When there are credible reasons to believe the Russians are seeking to underimine an election what does a responsible administration do?
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., excoriated Russia on Friday after being briefed that the Kremlin is attempting to help his presidential campaign as part of an effort to interfere with the Democratic primary and the 2020 election
Just like in 2016 when our intel agencies at the behest of the administration gave the Hillary campaign a warning briefing this administration has done so for Bernie’s campaign.
Unlike this administration, Obama’s decision was to only inform one party and then used the information in an attempt to entrap and spy on the opposing party’s candidate.
I’ll tell you what it doesn’t do: fire the DNI in a hissy fit because his department gave a mandated briefing to Congress about Russia’s meddling preference for Trump in this election too.
This briefing immediately resulted in the illegal misuse of classified information for political purposes against both Trump and Sanders. After spending most of his administration fighting back against the politicization of intelligence information, don’t you think its reasonable for Trump to get a handle on the interference with our election by those using illegal leaks and disinformation?
Again, not Maguire’s fault or responsibility. He was fired because Trump was pissed that the IC told Congress the truth about Russia meddling once again, this time for Trump AND Sanders (Trump’s preferred opponent).
And…? That “truth” resulted in the political use of classified documentation to interfere in our elections. As it obviously would. So that wasn’t a very good thing, was it?
And without knowing the details behind any analysis or the basis of that analysis…if it really exists…we don’t really know any “truth” at all.
Hmmm… I just copied the below from CNN, so it may or may not be true. But if it was true, I’d sure have fired that guys ass and quick.
“Trump didn’t even find out about the intelligence briefing that set him off from his intel chief. CNN previously reported that he found out from Rep. Devin Nunes, a Californian who’s the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee.
Maybe that’s why, a day later, on Valentine’s Day, he exploded at the nation’s top spy, who has since resigned.”
Now Nunes has denied he went to the WH, so who knows?
It is clear Trump needs to get these people in control before they start to interfere in another election.
And that goes for both the US IC and the Russians.
Let’s put aside the “R” and “D” for a second. All other considerations aside: do you not believe that Russia interfered, effectively or not, in the 2016 election, as pretty much the entire IC stated? And that they are doing it again, as apparently the IC still believes? And Trump has done nothing of substance to thwart it, in fact he vehemently denies it?
That doesn’t bother you at all? And it wouldn’t bother you if there was a “D” after his name? It would bother the hell out of me.
"On Friday, Trump’s campaign spokesman, Tim Murtaugh, tweeted: “We condemn and reject foreign interference in American elections in any form.”
I expect Trump to have the real facts and to have his people in charge of the IC and see that they counter any illegal interference by Russia and any illegal leaks or political involvement by partisan IC workers.
And I don’t expect him to be doing it on the front pages of CNN.
Intelligence activities are not to be carried out on the front pages of partisan papers. That is not intelligence activity, that is partisan interference.
