Tag Archives: Sergey Kislyak

A City Of Two Tales …

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Law and justice, Political commentary

Saturday Surprise is on hiatus this week for mysterious, undisclosed reasons.  Mis disculpas.

Washington D.C. … so much goes on there these days that it sucks the air out of the rest of the nation.  Every day there are more and more stories of lies and corruption.  Today I bring you two tales from that city … one encouraging, one discouraging.

There are conscionable republicans?  Who knew?

In Thursday’s Snarky Snippets post, I mentioned an organization, Republicans for the Rule of Law (RRL) who are planning a 30-second ad calling for Trump’s impeachment (the ‘I’-word) that will be aired on none other than Fox and Friends, Trump’s favorite show, next week.  Curiosity piqued, for I had never heard of this group, I went in search of more information about RRL.

On the “About Us” section of the group’s website, they state …

“Republicans for the Rule of Law is a group of life-long Republicans dedicated to defending the institutions of our republic and upholding the rule of law. We are fighting to make sure that the laws apply equally to everyone, from the average citizen to the president of the United States. We believe in fidelity to the Constitution, transparency, and the independence of prosecutors from politics.”

On Thursday, RRL announced that it would hand-deliver a copy of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report to every lawmaker in the republican party.  In a letter to lawmakers, the group said …

“As Republicans and conservatives, we consider an uncompromising commitment to the rule of law in the best interests of both the Republican Party and the United States. With this pre-highlighted copy of the Mueller report in hand, all Republicans in Congress will have an easy defense against charges of not having read it.”

Along with the letter and highlighted report, Republicans for the Rule of Law released a video with three GOP-appointed federal prosecutors claiming Trump would have been indicted if he were not president.  These three men, all republicans, all having worked under republican administrations, make a clear and concise case that Donald Trump is, in fact, guilty of obstruction of justice.  Take a look …

Chris Traux, legal advisor and spokesman for Republicans for the Rule of Law, said …

“The rule of law has always been a nonnegotiable principle of the conservative movement and the Republican Party. These veterans of the Reagan and Bush Administrations are reminding us that the law applies the same to everyone — even the president. Republicans and all Americans need to listen.”

The 30-second ad to be aired on Fox and Friends is said to be a clip from the above video.

I find it encouraging that there are republicans who are willing to put country first, for it seems that with the lone exception of Representative Justin Amash, none of the republicans in Congress are willing to do so.  My hope is that this group and their actions can stir the consciences of at least a few of the republican members of Congress so that we might proceed with the impeachment of Donald Trump, for it is increasingly obvious that he is taking our nation down a path of destruction.

But … it’s a court order, for Pete’s sake!

In early May, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ordered that the Justice Department make public various materials related to the case against Michael Flynn, Trump’s first National Security advisor. The order included transcripts of any audio recordings of Flynn, such as his conversations with Russian officials, specifically Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, as well as unredacted version of portions of the Mueller report related to Flynn.

These requests by Judge Sullivan were not subpoenas from Congress but were a direct order by a court of law.  And guess what, folks?  The United States Department of Justice under Attorney General William Barr refused to comply with that court order.  Prosecutors Brandon L. Van Grack and Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Curtis of Washington provided little explanation as to why they were not turning over the transcripts but indicated that the judge had asked for material that was not relevant to Flynn’s eventual sentencing.

The Justice Department did provide one of the items the Judge ordered … a full transcript of a voice mail that John Dowd, a private attorney for Trump, left for Flynn lawyer Robert Kelner in November 2017.  But guess what?  It was fully quoted in Mueller’s report anyway.

So, let’s recap here.  The House of Representatives is conducting an investigation as is not only their right, but their constitutional duty, and as such, they are issuing requests and subpoenas for information, but the Trump, Barr, Mnuchin and others are flat out refusing to provide such information.  Michael Flynn, who served only 24 days as Trump’s national security advisor because it was proven he had lied to the FBI about the nature and content of his communications with Kislyak, has been tried, found guilty, and is awaiting sentencing.  The judge in the case asks for relevant information, but Trump’s hand-picked, corrupt Attorney General refuses the order.

