trump

Donald Trump would be denied a federal security clearance if he tried to get one


By Myra Adams – The Hill contributor

MYRA’S COMPLETE ARCHIVE IS HERE

Reposted from The Hill: April 12, 2024

Our intelligence services are consumed with battling a new “Axis of Evil.” The updated phrase, first coined in 2002, now refers to Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. This powerful authoritarian alliance is determined to meddle in elections, launch cyberattacks, destabilize and wage wars against America and its allied democracies around the world.

In this context, consider the likelihood that, starting next Jan. 20, sensitive secrets will be viewed by the most notorious national security risk living outside a federal penitentiary.

It sounds like a Hollywood script, but our spy services must contend with this real-life drama if Donald Trump is elected president once again.

President Biden’s campaign and those who served in Trump’s administration must convey to voters that Trump himself represents a national security risk with severe domestic and global ramifications. Even before November’s election, in mid-July 2024, after Trump is officially nominated at the Republican National Convention, he will be entitled to receive intelligence briefings that Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) hopes will be “dumbed down.” Schiff is reportedly “concerned about whether Trump could share the information.”

Intelligence agencies were always concerned and took necessary precautions during Trump’s presidency. “Officials were even more cautious about what information they provided Mr. Trump because some saw the president himself as a security risk,” the New York Times reported in 2022, quoting CIA counterintelligence official Douglas London.

That sentiment harkens back to January 2017, when an American intelligence official reportedly warned Israeli officials “that American intelligence agencies believed Russia had ‘leverages of pressure’ over President Donald Trump….The [American] official warned Israel to ‘be careful’ once Trump was inaugurated, adding that it was possible sensitive information shared with the White House and the National Security Council could be leaked to Russians.” Four months later, it actually happened.

If the election were held today, former President Trump would likely win. For the intel community, that means additional complications and distractions as they fight the Axis of Evil against threats that some believe Trump’s victory would accelerate.

This week, former CIA director John Brennan said that if elected, Trump “would give Vladimir Putin the green light to practically swallow Ukraine,” since Trump “can reduce or even stop financial and military aid to the government in Kyiv.” 

To date, Trump’s allies, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga), have effectively blocked Ukraine aid. Last month, after Hungarian President Viktor Orbán met with Trump, Orbán told state television that Trump had said he “will not give a penny into the Ukraine-Russia war and therefore the war will end.” Brennan believes “that will encourage Putin to look hungrily at the rest of Europe.”

Trump’s enigmatic and decades-long Russia connection continues to amaze. NATO is taking extra precautions now that Trump has said Russia should be able to do “whatever the hell they want” to NATO members who don’t meet their defense spending targets.

The good news for Trump is that U.S. presidents don’t need security clearances. In November 2016, if not for Trump’s “President-elect” title, “citizen” Trump would have been denied a security clearance due to his extensive long-term business dealings with Russian oligarchs. In 2008, Donald Trump Jr. famously said, “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,” and, “We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.”

No wonder CIA officials saw President Trump “as a security risk.” For anyone not named Trump or Jared Kushner, the exhaustive process for obtaining a security clearance begins with the following nine-point list: “Loyalty to the United States, strength of character, trustworthiness, honesty, reliability, discretion, and soundness of judgment.” Additionally, “We also make sure you: Are free from conflicting allegiances to other countries. Are not a potential risk for blackmail. Will abide by regulations governing the use, handling, and protection of sensitive information.”

In other words, the next likely commander in chief would probably flunk most of the security criteria required of those who will brief him.

The last listed item, “handling and protecting sensitive information,” is a well-documented Trump violation. There are photos of document pieces flushed down his White House toilet. Staffers were tasked with taping together documents that Trump had ripped and discarded. In 2019, Trump tweeted a sensitive Iranian photo, as if he believed it was his personal property.

Such thinking and behavior are the reason Trump has been charged with a 32-count indictment for violating the Espionage Act. Trump allegedly moved boxes of documents, some with the highest classification, to his Mar-a-Lago residence and refused to return them as required by law. (A trial date has yet to be set.)

