A Who-Don-It Mystery
At about 10am on Monday morning, I tweeted: “Compared to last week, this news week is starting out quiet. Too quiet.” As we all know by now, the respite was short-lived, as another White House scandal blanketed the headlines. First, WaPo reported that President Trump revealed highly classified information to a Russian foreign minister and ambassador. Then came the denials, followed by what is becoming a familiar plot twist: Trump appeared to undercut his staff by tweeting that he shared the info and has the absolute right to do so.
+ For the second time in two days, H.R. McMaster spoke to the media to make the administration’s case: “It is wholly appropriate for the president to share whatever information he thinks is necessary to advance the security of the American people. That’s what he did.”
+ NYT: Israel said to be source of secret intelligence Trump disclosed to Russians.
+ Full disclosure: I fully expected that the Trump administration would be a disaster. But not a Firing the FBI Director and Sharing Secrets with a Spy in the Oval Office disaster… Here’s my take: Hell in a Bucket.
+ “He apparently divulged the information to show off, which not only shows a lack of self-discipline: It shows, yet again, how easy this man is to play, particularly by veteran manipulators like his two experienced, talented, and thuggish guests.” Eliot A. Cohen: The Terrible Cost of Trump’s Disclosures.
+ The NYT’s David Brooks: When the World is Led by a Child.
+ Someone should give SNL a heads-up that Fox’s Kimberly Guilfoyle says she’s talking with Trump administration about press secretary job. (Perfect start. She’s leaked a story about herself.)