Trump's former acting attorney general: 'Have we lost our ability to be shocked?'

[brooklynite]

Source: Politico

Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general who was fired by Donald Trump in 2017, accused the president on Friday of "cavalierly lying" about instructing his former chief of staff John Kelly to give Jared Kushner a top-secret security clearance.

"Hard to know which is more dangerous—jeopardizing our most sensitive national security information or so cavalierly lying about it. Have we lost our ability to be shocked?" Yates tweeted.

The New York Times reported Thursday that Trump had ordered Kelly to authorize a top-secret security clearance for Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, in May 2018. Kelly, along with former White House counsel Don McGahn and U.S. intelligence officials, had objected to giving Kushner a top-secret clearance, according to The Times, which said the full scope of their concerns is not known.

In an internal memo at the time, Kelly wrote that he had been "ordered" to grant Kushner that type of clearance.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/01/sally-yates-kushner-security-clearance-1197255

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. we seem to have.

[BeyondGeography]

2. Trump is a never-ending search for the bottom

His whole life has been that way. And enough people voted for him that he won by 74 EV’s. So our special journey continues. There’s no more shock, no more awe. Only numbness.

[onetexan]

7. yup, there is no bottom where this guy's concerned

every day he is in office we are in dangerous territory

[BeyondGeography]

11. The thing that freaks me out a little

is he hasn't had to deal with a serious crisis yet. You know, like one that wasn't of his own direct making. Thankfully, we've been spared that, so far.

[slumcamper]

3. Yates might have well asked, "Is this how nations die?" n/t

[Mr. Evil]

4. No, we haven't lost our ability to be shocked.

What we have lost is our ability to trust a system that continuously sweeps the crimes of the wealthy under the rug. When the DoJ, state attorneys general and local district attorneys routinely lets giant corporations and the ultra rich walk away from most, if not all, of the crimes they commit with just a slap on the wrist (Jeffrey Epstein for one) we tend to become cynical. When you start treating these people the same as some local car thief or crack smoker we might have more confidence in the justice system. Donald Trump should've been in prison decades ago. Why is he, and so many others like him, seemingly deemed untouchable?

So, Sally, if you want people to regain their faith in the justice system start putting wealthy criminals in prison too. Then they too might finally get the message and begin to curtail their egregious behavior. Until that begins to happen, I wouldn't recommend holding your breath.

[47of74]

12. Yeah and not club fed either.

They need to be put in prisons that are such hell’s on Earth that days feel like years.

[Mr. Evil]

23. That would be a good start!

[volstork]

14. Welcome to DU!

This is an accurate depiction of what has transpired. Justice is not blind in this country, nor has it ever been. Until that is rectified, things will never change.

[LibDemAlways]

18. I am a substitute teacher. Everytime I

am in a classroom and a voice comes over the PA system leading the students in the pledge, I cringe. The phrase "liberty and justice for all" is such a joke. It's all I can do to keep from busting out laughing. Only the wealthy are free to do as they damn well please, including buying the justice denied to everybody else.

[Mr. Evil]

22. Exactly!

[Mr.Bill]

26. Being an Atheist

I always cringed at the 'under god" part. I refuse to say those words. But worse yet is we expect children of age six to pledge things they cannot even comprehend yet. I also cannot understand why it has to be said daily. Do we recite our marriage vows daily? Is the President sworn in every day? Or the military or law enforcement?


The pledge was written for a magazine ad as a gimmick to sell flags. That's all. The whole concept of it is idiotic.

[LibDemAlways]

27. I agree. As a kid I wondered for years

who Richard Stands was...as in "and to the republic for Richard Stands." The whole thing is, indeed, absurd.

[Mr.Bill]

28. I volunteer at our local hospital

and at our monthly meetings we open with the pledge. These are mostly very elderly people (look whose talking, I'm 65) and I am not a jerk about it, I stand and say it if that makes them feel better. As always, I go silent when the words under god come. I don't think they've ever noticed that. I attribute this to the fact that most old people don't hear well.

If I am ever challenged about those two words, I just reply that I prefer the original version. When they look puzzled I explain that those words were added in the 50s largely as a result of lobbying by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's organization. I have yet to meet a person who was aware of this.

[KPN]

5. To answer your question Sally, one word: YES.

Nothing shocks us anymore. This shit has become the norm ... and life goes on ... at least for a while.

[Blue_Tires]

6. That's what happens when insanity gets normalized....

[EleanorR]

8. That's certainly one of the goals of the bullshit squad

Overwhelm folks with outrageous statement or actions so they either tune out or lose faith in our institutions to behave rationally, or both.

[UpInArms]

9. I would be shocked if tRump ever told the truth

Or did anything with integrity

[lilactime]

13. +1

[orleans]

10. "Kelly wrote that he had been "ordered" to grant Kushner that type of clearance."

and he didn't have the guts to say NO??

[Alpeduez21]

17. Kelly had no problem

implementing the lazy lying steaming pile Hump's muslim ban. He is not a decent person.

[Kurt V.]

20. kelly is guilty too. he needs to face the music

[ancianita]

15. Yes, because the next stage is to channel continued shock into outrage and action. Shock is

Shock is only a first stage.

We need not beat ourselves up for not remaining shocked.

We're now operating in survival mode, and will continue to locate and excise the toxic parasites that have sickened the body politic.

[Alpeduez21]

16. it repukes who've lost thier

fortitude. I am appalled and disgusted by what they chose for America.

I am just waiting for the next elections so things can be put back in order. It is useless to point out to repukes how disgusting the lazy lying steaming pile Hump is.

They love him. He is a bigot and misogynist. Right up the repuke alley. I live in a very red district my senators are Dems but the congressman is a repukelican dumbass. I call and get form letter emails basically telling me why he thinks racism is good policy.

I think instead of giving repukes equal treatment they should be asked why they support a proven criminal for president. Why don't they care about this country?

[LibDemAlways]

21. The Democrats on the House Oversight Committee

witnessing the united Repuke attack on Cohen missed a golden opportunity to do just that. It would have been great to hear just one of the say, "I wish to note for the record that those on the other side of the aisle apparently have no desire to question Mr. Cohen on the conduct he is describing or the exhibts he has brought today. Apparently they have no desire to fulfill their Constitutional responsibility of oversight, which begs the question of why they are on this committee."

[PeeJ52]

19. I haven't lost it... I'm heading to Canada. I've had enough

[NewJeffCT]

24. we get several "shocking" Trump-related events every day

we get pummeled by them every single day - it can have a numbing effect.

Look at 2016 - it was Trump's several scandals/shocks a day versus Hillary Clinton and her emails/DNC emails. So, 200-300-400 Trumpian outrages that would tank a normal candidate were given equal footing to Clinton's one/two scandals.

[ffr]

25. I hope she accepts a position back in the AG's office after this is all over.

I want back all of the carrier assets we had in our government, before it was handed over to the Kremlin.

[CrispyQ]

29. No, we haven't. 66 million of us are shocked everyday at the travesty that sits illegally in the WH.

The republican party has lost it's way & puts party over country.