Law.  Either we have one or we do not.  What do you think would happen if you were subpoenaed to court and didn’t show up?  What do you think would happen if a policeman pulled in behind you, lights flashing, and you kept going?  That’s right, folks … the law applies to us.  Obviously, at this point, it does not apply to the officials in the federal government.  Can there be any doubt that this is the most corrupt government in the 230+ year history of this nation?

Now go forth and have a lovely weekend!

More Bits ‘N Pieces from Filosofa’s Mind …

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Free Press Issues, Political commentary, Social commentary

I had too many ideas piling up in my mind, and there simply wasn’t any more room to store them, so this morning I decided to do one of my Bit’s ‘N Pieces posts …

A Freudian Slip?

A Twitterer with the moniker of @ProudResister posted this tweet:

“The solution is simple. Roy Moore: Step down from the race. Al Franken: Resign from congress. Donald Trump: Resign from the presidency. GOP: Stop making sex ual assault a partisan issue. It’s a crime as is your hypocrisy.”

Nothing too unusual there, right?  But what is unusual is that it was re-tweeted more than 1,900 times, and one of those re-tweeters was by none other than the Department of Defense at the Pentagon!

PentagonPentagon spokesman Colonel Rob Manning said in a statement that an authorized operator of the Defense Department’s official Twitter site “erroneously retweeted content that would not be endorsed by the Department of Defense. The operator caught this error and immediately deleted it.”  Hmmmm … maybe … or perhaps it was a Freudian Slip?

@ProudResister, meanwhile, has seen unprecedented traffic on his Twitter feed and some fun comments:

  • When PROUD RESISTER 👊 calls for the President of the United States to resign and the Pentagon retweets it! #RESIST
  • Woah, @ProudResister, you got retweeted by the @DeptofDefense. The internet is forever, DoD. And yes, @realdonaldtrump should #resign.
  • Congrats to my friend, @ProudResister, for the pick-up today by the US military!
  • @ProudResister is my friend ffs. He is posing with me in my Twitter profile pic. Hey Pentagon RT this:#ResignTrump
  • .@ProudResister I’m sure you’re proud of yourself, and still laughing your ass off- I know I am DoD retweets his tweet calling for #ImpeachTrump Will they tell 45 that they were “just joking”?🙃

And on it goes, but you get the idea.  I still say it was no accident.

Did They Forget About Freedom of the Press?

Roy Moore has been headline news for weeks now, and it is much to my surprise that anybody continues to support him, but some do, including the religious leaders in his state. Faith2Action president Janet Porter introduced Moore at the start of a conference in Birmingham Alabama yesterday:

“Ladies and gentleman, I present to you the hero of the day, our valiant leader Judge Roy Moore.”

Somebody quick … bring me a bucket!  Has nobody told these people that Moore has not been a judge since he left the judiciary last year after being suspended for failure to uphold the law?

And this from Alan Keyes, chairman of Renew America and a former Senate and presidential candidate:

“I stand with Judge Roy Moore, because he never leaves God out. Roy Moore stands on the premise that when you come to strip away a man’s rights, you spit in the face of God. If that’s what they’re doing to him, if when the rights of your representative are stripped away, what is the logical conclusion? That you’re rights are stripped away, that your rights are gone.”

The speeches praising Moore and denigrating his detractors went on for a full two hours, and even a Rabbi got in on the act.  But what I find most galling is that the media was largely blamed for the accusations against Moore and told by religious leaders to “hush”!

Flip Benham, the evangelical leader of Operation Save America, told the media present during his address, “Your knee is gonna bow, and you’re gonna confess, you have no choice. Hell is a place you choose to go!”  Say WHAT???

