Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:18 PM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
Leaks!
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.
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40 replies, 4844 views
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Author | Time | Post |
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H2O Man | Aug 2017 | OP |
underpants | Aug 2017 | #1 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #2 | |
trof | Aug 2017 | #5 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #8 | |
HopeAgain | Aug 2017 | #17 | |
Me. | Aug 2017 | #39 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #40 | |
ck4829 | Aug 2017 | #3 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #6 | |
ck4829 | Aug 2017 | #15 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #18 | |
Me. | Aug 2017 | #37 | |
Sneederbunk | Aug 2017 | #4 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #7 | |
lpbk2713 | Aug 2017 | #9 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #11 | |
CaliforniaPeggy | Aug 2017 | #10 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #12 | |
CaliforniaPeggy | Aug 2017 | #14 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #19 | |
CaliforniaPeggy | Aug 2017 | #21 | |
deminks | Aug 2017 | #13 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #16 | |
Warpy | Aug 2017 | #20 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #25 | |
BigmanPigman | Aug 2017 | #22 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #28 | |
Honeycombe8 | Aug 2017 | #23 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #29 | |
Honeycombe8 | Aug 2017 | #35 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #36 | |
Me. | Aug 2017 | #38 | |
Staph | Aug 2017 | #24 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #30 | |
onecaliberal | Aug 2017 | #26 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #31 | |
Hugin | Aug 2017 | #27 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #32 | |
Hugin | Aug 2017 | #33 | |
H2O Man | Aug 2017 | #34 |
Response to H2O Man (Original post)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:22 PM
underpants (159,399 posts)
1. I thought Trump liked leaks
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Response to trof (Reply #5)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:28 PM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
8. An attempted one!
My children frequently point out that I am the only one who gets my attempts at humor. I shall show them your post!
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Response to trof (Reply #5)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:40 PM
HopeAgain (4,407 posts)
17. yes, and they keep trickling down the thread
Response to H2O Man (Reply #2)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 11:49 AM
Me. (31,054 posts)
39. Funny You Should Say That
Every time Keebler does that little dip of his I wonder if he needs to go to the restroom.
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Response to Me. (Reply #39)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 11:55 AM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
40. Ha!
He does seem like the kid who was still shitting his trousers in 6th grade.
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Response to H2O Man (Original post)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:23 PM
ck4829 (29,494 posts)
3. Hey now, there's also Leak Type #4
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. |
Response to ck4829 (Reply #3)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:26 PM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
6. Right.
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! |
Response to H2O Man (Reply #6)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:37 PM
ck4829 (29,494 posts)
15. Indeed. More concerned with the leakER than the the leakED
Last edited Fri Aug 4, 2017, 05:31 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.
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Response to ck4829 (Reply #15)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:45 PM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
18. Absolutely!
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. |
Response to ck4829 (Reply #15)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 11:42 AM
Me. (31,054 posts)
37. Which Points To Another Type Of Leak
Those which embarrass
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Response to H2O Man (Original post)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:23 PM
Sneederbunk (8,113 posts)
4. He likes Russian hooker leaks.
Response to H2O Man (Original post)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:29 PM
lpbk2713 (39,270 posts)
9. For Donald ...
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Response to lpbk2713 (Reply #9)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:30 PM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
11. Ha!
Very good!
There is an enormous patch of them growing on the hill behind my house. I use them in potato soup. |
Response to H2O Man (Original post)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:30 PM
CaliforniaPeggy (135,708 posts)
10. I'm more than ready for this entertaining weekend, my dear H20 Man!
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 ![]() |
Response to CaliforniaPeggy (Reply #10)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:32 PM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
12. Thanks, Buddy!
You are, of course, one of the two individuals responsible for my returning to DU. Hopefully, not too many people hold that against you!
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Response to H2O Man (Reply #12)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:36 PM
CaliforniaPeggy (135,708 posts)
14. I am honored to have done that. And I didn't know it.
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! ![]() |
Response to CaliforniaPeggy (Reply #14)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:47 PM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
19. You are always
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.
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Response to H2O Man (Reply #19)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:55 PM
CaliforniaPeggy (135,708 posts)
21. Let's just say they have their reasons.
And I have never seen you being grumpy!
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Response to H2O Man (Original post)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:35 PM
deminks (10,364 posts)
13. Don't sell the Donald short.
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. |
Response to deminks (Reply #13)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:39 PM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
16. Good point.
You are definitely right.
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Response to H2O Man (Original post)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 03:50 PM
Warpy (99,245 posts)
20. It will be interesting if Donny chews through the restraints
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 |
Response to Warpy (Reply #20)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 09:44 AM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
25. Reality Winner
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! |
Response to H2O Man (Original post)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 05:31 PM
BigmanPigman (40,490 posts)
22. As long as there is Murdoch/Fux Ruse (and Sinclair and Circa)
the leakers are necessary.
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Response to BigmanPigman (Reply #22)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 09:58 AM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
28. Right!
I expect that Fox will begin saying that the Trump administration's coordinating with the Russian mob (government) is a good thing.
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Response to H2O Man (Original post)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 05:50 PM
Honeycombe8 (37,648 posts)
23. How could the leakers go un-caught for this long? That's amazing. Deep throat type stuff?
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?
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Response to Honeycombe8 (Reply #23)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 10:06 AM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
29. Good call!
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. |
Response to H2O Man (Reply #29)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 11:20 AM
Honeycombe8 (37,648 posts)
35. Not sure I get your point.
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. |
Response to Honeycombe8 (Reply #35)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 11:40 AM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
36. Currently, yes.
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. |
Response to H2O Man (Reply #36)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 11:48 AM
Me. (31,054 posts)
38. I Have Lost All Respect For Mr. Woodward
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.
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Response to H2O Man (Original post)
Fri Aug 4, 2017, 08:12 PM
Staph (5,404 posts)
24. I don't know if this was intended to pun or was just a typo,
but I adore the idea of "The White House denied this with wild abdomen . . . ."
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Response to Staph (Reply #24)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 10:08 AM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
30. It's from
John Lennon, circa 1965. I was listening to the Plastic Ono Band when I wrote the OP. Hence, opening with the "Attorney Genital."
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Response to H2O Man (Original post)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 09:49 AM
onecaliberal (19,017 posts)
26. Didn't the Keebler elf hear that dumb loves leaks? He said so himself.
Response to onecaliberal (Reply #26)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 10:09 AM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
31. Right!
He spoke about his love of leaks on the campaign trail! What's changed, Donny Boy?
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Response to H2O Man (Original post)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 09:57 AM
Hugin (27,421 posts)
27. Aside: "... denied this with wild abdomen..."
![]() "wild abdomen" is my new favorite expression! I shall use it often. ![]() |
Response to Hugin (Reply #27)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 10:10 AM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
32. John Lennon
invented the phrase one night when he had wandered hairy as a dog, for a good bite's sleep.
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Response to H2O Man (Reply #32)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 10:15 AM
Hugin (27,421 posts)
33. Darn autocomplete.
You should be pleased I was reading your original post so closely.
An excellent post, BTW. Highly worth reading closely. ![]() |
Response to Hugin (Reply #33)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 10:37 AM
H2O Man (65,453 posts)
34. John's two books
are outstanding "In His Own Write" and "A Spaniard in the Works."
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