We know it happened. Trump admitted it. He said he had the right to do it.
He did have that right. Just like he had the right to fire Comey for investigating him. But no other president would have done it. You are not supposed to give out this type of information called “code-word information” which is most highly classified without clearing it first with intelligence agencies and going to the party that gave it to you to ask permission to do this. Trump failed to do that.
Despite clever half denials from McMasters and Tillerson it is clear it happened. How do we know that. The Administration asked the Washington Post not to publish the information that Trump gave to Russians Lazrov and Kislyak, to quote: “The Post is withholding most plot details, including the name of the city, at the urging of officials who warned that revealing them would jeopardize important intelligence capabilities.”
Reading that left me a little bewildered. If the Russians can be given the secrets why is it the American people cannot also be given them. The secret is out. Trump trying to ingratiate himself with the Russians handed it over to them. If they know all our enemies will know it but we Americans cannot. It makes no sense other than we are living in Trump’s America.
Its downright scary Trump would have done this. He boldly admitted doing it. He tweeted: “As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.W. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining . . . . to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS and terrorism.” No doubt he can do it. He can also direct our intelligence agencies not to share any information with our allies. He can tell them to share all our information with China or Russia. No one can stop him from revealing “code word” stuff that compromises operations and people’s lives. It is his right to do so even though it damages our country and our relationship with allies.
Trump has the right to invite his friend Jeffrey Epstein or any other pervert to the White House; he has the right fly all over the world to different golf courses; and he has the right to be as indiscreet as he wishes. Having the right does not mean what he is doing is right.
There are other things that are even more troubling than Trump jeopardizing our security. The first is that he is the first president in the history of our country who sat down with a Russian foreign minister and exchanged secrets with him. In the past presidents met with the leaders of Russia or other foreign states. They never met and discussed information with a foreign minister.
Even worst than doing that which has never been done before, the reason why he did it is sort of shocking. Here he is talking to Lester Holt: “when I spoke with Putin he asked me whether or not I would see Lavrov. Now what do I do. Do I say no I’m not going to see him. I said I would see him.”
Is it that hard for Trump to say “no” to Putin? Could he not say, “Vlad, it’s best he meet with Tillerson and they discuss things. Down the road I’ll meet with you.” Or just, “Sure, I’ll shake his hand but will let Lavrov and Tillerson discuss issues.”
What else will Putin ask him that he will be afraid to say no to? That is one of the great problems with Trump, he is a coward in face to face meetings as I’ve written before. He can’t stand up to people. Even firing Comey he did it through his former body-guard.
There’s more things that are bad about this incident. McMaster showed he has no problem covering up for Trump. He said he was at the meeting. He went on saying: “At no time — at no time — were intelligence sources or methods discussed.” That was not the claim by the Washington Post. It said the code word information was given out.
Shockingly, it was given out in front of McMaster and Tillerson who stood there saying nothing. They apparently were afraid to interrupt Trump to protect our highest secrets from being given to the Russians. Tillerson I’d expect that from. He thought that Lavrov’s putting down of an American reporter when she asked about the Comey firing was pretty funny.
Russia’s dream of making America cower to it is coming true. Lavrov was greeted like a great friend with no mention made of Russian interference in our election. (Tillerson said everyone knows it so no need to discuss it.) McMaster the one who we hoped would stand up to the president proves himself another toady willing to dissemble if necessary.
What foreign nation would trust us with its secrets if it knows Trump is going to learn about them? America’s standing in the world is plummeting. How will we ever redeem our reputation after this?
It’s kind of astonishing that Trump would have face-to-face meetings (and) dinner With James Comey. I don’t understand why he didn’t communicate with Comey through intermediaries, and I’m not just saying this in hindsight.
After all, we saw Comey try to have it both ways with the left and the right by offering a highly critical public assessment of Clinton’s handling of classified information and at the same time announcing that there wasn’t going to be a criminal indictment. That blew up in his face, of course, but he wasn’t finished.
Then came his outrageous decision to publicly stick his nose into the presidential race by making it known that the FBI was still on Clinton’s trail. Finally, with about three days to go before the vote, we were treated to Comey’s “Never Mind!” declaration.
All of this should have raised some major-league doubts in Trump’s mind. And perhaps it did in the end. Trump did wind up canning Comey, though the firing was badly botched.
Here are a couple of final thoughts: Was Comey really loved and respected by the FBI rank-and-file? Maybe somebody who reads Matt’s blog has an answer to this question? Also, how many of you race home and write a memorandum to yourself about your dinner companion? Just wonderin’ …..
KING RICHARD III
Give me another horse: bind up my wounds.
Have mercy, Jesu!–Soft! I did but dream.
O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!
The lights burn blue. It is now dead midnight.
Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.
What do I fear? myself? there’s none else by:
Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I.
Is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am:
Then fly. What, from myself? Great reason why:
Lest I revenge. What, myself upon myself?
Alack. I love myself. Wherefore? for any good
That I myself have done unto myself?
