Is the White House in a ‘downward spiral’ as Republican from Tennessee, Corker, says it is? I thought this was unusual:
“If this was above board and not problematic in any way, why did the National Security Council, coming out of this meeting, feel it was necessary to contact the CIA director and the director of the National Security Agency and give them a heads-up on what Trump had just told the Russians?”
They’re all talking about “WHO LEAKED THIS?” Since when do National Security Council people come from meetings with presidents and go to the CIA? SO that’s the leak, but who leaked it to the Washington Post? They’re saying it’s someone who was in the WH meeting, but if this information about running to the CIA is out there, what leak from the WH??
This might be a big problem on Trump’s part…he might like feeling important and ‘in the know’ and divulges things but he has to STOP if that’s the case. Still, what about HILLARY CLINTON? Even Krauthammer, no Trump fan, says she did FAR worse.
Thoughts?
Z
geeez2014
GeeeZ .... 
The leaks are most assuredly in the White House itself, but I couldn’t hazard a guess as to who it is. The Executive staff is pretty large [larger than it need be, I’d say].
Trump all but admitted today, that he did share classified intelligence with the Russians last week….made all the more concerning, given that Russian state media was present, but not American. He has the authority to do so….but these instances are not taken lightly, and if the media reporting is accurate….these occurrences do not jeopardize intelligence sharing agreements with allied and partner nations. We’re still recovering from Snowden’s actions with regard to our relationship with Germany.
Hillary should have been indicted [remember “lock her up!!”?]….but she’s not POTUS, nor is she the topic at present. All she serves as now, is a distraction from those who want the heat taken off of Trump and his self-sabotaging actions.
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The president can decide what is confidential. The White House was giving the agencies a heads up. Nothing imporper about this at all. They were talking about IS and terrorism in general and Trump was sharing information so Russia could more competently join in the fight.
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I still want to know what was covered up just prior to the election in 2012 with the open mike and Obama with Putin’s man. Why wasn’t that ever covered by the media? Obama was caught saying it would have to wait until after the election and Putin’s guy told him he understood and would relay that to Putin. Relay what?
Bottom line…..a lot of meetings and discussions have always taken place between heads of state that needs to be kept from the public on both sides. We saw what happened when Obama disclosed to the world our time line to withdraw troops from Iraq. DUMB!!
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Mal – To be fair to Obama, we were operating under the publicly known timeline, per the 2008 SOFA and withdrawal agreement, signed and broadcast by the previous Administration. Further…you don’t sneak out multiple thousands of Soldiers and equipment. It’s a phased retrograde over months.
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Okay, CI. but why was it so important to hold off till after the election for this? And why didn’t the media pick up on this fact as i’m certain they would’ve if it had been Trump? The whole thing smells to high heaven, IMO.
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That’s a good question. We’d have to ask Obama. However, I view each issue on it’s own merit.
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FWIW, Erick Erickson [staunch Conservative, though never much of a Trump fan] has a piece up on his site worth reading.
http://theresurgent.com/i-know-one-of-the-sources/
Grain of salt and all…..
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CI, I’d not jump to conclusions that Trump is guilty….yes, he has every right to say what he thinks should be said. And, when it’s a Nat’l Sec. Council person who came out of the meeting talking about it, I’d say that’s THE LEAK.
Trump says he warned Russia of information regarding bombs on planes or something like that..I’d have done the same thing, except they’re saying that the person who knew that information is outed now…how that’s true is beyond me.
Hillary isn’t POTUS but she sure had extremely classified information and Huma Abedine emailed a lot, unsecured, to her husband…..and they have no legal problems because “they didn’t MEAN TO” what rubbish.
