William A. Jacobson
Since the election there has been an unprecedented attempt to unwind the election result. Events have accelerated on several fronts lately with attempts from outside and within to paralyze the Trump administration.
What started as a collective media freakout on Election Night 2016 quickly progressed to an unprecedented attempt to intimidate Electors into changing their votes. Some Democrats announced, even before Trump took office, plans to impeach him, and Democrat politicians fed media-driven Russia collusion conspiracy theories for which they knew there was no evidence.
Chuck Schumer, for example, used the alleged fact of Donald Trump being under FBI investigation as an argument against confirming Neal Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, even though Schumer (but not the public) knew from intelligence briefings that Trump was not personally under investigation.
All the while, the permanent bureaucracy, particularly in the intelligence community, started an unending and almost daily series of leaks meant to paralyze the administration.
Then FBI Director James Comey refused to tell the public what he privately told Trump on three occasions, that Trump personally was not under investigation, thereby aiding and abetting this false media attack on the administration. Comey then himself leaked non-public government information, after his termination, to manufacture an excuse to have a Special Counsel appointed. That Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, turns out to be a good friend of Comey, and is building a massive prosecutorial infrastructure in the attempt to find a crime.
At the same time, there has been unprecedented obstruction of Trump’s ability to staff his administration. Even non-controversial nominees are slow-walked by Democrats. Vast swaths of the federal bureaucracy remain under the sway of Obama holdovers and those who consider Trump illegitimate.
The purpose in all this has been to freeze and paralyze the Trump administration. If Trump could not be prevented from taking office, and cannot be physically removed from office, he will be prevented from functioning as president.
Trump, because of his own personal and administrative volatility, unpredictability and inconsistency, was a vulnerable target for such an effort.
The effort to paralyze the administration was advanced significantly today with the release by The Washington Post of leaked full transcripts of Trump’s conversations with the leaders of Mexico and Australia soon after he took office. There had been leaks about those conversations previously, but never the full transcripts.
The leak is being celebrated and the transcripts quoted (often out of context) for the purpose of scoring political points against Trump. But more than that, this represents yet another dangerous example of how leaks have been weaponized to try to paralyze the Trump administration.
David Frum, a harsh critic of Trump, writes at The Atlantic, Why Leaking Transcripts of Trump’s Calls Is So Dangerous
Leaking the transcript of a presidential call to a foreign leader is unprecedented, shocking, and dangerous. It is vitally important that a president be able to speak confidentially—and perhaps even more important that foreign leaders understand that they can reply in confidence.Thursday’s leak to The Washington Post of President Trump’s calls with the president of Mexico and the prime minister of Australia will reverberate around the world. No leader will again speak candidly on the phone to Washington, D.C.—at least for the duration of this presidency, and perhaps for longer. If these calls can be leaked, any call can be leaked—and no leader dare say anything to the president of the United States that he or she would not wish to read in the news at home.
Anybody w access to this transcript also has access to many other secrets. Trusted people are breaking career-long habits to thwart Trump
— David Frum (@davidfrum) August 3, 2017
The collective attempt to paralyze the Trump administration has been termed a slow-motion coup d’etat. And it is picking up steam.
Liberals don’t care about the United States. They care about liberalism. Trump’s election has mortally wounded liberalism and if he is successful he could kill it altogether. To survive, the liberals are more than willing to destroy the government, not caring at all how damaging to the nation that is.
These people should never be allowed to govern again. They are destructive.
Why is it not illegal to print or report classified information? Transcripts again.
Grand jury to be convened on Russian interference of the election a made up lie from Hillarys mob.
There are major renovations scheduled for the White House perhaps they will find spy equipment installed . The phone system needs to be secured at the least.
Could McMaster be the leaker?
Getting rid of pro Trump people and keeping Obamas doesnt seem like the swamp is being drained.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2017/08/the-administrative-state-declares-independence.php
Pres Trump didn’t come in and FIRE each and every Obama holdover in the Executive Branch.
But, to save his presidency, it may come to that.
That’s a shame for all impartial workers who just happened to be hired between 2009 & 2016, but what else will clean out the nest of vipers?
how much do these leakers get paid? comey got a few bucks from the demorats, ever wonder how much.
@MOS #8541: Comey got a million dollar book deal, a common left wing method of financing liberal allies.
Now liberals are leaking transcripts of conversations between heads of state. There is, of course, nothing within the conversations that is damaging to Trump, the act only hurts Trump’s ability, as President, to perform his job. What they don’t consider… or care about… is that this will damage Presidencies to come. Heads of state can no longer trust the confidentiality of conversations with the President of the United States for fear there might be some vindictive, crybaby, sore loser liberal in the vicinity.
I want one of our liberal defenders of all things liberal to come forth and defend these miserable, cowardly, treacherous leakers. Explain to me how this is acceptable.
@Bill… Deplorable Me:
Don’t encourage the trolls to come here. They’ll always find a way to “prove” themselves right usually by making things up and stating them as “facts” just like Acosta did with his asinine comments about what the Statue of Liberty stands for. The left has ZERO honor and integrity. As for their coup, let them remove a duly elected President by impeaching him on bullshit charges or remove him with their back-up plan (encouraging some lone left wing nut job to assassinate him so they can claim no responsibility) and watch what happens.
@another vet: For Trump it’s Karma-back to bite him–He ‘s been beating up, bad mouthing and lying about opponents and their families for months.He is disliked and worse he is not respected—-should be no surprise he is so low in polls.
Indies and some Repubs who voted against HRC–not for DT–GONE.he’s left with 30%. support.
@Nanny G:
The key difference between had Trump fired every Obama holdover on Day One, and the coming housecleaning is pretty simple.
Just like he did with Reince Priebus and the GOP Establishment, Trump has given them a chance to work with him. IF Trump had s’canned the holdovers out the gate, HE would’ve been pitched by the Left to the vast persuadable middle (VPM) as “out of control tyrant,” a formulation the VPM would’ve been inclined to buy. Note that the persuadable middle HAS been watching all of this. Aside from his Tweets, NOTHING Trump has done has fit the mold of “out of control”, and the REACTIONS to the tweets have always been far more hysterical than warranted.
So now, when Trump cleans house, NOBODY except for the MSM and Left will think he’s wrong to do so. Revealed for the treacherous curs that they are, the only thing these toads will hear from the Vast Middle is “don’t let the door hitchya where the Good Lord splitchya.”