Topping the list of security clearance criteria is “loyalty to the United States.” Does Trump place loyalty to himself above the nation, given his encouragement of supporters to prevent certification of a lawful election on Jan. 6, 2021, for which Trump has also been indicted? What is national loyalty if not a willingness to abide by the Constitution?

Another clearance question asks if one is “free from conflicting allegiances to other countries.” What gets perhaps less attention than Putin is Trump’s active, lucrative business relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the prince’s LIV Golf tournaments, some hosted at Trump courses.

Liz Peek recently asked whether bin Salman might sabotage Joe Biden’s reelection bid by cutting oil production thus raising prices, which would have adverse ripple effects on the U.S. economy. Indeed, the CIA will be watching the Trump-bin Salman connections, which would likely disqualify anyone from obtaining a federal security clearance.  

If Trump is elected, the intel community will be fighting the Axis of Evil while reporting to a president known as a security risk, and who habitually disregards intelligence that fails to mesh with or interferes with his personal interests. Flush goes the White House toilet and possibly the nation.

Myra Adams served on the creative team of two GOP presidential campaigns in 2004 and 2008.TAGS 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION DONALD TRUMP DONALD TRUMP JR. JAN. 6 CAPITOL RIOT PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN RUSSIA SAUDI ARABIA

Trump: At war with America 


By Myra Adams – The Hill contributor

MYRA’S COMPLETE ARCHIVE IS HERE

Reposted from The Hill Feb. 16, 2024

For the third time in a row, former President Donald Trump is expected to win the Republican nomination. His chances of becoming the 47th president are no worse than 50-50. Not only is President Biden a weak incumbent, but Trump appears to have the momentum and the lead in most of the key swing states.

Never in our nation’s history has a former president been at war with America. But, propelled by political winds, Trump has made himself a warrior-candidate, uniquely accepted by half of voters in a nation at civil war-levels of polarization, coupled with a general distrust of government amidst signs of decline.

On the primary campaign trail, Trump foments rage among his followers. In his Jan. 22 New Hampshire primary victory speech, he shouted his time-tested pronouncement: “This country has gone to hell, this country has gone to hell.”

War is hell, and Trump’s fans believe that only he has the blood and guts, energy, strength, and policies to save America.

Trump’s aggressive negativity is a sharp contrast with the traditional norms of campaign communication, a vast deviation from Ronald Reagan’s sunny optimism. His “Morning in America” television commercial amid his 1984 landslide reelection, clashes sharply with another quintessential Trumpian quote: “We’re going to bring our country back. With your vote, you’re going to put crooked Joe and his protectors on notice that we are coming in November. We’re coming to take over the beautiful, beautiful White House, and we’re going to run the country the way it’s supposed to be run, not the way it’s been.”

Not only does “General” Trump promise “to bring our country back” (from hell, one presumes), but he plans to “take over” the White House. No American presidential candidate has ever promised a “takeover” with a Trump-loyal army-in-waiting named Project 2025.

Also present on Trump’s New Hampshire victory stage was Vivek Ramaswamy, basking in the afterglow of his failed campaign. The former primary candidate has quickly morphed into Trump’s considerably more articulate sidekick. Ramaswamy encapsulated the 45th president’s 2024 “at-war” theme. “We are in the middle of a war in this country,” he said. “It’s not between black and white or even between most Democrats and Republicans. It is between those of us who love this country and a fringe minority who hates the United States of America and what we stand for, between the permanent state and the everyday citizen.”

Here’s an opposing view: “We are in the middle of a war in this country,” that Trump is waging against any person, celebrity, group, political party, branch of government, department, agency, institution, body of law, organization, or established process he deems to be “unfair” or standing between his goal of total domination. 

That list includes current and former Republican members of Congress, Trump administration cabinet officials, retired four-star generals, and the media, for consistently generating “fake news,” except when the coverage is favorable to him.

Trump’s lies and exaggerations are repeated so often that one-third of American ears have normalized his rantings as truth. Hence, Trump’s war will continue to thrive while his well-oiled multi-platform propaganda and fear machines are operational 24/7, to raise money and churn out promises that double as battle plans.

