You Will Not Destroy America: A Trump Battle Is No Longer One-Sided

[poboy2]

‘You Will Not Destroy America’: A Trump Battle Is No Longer One-Sided
The New York Times
By KATIE ROGERS
2 hrs ago

WASHINGTON — Usually, top intelligence and law enforcement officials withdraw to lives of tight-lipped relative anonymity after their careers end. (Suffice it to say, they are not exactly known for viral Twitter battles.) But as President Trump has voiced his grievances against the F.B.I. with a series of insult-laden tweets, his targets have responded nearly in kind, turning a conflict that would in the past have stayed behind closed doors into a brawl for all to see.

Other former officials who have been the subject of the president’s taunts have also had choice words for him on Twitter. John O. Brennan, a former C.I.A. director who now refers to himself as “a nonpartisan American who is very concerned about our collective future,” attacked the president’s character on Saturday.

“When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history,” wrote Mr. Brennan, whom Mr. Trump once called “one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington.” “You may scapegoat Andy McCabe, but you will not destroy America...America will triumph over you.”

Throughout history, presidents have found themselves in private conflict with members of law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Bill Clinton clashed with Louis J. Freeh, who oversaw the F.B.I. during the Lewinsky scandal. Richard M. Nixon fired the independent special prosecutor in the “Saturday Night Massacre,” and his attorney general and deputy attorney general resigned in protest.

But those tense interactions, experts say, seem almost quaint compared to the public mudslinging unfolding now.“We’ve never had anybody so blatantly go after a president before,” Gary J. Schmitt, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who was once an intelligence adviser to President Ronald Reagan, said in an interview. “It’s also unprecedented to have a president so overtly going after various intelligence officials.”

He added, “It’s a race to the bottom.”

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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/us/politics/trump-tweets-comey-mccabe.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

[poboy2]

1. quote:

“It seems to be a very short distance between the president’s Twitter device and the megaphone of Fox News and other allies on Capitol Hill,” Mr. Bash said. “I think most professionals I speak with think he will ultimately fail, but they worry we are a few Fox News segments away from more and more people in that conspiracy theory echo chamber.”

[poboy2]

2. This one too:

Vicki Divoll, a former general counsel for the Senate Intelligence Committee and a former assistant general counsel for the C.I.A., said remarks by former officials like Mr. Comey and Mr. Brennan reflected a larger frustration that others, including Republican members of Congress, were not speaking out against transgressions that would have felled other politicians.

“Comey and Brennan are perfect examples who do not seek the limelight,” Ms. Divoll said, “who do not do anything but speak publicly and privately in very measured ways. But the gloves are off. That’s not happening anymore.”

[smirkymonkey]

3. K&R

[poboy2]

6. thank you

[Wounded Bear]

4. We need more of this...

I know that typically they stay quiet for Nat'l Security reasons, but the shoe's on the other foot now. Trump IS a Nat'l Security risk personified.

[poboy2]

5. I agree, but there is word of caution, fwiw-

He said the former officials’ willingness to speak out against the president could spell problems for Mr. Mueller.

“I would imagine from Bob Mueller’s point of view having potential witnesses tweeting back and forth with the president is the last thing you want,” Mr. German said. “The credibility of everyone involved is being torn to tatters in broad daylight.”