Ex-CIA chief questions Trump’s loyalty to the US after asking Russia to help him win election

[DonViejo]

Source: RawStory/CNN

Donald Trump sparked outrage on Wednesday when he encouraged the Russian government to find and leak Hillary Clinton’s emails that were deleted from her private server while she served as Secretary of State.

Now former CIA chief Leon Panetta has told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that Trump’s actions call his loyalty to the U.S. into question. What’s more, Amanpour says Panetta claims Trump’s statements raise questions over whether he’s conspiring with a foreign power.

“You have a presidential candidate who is, in fact, asking the Russians to engage in American politics,” Panetta said. “I think that’s beyond the pale… he is truly not qualified to be president of the United States.”

Panetta, it should be noted, is a Democrat who served as both CIA Director and Defense Secretary under President Obama. He is scheduled to talk at tonight’s Democratic National Convention.

###

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2016/07/ex-cia-chief-questions-trumps-loyalty-to-the-us-after-asking-russia-to-help-him-win-election/

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Trump's only loyalty is to himself.

He'd cheerfully sell his country down the river if he thought it would benefit him personally.

[etherealtruth]

3. Exactly! n/t

[jtuck004]

10. The only loyalty he knows is you doing what he wants. He thinks the earth

rotates around him.

As long as you are clear with that, he will always be out to take from you, giving less in return.

[workinclasszero]

17. You got it

And that's exactly why the traitor is running for President!

He could really cut himself some sweet deals with Putin under the table as President!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

23. Trump Путин, Sell Out America For Gain

[63splitwindow]

2. Do an effective edit of you speech Mr. Panetta. HIT HIM HARD!!! nt

[AwakeAtLast]

4. OOOHH! This is getting sooo good!

[RobinA]

15. I Agree

every time the man opens his mouth lately a jaw dropper rolls out. He more clueless than I ever suspected. Either that or he's trying to see how far he can go and still win votes. But I'm not sure that explanation squares with the obvious narcissism.

[greymattermom]

5. I'm seeing a lot of Republicans

responding to this with something about Hillary and uranium. Does anyone know what that is about? I suppose I could watch Fox, but I won't.

[greymattermom]

6. Just a question, but relevant

Do presidential candidates have to undergo a security clearance before they get briefings?

[Sgent]

16. No

But the current president decides what and how much info they get. After elected though...

[hughee99]

7. Did anyone else find it odd that it isn't mentioned that Panetta was Bill's chief of staff for

several years?

[Botany]

20. and what does that have to do with Trump publicly calling for breaking the law and ...

... Russia mucking arround in US elections and government?

[hughee99]

31. It would seem like if you were writing a story where someone in a position of expertise

might have a potential bias, it's worth a mention.

Let's put it this way... If Trump's former assistant also had experience in the justice department or FBI and gave some opinion that was negative toward Clinton, would YOU be okay with it if they didn't happen to mention a personal connection to Trump himself?

It's the sort of thing you might think a responsible journalist might be inclined to include in the story.

[IronLionZion]

21. He's been a distinguished Congressman for many years

and held lots of other roles. It's no secret that he's a Democrat who has worked for Democratic presidents.

[hughee99]

32. Do you not think a mention that the person in question was the right hand man of Hillary's husband

for several years could potentially be relevant when discussing their opinion her opponent?

[PSPS]

8. LOL. The replies to this thread are really pulling back the veil hiding the trolls.

Some have really high post counts.

[PJMcK]

9. Right?! (n/t)

[Roy Rolling]

11. Go for it!

This should be the #1 issue of the campaign. It is of GIGANTIC importance. If the GOP is smart, they will try to put this fire out aggressively today. If not, it will consume his candidacy. Or maybe that's just the mango/kale smoothie talking.

[wallyworld2]

12. the russians

and faux spews working hand in hand

[riversedge]

13. Trumps big bragging mocking mouth will do him --soon, I hope

[ailsagirl]

22. That it hasn't happened yet is a mystery to me

Just what does it take???

[joedogs]

14. ok answer me this

why isn't the FBI, or for that fact the CIA looking into Frumps statement of asking a foreign government to intervene in an election

[workinclasszero]

18. The FBI has chimed in on this..

FBI Suspects Russia Hacked DNC; U.S. Officials Say It Was to Elect Donald Trump
Did the Russian government hack the DNC to bring down Hillary Clinton? That’s the view that’s quickly emerging inside American intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/07/25/fbi-suspects-russia-hacked-dnc-u-s-officials-say-it-was-to-elect-donald-trump.html

The CIA? Who knows they don't advertise their ops.

[Ford_Prefect]

25. What's the NSA up to when you really need them?

Oops, I forgot they only look into it when ordinary Americans are involved in protected speech. Donald is certainly no ordinary American so I guess they can't look into his off-shore connections. The contract to listen doesn't authorize it.

[riversedge]

19. K and R.

[George II]

24. "Lock him up!"

[Akicita]

26. I don't get this at all. How could the Russians now hack Hillary's deleted emails even if they

were to accede to Rumps request? The emails were deleted, The FBI can't even recover them. The FBI has all the servers. Surely the FBI is not going hook those servers back up to the internet where they can be hacked. So there is no way the Russians could now hack them.

When Rump asked the Russians to find them, he must be assuming the Russians had already hacked Hillary's server in the past and he wants the Russians to find and release the missing, deleted emails from the stash of emails he assumes were previously hacked. Even if they do release the deleted emails, who cares? How do Chelsea's wedding plans or Pilate routines or other non-work related correspondence possibly affect national security?

[Ford_Prefect]

27. Serious question: Why did it take this degree of public hoof-in-mouth for anyone responsible

for National Security to look into the connections between Trump, and his financiers and Putin. There have been questions raised before now about his dependence on Russian investment, and the relationships of several of his close advisers to Putin's inner circle.

There were and are still genuine reasons to consider that Trump has been acting, however indirectly, as an agent of a foreign power and is beholden to foreign interests in a very tangible way.

for example: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028053279

[OldHippieChick]

28. Just a small offering

but we may not know what they know and what they have been investigating to this point. This may not be a surprise to FBI/CIA investigators who may have been looking into this for a while.

[red dog 1]

29. Good question!

Thanks for that link.

I wish the "Occupy" Movement would go and "Occupy" Trump & the Rethugs!

I also wish WikiLeaks would spend some time & effort in leaking Trump's e-mails
and other e-mails from the GOP; or are they only interested in leaking HRC's e-mails?

[red dog 1]

30. K&R...Thanks for posting, DonViejo

[roamer65]

33. I'm sure he's attracting the attention of many from the CIA, NSA and military right now. N/t

[smirkymonkey]

35. Yes, but nobody else apparently.

Amazing. What the eff is wrong with this country?

[grahamhgreen]

34. In the end, the CIA will never allow Trump in the White House, in my view.