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The Responsibility to Leak, and Leaking Responsibly
I know you’re out there, and this is for you. What you’re weighing, it’s not as easy as you think. But it can matter more than anything else you do with your professional life.
Washington is awash with leaks; if they were real water we’d all drown. The American people feel they are seeing the inner most workings of government, and it is not pretty. Powerful people are falling. Our democracy may be at risk. President Trump and his team have no intention of watching from the sidelines. There is a struggle going on, and people are taking sides.
So if you’re a government employee sitting in a cubicle in Washington DC, what are you thinking? To leak or not to leak? Will you blow the whistle?
I know more than a little bit about your decision. With 21 years of service at the Department of State, I was assigned to wartime Iraq in 2009. For me, when the waste, fraud, and mismanagement of the reconstruction program under Presidents Bush and Obama reached the limits of what in good conscience I could participate in, and after failing to see any change going through channels, I blew the whistle, via a book, We Meant Well. The State Department in response flirted with sending me to jail, tried to fire me in part for “lack of candor” in refusing to participate in their investigation, and in the end pursued me into an early retirement.
I learned the decision to contact a reporter, or otherwise to blow the whistle, is a hard one. In the end you have to ask yourself one seemingly simple but actually complex question: is the juice worth the squeeze?
As for that squeeze, an anonymous leaker must expect people to come looking; you’re taking on the President of the United States after all. If the past (including my case) is any guide, much of the action that follows a disclosure will be aimed at the leaker, not the information leaked. You will be scared going in, but the fear should make you cautious. You will need to learn what intelligence officers call tradecraft; you may end up trying to hide your actions from them. Whatever journey you embark on, fear will travel with you.
There are real things to be afraid of. Following the example set by the Obama administration, someone exposing classified information may be subjected by the Trump administration to Espionage Act prosecution, with the near-certainty of Federal prison time if convicted.
Think you’re too unimportant for an investigation? Safe because your leak was, as in my own instance, nothing remotely classified? Maybe. But the most effective way to silence the next person in your position is to have them afraid to even try. Your now-adversaries would love to get the high level leakers, but won’t care too much if the heads on display come from the lower ranks instead. Either way the point to those others out there still considering leaking is made.
The administration will fight back in other ways, too. You are an anonymous source, an unnamed official, someone “with knowledge of the discussion.” It’s your word against that of a person who can appear on a major news program to offer up information (real or not) that discredits yours. Americans tend to assess truthfulness these days in line with preconceived beliefs, and that’s running about 50-50 on any given day in the Trump Era.
That’s the squeeze for a leaker. Now the juice.
You may not have the evidence of a still-smoking gun to “bring down” anyone. But you can contribute to a larger story, supply a missing puzzle piece, or nudge an investigative process forward. A big mosaic is made of little pictures. What you know likely does matter, and the people have a right to know what matters about their government. Who besides someone on the inside – you – can tell them?
Things can change significantly if you decide to blow the whistle, as opposed to leaking. While there are legal definitions, the key difference is a whistleblower purposely gives up their anonymity; Edward Snowden is the best known example. The risks scale up geometrically after that – you are saying “here I am, come after me.” Legal protections exist, including the Whistleblower Protection Act, but they do not snap into place easily. You will need a good lawyer well before you blow any whistle.
The returns for blowing the whistle can be significant, and it was this calculus (plus a dollop of ignorance I’m afraid) that lead me away from leaking into a full public disclosure. Standing up by name, you earn credibility against attacks ad hominen, and for the information you supply. Your presence encourages and empowers others. Your motivations are on display; you are more easily seen as a patriot than a partisan. And you aren’t just passing on information. You are bearing witness, at risk to yourself.
As one who has been there, my counsel is to think practically, not emotionally. Think larger than yourself, and think larger than political gossip. If I had the chance, I would remind every potential leaker or whistleblower their oath of service was to the Constitution, not to any particular leader or party, neither the one in, nor out, of power. So act on principle, not ego or revenge or ambition; the power to disclose carries with it a responsibility to act ethically. Your conscience will then be bulletproof, something very important as you will spend a lot of time in there. No guarantees, but an ethical disclosure may be easier to defend as well.
People of conscience, leakers and whistleblowers alike, we’re made. We’re made by what the government does and fails to do, and by what we witness. If government acted as the Founders expected it should, we would not be here, like mushrooms that didn’t pop up on a dry lawn.