At the beginning of the conference, the event planner informed reporters that organizers “have requested no questions about any of the allegations”. When the question and answer portion arrived, the first question came from a CNN reporter who asked Moore whether or not he had touched any of the women who have alleged he sexually harassed them in some way. Moore’s supporters yelled in anger. “He’s already answered that,” said one. “Hush,” said another. “Stop lying,” said yet another.

A second reporter asked a similar question, at which point Moore and his wife Kayla stood up and exited the room, and the press conference came to an abrupt halt. “You were told not to ask about that,” a woman supporting Moore said angrily to the CNN reporter. “You make me sick,” another woman said to him.

And then Alan Keyes jumped on his soapbox and berated the press:

“You refused to stop your abuse. Asked, and answered, again and again. He could answer that question a thousand times, and if a thousand accusations were made, he could answer every one a thousand times and you would prove yourself a liar.”

And a supporter, Ginger Barbee …

“You were asked to ask questions about the issues, the issues about our country. You were not asked to ask personal questions about Mr. Moore. We wanted to hear what he had to say about the issues, and you did not allow it because you are the fake, lying news from the swamp.”

Ahem … excuse me, people, but is not the job of the press to ask the tough questions?  And is not Freedom of the Press covered under the very same Constitutional Amendment as Freedom of Religion?  Enough evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Moore exists to convince even the Republican National Committee to withdrew their support of Moore, and both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan have requested that he step down. Mr. Moore’s blind-faith followers may know a lot about their religious tome, but they need some lessons on the Constitution!

And if I had any doubts whether he still had a loyal following, I guess those doubts have been put to bed.

A List Too Long …

Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak appearing in a television interview with state-owned Russia-1, stated that he would not even attempt to name all of the Trump officials he met with because … wait for it … the list is so long that it would take him more than 20 minutes.  I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

Kislyak

Sergey Kislyak

A Large Unemployment Check …

On October 29th, Juli Briskman was photographed giving the middle finger to President Donald Trump’s motorcade during a weekend bike ride in Virginia.  The photo went viral and on the following Monday morning, Briskman, who worked for a federal contractor, Akima, felt that she ought to give a ‘heads up’ to her boss, since she was spattered over much of the internet.  Her honesty earned her a termination of her employment.

girl on bikeShe says she does not regret what she did and stands by her actions.  Good for her!!!  It is not against any law that I am aware of to flip off a jerk who just happens to be in the White House.  But, the reality is that Ms. Briskman is a single mother of two and needs income.

Enter a man named Rob Mello, of Hudson, Massachusetts. Mello created a GoFundMe campaign to support Briskman and her family.  As of Wednesday afternoon, the account had raised over $100,000 from over 4,000 donors and had been shared more than 10,000 times!

Hmmmm … I wonder if I ….

And thus concludes another episode of the bits ‘n pieces from my mind.  I think you can see that it is rather like a messy closet in there, yes?  Have a great day, friends!

silly grin

 

And The Pile Of Lies Grows … As Does Pinocchio’s Nose

Posted on by under Global Issues, Political commentary

In my post yesterday, A Session with Sessions , I claimed in no uncertain terms that I firmly believed Jeff Sessions lied under oath on Tuesday, 13 June 2017.  I was fairly confident at that time that proof of his lies would be forthcoming, but I had no idea that it would come so soon.

On Tuesday, Jeff Sessions testified, under oath, that he did not believe he had any contacts with lobbyists working for Russian interests over the course of Trump’s campaign. Today, two days later, Richard Burt, a lobbyist who has represented Russian interests in Washington, confirmed that he attended two dinners hosted by Jeff Sessions during the 2016 campaign.

Not only that, but Burt advised then candidate Trump on his first major foreign policy speech, a role that brought him into contact with Sessions personally. The speech on which Mr. Burt corroborated was delivered … wait for it … at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington on 27 April 2016, the very date that Mr. Sessions denies having had any contact with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Well, he actually said he ‘doesn’t remember’ any conversation with Kislyak … I suppose there is a difference.

