This latest Trump-Russia leak smells like a coup attempt

This latest Trump-Russia leak smells like a coup attempt

The latest Trump-Russia leak suggests that there is a sustained effort to remove him from office.
Trump has been sloppy and made many mistakes but this is tantamount to a coup.
The attempts to push Trump out of office may be illegal.

Jake Novak
Tuesday, 16 May 2017
11:37 AM ET CNBC.com

There is, indeed, a bombshell of a story coming out of the news that President Donald Trump revealed sensitive information during his White House meeting with Russian officials last week. But it's not that President Trump committed any crime. The really alarming news is that the duly-elected President of the United States appears to be the target of a political coup.

First, let's be clear: President Trump has been sloppy, arrogant, and just plain misguided plenty of times during his short tenure in office — including the way he handled the firing of FBI Director James Comey and the hiring and firing of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. And if he did unnecessarily compromise the source of the sensitive information he shared with the Russians, shame on him.

But a president cannot be removed from office for arrogance and sloppiness. The Constitution sets specific grounds for impeachment. They are "treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors." To be impeached and removed from office, the House and Senate must find that the official committed one of these acts.

Here's what I think is the bigger scandal: Someone at the highest levels of government has leaked information to the news media about President Trump's discussions with Russian officials. That's potentially a serious crime. And, this wasn't the first time.

What all of the leaked stories have in common is that they were immediately beset with multiple leaks from highly placed officials meant to deeply defame President Trump. Once again, it's important to note that a good deal of these leaks may, indeed, be illegal. The Espionage Act bans transmitting or communicating information "relating to the national defense" if the leaker believes the information could be used to harm the United States or aid a foreign nation. And it's hard to see how these many leaks aren't helping our enemies.

Where are these leaks coming from? When we look at the most likely sources, we find no real comfort. The first possibility is that someone close to President Trump himself is essentially acting like a mole in the White House. Remember that when the story broke Monday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, and Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell were all in the room with President Trump and the Russians last week and they all flatly denied the news reports. If one of them is saying one thing publicly and something else to contacts in the news media, that is certainly not encouraging.

Then-candidate Donald Trump indeed insulted the intelligence community during the election, and many have concluded that this is their plotted revenge.

Almost as bad is the possibility that someone on one of the congressional intelligence committees is the source of this and other leaks. It's one thing to use domestic policy or even overt foreign policy information to oppose a sitting president. It's another to compromise knowledge of intelligence briefing materials to do so.

Here's the kicker: None of this is actually working where it counts. Again, we have not one piece of evidence of any impeachable act. And it's not even truly working in the polls. President Trump's approval ratings may be lower than any modern president this early in his tenure, but they're still higher than they were throughout the election. If anything, these constant attacks coming from this obviously angry and potentially illegal place are only strengthening the resolve of Trump's base of supporters. They elected a guy they believed was truly the enemy of the established political class. And right on cue, the established political class is stopping at nothing to prove them right.

For all the things President Trump has said that have dragged down the level of our American political discourse, this sustained takedown effort is worse. And it's not clear how this is going to end. Unlike President Trump, the leakers remain anonymous and thus unaccountable. They can presumably go on forever. And President Trump doesn't seem like he's going to stop fighting back or irritating and threatening his political opponents.

But don't fool yourself into thinking this is OK or even tolerable. The bottom line is that we have some very powerful people in Washington who really don't like how democracy played out this time around and what they do to attack it next isn't going to be any better than what they're doing now.

Luckily the American people remain wisely circumspect about all of this. President Trump's polls aside, the voters are still giving him a decent shot to govern. And unaccountable people in Washington shouldn't be trying to make that decision for us.

Commentary by Jake Novak, CNBC.com senior columnist. Follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny.

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/16/this-...ommentary.html

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The really alarming news is that the duly-elected President of the United States appears to be the target of a political coup.

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Yes, that is exactly what it is. Create a false narrative that can be presented as treason or espionage, play it over and over and over and over again through the Corrupt Media and use it to demand a special prosecutor/special counsel to perpetuate it until the administration collapses under the strain without a shred of evidence to support the narrative.

Trump said today, he "respects the decision (appointment of special counsel) but the whole Russia thing is a witch hunt". But what was the reporting on it? "Trump calls special counsel a witch hunt." Trump didn't call the special counsel a witch hunt, he called the whole Russia thing a witch hunt.

The tragedy of this beyond the damage to our markets, business confidence, policies, and impact on jobs and fixing our country, is there are now 4 Americans, US citizens, under investigation by grand juries, Congress, FBI and US attorney offices related to the Russia narrative. They are Paul Manafort, Carter Page, Mike Flynn and Roger Stone. These are Patriots who supported Donald Trump for President so he could win the election and help US fix our country.

Unless we, as their fellow Americans, shut this down, they will be America's first political prisoners.

BINGO! mcmaster has traitor written all over his face..

