Update, 2/14/2017: Since this piece was written, NSA Flynn
resigned. Notably, the issue over which he reportedly stepped down is
not whether he spoke with the Russian ambassador about sanctions or not,
but whether he lied to the Vice President about his conversations. But
the facts of the original charge — that somehow Flynn’s original
interactions with the Russian ambassador were illegal — are as false
today as they were yesterday. The merits of Flynn as NSA and his
resignation can be debated, but the leak of highly classified
information by nine separate individuals remains the illegal act
described below.
A major crime has taken place. It relates to conversations between Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and the Russian ambassador.
Here is the crime as reported in the Washington Post:
Yes, you’ve got that right. Flynn spoke with the Russian ambassador, which is, and I underscore this (and CAPS for extra emphasis), PAR FOR THE COURSE. Campaigns as well as newly elected officials and their reps meet with foreign ambassadors often. Obama’s people did, and did so with the intent of undermining the outgoing Bush administration. Bush’s people did it when Clinton was leaving. McCain’s team did it, and they weren’t even elected. There’s nothing that stops people from meeting with curious foreigners, and there’s no law that forbids any American from talking to those foreigners. If that American was negotiating on behalf of the United States, then maybe — just very very maybe — they’re in violation of US law. But probably not, as again, talking with foreigners is not illegal. (The Logan Act suggests it is illegal for an unauthorized citizen to work with a foreign government to resolve a dispute with the United States. However, the notion that the charge of violating this act would survive a constitutional test, or that Flynn was collaborating against his own government, is far from proved, or even credible.)
Did Flynn misrepresent his contact with the Russians to Mike Pence? Did he say he never discussed sanctions? That is another question, and one to be resolved first and foremost within the administration. But…
What is illegal is leaking highly sensitive classified information about signals intelligence from spying on the Russian ambassador. And what also is illegal is the CIA spying, even incidentally, on Americans. This is not a maybe, or an if, or a sorta. It is ILLEGAL. The aforementioned nine officials should be found, prosecuted, and, if found guilty, imprisoned for leaking classified information. That they did so for political reasons is all the more despicable.
I am well aware that some will accuse me of shilling for the Trump Team. To them I say please go back and read my work. Those charges won’t stick. Nor will suggestions that Flynn somehow worked magic with the Russkis to get Trump elected. Even there, all Flynn seems to have suggested was the inadvisability of retaliatory sanctions against the United States. Go figure, that evil man, telling Moscow not to sanction us.
A coda: As we enjoyed our weekend, this story is joined in the headlines by what can best be described as yellow journalistic attempts to portray the recent round up and deportation of illegals as a new Holocaust, or something. While I cannot excuse the Trump executive order or the Nordstrom shtick or lots of other recent Trump depredations, the notion that he should somehow be tarred with this brush is too damn rich. Do you know how many illegals Obama deported? Do you assume that because he was so charming they turned themselves in, or do you reckon they were deported? Here is the fact, reported by ABC News:
Know your facts before you read. Check your sources. You can still disagree, but, at least for this Trump skeptic, the news this weekend was a real wake-up call.
A major crime has taken place. It relates to conversations between Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and the Russian ambassador.
Vice
President Mike Pence greets National Security Advisor Michael Flynn
before Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Donald Trump
arrive for their joint news conference at the White House in Washington,
February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts.
“The talks were part of a series of contacts between Flynn and Kislyak that began before the Nov. 8 election and continued during the transition, officials said. […]
Nine current and former officials, who were in senior positions at multiple agencies at the time of the calls, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.”
Yes, you’ve got that right. Flynn spoke with the Russian ambassador, which is, and I underscore this (and CAPS for extra emphasis), PAR FOR THE COURSE. Campaigns as well as newly elected officials and their reps meet with foreign ambassadors often. Obama’s people did, and did so with the intent of undermining the outgoing Bush administration. Bush’s people did it when Clinton was leaving. McCain’s team did it, and they weren’t even elected. There’s nothing that stops people from meeting with curious foreigners, and there’s no law that forbids any American from talking to those foreigners. If that American was negotiating on behalf of the United States, then maybe — just very very maybe — they’re in violation of US law. But probably not, as again, talking with foreigners is not illegal. (The Logan Act suggests it is illegal for an unauthorized citizen to work with a foreign government to resolve a dispute with the United States. However, the notion that the charge of violating this act would survive a constitutional test, or that Flynn was collaborating against his own government, is far from proved, or even credible.)
Did Flynn misrepresent his contact with the Russians to Mike Pence? Did he say he never discussed sanctions? That is another question, and one to be resolved first and foremost within the administration. But…
What is illegal is leaking highly sensitive classified information about signals intelligence from spying on the Russian ambassador. And what also is illegal is the CIA spying, even incidentally, on Americans. This is not a maybe, or an if, or a sorta. It is ILLEGAL. The aforementioned nine officials should be found, prosecuted, and, if found guilty, imprisoned for leaking classified information. That they did so for political reasons is all the more despicable.
I am well aware that some will accuse me of shilling for the Trump Team. To them I say please go back and read my work. Those charges won’t stick. Nor will suggestions that Flynn somehow worked magic with the Russkis to get Trump elected. Even there, all Flynn seems to have suggested was the inadvisability of retaliatory sanctions against the United States. Go figure, that evil man, telling Moscow not to sanction us.
A coda: As we enjoyed our weekend, this story is joined in the headlines by what can best be described as yellow journalistic attempts to portray the recent round up and deportation of illegals as a new Holocaust, or something. While I cannot excuse the Trump executive order or the Nordstrom shtick or lots of other recent Trump depredations, the notion that he should somehow be tarred with this brush is too damn rich. Do you know how many illegals Obama deported? Do you assume that because he was so charming they turned themselves in, or do you reckon they were deported? Here is the fact, reported by ABC News:
Between 2009 and 2015 [Obama’s] administration has removed more than 2.5 million people through immigration orders, which doesn’t include the number of people who “self-deported” or were turned away and/or returned to their home country at the border by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).That’s around 1,000 people a day.
Know your facts before you read. Check your sources. You can still disagree, but, at least for this Trump skeptic, the news this weekend was a real wake-up call.
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