazing as a Cesare Borgia apologist. And from a “Who better for those times?” perspective, he may even be right.

    nk (dbc370)

  103. Thanks I’ll check it out, the source material was il macchia, who was throwing shade on his adversaries five centuries ago, now he had a falling out of power, which did not involve book deals but the strappando, heh the old ways have merit.

    narciso (ae786b)

  104. The link at 49, was re Kessler clickbait about this story.

    narciso (ae786b)

  105. 101. narciso (ae786b) — 5/15/2017 @ 8:37 pm

    Sammeh I was trying to point out that gen. Bradley was closing the door after the horses left.

    yes, but I don’t think anything like that is at the link.

    What that has about the tech assigned to the Venona project tipping off the Soviets. Thatmay be somewhere, but it’s not at your link.

    There is asomething about closing the door after the horses left but it’s about protecting the secret of the atomic bomb – but they knew about it in 1944. Although it’s said they got more from what was officially released.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  106. Yes ted hall, the Manhattan project has more holes than gruyere cheese, Fuchs Norwood, greenglass to the rosenbergd

    narciso (ae786b)

  107. The fact that just about all the MFM in a Google search are chorusing “another White House crisis” makes me doubt the story. Coordinated dezinformatsiya a/k/a fake news a/k/a lies. Let their “sources” come forward with sworn affidavits and I’ll believe WaPo. Otherwise, I believe McMasters.

    nk (dbc370)

  108. The whole story is all sttupid. What Trump most likely disclosed was that the United States now had word that ISIS now had (the design for at least) the laptop bomb that al Qaeda developed a Saudi double agent supplied to al Qaeda some years ago.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/01/cargo-plane-plot-saudi-agent-gave-alert

    http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/08/world/meast/yemen-qaeda-plot/#.

    So now the story is ISIS has that technology. I mean that’s what this story has to be.

    Whether that’s true or not is another story, and even if were true, whether it means anything is another story still.

    And in this whole thing the unasked question is: Why do you need laptops at all? I mean several years ago there was a supposed plot that did not involve laptops.

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/599140/foiled-pants-bomber-was-cia-agent-delivering-explosive-to-the-us/

    You know that one? There was a big complaint too, then, about too much being disclosed. Probably because the whole thing was phony, through and through. a complete sting peration, not really a foiled plot.

    So why do need any laptops?

    I suppose you could say for the trigger or timing device or something like that. And space for it to fit. And maybe it needs to be something that someone seeing metal being detected won’t be suspicious of. Or maybe just that there is intention for more than one bomb to be prepared, and not every one to be used at one time, snd if they are all similiar it’s got to be something that’s not going to raise suspicions and that means nothing unusual or otherwise after the first one they’ll stop all the rest.

    Or maybe just because using laptops is maybe part of the design right now.

    Or should we say because all the people making counter-terrorism plans have no imagination – but that’s all right, because the terrorists have even less?

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  109. Richard Engel is a rare reliable reporter over on the island of misfit toys, and be has some perspective.

    narciso (ae786b)

  110. I tracked that story on my own blog sammeh, the extra dollop was they were using batteries as delivery system

    narciso (ae786b)

  111. nk @110. In a way they could both be telling the truth.

    McMasters that Trump revealed no methods or sources (just a putative fact) and discussed no military operations that has not been discussed in published sources (some of them might not have been officially declassified, though)

    And the WaPo sources could also be telling the truth that that Trump revealed a big secret, or what is supposed to be a big secret – which could probably only be that ISIS knew the design and maybe was thinking of trying to build, bombs using somewhat undetectable explosives.

    The idea being you can’t reveal that because ISIS will now go on a mole hunt. And maybe find him because, naturally, there’s only one possible way we could have found that out. But Trump didn’t publish that “fact” in the Washington Post. He told the Russians!

    Suppose this is all true. That Trump endangered some agent.. Then it’s a little like the Chicago Tribune publishing the fact that U.S. broke the Japanese code. You don’t then try to call the attention of the Japanese to that article! You don’t do that. If it’s a really important real secret. You only go public if nothing in fact that’s important has been revealed. Then you can go around saying hwo stupid or unprepared Trump was.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  112. The first rule of fight club is you talk about fight club, and publishing it inn The post is like posting it on the raqqua chrinicle.

    narciso (ae786b)

  113. A modest prediction: We’re about to have a big “Trump vs. Freedom of the Press” kerfuffle that will have terrible optics for Trump, but that he actually might win if he has the luxury of time to see it through. Here’s how I think it could play out:

    Trump will, quite properly in his performance of his responsibilities as POTUS in this instance, raise hell about the leaking and insist on a vigorous investigation into the leaker(s).

    All potential suspects will deny everything. The only possible way to get the identities of the leakers will be going back upstream through the reporting journalists at the WaPo, who doubtless will refuse to cooperate, asserting the so-called “journalistic shield privilege” from compulsion against testifying to a grand jury about leak sources during a criminal investigation. Rod Rosenstein, for example, was questioned about them during his Senate confirmation hearings last March, and he confirmed that he’s had several occasions to review and comply with those regs and that he understands and supports them. (All uncontroversial statements, entirely anodyne and proper.)

    There is definitive SCOTUS precedent on this shield privilege stuff going back to the previous millennium. There are statutory shield laws in many states as well. And there are DoJ regulations which essentially require federal investigators, in particular, to exhaust every other available means before attempting to compel testimony or production of documents from the journalist who received the leak.

    However, you’ll perhaps recall that Judith Miller, then of the New York Times, did a long spell of stupid, needless jail time for refusing to give up her source in Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation into the supposedly wrongful disclosure of Judith Plame’s status with the CIA — an investigation whose only resulting prosecution was of Scooter Libby, and that only for the “process crime” of having made false statements to the FBI during the investigation.

    The legal lesson from that case relevant to today’s situation — or rather, a day in the very near future, if I’m right — is that with patience and after jumping through the requisite hoops, the DoJ (or a Special Prosecutor working within it) can indeed force such disclosures. The litigation swirling around Judith Miller — mostly around her and a colleague’s losing case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which the SCOTUS refused to disturb — demonstrates how much heat and smoke these controversies can gin up. But the law really is pretty clear, as I tried to lay out in an analysis of their opinion back in 2005 entitled Beldar’s scorecard on the DC Circuit’s Plame decision today: Prosecution 34, Journalists 0.

    If I were one of the WaPo reporters who dealt with the leaker(s), I’d be making sure my employer had its regular lawyers (probably Floyd Abrams and others) on full alert. I’d also be insisting that my employer pay for, up front and with a continuing guarantee, my own independent lawyer.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  114. Roll it back a minute. What just happened? Big to do in the news bureaus. The public gave it a yawn.

    Could care less. Even lefties didn’t know what to think about it, because they’re stupid.

    What happened recently? I’ll tell you.

    President Trump fired the last high level operative in a position to provide cover for the Clinton crime family.

    All Hillary has left to keep her out of prison are anonymous ex-officials close to the administration, and the media, all liquored up on oil sheikh money.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  115. Bah. Editing error. These two sentence in #118 above were referring to the regulations mentioned in the paragraph below (to which this sentence was meant to be appended):

    Rod Rosenstein, for example, was questioned about them during his Senate confirmation hearings last March, and he confirmed that he’s had several occasions to review and comply with those regs and that he understands and supports them. (All uncontroversial statements, entirely anodyne and proper.)

    Beldar (fa637a)

  116. narciso @ 114. What about Richard Engel? This?

    Richard Engel
    @RichardEngel

    Us intel official tells me trump told russians about laptop airline threat. Told it wasnt anything they didnt already know. @washingtonpost

    6:44 PM – 15 May 2017

    Richard Engel @RichardEngel

    Us intel official says trump was trying to show russians “how cooperative he wants to be with them” in fight against isis. @washingtonpost

    6:47 PM – 15 May 2017

    Richard Engel
    @RichardEngel

    Us intel official says Trump talked abt isis interest in laptops, which is why laptops of such concern these days. Says not new info

    7:01 PM – 15 May 2017

    See? This is almost exactly what I said.

    What Engel doesn’t have is why this is supposed to be a big secret, and who’s complaining, or would complain after they get told by U.S. officials that their conditions were violated.

    I suspect some country is using this, or its demands, as an excuse for not co-operating fully with the United States.

    By the way, does Richard Engel have “Us intel official” in the memory of his computer? Is it a hot key/ Probably the spell check/autocorrect has that.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  117. Miller and jagged can ask Matt Cooper for a referral, comey already knew armitage was the leaker, so this exercise was done to create the ‘narrative’

    narciso (ae786b)

  118. narciso @115. What was who they delivering using batteries?

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  119. It’s a nothingberger, but it got the right pavlovian response

    narciso (ae786b)

  120. Explosives in the laptop batteries

    narciso (ae786b)

  121. Judith Miller testified in rhe end because Scooter Libby released her from her pledge of confidentiality.

    He had indeed told her that Joe Wilson’s wife (she didn’t have her name right – she had it as Flame) was in the CIA and was the reason Joe wilson was picked (not true actually, in my opinion, but that’s what the CIA told people in the government. He was actually piked so they wouldn’t have to either defend or retract the information in the forged documents that came through Tyler Drumheller – documents that said Saddam Hussein had signed a contract to buy uranium from Niger))

    Judith Miller never told anyone about Valerie Plame.

    Scooter Libby claimed he learned about Valerie Plame from a reporter (which would mean the leak had already happened by that point) A jury found that not to be true, if I am right.

    Scotter Libby had initially denied telling anyone about Valerie Plame.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  122. Back during the war I remember this blogger called Iraq the Model, who became a big [edit] deal, because he would give us news while our media was fixated on giving the administration a black eye and body counts on a toteboard.

    One day Iraq The Model became such a big deal that the WaPo decided they would interview him.
    The resulting article of that interview started out with a thorough doxxing giving the name and address of of this guy who had been keeping his identity a secret for four years or more. Four that I was aware of personally.

    For a blogger in a war zone, I don’t care what their politics, what their religion, what their attitude towards Americans, that guys is keeping his identity a secret for a life and death reason I figure. That’s a line I’m not going to cross. Even if it were not a potentially life or death, that’s a line I wouldn’t cross.

    The WaPo didn’t hesitate. They danced a jig and set off fireworks crossing that line.

    That’s what I know about them from first hand experience,.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  123. Scotter (sic) Libby had initially denied telling anyone about Valerie Plame.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6) — 5/15/2017 @ 9:58 pm

    I despise everything about Washington DC except the 3rd Infantr

    It’s only because of the 2nd Infantry, and all the time I spent at Camp Casey, that the VFW welcomes me. Second ID, Second to none! Shout out from Seventh Fleet.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  124. Hey I spent a lot of time near Casey, though at a much much smaller installation without all the creature comforts Casey had like American restaurants. TDC had the best ‘ville a couple of decades ago. Good times, but cold as hell.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  125. President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week, according to current and former U.S. officials, who said Trump’s disclosures jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State.

    I was unaware that it was unnecessary to provide a name in order to work for the U.S. government…

    Michael Ejercito (462fbe)

  126. Mr. Finkelman, Libby signed the release long before anyone questioned Judith Miller about her sources. Miller’s position was that she was entitled, unilaterally as a member of the press, to decide that Libby’s signing of the release was involuntary, since Dubya had required such a waiver of everyone questioned in the investigation as a condition of their continuing employment.

    I mention this not in the interest of discussing it with you, or discussing the rest of your comment above in #126, which I confess that I don’t quite follow or recall as you do. I mention it because what Dubya did in that investigation — ordering everyone to sign such waivers — is something that the current POTUS can and likely will do himself as part of the investigation of this leak.

    For present purposes in this prediction, I’m assuming that there’s at least reasonable suspicion to investigate crimes associated with the leaks, based largely on the current claim by the WaPo that it has been asked by the government not to print some of the leaked information in their reporters’ possession.

    Trump has put himself into a “damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t” situation with respect to these leaks. He’s accused of being the original source. He’s also obliged in his official capacity as POTUS to faithfully execute the nation’s laws, including its laws against compromising national security, and while the POTUS him/herself is legally incapable of violating those laws, that’s not the case for the WaPo (and perhaps also NYT’s?) source(s).

    This scenario will necessarily take weeks to begin to play out publicly, even if I’m right and it all goes lickety split. It would take that long for DoJ to jump through the hoops required in the regs, even if treated as an emergency top-priority matter.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  127. Scooter Libby had not only re-affirmed that his release was voluntary, he wrote a genuinely beautiful letter to Judith Miller urging her to honor it:

    You went into jail in the summer. It is fall now. You will have stories to cover — Iraqi elections and suicide bombers, biological threats and the Iranian nuclear program. Out West, where you vacation, the aspens will already be turning. They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them. Come back to work — and life.

    Until then, you will remain in my thoughts and prayers.

    With admiration,

    /s/
    Lewis Libby

    Beldar (fa637a)

  128. Col. – Great post@ 100.
    You and I will be the only ones that know.
    Lets get back to another Trump trashing post.
    More dustspin from DOSCA and Beldar.

    mg (31009b)

  129. William Jacobson at Legal Insurrection:

    “The reaction from #NeverTrump “conservatives” (to the WaPo story) was among the most disgusting I’ve ever seen — there was absolute joy to the point of giddiness that Trump was going down.”

    Now that the story has been completely refuted, maybe it is time for a little reflection.

    Perhaps that’s asking too much.