BREAKING REPORT: 2 Names Released Of High Officials Trump Administration Who Leaked Info To Press [video]

May 18, 2017 By Kirsty Jane

An exclusive report claims the flood of leaks that have been plaguing the Trump administration have been coming from none other than National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster and Deputy National Security Advisor Dina Powell

The GotNews report says that 2 separate sources from the National Security Council have come forward to say that H.R. McMasters and Dina Powell both have been leaking negative information about President Trump to their anti-Trump media allies.
From GOP The Daily Dose

The sources feel that the Pentagon, under Mattis, has been working in conjunction with Senator John McCain to deny security clearances based on the bogus Russia investigation. Senator McCain was working alongside his close political ally James Comey when he was FBI Director. (via GotNews)

“It’s very hard when your boss, the President, and your boss, the NSC advisor, see the world so differently,” says one staffer, who opposes regime change in Syria.

Staffers on the National Security Council describe a culture of intimidation, especially for those who didn’t come in under McMaster and support the Trump campaign’s commitment to put America First.

“It’s like the Bush years never ended,” notes one staffer who didn’t come in under McMaster. “I didn’t sign up for this shit and the American people didn’t vote for it.”

The staffer also doubts that Democrats are to blame for withholding security clearances, especially for those with ties to General Michael Flynn. The Pentagon under Secretary Mattis has been working with Senator John McCain to deny security clearances over the fictitious Russia investigation.

Senator John McCain was working with his long-time political ally James Comey. That FBI background process may have become easier now that Comey is gone.

McMaster uses Powell to plant negative stories in the Washington, D.C. media, our sources tell us.

“We all know she slept her way to the top of NSC, working her way from the receptionist desk at Dick Armey’s office,” notes one NSC staffer. “She has zero qualifications and given her ties to Huma Abedin is a security risk.”

Dina Powell, who is often described as “The Republican Huma Abedin,” is a member of Vital Voices, an organization founded and co-chaired by Hillary Clinton.

Dina Habib Powell wants everyone to know that she used to bring leftover mloukhia to school for lunch and that she is a good friend of Hillary Clinton’s aide Huma Abedin, who worked with her husband at the Clinton-linked consultancy Teneo. Powell is also close to Valerie Jarrett.

http://eheadlines.com/breaking-repor...o-press-video/

https://youtu.be/4_W38W2vn2g

Haven't read anything more on the mcmaster/powell leakers - the story traces back thru 3 sites.

http://gotnews.com/wp-content/upload...40-740x400.png

https://gopthedailydose.com/2017/05/17/breaking-top-trump-officials-behind-anti-trump-leaks-media/

http://www.usatwentyfour.com/report-top-trump-officials-behind-anti-trump-leaks-media/

http://gotnews.com/busted-sources-co...i-trump-media/

I don't think it's McMaster, could be Powell. Trump will get to the bottom of it. I think he's already got some plans in the works and some of them may have even been put into play. We'll find out when he gets back from his trip. Just my opinion.

May 21, 2017 By Kristie McDonald
RED ALERT: It Is Evident Now That Trump Is Under Attack From Some In His Own Staff

It’s coming from inside the house. Throughout Trump’s presidency and increasingly in the past few weeks, leaks from staff members to the press are undermining the president.

The New York Times reported Friday exact details of Trump’s meeting last week with Russian officials. The report cited a document read to them by an “American official,” which summarized the meeting. “I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job,” Trump said, according to the report.
The Daily Caller reports,

The president then added, “I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off.” The White House did not dispute this account.
Shortly after this story broke, The Daily Beast quoted a senior administration official saying, “Every day [Trump] looks more and more like a complete moron.”
That same story included a Justice Department official saying that Trump’s comments about Comey can “absolutely” be considered obstruction of justice.
These represent just two of the many stories quoting administration officials that have attacked the president. These articles range from details on the ongoing investigation into alleged Russian interference in the election, to a Washington Post piece about how awful White House aides say it is to work for Trump.
Columnist Charles Krauthammer said on Fox News Friday: “What’s unusual is the Niagara of leaks coming out of this White House. As you said, this had to have been somebody in the room, somebody who took the notes, who picked up the phone and read the notes.”
“It’s a loyalty problem inside the White House,” Krauthammer added.
NBC’s Hans Nichols said Friday that the president is “dealing with something other presidents haven’t necessarily had to deal with. That is, a remarkable amount of leaking within his own administration.”
Prominent Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz described the leaks on CNN as acts of “civil disobedience,” and said that some have been illegal.
The Trump administration has yet to appoint nominees to 455 key executive branch positions, and Obama administration holdovers are still in control in many sections of the bureaucracy.
The Washington Free Beacon also reported that many Trump loyalists weren’t brought into the administration. Prominent Trump critics hold key positions, such as Brian Hook, State Department director of policy planning, and Helen Aguirre Ferre, the White House’s director of media relations.
Longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone recently said, “If you employ people who aren’t loyal to you, you can’t be surprised when they leak.”
Stone told The Daily Caller Friday that to solve the leaking Trump should order Attorney General Jeff Sessions to bring former national security adviser Susan Rice, former Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, and former FBI Director James Comey before a grand jury. “Subpoena Obama in front of the same grand jury,” Stone said.
He added that wiretaps should be placed on “suspected leakers – including [deputy national security adviser Dina Powell and national security adviser H.R. McMaster] and the scum [Trump] has surrounded himself with.”

http://eheadlines.com/red-alert-it-i...his-own-staff/