Mal, I think Obama should never have said when we were doing ANY military stuff…CI’s right…you don’t sneak in hundreds of troops or ships, but to give dates it ridiculous. Almost as dumb as Obama’s generals deciding our people can’t shoot into mosques because they’re “so holy’ , as if HOLINESS is when they shot OUT of the mosques at our soldiers? Or how about them knocking on doors instead of busting in…giving enough time to get out the back? Or how about the very idea of reading Mirandas to enemy combatants overseas? gad
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CI….Erickson says “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.”
Ya, as I wrote in the last paragraph of my post, I DO believe Trump will say what he likes to say to look important…to Russians or anybody else. “listen, I KNOW this information…” And he’d get nothing FOR IT (which past presidents might have done as a bargaining chip, but the feeling like he is more important than they are)
Erickson continues “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.”
Sounds like a hit piece to me………while I don’t trust Trump much because of his ego and his not YET waking up to what trouble he can get into because of it, saying it’s “FAR WORSE” without any facts known is pure speculation and unprovable without a special hearing…God FORBID.
As some of you have read here, a very close friend’s VERY best friend is married to a Pence advisor who almost didn’t take the job because he can’t stand Trump, but loves Pence enough that he did. He’s told my friend Trump listens to NO ONE…on that, Erickson is correct. That MUST change; I had high hopes that Pence could help…I don’t see it yet.
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I certainly don’t think I’ve jumped to any conclusions….but Trump and McMasters have admitted that it was classified information that was discussed. As a rule, we don’t share such with Russia….but POTUS has broad [yet vague] declassification authority. It’s important here to look at this with a measured approach….as claiming that it’s patently false…is just as irresponsible as claiming that Trump should be impeached.
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Interestingly, prior to the Inauguration, Israeli sources were worried about shared information being provided to third parties [notably finding it’s way to Iran, who does have intelligence sharing agreements with Russia]; some reports today are naming Israel as the partner nation that provided us the information that Trump gave to the Russian Ambassador.
Again…FWIW.
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The Administration story isn’t adding up. Both McMasters and Spicer are claiming that Trump couldn’t have revealed the sources & methods on the information, because……wait for it…..he wasn’t briefed on it.
How would he have had any details on a topic that is claimed he wasn’t briefed on? Not to mention, that this subject was clearly in one of his recent PDBs.
Weird.
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CI, to say it’s patently false is as bad as saying it definitely happened. This could be a big game/ruse we can’t know about and all we can hope is that, somehow, it worked…for some good.
If the Israel info is correct, that’ll be some dinner party between the Trumps and Bibis next week.
We’ll never know the truth….bottom line. Just another opportunity for the media
Odd nobody’s talking about the National Sec Advisor who’s said to have alerted anybody
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https://www.yahoo.com/tv/fox-news-host-says-she-talks-become-white-181836563.htmlhttps://www.yahoo.com/tv/fox-news-host-says-she-talks-become-white-181836563.html
If Guilfoyle becomes Press Secretary, I’m FREAKING DONE with this president. AND, when she wears her low cut dresses at 10 AM, and long cocktail earrings at 2 pm, I’m thinking she’s JUST RIGHT for this (I hate to call it because the word sounds so official and honorable) administration.
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I can’t listen to that squeaky voice for 2 minutes…
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I’d like to see him bring Dana Perino on. She’s sharp…..and admittedly, I have a bit of a crush on her……
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CI…wouldn’t she be FABULOUS in that position again? I’m with you. I like her very much, too…and read her first book. She’s awfully pretty, isn’t she? The dog book I have no interest in !!
I like Guilfoyle’s thinkin most of the time, but she’s a female Hannity….like an angry dog with his teeth on someone’s pants leg…..never giving up, just pulling and pulling … She’s always (like Hannity) saying the same old hackneyed pro-Trump, Pro-rightwing stuff……mind you, it’s nice to hear some positive Conservative stuff stood up for, but the way SHE does it, so kind of ‘knee jerk’ bugs the **** out of me!!! You should pardon the expression 🙂
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/mexican-man-texas-death-row-loses-us-supreme-144738685.html
This SWINE deserves better legal help? GEE, they didn’t tell him Mexicans could have helped him in his trial for MURDERING HIS WIFE AND KIDS AND BURYING THEM UNDER THE BATHROOM FLOOR? MY GOD
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Why can’t the president share info with “allies” against ISIS? Also why is it a problem now but when OBama sends millions to Iran who wants to destroy Israel and the Great Satan, then it isn’t? Makes no f’ing sense. Pardon my French but I’m about to lose one with the left. I HATE those people
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Why can’t the president share info with “allies” against ISIS?