    Never trust content from the WaPo, NYT, AP, etc., etc., etc. . . .

    ThOR (c9324e)

  130. Dustin, at 85: I take part of being a *responsible* member of the opposition that I should not support, nor should I encourage my compatriots to support, actions that undermine the *system*. Doing so damages the republic as much as my worst impressions of how the republic might be damaged by the person I’m opposing; my responsibility as a citizen is to do what I can to *avoid* damaging the republic.

    aphrael (3f0569)

  131. Where was the Post then?

    When?

    Fast & Furious?
    Benghazi BS excuses?
    Biden IDing Seal Team 6?

    Oh. Being more flexible. That’s not the same thing at all. Obama’s a Democrat.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  132. Hey I spent a lot of time near Casey, though at a much much smaller installation without all the creature comforts Casey had like American restaurants. TDC had the best ‘ville a couple of decades ago. Good times, but cold as hell.
    Dustin (ba94b2) — 5/15/2017 @ 10:52 pm

    Wait, wut? I thought I was the only one who served in the military.

    Well, me and crew of the Carl Vinson. And the crew of Belleau Wood. And Battle Force Seventh Fleet. And COMCARGRU 3, the training battle group. And 8th Air Force. And Second Infantry.

    Because I’m special.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  133. Sometimes I’m kind of a (blank).

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrier_Strike_Group_5

    Carrier Strike Group 5, (CSG 5 or CARSTRKGRU 5), is the U.S. Navy carrier strike group assigned to the United States Pacific Fleet and permanently forward deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet.

    CSG 5 is responsible for unit-level training, integrated training, and material readiness for the group’s ships and aviation squadrons. As the only continuously forward deployed carrier strike group, the CSG-5 staff does not stand down when the strike group is in Yokosuka, but instead continues to maintain command responsibilities over deploying Carrier Strike Groups and independently deployed cruisers, destroyers, and frigates that operate in the Seventh Fleet operating area. The commander and staff are also responsible for the higher level Task Force 70 duties throughout the year in addition to the CSG-5 duties. The composition of the strike group in immediate proximity of the Ronald Reagan varies throughout the year.[1][2]…

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  134. I had nothing to do with it.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  135. Calling all D.C. lawyers and media lawyers –
    go fund yourselves

    mg (31009b)

  136. I’ll see your AmeriCan’tThink and raise you a confession by the Loudmouth-in-Chief. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/16/trump-acknowledges-facts-shared-with-russian-envoys-during-white-house-meeting/?utm_term=.8eee9e86f38e

    I can see why somebody like Kellyanne, Bannon, Spicer or Priebus would work for Trump. But why would any person with a shred of personal dignity like McMaster, Tillerson or Sessions?

    nk (dbc370)

  137. 136. Aphrael, the Russian-infiltrated far right has been convinced that to destroy our government is somehow patriotic. To cheer on Godzilla is, frankly, nuts.

    Tillman (a95660)

  138. The Tweeter-in-chief has returned with a new version of his story:

    Trump ADMITS sharing intelligence with Russian officials ‘which I have the absolute right to do’, contradicting White House officials who said claims he slipped classified ISIS secrets were FALSE.

    He certainly makes McMaster look like a fool.

    PS – Tillman, there are America-hating people on both sides. It isn’t a partisan feature.

    DRJ (15874d)

  139. Power, nk.

    DRJ (15874d)

  140. No the sources were lying as they did general Flynn, Pena nieto and trumbull, tou notice a pattern.

    narciso (ae786b)

  141. I’ve updated the post with President Trump’s tweets from 2 hours ago wherein he “explains” his actions.

    Dana (023079)

  142. Nick kristof, who ruined a man’s life, because he could, and was party to another such act.

    narciso (ae786b)

  143. foolish mcmaster another dimbulb sleazy trump-loving piece of grade-a U.S. military trash

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  144. I followed the original leak story five years ago

    http://narcisoscorner.blogspot.com/?m=1

    narciso (ae786b)

  145. It’s not just McMasters he makes look like a fool, it’s Powell and Tillerson too.

    Dana (023079)

  146. Trump makes everyone who defend him look foolish.

    DRJ (15874d)

  147. tillerson’s a sleazy gullible climate change pansy he has absolutely no discernment, he so dumb

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  148. DRJ, what you say may well have an element of truth, but currently they’re not in power supporting a Russian puppet destroying our country at the moment.

    Tillman (a95660)

  149. Thank God for Trump’s obvious incompetence; otherwise his plan to destroy our country for Russia might have succeeded.

    Tillman (a95660)

  150. Was the “openly scheduled meeting” that the president is referring to in his tweet the one closed to American media but open to Russian memember me of the media?

    Dana (023079)

  151. Trump doesn’t care about Russia. He only cares about himself. He thought he was using Russia but the Russians are masters at that game.

    DRJ (15874d)

  152. Right as if the times and the post haven’t gratuitously leaked the names of operatives like Ksm’ s interrogator, rendition sites, transport companies et al, but they cried over valerie plame.

    narciso (ae786b)

  153. He was using Russia by giving away our national, top secret intelligence, DRJ? I’m not buying that.

    Tillman (a95660)

  154. And we called Obama a Clusterf**k. This White House couldn’t find its ass with both hands. They should have said no more than

    Right now, the only visible leaker of possibly classified information to enemies of the United States is the Washington Post. There will be an investigation of the matters related in the Washington Post story. We will tell you the results of our investigation when it is completed.

    nk (dbc370)

  155. I think so, Dana. Here Is how the meeting with Kislyak and Lavrov (the day after Trump fired Comey) was reported in the American media.

    DRJ (15874d)

  156. He was making himself look powerful, Tillman. Obama and his Administration did it, too. Remember when one of Obama’s Generals outed Stuxnet as a US-Israeli plot, and Obama pardoned him? Sometimes Presidents leak for national security reasons but sometimes they do it for ego.

    DRJ (15874d)

  157. The president’s accurate defense of his blabbing having been legal does not relieve him of deomstrated incompetency.

    Dana (023079)

  158. *demonstrated*

    Dana (023079)

  159. Most of sanger’s 2013 book were contributions from donilon, McDonough and Cartwright, Brennan burned a most promising agent, link above, and the post clapped like seals at feeding time.

    narciso (ae786b)

  160. And don’t forget all the leaks about the death of OBL. Do you really think that information needed to be disclosed, or do you think it was something Obama wanted people to know about because it made him look strong and capable? Was it worth hurting the people who helped us find and take out OBL, because cost some people their lives when Obama released the details.

    DRJ (15874d)

  161. “My spy service is bigger than your spy service, Vovochka.”

    nk (dbc370)

  162. Via Mark Knoller:

    WH/NSC spokesman Mike Anton emphatically denies that Pres Trump’s tweets today confirm disclosure of classified material to Russia.

    Dana (023079)

  163. Tillman,

    The people to blame are the Republican establishment who backed Trump when they saw Cruz had momentum during the GOP primaries. The GOPe would do anything to stop Cruz and I guess they thought they could manage Trump. As usual, they thought wrong. They are even bigger idiots than Trump is.

    DRJ (15874d)

  164. Yet the president’s tweets did not deny he disclosed classified info. Unless he didn’t realize he was doing just that. Which would the. lead us back to incompetency, no??

    Dana (023079)

  165. Via Mark Knoller:
    WH/NSC spokesman Mike Anton emphatically denies that Pres Trump’s tweets today confirm disclosure of classified material to Russia.
    Dana (023079) — 5/16/2017 @ 7:25 am

    “Shut up”, he explained.

    nk (dbc370)

  166. Horse manure, Dana. The discussion of Russian support for a laptop ban required disclosure of intel to justify it. This story is, at best, someone in intelligence community whining about losing the decision on how much to disclose.

    SPQR (a3a747)

  167. harvardtrash ted couldn’t have beaten stinkypig cause he so repellent snotty and poopy.

    And then we’d be in a real pickle!

    Thank God President Trump stepped up. We in high cotton now, booba!

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  168. “I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel every day.”

    Patterico (115b1f)

  169. Ok, now we’ve gone the gamut:
    — He did not do it.
    — He had the right to do it.
    — It was necessary for him to do it.
    — What he did is not what they say he did.

    nk (dbc370)

  170. 131. Beldar (fa637a) — 5/15/2017 @ 11:04 pm

    Mr. Finkelman, Libby signed the release long before anyone questioned Judith Miller about her sources.

    I think I remember that. At the end, she accepted that she had his permission.

    Libby was in the position where if he didn’t do that, he would forfeit his job. For the same reason he could not take the 5th amendment.

    Miller’s position was that she was entitled, unilaterally as a member of the press, to decide that Libby’s signing of the release was involuntary, since Dubya had required such a waiver of everyone questioned in the investigation as a condition of their continuing employment.

    The release actually I think didn’t any legal meaning, but if she was entitled to protect her sources, that protection stayed in such circumstances.

    The rest of thia you probably don’t want, but to clarify my thinking for everyone:

    I confess that I don’t quite follow or recall as you do.

    I think he did initially deny leaking. At a certain point the story became that he did discuss Valerie Plame but only after he had learned about from other reporters, particularly maybe Tim Russert of Meet the Press. (and of course once this was all over Washington he did discuss it)

    Tim Russert and maybe one or two other reporters testified that their conversations with Scooter Libby didn’t go the way Scooter Libby said they did. None of them said they told Libby that Valerie Plame was Joe Wilson’s wife.

    And all this was because of the lie that the revelation of Valerie Plame’s name and relationship to both the CIA and Joe Wilson was retaliation for Joe Wilson publishing an op-ed claiming he’d refuuted the claim that Saddam Hussein tried to buy uranium in the late 1990s which is precisely what he did NOT do. He reported informally, and the report didn’t go to Cheney, that it was exceedingly unlikely, because of the international supervision adnd regulations, that Saddam Hussein had actually bought uranium from Niger, but that wasn’t really the claim. The forged documents, after all, could be valid but the transaction fell through.

    THe lie was that mentioning Valerie Plame was purely gratutious while in reality it was extremely relevant because it was the explanation that came from the CIA as to why Joe Wilson had been sent to Niger. Which was asked by Judith Miller because if the whole purpose of the trip was to evade Vice President’s Dick Cheney’s request (back in early 2002) to doublecheck the claim that Saddam Hussein had signed a contract to buy uranium from Niger, it would be interesting to find out who in the CIA was responsible for that! And important to the president, too.

    I think it could be that Scooter Libby was the first to ask the CIA who selected Joe wilson, and he may have done that because a reporter asked him. The CIA then gave everyone this explanation in the U.S. government they could that the reason or the trip was Valerie Plame being Joe Wilson’s wife.

    It was natural for Scooter Libby to then tell Judith Miller. There’d be no reason for her to publish that if it was true, and she didn’t. It was in fact a lie designed to kill a story, and turn off a line of inqquiry.

    Bob Novak did publish it, and it may have been leaked to Bon Novak for the purpose of starting a whole hullabaloo and a criminal investigation, and getting people further and further away from the question and the true answer of who selected Joe Wilson and who decided on this Niger trip as a way to answer the vice president. Which still has not been answered.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  171. Interesting:

    What sets this story apart for me, at least, is that I know one of the sources. And the source is solidly supportive of President Trump, or at least has been and was during Campaign 2016. But the President will not take any internal criticism, no matter how politely it is given. He does not want advice, cannot be corrected, and is too insecure to see any constructive feedback as anything other than an attack.

    So some of the sources are left with no other option but to go to the media, leak the story, and hope that the intense blowback gives the President a swift kick in the butt. Perhaps then he will recognize he screwed up. The President cares vastly more about what the press says than what his advisers say. That is a real problem and one his advisers are having to recognize and use, even if it causes messy stories to get outside the White House perimeter.

    I am told that what the President did is actually far worse than what is being reported. The President does not seem to realize or appreciate that his bragging can undermine relationships with our allies and with human intelligence sources. He also does not seem to appreciate that his loose lips can get valuable assets in the field killed.

    You can call these sources disloyal, traitors, or whatever you want. But please ask yourself a question — if the President, through inexperience and ignorance, is jeopardizing our national security and will not take advice or corrective action, what other means are available to get the President to listen and recognize the error of his ways?

    Dana (023079)

  172. Gamut: From medieval Latin gamma ut, originally the name of the lowest note in the medieval scale (bass G an octave and a half below middle C), then applied to the whole range of notes used in medieval music. The Greek letter Γ (gamma) was used for bass G, with ut indicating that it was the first note in the lowest of the hexachords or six-note scales.

    nk (dbc370)

  173. resurgent’s sleazy friend is leaking classified stuff to wapo propaganda sluts

    and resurge thinks Trump is careless?

    and isn’t “the resurgent” Erick Erickson, a nevertrump butthurt loser what has the credibility of a soggy fishstick your three year old child picked up off the floor of a truck stop and is munching on thoughtfully while she watches a roach crawl around?

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  174. Re: Ashley Parker’s gotcha that caused nk and the WaPo newsroom to erupt in cheers this morning… one could only reach her conclusion by interpreting McMaster’s denial of of the methods and sources claim as some sort of blanket denial, which is not what McMaster said.

