Good or Bad for the Jews

"Good or Bad for the Jews"

Many years ago, and for many years, I would travel to Morocco to visit uncles, cousins, and my paternal grandmother. Some lived in Tangiers;...

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

The Attack Continues: Russia, Part 397 . . .

I have written before that the lefties are out to sabotage the President and make America look ungovernable unless the progressives are firmly in charge. We see manifestations of this sabotage every day, and the ferocity grows. The idea being, of course, that eventually even the strongest Trump supporter will get tired and just give up, and say "OK. OK. Let's put somebody else in . . . "

The most recent iteration, as of this writing, is a return to the Russian meme whereby Donald Trump and his administration are portrayed as puppets of Moscow, dancing to Putin's will. The latest allegation, as of this writing, is the claim that in the course of a meeting among the President, the Russian Ambassador, the Russian Foreign Minister, the US SecState, and the US National Security Advisor, our President gave away incredibly sensitive classified information to the Russians, revealing sources and methods and burning the foreign ally who had provided the information. You can go read all the gory and dreary back-and-forth details on this; I don't have the energy to go through it all. The President's enemies, yawn, are calling for his impeachment; we are hearing the "traitor" word, etc.

Let me give you my conclusion: Bullsh*t!

I hope that's not too legalistic.

On that subject, let's get all the legal and quasi-legal mumbo-jumbo out of the way. Our President has the right and duty to meet foreign officials, to discuss matters of concern to the United States, and to seek their cooperation in those matters. That includes meeting the Russians. Neither the Constitution nor the law prohibits meeting the Russians. Russia is a big, important, and difficult country. There is nothing wrong with talking to the Russians and trying to find areas of common agreement and cooperation. Every President since FDR has done it; in fact, let us also remember Teddy Roosevelt's working out a peace deal between Japan and Russia. It's tough work and, usually not too successful, but worth the effort. We should not be afraid of the Russians; we can handle them.

The President, under the law, furthermore, can say, reveal, or share anything he wants. Material is classified if the President says it is; it is not classified if the President says it is not. Yep, that simple.

The details of a private conversation by a US official with a foreign official normally are classified. Usually, that is. When it's the President, well, it's Schrödinger paradox, to wit, the cat is both alive and dead (here); the conversation is both classified and unclassified. The ultimate authority is not the Attorney General, the FBI Director, or the Washington Post--it's not even poor Schrödinger. No, it's the President. Under our laws, our President has the power to determine if that cat is alive or dead. Nobody else. So, I repeat, if the President wants to say something to a foreign official, he can; if he wants to "share" or "give away" the most sensitive information, he can. There ain't nothing the lawyers can do about it. Good? Bad? I don't know. It's the law. The President has the ultimate authority to decide what is or is not classified.

It seems that the conversation with the Russians was about getting them to be more helpful combatting ISIS in Syria and elsewhere. It seems the conversation also mentioned the ban on laptops on flights from certain airports. Now, of course, that topic has been in the media for weeks; both the US and UK governments, for example, publicly have explained that laptops will not be allowed in the cabins of certain flights. This is not classified information. That cat is dead.

NSA McMaster came out and flatly said that the Washington Post/NY Times account of the conversation which had Trump giving away the store was "false." McMaster was in the conversation; the anonymous sources upon whom the MSM drew for their "bombshell" report were not--unless those are Tillerson, McMaster, or the two Russians (doubtful, no?) Who would have done it? Lots of suspects. The journalists might have made up their account--it's possible--I think, however, the culprits likely are members of the permanent bureaucracy that prepared the briefing papers, the talking points, and the Memorandum of Conversation. This is another attempt to bog Trump in the swamp.

McMaster also said the President did not know the sources or methods of the information discussed so he couldn't have given them away. That produced an avalanche of snide progressive snickering about the President not being briefed because he's some sort of irresponsible dope. Note to progs. The Presidential briefing papers normally do not contain the source and methods of the information. It was the same for Obama. The source can be described as a " foreign government source," a "source who has reported reliably in the past," as one who "has generally reported reliably," as a "new untested source," or some other phrase describing analysts' confidence in the information and the source. The President, of course, can ask for the source and methods, but that is rarely done.

I find very troubling that the NYT revealed the country that provided the intel on the ISIS activities being discussed. That is classified and actionable. Find that leaker and prosecute him/her. I repeat, that was not revealed by President Trump; that was by the very journalists decrying the "release of classified information."

Let us not forget, as I have written often, that the progressives have infiltrated the bureaucracy of government from top to bottom. There is a palpable hatred for Trump within that bureaucracy; he wasn't supposed to win! I am willing to bet, for example, that easily 80% of State Department bureaucrats voted for Hillary Clinton--easily 80%, and probably closer to 90%.

Sabotage is all they have left on the left . . .

