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Today's press conference by Attorney Genital Elfin Sessions brings the nation's focus to the issue of leaks. By attempting to publicly kiss Trump's ass publicly, Sessions has raised the question of if he will now replace Sean Spicer as a soft target on Saturday Night Live. We'll have to wait, of course, because of Sessions's stern lecture on dangerous media leaks.
In the mean time, let's take a brief look at leaks, before the weekend reports on Trump's tantrums. There are, of course, several types of leaks: those that endanger individuals, those that endanger national security, and those that are associated with whistle-blowers. Sessions seeks to roll them all into one type, which translates into what is known as an outright lie. Clearly, he knows that his boss has a deep affection for purposeful lying.
The vast majority of the leaks pertaining to the Trump-Russian scandal are coming directly from the White House now. From late January until mid-May, the majority came from individual whistle-blowers inside the intelligence community. Why the shift? Let's use one example to illustrate, shall we?
The information that journalists received regarding Donald, Jr.'s meeting with the Russian attorney came from Jared Kushner's legal team. They were aware it would come out anyhow, and so they attempted to deflect responsibility from Jared to Junior. When Junior released a pathetic statement that claimed the meeting was about adoption, it did not hold up any longer than Trump's initial claim as to why he fired James Comey.
Almost immediately, it was leaked that Trump had assisted in creating Junior's lie. The White House denied this with wild abdomen, which indicated that Trump played an even larger role. Leaks from within Trump's team documented that the president actually dictated most of Junior's initial lie. For Trump is, if nothing else, consistent in his pathological lying.
All of this clearly caught the attention of Mr. Mueller's team of investigators. It not only provided definite proof that three of candidate Trump's top people were eager to obtain dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government, but the story fit into Trump's pattern of attempting to obstruct justice. Hence, Mr. Mueller sought a federal grand jury, which has almost unlimited power to obtain documents, as well as to compel testimony, relating to the meeting.
No one from Mr. Mueller's team, or from the grand jury, leaked the news that was reported upon yesterday. That didn't happen. Instead, we can look to Jared's legal team they who have been contacted by the grand jury for the identity of the leakers.
This is not to suggest that Mr. Mueller was surprised or upset by the leak. He anticipated it, and knew who would be most likely to leak. This is the tension phase of the investigation, when prosecutors seek to turn up the heat. This White House is notorious for having little groups of little people fighting over turf
.and now they are increasingly prone to turning on one another. Jared, for example, has no qualms about turning on Junior and Manafort because he believes Trump will surely pardon his reproductive error. And Jared never wants his hands to get dirty.
Now, let's consider the topic of leaks within the context of an OP I posted here yesterday evening, titled A Secret Team. Historically, the art of leaking was mastered by the intelligence community during WW2. But let's look at two more recent examples though both date back to before WW2. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover was a champion at leaking. His unhealthy obsession with other people's sex lives comes to mind. He used information on politicians, including President Kennedy, to try to maintain his unholy power in Washington.
Hoover was deeply offended by Martin Luther King, Jr.'s love of sex, and often attempted to peddle his smut to journalists and others. When he failed in these attempts to discredit King, he ordered a tape and letter to be sent to King's home, that literally told Martin to kill himself. Hoover himself authored the incoherent letter.
The other example is Richard Helms. He learned the craft of strategic leaking from Allen Dulles. However, during Helms's career, he far surpassed his former supervisor. He learned that leaking was the single most powerful tool he had for perception management in both domestic and foreign adventures. Again, Col. Prouty details this in his book, The Secret Team.
President Trump is, by far, the most ignorant person ever to serve in the Oval Office. He does not have even a seventh-grader's grasp of American history. (Sad.) But several of the people he has surrounded himself do. These people fit into two groups: the first are the paranoid Bannon-types, who are dimly aware of what is taking place, and who support Trump, and second, those who support the United States
.and who leak.
Prepare for an entertaining weekend.
underpants
(182,279 posts)H2O Man
(73,323 posts)trof
(54,255 posts)H2O Man
(73,323 posts)My children frequently point out that I am the only one who gets my attempts at humor. I shall show them your post!
HopeAgain
(4,407 posts)Me.
(35,454 posts)Every time Keebler does that little dip of his I wonder if he needs to go to the restroom.
He does seem like the kid who was still shitting his trousers in 6th grade.
ck4829
(34,977 posts)Leaks which debunk the official narrative, of what we are 'supposed' to believe.
We are supposed to have an almost, no, an outright cult of personality around this executive branch, it is starting to crumble.
The POTUS says something and we're supposed to respect it... those days are slipping away.
I'd consider those whistle-blowers. They are of great value -- hence, the attempts to destroy the person blowing the whistle.
I agree fully with your point on personality. Before retiring, I remember staffing personality-disordered people similar to Trump. The majority were county jail inmates!
ck4829
(34,977 posts)Last edited Fri Aug 4, 2017, 06:31 PM - Edit history (1)
These leaks have not shown us secret arms deals, they didn't show us what Bush was hiding when he wrote up Executive Order 13233, what they have shown is immaturity by Trump and the brute fact of the administration's incompetence.
H2O Man
(73,323 posts)You nailed it. I'd add that we need leaks regarding the Trump campaign's meeting off the African coast, set up by Erik Prince.
Although Trump himself is a coward, who is unlikely to resist an orderly transfer of power any more that George Wallace did integration (though a very small man, Wallace had larger hands than Trump), some of his insane Bannonites dream of toppling the government.
