Seen on the street in Kyiv.

Words of Advice:

"If Something Seems To Be Too Good To Be True, It's Best To Shoot It, Just In Case." -- Fiona Glenanne

“The Mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” -- The TOFF *

"Foreign Relations Boil Down to Two Things: Talking With People or Killing Them." -- Unknown

“Speed is a poor substitute for accuracy.” -- Real, no-shit, fortune from a fortune cookie

"If you believe that you are talking to G-d, you can justify anything.” — my Dad

"Colt .45s; putting bad guys in the ground since 1873." -- Unknown

"Stay Strapped or Get Clapped." -- probably not Mr. Rogers

"The Dildo of Karma rarely comes lubed." -- Unknown

"Eck!" -- George the Cat

* "TOFF" = Treasonous Orange Fat Fuck, A/K/A Dolt-45,
A/K/A Commandante (or Cadet) Bone Spurs,
A/K/A El Caudillo de Mar-a-Lago, A/K/A the Asset., A/K/A P01135809

Monday, May 15, 2017

{Russian accent} "Say, Donald, What Are Those Nuclear Launch Codes?"

President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week, according to current and former U.S. officials, who said that Trump’s disclosures jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State.

The information Trump relayed had been provided by a U.S. partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the U.S. government, officials said.

The partner had not given the United States permission to share the material with Russia, and officials said that Trump’s decision to do so risks cooperation from an ally that has access to the inner workings of the Islamic State.
OK, I was kidding, sort of, when I asked what Dolt-45 would do to top last week's performance.

Blabbing highly-sensitive intel to the Russians would do it. Was he simply showing off, like a child with a shiny new toy? Or was he trying to prove to his backers (or handlers) that he is worthy of their investment in him?

First off, he has the power to tell anyone he wants to anything he feels like telling them. So what the Hair Furor did was not a crime.

But hey, if you have any familiarity at all with intelligence matters, even if all you've done is read some John LeCarre novels, you know how utterly insane it was to blab highly sensitive information to the Russians. If it had been anybody else other than Trump, that person could have been charged with espionage and sent to occupy Johnnie Pollard's old cell for about as long.

The intelligence services of other countries would be completely within their rights to not tell our own spooks a single fucking thing. Not one thing that they couldn't find out for themselves by a Goggle search.

6 comments:

montag said...

I think that given the stakes involved, we have to assume the worst case, that Donald Trump is actively working to pass information to the Russians. And like most spies, he believes it is for a good cause.

DTWND said...

Well, according to some who comment on this blog site, Obama was worse.

It was a good 241 years while it lasted. Oh the memories we can tell our young comrades, quietly of course.

Dale

B said...

Or he is just sometimes stupid.

Both Barry and GWB did similar things, although not as major.

Still better than leaving Classified and Top Secret memos on and unsecured server......and emailing them to "Carlos Danger".....

3383 said...

Classified information is still classified. I understand the rationalization to claim the President can declassify by blabbing, but I don't agree with it.

Anything Hillary has done wrong does not excuse Trump or anyone else from doing something wrong.

DTWND said...

My mom used to tell me "Just because Billy or Timmy did (fill in the blank), doesn't excuse you from doing it!"

I think it fits here, too. Then, McMastter issues a denial from the White House followed by a tweet this morning stating Trump has the right to release classified information. What a confused administration we have today. I would argue incompetence.

Dale

deadstick said...

3383, rationalization is precisely what it is. The President's authority to declassify rests on the assumption that he bloody well knows what he's doing. If he pardoned the Unabomber, it would be legal.