According to a report by The Guardian …

“Burt, who previously served on the advisory board of Alfa Capital Partners, a private equity fund where Russia’s Alfa Bank was an investor and last year was lobbying on behalf of a pipeline company that is now controlled by Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled energy conglomerate, first told Politico in October that he had been invited to two dinners that were hosted by Sessions last summer, at the height of the presidential campaign.

Sessions, a former senator for Alabama who was chairman of the Trump campaign’s national security committee, reportedly invited Burt so that he could discuss issues of national security and foreign policy.”

Mr. Sessions … do you know the meaning of the word ‘perjury’?

Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser whose interactions with Russia are under FBI investigation and who is known to have been a liaison between the Trump campaign and Russian officials last year, said he found “the entire line of questioning to be near the pinnacle of witch hunt tactics. In the grand scheme of things, the severe civil rights abuses by Clinton-Obama-Comey regime carried out against myself and other supporters of the Trump campaign in their illegal attempts to influence the 2016 election will help clarify how irrelevant all these petty side-questions are.”

Who knew there was even a “Clinton-Obama-Comey regime”?  And who knew they were on a witch hunt to bring down poor Mr. Page and the Trump supporters?  Mr. Page, it should be noted, has written or is writing a book.

Truth:  that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality; a fact or belief that is accepted as true.

The concept of truth, of fact, has been blurred or completely lost in Trump’s world of alternative facts.  We can never believe a single word, without first checking to confirm the veracity, that is emitted from the mouths of Trump and his minions.  The dwindling number of Trump supporters still claim to believe, to hang on his every word, but … are they trying to kid us, or are they trying to convince themselves?

In less than five months, Trump, Sessions, Tillerson, Kushner and the rest have turned what was once a fairly stable democracy into a shambles, a joke.  There is no transparency, there is not even any longer a pretense of operating the government ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people’.  We The People have been shoved aside, not important in the grand scheme of things. Donald J. Trump is not a president, but a wanna-be king, and his hopes are that the likes of Vladimir Putin can help him find his crown. His goal was never to “make America great again” … it was always to “make Trump rich again”. And if achieving that goal requires lies, corruption, scandal and other crimes against the nation, so be it, for Donald aims to have his way.

lies.jpgLike an animal caught in a trap, Trump is lashing out at his critics.  On Thursday, he again tweeted that he was the victim of a massive “witch hunt”.  I know I am tired of hearing his “oh poor me” tweets of woe, but apparently even some of his own are tired of it.  Republican Senator John Thune was asked on “Morning Joe” Thursday if Bob Mueller is a man of integrity and whether he had done anything so far in the conduct of the investigation that lead him (Thune) to believe Mueller is conducting a witch hunt.  Thune’s response:

“No, he is a man of integrity, Mark, and he needs to be able to do his work. And I think it’s better for all of us if that work continues. It’s — obviously he is going to get to the bottom and he is going to find the facts, and I think that’s his role. And I think we ought to let him continue to do that and I assume at some point there will be an end to all this. He’ll have done his investigation and there will be whatever findings there are.”

Even Trump lapdog Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could not support or defend Trump’s tweet, saying only, “I typically don’t comment on the president’s tweeting habits.”

I have nothing but pity and contempt for any who still believe, or claim to believe, the lies of Trump, Sessions and the rest, for they are the ones who wrought upon this nation the utter chaos under which we are now forced to live, and they have only themselves to blame for the destruction of our democracy, our society, and our sanity.

Breaking News: President Shared Classified Data With Russians

Posted on by under Political commentary

Last Wednesday Trump met with top Russian officials in the Oval Office. The Russian press was allowed in, the U.S. press was barred. This was noteworthy in and of itself, but in light of today’s news, it is more than highly suspect. Trump gave away highly classified information to the Russians on that day. Gronda, as I knew she would be, was on top of the story when it broke this afternoon in the Washington Post, and her post sums up everything we know to this point. This is too important to let slide by, so please take a few moments to read Gronda’s excellent post. I am sure she will update us as more information becomes available. Thank you for your excellent work, Gronda!