It’s what all of us share: a love of country, if not necessarily its politicians. It’s in your hands to be on the right side of this struggle. One courageous act of conscience can make a difference in an America gone astray. That will be your anchor on an unsettling and fearful journey. I made a choice to be a whistleblower. I’d do it again. To me, the juice was worth the squeeze. You?
Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved. The views expressed here are solely those of the author(s) in their private capacity.
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Josh Stern said...
1Good article. I wish to add a note, based on personal experience, for people who are NOT in the U.S. government. One of the most wrongheaded and destructive things an outsider can do with their life is to sincerely go to the FBI with a tip about a significant crime, even one that you have no personal involvement in. By going to the FBI, an individual immediately loses civil/legal rights and makes themselves a target of an investigation. This was recently revealed in part by the stories in The Intercept. More than that, it may turn out that the crimes you are reporting are covert crimes of the U.S. government. In that case, as it was for me, going to the FBI effectively makes you an enemy of the state. You, upstanding citizen would-be do-gooder, are not treated almost like a terrorism suspect. Your life is never going to be the same, every again. You can become what is known as a Targeted Individual.
If you are outside the government and have a tip – go to a media person you trust and/or to a lawyer who can represent you with a local DA. DO NOT, EVER, voluntarily try to contact the FBI.
02/23/17 5:42 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
2I don’t know much about leaking……. But….
I Do know about whistle blowing.
My suggestion would be….. If your parents are gone….. Your an only child…. Not married…. No kids…..not a single person on the planet that you care about…
Knock yourself out.
Otherwise……be prepared…..
They will come at you sideways…. In angles and directions you can never have imagined…
Everything you have ever done or stood for…. Will be attacked… Demeaned….. And manipulated….
You will come away with enemies that will have you shaking your head going ‘huh ????’.
People with Hate you…. And try every stunt to destroy you….
And….. In the end…..
Everything you tried to stand for….. Meant shit…..
And….. Everything goes back to business as usual…..
Remember…… Your not the first one to blow the whistle and try to do good, right and proper…..
The people your fighting…… They have a lot of practice…. A LOT.
And…. When you practice…… You get good ……
M
PS.
If you do it……
Invest in real good body Armour…. Fire insurance… Alarm system….
02/23/17 6:03 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
3PS.
Also…
For God’s sake….. Don’t go walking down the street from your apt at 4:00am.
Make the premise they know what you did.. And they have dirt on a cop….to make it look like a robbery gone bad….
Despite your 18k watch…. Wallet with credit cards… Pocket full of cash….
Still with your body.
M
02/23/17 6:10 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
4Mitch, they don’t have to kill you…just your reputation. They rather see you walking dead.
The standard is Russell Tice. One day you are fully functioning to have the highest security clearances and the next the IC shrink finds you a raving paranoid psychotic.
These guys are not the brightest bulbs, and after you get a real good lawyer, watch them run like cockroaches when the light shines on them. They think you are as stupid as they are. The clowns in DS tried that with me and they are gone and me, I’m still standing.
02/23/17 7:16 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
5Word to the wise: when these clowns say they just want to gather information, tell them you have an appointment with your lawyer and they can attend.
Guys, where are you going?
02/23/17 7:42 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
6Josh.
So…. You’ve been there too, huh?
And… That is some DAMN GOOD advice……
M
02/23/17 7:52 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
7In the final analysis, what are you doing working for a criminal organization that has less ethics than the Mafia? The crime syndicate makes it legal for investigators to lie and slander your reputation but illegal for you to record their interviews and document their lies.
02/23/17 7:54 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
8Rich.
The killing is to make sure you don’t do it again.
And that comes after your “new ” credit report…. Knocks on the door…. The “dis- information campaign “…. The slander, libel, the nasty gossip…. personal attacks…. Assaults…. The attempted arson… The broken windows…..your new “unfavorable ” review at work…
Yeah…. It sucked….
M
02/23/17 7:58 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
9Mitch, I have to thank these idiots because it gave me good material for my screenplays, which are the only way to write the truth in this free world we live.
02/23/17 8:01 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
10Rich…
Search ‘ Cobra Pens ‘.
The pens are cool….. Battery is for shit….. But… Useful.
Bunch of other….. Neat….. Things that are quite useful for the up and coming media target….
Oppps…… Meant ” whistle blower. ”
M
02/23/17 8:02 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
11Rich.
Before you publish the screen play…..
Move to the mountains in south America…or Texas…..get a nice place with a ‘storm shelter’…. Buy A LOT of guns….
Trust me…… They will come for you…. As soon as they think its safe.
Once you have done the damage…… Only thing left for them is….. To make an example for any future media favorites.
M
02/23/17 8:08 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
12Josh, even if you are working for the crime syndicate DO NOT TALK TO THE FBI. Get a lawyer. Get a real good lawyer, one who worked for the US attorneys office, who knows how these assholes operate. At the same time, start looking for a job outside the crime syndicate. Tell your neighbors what and why you are doing that so they know the clowns who will be showing up in your neighborhood questioning your sanity are there to ruin your reputation. Good idea to notify the local police so they can tell the Feds to get lost. And install a security camera at your front door so you can legally record their visits.
02/23/17 8:20 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
13Mitch, they won’t come after you when they know you aren’t a soft target. They follow the playbook and when they realize their cushy job and the big house are at risk, they move on to another case. They file it in PENDING and hope their bosses never get stellar wind of the stench.
Enemy of State? Peter, if they only knew…
02/23/17 8:30 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
14Btw…
6 years after that entire mess…
People get out of prison…… 2/3rds…. Right back to the exact same jobs…. Like nothing ever happened….
The “elected ” officials…. They resigned…. And… 3 years later…. Yep… You guessed….right back in the exact same positions…
Talk about an exercise in self destructive, windmill battling, futility…..
M
02/23/17 8:35 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
15Rich.
That’s EXACTLY why the storm shelter… Gun collection… Etc….
So it is Not a soft target.
M
02/23/17 8:37 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
16Rich.
“PlayBook”….. Funny you should say that…. The agencies…. They are just like nutcases….
Its almost as if they go to the library…. And check out the “how to DIY ” books…
They always do the same thing. …. Always.
M
02/23/17 8:42 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
17So…!
Now that the down side of “whistle blowing ” has been explored….
Would I do it all again????
Bet your ass I would !!!!!
In a heartbeat…..
It was the right thing to do…. 100%…..
And……. I get to still look in the mirror.
M
02/23/17 8:50 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
18They put the clowns with the biggest moral problems in the Office of Professional Responsibility. Give them that, they do have a wicked sense of humor.
02/23/17 8:50 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
19Rich…
Yep….. Yes they do have a wicked sense of humor.
But…. I have found….. They are also at the Dept of Education.
All levels.
And…. State police… DEA…. NIA…. IRS…. City councils….local law enforcement… Etc… Etc…etc…
M
02/23/17 8:55 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
20Mitch, I got a great idea. Let’s create a Whistleblowers Website…in South America, just to be on the safe side. We will be like Lawyers.com, giving advice on their case and referring the person to the lawyer best suited for the case. We will establish a list of known bad actor federal investigators, listing their House value, assets, prior criminal history.. all the stuff they want to lose when you sue them for slander.
02/23/17 8:59 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
21That these criminals passed the polygraph–assuming there were any questions about criminal behavior- proves the point that the one lying is the polygrapher when he claims it has any validity.
02/23/17 9:05 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
22Rich.
Not a bad idea…. But…. I would suggest….. The Ecuador embassy…..
South America is not a safe haven anymore…..
The US runs “snatch and grabs ” there almost daily.
M
02/23/17 9:06 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
23Polygraph can be easily…… Hell ….. There’s youtube videos on how now days…
There’s a reason they are not admisable in court.
M
02/23/17 9:08 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
24So you are saying the police and Feds are using them to screen out the honest people and accept the criminals….like themselves?
02/23/17 9:14 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
25Sort of….
More like culling the non – sociopaths…..
They like having the same rule book…. Honest people mess with their heads
M
02/23/17 9:29 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
26The really interesting showdown is the amateur leakers going after the professional leakers in Trump v Spooks. Trump can’t use the paranoid lunatic playbook against the guys who wrote the book.
02/23/17 9:29 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
27The most honest depiction of criminals versus cops was the scene in LA CONFIDENTIAL.
Captain Dudley Smith: Edmund, you’re a political animal. You have the eye for human weakness, but not the stomach.
Ed Exley: You’re wrong, sir.
Captain Dudley Smith: Would you be willing to plant corroborative evidence on a suspect you knew to be guilty, in order to ensure an indictment?
Ed Exley: Dudley, we’ve been over this.
Captain Dudley Smith: Yes or no, Edmund?
Ed Exley: No!
Captain Dudley Smith: Would you be willing to beat a confession out of a suspect you knew to be guilty?
Ed Exley: No.
Captain Dudley Smith: Would you be willing to shoot a hardened criminal in the back, in order to offset the chance that some… lawyer…
Ed Exley: No.
Captain Dudley Smith: Then, for the love of God, don’t be a detective.
02/23/17 9:33 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
28In DS the place is lousy with compromised creeps that you need Finetoothed COMBS to weed them out…so my cousin Paul told me.
02/23/17 9:36 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
29Manafort isn’t the only one subject to blackmail for past misdeeds.
02/23/17 9:38 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
30Rich..
Was it yesterday…. Day before…. When we were discussing the Kennedy thing?
I think Trump is trying to put Intel under one roof… Rather than 19 agencies with no oversight… And no controls….and… Always having some other agency to blame.
Same thing they do to whistle blowers…. Run them around… And never give an answer.
M
02/23/17 9:42 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
31Rich.
Ever see ” edge of darkness ” with Mel Gibson ?
Remember the scene between Gibson and the other detective in the kitchen?
” its not what you have done…. Its what they can make it look like you done ”
M
02/23/17 9:46 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
32” just remember…. Just because your paranoid…… Does Not mean they are not out to get you “
02/23/17 9:50 AM | Comment Link
chuck said...
33Great article, discussion,and suggestions. I would suggest contacting a lawyer, like Glenn Greenwald at The Intercept (not a paid commercial for the site,!) Come on Truth Tellers ! Thanks all. Keep on…
02/23/17 10:34 AM | Comment Link
Kyzl Orda said...
34Thank you, Peter. I also second what Josh wrote – go to the media AND find a congressperson who really does try to pass legislation on behalf of whistle blowers.
There is a vital caveat – choose your media carefully. In spite of the lovely ad the NY Times now prominently displays on its website soliciting leaked info – don’t buy it. The NY Times and the Washington Post are not going to give up their privileges at the end. During the Obama administration, both of these papers sat on whistle blowing stories or worse – made fun of whistle blowers – anyone remember some of the reporting on the FDA scientists or Frank Serpico? Suddenly, with a republican admin, these papers are portraying themselves as friends of whistle blowers?
I’m one of the “lower level” functionaries in a NY Times piece, The Lesson of the Fulbright Gaza Seven. This was during a republican admin and the NY Times failed to mention – both of the lower level functionaries not only notified their immediate superiors NOT to cancel this program but advocated against canceling the program. The Times erroneously reported the story and worse, made it seem like our immediate supervisors were not the root cause. We got scape-goated for raising the red flag. The NY TImes only sourced its info from – the Department’s PA guy. I did not contact the Times, but as a major newspaper, they failed to contact primary sources.
It may be better to go straight to the Intercept (and simultaneously contact a senator or congressperson) and familiarize yourself with what constitutes a whistle blower – don’t trust the NY Times or Washington Post. AND don’t trust your agency’s HR. They help make retaliation look legit. It’s hard to believe in the course of a 24 hour transition as one presidency morphs into a new one, the NY Times and Washington Post have suddenly grown a backbone about supporting whistle blowers.
Perhaps others have different experiences or advice. Times and processes change – hopefully
02/23/17 10:40 AM | Comment Link
Kyzl Orda said...
35And yes, what Rich and Chuck said – contact a lawyer who handles whistle blower cases
02/23/17 10:47 AM | Comment Link
John Poole said...
36How about investigating and then blowing the whistle on America’s EB-5 thingee? It is pretty easy to imagine the EB-5 thingee is completely corrupt. Some Chinese billionaire mobster agrees to invest and then of course he must have a 20K square foot house here. Everybody wins! Warning, Do not investigate and certainly do not blow the whistle on EB-5
02/23/17 10:52 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
37The FBI isn’t investigating smallfry leakers anymore. It has bigger fish to fry:
THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE proudly announced the first FBI terror arrest of the Trump administration on Tuesday: an elaborate sting operation that snared a 25-year-old Missouri man who had no terrorism contacts besides the two undercover FBI agents who paid him to buy hardware supplies they said was for a bomb — and who at one point pulled a knife on him and threatened his family.
Robert Lorenzo Hester of Columbia, Missouri, didn’t have the $20 he needed to buy the 9-volt batteries, duct tape, and roofing nails his new FBI friends wanted him to get, so they gave him the money. The agents noted in a criminal complaint that Hester, who at one point brought his two small children to a meeting because he didn’t have child care, continued smoking marijuana despite professing to be a devout Muslim.
One of the social media posts that initially caught the FBI’s attention referred to a group called “The Lion Guard.” Hester told one of the undercover agents the name came from “a cartoon my children watch.”
But according to the DOJ press release, Hester had plans to conduct an “ISIS-sponsored terrorist attack” on President’s Day that would have resulted in mass casualties had it succeeded.
