Monday, February 05, 2018

Pardon Edward Snowden


“Ambivalent.”


That was my response at a 2013 dinner party when an old friend challenged me to sum up in one word how I felt about Edward Snowden informing the world that the United States government has the ability to spy on anyone who uses a digital device to communicate — virtually all of us.


Like me, many Americans were of two minds: dismayed that Snowden shared vital US intelligence with our enemies, but also grateful to learn that government can monitor every phone call, email, text, Facebook post we make. It can turn on our computers’ cameras and watch what’s happening. It can turn on microphones in our cell phones and hear whatever it’s picking up. It can locate any of us using our cellphones’ GPS function.


I’m not ambivalent anymore. Now I would urge President Trump to pardon Edward Snowden and let him return to the United States from Moscow where he’s been holed up for the last five years to avoid prosecution for treason. Snowden is a hero. Why?


After last Friday’s release of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) memo, I watched Oliver Stone’s movie “Snowden” during the making of which Stone collaborated with Snowden himself for accuracy. One horrifying scene depicted Snowden looking over the shoulder of another CIA hacker as he surveilled a Pakistani banker whose name Snowden had just given him. Using the capabilities Snowden revealed to all of us in 2013, the hacker then gathered information not only on the banker, but on everyone with whom the banker had any contact — and anyone with whom each of them had contact — in an ever-widening network.


The hacker started by watching the banker’s sister get undressed in her bedroom through the camera on her laptop she had left open on her desk. Then he went into the daughter’s Facebook account and those of all her friends. Facebook messages revealed her sexual activities with a boyfriend whose own account revealed that he was having sex with two other girls as well — also that the cheating boyfriend and his mother were living illegally in Geneva, Switzerland.


The CIA leaked that information to get the boyfriend deported whereupon the daughter had a nervous breakdown. Agents used additional information from the ever-broadening surveillance to totally screw up the unfortunate banker’s life. Snowden was horrified, but he continued using his computer hacking skills to benefit the CIA for years before he finally resigned in 2013 and told the world what was happening.



We may assume the intelligence community’s spying capabilities are even more powerful five years hence but here’s the kicker: the extent of surveillance on that poor Pakistani banker Stone’s “Snowden” movie depicted was also applied to Carter Page, the low-level Trump campaign volunteer on whom the Obama FBI and DOJ obtained a FISA warrant.

NSA Headquarters

It wasn’t just any FISA warrant; it was a “Title I” FISA warrant. According to conservativetreehouse.org, the difference is: 

‘Title I’ FISA surveillance of U.S. citizens is the most intrusive, exhaustive and far reaching type of search, seizure and surveillance authority, permitting the FBI to look at every scintilla of Mr. Page’s life.  All communication, travel and contact can be opened and reviewed. All aspects of any of Mr. Page’s engagements are subject to being secretly monitored. This is an entirely different level of surveillance authority, the highest possible, and has nothing to do with FISA-702 search queries (Title VII) of U.S. persons.”


conservativetreehouse.org goes on to explain the potentially explosive significance of Title I: 

Labeling [Carter Page] as a foreign agent allowed the FBI to look at every single person he came in contact with; and every single aspect of their lives and their activities in growing and concentric circles; without limits to current time or historic review. The “Title I” designation as a foreign agent applied retroactively to any action taken by Mr. Page, and auto-generates an exponential list of other people he came in contact with.  Each of those people, groups or organizations could now have their communication reviewed, unmasked and analyzed by the DOJ/FBI with the same surveillance authority granted upon the target, Mr. Page.” [emphasis added]

From Conservativetreehouse.org

In other words, everyone in Trump Tower after October 21, 2016 could be surveilled. This Title I FISA warrant was obtained by the same Obama DOJ and FBI officials who “investigated” and cleared Hillary Clinton in her private email scandal during the campaign. The HPSCI memo tells us they used opposition research paid for by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee in the form of the unverified Trump dossier. It’s no stretch to assume the Obama FBI and DOJ knew everything going on in Trump Tower two weeks before the election and during the transition. Did they share that information with the Clinton campaign and President Obama?


President Trump: How about pardoning Edward Snowden and doing a joint press conference?