40 comments:

  1. I'll add that Trump didn't do a flush of Obama political appointees...many of whom seem unusually willing to play saboteur.

    As for the Left trying to make the country ungovernable - there are a significant number of people who are starting to conclude that no Liberals = no problems. And I suspect the Left will provide adequate justification for a crackdown by the end of August.

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    1. I'll just say... there are too many to flush. They are everywhere. Knowing this, Trump and his are getting stuff done and signing things best they can, while DC and the media play catch up and impede. I don't think he could fire enough to make a difference.

      We're seeing what happens in DC when a pure outsider gets in. SOmeone that owes nothing to noone EXCEPT the electorate. 1st time ever billionaire non-politician, non-military to ever get elected... and you'd think the apocalypse has arrived on the Potomac... Just as we intended! heh.

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  2. This Comey memo, if credible, might bring the downfall of Trump by sheer weight of accusations and loss of narrative control, let alone legality. Comey is sly.

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    1. Not clear what it is. Sounds almost like a self-serving diary entry. Why didn't Comey act on the "request"? He could have resigned in an all-mighty righteous huff that would have made him an instant hero. Was he going to blackmail Trump? Was was he just embellishing a bit for his tell-all book? Hard to say.

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    2. "This Comey memo, if credible..."

      Assume anything from the WP or NYslimes is credible and you'll be wrong 99.999% of the time.

      Of course it's not credible. The NYslimes says it was read to them from an unclassified document. So why don't they just print it? They haven't even read the unclassified document so they say.

      More Bullshit.

      Barry

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    3. yeah... if Comey was holding his "memos", they were for blackmail.

      - reader #1482

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    4. You guys are right of course, but enough blaring headlines with classic Yellow Journalism over time will find its true mark---wobbly Republicans who will give in to contrived polling data. Republicans and conservatives all have one common trait, we want order and structure, not chaos and resistance like our enemies want. Comey must testify and produce a credible memo.

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    5. If this is true, then Comey should be in jail.....

      Under the law, Comey is required to immediately inform the Department of Justice of any attempt to obstruct justice by any person, even the President of the United States. Failure to do so would result in criminal charges against Comey. (18 USC 4 and 28 USC 1361) He would also, upon sufficient proof, lose his license to practice law.

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    6. Anon @ 8:26am, truly Comey will be in a legal bind.

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    7. whitewallMay 17, 2017 at 6:49 AM

      ..."enough blaring headlines with classic Yellow Journalism over time will find its true mark---wobbly Republicans"...

      Bullseye ww! And Then, the Republican Voters will have a Perfect sight picture of whom they MUST challenge in the mid-term primary elections!

      "Comey must testify and produce a credible memo."-ww

      Maybe so, although he's already declined an invitation to speak to Congress viz his termination. Granted, he could decide that his 'sour grapes memo', if it is in-fact contemporaneous, may be worth taking a wild and reckless shot at Trunp? Yes, Congress can and may subpoena him to testify under oath, however since he's the culprit who by his own words committed a crime by not reporting it, wouldn't expect he'd be stupid enough to compound the crime. Expect though, that if he is compelled to testify, he'll weasel out, claiming self-protection under the 5th... IMHO
      On Watch~~~

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  3. I like to think of myself a a normal, rationalization. I am sick to death of the Post, Morning Joe, et all.

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  4. mumble mumble Carter something something stealth bomber.

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    1. Oh, yes. I'd almost forgotten about that one. That twit blew a hell of a lot of technology for his try at reelection.

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  5. DiploMad

    Thanks for visiting. Always enjoy when blog roll partners drop on by

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  6. It is an unlikely possibility to ferret out all the folks in the various agencies that don't like Trump, just as there are many in places like DoD that didn't like Obama. What can be done is to focus these folks on their sense of duty by catching some of these leak sources and not only ending their careers but indict and convict a couple to let them know what the risk is in playing this tattle game to the press. If there are no repercussions forthcoming the behavior will continue as they feel they are being patriots, but when faced with their cushy life being ruined they will have to consider that possibility.

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    1. One suspect:

      http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/05/rumor-dina-powell-behind-leaks-anti-trump-media/

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    2. SUSPECT #1

      “We all know she slept her way to the top of NSC, working her way from the receptionist desk at Dick Armey’s office,” notes one NSC staffer. “She has zero qualifications and given her ties to Huma Abedin is a security risk.” gateway link above...

      Hmmm it does make one wonder how much of Huma's 'Muslim Brotherhood indoctrination may have tainted the impressionable Arab émigré? Certainly Dina Habib's Bush-Time under Conde Rice didn't do much if anything to dissuade her liberal/ globalist predilections.

