There has been a lot of information published on the Trump regime, and the GOP involvement in the investigation(s) underway, so while these two segments are not breaking news, they provide the opinions from two important sources.
One source that has testified before the senate intelligence committee; former FBI special agent Clinton Watts who provides his account from a different angle than that of FBI director Comey, and former senior director of the National Security Council Ned Price.
The Collusion (imo); employing “active measures” in political warfare:
— Rachel Maddow | March 31, 2017
Clinton Watts, former FBI special agent, talks with Rachel Maddow about how Donald Trump's parroting of Russian fake news and propaganda aided the Russian effort to interfere in the U.S. election.
Sabotaging of investigation(s) (more than my opinion):
— Rachel Maddow | March 31, 2017
Ned Price, former senior director of the National Security Council, talks with Rachel Maddow about concerns that the Donald Trump administration is actively working to interrupt or pervert the investigation into Trump campaign ties to Russia in the 2016 election.
Incompetence within the Trump regime sticks out like a sore thumb, and while that story of incompetence has topped headlines lately, and has more than a few republican politicians and beltway talking heads using this largely undisputed fact as an avenue to explain away a whole range of glaring connections between Russian backed meddling in elections..or as White House spokesman Sean Spicer has framed them, ‘unfortunate coincidences’, there is a much more plausible motive for the series of moves being made by the White House.
All of these tactics appear to be part of an effort to sever any link(s) between: a) the Putin regime and the White House: b) the White House interference in the ongoing investigations: and c) the investigation(s) and the facts being uncovered.
iow’s, obstruction on all three fronts
— Former senior director of the National Security Council Ned Price lists the general steps taken by the White House to launder their narrative:
• the White house wanted to add credibility to the Nunes documents which were supplied to Devin Nunes by the White House
• the White house wanted to obscure the source of the documents Nunes used in his presser
• the White House wanted to distract “from the unmitigated disaster that was the House permanent select committee on intelligence hearing last Monday in which director Comey admitted for the first time that there is an active, ongoing, counter-intelligence investigation that could well reach into the White House.. and frankly they succeeded…
“..if it hadn’t been so ham-handed they may have gotten away with it. But eventually this caper has caught up with them”
For more than a week, maybe longer (with the volume of surround sound bullshit @ 11, it’s getting hard to tell how long these days), Donald Trump was/is telling,.. shouting at anyone who would listen that he was deeply concerned about “leaks” and the threat those leaks represented to National Security.
I thought the interview with Ned Price laid the ground work for the complete de-bunking of the false narrative coming out of White House by exposing the Trump regime as the source and the launderer of their own leaks.
Former FBI agent Clinton Watts did an excellent job putting into plain language, his previous testimony before the senate intelligence committee.
• Methods and sources of hacking.
• Past and present ties between Trump and Russian sponsored propaganda
• How the Trump regime used foreign sources of propaganda to attack GOP presidential candidates to secure the nomination.
• Trump’s use of “active measures” —> non-passive deployment of propaganda and other tactics of aggression — generated by Russian sponsored sources and far right-wing fringe outlets that Trump parroted virtually word for word during his campaign attacking his republican rivals and then Hillary Clinton - and beyond.
• The demonstrated synchronization between these propaganda sources and the Trump campaign. (Roger Stone’s timed announcements as one example of this synchronized propaganda)
A lot of ground is covered that hasn’t had as much news coverage that needs more telling — imo
Back in February, ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) called for an independent 9/11 style commission to investigate Russian meddling in US elections and any ties to the Trump campaign.
Friday (3/31/2017) Rep. Cummings sent a letter to Trump administration officials demanding answers to a number of questions that need answering.
It seems to me, Rep. Cummings hasn’t a lot a faith in republicans in charge of investigating these matters. I share that skepticism. In addition to the current work being done, maybe it is time to put together an independent commission made up of members that do not “work for Trump” unlike Devin Nunes and speaker of the House Paul Ryan
once again President Obama was out ahead on this :)
with one last note on the importance of these investigations (imo): After a month or so reading up on the many layered corruption on display within the Trump regime, I’ve come to the conclusion that many if not a plurality of the executive cabinet member slots and appointments filled with republicans have links to a deep syndication of corruption that will be exposed as these investigations proceed (if they proceed with watchdog Dems with integrity like Adam Schiff & others continuing to keep track — that is):
A deplorable cabinet:
Mick Mulvaney,
Scott Pruitt,
Stephen K. Bannon,
Jared Kushner,
Betsy DeVos,
Steven Mnuchin,
Jeff Sessions,
Wilbur Ross,
Tom Price,
Alexander Acosta
(several of these names have 2 links to corruption each; first name and last name)
— and those are just a few. There are about 4 thousands government positions to fill