Trump's FBI comments to Russians were aimed at cooperation -McMaster

[TomCADem]

Source: MSN/Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump raised the firing of his FBI director in a meeting with Russia's foreign minister to explain why he had been unable to find areas of cooperation with Moscow, the White House national security adviser said on Sunday.

"The gist of the conversation was that the president feels as if he is hamstrung in his ability to work with Russia to find areas of cooperation because this has been obviously so much in the news," H.R. McMaster said in an interview on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."

Reports that Trump boasted to Russian officials of firing former FBI director James Comey to relieve "great pressure" from a law-enforcement probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election engulfed his administration in turmoil just as Trump left for his first foreign trip as president on Friday.

"I just fired the head of the FBI. He was crazy, a real nut job," Trump said during a May 10 meeting with Russian officials, according to a report by The New York Times that cited a document summarizing the meeting and an unnamed U.S. official.

Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trumps-fbi-comments-to-russians-were-aimed-at-cooperation-mcmaster/ar-BBBlUiy

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They are all over the map. First, they deny the comments were made. Then, when it becomes clear that there was a transcript, they claim Trump was making the comments to build "cooperation."

[Phoenix61]

1. Really disappointed in McMaster

So much for him being the adult in the room. Just another Twitler stooge.

[emulatorloo]

2. He's destroying his rep/career and for what? To be the next Kellyanne?

[kairos12]

4. He should go back and read his own book.

[fountainofyouth]

9. There have been reports that he has pushed back on Trump sometimes

So he will speak truth to Trump -- but not to the American people.

[Kleveland]

15. I too am disappointed...

It seems to me that he has now violated the officers code of ethics. They are not supposed to lie, or couch words to conceal the truth.

Why would such a brilliant man defend such an obvious threat to our democracy, and the blatant ignorance and stupidity of his thoughtless self aggrandizing comments?

[keithbvadu2]

22. An officer may not tolerate a lie... McMaster?

An officer may not tolerate a lie.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029072573

[Kleveland]

23. My point exactly.....

[SHRED]

3. This guy has zero integrity now.

[riversedge]

5. And now Russia claims the Comey issue did not come up (think this happened just yesterday).......

.....Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied that Comey had come up during the meeting, according to Interfax news agency.

McMaster also said in Sunday's interview that the central purpose of Trump's conversation with Lavrov and Russia's ambassador to Washington was to confront Russia on areas where the United States considers them disruptive, such as Syria.

McMaster criticized sources who told reporters that Trump had disclosed highly classified information to the Russian officials in the meeting about a planned Islamic State operation.

"In a concern about divulging intelligence they leaked actually not just the information from the meeting, but also indicated the sources and methods to a to a newspaper. I mean it doesn't make sense," McMaster said." (Reporting by Julia Harte Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

[George II]

6. So you bad mouth a former FBI director to enhance cooperation with one of our adversaries?

[thecrow]

28. In Murka, up is now down ( sometimes)

and vice versa. It's hard to keep up with it all, but we are trying.

[Thomas Hurt]

7. Trump's FBI comments to Russians were aimed at cooperation

Isn't that what intelligence assets for foreign gov'ts are supposed to do...cooperate behind closed doors. Secretly. You know away from the American press....

[lastlib]

27. well, of course--you always want to cooperate with your boss......

otherwise, you lose your job--and with tinyhands' boss, probably your life. You never know when he's going to serve the polonium tea.

[Leghorn21]

8. Well - that's a wrap on McMaster, 100%. "Reports" recently had dft yelling at him, and

before that, McMaster was apparently standing firm on who he would have working with him in natsec (thus prompting the yelling)...and I really thought that somehow, the general would stare him down/bully hom back/prevail - but, nyet.

sigh. Mighty sorry to see what he said today.

[bettyellen]

10. Didn't he say he doesn't remember what was said?

[Kleveland]

16. Did he not also say that he was there...

And in saying that also alluded to the fact that he knew what was said when he defended *Rump's dislosure of sensitive information?

You can't have it both ways.

Again, caught in the quicksand of *Rump's swamp.

[erronis]

11. Uh, looking for cooperation with the Russians?

I don't know why we need more cooperation since they have already owned the president and his entourage.

Is McMaster and tRump looking for more? Something like opening the Federal Reserve and all other banking systems to their cyber-criminals?

[geek tragedy]

12. Tr*mp insulted and degraded a lifetime public servant and patriot

who dedicated his life to keeping Americans safe from terrorism in order to curry favor with an ethnonationalist fascist government.

Yes, Comey made mistakes in office and showed poor judgment, but Tr*mp is showing a basic lack of patriotism here.

[MBS]

13. Nice try, McMaster.

But sort of pathetic.
This seems to be the Official Spin: Tillerson had a similar line today:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/mcmaster-tillerson-discuss-trumps-dismissal-of-comey/2017/05/21/3dd120d6-3e41-11e7-b29f-f40ffced2ddb_video.html

[SunSeeker]

14. They have all become soulless, pathetic, lying hacks.

They have just prostituted themselves and destroyed their credibility. Shameful.

[MBS]

25. Everyone who interacts with Trump ends up in the gutter with him. n/t

[Marthe48]

17. Bend over and grab your heels

that's the kind of 'cooperation' trump's comments lead to. Traitors, they are all traitors. McMasters forgot his oath to defend the Constitution of the U.S.A.

[Arkansas Granny]

18. As I was watching McMasters this morning, I kept hearing this little voice in the back of my mind

whispering "Ollie North, Ollie North".

[Achilleaze]

19. Please stop lying to the American people

freaking deplorable republican liars. They apparently think Americans are stupid.

Disgusting.

[Honeycombe8]

20. Yeah, sure. I'm sure he'd say that if Obama had said that to the Russians. (sarcasm) nt

[Historic NY]

21. Cooperation on what his loans or his profits.

[keithbvadu2]

24. the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

“the truth,” “the whole truth,” and “nothing but the truth.”

https://parade.com/86289/marilynvossavant/telling-the-truth-02/

Telling the Truth
September 2, 2009 – 9:15 AM – 0 Comments
Marilyn vos Savant

[Eyeball_Kid]

26. BS. Trumpy was bragging and longing to impress the Russians. He's not "strategic" in his thinking.

McMaster can't stop himself from self-degradation. What a fool he was to have taken that job. He had a really good thing going. Then he met Trumpy. It's been all downhill from there.

Trumpy-- the reverse Midas Touch.

[TomCADem]

31. Trump Was Doing a Billy Bush with the Russians

Play to his ego, and he will give away the farm.

[truthisfreedom]

29. Piece of shit has other pieces of shit explain shitty behavior with shitty excuse.

It's all a bunch of shit. Like everything else out of this shitstorm.

[mark fromelko]

30. Trump OUGHT to be Hamstrung in his Dealings with the Russians!

And I agree with others in this thread: it's truly sad to see a man like McMaster piss away his reputation like this.