      But what's a girl to do, when her political talents are of the non-traditional type? Still, now that she's ascending so quickly in the Ivanka clique, and at NSA, she is probably due for a scan/interview hooked up to the 'Truth Detector Machine'! After all she did leave a $2mil per annum PR gig at Goldman Sachs, assume she took a pay cut on her new Govt. job. Or was it just Patriotism?!

      Furthermore, she does seem to be the darling of the Liberal Media mavens as well:

      "In April 2017 the >>New York Times<< labeled Powell a "rising star" in the national security establishment, an appellation echoed by Vogue magazine, while the >>Associated Press<< wrote that "Dina Powell has quietly established herself as a White House power." Additionally, the >>Washington Post<< wrote that "she is one of the most interesting figures in the new administration."

      Then here's where it gets more hairy, if not scary:

      "In part this level of attention was because in that month, McMaster elevated the Deputy for Strategy position to a higher role within the NSC, meaning that Powell came to attend both the Principals Committee and National Security Council Deputies Committee...[Wiki excerpt]

      On Watch~~~

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  7. honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the dems left the oval office bugged, and a few guys continue to look the other way on it.

    - reader #1482

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  8. Open subversion and sedition. Like it, or not, Trump is the lawfully elected President. Clapper talking nonsense about checks and balances almost gave me a stroke. The goddamn bureaucracy is not supposed to be a check.

    Congress needs to help him out. Pass an austerity law suspending civil service regulations and mandating a 10% cut in the federal workforce. Trump better get his shit together, he is in a dog fight.

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  9. The murder of Seth Rich ought to be the story of the day, instead the corporate media continue their coup-attempts. Is this the American variant of the "Arabic Spring" revolutions ? My contempt for the mainstream media is absolute and definitive. They are men and women without honour.
    SwL

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  10. I'll say this again: The Dems are in a bind. If they get an impeachment and conviction (both iffy) before the midterms then they still have a republican WH, House, and Senate. There whole mantra has been that the election itself was illegal so in their minds a do over is needed, which of course is extra-constitutional and I don't the people would countenance that.
    Or they are aiming with all of this to atke back the House at mid-terms then launch impeachment. This of course is one and a half years away, which is forever in political terms. So in a way they a stuck. Of course in the first scenario they may envision impeachment then neutering the GOP until the mid terms, still a big gamble.
    They are fighting like it's for their existence (which it is) so they are going to do or say literally anything and everybody had better get their minds right for this (I think Trump has, but I can be surprised).

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  11. Pretty much share every sentiment expressed here. I live in Canada so just imagine I am surrounded by millions who don't. Sometimes feel like tearing my hair out.

    Right or wrong, the level of cognitive dissonance in which I live is painful at times.

    Apropos of your earlier post on Tillerson, we also have a huge chunk of people and space devoted to globalized HR crap. I saw this article in the national Grope and Flail newspaper the other day http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/chinas-one-belt-one-road-plans-come-with-heavy-set-of-demands/article34989286/

    and realized for the umpteenth time that when Canada, most European countries, and even the US, talk about 'foreign policy' they are not talking about the same thing China is talking about.

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  12. Since you mentioned nuclear sub locations, let me post a little objection. All kinds of classified information is is classified by executive order, with one exception. Nuclear weapons information is classified by law (Atomic Energy Act of 1954). Submarine locations may fall into the Formerly Restricted Data category, so there's a legal process (involving DOE and DOD but not the President) to declassify it. For all other info, yes, it's entirely at the whim of the President. He can declassify, downgrade, keep classified and decide to share with selected countries, etc.

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    1. Good point and I have made the correction. I will give you no credit and nobody will notice the change . . .hahahaha.

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  13. "Sabotage is all they have left on the left . . . "

    Which is treason.

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  14. President Trump is obviously surrounded by enemies inside and outside his administration. Their purpose is to destroy him and his presidency. He cannot trust even those closest to him except for perhaps Sessions and Mattis. Everyone else must be sent packing, otherwise he will fail.

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  15. "He cannot trust even those closest to him except for perhaps Sessions and Mattis."

    Would have 'perhaps' agreed, if it was last month or so, but lately it has not been the Atty Gen or SecDef's finest hours. Do hope they both take enough time to reflect on WHO brought them to the dance and why, and it wasn't the MSM or McCain!
    On Watch~~~
    "Let's Roll"

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  16. "The idea being, of course, that eventually even the strongest Trump supporter will get tired and just give up, and say "OK. OK. Let's put somebody else in . . . " I'm not the strongest support of the President, just very much so for the Office of the President and the Constitution. My several oaths to those entities remain sacred; and I am not alone. Unlike Nixon, this time the person in office is being attacked with fake news from the elite establishment which demands that we defend him, the Constitution and the Office even if it means to take to the streets. The TEA Party had maybe a million of us in DC over big government spending in 2009, I would expect many more if we hit the streets this time.
    And unlike the Bonus Army in 1932, we won't allow those we detest to push us around. We know why the Green Revolution failed in Iran and that will not be allowed to be repeated in the US.

