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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"Jesus Christ, he treated the PDB like a kiddie picture book":
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@RadioFreeTom
Jesus Christ, he treated the PDB like a kiddie picture book
Jeff Stein
@SpyTalker
Toward the end of the administration, Mr. Trump ripped pictures that intrigued him out of the Presidents Daily Brief a compendium of often classified information about potential national security threats but it is unclear whether he took them to the residence with him.
PatSeg
(47,239 posts)of what all we don't know. This sounds like everyday occurrences in the Trump White House.
WillUSAF
(91 posts)What secrets are still being hidden. He is the most corrupt person in America. You know that he and his people did all kinds of slimy shit in the 4 years they ruined our country.
PatSeg
(47,239 posts)The people in Trump's world are careless, inexperienced, and disorganized. I'm sure they've left plenty of evidence to uncover.
Midnight Writer
(21,693 posts)And my bet is that Trump is a hundred times worse than Nixon.
JHB
(37,152 posts)PatSeg
(47,239 posts)Much worse than Nixon, worse than anyone I could imagine, at least in the United States.
tblue37
(65,215 posts)@gtconway3d
Don't forget that the former guy, under any normal standard, could never have obtained a security clearance.
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anybody running for president should have to pass a security clearance from now on.
PatSeg
(47,239 posts)Lonestarblue
(9,958 posts)Along with requiring financial disclosures, protecting voting rights, and protecting the right to reproductive choice.
Rebl2
(13,447 posts)tblue37
(65,215 posts)Last edited Fri Feb 11, 2022, 11:55 AM - Edit history (1)
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@UnpaintedMelody
2019
25 individuals were given clearances or access to natl security info since 2018 despite concerns abt ties to foreign influence, conflicts of interests, questionable/criminal conduct, financial problems,or drug abuse includes 2 senior WH officials
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)The former guy will simply say that he declassified the documents he stole, and therefore no breach was made.
tblue37
(65,215 posts)Nor can he just declassify them in his own mind.
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)But seeing as how the former guy took every shortcut imaginable (for example, in issuing pardons to his favorites, granting security clearances to his cronies and family members, etc.), he'll probably make the claim that he de-classified all those top secret documents before Biden was sworn in. His flying monkey brigades will rush in to defend the privileges and prerogatives of the Executive (privileges and prerogatives that they would never grant to a Democrat), and flood the zone with "it's not a crime if the president does it."
area51
(11,893 posts)crazylikafox
(2,752 posts)And they want to investigate Bidens mental capacity????
Beetwasher.
(2,967 posts)tavernier
(12,368 posts)are based on information rump gave him. Perhaps even the standoff in the Ukrainian situation.
jmowreader
(50,528 posts)If I would have been Chief of Desk during the Trump Administration, I would have had one simple instruction for my analysts: only put open source material in the PDB. If you dont find it on a newspaper or on CNN, dont give it to the president.
There are two reasons for this. One is the security risk. If Trump would have enlisted in the Army, Central Clearance Facility would have denied him clearance based on his financial problems alone. During the 1980s they caught a bunch of cleared US people selling classified information to the government, and financial problems were the primary motivator behind it in almost all cases. The only one I remember who wasnt driven by money was Jonathan Pollard. The other is Trump really doesnt have the attention span to handle secret information. You may as well just pull stories out of the Washington Post and not tell him where you got them.
Deep State Witch
(10,409 posts)TFG only cared about what was on Fox Noise rather than actual intelligence.
And yeah - there's no way that he or any member of his family would have gotten a clearance normally.
Deep State Witch
(10,409 posts)I used to work closely with the folks that produced PDB items back when I was in the Deep State. When Obama was President, articles were delivered to him on secure tablets that were reset after each use. Obama would often request more information on specific items of interest. Of course, that set off a mad scramble back to the initial reporter to get more information. It was quite a badge of honor to have your report make it into the PDB. It still is.
When Slobfather came in, the preferred delivery method changed to paper. He was only interested in certain things. You had to condense everything down to one paragraph, no more than 3 sentences. Let me tell ya, it's really tough to condense detailed reports down into 3 sentences! Besides having the attention span of a house fly, TFG only got briefed a couple of times a week. The other Principals - VPOTUS, SECDEF, SECSTATE, etc. got briefed every day.
Prof. Toru Tanaka
(1,943 posts)Trump was likely too busy playing with his Diet Coke delivery button to worry about important items like briefings.
I swear, I'm surprised there wasn't a giant fucking playpen in the WH to keep him in and occupied during his term. Or maybe there was and Melania isn't telling anyone...yet.
Ray Bruns
(4,071 posts)Deminpenn
(15,265 posts)That Trump was better at grasping info by hearing or seeing it rather than reading it.
not a texan
(39 posts)He knew it would be more difficult to grift once he left the White House so he took those documents to have a source of income by selling out the USA to our foes
Delphinus
(11,824 posts)You are probably right - look at how Melania already tried to auction off a hat.
Efilroft Sul
(3,578 posts)Was Trump already transferring such files to Mar-A-Lago then?
CaptainTruth
(6,572 posts)I still have no idea why, just wondering if he blocked anyone else here on DU.
tblue37
(65,215 posts)scipan
(2,336 posts)he doesnt take criticism well.