O, no! alas, I rather hate myself
For hateful deeds committed by myself!
I am a villain: yet I lie. I am not.
Fool, of thyself speak well: fool, do not flatter.
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.
Perjury, perjury, in the high’st degree
Murder, stem murder, in the direst degree;
All several sins, all used in each degree,
Throng to the bar, crying all, Guilty! guilty!
I shall despair. There is no creature loves me;
And if I die, no soul shall pity me:
Nay, wherefore should they, since that I myself
Find in myself no pity to myself?
Methought the souls of all that I had murder’d
Came to my tent; and every one did threat
To-morrow’s vengeance on the head of Richard.
Trump is like the little kid who is dying to impress his betters anyway he can. “Hey did you hear this one?” etc. Who cares that the Israelis my be exposed by the Irani friends of the Russians? T.S.
Bigger and more disturbing is the he-said-he-said between Comey and Trump. Why do you think Comey wrote a memo summarizing the discussion? Because he’s a beltway pro and knew a set-up when he saw it. Arrogant Trump thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room and can get away with anything. His supporters give him ample encouragement to rule by fiat.
The Democrats’ plan is to destroy the president, including the nation, if needed. So be it. Pussymarchers can smirk all they they want: Come the Revolution!
Have your Revolution! Enjoy!
Remember this: Then comes the Counter-Revolution. We have guns. [You have pink knitted chapeaux.] We mostly have military training. [You have degrees in transgendered post nationalism on the high end and time in Walpole on the low end.] We have computers nowadays. [You have the attention span of the morning’s third toke.]
Last November liberals decided the electoral system was flawed. It allowed Hillary & Co. to lose. Cannot have that.
Recall, my Marxist friends, Mao’s maxim that power comes from the barrel of a gun. We have lots of them. We know how to use them. The bureaucracy has the names via lists of campaign donors, petitions, etc.
Come the Revolution! Come the Revolution! Have fun. Lie. Twist words. Destroy the Satanic Trump! Reject the election. Bow before your Golden Calf! Fill the cups. Dance around the maypole!
After all, the Russkies stole the election. The crime? They committed journalism. Did the job American journalists wouldn’t do: opposition researched a Democrat.
Bid it up! But there is a price to be paid. Bid it higher! The election of 1972 is the template. Sky’s the limit. Overthrow the Republic. Open the borders. Replace Whites. And we will exact full payment this time when you do.
Trump made clear what is at stake. He is no longer needed. He has served his purpose.
Have fun. Toss him on the garbage heap. You are next.
Now there is an American! I’m with you, brutha! But…….
Guess what. Know all those Niggers that kill and rape? They have guns, too. The drug dealers? Guns. The pimps and child porn magnets? Guns. The 1%er’s that ride Harleys? Guns. MS13 and a million other gangs? Guns. Ex-cons that weren’t rehabilitated (all of them)? Guns. Organized crime? Guns. Kids that murder images on computer screens? Guns. Know what they don’t have? A conscience.
Mao’s maxim. Try this one on for size. “It places the lotion in the basket.”
Edit: By the way, how you gonna do all that way up there in Maine?
Tad, is that you? If you want to talk about Marxism, I’ll be your huckleberry. Blather on.
Of course its him. Mao knew how to pick his words. But he didn’t use a gun to starve 50,000,000 of his countrymen to death.
Matt: The New York Times reports that Israel is the source of the intelligence information that the Trumpster passed along to Russia (and Iran presumably). He’s just not ready for prime time.
Maybe Trump can bounce back with his trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Vatican City.
Dan:
Each day things get worse for Trump. Maybe the Pope will agree to his request for political asylum in the Vatican or at least give him some indulgences.
Matt:
Firstly, no one knows what was said inside that room except those who were there. The three Americans (McMasters, Tillerson, Powell) said the Washington Post story was “false.”
Secondly, in a follow-up story the Post said Trump revealed the name of “a city” from which the Russians could “infer” a source and “infer” methods. Says who?
Thirdly, the “officials” you cite who said “don’t disclose the info”, are the same alleged anonymous officials “inside and outside the Administration”; among them “the leakers” . . . a trusty lot, no doubt. Indicentally, someone asked how does someone “outside” the Administration leak anything. However, the larger point is that both you and WaPO imply, without evidence, that a high placed Administration “official” confirmed the authenticity of the WaPo stoy, when the only high placed officials in the know have denied it.
Let me speculate: What likely happened: some lowlife leftist denizen of the deep state (the anonymous official) saw a summary of the meeting, saw mentioned the discussion of laptop bombs (publicly disclosed several weeks ago) and saw mentioned elsewhere in the document a city, and he conflated two non-confidential issues.
2. All the Trump-haters continue their attempts to sabotage his presidency. Last night Geraldo Rivera called the Press’s attacks and viciousness against Trump “unprecedented” in American History. (And he lived through Watergate.) He said the Press were acting like a pack of ravenous “hyenas”; that the Press had placed a “target on Trump’s back” and their criticism was “relentless.” Geraldo is a moderate.