News reports breathlessly echoed the government’s depiction of Hester as a foiled would-be terrorist. But the only contact Hester had with ISIS was with the two undercover agents who suggested to him that they had connections with the group. The agents, who were in contact with him for five months, provided him with money and rides home from work as he dealt with the personal fallout of an unrelated arrest stemming from an altercation at a local grocery store.
Hester, who had briefly enlisted in the U.S. Army before being discharged in 2013, had posted images of weapons and a flag sometimes associated with terrorist groups on a social media platform. He had also written “Burn in hell FBI” and “Brothers in AmurdiKKKa we need to get something going here all those rednecks have their little militias why shouldn’t we do the same.” In another post, he asserted that ISIS was created as part of a conspiracy by the United States and Israel.
Yes, contact the INTERCEPT.
02/23/17 10:57 AM | Comment Link
Kyzl Orda said...
38No one really talks about the retaliation process. It seems to fall into patterns of actions – almost like it comes from a textbook.
Be careful and responsible. It’s stressful but double and triple check your work and communicate with your local boss, who is likely the one implementing the retaliation, by email and cc your union rep (Yeah, some of them are the pitts and seem to work for the officials, and workplace rights be damned).
Take up jogging and a hobby – these help with managing stress levels. Not sure what others would advise for helping with the stress. There won’t be support from colleagues, so don’t expect it. Once I was suprised – an ethical colleague came in and handed me program data and stated loudly – here, this is for you. I was told not to give this to you. But this pertains to your programs and you have a right to do your job. That was damn impressive. Rare, but impressive. Most are cowards and you can’t help but think God help us if we are over run by terrorists or communists – these co-workers will pathetically be first in line to congratulate them and kiss up
02/23/17 10:59 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
39When the retaliation comes, and it will, just document every action. The spineless “bosses” think they will be protected, but they too get fucked in the end.
02/23/17 11:22 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
40And if you suspect they are reading your email- they are- you can write nasty comments about them like their body odor, bad breath etc, anything to get them to come running down the hall foaming at the mouth like a …paranoid psychotic, which should be investigated immediately.
02/23/17 11:25 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
41Just trademarked THE WHISTLEBLOWERS PLAYBOOK, a Step-by-step Manual for People Who Want to Fuck the
People who are Fucking US.
02/23/17 11:36 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
42Rich.
Remember… The retaliation….. It does not come from just whistle blowing.
Catch someone doing something despicable…
They retaliate…. Make it someone else’s fault.
M
02/23/17 11:37 AM | Comment Link
Bruce said...
43ALWAYS on principle, or not at all. Having tried EVERY Way, even WITH a nepotistic “President” himself; I can only recommend crafted anonymous leaking. Otherwise expect only retribution (since whistleblower ‘protections’ are actually only there to lull the blower to repressive self-exposure, at least since Raygun). Anonymously and Just(ly) make sure the true facts are actually revealed; then let the public consequence result (or not, in this “dumbest country on earth”).
02/23/17 11:48 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
44Bruce, I trademarked THE DUMBEST COUNTRY ON THE PLANET too. So I will let it slide…this time.
02/23/17 12:17 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
45Bruce.
BULLSEYE !!!!!!!!
M
02/23/17 12:20 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
46You know….
There is another way to see this…and…. It happens to be one of the sayings I cling to.
” which is worse… The one who does the act…. Or… The one that covers it up…. And allows and enables the act ”
M
02/23/17 12:44 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
47In the case of Anne Frank, that would be US. We did the act by refusing to issue the refugees visas and then covered it up until 2007.
02/23/17 1:37 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
48Rich.
Let’s try focusing on smaller…. Anne Frank….. Don’t even start me… Let’s say… NEVER AGAIN !!!!… And leave it there….
You and I…. Were political opposites…. Yet…. I KNOW… You would be right beside me… Doing whatever it took to ensure… NEVER AGAIN.
So…. Let’s try something small….
Few nights ago…. Over here… Close to home… We held a ceremony… Called “Everyday heroes “….we made a real big deal of it…. Hoping to have the behaviors catch on… Community wide….. A counter to all the dumbass protesters and riots…
( shhh… Yes…. I know that sounds very ‘left ‘… ( bite me, Rich … Your having a bad influence on me ))
Just honoring people who did the right thing… At the right time… Little things… Moving a branch from traffic…just before a school bus went through… A 19 year old kid… Who damn near killed himself… Replacing a manhole cover… In the middle of traffic…
Just little things….
