[snakeoil]

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Oliver Laughland
@oliverlaughland

Sunday 12 November 2017 12.59 EST
First published on Sunday 12 November 2017 11.04 EST

Two former US intelligence chiefs have said Donald Trump poses “a peril” to the US because he is vulnerable to being “played” by Russia, after the president said on Saturday he believed Vladimir Putin’s denials of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Trump says he'd never call Kim 'short and fat' in response to 'old' barb
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Former director of national intelligence James Clapper and former CIA director John Brennan issued a stern rebuke to Trump after the president called both men “political hacks” for their support of an intelligence agency consensus that Russia meddled with the US election.

“First of all, he was referring to us as political hacks because he was trying to delegitimize the intelligence assessment that was done,” Brennan told CNN’s State of the Union.

He added: “By not confronting the issue directly and not acknowledging to Putin: ‘We know that you’re responsible for this,’ I think he’s giving Putin a pass.

“And I think it demonstrates to Mr Putin that Donald Trump can be played by foreign leaders who are going to appeal to his ego and try to play upon his insecurities, which is very, very worrisome from a national security standpoint.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... e-agencies" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is dumb Trump. I'm sure the Intel community can figure ways to get back at you.

[johnforbes]

The Guardian is, of course, a Left Wing outfit.

Clapper and Brennan are, of course, Democrats who have said many anti-Trump things before and surely will again.

As to credibility, Clapper famously told us that builk info was NOT being collected on millions of Americans, which was a total lie as we now know.

They both assured the American people that Trump was not wiretapped, but it is now crystal clear that indeed he was (and at Trump Tower too).

Re intel agencies getting back at Trump, they already sought to do that.

Hillary paid for the fake dossier, which Comey apparently used to get the 2 FISA warrants which Loretta Lynch apparently signed off on.

What has been transpiring throughout 2017 has been the Deep State (intel agency holdovers) seeking to ruin Trump's presidency despite him having been properly elected by the American people.

[RealJustme]

Two former US intelligence chiefs have said

How are they going to get back him? They're no longer in the Government? In fact, they had better watch out what they say since they signed non-disclosure agreements and breaking them is a criminal act due the positions they held.

[sillydaddy]

Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me "old," when I would NEVER call him "short and fat?" Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and maybe someday that will happen!

President Trump at his best.....fucking with the media...! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[snakeoil]

The Guardian is, of course, a Left Wing outfit.

Clapper and Brennan are, of course, Democrats who have said many anti-Trump things before and surely will again.

James Clapper

James Robert Clapper Jr.[1] (born March 14, 1941)[2][3] is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force and is the former director of national intelligence. He served as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) from 1992 until 1995. He was the first director of defense intelligence within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and simultaneously the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.[4] Clapper has held several key positions within the United States Intelligence Community. He served as the director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) from September 2001 until June 2006.

John Brennan

John Owen Brennan (born September 22, 1955)[2][3] was the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from March 2013 to January 2017. He has served as chief counterterrorism advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama; his title was Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, and Assistant to the President.[2][4][5] His responsibilities included overseeing plans to protect the country from terrorism and respond to natural disasters, and he met with the President daily.[6][7] Previously, he advised President Obama on foreign policy and intelligence issues during the 2008 presidential campaign and transition.[8] Brennan withdrew his name from consideration for Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the first Obama administration over concerns about his support for transferring terror suspects to countries where they may be tortured while serving under President George W. Bush.[4][6] Instead, Brennan was appointed Deputy National Security Advisor, a position which did not require Senate confirmation.[4][6][9]

Brennan's 25 years with the CIA included work as a Near East and South Asia analyst, as station chief in Saudi Arabia, and as director of the National Counterterrorism Center.[4][6][10] After leaving government service in 2005, Brennan became CEO of The Analysis Corporation, a security consulting business, and served as chairman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, an association of intelligence professionals.[11]

Brennan served in the White House as Assistant to the President for Homeland Security between 2009 and 2013. As such, he was put in charge of the Disposition Matrix.

John, I think your being a bit hard on these two honorable public servants.

[johnforbes]

Not really.

Nothing in their educational backgrounds would seem remarkable; pretty much everybody successful in D.C. has at least a few college degrees.

As to honor, Clapper's statement was that there was no bulk collection of info on American citizens, and I applaud a Democrat Senator who asked him that awkward question in public.

But he lied about it, and we now know that pretty much every email and phone call is collected and analyzed.

As to Brennan, anybody who has actually listened to him testify would agree with my remarks above.

The simple fact is that, during the 2016 campaign, important and sensitive intel outfits got political.

We know now that Comey changed "gross negligence" upon apparently realizing that was the statutory definition of the part Hillary contravened, and he was drafting her exoneration letter BEFORE key witness info was even obtained.

We know Hillary paid for the fake dossier, and that Comey apparently wanted to pay for more garbage from Steele, and that apparently the fake dossier was used by Comey as a pretext for the two FISA warrants which Loretta Lynch reportedly signed off on.

I'd love the spy chiefs to be politically neutral -- NOT Democrat and NOT Republican.

But apparently those of us who wished for such things were naive.

[johnforbes]

Herewith two quick examples:

1) In March 2013, under oath, Clapper told Senator Wyden that there was no bulk data collected on millions of Americans. In June 2013, Snowden leaked and blamed the March statement for being so erroneous he felt he had to. Later that month, Clapper admitted that the NSA collected data on millions of Americans. To explain the lie, he said he had selected the "least untruthful" thing to say.

2) In March 2017, on "Meet the Press," Clapper said Trump had not been wiretapped. Today, of course, we all know that Hillary paid for the fake dossier, and that was apparently used by Comey to rationalize the FISA warrants, and that Trump's aides were indeed wiretapped and at the tower.