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

How often the fictional accounts written by the better, immortalize fiction writers
ultimately comes to fruition.
Orwell of course, but there's a few with "fake news, Nationalised Central Control "health", collapsed metropolitan folk stalking any "urban" animal for food,
-Strieber&Kunetka.
Remote access to 'puters and phones, banking,utility, merchants, (must be easy to plant "bad", criminal worthy stuff too) cars,appliances, home security, children's toys, and the binary digital cross list of any connections. "Selectively" of course.

The images of cascades of ones and zeros on monitors in films with futuristic Political Science themes seemed implausible,only to find they weren't even CLOSE to the volumes of "Clouded" data in real life.
I'd LIKE to think that the black box data center at NSA was the unique depository.
Again, not even CLOSE.

But not to worry. All of this is in the hands of top men,... TOP. MEN!
Like Mr. Snowden, and Twitter, and Facebook, and Google, EACH with their OWN army of
"just a couple of rogue agents" (Lois Lerner), and the foreign crew Ms.Wasserman-Schultz hired to access the intimate details on all SORTS of folks.(Hope there's no blackmail going on THERE!)
Look up your credit rating, look yourself up on "the dark web", register for a free
weekend in Miami, and even here.
"Anonymous"? Really? (Not to mention the site just previous to "clicking" here)
If you think "da gub'mint" is scary with all this, wait 'til "It's easy when you know how" from criminal interests, perhaps with political cysts that preparation H just can't help, "discover" how to open car doors with a coat hanger.

I've noticed that my new HP wireless notebook has no screws to access the innards.
And no way to remove the internal battery.
Don't think for a SECOND I'm sharing my secret tuna/salami melt recipe on the inter-web-o-sphere
CaptDMO



Brian said...

Wow, we agree on Snowden, he should have no fear of prosecution.

As for your stance on the Trump investigation, it's hard to tell your exact position. Are you arguing that evidence against Trump was obtained "inappropriately"? Like a lawyer for a rapist/murderer might argue that the police mispronounced a word while reading his rights, so the scum should be released? And I'm not even giving that much with Mueller, I have seen NO sign of misconduct.

"It’s no stretch to assume the Obama FBI and DOJ knew everything going on in Trump Tower two weeks before the election and during the transition."

OK let's take that goofy statement bit by bit. First - "the Obama FBI"? Get it straight, it is America's FBI. And then, props to Obama for appointing a REPUBLICAN as director of the FBI. Can you imagine Trump nominating a Democrat to the position? Now, don't forget the fact that current FBI director Wray is a Trump appointee. Trump appointed the boss and said the rank and file are great people. There seems to be a disconnect with the "unfairly biased" picture that desperate people are trying to paint.

The dossier was paid for by the "opposition"? (We'll ignore the real origins of it). Oh my, I guess it should be ignored then, despite the fact that NOTHING in it has been disproved. That is like saying that if a family member of a murder victim found pieces of evidence, they should be ignored. No, they should be examined for truth as any other evidence that surfaces should. Trump defenders are sounding more and more like OJ Simpson defenders screaming. "ooh, look the gloves don't fit, the gloves don't fit! OJ is being framed!"

About the memo....a lot of evidence was gone over and a little bit was cherry picked. How are you ok with the attempt to NOT release the whole story, to not give full context to the obviously misleading original memo? Republicans are now not even pretending to fight fair about this. Hiding something, are we?

The memo was like Geraldo going into Al Capone's vault. All build-up, then nothing. If only Geraldo had Fox News and Hannity & Co. at his side back in the day! They would have convinced people that the greatest discovery in the history of discoveries was actually in that vault!

It wasn't that long ago that any hint of collusion with the "Evil Empire" would be taken very seriously, partisan politics be damned. That, along with the solid proof of Russian meddling with our election would have all true patriots frothing. Yet now even the President of the USA will not even acknowledge what happened!! "Hey, comrade Putin said he didn't do it. Who to believe, our enemy, or the upper echelons of U.S. law and order?"

Wake up.

Brian said...

White House officials and others close to President Donald Trump insist he will rely on the input of law enforcement and intelligence agencies as he decides whether to declassify a memo from Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee.

HUH? Hilarious coming from the guy who ignored the advice of the very same people NOT to release the first stupid memo!!

Anybody want to defend Trump on this one? I didn't think so.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait until the piss videos get released

Tom McLaughlin said...

Don't hold your breath Anonymouse. They don't exist and never did. You've been duped.

Anonymouse said...