I KNOW you have done similar…. I have…
Way I look at it…. Whistle blowers…. They are absolutely Necessary… To stand up to bullies.
And God knows… There are enough bullies around.
M
02/23/17 2:08 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
49Bet this hurt worse than a root canal.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/23/sweden-democrats-trump-was-right.html
02/23/17 2:20 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
50So… Speaking of whistle blowers…
Can’t tell me someone did not know about this… Before it happened.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/02/23/police-dallas-teacher-threatened-to-kill-staff-unless-was-given-raise.html
M
02/23/17 2:27 PM | Comment Link
chuck said...
51Smart is good. Educate me. Thank you PVB, etc.. Have a nice day.
02/23/17 2:29 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
52I agree with some of what she says…. But….. I don’t think she realizes that the age of “deep throat ” is gone.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39065535
M
02/23/17 3:40 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
53No comment….. But…. Well worth reading.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/02/23/how-illegal-immigrant-advocates-demonize-trump-and-terrify-people.html
M
02/23/17 4:01 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
54Trump should bring back Slam Dunk Tenet to write the fake intelligence to support the Syrian travel ban. Don’t hold your breath waiting for CIA whistleblowers.
02/23/17 6:12 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
55Rich.
Fyi…. My wife and I …. We played hooky for a few hours today…
Went and saw a movie together.
STRONGLY recommend ” Hacksaw Ridge ”
Holy crap…. The Medal of Honor citation … It really understates what the guy did…
Just… DAMN !!!!
And… No…. I’m not being paid for this advertising
M
02/23/17 6:58 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
56Rich.
CIA is way to interested in interest payments to blow whistles.
M
02/23/17 7:00 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
57Guess I’m not the only one who does not like this guy.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39059988
M
02/23/17 8:48 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
58Someone didn’t get the leak memo
The State Department issued a memo warning against leaks that was promptly leaked to a journalist.
The Feb. 20 memo issued by acting legal adviser Richard Visek explained how Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was authorized to protect certain types of “sensitive but unclassified” information, reported the Washington Post.
The four-page memo, which itself was marked sensitive but unclassified, argued that leaks chilled policy discussions and harmed the State Department’s reputation.
“When such information is leaked … It chills the willingness of senior government officials to seek robust and candid advice, which ultimately is to the detriment of informed policymaking and the reputation of the institution from which the leak emanated,” the memo reads, according to the Post.
“If the Department is going to be able to influence policy deliberations, we need to have a reputation for engaging responsibly in those deliberations,” the memo reads.
The memo encourages disgruntled officials to take a more active role in shaping policies and express any concerns about policy afterwards to their colleagues or higher-ups.
Apparently Rex didn’t get Trump’s memo: ignore anything the State Dept says.
02/24/17 10:22 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
59“Silence is golden” Tillerson apparently doesn’t read the WaPo: democracy dies in darkness. The last person to leave the State Dept turn out the lights.
02/24/17 10:25 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
60Donald is getting angry:
Birdbrain tweets: find the leakers within the FBI itself. Classified information is being given to media that could have a devastating effect on U.S. FIND NOW
Trump: I will tell you this if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the truth we are desperately trying to hide from the American voters. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”
02/24/17 10:35 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
61Dicktator Don says media should not be able to use unnamed sources citing leaks as a threat to democracy.
And you think the internet is killing the newspaper industry…
02/24/17 11:32 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
62Do as I say
Trump failed to mention that his own White House has used unnamed sources to refute the media, including in their denial of a CNN story Thursday that said the White House asked the FBI to tamp down on stories about contact between the Trump campaign and Russian nationals. Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, on Sunday, referenced unnamed intelligence officials when he said the original New York Times story about the campaign’s contacts with Russians was “grossly overstated.”
02/24/17 11:36 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
63The Million Dollar question is who will leak Trumps tax returns…anonymously?
That is the going price.
02/24/17 11:56 AM | Comment Link
John Poole said...
64Bauer- the internet has already killed the newspaper industry. Too much irrelevant content will kill the internet ( the Tower of Babel thingee) and then we can all dust off our ouija boards to get our daily fix for info- fake or real. Porn will prosper via streaming of movies and video games and thank god for pro sports to feed America’s gambling addiction.
02/24/17 12:56 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
65JP,
Judy Miller, not the internet, killed the Times. Out of the ashes of the dead trees media grows WMW, the Intercept, and other credible news sources.
Anonymous sources who leak because they have a personal grudge I can do without. Trump’s wailing about anonymous sources is like a blind giant flailing at an irritating pest he wants to crush.