He can. But please don’t think that Russia is much of an ‘ally’. They’re in Syria to prop up the Assad regime, and have carried out far more attacks against the Free Syrian Army and other ‘moderate’ Syrian forces, than they have ISIS.
If the White House would have been straight up, this wouldn’t be an issue. If Trump violated an existing intelligence sharing agreement [with Israel, or whomever]….it’s a BIG deal.
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Philip Rucker of the Post call McMasters a liar!
There is no way the Post can prove their story.
Who was in that meeting that would leak to the Post?
The Post can’t tell you.
So do we believe them or McMasters?
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WE DON’T KNOW THE DETAILS. This could be a huge ruse, as I said above…..it could be staged to get Russia to do something…whatever. We will NEVER know what Trump did and my big question is why they don’t get the guy who supposedly HEARD IT and then TOLD THE MEDIA….
At the best, let’s hope that, if Trump DID divulge something that jeopardizes, that he FINALLY LEARNS what he can and can’t do.
This isn’t a game.
Ed, some of the 5 people in that mtg ARE known…I just heard it from Eric Bolling….Pres, Russian, National Sec Council person (who it’s said leaked to the media…read CI’s link), Tillerson and McMasters? Not sure he was there.
Odd that the Post can call McMasters a liar with no proof for their OWN ‘facts’ they published, isn’t it. But typical
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I don’t think McMasters lied, because his statements have been so lawyerly, there’s always a rhetorical loophole.
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CI, the “grain of salt” site you posted has some good points. No question Trump is a loose canon and I’m hoping he will eventually become a bit more parliamentary in his ways. Of course this all stems from his background as a CEO, but this isn’t all bad for us at this time, either. He is trying to use his skills as a negotiator not only within our own government and our allies but also with countries like Russia and China. In a way its kinda fun to watch, too.
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Ci, great point…if you’re going to pains to be THAT careful, you’re not lying….
Mal, I have friends/relatives in NYC who have people who’ve worked closely with Trump and say he’s an amazingly good guy….a leftwing friend told me his very leftwing client whose family has a big law firm says he screws lawyers around…using them and not paying.
I choose to go with the people on the street who’ve been slapped on the back while working on one of his projects or executives who have meetings with him, etc….
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Anyone who can turn the screws on a lawyer, force them to take their hands from your pockets and use them to block your punches…. is a good guy IMO!
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Breaking news!
Unnamed sources swear that Washington Post conspires to smear president!
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ED! SAY IT AIN’T TRUE…NOT THE WASHINGTON POST :-)!!!!
Imp….very good guy!
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Well….President smears media…..so….quid pro quo….
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CI….we get it. Well aware.
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Geez, CI. You are fasr approaching Trump Derangement Syndrome.
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CI, I wrote ‘allies’ with quotes.
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That’s sad, Ed.You’re better than that.
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i said that somewhat tongue in cheek. Don’t have an emoji for that.
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My apologies…I should have known. I suck at readeing into written subtleties.
.
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Apparently, I also suck at spelling.
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Ed, this has has happened with your comments a lot!
Maybe you should write “sarcasm” or something….because it sounds legit.
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A common ‘internet-ism’ is to end a sentence with “/sarc”.
That dummy-proofs it for folks like me.
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I’m with Imp about lawyers. There ought to be a bounty on ’em!
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You know the difference between a rooster and a lawyer? A rooster clucks defiance!
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