With the assassination of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, followed by retaliatory air strikes at abandoned U.S. bases in Iraq, the Republican Party has once again found itself trying to pretend they are doing something resembling due diligence when it comes to their commander in chief. Sens. Mike Lee and Rand Paul made some headlines on Wednesday after they held a press conference saying that the briefing on the matter by the Trump administration to Congress was “insulting.” Sen. Lee went on to say that the briefing was the “worst” he had ever seen.
Pence made his way onto the news outlets Thursday, to do what he’s been doing since he got the phone call from Donald Trump three years ago, acting like someone committing treason. Speaking with Savannah Guthrie on NBC, Pence explained that the reason the Trump administration couldn’t provide a classified congressional briefing with actual evidence to justify assassinating General Soleimani was because no one can know the super special secret intelligence that only he and Donald Trump, and maybe someone else knows.
VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, some of that has to do with what's called sources and methods, Savannah. That if we were to share all of the intelligence—in fact, some of the most compelling evidence that Qassem Soleimani was preparing an imminent attack against American forces and American personnel also represents some of the most sensitive intelligence that we have—it could compromise those sources and methods.
This is quite a thing to say. While the Pentagon has very clearly said they believe that Iran’s response was most likely meant to lessen any human casualties, Mike Pence and Donald Trump have special intelligence that clearly the rest of the government does not yet have. It’s so special that even Republican stooges like Sen. Mike Lee cannot be told about it. But don’t worry, Pence is going to create a straw man rhetorical argument about what Mike Lee’s problem really is ...Yemen.
PENCE: I have tremendous respect for Senator Mike Lee. I recognize he's had a difference of opinion with our administration over self-defense measures the president authorized in Yemen. We'll welcome those debates going forward, but I can assure your viewers that those of us that have seen all the evidence, that saw the evidence in realtime, know that president Trump made the right decision to take Qassem Soleimani off the battlefield. America is safer. The world is safer now, even after the Iranian response. No American casualties and Iran is standing down.
This seems to be in regards to Sen. Lee’s support of a bill to end America’s military participation in Yemen. So, you see, this Mike Lee guy isn’t strong like Ox, the way Trump and Pence are. And while the Yemen war is another thing all together—and the bill Lee supported was pushed in March of 2019—this is somehow the reason why a guy that has called climate change an “elitist issue,” is freaking out about how dubious this administration is concerning the possibilities of starting World War 3. Guthrie followed up this question to once again ask about this super secret information that Trump and Pence used in their decision-making, especially since Trump has famously taken every chance he could to attack and demean and undermine the U.S. intelligence community.
PENCE: Well, I can tell you, in President Donald Trump, the American people have a leader that is always going to ask the tough questions, whether it be military personnel or intelligence personnel but I can tell you, I was there every step of the way, Savannah, and we were gathering intelligence in realtime that was brought to the president that Qassem Soleimani was planning imminent attacks in response to our air strikes on five Iranian-backed militia bases. He was planning imminent attacks that were larger in the region against American forces, and President Donald Trump put American lives and American protection first. He made the right decision and America and the world are safer today as a result.
Mike Pence is lying. Or, let’s say he isn’t telling the entire truth.* There’s a chance that someone like Stephen Miller or Sean Hannity mentioned that Soleimani is a person who could coordinate an attack on U.S. interests in the Middle East and that statement is being taken as “intelligence.” For all we know, Sebastian Gorka passed a note written with a Sharpie on the back of a TGIF placemat that said he thought Iran was going to attack Iraq.
But Pence has a precedent to lie and know he will face zero consequences. Last I heard, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George W. Bush, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice are all walking around free. In fact, this administration has been filled with people who have yet to be justifiably punished for their terrible actions in regards to our war in Iraq. Our current attorney general himself was brought in because of his reputation for helping corrupt administrations to cover-up their crimes.
* As in most of the truth is not being told.