    Colonel Haiku (d3e242)

  175. Poppycock. Honor your oath. Step away and go public if it’s really that bad.

    crazy (d3b449)

  176. “The federal investigator, who requested anonymity, said 44,053 emails and 17,761 attachments between Democratic National Committee leaders, spanning from January 2015 through late May 2016, were transferred from Rich to MacFadyen before May 21. On July 22, just 12 days after Rich was killed, WikiLeaks published internal DNC emails that appeared to show top party officials conspired to stop Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont from becoming the party’s presidential nominee.”

    http://twitchy.com/gregp-3534/2017/05/16/bombshell-seth-rich-sent-44053-dnc-emails-to-wikileaks/?utm_campaign=twitchywidget

    Colonel Haiku (d3e242)

  177. Ask yourselves… can the word of a 3-star general measure up to unnamed sources?

    Prolly depends on whose ox is gored.

    Colonel Haiku (d3e242)

  178. They are trying the same thing with the Plame gambit, thinking rosenstein would react, oddly when the chief of covert operations was burned by the Boston Phoenix and the nation, there were crickets

    narciso (ae786b)

  179. Beldar: I mention it because what Dubya did in that investigation — ordering everyone to sign such waivers — is something that the current POTUS can and likely will do himself as part of the investigation of this leak. I don’t think that Donald Trump has anywhere near the knowledge to do something like this, but maybe somebody else could suggest it. Maybe this could build slowly, like you say. If it will, it’ll include many other leaks.

    Right now Donald Trump is trying to stop leaks by keeping the circle of people who know very small (which is what he did with the deision to fire James Comey (which resulted in them not even knowing where Comey was when the decision came down) and by hintinghe might be taping conversations (that’s a means of trying to prevent lyig leaks)

    Of course this is something other than national security but the concern about leaks spills over into that area too.

    Trump doesn’t know who to trust beyond Jared and Ivanka.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  180. Ashley Parker is the Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump?

    nk (dbc370)

  181. And these people don’t care sammeh, they would rather an Aeroflot plane crash into Charles degaulle or Heathrow than get their antirussian kick

    narciso (ae786b)

  182. Ah Ashley parker, she was on mitt’s haircut patrol five years ago, she blatantly misrepresented the story, despite corrections, and some of you wondered why?

    narciso (ae786b)

  183. Hell, why not cheer these idiots on, narciso? As I wrote last week, they’ll move on to their next outrage next week.

    Colonel Haiku (d3e242)

  184. 175, ever hear of voter substitution? You just would have had to wait until noon the next day, like with the Kept Ketchup man.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  185. But I didn’t read Ashley Parker. I read Trump’s tweets.

    Ah, yes, the gamut is a six-note scale:
    — He did not do it.
    — He had the right to do it.
    — It was necessary for him to do it.
    — What he did is not what they say he did.
    — You should trust a three-star general even when he’s contradicted by the President.
    — There’s a reporter named Ashley Parker who is involved in this story and for that reason you should not believe this story.

    nk (dbc370)

  186. Beldar:

    For present purposes in this prediction, I’m assuming that there’s at least reasonable suspicion to investigate crimes associated with the leaks, based largely on the current claim by the WaPo that it has been asked by the government not to print some of the leaked information in their reporters’ possession.

    That’s interesting. So they told the White House. And the result maybe of not being clear is that this sounds more mysterious and more serious than it really is.

    Donald Trump is accused of telling the Russians something in violation of an agreement we had, say, with the Saudis. Who may have requested that so they could tell them themselves, (after all, te Russians claimed they already knew) except they told the U.S. that the reason to keep things so secret was operational security – i.e. that if ISIS found out we knew about their knowledge of the laptop bomb, methods and sources would be endangered.

    And so, to prevent them from finding out don’t even tell any other governments. But, you, the United States, are special because we realize how important and how big you are.

    And also, remember, that if we don’t help you in other ways, look at the way we’re helping you here!

    And there’s the implied threat that if the U.S. violates the conditions, then we won’t help you any more and then some big terrorist incident will occur. Well, it’s true enough the Saudis might not help us. They didn’t before September 11, 2001 but probably not because the U.S. broke any promises to them.

    And they are not helping us here. It’s phony help. Probably the whole intelligence is phony and it’s not plausible. Terrorists can’t build bombs like this – 9 to 1 they’re too sophisticated. Not every terrorist group can build a car bomb either, or a suicide belt.

    Now what happpened was some people in the government who knew the Russians had been told thought it was extremely important to tell other people in the U.S. government who knew this secret that Donald Trump had blurted this out to the Russians, so that they could then turn around and apologize, and tell, let’s say, the Saudis, that Donald Trump had told the Russians before the Saudis found out from the Russians that we had already told them.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  187. Beldar:

    Trump has put himself into a “damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t” situation with respect to these leaks. He’s accused of being the original source.

    Not exactly. He’s accuseed of being a bad leaker.

    And if he starts a leak investigation then Democrats would scream in outrage that he’s trying to keep important information from Congress and he’s the worst leaker.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  188. @171. Give Tedtoo a rest, DRJ. He was one of the weenies Trump triumphed over with ease. This could have been Canadian Cruz’s opportunity to rise up and redeem some ‘conservative street cred’ by slam-dunking Trump in righteous indignation and be the next Barry Goldwater. But that pesky ‘basketball ring’ just ain’t his game where as ‘curling’ up like the Republican Party’s Baby Huey is.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  189. They leave ouvno all over the place, coronello, alleging what could be considered an espionage act violation, then McMaster clears up the story but they are still messing up the crate, more likely the Russians actually had the info first.

    narciso (ae786b)

  190. ted is a weenie lol

    that’s funny

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  191. @145. In fact, McMaster’s made himself look the fool by being suckered into flacking for a guy who in every instance, cuts the legs off everybody who goes out and speaks for him. Trump knw how to find bargains as these clowns have sold their personal integrity cheap.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  192. Ashley Parker’s story contains Trump’s three tweets picture-perfect as does Dana’s update.

    nk (dbc370)

  193. Ok, I didn’t read Trump’s tweets. I read Ashley Parker’s story and (our) Dana’s update.

    nk (dbc370)

  194. Donald trump’s justification:

    Donald J. Trump
    @realDonaldTrump

    As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining….

    4:03 AM – 16 May 2017

    Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

    …to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism.

    4:13 AM – 16 May 2017

    If it was really important not to tell anyone about this possible laptop bomb, it probably wasn’t emphasized to Trump and the reasons explained.

    Of course that might be difficult to do, especially probably because the reasons probably don’t make sense, nor would U.S. intelligence people probably do the same thing themselves if a U.S. asset had uncovered such a thing.

    He also tweeted, one hour later:

    Donald J. Trump
    @realDonaldTrump

    I have been asking Director Comey & others, from the beginning of my administration, to find the LEAKERS in the intelligence community…..

    5:10 AM – 16 May 2017

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  195. Not a very good batting average, narciso. Strictly bush league… http://circa.com/politics/accountability/stories-the-news-media-got-wrong-about-donald-trump-james-comey-and-russia

    Colonel Haiku (d3e242)

  196. @Dana, you put the Trump tweets in reverse order of normal reading again. To understand them, you’ve got to read them in the right order.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  197. Responding to nk:

    Ok, now we’ve gone the gamut:
    — He did not do it. he did not share sources, he shared intel, as is his writ
    — He had the right to do it. true
    — It was necessary for him to do it.it was discretionary for him to do it
    — What he did is not what they say he did.also true

    That you parse every word of the Trump administration to find fault, could be a credit, if the fault finding were honest. This “scandal” is neither a scandal, nor is it honest.

    Steven Malynn (4c1400)

  198. re: 208, Charles hides the lede:

    So, now what we know is that these anonymous sources were so alarmed about what Trump told the Russians that they immediately got in touch with Washington Post reporters and … revealed the same information to them?

    Steven Malynn (4c1400)

  199. Remember that made up card game that Kirk invented in the gangster planet, fizbin, it’s a lot like that, trump told lavrov or perhaps the reverse, then the game of telephone starts to work.

    narciso (ae786b)

  200. Mr. Malynn i think people are bias on Mr. Trump

    the tip-off is how Ted Cruz keeps coming up even though he’s completely irrelevant

    he’s actually busy showboating about some pie-in-the-sky idea about going “nuclear” (metaphor kind not real kind) on obamacare repeal and has nothing to do with this situation involving the russian laptops of terror

    everyone knows Mr. Trump did 100% the right thing, they are just bias on him

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  201. narciso (ae786b) — 5/16/2017 @ 8:28 am

    , more likely the Russians actually had the info first.

    That’s what Richard Engel says a U.S. intelligence source told him the Russians said.

    https://mobile.twitter.com/RichardEngel/status/864295412429180928?p=v

    Now I could think of several reasons they could have said that:

    A) They lied, and reacted very quickly.

    B) They misunderstood what they were being told, which was that now ISIS too, had the technica information for laptop-battery bomb.

    c) They miunderstood and Trump also misunderstood them to be saing they knew this specific informartition.

    D) They had the information separately from (probably) the Saudis, and the Saudis were lying to the U.S. about the need not to tell anyone.

    E) They were on on the sting operation from the start, and any devices ISIS built had zero percent chances of getting through airline security and working.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  202. @180- So some of the sources are left with no other option but to go to the media, leak the story, and hope that the intense blowback gives the President a swift kick in the butt. Perhaps then he will recognize he screwed up.

    Nah. Ol’Dead Fred tried w/the military school route years ago with minimal success. These days it’s gonna take Ivanka and Melania to get into their leather outfits, grab their whips and take The Donald into the ‘play room’ for a few hours of bitch-slapping to get his attention about this– or anything else.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  203. So, now what we know is that these anonymous sources were so alarmed about what Trump told the Russians that they immediately got in touch with Washington Post reporters and … revealed the same information to them?

    Yes, but the Washington Post didn’t publish key details.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  204. @Dana, you put the Trump tweets in reverse order of normal reading again. To understand them, you’ve got to read them in the right order.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6) — 5/16/2017 @ 8:38 am

    Sammy, you are just going to have to read them from bottom up unless I have time to separately take a screen shot of each individual one, save as pngs, and then re-order them in the post. Twitter drops the most recent ones at the top. As I’m pressed for time, try to roll with it, okay?

    Dana (023079)

  205. Remember David corn, who seems to be on ouvno patrol, leaked even more info than Novak yet he wasn’t investigated by fitz.

    Charlie, actually knows what he’s,talking about.

    narciso (ae786b)

  206. Sammy, does the WaPo have secured servers?

    I’d bet money, the Russians know every 0 and 1 on every server of the WaPo.

    You gonna claim that the WaPo has better security than Hillary’s server farm/toilet?

    Steven Malynn (4c1400)

  207. Here’s my parsing of the WaPo report, and why I think this was kicked off by the Russians.

    1. Who’s in the room? Seems that the original source has to be someone in the room. On the US side it was Trump, McMasters and Tillerson. I have read several press accounts, and those are the only 3 mentioned. I don’t think any of them called the WaPo. Now there is some reporting in the story that a NSC staffer was tasked with calling the Directors of the CIA and NSA. That expands the universe of people on the US side with information, but I would expect that Trump’s own Directors would have kept that info pretty close. So while its possible that the info could have come out of one of those two agencies, I think the Russians are a better candidate.

    2. The Russian ambassador has been in the US for a long time. I’m sure he’s cultivated — and has been cultivated — relationships with many members of the Washington press corps that cover international affairs. There has been quite a bit of tension in the relationship over the past 3 months, maybe at its worst when Trump launched the cruise missile attack on Syria. He knows Trump and the press have a hate-hate relationship. HE KNOWS THE PRESS IS CHAP-ASS OVER NOT GETTING TO ATTEND THE EVENT WHILE A RUSSIAN PRESS PHOTOG WAS ALLOWED TO TAKE PICTURES. So he calls the WaPo reporters, and says “Hey, lets get together and I’ll tell you about the meeting that you weren’t allowed to cover.” In that chat he talks about how Trump goes on and on about the intel he sees. He comments on the fact that Trump sure likes to hear himself talk, and there don’t seem to be the same kinds of discretion and filter on his comments that you normally find in US Presidents. He’s not guarded at all, and he says what the thinks. He even went so far as to give us information about the details of ISIS plots to blow up airliners flying from Europe to the US using laptops, and goes into some of the details about how they developed that info. Blah, blah, blah.

    The WaPo reporter, having great contacts with “former Senior Intelligence Officials” dials up some of his friends from the Obama Admin, and asks “What do you think about blah, blah, blah that Trump told the Russians.” And the former Senior Intel Guy says “That’s code word stuff. That came to us from a allied intel service and they will be pissed off if disclosing it to the Russians wasn’t approved in advance.”

    Look at the way the article refers to its sources:

    “President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week, according to current and former U.S. officials…

    That sentence doesn’t say the substance of the disclosure was revealed by the US officials. That sentence is accurate under the scenario where the reporter has the substance of the disclosure and asks US sources about its significance.

    “This is code-word information,” said a U.S. official familiar with the matter, using terminology that refers to one of the highest classification levels used by American spy agencies. Trump “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.”

    Again, this is accurate even if it was the reporter who conveyed the substance of the info to the source — having obtained it from the Russians — and doesn’t necessarily mean the official gave the info to the reporter.

    “It was during that meeting, officials said, that Trump went off script and began describing details of an Islamic State terrorist threat related to the use of laptop computers on aircraft.”

    Now this may be parsing things a bit too much, but in a few instances the reporter simply refers to “officials”, and not US Officials. Could that be a way of describing the Russians in an oblique way while suggesting it was a US source? Other places in the article the reporters refer to “White House Officials”. Another is described as a “former senior US Official who is close to the current Administration.” And, “A former intelligence official who handled high-level intelligence on Russia” is another description. Yet another is described as “a former senior U.S. counterterrorism official who also worked closely with members of the Trump national security team.” These sound like Obama Admin. folks who heldover for a while, or who worked with the Obama NSC in the transition.

    “In his meeting with Lavrov, Trump seemed to be boasting about his inside knowledge of the looming threat. “I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel every day,” the president said, according to an official with knowledge of the exchange.

    There it is again. Compared with:

    “Russia could identify our sources or techniques,” the senior U.S. official said.

    And this:

    “If that partner learned we’d given this to Russia without their knowledge or asking first, that is a blow to that relationship,” the U.S. official said

    And finally:

    Trump also described measures the United States has taken or is contemplating to counter the threat, including military operations in Iraq and Syria, as well as other steps to tighten security, officials said.

    Usually, when there is not specification about what position the “official” held in the US government, there is a reference to “officials” in the plural. Maybe the WaPo wasn’t willing to use info coming from an uncorroborated Russian source — but would use material if more than one Russian in attendance provided it.

    And this sentence is curious — providing me with part of my supposition:

    Lavrov and Kislyak were also accompanied by aides.

    That’s a single sentence buried in the 29th paragraph of the article. What purpose does it serve??

    Finally, “Lavrov’s reaction to the Trump disclosures was muted, officials said, calling for the United States to work more closely with Moscow on fighting terrorism.”

    This could simply be asking other Russian’s in the room to describe how the Foreign Minister reacted to the info. It doesn’t say “US officials”, and it seems to be from someone who was in the room — like the Ambassador and his aide.

    The Russians are happy to continue to foster dissent in the US between the Press/Dems on the one hand, and Trump on the other. This story seems to me to be a potential example of that kind of statecraft. Trump should learn from this that not all leaks are necessarily coming from inside the Administration, and everybody he meets with has an agenda that likely doesn’t align with his.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  208. he did not share sources, he shared intel, as is his writ

    But to share the intel – that ISIS was supposedly working on a laptop-battery bomb – was ipso facto, according to (probably) the Saudis, to share sources as well, and the Saudis, or whomever, had made the United States promise not to tell anyone.

    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6)

  209. 136. Aphrael, the Russian-infiltrated far right has been convinced that to destroy our government is somehow patriotic. To cheer on Godzilla is, frankly, nuts.

    Tillman (a95660) — 5/16/2017 @ 6:08 am

    Is this going to be the new talking point? I’ve despised the EPA since the Nixon administration. I never thought there should be a Department of Education or a Department of Energy. What the h3ll for? Now I’m a stooge of Putin and want to destroy the government?

    I get called “far right” a lot. All it means is I prefer a government that is limited by the Constitution. And that the preamble to the Constitution is a pretty damned good mission statement.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  210. McMasters stands by his statement– no lapse in national security.

    General Pimp.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  211. Yes, but the Washington Post didn’t publish key details.
    Sammy Finkelman (d7b8a6) — 5/16/2017 @ 8:49 am

    So if somebody gives the WaPo our nuclear launch codes it’s okay as long as WaPo doesn’t publish the “key” details?

    Rev.Hoagie® (630eca)

  212. I was including the Trump Singers in this comment section as well as the ones in the administration in the gamut, Steven.

    The ability of vocalists to sing competently in the first octave is rare, even for males. A singer who can reach notes in this range is known as a basso profondo, Italian for “deep bass”. A Russian bass can also sing in this range, and the fundamental pitches sung by Tibetan monks and the throat singers of Siberia and Mongolia are in this range.

    nk (dbc370)

  213. Yes shipwrecked, considering the dossier was actuallybcommissionex by an svr agent, in the past such desinformatya was mostly published overseas like the paesa De sera that garrison points to in jfk. Tbat mktrokhin and holland pointex out wascout of the kgb

    narciso (ae786b)

  214. General Pimp confirms Trump revealed name of a city.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  215. why did seth walk three hours to get home

    wouldn’t a normal person get a lyft

    you’d think there’s no way you can walk three hours in a cesspool like dc and not be in danger somewhere along the way

    but i hear it’s been experiencing some robust gentrification, so maybe you can

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  216. Per McMasters at this morning’s presser: Both he and Dina Powell felt that what the president shared at the meeting was “wholly appropriate”. I’ll post the video in another update.

    Dana (023079)

  217. @229- Wait ’til he’s done. The public should see he’s not very good at this press thing.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  218. “The President wasn’t even aware of where this information came from.” – General Pimp.

    Jaysus.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  219. Seth Rich’s family says the Wikileaks conspiracy thing is what a horse does not digest. http://heavy.com/news/2017/05/seth-rich-wikileaks-family-murder-homicide-evidence-dnc-julian-assange/

    I say it is a little furry animal that nests in hollow trees and stores nuts for the winter.

    nk (dbc370)

  220. there have been exactly ZERO mass casualty incidences involving exploding laptops of terror since President Trump moved decisively to save the lives of innocent people both here and abroad, many of which are just wee small defenseless little babies

    this is good news, people

    damn good news

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  221. 222. Steve57, Think of our government as a tree. If you prune its branches, maybe even cut off a troublesome limb or two, fine. But if you take a ax to the base of its trunk, as our Comrade Trump is doing now, it’s kills the whole tree.

    Tillman (a95660)

  222. sometimes Mr. 57 becomes a tree and the deer don’t even know he’s there

    he knows from trees you don’t need to sorry about that

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  223. *worry*

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  224. Dana, this hysteria is TDS.

    nk, you are missing the point – the leak was from a D insider, not Russian hacking.

    There is no Trump + Russia.

    Steven Malynn (4c1400)

  225. I *despise* this President. I think he’s a walking national security catastrophe.

    But once the intelligence agencies decide to stop subjecting themselves to the command and control of the elected executive, that genie is *never* going back in the bottle.
    aphrael (e0cdc9) — 5/15/2017 @ 4:34 pm

    This isn’t going to be a complete accounting. Your sudden interest in national security is heartening. It also seems a bit too convenient. Where was it during the Obama administration? Please direct me to the comments you wrote railing against Obama administration officials giving away the secrets of Stuxnet.

    Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani doctor who helped us kill OBL, is still in a Pakistani prison because Obama administration officials couldn’t shut their pie holes.

    I don’t recall you saying anything about it.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  226. “McMaster Now Holding Press Conference on Story About Trump Allegedly Leaking Top Secret Information to Russians
    —Ace

    He’s already denied it — or, for the parsers, mostly denied it — but the media is going to keep making the same claim, despite the fact that there were only four Americans in the room and all say it didn’t happen.

    I suppose the Russians might be the media’s source here — but that would complicate their Russia-wants-Trump storyline.”

    http://ace.mu.nu/archives/369783.php

    Colonel Haiku (d3e242)

  227. I recall what I said at the time. About Afridi, that Obama had just demonstrated we, the United States, can’t be trusted. Pretty much the same thing about Stuxnet. How the h#ll can we expect anyone to work with us?

    Also, I cited the example set by John Philip Cromwell.

    http://www.ussnautilus.org/undersea/cromwell.html

    For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Commander of a Submarine Coordinated Attack Group with Flag in the USS Sculpin, during the 9th War Patrol of that vessel in enemy-controlled waters off Truk Island, 19 November 1943. Undertaking this patrol prior to the launching of our first large-scale offensive in the Pacific, CAPT Cromwell, alone of the entire Task Group, possessed secret intelligence information of our submarine strategy and tactics, scheduled Fleet movements and specific attack plans. Constantly vigilant and precise in carrying out his secret orders, he moved his underseas flotilla inexorably forward despite savage opposition and established a line of submarines to southeastward of the main Japanese stronghold at Truk. Cool and undaunted as the submarine, rocked and battered by Japanese depth charges, sustained terrific battle damage and sank to an excessive depth, he authorized the Sculpin to surface and engage the enemy in a gunfight, thereby providing an opportunity for the crew to abandon ship. Determined to sacrifice himself rather than risk capture and subsequent danger of revealing plans under Japanese torture or use of drugs, he stoically remained aboard the mortally wounded vessel as she plunged to her death. Preserving the security of his mission, at the cost of his own life, he had served his country as he had served the Navy, with deep integrity and an uncompromising devotion to duty. His great moral courage in the face of certain death adds new luster to the traditions of the US Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

    Where have you been, aphrael?

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  228. “The Russians are happy to continue to foster dissent in the US between the Press/Dems on the one hand, and Trump on the other. This story seems to me to be a potential example of that kind of statecraft. Trump should learn from this that not all leaks are necessarily coming from inside the Administration, and everybody he meets with has an agenda that likely doesn’t align with his.

    – shipwreckedcrew

    He should also learn to shut the f*ck up once in a while and accept that he’s way, way out of his league.

    I think shipwrecked crew’s hypothesis is a strong one, and that it makes a lot of sense for the Russians to be the source of this leak for the purposes of causing chaos. But Trump’s staggering incompetence at every juncture is the prerequisite for the efficacy of this Russian sh*t-stirring.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  229. Heh! A soap opera with Trump trying to steal every scene. Yup.

    nk (dbc370)

  230. Levi, thanks for your continued input.

    Yet the more they double- and triple-down on their strategy and tactics, the more the American people realize how thoroughly demented are the media and their Democrat lapdogs. The more they contrive new tales of misconduct, chaos and/or incompetence, the more the rest of us realize how threatened they are by his successes: unemployment is down, illegal border crossings are down, the stock market is just fine, and the rescue of our medical care has begun. The more the media and the Democrats are driven mad by his policies — the reining in of the EPA, reviewing Obama’s federal land grabs, enforcing immigration laws that Obama did not, taking hard lines on Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, ISIS, the more we anti-establishment folks out here in flyover country cheer his every move.

    Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/05/the_mediademocratic_party_suicide_pact.html#ixzz4hGETNmeM
    Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook

    This is how you get more Trump.

    Steven Malynn (4c1400)

  231. It is good for the American people to realize how thoroughly demented the media and their Democrat lapdogs are. (Or the Democrats and their media lapdogs, either way.) But that’s a fringe benefit. A President has a lot more important duties to carry out.

    nk (dbc370)

  232. Why in the name of holy Hell wouldn’t we want to share information with other governments so they can prevent ISIS terrorist attacks on civilian airliners? The same foreign civilian airliners that Americans travel on.

    Wouldn’t we want them to share info they had about ISIS terrorist tactics with us?

    Freedom of Speech for the Win (1cdcef)

  233. Shipwreckedcrew’s assessment makes sense. The thing is, the Russians wouldn’t be having such success at the pot stirring if Trump were not just incompetent combined with what Erickson said:

    But the President will not take any internal criticism, no matter how politely it is given. He does not want advice, cannot be corrected, and is too insecure to see any constructive feedback as anything other than an attack.

    The president is tripped up by his own arrogance and ignorance. Easy mark for the experts – the Russians.

    Dana (023079)

  234. maybe this link works

    http://ace.mu.nu/archives/369783.php

    narciso (d1f714)

  235. One comes away with two things:

    1. Trump is not going to be the nominee in 2020.
    2. The MSM is thoroughly controlled by the far-left wing of the Democrat Party.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  236. No, Dana, the shit stirrers are not being effective – they are preaching to the choir.

    Just as Rather’s National Guard memo was not effective, so will “Russians” not be effective.

    Trump gives the MSM ammo by breathing. The meeting with high level foreign officials, for the express purpose of gaining support in the fight against a common enemy morphed into a “scandal” based on exactly nothing. Every Trump pronouncement went direct to the public for a reason – and he knows he must keep his high profile, because the MSM is going to continue to lie.

    Steven Malynn (4c1400)

  237. Kevin – if the economy is good in 2020, and Trump is healthy, he will be the R nominee. With those three preconditions, he will win reelection.

    If there is a serious opponent for the R nomination, Trump will squash him. Trump is not losing the undecideds and independents.

    Steven Malynn (4c1400)

  238. I agree with shipwreckedcrew 220. Thank you for walking us through this, swc. It fits with what we know about Lavrov. The Russians have Trump’s number and maybe this is their way of telling him to do their bidding, even when he doesn’t want to, or suffer the consequences.

    DRJ (15874d)

  239. Thank you for your input, Leviticus, and I’m being sincere.

    DRJ (15874d)

  240. It appears there are leaks on the American side, probably even from Trump officials (or as Trump would undoubtedly call them, former officials who he will kick to the curb because they aren’t relatives).

    It makes sense that once the media had the story, the Trump officials decided to try to make lemonade out of lemons by using the story to force Trump to see what he had done. It won’t work but I see why they did it. The next day denials by top Trump officials only worked with the blind, so this has to stop if Trump wants to accomplish anything. He probably can’t even get a Supreme Court justice confirmed at this point.