The New York Post has the successful business model – porn with the news. So when Peter includes porn pics of Trump getting his golden shower, his web traffic will skyrocket.
02/24/17 3:38 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
66Trump leaks. That is why he wears Depends.
Trump: I love free speech, but I love making a buck off anything I can fuck. Fuck you, America,
02/24/17 3:57 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
67John.
Internet killed the postal service too. Can’t compete with free email.
M
02/24/17 5:50 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
68Rich.
Need to clarify something here.
Big difference between leakers, and whistle blowers.
Whistle blowers, because they are risking exposure, are trying to do the right thing.
Leakers….. They have a personal grudge. That’s why they are leaking …
M
02/24/17 5:55 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
69There is so much wrong with this….. Starting with… The dates… The money… The ties….. Etc…etc…
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/24/fox-news-investigation-dod-funded-school-at-center-federal-probes-over-suspected-chinese-military-ties.html
M
02/24/17 7:20 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
70One man’s leaker is another man’s whistleblower.
02/24/17 7:40 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
71Trump says he is against anonymous leakers, says they create fake news. So let US follow Trumps lead:
NYT today reported a good friend JIM, a very substantial source in the FBI, leaked information that the Trump administration is totally on the payroll of RasPUTIN and is willing to sell any national secret the IC is stupid enough to tell Trump. JIM says the Russian infiltration in the White House is because Trump was a stupid tourist in Moscow and literally let his pants down, JIM says Melania got hold of the blackmail photos and now flinches every time the creep touches her. JIM goes on to report that …
Easy. Not anonymous. Totally real.
02/25/17 6:43 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
72Rich.
He’s absolutely correct in saying ” Trump says he is against anonymous leakers, says they create fake news. “.
M
02/25/17 7:55 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
73You know…
I see the “medias” point…. But…. I see Trump’s point too.
What’s the solution when you have openly hostile media… That intentionally distorts information… And still protect the first amendment…
Especially when the media is counting on their lawyers to protect… And distort further….
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39088770
M
02/25/17 8:06 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
74Gotta love Texas.
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2017/02/25/jeopardy-contestant-gives-trebek-finger.html
M
02/25/17 8:15 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
75The leak is real, the news is fake. If the leaker is a liar, then the media should leak his identity.
02/25/17 10:07 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
76Latest leak has The Trumpster frantically trying to justify the Muslim 7travel ban. We aren’t in Kansas anymore. It ain’t Syria we should be worried about exporting terrorists:
Emptywheel: In 2014, Frazier Glenn Miller killed three people at two Jewish sites near Kansas City. Like Purinton, Miller didn’t succeed in targeting his desired type of victim; all of his victims are Christians. A former Klan member, Miller had also previously conspired with MLK parade terrorist Kevin Harpham.
In 2009, Scott Roeder assassinated abortion provider George Tiller in his church in Wichita, Kansas. Roeder conspired with a network of other anti-abortion terrorists, and he continued to call for violence even after being imprisoned.
In 1994 and 1995, Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols carried out most of their preparation for the Oklahoma City bombing in Kansas.
Under Trump’s logic, the best way to deal with spiking violence such as we see in Kansas is to wall it off, to prevent it from infecting the rest of the country.
I realize this will create a lot of undue hardship for the people of Kansas. I realize, too, it will prove to be a royal pain in the ass for anyone trying to drive across the vast expanse in the middle of the country, particularly long haul truckers.
But we have to keep our country safe.
So Kansans will have to be cooped up in their violent state, along with the dangerous whackjobs that mean to do them harm, until we can figure this out.
02/25/17 10:47 AM | Comment Link
chuck said...
77Who is behind the curtain ? You must be a whackjob if you think Perez and the D’s will save u.s.. Ban the fake news, wars etc.. Have a nice day. What will/would Donna B. do?!!! Cheaters beware.
02/25/17 11:32 AM | Comment Link
John Poole said...
78Mexicans say Trump can build his wall as long as the US gives back all the land it stole from Mexico. Sounds fair to me.
02/25/17 12:48 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
79We already discussed the swap. The majority on both sides of the wall think it is fair to give Texas back. And we will throw in Kansas,
PS: first degree murder is operationally defined as a hate crime.
02/25/17 3:54 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
80Trump leaks he won’t dine with leaker speakers.
02/25/17 8:14 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
81DHS leak pisses on Trump’s Muslim ban
A draft intelligence report compiled by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finds little evidence that citizens from the seven countries included in President Trump’s travel ban pose a terror threat, according to The Associated Press.
