Why Even Democrats Should Care About the “Cooked Intelligence” Russiagate Scandal

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Ron Bechky
ron bechky
9 months ago

What a crock! Yes, Bush cooked the books re Iraq invasion. There was considerable public pushback about this assessment. There’s nothing comparable re the Russia/Trump situation. Were it not for Bill Barr’s intentional misrepresentation of the Mueller report, Trump would have been convicted after his impeachment. Dissing Mark Elias is easy but challenging his work has proven virtually impossible. Courts, including those with Trump appointed judges, have consistently found for Elias and against Trump and his surrogates.

george kalman
george kalman
9 months ago

Editor:
A couple comments on your critique of U.S. intelligence agencies with regard to their performance leading to the Iraq invasion and their inability to establish collusion between Trump and Putin..
In 2002 there was no reputable intelligence source that endorsed a concern for Iraq’s weapons program. The “concern” was politically generated in the White House. Your cherry picking of internet stories is hardly a persuasive technique to discredit intelligence professionals.On the subject of Putin’s attempts to influence U.S. elections on behalf of Donald Trump, you are correct that U.S. intelligence agencies have not provided a smoking gun to establish such a connection. However, given Trump’s narcissism-generated priorities, why on earth would he advocate (a) the dismantlement of NATO and (b) abandonment of support for Ukraine? These are clearly the number one and two priorities on Putin’s plate. Is Trump feeling compassion for a struggling Russia? Trump is not known for his compassion or charitable initiatives. Trump’s support for Putin is quid pro quo, the smoking gun that the intelligence agencies were unable to identify in the previous election.