Gronda Morin

LAVROV/ TRUMP/ KISLYAK/ TASS WAS PRESENT/ IF ANYTHING UNTOWARD WAS SAID, RUSSIA HAS A TAPE RECORDING

The republican President Donald Trump seems to be on the downward roller coaster ride of self-destruction and the ride hasn’t ended yet.

Remember all the fuss republicans raised about the democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton having possibly placed classified data at risk while she was Secretary of State (2009- 2013) because she had used a private server to transmit and receive work product emails. Her intent to do this was never proven because as per the state department’s protocol, any classified data was supposed to have already been separated out to be used via other secured systems. As audits have proven in the past, a certain percentage of the data that Hillary Clinton worked on with via her private server would be retroactively marked classified and in this case, 3 pieces slipped through which had…

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Bye-Bye Bannon …

Posted on by under Global Issues, Political commentary, Trump's Staff Picks

The Federal government is now filled with newbies who do not understand the jobs to which they have been assigned, do not understand governance, and are highly unqualified for the positions they occupy.  This includes the president, vice president and nearly all cabinet members, as well as other advisors.  They came into office thinking they would make their own rules as they went along, but after nearly three months, they are finding that actions have consequences, and appear to be floundering like fish out of water, while at the same time trying to cover their foibles and give the appearance that this is all part of some grand plan.  Today’s ‘breaking news’ is further evidence of this.

Almost immediately after his inauguration, Trump announced a move that was considered by many to be both dangerous and stupid.  He reorganized the National Security Council by elevating his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, and demoting the director of National Intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

nscThe National Security Council was established in 1947 by President Harry Truman.  Its primary function is to advise and assist the president on national security and foreign policy issues. It was created because policymakers felt that the diplomacy of the State Department was no longer adequate to contain the USSR in light of the tension between the Soviet Union and the United States.

bannon-2

Steve ‘Breitbart’ Bannon

Steve Bannon, who has been considered Trump’s closest advisor, is a member of the alt-right, a known racist, white-supremacist, neo-Nazi, islamaphobe.  He is the ‘former’ CEO of Breitbart, though most speculate he is still calling the shots there.  He has absolutely zero experience in governance, and nothing in his background qualified him for a position on the Principals Committee of the National Security Council.

Today, Bannon was removed from the National Security Council, and theories about the reason are not in short supply.  The Joint Chiefs chairman and intelligence director are having their roles as “regular attendees” of the Principals Committee restored.  So … what prompted this move?  It depends on who you ask.  Here are a few:

Steve Bannon:  “Susan Rice operationalized the NSC during the last administration. I was put on to ensure that it was de-operationalized. General McMaster has returned the NSC to its proper function.”

Amy Siskind: “BREAKING: Bannon is off the National Security Council! If I’m a betting woman, with the world in chaos, I’d bet McMaster finally told Trump my way or I’m gone!”

Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labour, Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley:  “Trump reorganized his National Security Council today, removing his chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, from the NSC’s principals committee. Translated: Bannon screwed up so badly on the healthcare bill that Jared and Ivanka have maneuvered to reduce Bannon’s influence on Trump, at least for the time being. But the White House continues to be such as cesspool of back-stabbing intrigue and chaos that Bannon could be back any moment.”

David Rothkopf, CEO and editor of the FP group, which publishes Foreign Policy magazine: “I think if you give somebody with no experience and a political agenda, and a dubious one at that, a permanency, it casts the on-demand participation of the chairman of joint chiefs and director of national intelligence in a very different light, because it’s saying, ‘We are not prioritizing professional expertise; we’re prioritizing political agenda.’ “

A number of White House officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Bannon’s sole purpose on the NSC was to keep an eye on (former) National Security Advisor, Mike Flynn, who was terminated within days of accepting his position due to lying about conversations he had in December with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.  This explanation makes no sense, because if Trump did not trust Flynn and felt he required a watch dog, why did he choose Flynn in the first place?  However, I have quit looking for anything coming out of this administration to make sense, so who knows?