The document, compiled by the agency’s intelligence unit, reportedly says citizenship is an “unlikely indicator” for terror threats within the U.S.
It also points notes that just a handful of people from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Sudan have been linked to terrorist activity in the U.S. or participated in attacks.
The report undermines the rationale for Trump’s executive order, which he said was put in place to protect the country from terror threats.
Trump: Don’t piss on me and tell me it is a golden shower.
02/25/17 8:31 PM | Comment Link
John Poole said...
82Not everyone is all bad. Trump said he is passing on the hollow pageantry and charades of the WHCA dinner. Such events are an embarrassment. Let the MSM correspond with the cast of SNL instead.
02/25/17 9:27 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
83Laughter TRUMPS hate.
02/26/17 8:20 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
84The guy is Don Johnny onenote. He got elected on hate and he feels that he has to continue his negative campaigning to keep his base. This will lead to emotional burnout–Trumpitis- and alienate the millions who couldn’t bother to vote for the War Witch. Trump will suffer burnout as he and his small fingers are ridiculed endlessly. Yes, the media is Dons enemy. The next election will swing the pendulum back again. We went from an intelligent black man to a white rich dumbass. In 2020 the Dems, assuming there is still a country left to have an election, will elect a woman, race undecided, who is smart and not rich- sorry Hillarious. That rules out Chelsea too. And Ivanka, not that she wants the job.
02/26/17 8:32 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
85Rich.
Trump did Not get elected on hate. Not everyone who voted for him is a hater. Stereotypes are bad.
He got elected on the Hope of real Change.
And… Btw….. The list of countries on the ban…. The list came from the Obama administration….. Which is why Trump used it… To make his point about the “media”.
And yes, Obama is very bright…. But…. Obama was incredibly ineffectual.
PS….
Neat little thing for you to do.
Search Obama’s wealth before and after going to the white house…
Then……
Search Michelle’s.
That was not the change people wanted with Obama.
The shame of it is…. All future Black presidential candidates will be judged against Obama.
M
02/26/17 9:43 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
86PS.
Rich.
Here’s the answer.
Obama net worth…. 12.2 million.
Michelle…. In her UNpaid position… 11.8 millon.
Prior to entering the White House…
COMBINED net worth…. 300 thousand.
Intelligent….. Yep….. Crooked…… Yep.
M
02/26/17 9:49 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
87This also rules out Mark Cuban in 2020: no rich white dumbasses need apply.
02/26/17 10:23 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
88Mitch, didn’t mention honest in that intelligent black man. Politician and honest are NEVER to be mentioned in the same sentence. And the amount Obama has is chump change to a real crook like Trump and his cabinet…and even you, right?
02/26/17 10:26 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
89If there was any doubt, Trump has proved once again the guy is a gutless coward too afraid to meet the press in the WH correspondents dinner. If he did attend, and a major network bought the rights, it would get better ratings than the Super Bowl. Don, you are only in this for the money. Make a deal, get some of the profits. What have you got to lose?
02/26/17 11:51 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
90Oh this gonna end well…
In an effort to stem a daily flow of leaks about turmoil inside the Trump White House, Press Secretary Sean Spicer called in a dozen of his closest aides and ordered them to turn over their phones to be searched by White House lawyers.
According to Politico, Spicer called a surprise meeting last week where the staffers were told to put their phones on a table for a “phone check,” by the attorneys who were standing by.
The report states Spicer had become frustrated seeing information discussed in meetings showing up in the press and consulted with White House Counsel Don McGahn for guidance.
Staffers were called into the meeting and, after giving up their phones, were warned that the use of encrypted apps like Confide and Signal would be a violation of the Federal Records Act.
According to sources, staffers were also ordered to turn over any other electronic devices in their possession besides their personal and government-issued phones.
Can’t wait until this edict applies to all federal workers.
02/26/17 2:06 PM | Comment Link
chuck said...
91Groomers working on Kamala Harris, just like they fooled the people with Obomber.
02/26/17 2:20 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
92Rich.
So….. Exactly how do you come to the conclusion that I’m a crook?
M
02/26/17 5:27 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
93Chuck.
You noticed that too,huh?
M
02/26/17 5:28 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
94I didn’t. Are you confessing?
02/26/17 5:42 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
95Rich.
Wish I was. Following the rules is just so… Inconvenient.
Be a lot easier if I was corrupt.
M
02/26/17 6:56 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
96Rich.
I really hope they find the leak in the staffer pool…. Because if they don’t…. And the leaks are higher up… Its a lot more sinister.
M
02/26/17 7:09 PM | Comment Link