Trump, Mocking Claim That Russia Hacked Election, at Odds with G.O.P.

[riversedge]

Trump, Mocking Claim That Russia Hacked Election, at Odds with G.O.P.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/10/us/politics/trump-mocking-claim-that-russia-hacked-election-at-odds-with-gop.html?smid=tw-nytpolitics&smtyp=cur&_r=0

By DAVID E. SANGER

DEC. 10, 2016


WASHINGTON — An extraordinary breach has emerged between President-elect Donald J. Trump and the national security establishment, with Mr. Trump mocking American intelligence assessments that Russia interfered in the election on his behalf, and top Republicans vowing investigations into Kremlin activities.

Mr. Trump, in a statement issued by his transition team on Friday evening, expressed complete disbelief in the intelligence agencies’ assessments.

“These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction,” Mr. Trump’s team said, adding that the election was over and that it was time to “move on.”

Though Mr. Trump has wasted no time in antagonizing the agencies, he will have to rely on them for the sort of espionage activities and analysis that they spend more than $70 billion a year to perform.


At this point in a transition, a president-elect is usually delving into intelligence he has never before seen and learning about C.I.A. and National Security Agency abilities. But Mr. Trump, who has taken intelligence briefings only sporadically, is questioning not only analytic conclusions, but also their underlying facts.

“To have the president-elect of the United States simply reject the fact-based narrative that the intelligence community puts together because it conflicts with his a priori assumptions — wow,” said Michael V. Hayden, who was the director of the N.S.A. and later the C.I.A. under President George W. Bush............................

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Adding links

https://twitter.com/SangerNYT

https://twitter.com/nytimes

[MBS]

2. Wow is right.

I can't see how failing to attend intelligence briefings, then mocking the quality of information supplied by intelligence agencies (when he hasn't even bothered to pay attention to the information in the first place) , will end well for the Orange One.

This is a travesty of a transition. It betrays not only Trump's lack of executive skills and, with his appointments and nominations, a shameless favoring of the Wall Street and crazy-far-right interests and a shameless disregard for conflicts of interest, constitutional protections, science, facts, and environmental stewardship: it also betrays his fundamental lack of respect for the presidency, for democracy, and for this country.

[Bill USA]

3. "Did that sound good Putie?"

[font size="+1"]"You're a good little pet, Donnie."[/font]

[neeksgeek]

4. I'd just like to point out...

The CIA and other American intelligence agencies didn't unequivocally say "Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction." They said he wanted them. They also said he didn't have much capability to implement those programs. It was George the Younger and his crew who made those claims, twisting and omitting evidence as needed to fit their established plan to invade Iraq.

http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2011/12/leadup-iraq-war-timeline

[Buckeye_Democrat]

5. Trump biographers described his nature months ago.

In addition to this better known description of Trump's behavior by Tony Schwartz...
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all

When challenged about the facts, Schwartz says, Trump would often double down, repeat himself, and grow belligerent.

There were also warnings from five other biographers here:
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/04/donald-trump-2016-campaign-biography-psychology-history-barrett-hurt-dantiono-blair-obrien-213835

Blair: Whenever I went to interview him, I always felt like a failure, because he would never say anything. It would just be blather. He would say how great he was, and then I would then get more blather. And that is how he talks on the campaign trail. People always ask me, “Is that how he really is?”

Hurt: Yeah, that’s how he really is.

O’Brien: When you hold his feet to the fire on a fact pattern, he does not handle it well.You saw this a little bit in one of the debates, when the Fox host started putting slides up on him. He melted. He actually looked like he was melting.