    DRJ (15874d)

  241. Charlie’s query, is important, why even if you believe this claptrap, would you leak this info to more outlets, so Islamic state, would get wind of it, and act accordingly, unless that is the actually the plan, dewey claridge in the 80s. had abu nidal basically commit seppuku on his organization,

    narciso (d1f714)

  242. there was also the case of Richard Clarke, who is now being stalked from down under by a foggy bottom legacy, Gwyneth todd, for the first year after 9/11 he was giving deep background reports
    on the administration’s progress, whereas he claimed dissident status, with a nice little stipend from the atlantic center, funded by paul pillar at the counter terror center, his associate, rand beers, after carrying water for lurch in 2004. ended up as a dhs deputy under Obama,

    narciso (d1f714)

  243. “We need to have immediate classified briefings on what occurred at this meeting so that Congress can at least know as much as Russian leaders…” ~ Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA)

    Tillman (a95660)

  244. 229. Accordng to Rush Limbaugh, and an excert played on the Rush Limbaugh show, McMaster said the information shared was standard information with heads of state. He said he stands by what he said last night, and what Trump did was wholly appropriate, and the premise of the Washington Post article which was, he said, that the President had a conversation which was inappropriate, or that it resulted in any kind of lapse in national security, is FALSE.

    Now he didn’t say that Trump didn’t disclose something the United States wasn’t supposed to. But rather said it was his judgement there was no harm. (in other words U S intel people didn’t agree that the matter was super sensitive but they had agreed to honor the requests for not revealing thinsg.

    Including the name of the coountry that supplied the intelligence:

    Wall Street Journal:

    According to one U.S. official, the information shared was highly senisitive and difficult to acquire and was considered extraordinarily valuable. The Wall Street Journal agreed not to identify the ally because another U.S. official said it could jeopardize the source.

    Just like they haven’t identified the “intelligence partners” who said the attack in Benghazi was spontaneous.

    Sammy Finkelman (09d1ac)

  245. Comstock, used to work for Ashcroft, the fellow comey tried to paint as some invalid in order to ding alberto Gonzalez,

    narciso (d1f714)

  246. Sammy Finkleman,

    I’ve posted McMasters’s at this mornings press conference. It’s worth listening to him speak in his own words, and then doing any assessments therein.

    Dana (d13846)

  247. Gov’t officials confirm to NBC News- Israel source of classified info Trump revealed to Russia.

    Oy Vey.

    “Captain! We’ve steamed over our own tow line!” – Steve Maryk [Van Johnson] ‘The Caine Mutiny’ 1954

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  248. The report clarifies that President Trump “has broad authority to declassify government secrets, making it unlikely that his disclosures broke the law.”

    The President is the ultimate declassifying authority.

    This wasn’t my beef with Hillary! who claimed authority to declassify what she heard from NSA or NGIA. If she wanted to declare the intel originated by Dept. of State’s Bureuau of Intelligence and Research (INR) unclassified, fine. She as the originating authorithy. She could do what she wanted. But she wasn’t in charge of the CIA or the Department of the Navy. And if the CIA or Department of the Navy says something is classified, the Secretary of State can’t say otherwise.

    It’s not complicated. Did Trump share intel from an ally that the ally told us not to share? If the ally told us we could share it then there is no violation of trust.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  249. 253. narciso (d1f714) — 5/16/2017 @ 10:31 am

    Charlie’s query, is important, why even if you believe this claptrap, would you leak this info to more outlets, so Islamic state, would get wind of it, and act accordingly,

    It would make a lot of more sense if they didn’t believe this claptrap, of course.

    unless that is the actually the plan, dewey claridge in the 80s. had abu nidal basically commit seppuku on his organization,

    It helped, of course, that Saddam Hussein was already starting to do that. So what you are saying here is: Maybe somebody’s trying to get ISIS to undertake a destructive mole hunt. I don’t think anyone would go about it this way, though, unless somebody’s trying to kill two birds (Trump and ISIS) with one stone.

    With the Dewey Claridge thing anyway, the CIA was aware of many of the communications going back and forth. They knew who te terrorists were – they didn’t want to roll them up, partly maybe because of lack of evidence and artly because if they arrested them, and deported them, Iraq would send others that the United States did not know about. This way they could watch everything that they did (and they weren’t worried like they might be today, that somebody would decide to take a car and run over people. These were all people not at all interested in committing suicide.

    This organization is the same one to which the father in St Louis who killed his daughter (Pales)Tina, belonged. The murder was recorded by the FBI.

    http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/28/us/terror-and-death-at-home-are-caught-in-fbi-tape.html

    The surveillance unit was not staffed on Nov. 6, 1989, the night Tina Isa was killed.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_killing_in_the_United_States

    Zein Isa was a member of the Abu Nidal Organization, which at the time he murdered his daughter, was plotting to bomb the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.. A crucial factor in his trial was the fact that the FBI had bugged Zein’s house on FISA order in connection with his suspected terrorist activities, and as such, had recorded Tina’s murder on an audio cassette. This was especially important in confirming the fact that Maria was an active participant in the murder, and that Zein’s claim of self-defense against Tina was false.

    245.Why in the name of holy Hell wouldn’t we want to share information with other governments so they can prevent ISIS terrorist attacks on civilian airliners? The same foreign civilian airliners that Americans travel on.

    Wouldn’t we want them to share info they had about ISIS terrorist tactics with us?

    Freedom of Speech for the Win (1cdcef) — 5/16/2017 @ 9:54 am

    Sammy Finkelman (09d1ac)

  250. Interesting the NYT is reporting that the intel the president disclosed was provided by Israel, given that he has an upcoming trip there.

    Dana (d13846)

  251. Wow, I’m like shocked. Info on ISIS from the Middle East came from a USA Ally? My mind is blown.

    Dejectedhead (d3cff5)

  252. Gov’t officials confirm to NBC News- Israel source of classified info Trump revealed to Russia.

    Oy Vey.

    “Captain! We’ve steamed over our own tow line!” – Steve Maryk [Van Johnson] ‘The Caine Mutiny’ 1954

    DCSCA (797bc0) — 5/16/2017 @ 10:59 am

    Are the Isrealis upset?

    Also, where were you when Obama and his minions were losing it on Stuxnent and Afridi. Note I’m sticking to to intel that could only be be derived at least in part from foreign sources.

    Can you keep a secret? Me too.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  253. 245. The reason not to share information is that we promised a country which shall remain nameless but almost has to be Saudi Arabia, with an outside chance of it being Qatar, that we wouldn’t tell.

    About the terrorists whom Saddam Hussein sent to the United States in the 1980s:

    Because it was inside the United States, the FBI was in charge of the surveillance. Dewey Claridge was in the CIA. They worked together.

    Sammy Finkelman (09d1ac)

  254. @266. You’re behind the curve, Sammy. It’s been confirmed by US gov’t officials to several news outlets now that it was Israel.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  255. Trump is not losing the undecideds and independents.

    Well, one can hardly “lose” the undecideds, can they? The independents will be lost as this bleeding continues. Or do you really think that Trump will change his behavior?

    EVERYTHING the #NeverTrumps said about Trump is being proven true. Intemperate, ignorant, self-centered to the max, and no conservative at all. No wall, no Obamacare repeal, no government restructuring. None of that.

    Just drama.

    And God help him if something bad happens.

    The only way Trump wins renomination is if there are too many alternatives splitting the vote. Assuming he’s still president then.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  256. Israel? Israel might ask that the fact that the information came from them not be told, and maybe even methods and sources, but not that the bare facts be kept secret. Heck, if it was Israel the spy himself wouldn’t know he was working for Israel. He would think he was working for the United States. Or maybe the United Kingdom. And all that would be asked is that the United States, when passing the information on, take credit for the double agent.

    Sammy Finkelman (09d1ac)

  257. Still waiting for actions on trade, H1-B or other job issues. So far he’s caved on all of it.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  258. I see that the NY Times is printing as many details of this code-word information as it can acquire. They seem to think that they have the same (or more) rights as the President.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  259. Spicey giving presser off-camera– audio only. Why no teevee? Viewer Trump is talking turkey w/Turkey over lunch.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  260. Are the Israelis angry about this? Because I don’t understand how our allies could just now be getting started to be mad after years of Hillary! putting her emails on an unclassified server.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  261. @273- It’s night there. We’ll know if the Israelis are angry as soon as Trump tweets at dawn.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  262. Donald, reveal something classified your devotees really want to know: where is Elvis living now and how the aliens and their saucers are doing out in Area 51.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  263. @270. And how’s that wall coming, too?!! Big Memorial Day sale at all Home Depots in towns along the border.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  264. Like Billy Jeff allowing the importation of Polar Bear trophies, I’m ready, willing, and able to congratulate a Democrat for doing the right thing.

    I’ll wait for the tweet.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  265. The true source of the wikileaks which caused the the disgrace and resignation of DWS was the the DNC insider Mark Rich who was found dead in a DC gutter, which looked for all the world like a political assassination, turns out was a political murder days before the DNC convention.

    And the DC Police were told to stand down by whom?

    “[Neither] The police department nor the FBI have been forthcoming,” said Wheeler. “They haven’t been cooperating at all. I believe that the answer to solving his death lies on that computer, which I believe is either at the police department or either at the FBI. I have been told both.”

    First thing to notice is the DC Police were called off the case by the same anonymous ex-officials who have been pushing the false Russia hacked the DNC story to the Washington Post.

    Second thing to notice is the Comey led FBI have been burying this investigation.

    Could it be an FBI hit man behind the murder of Mark Rich?

    Wouldn’t surprise me. One of those Demo voting mother[edit]ers playing at being Jason Bourne.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  266. I can also see the possibility this is only Israel reporting what it was told by Saudi Arabia, without really confrming things too much. Israel has recently been on somewhat good terms with certain Arab countries and Netanyahu s probably thinking it means too much.

    Now I would think the saudis would tell the United States directly, but they might want to ingratiate themselves with Israel.

    I don’t see how Israel could have planted a spy with ISIS, (although there’s always “luck” and unknown connections) It would be easier to plant a spy or a bug somewhere in the Arabian peninsula.

    The laptop plot itself doesn’t make sense asa serious worry.

    Sammy Finkelman (09d1ac)

  267. By the waqy, you can see from one of Trump’s tweet today VERY IMPORTANT That Donald Trump understands that Russia is not currently really fighting ISIS in Syria.

    He said,

    …I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism.

    Sammy Finkelman (09d1ac)

  268. If Israel was the source, does that mean ISIS and other extremist groups like Hezbollah, Hamas and Fatah will no longer trust Israel and Israelis? And that Trump’s unconscionable breach will now put the citizens of Israel at risk from these organizations? I had no idea just how grave this situation really was.

    McMaster is quite clear as to where the actual threat comes from:

    “I think national security is put at risk by this leak(by the WaPo) and by leaks like this.”

    Who’da thunk the WaPo and like-minded organizations would deliberately harm national security for political advantage?

    On the brighter side, the leak did advance the #NeverTrump narrative, so it’s got that going for it.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  269. @265/@273- Jerusalem Post quotes senior Israeli intel sources that it would be “very bad” if Israel was found to be source of intel Trump leaked. Story posted before U.S. officials confirmed it was Israel. European officials in allied capitals now saying they will begin to withhold intel info from United States.

    Brown shoe day for out Captain. He really stepped in it this time.

    “And I kid you not.” – Captain Queeg [Humphrey Bogart] ‘The Caine Mutiny’ 1954

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  270. papertiger, you might want to get Seth Rich’s name correct. It would make your conspiracy theory silliness look … well, never mind.

    SPQR (a3a747)

  271. The Jerusalem Post, in the same story, I believe, give us this laughable analysis:

    “(A) potentially-damaging scenario from Trump’s alleged disclosure could see ISIS adjust its approach to laptop bomb attack plots that until now had the potential of being uncovered and thwarted.”

    That ISIS has been trying to put a bomb in a laptop has been public knowledge for almost two months, dating to when the U.S. began restricting laptops on flights from 6 Middle Eastern nations. Does the JPost think ISIS didn’t notice?

    “They laughed at me and made jokes but I proved beyond the shadow of a doubt and with… geometric logic… that a Trump stepped in it.” – A friend of Queeg

    ThOR (c9324e)

  272. Yeah, papertiger, don’t intrude your conspiracy theory regarding dead body of leaker, we are busy with the conspiracy theory of Russia running Trump.

    Steven Malynn (4c1400)

  273. Clarity is over rated. Consistency is the key.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  274. Like Billy Jeff allowing the importation of Polar Bear trophies, I’m ready, willing, and able to congratulate a Democrat for doing the right thing.

    You know that “Polar Bear Hunting” is also the catch phrase for black-on-white beat downs in the Midwest. That may have been a botched set of executive orders, much like when the Hong Kong studios mislabled the reels for the Bruce Lee classics

    Fists of Fury

    and

    Chinese Connection

    .

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  275. 223, he’s more like the head of The Company in Prison Break.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  276. European officials in allied capitals withhold terrorist information from their own police and public.

    Just like our FBI. Following these Alahbites around hoping they blow up on the job instead of at the shopping mall, so they can claim it’s work place violence.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  277. European officials in allied capitals now saying they will begin to withhold intel info from United States.

    You mean:

    European officials in allied capitals now saying this is a good excuse to withold intel info from the United States.

    kishnevi (24c70b)

  278. so as you can see the Washington Post can’t be trusted

    i’m sorry they tricked you

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  279. @288, I knew that.

    Someday I hope one of these bastards picks on me.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  280. European officials in allied capitals now saying this is a good excuse to withold intel info from the United States.

    kishnevi (24c70b) — 5/16/2017 @ 12:19 pm

    Absolutely. It’s politics. You have to appeal to the polity, the society. Those officials work for Europeans, and good Presidents appeal to them, like Reagan and the wall.

    This news, lie or truth, hurt our country.

