Wondering on Wednesday (v214)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Ah, Wednesday...  Let the wondering begin...

Will we ever meet the 'adults in the room', do you think? I mean, other than at a book signing? These mysterious people who share secrets, treasonous secrets unless they're a hoax, in which case, l guess, they're sharing lies. Except that we (ususususus, as they say on social media) shared this information with our allies, so why would we do what if it were just a hoax? Are we in some kind of celebrity game show or something? (Don't answer that.)

Is there actually someone working in the Intelligence Community named Unnamed Source, Official Briefed on the Matter, Intelligent Official, I Speak on Condition of Anonymity, Official Familiar with Intelligence, or I Am Not Authorized to Speak on Behalf of the Government? (That's got to be quite the thing on an ID badge, don't you think? Would they just use an acronym, I wonder? IANASBG, which I think would be pronounced Ian Asbag?)

And is the Intelligence Community one of those fancy gated places, like the one where lawyers brandish guns at protesters, I wonder? Or is it more like those giant retirement communities like The Villages? It sort of seems more like the latter, but I'm not really sure.

Speaking about The Villages, I learned today that if you tweet a video filled with f-bombs and senior citizens behaving badly, including repeatedly yelling "white power" and then delete it after causing a 'five-alarm fire" at the White House, you have "condemned" white power ideology, without even saying a word? It's true --Kellyanne Conway said so.

I'm at the point where I really want all of these people to arrive at the NY Times and do an Ellsberg and get all of this out in the open, before the election, so that the president will not be allowed to suck all of the air out of the room with his lies and spin and claims of hoaxing and of being the LONE WARRIOR.

I wonder, does he have a cape or something? Maybe one of those green coats like Melania wore, with writing on the back?  Would his say, "I really don't have a clue, do u?"

This latest Russia thing, another in a line of Russia things, is deeply upsetting, on a number of levels; first, let's assume it's a hoax, as the president says, (even though I'm surprised there would have been briefings for our allies on a hoax - is that just me, I wonder?)

If it's a hoax, that means there are people in the Intelligence Community actively trying to take down the Administration, and/or to interfere in the upcoming election, and/or trying to inflame our relationship with Russia and/or our allies,  or they're just a bunch of lying liars who have no ulterior motives, which might be more frightening, I'm not sure.

And of course the media has to be complicit, as are some Republicans (including my Congressman) and most Democrats, who want answers, very quickly on what's going on here. And how hard would it be for the president to convince people this is the case, I wonder?

But let's assume it's real, even if not fully fleshed out over the past many months, and think about why the president wouldn't take this seriously? Or think about why, if he knew this intelligence was out there, why would he be talking about inviting Putin to attend the G7 summit, being held on American soil, against the wishes of our allies? And why the intelligence folks wouldn't have briefed the gang of eight on this months ago, know as we all do, how Trump plays loosey-goosey with all things Russia?

Any does anyone else know why this administration insists on briefing Republicans and Democrats separately? What's up with that? Why aren't they getting the same information at the same time? Is that really necessary on a hoax or an actual threat to our servicemen and women?

Does any of this make you wonder as much as it makes me wonder, I wonder?

Ranting and Raving

So, a congressman who was one of the first passengers on the Trump train is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee (an accidental oxymoron if ever there was one in this day and age) gets himself all up under the skirt of the Trumpeters, disclosed some classified information (which he got from said Trumpeters) and then whined about ethics charges being filed, so he stepped away from the Russia investigation for months -- months -- even as he proclaimed the charges against him were entirely false and politically motivated, and were being leveled just as the American people are beginning to learn the truth about the improper unmasking of the identities of US citizens and other abuses of power and so he apparently spent his step-aside coming up with new ways to expose one-sided, completely partisan information on behalf of the Trumpeters and their believers on Fox News, and he convinced others of his ilk-manner-stripe-nature to do 'research' on his behalf (which he didn't even read  - it was that important!) and to orchestrate a #hashtagmovement #ReleasetheMemo I think by somehow promising them that while the two-year-long Benghazi investigation really only amounted to that gif of Hillary saying "what difference, at this point - what difference does it make?" this one, boy, when this gets out all hell's going to break loose and dammit, we're gonna GET THEM this time and so they all marched along in step, the ilk did, going down, ever down a slippery slope of attacking the Feebs for an abuse of power, a Hooverian abuse of power, one was led to think, based on the rhetoric and hoopla and certainly you would think so, if you read the unfettered pillow talk texts of the two lovebirds -- yeah,  this is a scoop so big the president would directly pass Go, collect his well-deserved spot on Rushmore, right next to Reagan (what the hell's taking so long for that, anyway?) and not even need to keep that Get Out of Jail Free card he's got stashed in his wallet with the condoms he saves for a stormy day, and for once and FOR ALL those liberal bastards would be DONE and then, well -- then they did actually #ReleasetheMemo, and all those hopes and dreams came crashing down like Humpty Dumpty from a great, big, beautiful transparent border wall (and let me clarify, not 'transparent' like that TV show, for Pete's sake - like the sunlight that Speaker Paul Ryan says is necessary for our democracy), because even General Kelly said the memo wasn't half of what it was cracked up to be, and we know that he's the A-Gamer, the one the #stablegenious relies on for good stuff, and the FBI released a statement, not common for them it seems, to express their collective grave concerns about material omissions which fundamentally impact the accuracy of the darn thing, the precious memo, which not for nothing has done way better than sildenafil citrate could have done to boost the Republican morale in the lead-up to this whole sorry situation, but now after the initial  excitement (especially, I've been told, the Rush Limbaugh live read of the memo), is actually being revealed for what it was: an attempt to free the president to pull off his own #saturdaynightmassacre but he might not be able to do that, because he likes to say "You're Fired!" when intelligence types are, you know, out of town talking to their teams where they find out they got fired by seeing it on TV  and then  they should find their own way back to the swamp to clean out their desks -- so if I were one of those guys, if I were Rosenstein and Wray and Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (especially him), I'd sure as shootin' refuse any invitations from the president or any of the Trumpeters, I would say no thank you sir to golf outings, dinners at the Trump Emoluments Hotel or #netflixandchill at Camp David and I'd say no thank you to any requests to testify before the committee run by the ethically challenged Trump loving partisan hack congressman, the chair of the aforementioned oxymoron committee and heck, I might even sleep in my office so the bastages would have to see me in my jammies if they came for me and my team, I think I would do just that --  and let me tell you something else: if I were the democrats on the committee, I assure you the rebuttal memo would be in the hands of the FBI faster than an Exorcist head spin, I'd move on it like a bitch I would, to have it vetted and any potential classified information redacted and then I'd have the memo projected on the side of Trump's hotel like they do when the opportunity is just too good to pass up, and I've have it delivered to  the WaPo (BezosFakeNews) and the Failing NY Times and I'd submit letters to the editor of every newspaper in the Country and tell them in no uncertain terms that the first memo was a load of crap and then we'd have ourselves a good ole, knock down drag out discussion about what our government is really supposed to look like and what our government is really supposed to do and hint hint it's not what they're doing right now - and speaking of right now, I've got some dirty laundry to take care of, and you know, I think that's a pretty darn appropriate place to end this rant

Wondering on Wednesday (v79)

So, now we know that General Flynn did not treat VP Mike Pence badly, and he did not treat America badly, but instead he was treated badly by the failing press and the "intelligence" community.  I have to say, I'm wondering how Trump managed to get that all twisted around and wrapped up in a pretty little bow.

And, I'm wondering, how someone who was so excited about all those leaks about risotto recipes and emails between Clinton people talking about their boss and their boss's daughter and stuff like that, who loved the leaks, now thinks that leaks are so bad? How does that work, exactly?

And, speaking of those illegal leaks, do you think they were bused in from Massachusetts like the voters were bused in to New Hampshire to take down former Senator Kelly Ayotte? 

@TrumpDraws 

And where is the massive investigation, the Executive Order-signing photo op, announcing the investigation into the leaking?

And speaking of those ridiculous photo ops, does Trump even know no one can read what he's signing? 

And, I wonder, has Trump started reading them better now, since we had that report that he didn't even know that he put Steve Bannon as a permanent member of the Security Council?

I'm also wondering if there's a dining room in the private residence at Mar-a-Lago? Not because I want to see one single more picture of gold-leaf-covered decorative atrocities, mind you, but because I'm trying to figure out why it was that Trump felt the need to host Japanese Prime Minister Shinze Abo in the member's dining room? And stay there during a hurried cluster over documents by the romantic light of cell phones?

And are those all secure phones? And extremely-vetted members? I don't care if they paid $100K or $200K or $500K -- all that means is that they have money, not that they they are people that love us and want to love us and will end up loving us.

I mean, remember the blow up when those wacky socialites got into an Obama State Dinner? Oh, dear lord. But here we have golfers posting photos on Facebook of the Winter White House 'situation room' in full swing? And the quarterback of the nuclear football appearing in a selfie?

#whatthesniff is going on here, I wonder? 

Trump in Transition (v8)

Remember back in July, when the GOP was rocking in Cleveland?

And General Michael Flynn was on stage echoing the chants of Lock Her Up! Lock Her Up! Lock Her Up! when he talked about Hillary Clinton thinking she was above the law?

Fun times, that was for the retired general. No one's above the law, certainly not Hillary Clinton and her recklessness with classified information, oh no sirree.

Lock Her Up! Lock Her Up!

Flynn famously said at the convention

Yeah that's right, lock her up... You know why we're saying that? We're saying that because if I, a guy who knows this business, if I did tenth - a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail today So Crooked Hillary Clinton, leave this race now.

Seems he might have done more than a tenth of what Clinton did. She admitted she inadvertently and carelessly passed classified information to others, aides and advisers, State Department employees.

Flynn, on the other hand, did something else entirely, according to a report in the Washington Post about a 2010  investigation. The WaPo provided a link to documents they obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request. Here's what the documents say.

While serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, CJ-2 International Security Assistance Force, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan Major General (MG) (Flynn) shared United States classified information with various foreign military officers and/or officials in Afghanistan without proper authorization. 

Whoa, Nelly!

The Commander, US CENTCOM, initiated an AR 15-6 investigation upon receipt of a complaint from a Navy Intelligence Specialist that MG (Flynn) inappropriately shared US classified information with various foreign military officers and/or officials in Afghanistan. The inquiry was conducted by a properly appointed official and was thorough. The AR 15-6 found that some inappropriate sharing of US classified information with various foreign military officers and/or officials occurred as a result of MG actions. The AR 15-6 investigation is classified SECRET.

So, he did it. He shared classified information with foreigners.

Department of Defense Inspector General completed an oversight review of the AR 15-6 investigation and concurred with the findings. 

Yep, it must be true. The DoDIG concurred. So, was he locked up? Hell no - he was promoted!

The Department of the Army strongly supports the nomination of MG (Flynn) as Assistant Director of National Intelligence for Partner Engagement The Commander CENTCOM reviewed the AR 15-6 investigation and noted the efforts to properly cleanse the foreign officer's read-books. He further stated that there was no evidence of senior officer misconduct, rather there was keen attention to mission accomplishment in a coalition, combat environment. In light of the mitigating and extenuating circumstances concerning the adverse information ascribed to MG Flynn and MG Flynn's exceptional qualifications and dedicated service, his nomination and appointment to lieutenant general is fully supported and is the best interest of the Department of Defense and the United States of America.

Flynn dodged a bullet, got promoted, and eventually left the military. He hung out in Russia, he advised several of the Republican candidates for President, while saying there was no role for him in the administration. He retweets nonsense, fake news (he's deleted those tweets now, it seems).

And now, he's going to be advising the president on national security. Unless, of course...

LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP!

Cromnibus Authorization: The Spies Have It

About a year ago, Congress was outraged when it found out that the NSA was likely spying on them, or at best, was treating our elected officials the same as all other Americans. One can infer from that statement that they are 'monitored' just as you and I are.

Yesterday, the House approved (and the Senate is ready to approve) the 'Cromnibus' funding package of appropriations bills, including the bill authorizing intelligence spending.

That bill includes rules under which 'incidentally acquired communications' are to be handled; here's some of the language that has raised the attention and ire of several House members under Section 309. Procedures for the retention of incidentally acquired communications (all underlining added):

Under the 'Definitions' section:

Covered communication. The term covered communication means any nonpublic telephone or electronic communication acquired without the consent of a person who is a party to the communication, including communications in electronic storage.

Under the 'Requirement to Adopt' section:

Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act each head of an element of the intelligence community shall adopt procedures approved by the Attorney General for such element that ensure compliance with the requirements of paragraph (3).

And, here's the gist of Paragraph 3:

(A) The procedures...shall apply to any intelligence collection activity not otherwise authorized by court order (including an order or certification issued by a court established issued by a court established under..the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (this is the FISA Court we hear about), subpoena, or similar legal process that is reasonably anticipated to result in the acquisition of a covered communication to or from a Unites States person and shall permit the acquisition, retention, and dissemination of covered communications subject to the limitations in subparagraph (B).

Subparagraph (B) says that:

...A covered communication shall not be retained in excess of 5 years unless

(i) the communication has been affirmatively determined, in whole or in part, to constitute foreign intelligence or counterintelligence or is necessary to understand or assess foreign intelligence or counterintelligence;

(ii) the communication is reasonably believed to constitute evidence of a crime and is retained by a law enforcement agency;

(iii) the communication is enciphered or reasonably believed to have a secret meaning;

(iv) all parties to the communication are reasonably believed to be non-United States persons;

(v) retention is necessary to protect against an imminent threat to human life, in which case both the nature of the threat and the information to be retained shall be reported to the congressional intelligence committees not later than 30 days after the date such retention is extended under this clause;

(vi) retention is necessary for technical assurance or compliance purposes, including a court order or discovery obligation, in which case access to information retained for technical assurance or compliance purposes shall be reported to the congressional intelligence committees on an annual basis; or

(vii) retention for a period in excess of 5 years is approved by the head of the element of the intelligence community responsible for such retention, based on a determination that retention is necessary to protect the national security of the United States...(in which case several reporting requirements apply)

So: right now, stuff they accidentally trip over when spying on us can already be held and disseminated for five years, and starting in 2016, stuff they trip over accidentally when spying on us can be kept longer than five years, and shared for reasons other than national security?

And when there's a need to protect against, or prevent from happening, an imminent threat to human life - that's one that is likely to occur at any moment mind you, the info can be retained and handed off to law enforcement for more than five years, but Congress doesn't need to know about it for 30 days or so after the fact. Hopefully the information would be passed off before the imminent threat became a reality, but if it takes two years to implement changes in document retention procedures, I'm not confident on that one.

If you accept that spying on Americans is necessary, must you also accept that 'incidentally acquired' information, gathered without warrant or approval, from a person who is not a subject of an authorized search is necessary?  And must you also accept that this information can just sit around in some basement somewhere?

About a year ago, Congress was outraged when it found out that the NSA was likely spying on them...