One controversial battle plan Trump announced during his Veteran’s Day message: to “root out the Communists, Marxists, Fascists, and Radical Left Thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country, lie, steal, and cheat on elections, and will do anything possible, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America, and the American Dream.”

One of the most effective weapons in Trump’s strategic arsenal is the 38 percent of Americans who believe that Biden’s 2020 election was illegitimate — “stolen,” in Trump’s warring words.

Most often, Trump fires artillery about how the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol would have turned out differently, had Vice President Mike Pence “done his job” refusing to certify the votes of the Electoral College. That explains why Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Sen. J..D Vance (R-Ohio), perhaps hoping to be named Trump’s running mate, recently stated they would have taken the action that Pence lawfully refused.

Meanwhile, planting political landmines on the campaign trail, Trump vows to rescue the Jan. 6 “hostages” with pardons. (After he finishes being dictator on day one?) Then and always, Trump uses his sympathy weapon, playing the “victim” card with his 91 felony counts, since Biden has weaponized the Justice Department against him.

Last year, the former president officially declared war, unveiling his political manifesto at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), when he said: “I am your warrior, I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.” CPAC 2024 is next week, so listen as Trump throws fiery new verbal daggers to motivate the assembly of foot soldiers.

Another battlefront is an email blast I have somehow started to receive with a “Trump War” subject line, highlighted by a red siren mimicking the Drudge Report’s news alerts. “Trump War” points to an all-headline, Trump-friendly clone of Drudge’s famous 1990s-era vintage format — proving that imitation is the greatest form of flattery.   

“General” Trump and his army are psyched to fight and torpedo any legislation Trump fears could help Biden. This busy week, the general’s sword hangs over House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) refusal to hold a floor vote for Ukraine and Israel military aid. Also, Trump “attacked” NATO and announced plans to conquer the Republican National Committee.

“I am really good at war,” Trump boasted in April 2016. That comes from a man who never wore the uniform but has readily ridiculed those who have. Undeniably, Trump is at war, and if victorious, anyone not in lockstep could become collateral damage. 

Myra Adams served on the creative team of two GOP presidential campaigns, in 2004 and 2008.TAGS 

2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION DONALD TRUMP JOE BIDEN PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN

The most important ‘what-ifs’ of 2024


By Myra Adams – The Hill contributor

MYRA’S COMPLETE ARCHIVE IS HERE

Reposted from The Hill – Dec. 22, 2023

Raise your hand if you are dreading 2024. Keep it up if you believe it will be more traumatic than 2023.

As I was writing this piece, the news broke that the Colorado Supreme Court had ruled former President Trump is ineligible to appear on the 2024 presidential ballot, citing the Constitution’s 14th Amendment insurrection clause.

This unprecedented ruling, likely headed to the Supreme Court, illustrates how alarming, destructive, distressing events and circumstances from 2023 will continue unabated or conclude with more polarizing or dangerous consequences. Thus, 2024 could rank among the most harrowing and catastrophic in national and world history based on the following 11 “what if” questions.

1. What if a barrage of AI-generated content and social media from domestic and foreign players blur presidential campaign messaging, so that voters don’t know what is real or fake?

In April, a member of Congress stated that Russia, China and Iran prefer Trump to win over President Biden. If true, consider a chilling report from the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center, entitled “Protecting Election 2024 from foreign malign influence.” Microsoft warns that a vast operation will target and manipulate voters through extensive foreign AI, cyber, website disinformation and social media. Be aware: A toxic stew of nefarious foreign players will try to influence your vote.

2. What if House Republicans vote to impeach President Biden?

Last week’s party-line vote approved an impeachment inquiry against President Biden. By spring, if House Speaker Johnson counts enough Republican votes to pass articles of impeachment, our nation will experience its first back-to-back impeachments against successive presidents.

Democrats consider this GOP impeachment effort political theatre directed by Donald Trump. Therefore, Biden could have a unique opportunity to show strength, fight back and appeal to voters who think he is too old. And like Trump, Biden could count on an acquittal after his Senate trial.

