Trump Foreign Policy

[TGHusker]

Tulsi Ts off on Trump again on the Saudi Arabia / Iran issue.   I think she hit a hole in one.

 

 

[BigRedBuster]

 

 

[TGHusker]

Trump is making promises and flapping his mouth again.  We have a buffoon as president who doesn't know how or when to keep his mouth shut and whose loyalties are to self and not country.

 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trumps-communications-with-foreign-leader-are-part-of-whistleblower-complaint-that-spurred-standoff-between-spy-chief-and-congress-former-officials-say/ar-AAHuOBK

Quote

 

The whistleblower complaint that has triggered a tense showdown between the U.S. intelligence community and Congress involves President Trump’s communications with a foreign leader, according to two former U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Trump’s interaction with the foreign leader included a “promise” that was regarded as so troubling that it prompted an official in the U.S. intelligence community to file a formal whistleblower complaint with the inspector general for the intelligence community, said the former officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

It was not immediately clear which foreign leader Trump was speaking with or what he pledged to deliver, but his direct involvement in the matter has not been previously disclosed. It raises new questions about the president’s handling of sensitive information and may further strain his relationship with U.S. spy agencies. One former official said the communication was a phone call.

 

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The inspector general “determined that this complaint is both credible and urgent,” Schiff said in the statement released Wednesday evening. “The committee places the highest importance on the protection of whistleblowers and their complaints to Congress.”

The complaint was filed with Atkinson’s office on Aug. 12, a date on which Trump was at his golf resort in New Jersey. White House records indicate that Trump had had conversations or interactions with at least five foreign leaders in the preceding five weeks.

Among them was a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that the White House initiated on July 31. Trump also received at least two letters from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during the summer, describing them as “beautiful” messages. In June, Trump said publicly that he was opposed to certain CIA spying operations against North Korea. Referring to a Wall Street Journal report that the agency had recruited Kim’s half brother, Trump said, “I would tell him that would not happen under my auspices.”

Trump met with other foreign leaders at the White House in July, including the prime minister of Pakistan, the prime minister of the Netherlands and the emir of Qatar.

Trump’s handling of classified information has been a source of concern to U.S. intelligence officials since the outset of his presidency. In May 2017, Trump revealed classified information about espionage operations in Syria to senior Russian officials in the Oval Office, disclosures that prompted a scramble among White House officials to contain the potential damage.

Statements and letters exchanged between the offices of the DNI and the House Intelligence Committee in recent days have pointed at the White House without directly implicating the president.

Schiff has said he was told that the complaint concerned “conduct by someone outside of the Intelligence Community.” Jason Klitenic, the DNI general counsel, noted in a letter sent to congressional leaders on Tuesday that the activity at the root of the complaint “involves confidential and potentially privileged communications.”

The dispute has put Maguire, thrust into the DNI job in an acting capacity with the resignation of Daniel Coats last month, at the center of a politically perilous conflict with constitutional implications.

Schiff has demanded full disclosure of the whistleblower complaint. Maguire has defended his refusal by asserting that the subject of the complaint is beyond his jurisdiction.

Defenders of Maguire disputed that he is subverting legal requirements to protect Trump, saying that he is trapped in a legitimate legal predicament and that he has made his displeasure clear to officials at the Justice Department and White House.

After fielding the complaint on Aug. 12, Atkinson submitted it to Maguire two weeks later. By law, Maguire is required to transmit such complaints to Congress within seven days. But in this case, he refrained from doing so after turning for legal guidance to officials at the Justice Department.

In a sign of Atkinson’s discomfort with this situation, the inspector general informed the House and Senate intelligence committees of the existence of the whistleblower complaint — without revealing its substance — in early September.

Schiff responded with almost immediate indignation, firing off a letter demanding a copy of the complaint and warning that he was prepared to subpoena senior U.S. intelligence officials. The DNI has asserted that lawyers determined there was no notification requirement because the whistleblower complaint did not constitute an urgent concern that was “within the responsibility and authority” of Maguire’s office.

Legal experts said there are scenarios in which a president’s communications with a foreign leader could rise to the level of an “urgent concern” for the intelligence community, but they also noted that the president has broad authority to decide unilaterally when to classify or declassify information.

Revealing how the United States obtained sensitive information could “compromise intelligence means and methods and potentially the lives of sources,” said Joel Brenner, former inspector general for the National Security Agency.

It was unclear whether the whistleblower witnessed Trump’s communication with the foreign leader or learned of it through other means. Summaries of such conversations are often distributed among White House staff, although the administration imposed new limits on this practice after Trump’s disclosures to Russian officials were revealed.

 

 

[BigRedBuster]

@TGHusker So, I haven't followed this "whistle blower" issue very closely.  From reading the above, what I gather is.....

 

Someone in the intelligence community (whistle blower) reported that the President is telling or promising something to a certain foreign leader that is extremely alarming and needs stopped.

 

The Whistle Blower reported this to his/her superiors  (Atkinson and Maguire) who then reported to Adam Schiff that something had been reported.  They didn't tell Schiff what it was because the subject of the report is above their jurisdiction.  Schiff is trying to subpoena the report so the intelligence committee can take action if needed.

Do I have this somewhat accurate?

[TGHusker]

34 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

@TGHusker So, I haven't followed this "whistle blower" issue very closely.  From reading the above, what I gather is.....

 

Someone in the intelligence community (whistle blower) reported that the President is telling or promising something to a certain foreign leader that is extremely alarming and needs stopped.

 

The Whistle Blower reported this to his/her superiors  (Atkinson and Maguire) who then reported to Adam Schiff that something had been reported.  They didn't tell Schiff what it was because the subject of the report is above their jurisdiction.  Schiff is trying to subpoena the report so the intelligence committee can take action if needed.

Do I have this somewhat accurate?

That was my take on it as well.   All I know we got a  either:

1. A fox guarding the hen house who is working for his own best interest & will pilfer the hen house to enrich himself - we've seen this with all of his violations of the emoluments clause    or

2.  A total, utterly incomprehensibly stupid and gullible buffoon as our president. 

 

At this point with how he's been outsmarted & out played by Little Fat Boy, The Lover in the Kremlin, and The Tyrants of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and China - I see no other way to look at him.  If he were a college football coach (since this is a football heavy site) he'd be on the hot seat - the Mike Riley of recent presidents - on the way out and everyone knows it.  It can't happen soon enough. 

[BigRedBuster]

5 minutes ago, TGHusker said:

That was my take on it as well.   All I know we got a  either:

1. A fox guarding the hen house who is working for his own best interest & will pilfer the hen house to enrich himself - we've seen this with all of his violations of the emoluments clause    or

2.  A total, utterly incomprehensibly stupid and gullible buffoon as our president. 

 

At this point with how he's been outsmarted & out played by Little Fat Boy, The Lover in the Kremlin, and The Tyrants of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and China - I see no other way to look at him.  If he were a college football coach (since this is a football heavy site) he'd be on the hot seat - the Mike Riley of recent presidents - on the way out and everyone knows it.  It can't happen soon enough. 

 

What is totally confusing is that Maguire tells Schiff that something is reported but...."I'm not going to tell you what it was".

 

Sounds like we need a "Deep Throat" to step forward and release the report.

[TGHusker]

31 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

 

What is totally confusing is that Maguire tells Schiff that something is reported but...."I'm not going to tell you what it was".

 

Sounds like we need a "Deep Throat" to step forward and release the report.

Agreed - and a few good investigative reporters. 

[TGHusker]

What is it about Trump and his favoritism towards dictators?  I think he wishes he had the same type of control - darn that constitution.

He is so clueless and only sees what will give him profit.  At least the GOP Senators got it right. 

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/while-trump-congratulates-communist-china-on-its-70th-anniversary-senate-republicans-condemn-it/

 

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Seventy years ago today, Mao Zedong declared the People’s Republic of China after his Communist forces had conquered most of the mainland. A decade later, Mao’s Great Leap Forward killed perhaps 45 million people. The Communist regime still denies its people freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and has imposed a policy of forced abortion. At the present moment, China has detained something like 1.5 million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in re-education camps. Its crackdown on Hong Kong escalated this week, when a protester was shot in the chest.
 

President Donald Trump marked the 70th anniversary of the “People’s Republic” with the following congratulatory tweet: “Congratulations to President Xi and the Chinese people on the 70th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China!”

But Senate Republicans have marked the anniversary with condemnation of the regime.

Missouri senator Josh Hawley: “Seventy years ago, the Chinese Community Party seized power from the Chinese people. Since then, its ruthless rule has resulted in the deaths of millions of its own citizens.”

Arkansas senator Tom Cotton: “To see the price of the PRC’s anniversary celebration, look no further than what’s happening in Hong Kong: a ceaseless war against those who wish to live in freedom. From the Great Leap Forward to the Cultural Revolution to the camps in Xinjiang today, it has been a ghoulish 70 years of Chinese Communist Party control.”

 

 

Nebraska senator Ben Sasse: “Today Chinese tyrants celebrated 70 years of communist oppression with their typically brutal symbolism: by sending a police officer to shoot a pro-democracy protester at point-blank range. The freedom-seekers in Hong Kong mourn this anniversary, and the American people stand with them against those who deny their God-given dignity.”

Pennsylvania senator Pat Toomey:

The 70th anniversary of communist rule in China is not a day for celebration. It’s a day to remind ourselves of the horrors inflicted on the Chinese people over this time.  It started with Mao, whose oppressive, autocratic regime murdered tens of millions, seized and redistributed personal property, & mandated economic activities that led to the Great Chinese Famine.

25

Following Mao’s death, and the unimaginable social trauma unleashed by his Cultural Revolution, there was hope with the ascension of Deng whose economic and social reforms were positives. Greater support for global investment and free markets raised the standard of living in China. Some religious freedom was tolerated. That being said, the Deng regime regularly violated human rights – most notably the horrific massacre at Tiananmen Square.

Under Xi, many of Deng’s reforms have been rolled back. Human rights violations are systemic. Religious minorities like Uighur Muslims are imprisoned, and the state seeks to erase their way of life. Where’s Tibet today? And now we’re seeing the erosion of what little economic freedom existed. A foreign policy priority of Xi’s authoritarian regime is to consolidate power throughout the Asia Pacific region. The Orwellian surveillance state constructed by Xi should give everyone pause. For these reasons and more, it is important that the United States and free societies around the world support the people of Hong Kong, who are making an unprecedented stand against Xi’s repressive tactics.

 

 

[BigRedBuster]

 

[BigRedBuster]

 

[LumberJackSker]

On 10/5/2019 at 6:59 AM, BigRedBuster said:

 

As long as erdogan is in charge of Turkey they have no business being in nato. Scary that we store nukes there.

[BigRedBuster]

 

[BigRedBuster]

Ummmmm.......

 

 

[commando]

1 minute ago, BigRedBuster said:

 

breaking the word of america again and again is the trump way.  

[BigRedBuster]