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Former DNI
Clapper Calls Trump |
| By
Stephen Lendman |
| Both so-called “scandals” are similar, wanting a US president removed
from office for the wrong reasons - the real scandals media scoundrels suppress. What’s most scandalous about Trump’s agenda is ignored - continuing wars of aggression his predecessors began, escalating them, serving privileged interests exclusively, harming ordinary people enormously while pretending to be a populist president. Speaking in Australia, James Clapper said “I lived through Watergate. I was on active duty in the air force. I was a young officer. It was a scary time.” He expressed concern about nonexistent Trump sharing of sensitive intelligence with Russia, along with sacking FBI director Comey, calling it “egregious and inexcusable.” Administration officials serve at the pleasure of the president. Replacing them, if he wishes, is his prerogative - not something “egregious and inexcusable.” Clapper is part of the anti-Trump chorus, saying “if you compare the two…Watergate pales…compared to what we’re confronting now.” He lied claiming Trump interfered with the FBI’s independence and autonomy. No evidence suggests it. Comey’s prepared Senate remarks disproved any interference. Clapper: “I am very concerned about the assault on our institutions coming from both an external source, read Russia, and an internal source, the president himself.” Fact: No evidence suggests Russian interference in America’s internal affairs, including last year’s presidential election. Claims otherwise are Big Lies - combining Russia bashing with vilifying Trump for the wrong reasons. Fact: He represents no assault on US institutions - just the opposite. His actions show he supports them - a diabolical agenda Clapper and others like him endorse. Nothing suggests Trump sacked Comey to quash the FBI’s investigation into contacts or alleged ties of Trump’s team with Moscow. Nor to interfere in the witch-hunt investigation into nonexistent Russian US election hacking. After months of accusations and allegations, not a shred of evidence suggests any of them hold water. Clapper: “I think it will be very significant to see both what (Comey) says and what he is asked about and doesn’t respond to.” We know in advance what he’ll say, no startling revelations or blockbuster comments in his prepared remarks - published on Wednesday. It’s unknown what Senate Intelligence Committee members will ask or how he’ll respond. He won’t like refute or diverge significantly from what we already know he’ll say. Clapper like his successor, Washington’s entire intelligence establishment, and virtually all members of Congress and administration officials are extremely hostile to Russia. Trump’s actions so far show he’s not “inexplicably so solicitous” of Moscow as Clapper claimed - just the opposite in most respects, at least publicly. Clapper: “Then President-elect Trump disparaged the intelligence community’s highly-confidential assessment of the magnitude and diversity of this Russian interference…” “This was prompted…I realized later, by his and his team’s extreme paranoia about and resentment of any doubt cast on the legitimacy of his election which, of course, our assessment did.” “I tried…to appeal to his higher instincts by pointing out that the UN intelligence community he was about to inherit is a national treasure…committed to supporting him and making him successful.” Fact: America’s intelligence community, like most everything else in Washington, is a force for pure evil, a scourge threatening world peace. Fact: Trump faces a deep state plot to remove him from office, unsurprising he’d feel paranoid. Clapper: The Russians “tried to interfere in our elections going back to the 60s but, let me stress, never like they did in 2016.” “Apart from the infamous hacking of the Democratic National Committee, their campaign had many other dimensions - social media trolls planting false information, orchestrated fake news which many other news outlets picked up and amplified either wittingly or unwittingly, and a very sophisticated campaign by the regime-funded propaganda arm, the RT, broadcasting arm, against Hillary Clinton and for Donald Trump.” “The Russians are not our friends. They and (Vladimir) Putin specifically, despite his disingenuous denials, are opposed to our democracy and values and see us, particularly the United States, as the cause of all their problems and frustrations.” Fact: No evidence suggests Russian interference in any US elections, not 2016 or earlier ones. Fact: No Russian DNC hacking occurred, no hacking by anyone. Fact: RT and Sputnik News produce real news, information and analysis - polar opposite consistent rubbish by Western media scoundrels. Fact: The NYT and other major US media operate as press agents for wealth, power and privilege. They one-sidedly supported Hillary throughout the 2015-16 political season. RT and Sputnik News expressed no support for any US candidate. Fact: US hostility toward Russia is longstanding. Putin is a model leader, respectful of rule of law principles and democratic values - polar opposite how America is governed. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. |