Ex-CIA chief criticizes Russia policy

[struggle4progress]

By Clare Foran, CNN
Updated 10:12 PM ET, Fri August 3, 2018

Washington (CNN)Leon Panetta, who was CIA director under President Barack Obama, criticized the Trump administration's response to Russia's election interference, saying in a CNN interview Friday, "I have never in my lifetime seen an administration that is presenting such a confused message when it comes to a national security threat" ...

The Trump administration's varied messages were on display Thursday when President Donald Trump decried what he referred to as the "Russian hoax" during a speech at a rally, just hours after his top national security officials warned the American public of the threat posed by continuing Russian attempts to influence US elections ...

"One is a message to the Russians and to his base. The message to the Russians is 'keep doing what you're doing,' and the message to his base is 'regardless of the facts, please stick with me and listen to me,' " Panetta said.

"The other message is one to the majority of the American people, which is that US policy remains the same, that it remains firm with regards to Russia and that we're taking steps to try to protect our country," the ex-CIA director said ...

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/03/politics/leon-panetta-trump-russia-national-security-cnntv/index.html

[Eyeball_Kid]

1. A vitriolic hatred of the GOP has GOT to be building. This nonsense must stop.

Trumpy is allowed to promote and encourage further Russian intrusions while his Cabinet plays clean-up, in a cycle that will never end for as long as the GOP leadership sits on their thumbs and does NOTHING. In point of fact, the GOP leadership's inaction speaks volumes for where their allegiance holds: RUSSIA. They took Russian money during the last election, so the Russians now have "kompromat" on perhaps dozens in Congress. They reason that, if they keep quiet, scrutiny will subside IF Trumpy's Russian coup prevails. If not, they're toast. And they know it. That's why they refuse to protect Mueller. It's the one way that they can thread the needle of avoiding criminal prosecution.

But news sources are surmising that Mueller will indict HUNDREDS, not dozens, in the biggest and deepest criminal investigation in US history.

Meanwhile, the rest of us are watching with dropped jaws. We are getting increasingly outraged at the GOP and Trumpy. The sentiment among non-believers of Trumpy is hardening. Soon, there will be no "undecided" voters left. It will be 29% Trumpy, 71% everyone else.