A couple of days ago, we reiterated a point we originally made shortly after James Comey was fired as FBI Director by Donald Trump.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, we said, had become the new Devin Nunes.
That is, in allowing himself to be trotted out by the White House as the man behind Comey’s abrupt dismissal , Rosenstein had effectively done the exact same thing Nunes did earlier this year, when the Republican Congressman agreed to pretend like it was his decision (as opposed to the administration’s) to scapegoat Susan Rice in the aftermath of Trump’s errant wiretapping tweet.
Well now, it appears that Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster is Rod Rosenstein 2.0 or, alternatively, Devin Nunes 3.0. Because on Tuesday, the National Security Adviser put his own reputation on the line by telling reporters that Trump had not in fact done anything wrong by accidentally leaking highly sensitive intel to Sergei Lavrov and Sergey Kislyak.
“The president in no way undermined sources or methods in the course of this conversation,” McMaster protested, before swearing that the information could be found in “open-source reporting.”
Bullshit. And everyone knows it.
Including a New York Times reader who sent in this letter to the editor on Tuesday:
To the Editor:
The national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, attacked press reports about President Trump’s giving important and highly classified information to the Russians. Did General McMaster just Rosenstein himself? Did he sacrifice a lifetime of the highest level of professionalism and integrity to defend Mr. Trump? If so, it is a great loss not only for General McMaster but also for the nation.
MICHAEL J. PRIVAL, WASHINGTON
Indeed. These, apparently, are the “casualties of war.”
Below, find several more letters from angry readers…
To the Editor:
Re “Trump Is Said to Expose Ally’s Secrets to Russians” (front page, May 16):
Imagine you are a high-level official in the Central Intelligence Agency who normally briefs the president on the latest events in your area of responsibility. Tomorrow morning, you will brief the president on information that, if it got into the wrong hands, could cause three of your operatives to lose their lives.
What do you do? 1) Resign. 2) Withhold the information. 3) Tell the president and hope for the best.
How can anyone with this kind of information, and the obligation to brief the president, do his or her job?
THEODORE M. DUNN
BOYNTON BEACH, FLA.
To the Editor:
Goldwater rule, schmoldwater rule. It doesn’t take a psychoanalyst (although I am one) to see a dangerous behavioral pattern in President Trump: It’s not just truth but national safety that are slain on the altar of his grandiosity and need to shore up his self-esteem. The very fact that the president cannot be counted on to be truthful is perilous, given the need for someone in that office to be reliable in times of crisis.
The firing of James Comey was, arguably, motivated in part by such needs. The leaking of information to Russian officials in the Oval Office – done, according to some accounts, as part of a boast of just how much inside knowledge he has – is the most recent.
Anxiety about his access to the nuclear codes is well taken. How much longer before he attacks somewhere (like North Korea) just to show what a very big guy he is?
DENNIS HASELEY, NEW YORK
To the Editor:
When will the G.O.P. find its spine? The Republicans’ go-along-to-get-along treatment of President Trump has gone too far. Hoping that this know-nothing will cut their taxes and demolish essential social programs, they’re allowing years – centuries – of knowledge, intelligence, protocol and common sense to be swept aside. Why? They see in him a useful fool.
Russia has also found its useful fool in Mr. Trump, rewarding its efforts to get him elected. He’s shown himself so eager to please that he willingly shares highly classified intelligence, right after sacking the top investigator of his connection to Russia.
Come on, G.O.P., your passivity and denial are allowing a dangerous egomaniac to wreak havoc on our country and the world. It’s high time you did something about it.
PAMELA BAYLESS, NEW YORK
To the Editor:
President Trump in the Oval Office is like a little boy on the playground, saying to his new Russian friends, “If I tell you a secret, will you be my best friend?”
DANIEL FINK, BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.
In some ways, the GOP’s are worse than Trump! He is a clueless moron and has lived his life as such and is not emotionally attached to anyone or anything (other than money). The GOP’s are completely ignorant if they do not see the danger this man poses for this country, every living soul. They are blindly greedy and are not making the choice of country, which is what we put them in those seats to do – make choices and vote to protect and promote the citizens of this country. They have the power to remove him quickly. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be removed and if they do not rush to the aid of this country right now, they will also be removed. And may they all rot in hell if they do not protect this country from this insanity.
My 2 cts. McM clearly knows Donnie is batshit crazy and will do anything to keep him from pushing the big red button (no, not the coke one), even if this tarnishes his future career prospects. And if that requires the odd semi-honest statement in defense of the Orange Monster, so be it.
At least, this is what I hope, b/c I don’t see anybody else in Mr.Drumpf’s entourage who is sane enough to stop him from doing the unthinkable.