Spy Chief Dan Coats Goes 'Rogue' by Not Validating Trump's Russia Contradictions (2018)

[TomCADem]

Trump just fired his Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats. Dan Coats, as you know, was on Trump's shit list for not backing Trump's efforts to cover up for Putin.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/07/dan-coats-goes-rogue-wont-back-trumps-russia-claims.html?gtm=top

In the aftermath of President Trump’s disastrous performance at his summit with Vladimir Putin on Monday, familiar patterns have emerged. Anonymous White House staffers told Politico that White House morale is now even lower than it was after the last scandal, and some are eyeing the exits — though no one seems interested in resigning in protest. Top Trump aides tried to stake out a position that didn’t anger their boss, yet was still somewhat fact-based and inoffensive.

This is a nearly impossible task. For instance, at the Aspen Security Forum on Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen refused to say she agrees with the U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusion that Russia’s meddling was meant to aid Trump. Then she listed white supremacist violence, Russia election interference, and the Syrian civil war as three examples of situations where you don’t know where to place blame.

“I think what we have seen on the foreign influence side is that they were attempting to intervene and cause chaos on both sides, whether it’s in Charlottesville — both sides — whether it’s in Syria — both sides,” Nielsen said.

But one administration official decided not to follow this script — and now there’s speculation that he may face consequences for not bolstering Trump’s fictions.

[mopinko]

1. please sing all the way out the door, sir.