Coming February 6, 2024 . . .
MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
Pre-order at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop
Coming February 6, 2024 . . . MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE by Michael Wolraich Pre-order at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop |
Intelligence Community pushes back against a White House it considers leaky, untruthful and penetrated by the Kremlin
By John R. Schindler @ Observer, Feb. 12
[....] In light of this, and out of worries about the White House’s ability to keep secrets, some of our spy agencies have begun withholding intelligence from the Oval Office. Why risk your most sensitive information if the president may ignore it anyway? A senior National Security Agency official explained that NSA was systematically holding back some of the “good stuff” from the White House, in an unprecedented move. For decades, NSA has prepared special reports for the president’s eyes only, containing enormously sensitive intelligence. In the last three weeks, however, NSA has ceased doing this, fearing Trump and his staff cannot keep their best SIGINT secrets.
Since NSA provides something like 80 percent of the actionable intelligence in our government, what’s being kept from the White House may be very significant indeed. However, such concerns are widely shared across the IC, and NSA doesn’t appear to be the only agency withholding intelligence from the administration out of security fears [....]
Comments
One helluva piece - WaPo adds some additional info from inside the NSC.
by barefooted on Sun, 02/12/2017 - 11:50pm
That's a NYT link.
On the lighter side now would be the time for Star Treks Chekhov to ask 'Where are the nuclear weapons, I am from Trump' as he enters a US naval base. Disarray hardly describes this administration.
by NCD on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 1:17am
Yes. Sanger not exactly a neophyte with the I.C. Thanks barefooted.
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 3:28am
A fitting epitaph.
by moat on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 6:40am
The answer to the question is: Yes.
by CVille Dem on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 7:47am
Wow. Aren't we supposed to be uncomfortable with the notion that the IC is hiding some its most sensitive information from the person we elected to be our president? Not feeling that right now.
by Bruce Levine on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 8:33am
It makes me very uncomfortable.
Withholding security clearances for those who work for the President seems reasonable if they are sources of leaks or undermine operations. Flynn already lost one job for doing those things.
by moat on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 12:29pm
Withholding, while understandable in this situation, is such a dangerous precedent as that knowledge is power.
And it is quite simply the stuff of dystopian fiction that someone fired from one intel post is given a promotion to a more powerful post. Ironically, Ironically, it's like Trump believes Flynn was the victim of a Soviet or Chinese government purge, brought back when his faction is back in power.
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 4:54pm
My brain hurts.
The NSC was set up to help the president be in the center of coordinating all the different departments involved. If it gets bigger or more powerful than the presidency itself, maybe it is time to scrap the outfit and replace it with a Burger King.
I surely don't want to have foreign policy be only a plaything for the IC crowd.
by moat on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 6:21pm
Schindler just now:
https://twitter.com/20committee/status/831134133686513664
by Bruce Levine on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 8:36am
Thanks for pointing out his Twitter feed. The CA dam disaster is drawing attention away from this on TV news, and the latter purportedly rules Trump's attentions. If getting rid of Flynn in 72 hrs. doesn't happen, I hope he will elaborate further. I note that the NYT has kept the story as the website headline since last night.
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 4:46pm
I guess you really do have to wonder what, if anything, might prevent the president from discharging Flynn. And I don't believe it's just loyalty to the guy. I'm no conspiratorialist but, hell, this just isn't right.
by Bruce Levine on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 7:20pm
Trump got a security briefing about the North Korean missile launch while at dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Abe. Trump took the call on his mobile phone in a room full of diners. This is the guy who criticized Hillary's emails.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/12/politics/trump-shinzo-abe-mar-a-lago-north...
by rmrd0000 on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 4:25pm
But, emails indeed. . .
by Bruce Levine on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 3:56pm
Comes to mind CNN deserves our appreciation for not kowtowing to his bullying about "fake news". Granted, controversy can raise ratings, but it is traditional with White House coverage to appease in order to maintain access. We're back @ Watergate, where access to leakers is far more important than the official channels.
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 4:39pm
Every one of the people this White House allows on television is a liar. Sean Spicer will tell us what Trump "believes". They will lie about inauguration crowd size. They will lie about voter fraud. They will lie about the murder rate.How can we trust them when they say we need to go to war? How can we trust them when they say their immigration plan makes us safer? How can we trust Sessions to uphold Civil Rights? The answer is that the Trump administration can't be trusted.
by rmrd0000 on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 5:38pm
The Hill headline story: "thin ice" and "blood on the water"
My instincts are that liberal House Dems like Pelosi should stay out of this, can be counter productive. Should be lhe job of Senate Intel Committee Dems to speak out.
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 5:07pm
If Pelosi is against Flynn, how could Trump agree with her? The base wouldn't stand for surrendering.
The more scandals and the longer they last the less real damage TRUMP and Co. can do.
by NCD on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 5:44pm
Excellent headline by Tom's Dispatch via Salon: ....The terror is coming from inside the White House; The only thing that's known about Trump's foreign policy is that there's no coherent foreign policy
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 5:11pm
Pentagon expert Tom Ricks @ ForeignPolicy.com, Feb. 13
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 5:18pm
looks like Kellyanne has been told to go forth with spin positive for Flynn:
http://www.npr.org/2017/02/13/515049707/conway-national-security-adviser-flynn-has-trumps-full-confidence
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 5:21pm
but wait, there's more (Kellyanne and Sean not communicating again? so much for tight message and coordinated communications):
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 5:27pm
FYI, Schindler will be on Lawrence O'Donnell's show tonight on MSNBC.
by Bruce Levine on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 7:25pm
Thanks. I think we helped do that.