Much of the dossier has proven to be true, none of it proven to be wrong. What are you basing your hunch on? That it doesn't seem "Trump-like"? (Oh, does it ever!) And it would explain the obvious hold that Putin has over him. I'm not counting on ever seeing them (nor would I want to, unless it was him getting pissed on), but I think deep down you would not be the slightest bit surprised that the event did indeed happen. All signs point to it being true, with nothing suggesting the opposite. God, it must be hard trying blindly to defend this "man".

Brian said...

I love how Tom had no defense over any of the many issues I schooled him on, yet quickly leapt to the defense of Trump getting peed on! Awesome!

Tom McLaughlin said...

Anonymouse writes: "Much of the dossier has proven to be true..."

Oh yeah? The only part so far proven to be true is that Carter Page traveled to Moscow in July, 2016. Who the dossier claims he met with while there is wrong.

"...none of it proven to be wrong," he continues.

There are too many things proven wrong to list, so here's just one: The dossier claims Trump's attorney Michael Cohen met with Russian operatives in Prague, but Cohen's passport proves he's never been there. Cohen is suing Buzzfeed and others who published the dodgy dossier for defamation.

The dossier is completely unverified at the very least. Even lying Jim Comey admits that.


Anonymouse said...

Cohen’s passport would not show any record of a visit to Prague if he entered the EU through Italy, traveled to the Czech Republic, and then returned to his point of EU entry. A congressional official said the issue is “still active” for investigators.

So how is it proven to be wrong that he went there?

Verified: Former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page met with representatives of Russian state-owned oil giant Rosneft.

Verified: The Kremlin targeted educated youth and swing state voters during its cyber attacks in the 2016 campaign.

Verified: Trump maintains ties to rich businessmen from Azerbaijan.


So, much of the dossier has been verified, and none is disproven. So odds would indicate most (perhaps not all) of the rest is true. After all, it is coming from a reliable source:

His colleagues rallied to defend him. “The idea his work is fake or a cowboy operation is false – completely untrue. Chris is an experienced and highly regarded professional. He’s not the sort of person who will simply pass on gossip.”

“If he puts something in a report, he believes there’s sufficient credibility in it for it to be worth considering. Chris is a very straight guy. He could not have survived in the job he was in if he had been prone to flights of fancy or doing things in an ill-considered way.”

That is the way the CIA and the FBI, not to mention the British government, regarded him, too.

But keep clinging to your dreams that he didn't get pissed on.

Anonymous said...

https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/fact-check-trumps-dossier-tweet-full-of-dubious-claims

Peter said...

For the sake of argument, let's ignore all the lied about secret meetings that the Trump circle has had with Russia, and the indictments, and let's take "collusion" off the table. Now, let's assume that even the most biased of Trump supporters accepts the fact that Russia, without a doubt, meddled in the U.S. election. My question to Tom, and all Trump supporters, is:

How are you alright with the fact that Trump ignores this and doesn't call for himself, let along fully cooperate with, an investigation to get to the bottom it? It seems to be a serious matter concerning national security, does it not? How are you willing to dismiss it all on Putin's word? If this were reversed and Muslim countries had meddled to help Obama, you would be acting the same way? I would call BS on that.

I have never hear a Trump defender explain this. Please do if you can.

Tom McLaughlin said...

Anonymouse: Maybe he could have entered through Italy which was stamped on his passport. However, Christopher Steele, or the Russians who were feeding him information, or both, had the wrong Michael Cohen. It wasn't the attorney working for Trump.

Peter: Yes, Russians interfere with our elections and always have. Obama was informed of it and did nothing. Neither have other presidents that we know of. The United States has interfered with elections in foreign countries since early in the 20th century. Most recently, President Obama spent at least $60,000 of our tax money trying to prevent the reelection of Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel.

Let Meuller investigate Russian interference in our elections, but his charge, via Rosenstein, is to investigate Trump collusion with Russia against Hillary. He has some leeway to follow tangents as well. If he follows wherever the facts lead, he would have to include Russian collusion with the Hillary Clinton campaign against Trump. Russia/Clinton collusion is what comprises almost the entirety of the Steele dossier. I've read it. Have you?

Peter said...

I'm not sure what you mean about the "wrong" Cohen. The facts were that "Italy" was stamped in the "right" Cohen's passport at the "right" time.

You say "Obama was informed of it and did nothing". The Obama administration learned in summer 2016 that election-related hacks could be traced back to the Russian government. Soon after, at the September G20 Summit in China, Obama personally confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin and told him to back off. Then-CIA Director John Brennan gave a similar warning to his Russian counterpart, Federal Security Bureau Director Alexander Bortnikov, during an August phone call. On Oct. 7, the Obama administration publicly identified Russia for the first time as being behind election-related hacks, issuing a joint statement from Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence.

The Obama administration took its most significant actions against Russia after Nov. 8. In late December, Obama ordered 35 Russian diplomats and suspected intelligence agents to leave the United States, and he also imposed narrow sanctions on some Russian individuals and organizations.

Meanwhile, Trump has ignored mandatory sanctions against Russia, and has cleared them in his mind of wrong-doing because Putin smiled at him and said he didn't do it. Who exactly is the one doing nothing?

I'm sure that Mueller is investigating all angles, including Hillary. Keep in mind that it was Mueller who most likely cost Clinton the election with his last minute release of information. If they find her guilty it is perfectly fine by me though. I'm not a big fan. So let's just let Mueller do his job remembering that Nixon said in his one year state of the union that the investigation against him had gone on too long.

Brian said...

The courts have upheld the 25 million dollars Trump must pay for being a dishonest scumbag who duped people into paying tuition to his Trump "University". Now he has moved on to duping over 40% of the population. Fool me once....

Peter said...

Yes, I realize I accidentally said Mueller released the letter than hurt Hillary, but the point remains the same with Coomey. There is no evidence of political bias in the FBI's investigation.

Anonymouse said...

How could Tom have been so naive to think that Obama "did nothing"? Because he heard it on Fox? Because the Liar-in-Chief said it? He claims to listen to various news outlets, but listening and dismissing facts that don't fit what he wants to believe is a waste of time.

And he has to understand that "opposition funded" is a meaningless red herring. I am not sure if Tom is one of the many gobbling up these red herrings, or worse yet, one of the hucksters throwing them out.

He seems to have tried the lame argument that the tampering in our election is really no big deal because it has happened before. So has murder, should we just ignore it from now on because "it happens all the time"?

Anyway, he seems to have given up his weak position.

Anonymous said...

Our fit, 239 pound Liar-in-Chief?

Tom McLaughlin said...

Obama knew about Russian meddling for nearly a year but did nothing. When Trump won the election, however, he pretended to have a hissy fit over it -- but not until the transition when he was a lame duck. Obama did the things Peter described above only to set up the Trump/Russia collusion narrative which has dominated Trump's first year.

Now, however, it's all blowing up. As wayward FBI agent Peter Strzok put it: "There's no there there." His girlfriend, FBI atty Lisa Page, said POTUS wants to know everything after Obama denied he ever asked anything about what DOJ or FBI were investigating.

Peter said...

As I outlined in an earlier post, The Obama administration did not sit idle while Russia interfered in the election, as Trump makes it seem. (And as Trump himself is doing). The administration publicly named the Russian government as the culprit, confronted Putin in person, and worked to secure the country’s election infrastructure — all while the intelligence agencies investigated the issue.

Claiming Obama acted simply to set up the Trump/Russia connections seems awful silly. What should he have done then, ignore it all? Of course not. Take even stronger actions? Would that have make the Trump/Russian connections go away. I'm not sure where you are coming from with this.

What Trump is (not)doing is actually worse than nothing. He is ignoring mandatory sanctions, which is Constitutionally troubling. How are you ok with that?

Anybody trying to claim there is "no there there" after the many, many lies about secret meetings with Russians from Trump's circle that have been revealed, along with the criminal charges and indictments that have already come, is just trying to blow smoke.

Let the investigation continue no matter how Trump tries to obstruct and fire people, and we will find out what else is really there. Again, there is no way you would be trying to make the same defenses if it looked like Obama or Clinton were the ones in hot water. This should have nothing to do with partisan politics.

Anonymous said...

Brian said "Trump is sounding more and more like Kim Jon-un, Putin, and the rest of the dictators he wishes he were like."

And now he wants a North Korea/little dictator country like military parade! Does he want them to train in high-stepping or goose-stepping too? Don't you just know that Trump so wishes he was a real dictator instead of just pretending to be one in this ultimate reality TV show of his.

Brian said...