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  17. Timely heads-up and link over at The Last Tradition Blog:

    FoxNews[Gregg Jarrett] reports James Comey was lying in wait.

    His gun was cocked, he took aim and fired. But his weapon was empty.

    Three months ago, the then-FBI Director met with President Trump. Following their private conversation, Comey did what he always does –he wrote a memorandum to himself memorializing the conversation. Good lawyers do that routinely.

    Now, only after Comey was fired, the memo magically surfaces in an inflammatory New York Times report which alleges that Mr. Trump asked Comey to end the Michael Flynn investigation.

    Those who don’t know the first thing about the law immediately began hurling words like “obstruction of justice”, “high crimes and misdemeanors” and “impeachment“. Typically, these people don’t know what they don’t know.

    Here is

    Under the law, Comey is required to immediately inform the Department of Justice of any attempt to obstruct justice by any person, even the President of the United States. Failure to do so would result in criminal charges against Comey. (18 USC 4 and 28 USC 1361) He would also, upon sufficient proof, lose his license to practice law. what we do know.

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  18. What I'd like to *know* is how the Progs memories can possibly be so short; yeah its precisely how Dip has it, its (the intel) whatever the President says it is. Re the progs memories - in their own press:

    Dateline 13 July 2016

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/obamas-syria-plan-teams-up-american-and-russian-forces/2016/07/13/8d7777cc-4935-11e6-acbc-4d4870a079da_story.html?utm_term=.37cd0a89252d


    "The Obama administration’s new proposal to Russia on Syria is more extensive than previously known. It would open the way for deep cooperation between U.S. and Russian military and intelligence agencies and coordinated air attacks by American and Russian planes on Syrian rebels deemed to be terrorists, according to the text of the proposal obtained."

    "Secretary of State John F. Kerry plans to discuss the plan with top Russian officials in a visit to Moscow on Thursday. As I first reported last month, the administration is proposing joining with Russia in a ramped-up bombing campaign against Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s Syria branch, which is also known as the Nusrah Front. What hasn’t been previously reported is that the United States is suggesting a new military command-and-control headquarters to coordinate the air campaign that would house U.S. and Russian military officers, intelligence officials and subject-matter experts."

    (Before you weigh in on me OW, those apostrophes around *know* are meant to convey sarcasm. Or ...)

    JK

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    1. *Ah So*
      ~~ ;) ~~
      grasshopper

      Some shoes
      some fit
      some one
      sometime
      some not

      OW~~~

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  19. I remember once, I believe during the 2012 election, seeing a list of the top donors to the Democrats. They article was highlighting the unions, but the list broke the federal employees out by agency. If you summed the federal agency employee donations, they were by far the largest donor. If I remember correctly, State was pretty high on the list even as a separate entity.

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    1. ..."top donors to the Democrats....State was pretty high on the list even as a separate entity."--JK Brown

      Yes, and 'up to 90%' of those at State helped fill the war chest for HRC -- tickled that it failed to help her buy the 2012 election too!

      Funding the Dark State by enemies within methinks!
      On Watch~~~

      "Federal Insider
      GOP hopefuls spell dread for federal employees"

      ...One thing [Gov.] Walker did get right is federal unions overwhelmingly support Democrats...In an article published Monday on the “Hot Air” Web site, Walker noted that the two largest federal unions, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) each gave more than 90 percent of their political donations to Democrats.

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/09/17/gop-hopefuls-spell-dread-for-federal-exployees/?utm_term=.344ee9a74533

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  20. This attack is a dirty, scummy way to discourage foreign governments from sharing intel with the U.S. "What, you gave it to the U.S.? Look at the headlines, Trump will compromise our sources!" This is going to do real damage and as near as I can tell it's quite unprecedented.

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  21. 10-4 Smokey~~~
    At least as damaging to U.S. security as the Clinton's classified email hemorrhage, and pay to play scams. Although this ongoing progressive barrage of organized public attacks on the executive branch, through US agencies, as well as the propaganda and political organs, reveal BO's Muslim hands employing Dark Forces to tear the country apart by igniting bloody civil war.
    On Watch~~~
    "Let's Roll"

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  22. Does anybody really think they will stop after Trump? They're goal is one party rule.

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  23. I sure don't way2, not permanently,although the Progressive/Democrat cacophony has certainly reached a crescendo that most Americans have never experienced in their lifetimes. When it will rest is anyone's guess, however if 'one party' or 'one person' dictatorial and unconstitutional rule remains their objective, they are, I believe, doomed to failure, no matter how much cash they raise for their anti-American cause. On Watch~~~
    "Let's Roll"

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