McMaster

Gen. H.R. McMaster

My opinion has no more merit than any of those listed above (except Bannon, as he is speaking the party line), but for what it is worth, I believe National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster may have convinced Trump, either with logic (who am I kidding???) or with threat of resignation.  Before McMaster was selected to replace Flynn, Retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward was selected, but turned down the position because it was made clear that he would lack any degree of autonomy, and not even be allowed to select his own staff.  Perhaps McMaster has taken a tough stand on this issue, and it is certainly understandable why he would not want Bannon, who has nothing to contribute, taking up space on the committee while the important people take a backseat.

McMaster is one of the very few people in this administration who is both qualified for the position and seems to be of good character.  Even a majority of Democratic senators voted to confirm him last month in a vote of 86-10.  I was first impressed by McMaster in February when he pushed back against Trump’s insistence on using the term “radical Islamic terrorism”, saying it is not helpful to the U.S. in working with allies to defeat global terrorism.  It said that he has the courage to stand by his convictions and to stand up to Trump.

We may never know exactly what drove the strange scenario as to why Bannon was given a place on the Principals Committee, then removed less than three months later, but I cannot help wondering if this may signal a cooling of the relationship between Trump and Bannon.  If so, that can only be seen, I think, as a good thing.  Bannon is a loose cannon, a self-professed Leninist who has said he wants to “bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.” 

cautionOne word of caution … let us not get so distracted pondering the causes and effects of Bannon’s removal from the NSC that we take our eye off the ball … the main issue … the Russian connections between Team Trump and Team Putin.

trump-putin

Jeff Sessions – The First Fateful Three Weeks – Part II

Posted on by under Global Issues, Political commentary

It is apparent that Trump’s hand-picked ‘team’ has a problem with their collective noses … they cannot seem to keep them clean.  The latest in the team to scramble in the world of CYA is none other than Jeff Sessions.  During Sessions’ confirmation hearings in January, he took an oath to answer questions put to him with honesty.  Since the scenario I am about to discuss is tangled with the scenario of the Russian hackers, the investigation of said hackers, ties of Trump’s team to the Russian government, and the case of Mike Flynn, I thought it might be helpful to put together an abbreviated timeline to help clarify (the New York Times has put together a much better, more detailed timeline which I encourage you to look at also)

Timeline for the purpose of clarification:

  • 03 March 2016 – Trump announces Jeff Sessions will lead his national security advisory committee.
  • 18 July – 22 July 2016 – Sessions talks with Russian ambassador to the U.S., Sergey I. Kislyak and a group of other diplomats after an event at the Republican National Convention/
  • 08 September 2016 – Then Senator Sessions meets privately with Kislyak at Sessions’ office in the Senate Office Building.
  • 10 January 2017 – Under sworn oath, Sessions is asked by Senator Al Franken what he would do if “there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this campaign.” Sessions replied: “I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign, and I didn’t have — did not have communications with the Russians, and I’m unable to comment on it.”
  • 17 January 2017 – Sessions, still under oath, is asked to complete a written set of questions prepared by the committee. Among the questions is one from Senator Patrick Leahy asking whether “he had been in contact with anyone connected to any party of the Russian government about the 2016 election, either before or after election day.” Sessions replied, “No.” 
  • 08 February 2017 – Despite opposition from Democrats and some Republicans, Sessions is confirmed as Attorney General.
  • 01 March 2017 – The Washington Post breaks a story  that AG Sessions had met twice with Ambassador Kislyak last year. Sessions responds to the Post story by saying, “I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false.”
  • 02 March 2017 – Congressional Republicans begin breaking ranks and joining Democrats in demanding that Mr. Sessions recuse himself from overseeing an investigation into contacts between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. At a 4:00 p.m. press conference, Sessions announces he is recusing himself from any investigations related to the Trump campaign, saying now, “I don’t recall”, whether Mr. Trump or the presidential election, which was then two months away, came up in the discussion with the ambassador.

