The acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Joseph McGuire was just fired by President Trump. The \u201cproximate cause\u201d of his removal: testimony from his office to the House Intelligence Committee that Russian Intelligence is interfering in the 2020 US election process. But the damning statement that got him fired: the Russians are supporting Donald Trump for President.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now this isn\u2019t the first time that McGuire\u2019s honesty has gotten him in trouble. You might remember him from his very first testimony about the \u201cwhistleblower\u201d. He appeared before Adam Schiff\u2019s committee last September, and gave very open and forthright statements about the sincerity of the whistleblower\u2019s report. Listening to it then, it was surprising to hear someone from the Trump Administration be so honest. I guess that truthfulness finally caught up with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nothing about this should be a surprise. The President hasn\u2019t taken any action to convince the Russian government to stay out of the 2020 elections. In fact, Mr. Trump has \u201ccovered\u201d for Russia\u2019s 2016 actions, consistently suggesting that maybe somebody else was responsible. And that wasn\u2019t just the \u201c400 pound guy in his parents\u2019 basement\u201d statement from the debate. In the past couple of weeks, the President has continued to investigate the bogus CrowdStrike\/Ukraine theory as if it were for real, and not just Russian Intelligence disinformation. He sent Giuliani back to Ukraine, and his Attorney General mandated that the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York take on an investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the way, McGuire also testified that Russian Intelligence might be supporting Bernie Sanders, following Trump\u2019s cue that a Sanders nomination would be his best chance of re-election. Bernie\u2019s comment was succinct: Russia should stay out of our elections. But Sanders also used this to help cover the totally inappropriate actions of some of his \u201cBernie Bro\u201d followers in Nevada. Maybe the Russians did it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So McGuire is gone, and Richard Grenell, former Fox News <\/em>commentator and Trump\u2019s Ambassador to Germany is taking over, at least temporarily. Grenell knows nothing, zero, nada, bupkis, about the intelligence world. But he is a loyal follower of the President. More insidious than Grenell is the appointment of \u201cKash\u201d Patel as his senior advisor. Patel is a former aide to Republican Congressman Devin Nunes, and is one of those instrumental in smearing the Russia probe and Mueller Report. He is the aid that had long phone conversations with Lev Parnas, the indicted Giuliani helper. His avowed job now is to \u201croot out Deep State and Obama operatives\u201d from the intelligence agencies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201cblood letting\u201d in the intelligence community will continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201cdeconstruction\u201d of the intelligence structure will mean that real information; information needed to make correct decisions about international crises, won\u2019t be available. It means that when analysts have information that they know the President doesn\u2019t want to hear, they won\u2019t share it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And it isn\u2019t just in the intelligence agencies. Attorney General Barr has made it clear to the Justice Department that he won\u2019t tolerate negative actions towards the administration. And Secretary Pompeo has hollowed out the senior staff of the State Department. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The ghost of Steve Bannon still haunts the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n America knows Donald Trump. We know that he believes that his \u201cgut\u201d decisions are right. Mr. Trump has his own fantastical view of the government and the world. It\u2019s not that he is lying to us; he truly believes his lies are true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What seems even sadder is that the Republican leaders around him know better, but still lie. National Security Advisor Robert O\u2019Brien spent Sunday morning trying to convince the world that he doesn\u2019t \u201cknow\u201d that Russia is backing Trump. Republican Senators \u201crally to the President,\u201d knowing full well that in doing so they are fulfilling Russian intelligence objectives. They don\u2019t believe the lies, but they are still lying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They do it to protect themselves from the wrath of the President. Trump has made it clear: cross him, and face the consequences. Ask McGuire, or Vindman, or any one of many Republican politicians burned by the President. But those Senators know the truth, and continue to tell lies. They think that their personal political futures are more important than the truth. They are telling us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t believe your lying eyes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"True Believers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n