Trump revealed Highly Classified information to Russians in his meeting May 10th

[BridgeTroll]

This insightful piece will give readers some good insight into today's bombshell and the spin trying to counteract it.  Worth the read if you want to understand what is going on.


This is perhaps the gravest allegation of presidential misconduct in the scandal-ridden four months of the Trump administration. This story is likely to be immensely consequential. Below are some initial thoughts based on the facts available about what this story is, what it isn't, and what we do and do not yet know.   quote lawfare

https://www.lawfareblog.com/bombshell-initial-thoughts-washington-posts-game-changing-story

I am certainly happy the press is trying to make up for eight years of pandering to the White House press releases and finally doing their job.  Better late than never I suppose...  I few points if I may...

Even you CC couch your "headline" with spin...  Allegations??  Scandal??  Bombshell?  Is an allegation a scandal or a bombshell?

Even in the "insightful" blog piece...  Implications of lying using terms like... "very carefully worded statements" and "this statement is carefully worded".  I would hope they are carefully wording their statements carefully... did they do that in the past eight years??  Just askin...

This one cracks me up...    "First, this is not a question of "leaking classified information" or breaking a criminal law. Let's dispense with one easy rabbit hole that a lot of people are likely to go down this evening: the President did not "leak" classified information in violation of law. He is allowed to do what he did. If anyone other than the President disclosed codeword intelligence to the Russians in such fashion, he'd likely be facing a long prison term."  Three names immediately come to mind... Clinton... Abbedin... Weiner.  Just stop it.

This one is just as awesome... rofl... "Second, this is not a garden variety breach, and outrage over it is not partisan hypocrisy about protecting classified information.  There is a semi-regular partisan food fight over the other party's handling of classified information. There are too many examples of hypocrisy and faux-outrage on both sides to count. Lol... is it or isnt it?     It is more faux outrage by the media... until the next story/outrage...

Again the hypocrisy is soooo freeking apparent... "Third, it is important to understand the nature of sources and methods information in order to fully understand the gravity of the breach. In general, a Top Secret classification is applied to information "the unauthorized disclosure of which could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to national security..."   How many times was this parsed by the former administration with regards to flagrant disregard to security... rofl...

There is plenty more there for anyone without blinders...

I am happy to finally see the press doing its job instead of being a lapdog...  arf...arf... go get em boy... 

[peestandingup]

BTW, Buzzfeed, WaPo, "sources say" lol. You're literally figuratively posting garbage. https://i.redd.it/48fveatozqxy.jpg

...sez the guy who posts a link to reddit!

Edit: and ftfw.

A google image search that's hosted on reddit? Yeah, the horror. Reddit's actually quite left leaning anyway, but lemme know your preferred host.

That all you got??

It's not about left vs right. It's about impugning someone's sources - and then responding with a link to a site that is even less reputable.

Why not just skip the ad hominem attacks and deal with the subject at hand? It's seems like all of these threads just turn into people attacking the sources of the information and not the information.

Dunno, I guess its just funny to me you're concentrating on where the image was hosted rather than the content that was in it (both articles from WaPo showing their crappy bias). Seems like deflection, but whatevs.

[Adam White]

BTW, Buzzfeed, WaPo, "sources say" lol. You're literally figuratively posting garbage. https://i.redd.it/48fveatozqxy.jpg

...sez the guy who posts a link to reddit!

Edit: and ftfw.

A google image search that's hosted on reddit? Yeah, the horror. Reddit's actually quite left leaning anyway, but lemme know your preferred host.

That all you got??

It's not about left vs right. It's about impugning someone's sources - and then responding with a link to a site that is even less reputable.

Why not just skip the ad hominem attacks and deal with the subject at hand? It's seems like all of these threads just turn into people attacking the sources of the information and not the information.

Dunno, I guess its just funny to me you're concentrating on where the image was hosted rather than the content that was in it (both articles from WaPo showing their crappy bias). Seems like deflection, but whatevs.

I did look at the image. And I don't see the point. No one is arguing that the US isn't sharing intel with Russia. The issue in this case is an allegation that the President revealed specific intel to a Russian source - intel he was not meant to reveal ("highly classified information"). Whether that is true or not is yet to be determined. But those two Washington Post front pages mean absolutely nothing and in no way can be construed as evidence of bias - unless you're an absolute idiot and think that agreeing to share intel with Russia means the USA will share absolutely all of its intel with Russia.

[peestandingup]

Whether that is true or not is yet to be determined

"Sources say", lol. Yeah, those sources track record is great. Keep hope alive. Maybe this'll be the one! Media's been overplaying this hand for some time now & butthurt dumb asses are lapping it up still.

My original point was posting unverified content (which is basically gossip) from WaPo & freakin Buzzfeed of all places (who have a history of this, you really gonna pretend they don't?), coupled with an unflattering altered pic on a community board of all places is stupid & SD 101. But you wanted to take it in another direction about image hosting for some reason. Might as well throw in a "drumpf" for good measure. Its all basic as fuck, esp considering there's actual legit things to talk about instead of this amateur hour chain letter tier crap.

Prove its true, or even link to actual proof & I'll buy you & the OP dinner. Till then I guess everyone can keep doing what they're doing, making themselves look extra dumb & gullible. Where would media be without them.

[Adam White]

Whether that is true or not is yet to be determined

"Sources say", lol. Yeah, those sources track record is great. Keep hope alive. Maybe this'll be the one! Media's been overplaying this hand for some time now & butthurt dumb asses are lapping it up still.

My original point was posting unverified content (which is basically gossip) from WaPo & freakin Buzzfeed of all places (who have a history of this, you really gonna pretend they don't?), coupled with an unflattering altered pic on a community board of all places is stupid & SD 101. But you wanted to take it in another direction about image hosting for some reason. Might as well throw in a "drumpf" for good measure. Its all basic as fuck, esp considering there's actual legit things to talk about instead of this amateur hour chain letter tier crap.

Prove its true, or even link to actual proof & I'll buy you & the OP dinner. Till then I guess everyone can keep doing what they're doing, making themselves look extra dumb & gullible. Where would media be without them.

I think you're a bit confused - I've not made any claim that this is true. I've solely pointed out your hypocrisy. I don't go in for the "Drumpf" stuff and I even said in my last post that this is yet to be proved.

My point is that your post was just as literally figuratively "garbage" as the OP's.

[bast553]

I don't know who has had a rougher few months: "anonymous sources" or "experts."

[peestandingup]

My point is that your post was just as literally figuratively "garbage" as the OP's.

Hmm, I thought your original point was a critique on image hosting services? Gimme a list of your approved ones & I'll do better next time.

[Adam White]

My point is that your post was just as literally figuratively "garbage" as the OP's.

Hmm, I thought your original point was a critique on image hosting services? Gimme a list of your approved ones & I'll do better next time.

No - you brought that up. The image appeared on Reddit, yes (not really an image hosting site, but whatever). But even if you had posted a link to Google images, it wouldn't be any different. My point was that if you're going to critique someone for posting links to stories by news agencies and then respond with a link to an image - that image - on Reddit, you're no better than the people you criticise.

If you had said, "you're posting garbage" and then followed up with either a) a link to a story in the NYT about how the Washington Post is unreliable or b) a link to the NYT about the current Trump scandal, then that would make sense. Posting a link to a ridiculous photo you found on Reddit is certainly not making any more of an effort.

Basically - you guys are [insert insult here] because you're posting links to news stories on WaPo. But instead of offering a critique of the actual story at hand, I'll respond with a picture I found on the web that is essentially meaningless!

Edit: I'm happy to post links to other news sites carrying variations on this story. But what's the point? You're just going to claim they're unreliable.

Edit 2: For clarity's sake, my original post should be edited to:

...sez the guy who posts a link to an image on reddit!

Edit: and ftfy.

[Cheshire Cat]

After having his hand picked NSA adviser publicly claim that he did not share high level intelligence with the Russians, Trump himself has now taken the tact of defending the fact that he did share high level intelligence.  This is how it goes with this administration. 


Trump Defends Sharing Information on ISIS Threat With Russia

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday defended his decision to share sensitive information about an Islamic State threat with Russian officials as the White House once again struggled to reconcile seemingly conflicting accounts of the president's actions.

A day after his advisers disputed a news article about the conversation, the president focused instead on justifying what he did and blaming those who disclosed it. In a series of early-morning posts on Twitter, he said he had the "absolute right" to give "facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety" to Russia's foreign minister and ambassador.



https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/us/politics/trump-intelligence-russia-classified.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share

[Cheshire Cat]

To those who don't like to read about politics which is one of the allocated topics of discussion on this board and the one for national news which includes major political happenings, I suggest you just don't read that thread or national news that is political. If you don't agree with my comments, answer responsibly or ignore them. Those who turn their comments into personal attacks or judgments will receive no response from me and their insulting remarks will be ignored as the petty and immature business they are. Grow up kids.  In an effort to give folks who don't have the time to check news feed updates to know the latest news on this issue, I shared a number of links from various sources for people to read and make their own judgments. Those uninterested in knowing what sources are reporting, scroll past the links that share that information. People have too long imagined that politics will take care of itself if they only go out and vote once in a while.  Others don't bother to vote at all.  Our nation is currently more divided and dysfunctional than it has been in modern history.  The American people have got to stop being apathetic and educate themselves as to what is going on and get involved.  I know this will bother those who think they own the forum who are just contributors like myself or those who simply don't like facts that disagree with their own views, but I will continue to share and post them in the appropriate places on the Forum.  Yet, she persisted!

[Cheshire Cat]

Cheshire Cat, I think you need a better outlet for political discourse and reporting than a local blog.

Have you thought of hosting a slot on public access to discuss daily political issues, better yet a podcast or YouTube channel?

Thanks for the suggestions.  I well know the options that are available for political discussion and this forum is one of them.  There is a specific category for politics and one for national news.  I will utilize those. 

[Cheshire Cat]

The Terrible Cost of Trump's Disclosures
The consequences of the president's reported divulgence of top-secret codeword information to the Russians are only beginning.

Top secret codeword information is no joke

There are multiple flavors of intelligence classification, from "Confidential" (which is often in the public record already, just not acknowledged), to "Secret" (usually, though not always available if you know where to look—or are willing to wait a few days), to "Top Secret" which is beginning to be serious. The codewords, which security officials began using in World War II to protect signal intercepts (e.g. ULTRA), tell you whence the information was derived—so Top Secret/codeword material really has to be protected. Any of us who have had those kinds of clearances have gone through repeated trainings about how to safeguard such material (cover sheets, multiple envelopes, proper paragraph marking, etc.). And if you hope to keep your job and stay out of jail, you take it seriously. You do not have access to any and all compartments if you have a top-secret clearance. This, apparently, is some of the information that Trump blew.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/the-terrible-cost-of-trumps-disclosures/526818/

[Cheshire Cat]

Trump's disclosure endangered spy placed inside ISIS by Israel, officials say

The life of a spy placed by Israel inside ISIS is at risk tonight, according to current and former U.S. officials, after President Donald Trump reportedly disclosed classified information in a meeting with Russian officials last week.

The spy provided intelligence involving an active ISIS plot to bring down a passenger jet en route to the United States, with a bomb hidden in a laptop that U.S. officials believe can get through airport screening machines undetected. The information was reliable enough that the U.S. is considering a ban on laptops on all flights from Europe to the United States.

The sensitive intelligence was shared with the United States, officials say, on the condition that the source remain confidential.

"The real risk is not just this source," said Matt Olsen, the former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and an ABC News contributor, "but future sources of information about plots against us."

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/trumps-disclosure-endangered-spy-inside-isis-israel-officials/story?id=47449304

[Jim]

How prophetic.

US spies 'warned Israel not to share intelligence with Trump'.
The article was from Jan 13th, 2017.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/13/us-spies-warned-israel-not-share-intelligence-trump/

[MusicMan]

When your character witness is Vladimir Putin your in a shitty spot:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/vladimir-putin-says-he-can-prove-trump-did-not-pass-russia-secrets/ar-BBBetUc