Some of the News

For John, BLUF:  Is the Intel Community so important it is a law unto itself and subject to no Executive Branch oversight?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Trump’s Targeting of Intelligence Agencies Gains a Harder Edge

From The New York Times, via MicroSoft News, by Reporters Michael S. Schmidt and Julian E. Barnes, 26 May 2019.

Here is the lede plus one:

President Trump tried somewhat clumsily last year to revoke the security clearance of the former C.I.A. director who played a role in opening the Russia investigation.  He then wanted to release classified documents to prove he was the target of a “witch hunt.”

Both attempts petered out, hampered by aides who slow-rolled the president and by Justice Department officials who fought Mr. Trump, warning he was jeopardizing national security.

But this week, Attorney General William P. Barr engineered a new approach.  At Mr. Barr’s urging, Mr. Trump granted him new authorities to examine the start of the Russia investigation, demonstrating a new level of sophistication for an old line of attack.  Unlike Mr. Trump’s hollow threats and name-calling, Mr. Barr’s examination of how the intelligence community investigated the Trump campaign could offer a more effective blueprint for the president to take aim at his perceived political enemies.

Then there was this paragraph:

“The president is not known for the precision, judiciousness or thoughtfulness of his attacks, but he is in attack mode here and we seem to be opening a new front,” said David Kris, the head of the Justice Department’s national security division during the Obama administration.

So, we have The Old Gray Lady siding with the intelligence establishment against the Constitution.  This is not reporting, but opinionating.  There is no even-handed presentation of information.  If there was no "spying" on the Trump Campaign, then where did the information come?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff