Today In Enablers

Bloomberg...

ICYMI Read my column on the gross campaign to portray Mike Flynn as a traitor before he has been charged w/ a crime https://t.co/rWdlHfS6Eo

— Eli Lake (@EliLake) May 27, 2017

Easily refuted by a non-Villager...

He took $$$ from a foreign power while advising a pres campaign, lied about it, then altered US policy to benefit that power when in office. https://t.co/Y0890aAT9D

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) May 27, 2017

Let's be clear: If an aide to Obama 2008 had been lobbying for a foreign power while sittting in on classified briefings, as Flynn did...

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) May 27, 2017

ABC...

We've had backchannel communications btwn Russians and a presidential relative before. In fact, quite successfully: the Dobrynin/RFK channel

— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) May 27, 2017

Not ABC...

Dobrynin was the Soviet ambassador. RFK met with him. The equiv here would be meeting with Kislyak, not sneaking over to use his radio room. https://t.co/CeP83Nnqzs

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) May 27, 2017

Furthermore, JFK was already president; RFK had government experience; the backchannel served nuclear disarmament efforts. To build trust, both sides had agreed to speak away from the interference of hawks in their respective countries. Now being used to justify secret self-dealing expected from Kushner-TrumpCo.

The important difference I think we need to hang onto is that this appears to be an attempt to evade detection/intercept by US intelligence.

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) May 27, 2017

Washington Post...

McMaster said "I would not be concerned" if admin staffer had backchannel comms with Russia. Says it allows "discreet" communications.

— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) May 27, 2017

Simple reporting? It advances a concocted story line, when in fact—

"backchannel communications" has never, ever meant using Russian communications equipment to avoid FBI detection, as Kushner requested https://t.co/OCSqyvB7Uy

— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) May 27, 2017

McMaster now putting the reputation of a lifetime on the line for a spoiled brat son-in-law who is in way over his head. Why? https://t.co/4hxbGmVbZo

— Elliott Lusztig (@ezlusztig) May 27, 2017

Today In Unindicted Co-conspirators

Kushner met with Russian banker who is Putin 'crony,' spy school grad https://t.co/bgWB3jqGWj via @nbcnews

— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) May 27, 2017

Today In The Hate Crime Presidency

2 fatally stabbed on Portland train after trying to stop man's anti-Muslim rants, police say https://t.co/HjggAzhK8O

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 27, 2017

Read this. Please. This is textbook domestic terrorism and textbook bad responses. If he had a black flag on that train, we'd've gone insane https://t.co/d4FxTdWXCO

— Patrick Skinner (@SkinnerPm) May 27, 2017

Jeff Sessions too busy cracking down on weed to look into this I'm sure. https://t.co/No9QCdFnKE

— Schooley (@Rschooley) May 27, 2017

Mutual Admiration Society

Does Trump aspire to his pal's greater openness? He surely admires it—

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte joked Friday that soldiers could rape up to three women, as he reassured them of his full support under his newly imposed regional martial law.
Duterte, who often peppers his language with man-on-the-street curses, made the comments in jest during a speech at a military base to lift the spirits of troops tasked with quelling what he says is a fast-growing threat of Islamist terrorism.

"For this martial law and the consequences of martial law and the ramifications of martial law, I and I alone would be responsible. Just do your work. I will handle the rest," he said.

"I will be imprisoned for you. If you rape three (women), I will say that I did it."

He is the law, so may well keep to his gruesome words. Unlike Mr. "Knock the crap out of them" counting on lawyers, to claim he never ordered any such thing.

Today In Unindicted Co-conspirators

Russian ambassador told Moscow that Kushner wanted secret communications channel with Kremlin https://t.co/hsHrA9fOMu

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 26, 2017

It's double-scoop time at WaPo —> @costareports reports Senate Intel Comm has asked Trump camp for ALL docs & emails https://t.co/STHJ5EZSWa

— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) May 26, 2017

One has to wonder if the Russians are the ones sharing this info 🤔 https://t.co/AGaCO6KaG1

— Naveed Jamali (@CatchaRUSSpy) May 26, 2017

Area Man Over Shares With Significant Other

Washington Post, breaking story: Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister and ambassador

The information the president relayed had been provided by a U.S. partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the U.S. government, officials said.

The partner had not given the United States permission to share the material with Russia, and officials said Trump's decision to do so endangers cooperation from an ally that has access to the inner workings of the Islamic State. After Trump's meeting, senior White House officials took steps to contain the damage, placing calls to the CIA and the National Security Agency.
...

The CIA declined to comment, and the NSA did not respond to requests for comment.

But officials expressed concern about Trump’s handling of sensitive information as well as his grasp of the potential consequences. Exposure of an intelligence stream that has provided critical insight into the Islamic State, they said, could hinder the United States' and its allies' ability to detect future threats.

"It is all kind of shocking," said a former senior U.S. official who is close to current administration officials. "Trump seems to be very reckless and doesn't grasp the gravity of the things he's dealing with, especially when it comes to intelligence and national security. And it's all clouded because of this problem he has with Russia."

In his meeting with Lavrov, Trump seemed to be boasting about his inside knowledge of the looming threat. "I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel every day," the president said, according to an official with knowledge of the exchange.

Trump went on to discuss aspects of the threat that the United States learned only through the espionage capabilities of a key partner. He did not reveal the specific intelligence-gathering method, but he described how the Islamic State was pursuing elements of a specific plot and how much harm such an attack could cause under varying circumstances. Most alarmingly, officials said, Trump revealed the city in the Islamic State's territory where the U.S. intelligence partner detected the threat.

The article has many more concerns from sources, including expectations that Russian will now use the intelligence for its own ends in Syria.

At a more fundamental level, the information wasn't the United States' to provide to others. Under the rules of espionage, governments — and even individual agencies — are given significant control over whether and how the information they gather is disseminated, even after it has been shared. Violating that practice undercuts trust considered essential to sharing secrets.

The officials declined to identify the ally but said it has previously voiced frustration with Washington's inability to safeguard sensitive information related to Iraq and Syria.

Regular reminder that the entire election turned on fake anger that Clinton had mishandled unmarked material at low-level classification.

— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) May 15, 2017

Truly one for the ages https://t.co/msf69IpEH3

— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) May 15, 2017

The real scandal here is that classified information is illegally given out by "intelligence" like candy. Very un-American!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2017

A Win

.@ACLU “An ugly chapter in voter suppression is finally closing.” https://t.co/qYhNI0oYjc

— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) May 15, 2017