Furthermore, what if House GOP leaders find insufficient evidence to move forward with articles of impeachment or are short of votes to impeach? Call that a politically embarrassing debacle, perhaps followed by a face-saving “Let the voters decide.” Such a pro-democracy-sounding spin message could be the end-game for this “revenge impeachment.” Undoubtedly, Trump would be furious if Biden were not impeached and lash out at the “weak” House leadership.

3. What if Biden drops out?

That unlikely but not implausible scenario would be the political equivalent of a nuclear bomb, changing the course of American history. Vice President Kamala Harris would be tough to dethrone, but unpopular and potentially beatable by Trump.

4. What if the Supreme Court rules that Trump has presidential immunity and can not stand trial on Jan. 6-related charges?

Such a ruling would be a constitutional shock to our nation and damaging to the Supreme Court’s reputation. According to George Washington University law professor Paul Schiff Berman, granting Trump immunity for criminal action while in office “goes more to the heart of whether the president is a president or a king.”

In 2024, there is no “what if,” only a series of how Trump-related Supreme Court rulings will impact and influence the presidential election.

5. What if Trump is convicted of a felony before November’s election, and polls show he still defeats Biden?

Fortunately for Trump, the Constitution does not state that a criminal conviction makes one ineligible to hold the nation’s highest office. Therefore, again, “Let the voters decide” resolves that question.

6. What if the economy keeps improving and growing with a strong stock market while inflation, interest rates and unemployment all trend lower?  

Would a strong economy translate into higher job approval for President Biden? Not necessarily. If the cost of living is still perceived as too high and the southern border immigration crisis is uncontrollable, Biden could well become a one-term president even amid a recovery.

Recently, Trump unveiled his new campaign slogan: “Better Off With Trump.” It is a personal and narcissistic twist on the traditional presidential election question: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Theoretically, the answer should be “yes,” since the pandemic began in 2020. Nonetheless, Trump’s communication machine and savvy showmanship skills are light years beyond Biden’s, and more voters will be thinking “No.”

7. What if Trump’s campaign rhetoric continues to sound authoritarian as he leads Biden in the polls?

The more Trump quotes his favorite dictators, the more his unorthodox speech becomes normalized and acceptable to voters. At last weekend’s New Hampshire rally, Trump unabashedly said: “Even Vladimir Putin says that Biden’s — and this is a quote — ‘politically motivated persecution of his political rival is very good for Russia, because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others about democracy.’”

Trump is brilliantly employing political jujutsu with all-caps campaign signs proclaiming that “BIDEN ATTACKS DEMOCRACY.” Voters cheer because Trump is their strong man who promises, “We’re going to bring our country back from hell. It’s in hell.”

8. What if the U.S. is drawn into a Middle East war against Iran-backed groups that continue to provoke U.S. naval ships and disrupt international commercial shipping?

Speaking of hell… The Houthis are warning that their attacks will continue. How will the U.S. and its allies stop this naval and merchant ship crisis without further escalation?

9. What if, without U.S. aid, Ukraine falls to Russia?

Putin’s mission is to reconstitute the Soviet empire. If the U.S. abandons Ukraine, we will pay more later and show the world that the U.S. is an unreliable ally.

10. What if war explodes on three fronts?

What if China takes advantage of the distractions in the Middle East and Ukraine to invade Taiwan? Chinese President Xi recently warned Biden that timing is the only question.

11. What if there is a terrorist attack in the U.S., and the perpetrators(s) enter over the southern border?

According to the U.S. Border Patrol Terrorist Screening Dataset, this is an increasing threat. Should it happen, say hello to President Donald J. Trump. But no worries, He will only be a “dictator on day one.”

Potentially, 2024 will rival the domestic upheaval of 1968 and the international threats of 1939. Brace yourself for double chaos.

Myra Adams served on the creative team of two GOP presidential campaigns in 2004 and 2008.

TAGS 2024 DONALD TRUMP JOE BIDEN KAMALA HARRIS PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN