The 45th POTUS - Donald J. Trump

[E.H. Ruddock]

Foxnews is really pushing this "Opioid epidemic" today.

Gee I wonder why...

Because all the flat earthers are druggies?

[McParadigm]

This is a weird picture

[McParadigm]

[McParadigm]

WaPo: Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister and ambassador

President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week, according to current and former U.S. officials, who said that Trump’s disclosures jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State.

The information Trump relayed had been provided by a U.S. partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the U.S. government, officials said.

The partner had not given the United States permission to share the material with Russia, and officials said that Trump’s decision to do so risks cooperation from an ally that has access to the inner workings of the Islamic State. After Trump’s meeting, senior White House officials took steps to contain the damage, placing calls to the CIA and National Security Agency.

“This is code-word information,” said a U.S. official familiar with the matter, using terminology that refers to one of the highest classification levels used by American spy agencies. Trump “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.”

The revelation comes as Trump faces rising legal and political pressure on multiple Russia-related fronts. Last week, he fired FBI Director James B. Comey in the midst of a bureau investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Moscow. Trump’s subsequent admission that his decision was driven by “this Russia thing” was seen by critics as attempted obstruction of justice.

The CIA declined to comment and the National Security Agency did not respond to requests for comment.

But officials expressed concern with Trump’s handling of sensitive information as well as his grasp of the potential consequences. Exposure of an intelligence stream that has provided critical insight into the Islamic State, they said, could hinder the United States’ and its allies’ ability to detect future threats.

“It is all kind of shocking,” said a former senior U.S. official close to current administration officials. “Trump seems to be very reckless, and doesn’t grasp the gravity of the things he’s dealing with, especially when it comes to intelligence and national security. And it’s all clouded because of this problem he has with Russia.”

In his meeting with Lavrov, Trump seemed to be boasting about his inside knowledge of the looming threat. “I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel every day,” Trump said, according to an official with knowledge of the exchange.

Trump went on to discuss aspects of the threat that the United States only learned through the espionage capabilities of a key partner. He did not reveal the specific intelligence gathering method, but described how the Islamic State was pursuing elements of a specific plot and how much harm such an attack could cause under varying circumstances. Most alarmingly, officials said, Trump revealed the city in the Islamic State’s territory where the U.S. intelligence partner detected the threat.

[McParadigm]

I mean I know people overdo the "imagine if Obama did something like that" game, but...

[Norah]

but the emails

[bune]

God damn but she always looks frightening in a very "the androids are revolting!" kind of way.

[McParadigm]

God damn but she always looks frightening in a very "the androids are revolting!" kind of way.

[McParadigm]

Buzzfeed weighs in:

Two US officials who were briefed on Trump’s disclosures last week confirmed to BuzzFeed News the veracity of the Post report, with one official noting that “it’s far worse than what has already been reported.”

The Senate Intelligence Committee was also briefed on Trump’s disclosures, one of the officials said.

[McParadigm]

Man I can't wait to hear all about this on Fox News tonight.

[tragabigzanda]

Man I can't wait to hear all about this on Fox News tonight.

The opium crisis is way more important.

[McParadigm]

[tragabigzanda]

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/1 ... ker-238413

Can someone explain to me why GOP Senators are more willing to take a stand against Trump than the GOP House members?

[Bi_3]

Man I can't wait to hear all about this on Fox News tonight.

Why wait? Video is embedded here:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05 ... sians.html


Can we get the next foreign visitor to ask about something useful? Like aliens.

[McParadigm]

[McParadigm]

Suggestion: TV news programs replace all transition and intro music with Yackety Sax for the next few weeks. I expect it will be never not feel just right.

[BurtReynolds]

haha

[McParadigm]

haha

Deconstructing the administrative state

[McParadigm]

Lawfareblog is brutal

https://www.lawfareblog.com/bombshell-i ... ging-story

[McParadigm]