    I think the water carrying hurts our country too (not speaking about Kishnevi… he’s not a water carrier). Let’s be honest… Trump needs some improvement on how he’s doing his job. Whether you hate democrats more is not relevant.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  281. I dropped and gave you ten. Because I love America.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  282. Donald, reveal something classified your devotees really want to know: where is Elvis living now and how the aliens and their saucers are doing out in Area 51.

    How soon you forget. He already told us who killed Kennedy.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  283. “Trump Committed a Huge Breach By Revealing a Piece of Data We Had, But Apparently the Media’s Leakers Aren’t Committing a Breach By Telling the World It Came From Israel
    —Ace

    Trump’s loose lips revealed intelligence shared with us by someone else, they shriek, and that compromises national security and puts an ally in danger!

    Then they add: Oh PS, it was Israel who gave us the info.

    Apparently it’s not a breach for a former and a current intelligence official to leak that to the New York Times (and thereby, to Russia), but it’s a major thing for Trump to have revealed the info in the first place.

    I thought “sources and methods” were more critical pieces of information than the information itself, in most cases. Is that no longer the rule when the Deep State and its media press operation need it to no longer be?

    From the New York Times. Click their link at your own moral peril.

    The classified intelligence that President Trump disclosed in a meeting last week with Russian officials at the White House was provided by Israel, according to a current and a former American official familiar with how the United States obtained the information. The revelation adds a potential diplomatic complication to the episode.
    Israel is one of the United States’ most important allies and a major intelligence collector in the Middle East. The revelation that Mr. Trump boasted about some of Israel’s most sensitive information to the Russians could damage the relationship between the two countries. It also raises the possibility that the information could be passed to Iran, Russia’s close ally and Israel’s main threat in the Middle East.

    Gee, I wonder if this information could be passed to Iran now that it’s in the New York Times.

    One mystery I think is solved: I had wondered how this got out, with only three people (apart from Trump and the Reds) in the room. I had my suspicions…”

    http://ace.mu.nu/archives/369786.php

    Colonel Haiku (d3e242)

  284. Dustin @294, where have you been?

    A private server didn’t bother you? For years? But now a comment does?

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  285. Why assume the private server didn’t bother Dustin? That you may have missed his comments about it shouldn’t change the fact that this president needs to improve, should it?

    Dana (d13846)

  286. > Then they add: Oh PS, it was Israel who gave us the info.

    That’s totally a breach. The NYT should not have published that fact. I was with them on calling the President out for disclosing the information; but publishing details of the disclosed information to the world — that *compounds* the damage. It was *not* responsible reporting, and it was *not* responsible opposition.

    aphrael (e0cdc9)

  287. @299, fair point, Dana. And I did leave available the possibility it happened. I still want to see the evidence.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  288. So, is it too early to be calling for impeachment?

    Article 25 perhaps?

    The trend line on his behavior as POTUS is not encouraging. How bad does it have to get? Imperiling congressional majorities?

    Spartacvs (2f5f92)

  289. FLASHBACK: Obama’s CIA Director Leaked Top Secret Bin Laden Raid Intel To Hollywood: When the Obama administration leaked classified information about military maneuvers and secret cyber attacks, media was silent. That’s different because shut up.

    Related: 2014: White House mistakenly identifies CIA chief in Afghanistan.

    Plus, June, 2016: U.S. offers to share Syria intelligence on terrorists with Russia.

    https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/265061/

    Colonel Haiku (d3e242)

  290. He is Sparticvs

    Colonel Haiku (d3e242)

  291. Who among us doesn’t need some improvement?

    It is a central tenet of the dominant faith of our culture or, at least, what was at one time the dominant faith.

    I think it is worth pointing out that we have repeated this cycle a dozen times since inauguration day: “shocking” revelations that demand impeachment or worse, but that dissolve into nothingness on further inspection and end with the final, meaningless epitaph “He could do better.”

    The fact is he does do better. President Trump learns from his (alleged) mistakes. Those who fail to learn are his critics whose uncontrollable reflex is to chase one squirrel after another with the same self-parodying result.

    It is hard to imagine a more destructive behavior. In our world, with so much at stake, democratic politics should be treated as a matter of substance and seriousness. I implore you all not to throw in with the hectoring mob. And remember, when you do, you undermine the process of informed consent which is so necessary to freedom and stability as a nation.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  292. President Trump will be the one to lead us beyond thunderdome you’ll see

    and on that day there will be great rejoicing in the land

    on that day we will be reborn!

    a nation dedicated to freedom

    committed to liberty

    thrumming with commerce and creation

    because we’re americans!

    all of us!

    and we put our faith in you President Trump

    we put our faith in YOU

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  293. Who among us doesn’t need some improvement?

    Some, is carrying one helluva load there in respect to the current POTUS.

    Also, would it be too much to ask for an accounting of where he

    does do better

    ? Im not seeing it. What I’m seeing is a trend line closely matching the dive in his poll numbers. How long before this trend begins to affect congressional majorities?

    Spartacvs (2f5f92)

  294. ThOR:

    If Israel was the source, does that mean ISIS and other extremist groups like Hezbollah, Hamas and Fatah will no longer trust Israel and Israelis? And that Trump’s unconscionable breach will now put the citizens of Israel at risk from these organizations? I had no idea just how grave this situation really was.

    I know you are being sarcastic, ThOR, but I think you are misunderstanding the danger. Trump may have compromised the Israeli source, and that may have been compounded by the NY Times revealing the Israelis as the source (although Trump had likely already done that with the Russians).

    If so, ISIS now knows it has a leak in its laptop bomb project and, more important, ISIS knows some aspect of that project has been successfully infiltrated by an Israeli agent. That agent’s usefulness is now over and possibly his life is, too. That was an invaluable asset that Trump squandered for his ego.

    DRJ (15874d)

  295. you let Mr. Trump worry about those majorities Mr. Spartypants

    he’s resonating!

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  296. They don’t even have to know who the agent is. They can simply start over with a core of trusted people and our information pipeline is gone.

    DRJ (15874d)

  297. > Then they add: Oh PS, it was Israel who gave us the info.

    If the info was secret you mean? We already know it wasn’t.

    Why do some here insist on playing with the leftist media’s pathology?

    papertiger (c8116c)

  298. Explain to me anything that Trump has learned, ThOR. Not to tweet? Not to talk carelessly about national security issues? Not to let his staff members say one thing and have him contradict it the next day?

    DRJ (15874d)

  299. Here’s an example that’s hard to argue. Trump’s biggest mistake was to trust Paul Ryan. After Ryan dropped the ball, Trump sent in Mike Pence and Mark Meadows to get the job done. Five weeks late, the AHCA bill was through the House and on to the Senate. Trump had learned something important. I’m not expecting President Trump to ask Speaker Ryan for help in the future. Are you?

    ThOR (c9324e)

  300. 305… well said, Thor! But it will fall on deaf ears.

    Colonel Haiku (d3e242)

  301. The Israelis were warned:

    http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4906642,00.html

    These fears, which began upon Trump’s election, grew stronger following a meeting held recently between Israeli and American intelligence officials (the date of the meeting is not mentioned to protect the sources of the report). During the meeting, according to the Israelis who participated in it, their American colleagues voiced despair over Trump’s election, as he often lashes out at the American intelligence community. The American officials also told the Israelis that the National Security Agency (NSA) had “highly credible information” that Russia’s intelligence agencies, the FSB and GRU, were responsible for hacking the Democratic Party (DNC) servers during the elections and leaking sensitive information to WikiLeaks, which hurt Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

    The American officials further added that they believed Russia President Vladimir Putin had “leverages of pressure” over Trump – but did not elaborate. They were apparently referring to what was published Wednesday about embarrassing information collected by the Russian intelligence in a bid to blackmail the president-elect.

    The Americans implied that their Israeli colleagues should “be careful” as of January 20, Trump’s inauguration date, when transferring intelligence information to the White House and to the National Security Council (NSC), which is subject to the president. According to the Israelis who were present in the meeting, the Americans recommended that until it is made clear that Trump is not inappropriately connected to Russia and is not being extorted – Israel should avoid revealing sensitive sources to administration officials for fear the information would reach the Iranians.

    Prescient indeed. Whether by malice or incompetence, doesn’t matter.

    Time to end this charade

    Spartacvs (2f5f92)

  302. He is Testicles.

    Not to be confused with Steroidicvs

    papertiger (c8116c)

  303. We know there are concerns about laptops on planes, papertiger. Now, thanks to Trump, the Russians and their affiliates — which include some of the world’s biggest terrorists — know more about how we know about the laptop project. I don’t know what he said but the result is this debacle. He said something that led to this. Even if he said very little and the leak was from our side and not the Russians, Trump should have already known he has leak problems. He needs to be careful at all times, but especially with the Russians.

    Didn’t he learn anything from Romney? Obviously not.

    DRJ (15874d)

  304. pipelines!

    a trump specialty

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  305. Newest in fashion aimed at Democrats and their operatives with bylines in the media… https://mic.com/articles/177200/the-romp-him-a-romper-for-men-is-trying-to-start-a-fashion-revolution-good-luck#.cXWHevrGx

    Colonel Haiku (d3e242)

  306. Yes, ThOR, 313 is a good point. I doubt he will trust Ryan now. But what about my points? What has Trump learned about his own behavior and what has he done to change it? Using your logic, if all Trump can learn is who to trust, he may well end up like Nixon with no one to trust.

    DRJ (15874d)

  307. Been talking lap top bombs since Yemen operation.

    What a bunch of pure bs being spread by TrumpDerangementSyndrome types.

    Seriously, your politics are personal.

    Logic and reason is dead.

    Blah Blah (44eaa0)

  308. “I don’t know what he said, but . . . ”

    That’s right. You don’t. McMaster does, along with everybody else in the room, and they say Trump’s comments were appropriate. What there is no debate about is that the leaks by the WaPo and the NYT were inappropriate and that they compromised national security.

    Why is it so difficult to see who the villain is here?

    ThOR (c9324e)

  309. Trump specialized in igniting passion in his supporters and bullying protesters. Your pleas to avoid “hectoring mobs” will fall on deaf ears. That is Trump’s specialty. He shoild have thought about the consequences before he took that path.

    DRJ (15874d)

  310. Now ISIS is really doing to get angry at the Jews!!!!!!!!!!

    (Have you all become this stupid and gullible?)

    Cuz ISIS is so stupid to not know some % these random jihadis showing up to join them aren’t spies.

    Seriously, folks have lost all ability to think.

    They should be roasting the Feds for not finding the leakers if that concerned over National Security.

    Blah Blah (44eaa0)

  311. As with all the Russia lies …. the only crime identified is by the Leakers, not the President.

    Blah Blah (44eaa0)

  312. everyone says what President Trump said in that meeting was spot on and deeply appropriate

    i think it’s time to put this baby to bed

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  313. Like the folks angry at Assange for doing what he does while praising the NY Times and WAPO for lying while doing same.

    At least Assange tells us the truth.

    Blah Blah (44eaa0)

  314. Trump admitted he shared facts pertaining to terrorism and airline safety. His defenders, including those in the Administration, have to rely on claims that he did not break the law. But as President he has the authority to declassify anything.

    Do you really think whatever he said would have remained secret if the Russians knew it and the real danger was that the media reported it? Really?

    DRJ (15874d)

  315. Trump-Xi Deal Could Fuel A U.S. LNG Boom

    yay President Trump!

    I’m so proud of him

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  316. Dustin @294, where have you been?

    A private server didn’t bother you? For years? But now a comment does?

    Steve57 (0b1dac) — 5/16/2017 @ 12:56 pm

    I criticized Hillary’s server dozens of times. You know that. What on earth does Hillary have to do with anything? It seems like every time Trump fails hard, his fans start saying “well you must have loved Jeb and Hillary if you’re complaining!” and it comes across as stupid.

    Had Hillary been at the heart of today’s scandal, possibly costing a good guy spy his life and helping ISIS get their terrorism back on track, you would not be laughing it off.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  317. The American officials also told the Israelis that the National Security Agency (NSA) had “highly credible information” that Russia’s intelligence agencies, the FSB and GRU, were responsible for hacking the Democratic Party (DNC) servers during the elections and leaking sensitive information to WikiLeaks, which hurt Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

    There you go again.

    Seth Rich, the guy your evil hag had murdered, was the source of THE DAMAGING TRUTH reported by Wikileaks. How do we know this with not even a shadow of doubt? Because Rich forwarded the Hildabeast’s dirty laundry direct to Julian Assange’s director of films, Gavin MacFadyen. His computer was in London, outside of the Clinton’s sphere of control.

    So STFU about Russians, you damn dirty ape. [YouTube]

    papertiger (c8116c)

  318. Cuz ISIS is so stupid to not know some % these random jihadis showing up to join them aren’t spies.

    Suspecting you might have an infiltrator is different from knowing for a fact that you have one, and in which project.

    DRJ (15874d)

  319. President Trump gave helpful advice for how to help people not get blowed up by laptop terrorisms

    and everyone there said gosh that’s a good point President Trump

    Lives were saved this day.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  320. “Trump specialized in igniting passion in his supporters” – This is what all good politicians do. Jeb! and his ilk, not so much.

    “bullying protesters” I don’t even know what this means. Trump opponents have engaged in violence and language that is vulgar in the extreme, but Trump is the bully?

    ThOR (c9324e)

  321. Trump is a bully and always has bern. It’s his business model and the basis for his campaign. Have you forgotten Lying Ted, Little Marco, and low energy Jeb?