From here on out there can be no "outrage" against a prolonged investigation from Trump defenders. At least until Trump is questioned by Mueller. Because we all know that is the only thing that will draw this thing near to a close. But the good news is that Trump might ignore the desperate pleas from his lawyers and advisees, who realize that Trump cannot not lie. There is no doubt that in a real interview, face to face, man to man, Trump couldn't control his pathological lying and perjuring himself if he was under oath. Will he try and squirrel out of being under oath, despite his promises? Who knows, whatever he thinks will get the highest TV ratings/whatever best strokes his ego. The state of the country is further removed from his mind.

At this point The Donald has got me! This is going to be some interesting, real high ratings television coming up!! The true King of Reality Television!! It's got me more interested than the Game of Thrones finale.

Anonymous said...

The former Navy SEAL who fired the shot that killed Osama bin Laden is blasting President Donald Trump's desire for a military parade down Pennsylvania Avenue.

"A military parade is third world bullsh--. We prepare. We deter. We fight. Stop this conversation," Robert O'Neill tweeted Thursday.

Tom McLaughlin said...

Let the Mueller investigation continue as long as it goes where the facts lead, like to the Clinton Crime Family Foundation, a corrupt FBI and DOJ, to President Obama, Hillary Clinton, as well as whoever in the Trump campaign/administration may have been involved, but as Strzok said before he was removed: "There's no there there."

The dossier is almost entirely demonstrative of Democrat collusion with Russia and you'd know that if you read it. They paid for it.

Peter said...

The "corrupt FBI and DOJ"? If the Mueller investigation does uncover some, then fine, I would be glad it's caught if it exists. If not, such talk is just Trump-like excuse making. I read the dossier. Your "collusion" talk is smoke-blowing, excuse making hogwash. Again, who cares who paid for it? What everyone should care about is if it is true or not. Period. Much has been proven to be fact, the rest we are not sure about, but so far odds would indicate most of it probably is. I guess you can base your whole hunch about nothing being there on some random dude's comment (even though, as I pointed out, there has been a lot of "there" already proven and charged/indicted, so just cut the "nothing" BS)

But it sounds like overall we are in agreement. Let the investigation take it's course and see all that is discovered.

Anonymous said...

Aw, that unpatriotic, treasonous Navy Seal! Just let the big toddler have his shiny, ego-stroking parade so he can feel like a real dictator.

Tom McLaughlin said...

"Much has been proven to be fact"? Please tell me what.

I'm with O'Neill on the parade.

Peter said...

Holy smokes, this is frustrating. i already DID tell you what. Let me cut and paste my own comment you should have already read:

Verified: Former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page met with representatives of Russian state-owned oil giant Rosneft.

Verified: The Kremlin targeted educated youth and swing state voters during its cyber attacks in the 2016 campaign.

Verified: Trump maintains ties to rich businessmen from Azerbaijan.

Now you tell me what has been disproved. You tried once and I pointed out that it wasn't proof.

Tom McLaughlin said...

I already told you about the wrong Michael Cohen. Trump's' attorney Cohen was at USC with his son on the date in question.

As for what you say is verified, so what? Page was in the petroleum business. Trump is doing business all over the world. The rest of the dossier is second and third-hand information that cannot be verified or disproven. It's garbage, which is why no media outlet would touch it until Buzzfeed published it, saying it was unverified. It still is.

And it wasn't "some dude." it was the FBI's lead investigator.

And it matters who paid for it. Democrats tried to hide that using a law firm who then used a straw. The FBI itself offered to pay for it. Director Comey said it's all unverified. Give up on the collusion stuff. Mueller has.

The FBI was duped. It's all a ruse to get Trump out of office and it's not going to work. He won. Deal with it.

Anonymous said...

Depends on who you believe, of course.
Doj/FBI corruption roads lead to one destination.
http://www.breitbart.com/radio/2018/02/09/tom-del-beccaro-corrupt-doj-fbi-roads-lead-obama/
SOMEBODY'S speaking with forked tongue!
http://granitegrok.com/blog/2018/02/obamas-snaking-trail-treason-scandal
CaptDMO

Steve said...

You're trying to have it both ways with Strzok's texts. His original texts critical of Trump were proof to Republicans the investigation was a partisan conspiracy, but now his texts critical of the investigation are also proof of a partisan conspiracy. It makes you look like you're grasping at anything to make your case.