It would appear that members of Trump’s inner core have a severe problem with not only their noses, but also their memories. We are reminded of Mike Flynn’s downfall last month when it was discovered that he had communicated with Ambassador Kislyak on 25 December regarding the as-yet-unannounced U.S. sanctions against Russia.  First, he claimed he only called Mr. Kislyak to with him a “Merry Christmas”.  Then his story changed to “I might have mentioned sanctions … I really don’t remember”.  And then, it was proven that he had, in fact, discussed upcoming sanctions and more.  Flynn was forced to resign in disgrace.  Will Sessions’ fate be similar?

There are two salient points here:

  1. Jeff Sessions, the most senior enforcer of law in the nation, lied under oath
  2. Jeff Sessions had contact with a member of the Russian government twice during an election which, it has been proven, the Russian government conspired to sway.

Do I have proof that Sessions was a part of the wider conspiracy to turn the election in favour of Trump?  No, of course not.  Presumably, at this point, neither does anybody else, including the intelligence community.  However, the appearance of impropriety cannot be denied.

Opinions on both sides have been swirling madly today, some saying that he didn’t lie, because he {claims} he did not discuss anything related to the campaign.  This is splitting hairs, folks.  If I ask you if you ate the last of the chocolate ice cream this morning, and you actually ate it last night, so you simply say “no”, you have still falsified, or at the very least withheld information.  Sessions, if not trying to fabricate or conceal information, would have mentioned the two occasions on which he had met with Kislyak and stated the purpose of those two meetings.  It is called ‘transparency’.  It is called ‘honesty’.  It is called ‘integrity’.  All of these are qualities I want in the man who ultimately decides how laws will be enforced, a man who is the chief law enforcement officer AND chief lawyer for the nation.  We can nitpick, split hairs, and argue verbage for days, but the reality is that Jeff Sessions was not completely honest, and therefore does not belong in the position he is in.

A member of Trump’s administration said, “Sessions met with the ambassador in an official capacity as a member of the Senate armed services committee, which is entirely consistent with his testimony.” Two points here.  Yes, it may well be that Sessions, as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, had justifiable cause to meet with Ambassador Kislyak.  However … in that case, why hide the truth?  The lack of transparency here is deeply disturbing, leads to much speculation, and is taken, at least by this writer, as a sign that Sessions is hiding something, a sign of dishonesty.

Had he not recused himself this afternoon, Sessions would have led the investigation into the connections of Trump and his advisory team and their connections with Russia during the campaign.  There is a lot of room for ethics violations and outright dishonesty, cover-up worse than Watergate, and breach of trust here.  Even Representative Jason Chaffetz, the Utah Republican who played a significant role in the electoral loss of Hillary Clinton, said earlier today, “AG Sessions should clarify his testimony and recuse himself.” 

Sessions made the right decision in recusing himself from any investigations into the Trump campaign and the Russian government, but is it enough?  There are calls from Democrats in and out of Congress for Sessions to step down, to resign his position.  I agree with those who believe he should do so, in part because his nomination to that position has always disturbed me based on his blatant and inherent racism, but also because this latest episode of dishonesty disturbs me even more.  If he lied about one thing, we must ask the question, what else is he lying about, or to what lengths is he willing to go to obscure the truth?  In the three short weeks he has been in office, he has already stomped on LGBT rights by rescinding protections for transgender students, and tromped on the civil rights of African-Americans and other minorities by announcing his intent to stop monitoring police departments with a history of racial bias and related police brutality.  The Russian connection is only the latest in a series of acts that prove he is not the right man for this job.  The job of U.S. Attorney General requires somebody who is honest, is compassionate, is dedicated to following the letter of the law with compassion and humanity, and above all has the courage of his convictions.  Jeff Sessions is none of these things.

