A Private Briefing? Which of Our Senators Will Break the Silence

[MineralMan]

first, following this unprecedented summons to the White House? When will we learn what went on there?

I assume the briefing has begun, of course without any news people or cameras admitted. We are going to have to rely on our loyal Democratic Senators to brief us. I am waiting very impatiently for that to occur.

[bettyellen]

1. The lack of transparency and paper trail the DT admin wants is unprecedented...

To claim they have nothing to show for Flynns time is disturbing. They even tried to get RW outlets on board with their secret meeting and it didn't go over entirely well.
This shit is crazy. There's no NDLs when you're working for the people.

[Girard442]

3. I wouldn't put it past the Trumpinistas to super-de-duper-classify the whole session...

...then tell the senators all kinds of insanely scary stuff, and jail any of them that talked.

[bettyellen]

7. It's all to bolster his image- he can't openly talk about policy in an intelligent way and also hide

the grift and schemes- so he has to resort to this cloak and dagger crap so he isn't literally seen to be a fucking greedy moron. This is fucking crazy.

[RKP5637]

17. The fool has grave difficulty even completing a coherent sentence. n/t

[Norbert9]

2. Franken will fill us in

[superpatriotman]

4. My Senators?

Nelson and little marco. I don't expect to hear a word from either.

[Phoenix61]

6. +1

I love Florida but would love it more if Marco lost his seat.

[superpatriotman]

10. Tell the poor Cubans in Miami to stop voting r

That would give us the representation we truly deserve.

[mitch96]

19. I second the motion....

[trueblue2007]

31. could not pay me to live in Florida

my lawmakers are Dems.

[RKP5637]

5. This, is incredible. As usual, WTF is going on. It's always us against them. Now, WTF are they up

to. Any why do they have to travel to the WH. I get so god damn disgusted.

[gordianot]

8. Moving off site of the legislature to executive branch offices is suspicious.

Does this impact congressional rules?

[underpants]

9. The White House staffers will - from what I read yesterday

All they care about is their standing in DC & they actively compete to see who can get a lie spread the farthest

[brewens]

11. It won't be ours. It''ll be republicans that want to take Trump down. They will leak, knowing

it will look like it must have been democrats.

[4139]

12. As long as the don't all head off a 2nd meeting at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex

[Hugin]

13. This seems to me to be some kind of test looking for leaks.

The whole thing is very paranoid, while at the same time grandiose Kabuki theater.

[ProudLib72]

15. Yep, Kabuki

tRump is just yelling at them right now, trying to get them to kowtow to his agenda.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

22. No. A leak test would be 100 separate meetings with 100 separate stories. . . . nt

[Hugin]

34. You'd think.

But, keep in mind the Wizards behind the Orange Curtain are loco and completely disregard any sort of rational empirical thought.

[Leith]

24. It Isn't Kabuki

I've seen Kabuki in Ginza, Tokyo. It is a beautiful, classic art form, professionally done.

What tRump does is Morris Dancing. Yes, it really is a thing.

[Hugin]

33. Or maybe it's the Trumpmare remake of this exact dance...

Horrifying!

[lunatica]

14. To me this is proof they want it to leak

That's why absolutely EVERYBODY was invited. To make sure it leaks.

[randome]

16. How do you quote someone who speaks like he has a mouth full of bees?

"What did he say? No one's really sure."
[hr][font color="blue"][center]There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
Nothing.[/center][/font][hr]

[Blanks]

18. The press isn't talking about the house ethics committee...

As much today.

The president is just trying to show that he CAN get them to go to the White House. Flexing his muscles, if you will, that's just the kind of silly nonsense that he does.

[mitch96]

20. Could this be another tongue lashing

Like he gave the press a few months ago????
m

[BSdetect]

21. This is pure puke inducing garbage.

Why would the Dems go along with this? Just send one rep.

They are so weak.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

25. Dems weak? Nah. tRump & Republicons crumbled about wall funding & defunding ACA in budget resolution

[BSdetect]

30. Weak as in agreeing to trot over to the WH at his demand?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

32. It's inconsequential. No need to make a stand or a stink. Keep your powder dry, I'd say to them. nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

23. One Senator already said it was pretty much as we know: NorKs have nukes.

My guess: mostly kabuki for tRump's base so he can look like he's presidentin'.

[unblock]

26. first, i don't think it's actually "unprecedented". unusual, certainly, though.

second, donnie and the gang are clearly oblivious and/or have zero respect for traditions and norms, so them communicating something via an unusual method means, most likely, nothing in particular.

maybe they just did it because they knew it was unusual and would get headlines.

maybe they did it without realizing it was unusual because they're idiots.

who knows.


personally, though, i would have left one democratic senator behind just in case it's some sort of inoculation trap -- this way at least one senator can say they didn't see that particular bit of classified info or whatever, and is therefore free to talk to the public in a way that those who attended the briefing might not be....

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

27. Well,

if the meeting didn't open with the statement ,In the event of a nuclear accident or incident fallowed by the protocols ,than it was a brief on all of whats on the table from a to z. Trump as you know is all and excited about his bigly rally plans in Penn.

U.S. Highlights Sanctions, Diplomacy as North Korea Threat Grows

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/us-highlights-sanctions-diplomacy-as-north-korea-threat-grows/ar-BBAoZGu?ocid=BHEA00


U.S. national security leaders emphasized economic sanctions and diplomacy to persuade North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, even as the Pentagon ramps up its military presence in the region with an aircraft carrier battle group and submarine.
“North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is an urgent national security threat and top foreign policy priority,” according to a joint statement Wednesday by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary James Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. “The United States seeks stability and the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. We remain open to negotiations towards that goal.”
The statement followed warnings by the Pentagon’s top commander in the Pacific that Pyongyang is making steady progress toward developing ballistic missiles that can hit the U.S. Kim Jong Un’s regime is testing those missiles and nuclear devices with growing frequency and aggressiveness, Admiral Harry Harris said in testimony Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee.
“The words and actions of North Korea threaten the U.S. homeland and that of our allies in South Korea and Japan,” Harris said in his prepared testimony. The U.S. “must be prepared to fight” on short notice, he said.

(Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware called the White House briefing “sobering,” adding that the North Korean threat “should be the top priority of the administration.”)

[Mr. Ected]

28. Why do I feel like Trump is trying to usurp the powers of the legislature?

His disdain for the law and the protocols of office are in line with the actions of a rising dictator. With media manipulation and publicity stunts like this, I'm getting the feeling he's going to start a war and he wants them to know there's not a thing they can do about it.

[former9thward]

29. If he is he is following the path of every president since Teddy Roosevelt.

Every single one has increased the power of the Executive Branch over what was before,