    DRJ (15874d)

  322. Calling people names is the hallmark of a bully, but maybe you liked it. Some people seem to really like that about Trump.

    DRJ (15874d)

  323. NBC News confirms Comey memo says President Trump told him to shutdown Flynn investigation.

    Oops. OOJ. Big Dick Nixon would be oh so proud.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  324. i don’t feel Mr. Trump is a bully i feel he stands up for America against people like little marco and filthybutt Jeb Bush who just wanna do illegal immigrants all up in it

    i admit he’s on the front lines of freedom every day, fighting the good fight

    but a bully?

    Not to all the people whose lives he’s impacted for the better.

    Not to the children in whose tiny hands rests the future of this country.

    Not to the people who get off a plane tomorrow that would’ve otherwise gotten smithereened by terror laptop.

    To these people President Trump’s no bully, he’s angel sent from God!

    let’s sing a praise song

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  325. jebby is the kind of guy that would cherish being bill’s wife v.p.

    mg (31009b)

  326. I take no pleasure in being proved correct about the mendacity and hubris of DJT. It is truly a tragedy that he is so quickly being rendered a nullity. We had the best chance we are likely to ever have to roll back the State.

    He’s still better than HRC by a factor of about 4,328,875,383,274, give or take.

    Ed from SFV (3400a5)

  327. Captain Chaos has struck again, already. Lock. Him. Up.

    Tillman (a95660)

  328. Any word in that Comey memo about the whereabouts of murdered in cold blood, Seth Rich’s laptop?

    papertiger (c8116c)

  329. @329. No worries. The President has… “tapes” right?

    “It’s deja vu all over again.” – Yogi Berra

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  330. Big Dick Nixon took an overseas trip before his fall, too.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  331. Murdered in the street in front of his apartment Seth Rich had his apartment searched, subsequent to being shot in the back, two times, and his laptop computer was seized as evidence.

    The D.C. Police say the FBI has it. The FBI says the D.C. Police have it. Someone is lying.
    Since we already know the former FBI directors quality of character…

    papertiger (c8116c)

  332. I take no pleasure in being proved correct about the mendacity and hubris of DJT. It is truly a tragedy that he is so quickly being rendered a nullity. We had the best chance we are likely to ever have to roll back the State.

    He’s still better than HRC by a factor of about 4,328,875,383,274, give or take.

    Ed from SFV

    Hey, there clearly are ways he beat Hillary, such as appointments. No question there. But big picture, I think we not only lost a golden opportunity in 2016 to get a President Cruz or Walker, but we have created a movement for the democrats that’s going to signal a major turn towards democratic socialism. Everything I believe in will be repudiated with many Americans simply because Trump pretended to be about that, and he’s not succeeding.

    And really, the left has a point. Look how many folks who identify as conservative and then carry water for this guy? The partisanship has eliminated credibility for the movement.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  333. The Washington Post article has this, which could explain how the story spread:

    Thomas P. Bossert, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, placed calls to the directors of the CIA and the NSA, the services most directly involved in the intelligence-sharing arrangement with the partner.

    Sammy Finkelman (6f9f42)

  334. I have a complaint about Trump’s comportment while in office.

    I’m wondering why ex-director Comey isn’t in leg irons, being questioned under hot lights about Seth Rich’s missing computer?

    Trump is dropping the ball on that.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  335. Candidate Cruz didn’t have the resources to provide his own protection against an FBI which closely resembles a Chicago Police Department. He would have folded like a tin can after the first murder.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  336. Do any of you no -trumpers care that Joe Biden killed seal team six, when he opened his potty mouth?
    Don’t like my argument – jamb it.

    mg (31009b)

  337. Since we already know the former FBI directors quality of character…

    papertiger

    I believe Comey had great character, but had great difficulty with politics, particularly dealing with Lynch and Trump’s unethical behavior, while respecting the practical needs of a chain of command. I say this having recently met Comey very briefly. He’s not one of the bad guys, even if he definitely made many mistakes.

    Sally Yates went rogue and showed poor character and respect for our institutions, but Comey did nothing like that, accepting the firing with a lot of grace. I personally do believe Trump demanded Comey’s loyalty, and I also believe Trump’s comments about recording Comey make Trump an utter hypocrite, but are likely dishonest, given Trump’s history of lying to Americans and particularly conservatives.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  338. Do any of you no -trumpers care that Joe Biden killed seal team six

    mg (31009b)

    I think Biden’s loose lips were absolutely unacceptable and I do care. Next question?

    I’m wondering why ex-director Comey isn’t in leg irons, being questioned under hot lights about Seth Rich’s missing computer?

    Do you think Comey was involved in Rich’s murder? Is that what you’re getting at? Was Cruz’s dad involved?

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  339. Dustin – I wrote extensively about the opportunity before us if Ted could have somehow snagged the nomination. It is entirely clear he would have beat HRC, as well.

    Ed from SFV (3400a5)

  340. If Israel has an agent planted with ISIS bomb makers, it is likely one of Solomon’s djinns and will easily avoid capture by flying away. But it’s more likely that Israel captured some terrorists and “enhancedly interrogated” the information out of them.

    nk (dbc370)

  341. Obama Admin offered to share intell with Russia in 2016: no outcry.

    Obama Admin leaked secrets of Osama bin Lauden raid: no outcry.

    Snowden and Manning leaked everything: Media and Democrats happy about Manning’s early release: think Snowden is a hero.

    New York Times outs the SWIFT project: “it was our duty.”

    Trump shares some intell with a country we hope to cooperate with in terrorism control: The sky is falling.

    As for Israel not wanting to “trust us,” just let me know when you want that relationship to freeze. And say Hi to Jon Pollard when you see him.

    Harcourt Fenton Mudd (5e0a82)

  342. My conclusion is that it is the Washington Post and other Democrat media who actually revealed highly classified information to our enemies and not Trump; and the White House demonstrated the highest level of incompetence in dealing with it.

    nk (dbc370)

  343. It takes a special kind of stupid to turn the New York Times and Washington Post into the journalistic truth equivalent of Penthouse Forum.

    Steven Malynn (4c1400)

  344. My conclusion is that it is the Washington Post and other Democrat media who actually revealed highly classified information to our enemies and not Trump; and the White House demonstrated the highest level of incompetence in dealing with it.

    It’s hardly classified information that the POTUS is an incompetent dolt.

    Spartacvs (2f5f92)

  345. That was supposed to include attribution: Clark Wilbur http://disq.us/p/1iqarxp

    Steven Malynn (4c1400)

  346. @353 Dustin; Comey doesn’t appear to be very graceful about his firing at the moment, according to Drudge.

    Ingot (e5bf64)

  347. As for whether or not Israel will trust us to share intel.

    Really? Does absolutely no one around here have any long term memory any longer? George H.W. Bush administration – full of old Arab hands in State under Baker that hated Israel, while CIA was probably more neutral to Israel under Webster but Webster DDI was an old Arab hand too. William Clinton administration – uh, f’ing ditto. George W. Bush administration – duh, ditto. Barack Obama administration – oh, yeah, suddenly the Israel-philes showed up in State and CIA? Nope, even more anti-Israel types in State and CIA.

    Israel has never trusted Washington D.C. State Dept and intel community.

    SPQR (a3a747)

  348. Trump, growing up in New York, is old enough to remember the ’62 Mets and Casey Stengel’s lament (turned into a Jimmy Breslin book title): “Can’t anybody here play this game?”

    It’s turning out that chaos, while effective for getting into office, is problematic inside it.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  349. It seems like every time Trump fails hard, his fans start saying “well you must have loved Jeb and Hillary if you’re complaining!”…

    I’m not a fan. Hello. I was calling the Trumpsters names. Remember? I actually don’t care if he survives.

    As an aside, I do want to mention that the people who are insisting that nature does not give us the binary option are ruining beach volleyball.

    Brazilian beach volleyball girls are proof that God exists, and He loves me.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  350. Who would have guessed that Comey’s mother’s first name is Dustin?

    No little Jimmy is a scumbag who covers up murder for the sake of his politics.

    If he were honorable we would know where Seth Rich’s laptop is.

    If he were honorable he wouldn’t have planted a memo in February with the New York Times labeled “Open in case of firing only”.

    [Edit] him. He was dirty from day one when he was hired to clean up the Marc Rich pardon.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  351. Brazilian trannies are almost as famous as Thai ladyboys. No comment about God’s involvement.

    nk (dbc370)

  352. See1 I knew there was a reason to keep Marc Rich at the forefront of my mind.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  353. The WP expands on the NYT story revealing the Comey memo, to include the nugget that

    Details of Comey’s notes were shared with a very small circle of people at the FBI and Justice Department

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/notes-made-by-former-fbi-director-comey-say-trump-pressured-him-to-end-flynn-probe/2017/05/16/52351a38-3a80-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html?utm_term=.a55b8619b205

    This could be a problem for Sessions and Rosenstein if they were part of that small circle given their collusion in Comeys firing by POTUS

    Spartacvs (2f5f92)

  354. @353 Dustin; Comey doesn’t appear to be very graceful about his firing at the moment, according to Drudge.

    Ingot (e5bf64) — 5/16/2017 @ 4:01 pm

    Yeah that’s quite a development. Clearly now we see what Trump was threatening Comey about, in his tweets about recordings.

    If Comey is telling the truth, and I believe he is, then Trump did obstruct justice. And also, my assumption will be that Trump fired Comey fast to muddy the waters about why Comey is coming forward, because now Trump’s people will say it’s a disgraced, disgruntled loser saying this stuff.

    Drudge’s spin is predictable and stale. Drudge has exactly zero credibility… if their headline said the sky is blue, I would have to check.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  355. If he’s truly such a contemporaneous memo writer, will someone please leak Comey’s memos about Obama and Lynch meetings that may explain his actions last year.

    crazy (d3b449)

  356. This could be a problem for Sessions and Rosenstein if they were part of that small circle given their collusion in Comeys firing by POTUS

    Spartacvs (2f5f92) — 5/16/2017 @ 4:26 pm

    Good point. They need to clear that up fast.

    At any rate, I look forward to hearing these tapes Trump was tweeting about. If he fails to produce them, it’s just another example that he’s dishonest, either about his obstruction or about the existence of the tapes.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  357. If he’s truly such a contemporaneous memo writer, will someone please leak Comey’s memos about Obama and Lynch meetings that may explain his actions last year.

    crazy (d3b449) — 5/16/2017 @ 4:29 pm

    That’s a very appropriate question! But it’s no defense of Trump that the previous administration also did wrong.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  358. Israel has never trusted Washington D.C. State Dept and intel community.

    SPQR (a3a747) — 5/16/2017 @ 4:03 pm

    I conducted intelligence liaison for about four years of my twenty years in naval intelligence.

    I’m not giving away any secrets. I’m looking at, citing from, my DD214.

    Never have I violated the trust of a nation that shared intel with us.

    If McMaster says it didn’t happen, it didn’t happen.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  359. Catfish love the taste of scum.

    Tell me about how the Russians rigged Seth Rich’s laptop?

    Bottom feeders.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  360. If McMaster says it didn’t happen, it didn’t happen.

    That bird has flown the coop. POTUS already threw McMaster under the bus, his credibility is toast.

    Spartacvs (2f5f92)

  361. 376. See McMaster’s comments at 17:00 in the video above.

    crazy (d3b449)

  362. Great. I get President Pence.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  363. If McMaster says it didn’t happen, it didn’t happen.

    General Pimp is looking a lot shorter today.

    “Right now, short of a Confederate miracle, you’re going to be walking in a parade with both your legs cut off. Senator Ray Clark [Edmond O’Brien] ‘Seven Days In May’ 1964

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  364. Right comey who let scooter Libby hang when he knew armitage was a leaker, stuck a shiv in Alberto Gonzalez, put Stephen hatfill through he’ll, slow walked the jihadist investigation? Was a Bagman fot money laundering banks yes tell us what an honorable man, comey is.

    narciso (ae786b)

  365. John Mccain endured five years of torture at the hands of the commies and gave up less intel than Trump did in five minutes along in the Oval Office. His ego is not his amigo.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  366. 321. Blah Blah (44eaa0) — 5/16/2017 @ 2:23 pm

    Been talking lap top bombs since Yemen operation.

    What a bunch of pure bs being spread by TrumpDerangementSyndrome types.

    The leakers are not Trump Derangement people. They’re something much worse.

    Logic and reason is dead.

    If this wins out.

    Sammy Finkelman (be6791)

  367. Look, during the election I was as pro-Cruz, anti-Trump as the next guy.

    But this sort of nonsense you just posted shows me that some so-called conservatives have a rot in their heads. I am profoundly disappointed with this blog with the one exception of the timely and excellent analysis in favor of Gorsuch.

    Ya’ll have jumped the shark. God knows why.

    Paul Deignan (51a3c8)

  368. Look, during the election I was as pro-Cruz, anti-Trump as the next guy.

    If I had a nickel for every time some “shutup whatabouthillary” guy explains he was really in it for cruz, I’d be able to fund like .3 Trump golf trups.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  369. 258. 260. 263. 25. 267. 269. 276.

    (NYT reporting that the intel the president disclosed was provided by Israel)

    The CBS Evening News reported that some of the information came from Israel.

    Sammy Finkelman (be6791)

  370. Hey Dustin,

    Nice to hear from many of the ignorant few at this site.

    You know, there is a website that lets you check political contributions. Maybe learn something some time.