So yes, I do believe Sessions needs to resign, but we need to learn from the experiences of Flynn and Sessions and demand better choices from our government, demand that Congress be more dedicated to the good of the whole, rather than the benefit of the few who fill their coffers.

There may yet be a Part III of this post in a day or two, once the dust has had time to settle from the two-day whirlwind chain of events.  Time will tell.

 

The Plot Thickens …

Posted on by under Global Issues, Political commentary, Trump's Staff Picks

flynnOne of Trump’s cabinet picks that I have not written about yet is National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn.  I did not intentionally neglect him, but there are only so many hours in a day, and I simply had not gotten around to him.  Turns out, I should have. Flynn, a retired United States Army lieutenant general, served 33 years in the U.S. Army.  Trump named him to be National Security Advisor, a position which does not require the advice and consent of the Senate. Concerns about Flynn began almost immediately, for his purported close relations with Russia, and for his role in the smear campaign against Hillary Clinton, using fake news and conspiracy theories in an attempt to discredit Ms. Clinton.

Having already proven that he is not above playing dirty pool, it should come as no surprise that he may have significantly breeched a code of conduct and broken the law on Christmas Day, 2016, during a conversation with the Russian ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.  That a conversation between Flynn and Kislyak took place on December 25th is verifiable fact.  The content of the conversation is what seems to be in dispute, and much is yet unknown.  However, I am a firm believer that when there is a lot of smoke in the house, you ought to call the fire department.  First, Flynn claimed that he only called Kislyak to wish him a “Merry Christmas”.  Then, it was said by the Trump transition team that the two discussed arrangements for a phone call between Trump and Putin.

Note that this was at a point during the final days of President Obama’s administration when he had a tough decision to make.  It had been confirmed that Russia was behind the hacking of the DNC and releasing confidential information that may have affected the election.  As of December 25th, President Obama had made the decision to impose sanctions on Russia, but had not yet done so.

Now comes the part that is not, as yet, verified, but that may well be a smoking gun.  According to nine “unnamed current and former national security sources”, Flynn allegedly gave Kislyak a ‘heads up’ that President Obama planned to impose sanctions, but not to worry, as Trump would remove them once he took office.

In January, Mike Pence stated that the two “did not discuss anything having to do with the United States’ decision to expel diplomats or impose censure against Russia.” Then as recently as Wednesday, Flynn was asked twice whether he had discussed the sanctions with Kislyak, to which he responded both times that he had not. Then the very next day, Thursday, Flynn’s spokesperson said that Flynn, “indicated that while he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn’t be certain that the topic never came up.”  He cannot remember if he discussed the forthcoming sanctions or not. This is where the trouble starts.

putinFour days after the conversation between Flynn and Kislyak, President Obama announced the sanctioning of Russian intelligence officials, expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats suspected of being spies and shutting down two Russian facilities in the United States. Many expected Putin to respond angrily and with retaliation, but instead he simply said, “It is regrettable that the Obama administration is ending its term in this manner. Nevertheless, I offer my New Year greetings to President Obama and his family.” It was puzzling, at the time, almost sinister, but if he already knew of the sanctions and knew they would soon be lifted, that would explain a lot. Trump, of course, condemned the president and praised Putin.

The FBI continues to investigate, and even if it can be proven that Flynn did, in fact, discuss the sanctions with Kislyak, the outcome is still uncertain. I cannot speculate. Flynn served under President Obama as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency until his firing (or resignation, depending on which version you read) in 2014, amid controversy about his chaotic management style (a good fit with his current boss, yes?).  Under another president, Flynn would likely be ousted if the accusations prove true, but under Trump, even the political analysts are not predicting what will happen.  Trump will almost certainly attempt to put some positive spin on the whole thing, but first you can bet that he will call it all ‘fake news’ by a ‘biased media’.  Meanwhile … stay tuned …