But my larger point, is you’re running out of institutions to believe in. You can’t trust the media. You can’t trust academia. You can’t trust science. Now you can’t trust the department of justice and the FBI. I posted this, with some revisions, a few months back. This link shows the party composition of every Congress going back to 1855 through 2017. https://www.infoplease.com/history-and-government/us-government/composition-congress-political-party-1855-2017 From the 97th congress through the current 115th congress – excluding Independents – we elected 943 Democratic Senators, 943 Republican Senators, 4364 Democratic Representatives and 3993 Republican Representatives. When you also factor in current Republican control of state legislatures and Governorships, the trend clearly favors Republicans. Given the party composition of government over the last four decades, do you really think these ubiquitous institutions are populated with millions upon millions of political vigilantes conspiring within their ranks to hamstring Republicans and advance Democrats, or is it possible the conservative opinion media found a profitable and winning narrative in the victimhood card that everyone is conspiring against Republicans. The numbers just don't support the paranoia that all the the levers of power and influence are flipped against Republicans.

Peter said...

When you have to try and make a big deal out of this guy making a comment PRIOR to joining the investigation, then it seems you are on weak ground. What stock should be given to a "gut sense" of one man before investigating?

You can "So what?" the dossiers verified information if you want. But I don't see why you wouldn't care about Page holding secret meetings in Moscow with Igor Sechin, a Putin ally who is the head of Rosneft, and vehemently lying about the meeting. I don't see why you wouldn't care that a hostile nation would use cyber attacks to spread misinformation campaigns during our election. These things, despite your denials, ARE verified. And you still haven't explained why it matters who compiled the dossier. You haven't explained why you think whether it is true or not is not what is really important.

If it makes you feel better to pretend that this is all just some "ruse", then go ahead. But what it seems to most of the world is that it is a much needed check into Russia's involvement. Yes, Trump won. Maybe because of Russia's meddling or because of the FBI's releases just prior to the election, we will never know. So yes, we are all dealing with it now, unfortunately. Now you need to deal with the fact that part of dealing with it is a legitimate, well run investigation, and prepare yourself for what may come, good or bad, without excuses and conspiracy theories.

Brian said...

If Strzok came out now, after the investigation has already uncovered what it has, and said he still thinks is gut feeling was right, then it would be worth your mentioning. But now he wouldn't, and couldn't, make that statement because some "there" has already happened - many lies about secret meetings and of course the charges and indictments. And Mueller hasn't even interviewed Trump yet. I wonder if you were one of the people defending Nixon a year into the Watergate investigation. Or was that back in your liberal days, before you lost your heart, soul senses?

Peter said...

There were a couple of great letters to the Boston Globe on this subject. They speak better than me, so I would copy and paste the whole thing, but I have just the real "paper", and I'm too lazy to retype it all. One was from a school principal who had a great take on "taking sides". He talked of having a discussion with a family going through a bitter divorce, and the father accusing the principal of taking the side of the mother, and how he thought schools shouldn't take sides. The response was "That's false. We always take sides - we are on the side of the child." Republicans are trying desperately to claim Mueller is taking the side of "Anti-Trumpers", because they fear what he many find, or already knows. Mueller IS taking a side. The side of the Constitution and the rule of law, as he should. If that seems "unfair" to anybody that has something to hide about Russia, or the ones already swept up in the investigation (Flynn, Manafort,etc), then they can cry and whine in vain.


The other letter brings up the "outright refusal, obscured by the smokescreen of the Nunes memo, to enforce sanctions against Russia that were almost unanimously passed by Congress (98-2 in the Senate, 419-3 in the House). it ends in saying : "Whether or not Trump has betrayed his own countrymen in dealings with Russia, failure to enforce the sanctions passed by Congress (and that he himself signed) is a dereliction of duty.

Imagine the furor and over the top anger there would have been from the far right had Obama ignored sanctions on some Muslim country! No one can doubt that. So, once again, this should not be a partisan issue. This is a protect our country issue.

Anonymous said...

I think Tom has finally surrendered to facts, common sense and decency.

Anonymous said...

It looks as though Trump has also given up trying to defend himself fairly and/or rationally, now forced to pretend he can't release the democrat's memo for the very same reasons he ignored to release the Republican's!

Fun also seeing him add on to the cretinous people he defends (Aw, poor Porter is sad now) Wife beaters now joins child rapists, murderous despots, and sexual assaulters. Any words of empathy or comfort to the victims of domestic violence? Nope. Sick fat bastard.

Brian said...

I can see now why Tom usually avoids trying to defend his columns with some "I'm busy trying to write my book" nonsense, because when he does give it a try, like in this case, he falls so flat.