    Or just blather on. That’s par for this course isn’t it?

    Paul Deignan (51a3c8)

  371. It’s not clear what you’re saying, Paul. Are you assigning me homework so you can prove you’re a partisan? Because that wouldn’t contradict what I said.

    All you were saying before was ‘shut up,’ in a moment when Trump has verified a lot of the things his critics were warning you about. But no one is forcing you to read this blog, so stop giving yourself heartburn about it.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  372. I’m saying that this blog is unserious.

    It is fixated on stupidity with occasional reminiscences of sanity.

    The idea that a President can’t use information that he controls to advance the foreign policy of the US is nonsense on its face.

    Somehow, ya’ll are blinded so that you don’t see that fact. So instead of advancing the conservative agenda, you are making damn fools of yourselves. (Or do you think that McMaster is a crypto-Communist?)

    I hope that is clear.

    Paul Deignan (51a3c8)

  373. Anonymous sources from WaPo is about as reliable as a crack head paying you back. Bezos is in bed with the CIA, nuff said.

    Joel Walbert (19982d)

  374. 386.

    The CBS Evening News reported that some of the information came from Israel.

    Also, the New York Times:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/world/middleeast/israel-trump-classified-intelligence-russia.html

    At least some of the details that the United States has about the Islamic State plot came from the Israelis, said the officials, who were not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

    Some.

    So, who, if anybody, imposed the requirement that the United States not tell anyone else that ISIS was trying to et he laptop-atter bomb?

    Sammy Finkelman (be6791)

  375. well they are on squirrel patrol

    http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/mcmaster-re-doubles-defense-trump-russia-meeting/

    I recall when general singlaub was recalled from south korea’s defense by carter, because that was an unacceptable ally then, with a messy leadership structure

    narciso (d1f714)

  376. Vladimir Putin held a press conference with the Prime Minister of Italy (Paolo Gentiloni) today in Sochi and he joked that he would have to issue Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a reprimend, because he didn’t share any of the secrets he learned from Trump either with him or Russuian intelligence services.

    He also said he had a transcript of the conversation in the Oval Office and was willing to turn it over to members of the U.S. Congress to reassure them that no secrets were revealed. (an aide later claimed no recording existed, only the written record. If it not word for word, it’s nothing.)

    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-putin-idUSKCN18D1EA

    Sammy Finkelman (be6791)

  377. John Mccain endured five years of torture at the hands of the commies and gave up less intel than Trump did in five minutes along in the Oval Office. His ego is not his amigo.

    Dustin (ba94b2) — 5/16/2017 @ 7:43 pm

    I take it you’re not familiar with the concept of the tear line?

    http://www.militaryfactory.com/dictionary/military-terms-defined.asp?term_id=5358

    A physical line on an intelligence message or document separating categories of information that have been approved for foreign disclosure and release. Normally, the intelligence below the tear line is that which has been previously cleared for disclosure or release. (JP 2-0)

    I’ve been a party to several intelligence sharing relationships. We safeguard the information we get from our partners exactly how our partners tell us to (and we expect them to do the same). Sometimes that means we have to keep it entirely to ourselves, and sometimes it doesn’t (I was always amused when the Aussies would tell me, “Sorry, mate, but this is ‘no Yanks.'”). Sometimes the answer to the question, can any of this be shared with other governments or publicly disclosed is all, sometimes it’s none, and sometimes it’s some.

    This is an extremely weird situation. Every Secretary of State since Jefferson understood that foreign governments share information with us in confidence. That means, unless otherwise marked by the foreign government and the markings are compatible with our system, foreign government information is routinely classified as confidential. And the definition of confidential information is information that if improperly disclosed would cause harm to US national security. And they also can designate some portions as unclassified, and other portions more highly classified.

    I’ve been saying for years that if I were the head of state of a foreign government I would never share information with the US because of Hillary!’s private server and then Comey compounding the felony by declaring it not a crime. Or at least not a crime worth prosecuting. I’d have said, “That’s it, no more intel for you since you don’t think it’s important to safeguard it.”

    How did a such a non-issue become an impeachable offense? The people who seem to be most upset at Trump wanted the poster girl for this very impeachable offense thousands of time over to be the President. It’s mind boggling. And even more mind boggling, we might have had approval from the foreign government to share the information. It may have even been unclassified.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  378. For an intel guy you sure feel the need to brag a whole lot.

    And you need to work on your sense of humor a little bit.

    This wasn’t just USA intel, and we F’ed up bad. It’s a disgrace. Anyone who can’t admit this is an F up doesn’t belong within 100 miles of a secret clearance, let alone any actual critical secrets. Accountability matters.

    How did a such a non-issue become an impeachable offense?

    Look, I know you really need to carry water for Trump and are utterly devoted to him 24/7, but everything is impeachable. There’s no penal code of impeachment. And nothing is impeachable, even murder in the streets as Trump has bragged about, if the GOP House doesn’t jump on board, which of course they will not.

    Impeachment is simply a political tool Trump and his waterboys have handed to the democrats. That is all it is.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  379. Keep on educating us, Steve. I, for one, appreciate your posts.

    Colonel Haiku (d3e242)

  380. Haiku, you’re so passive aggressive it’s pretty funny to watch.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  381. Trump’s a walking case of Tourette’s. Still, hate for him should not exaggerate his errors, nor motivate people to make up lies.

    Richard Aubrey (a09608)

  382. Nobody brags about being intel, Dustin. Normally intel types brag about being SEALs or something else that they weren’t.

    Everything I’m saying is a matter of public record. Including the fact that I had a clearance; you can not attend the schools I attended or hold the positions I held without a TS/SCI clearance. And those schools and those positions are listed on my DD214, an unclassified document I could file with the county clerk. And up until very recently that information would be available to the public, although many states have since I retired passed privacy laws restricting access to that information.

    And everything else is available in Obama’s December 2009 E.O.s on classified national security information and original classification authority, both numbered 13526. As well as preceding E.O.s

    This wasn’t just USA intel, and we F’ed up bad. It’s a disgrace. Anyone who can’t admit this is an F up doesn’t belong within 100 miles of a secret clearance, let alone any actual critical secrets.

    I did this for a living, Dustin. And you, Dustin, are talking out of your @$$. I don’t know if this is a F up and neither do you. And you’re not likely to know, and neither will I. If it’s a F up then the source will quietly turn off the spigot of information without making a scene. That’s what we would do. If it’s not a F up then the information will keep flowing. Some of the information we’d share with foreign governments could be passed on or even publicly disclosed.

    This is another bizarro world fake scandal. The people on the left and in the media (but I repeat myself) are horrified, HORRIFIED, that Trump betrayed a source.

    These same horrified people are now tripping all over themselves to let you know that source is Israel. Trump didn’t say that, but they want you to know the source of the information that Donald Trump and only Donald Trump can’t talk about. According to people that have been exposing intelligence means and methods with the explicit aim of harming the security of the United States since the communist revolution in Russia.

    Meanwhile it’s just not a problem that Hillary! put every single bit of FGI on an unclassified private server for the whole world to see and Barack Obama betrayed the country to our declared enemy Iran, making war inevitable.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  383. From the reporting I’ve read the only sources that are claiming Trump revealed highly classified information are “former administration officials.”

    In other words Obama people. You’d have to be a complete idiot to take this at face value. So, usual suspects, continue to take this at face value.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  384. Keep on educating us, Steve. I, for one, appreciate your posts.

    Colonel Haiku (d3e242) — 5/17/2017 @ 12:39 pm

    I suppose I should cite my sources so that know-nothings don’t accuse me of impropriety.

    https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/eo/eo-13526.htm

    NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

    PART 1 — ORIGINAL CLASSIFICATION

    Section 1.1. Classification Standards. (a) Information may be originally classified under the terms of this order only if all of the following conditions are met:

    (1) an original classification authority is classifying the information;

    (2) the information is owned by, produced by or for, or is under the control of the United States Government;

    (3) the information falls within one or more of the categories of information listed in section 1.4 of this order; and

    …(d) The unauthorized disclosure of foreign government information is presumed to cause damage to the national security.

    This is the default position. But a foreign government can overrule the default position under whatever terms they want as a condition for sharing that information. It’s impossible to say, from the outside, that Israel didn’t want Trump to share whatever information he shared with the Russian foreign minister. In fact, they may very well have shared that information hoping for that very thing.

    It may very well have been that Israel didn’t want to be identified as the source but otherwise placed no restrictions on disseminating the information. It happens. So the criminal isn’t Trump, but every single newspaper in the US braying to the world that Israel was the source.

    That is, according to malicious anonymous tipsters who worked for and still are working for the Obama administration. Who are committing the felonies Donald Trump didn’t by revealing classified national security information that they swore and signed NDAs declaring they’d protect for life.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  385. 399. Steve57 (0b1dac) — 5/17/2017 @ 1:25 pm

    These same horrified people are now tripping all over themselves to let you know that source is Israel.

    The New York times and CBS News may be getting contradictory information because they don’t seem so certain that the source was Israel, or at least that there was only one source.

    SPQR @59 5/15/2017 @ 6:29 pm

    Possibly in discussing the intel with the Russians, Trump included bits beyond what the intel community expected.

    Trumpp wasn’t told not to tell anyone.

    What’s all so-so secret seems to be either the bare factoid that ISIS is interested in the laptop-battery bomb, or the name of the city in Syria where ISIS is allegedly doing all this planning. If the latter, Trump may have mentioned that in an effort to encourage Russia to go after that city. If the Russians expressed skepticism about what Trump was saying Trump may then have boasted about how great U S intel was.

    If there were non-cynical reasons for asking the U.S to keep this information secret it would then most likely have one of the following explanations

    A) The information was preliminary, but the U,S, decided anyway to take preventative measures.

    B) ISIS’s interest was new and confined to very few in ISIS, so they asked the US not to spread this info because ISIS would know where the leak was, but the US decided to alert airlines anyway because the ISIS people weren’t the only people who had heard about the laptop-battery bomb.

    Sammy Finkelman (6f9f42)

  386. Possibly in discussing the intel with the Russians, Trump included bits beyond what the intel community expected.

    SPQR @59 5/15/20

    17 @ 6:29 pm

    With all due respect, you have it exactly backwards. The people inside the room with Trump and the Russians say that Trump did not compromise sources or methods. It’s rogues inside the intel community who are compromising sources and methods, saying far more than the intel exchange partner who originated the intel ever expected, in a cheap and tawdry attempt to smear Trump.

    If you believe what you read. Israel isn’t the only country in the region that has intelligence services. The gerneric Arab term for intelligence, as in intelligence agency or intelligence directorate, is Mukhabarat. Usually there’s a slight variation of the full name of the Mukhabarat dep

    ending on if you’re dealing with Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, etc. But whatever the variant the name of the agency will include the word.

    Usually these agencies will focus more on internal security but they don’t make the same distinction we and the Israelis make between gathering domestic as opposed to foreign intelligence, assigning the first category to Shin Bet or the FBI, the second to Mossad, the IDF Intelligence Directorate, and CIA, NSA, DoD, etc. And while not as capable as the Mossad or CIA in all respects, when it comes to gathering foreign intelligence in the regions these Arab intel agencies have unique specialized capabilities that really neither we or the Israelis can duplicate.

    So it’s not entirely certain that the originator of the intel was Israel. But what is certain is that it’s the leakers, not Trump, who by going to their friends in the LHMFM and telling the world the source was Israel whether it’s true or not that are causing exceptionally grave damage to our intelligence sharing relationships.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  387. Yes it was the Jordanians who provided the top. As you suspected. They are closer geographically and more significantly the tribes extend across borders

    narciso (d1f714)

  388. In light of today’s revelations regarding Comey’s memo, whispered over the phone to Wapo frauds, why in the world would anyone credit something reported in that snot rag?

    papertiger (c8116c)

  389. Sammy,

    quoting the NY Daily News for anything related to Trump is pointless. They don’t even pretend to be objective and will pass more slander than the National Enquirer.

    NJRob (520017)

  390. Yes it was the Jordanians who provided the top. As you suspected. They are closer geographically and more significantly the tribes extend across borders

    narciso (d1f714) — 5/18/2017 @ 9:16 pm

    I never said that, narciso. I’ll leave it to the leakers in D.C. to compromise sources and methods.
    My only point is that I have reasons to doubt the LHMFM reporting, and everyone else should, too. There are lots of players in the M.E. who dislike ISIS and want to gather intel on their capabilities and intentions. Mossad is certainly capable of conducting such an operation, if you’re familiar with the story of Eli Cohen, the unsung hero of the Six Day War. But Mossad isn’t the only one.

    According to the reporting a lot of these leaks are coming from “former administration officials.” In other words Israel-hating Obama administration officials. They see Israel as the main source of trouble in the M.E. and with the Muslim world in general. If only they could have forced Israel to make enough concessions they could have achieved world peace.

    In other words, idiots. But treacherous, lying idiots. The last thing they want is for the Trump administration to restore the working relationship we once had with Israel. They want to sow mistrust.

    And not just with Israel. But I digress, but only slightly. As far as historical illiterates Barack Obama and his minions were concerned any country that would ally itself with the evil United States, the source of conflict and imperialism and colonialism and oppression from the beginning of the world to date, was either evil in itself (such as the UK) or hadn’t developed its proper class consciousness. See Marx-Engels for the details on the latter point.

    Science!

    Steve57 (0b1dac)


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