I noticed how the whole "viral from blogs" worked backed in the first Bush admin because I was doing a lot of work at home with the news in the background all day and night. People though I was delusional, i.e., "nobody is paying attention to what we talk about here" but I would see almost exact debates or comments mentioned just too often.It's really not that hard to affect what they cover. The viral thing is what they are looking for: eyeballs. Related that Trump believes he can do this with Twitter....
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 9:13pm
By the way, the person who referred me to Schindler also mentioned a British journalist named Louise Mensch. Are you familiar with her? She's tweeting some fairly hair-raising stuff, and I think she's a conservative, but just not sure if she's someone with credibility. So hard when it comes to this kind of speculation, however informed it may be.
Edited with a perfect example!
by Bruce Levine on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 9:21pm
I don't know of her at all. I clicked on the link on her profile, shows The Guardian published 4 pieces from her 2012-13 in "Comment is Free" on feminism. And then has this Louise Mensch is a novelist and Conservative MP for Corby. As we well know, being a conservative elected representative is no guarantee of credibility. But she is also a professional narrative creator (i.e., novelist), so I would say: cavaet emptor
Looks interesting enough to check out for a while....
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 9:34pm
Another WaPo whoa ...
Yeah, that would be Sally Yates, the one Trump fired.
by barefooted on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 8:45pm
hah, yeah it's like spy movie where the surprise plot twists keep coming.
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 9:06pm
Latest from the NYTs , including an apparent ongoing investigation into whether Flynn received unlawful emoluments during a trip to Russia in 2015. . . .
by Bruce Levine on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 10:10pm
I think it's worth noting that there's an all star team of 4 on that piece
MATTHEW ROSENBERG, GLENN THRUSH, MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and MARK MAZZETTI
which says to me: the leaks are ringing off the hook from several government depts. and the Times has had to go to like war room footing, everybody gets together and sorts all the info. and tries to make sense if it
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 10:19pm
Yes, it's an impressive byline for sure.
by Bruce Levine on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 10:25pm
"earlier"--they published the below and had to do a complete new story, above. two hours later
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 10:08pm
So I am watching the O'Donnell show on MSNBC and I just want to say:
THANK YOU FORMER REP. DAVID JOLLY (R) for your bravery in being one of the first R's to break the red line of spinning pro Trump no matter how bad it gets. (No I have not forgot about you, Sen. Graham and Sen. McCain. Thank you too for what you've been doing all along.)
P.S. I see Jolly did same earlier today @ CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/13/politics/jolly-tells-trump-to-stop-complaining-and-do-your-job-cnntv/
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 10:48pm
live breaking MSNBC:
Flynn has resigned.
by artappraiser on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 11:04pm
CNN confirms
as does Politico
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/trump-flynn-replace-kushner-234977
by rmrd0000 on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 11:12pm
What did the President know and when did he know it?
Why was Sally Yates really fired?
When does the investigation into Russian ties begin?
Edit to add:
Trump praises Putin. Trump was warned about Flynn and did nothing. This cannot be glossed over. Trump has to prove that he is not a traitor.
Obama fired Flynn. Trump hired Flynn. Why?
by rmrd0000 on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 11:24pm
I'm willing to bet that Trump, Bannon and likely Kushner were briefed after Yates went to the WH counselor on Jan. 23rd (though also possible they were part of the "strategy" all along) - but likely no one else. I also imagine that had alot to do with putting Bannon on the National Security Council to keep an eye on Flynn.
by barefooted on Tue, 02/14/2017 - 1:18am
Here is the resignation letter
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michael-flynn-resignation-letter_us_...
by rmrd0000 on Mon, 02/13/2017 - 11:40pm
Trump go Green with Jill Stein? She is a lover of all things authoritarian, and one of Putin's favorite US politicians.
She is 'in like Flynn' with Vlad, and just last summer whooped it up in Moscow with Putin and Flynn.
Stein spent her time in Moscow criticizing America at every turn and saying nothing about Russia’s annexation of Crimea, their state-sponsored assassinations, their treatment of the LGBT community. She didn't even bother to advocate for environmental issues.
by NCD on Tue, 02/14/2017 - 12:10am
But now it's not only 'merican spies revolting, apparently:
by artappraiser on Tue, 02/14/2017 - 12:17am
That is a good analysis. Excerpts:
not so sure of this part
well....there is always the pee pee video to blackmail Trump.
by NCD on Tue, 02/14/2017 - 12:28am
What goes around COMETS around
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/319372-clinton-weighs-in-on-flynn-resignation
by artappraiser on Tue, 02/14/2017 - 1:14am
So Trump puts Flynn's ex-chief of staff in as acting National Security Advisor - way to bury that scandal - like Carrie, begging to come back.
Please please please appoint Petraeus. Not because of Paula Broadwell and handing off bundles of classified notes (we can buy him a nice fancy valise to carry around his classified materials this time) and using Gmail to pass secret messages, but because of Lebanese immigrant twins Jill Kelley & Natalie Khawam as wannabe Kardashian sisters palling around with all of Tampa's top brass including Petraeus & head-of-Afghan-ops & derailed-NATO-head Allen pictured here, bizarrely with Petraeus' wife. Given all sorts of access to base, parties and top military & intelligence brass, the twins were rather gonzo and derelict in their doings, but Natalie managed to get both Petraues & Allen to vouch for her character in court. Some speculation they weren't just dancing with the "Make America Great Again" team either.
"Professional Skank" was never such a powerful title. Petraeus likes
gettingbeing head - give it to him, Donald - on all fours.by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 02/14/2017 - 6:11am
Also too:
Thank the “Deep State” for Quashing Trump’s Torture Plans by Phillip Carter @ Slate, Feb. 10
by artappraiser on Tue, 02/14/2017 - 1:32am