Quick Reaction to McMaster's Presser - Josh Marshall [View all]

[DonViejo]

Published MAY 16, 2017 12:15 PM

We were just watching General McMaster’s press conference – which has taken the place of Sean Spicer’s briefing today. The key take away is that McMaster is essentially conceding the accuracy of last night’s reporting (first from the Post and later confirmed by other outlets) but saying that in the context it was okay. It was appropriate. Notably, when it comes to specifics, he is hiding behind classification to refuse to give further answers.

He also conceded that President Trump made the decision to reveal the information in the spur of the moment. When asked when Trump made the decision and whether his advisors were part of that decision, here are the exact words of response: “He made the decision in the context of the conversation.” In other words, spur of the moment decision, not something he and his advisers decided made sense in advance.

The gist here is that McMaster is saying yes Trump did it. He was entitled to do it. And I and other advisors were there when it happened and believe that substantively it was the right decision. Later McMaster went further in denying a key point that no one from the White House had yet, so far as I know, denied. McMaster insisted that the President “in no way compromised any sources and methods.”

(For future purposes, I would say that is the clearest statement from McMaster that we’ll likely look back on as a knowing falsehood, with no give in the words as spoken.)

Then there was a key revelation just before McMaster left the podium.

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