Me.
(35,454 posts)Those which embarrass
Sneederbunk
(14,208 posts)H2O Man
(73,323 posts)lpbk2713
(42,696 posts)Very good!
There is an enormous patch of them growing on the hill behind my house. I use them in potato soup.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,298 posts)Thank you for your illuminating and forthright post.
I always learn something when I read what you've written! Or at least I do if my brain is up to snuff.
K&R
H2O Man
(73,323 posts)You are, of course, one of the two individuals responsible for my returning to DU. Hopefully, not too many people hold that against you!
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,298 posts)Eh, I don't worry too much about what people hold against me. I've been down that road and I'm still here.
I'm glad that you're here!
H2O Man
(73,323 posts)so nice, that I'm surprised anyone would think other than pleasantly of you. And I absolutely mean that. I, on the other hand, am ann admittedly grumpy old man.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,298 posts)And I have never seen you being grumpy!
deminks
(11,006 posts)He has a history of leaking by pretending to be other people on the phone.
He may not know history, civics, or anything else presidential, but he knows the value of a well placed leak. He'll go to the mattresses to prove it.
H2O Man
(73,323 posts)You are definitely right.
Warpy
(110,910 posts)and manages to get his phone away from Kelly. Otherwise, there will be little activity at Chez Dimwit as he goes out to blow off steam by cheating at golf and thinking he's so smart nobody notices.
A headline over at the BBC says Jefferson Beauregard has arrested 4 leakers, but as they were unidentified, I imagine he's just blowing more smoke up his boss's butt.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/does-donald-trump-cheat-at-golf-a-washington-post-investigation/2015/09/02/f8a940b2-50c4-11e5-9812-92d5948a40f8_story.html?utm_term=.495a47970056
H2O Man
(73,323 posts)is the only one that has been announced publicly. I have heard that the DOJ is considering charging two others, but am not sure if any actions have been taken .....or if it was simply a bluff.
Trump lacks the self-discipline necessary to keep his mouth shut. Good for us, tough for his lawyers!
BigmanPigman
(51,432 posts)the leakers are necessary.
H2O Man
(73,323 posts)I expect that Fox will begin saying that the Trump administration's coordinating with the Russian mob (government) is a good thing.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)Nothing electronic. Meeting people in parking garages at midnight? Dropping a note in a garbage can on the street, to be picked up by the person (reporter) following behind?
H2O Man
(73,323 posts)That's a great example. Woodward has claimed that, as a ONI officer, he met Mark Felt in the White House basement during Nixon's first term. Felt, he said, advised him to enter the field of journalism. Sure, Bob. Felt disliked the media, and Bob had no background in journalism.
Felt wasn't simply an assistant director in the FBI. He was a Naval Intelligence officer, on loan. And he and others were aware what direction Nixon was heading in -- for it is well-documented that Nixon found the Joint Chiefs were spying on him.
Felt was the leader of a group that Bob called "Deep Throat" ....unless one accepts the idea of Felt marking Woodward's morning newspaper. Bradley knew what was going on. It would be hard to imagine his taking a new, untested reporter's word on a secret source otherwise. No, leaking is the currency of intelligence operations.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)I think the leakers are IN the White House. Not in intel.
Bob Woodward has said that Deep Throat is that one man. Not a group. There is no reason to think he's lying about that. Others have stated it couldn't have been just one person. But maybe Felt passed on info HE got from other sources. Anyway, Woodward has no reason to lie. And Felt's family also said he was Deep Throat.
But in this day of electronics and ways to surveil people, it's remarkable that the leakers have gone undetected. So they must be doing it the old fashioned way. Or they are protected.
H2O Man
(73,323 posts)Most of the leaks are from within the White House -- except for those from Jared's legal team. But that wasn't true before the middle of May; before then, most were from the intelligence community.
I do not share your opinion of Mr. Woodward. And it would be quite a stretch to imagine Mr. Felt climbing the stairs to Bob's apartment, marking a page on Bob's morning newspaper, and then heading off to his office. Nixon had journalists spied upon, both electronically and in person. That was, of course, the initial reason for creating the plumbers. Dan Rather's first book contains a valuable story about his experience with that. The introduction of the Senate Committee's Watergate Report by Daniel Shore is another. Safe to say that the assistant director of the FBI wouldn't risk climbing Woodward's stairs.
Me.
(35,454 posts)Trump toady until the wind shifted, and he certainly didn't mind putting a shiv into HRC from time to time, all in the most laid back manner. Long time Con partisan and hawk enthusiast.
Staph
(6,245 posts)but I adore the idea of "The White House denied this with wild abdomen . . . ."
John Lennon, circa 1965. I was listening to the Plastic Ono Band when I wrote the OP. Hence, opening with the "Attorney Genital."
onecaliberal
(32,488 posts)H2O Man
(73,323 posts)He spoke about his love of leaks on the campaign trail! What's changed, Donny Boy?
Hugin
(32,778 posts)"wild abdomen" is my new favorite expression!
I shall use it often.
H2O Man
(73,323 posts)invented the phrase one night when he had wandered hairy as a dog, for a good bite's sleep.
Hugin
(32,778 posts)You should be pleased I was reading your original post so closely.
An excellent post, BTW. Highly worth reading closely.
H2O Man
(73,323 posts)are outstanding "In His Own Write" and "A Spaniard in the Works."