3. Remember the outright lies dished out by the WaPost/NYT just this last week: (1) Rosenstein submitted his letter of recommendation; (2) Comey asked for more money from Congress; (3) Comey asked for more money from the DOJ; and Remember the initial frenzied hysteria that Trump’s firing “unconstitutionally exceeded his authority” and “violated the separation of powers” and “was unprecedented” until every remembered Bill Clinton fired Bill Sessions. And finally remember all the fools who think Trump is the first president to criticize the Press and Judiciary, forgetting Jefferson (who repeatedly lambasted the press); Jackson; Lincoln (who criticized Dred Scott); FDR who lambasted the judiciary in his fireside chats and tried to “stack” the courts; Obama who publicly humiliated the jurists in his audience in 2010, and in 2012 said the Court was “wrong” to grant cert on Obamacare and threatened aninsulted the Court by telling it ‘to play it straight” when reviewing Obamacare, as if the Court were crooked.
So, taking the recent history of blatantly false reporting into account and looking at things from a longer historical perspective, I wouldn’t put much faith in Washington Post and I’m 100% positive that every President has said things in confidence that someone else could “infer” might lead to the disclosure of something more confidential.
4. All Trump stated was that he discussed facts with the Russians. The only correct assertion by the press, once again, is that Trump, as President, broke no laws.
Bill,
All you say is prima facie reasonable, though your hypothesis about how the story got out is just a hypothesis.
Regardless, if there was a photo of Trump pointing a gun at someone who was falling to the ground, would you then argue that the media did him a disservice by failing to consider the possibility that the man falling to the ground did not do so because he was shot but because he was having a heart attack, and that there was no video that could verify Trump actually pulled the trigger?
At some point, you just have to see that Trump is a buffoon and is not qualified by temperament or experience to be in the Oval Office. And I say that as a conservative who never had love for Obama or the liberal media.
The guy has got to go. He is an incompetent man-child.
Of course, it doesn’t matter what I say. His supporters, like you, are true believers.
‘In private, three administration officials conceded that they could not publicly articulate their most compelling — and honest — defense of the president: that Mr. Trump, a hasty and indifferent reader of printed briefing materials, simply did not possess the interest or knowledge of the granular details of intelligence gathering to leak specific sources and methods of intelligence gathering that would do harm to United States allies.’
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/us/white-house-staff.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
Bill:
1. Hard to say how many people know but we do know that the Russians recorded what was said. I don’t suppose it bothers you that we have to depend on the Russians to tell us what was said. I guess the intelligence people who knew what Trump revealed were the people who said that. Now it appears the Israelis also agree. Bill by now you see how wrong you have been since the first denials have now been changed to agreeing with the information and the pursuit of the leakers.
I suggest it was not a “low life leftist” but someone who loves America and what is stands for that made the disclosure understanding Trump was betraying our country
2. Wow, no wonder you are so defensive of Trump. You listen to Fox News when you cite Geraldo Rivera. I don’t know if you tweet or not but the reason Trump is in such deep trouble is because he can’t stop tweeting and making a fool of himself.
3. I don’t know where you find all that false reporting but everything I have read about Trump’s misdeeds is right on the money and true. You see even the Republicans are catching on to Trump’s strangeness. What other president tried to bag an investigation. You think Comey is lying.
4. The Russians have the tapes. It doesn’t bother you that they do and we don’t. McMaster said Trump gave out the classified information because he did not know it was classified. That make you feel better.
The tough thing about being president is that you don’t get any Mulligans. Its a tough job for on the job training. And Trump isn’t good at taking instruction. I’m not knocking him. He is just that type of person.
Since I was away birding for 12 days with no TV I decided to watch the news this morning. Something I truly dislike and avoid.
What did Trump say to the Rooskies? That’s my first question. We don’t know and some people think they do. (I don’t mean intelligence people. They know exactly what was said.) CNN is saying he transgressed the unwritten law of the presidency. MSNBC folks say he transgressed the written law. FOX says he did nothing illegal. They also say he did nothing that wasn’t in the best interests of the country. That would be us.
As usual the Left and Right bombard us with lies. (And make no mistake, they are equally divided on stage, screen and brothels. You folks that say MSM is liberal are not looking hard. On my Verizon cable there are just as many conservative streams of bullshit flowing as liberal.) So let Americans waste billions of hours a week discussing something they know nothing about and never will know anything about. Every fact that gets trapped inside a skull with a one way door will continue to thicken that skull till there is nothing to it but solid bone. For every fact there is a counter fact. For every spiral there is an opposite spiral. Soap boxes are cheap and don’t hold a lot of weight but we will keep standing on them until they are crushed flat.
Love him or hate him, Trump’s presidency to this point is a bit of a pig circus. Maybe even ‘disaster’ is a better word, but I’m not in that camp yet. I think 6-8 months is a minimum amount of time before a judgement can be formed. Maybe even wait until his first State Of The Union speech. He started completely outside of the box. I’m giving him a Mulligan.