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A compromised presidency by @BloggersRUs

Published by Tom Sullivan on July 19, 2018

A compromised presidency
by Tom Sullivan

“Frequently, individuals on a treasonous path do not even realize they’re on that path until it gets to be too late.” — John O. Brennan, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, May 23, 2017

Is the sitting president compromised? Broadly, as a deeply flawed human being, in too many ways to recount here. That would require volumes and a panel of experts in developmental and behavioral psychology. As a president, the evidence has splashed across our television screens since before Donald J. Trump took the oath of office with his fingers crossed behind his back.

The New York Times Wednesday evening reported that weeks before his inauguration top U.S. intelligence officials showed Trump clear evidence Russian intelligence directed by President Vladimir Putin had engaged in “complex cyberattacks to sway the 2016 American election.” Their evidence included texts and emails between Russian military officials and information from a top-secret source close to Putin himself. Her/his life is at risk unless it is lost already. Intelligence officials and the Times have to know this. One trusts they have made adequate provision.

John O. Brennan, the C.I.A. director; James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence; and Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency and the commander of United States Cyber Command; and James Comey, then F.B.I. director, attended the January 6, 2017 meeting. The evidence was clear. They were unequivocal in their conclusions.

Comey, as we learned previously, remained after the meeting to advise Trump of the existence of the “Steele dossier” produced by a former British intelligence officer. It contained salacious and unconfirmed information about a Trump visit to Moscow (the rumored “pee tape”).

Trump has denied the rumors. He repeats with obsessive regularity there was “no collusion” between his campaign and Russia. He appears to the most untrained eye to behave as child caught while engaged in mischief. Bart Simpson comes immediately to mind. He, too, goes out of his way to cast a cloud on any suggestion that Putin and Russia executed the campaign of hacking and disinformation his experts assured him occurred.

He did so with Putin standing beside him in Helsinki on Monday. Even in walking back his statements undercutting the entire U.S. intelligence community, after stating he accepted their conclusions on Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign, he could not help himself from adding, “Could be other people also. A lot of people out there.”

An unnamed close Trump aide told the Times that any admission by Trump that Russia helped him win the election raises questions about his legitimacy.

Why Trump is so obsequious around Russian president Vladimir Putin is a question yet unresolved. But the events of the last week demonstrate again that why he behaves as he does is a side issue. That he behaves as he does is a national security crisis.

Nonetheless, since the GOP leadership seems unlikely to act to end it, I am going to speculate.

First of all, Trump is a coward. He is a tough-guy wannabe. He idolizes strongmen because he wants to be in their fraternity, but they will not let him in. Perhaps flattery would work? That explains his praise for Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines or Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, but there is something more with Vladimir Putin.

One theory (repeated above) is that Trump is reluctant to criticize Putin because if Russia helped elect Trump the legitimacy of his presidency is in question. Trump’s ego can never admit that. Indeed, Trump the Insecure is sensitive about his win. He relives it at every opportunity and hates that he lost the popular vote to that woman Hillary Clinton. He claims millions of votes cast for her were illegal. But Trump was reluctant to criticize Putin long before he won. In fact, Trump was praising Putin over a year ahead of the election.

Trump praised Putin in September 2015, giving him an ‘A’ for leadership and disparaging Barack Obama. In December that year, Trump called him “brilliant and talented.” Putin described Trump as “an outstanding and talented personality,” “the absolute leader in the presidential race.” Also from December 2015:

Reminded that Putin is accused of ordering the murder of journalists, Trump effectively said he doesn’t care. “Well, I think our country does plenty of killing also,” the Republican candidate responded.

Unless Trump and Putin struck a deal to put him in the White House over a year ahead of the election Trump seemed surprised to have won, there would be no election-related reason for their bromance so early.

Another theory for Trump’s fawning is kompromat, perhaps the “pee tape” mentioned in the Steele dossier. It may or may not exist. But Trump has so little shame as to be unmeasurable. While he has paid women to keep quiet about sexual affairs, it was not out of shame but perhaps to protect himself from larger financial losses in divorce. He weathered news that adult film actress Stormy Daniels spanked him. He weathered humiliation at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ dinner; it may only have motivated him to get back at Barack Obama by overturning his legacy programs. But the rumored Russian pee tape would be reason for Trump to mention Putin as little as possible, not to lavishly praise him.

It’s something else. Recall this scene from Casablanca:

Rick: And remember, this gun is pointed right at your heart.

Captain Renault: That is my least vulnerable spot.

Donald Trump’s flaws and motivations are multifarious. But if Putin has Trump compromised, it is not the pee tape. Shame is not leverage against Trump. His heart, if he has one, is not his vulnerable spot. His wallet is.

Trump has been singularly averse to allowing anyone to look into his finances. He is the first president since the tradition began not to release his taxes. Trump’s most vulnerable spot is his wealth. Putin’s ability to threaten Trump’s wealth, perhaps even to wipe it out, is real leverage.

That or else a threat to have the coward killed. But as the old Jack Benny skit goes, when the stickup man says, “Your money or your life,” twice before Benny finally replies, “I’m thinking it over,” even threatening Trump’s life may not shake him to his core. Now a U.S. president, he’ll have Secret Service protection for life in addition to whatever he can afford to hire. A threat to his life may not be what scares Trump most.

No, a mortal threat to Trump’s vulgar empire is real leverage. He would do anything to protect it. Perhaps launder money for Russian organized crime or throw his son-in-law to the wolves. Maybe sell out his country.

When John Brennan testified in May last year about individuals treading “a treasonous path,” there was room to think he may have been referring only to Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Flynn had stepped aside in February 2017 after lying to the F.B.I. about his conversations with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December 2016.

But Brennan prefaced those remarks by warning of the thread posed by the collaboration between Russian intelligence and organized crime:

And that collaboration between Russian intelligence and Russian organized crime, I think, is more and more of a concern so that they can promote their respective interests. So this is something that I think the Russians are looking for new opportunities to partner with whomever they can in order to do what they want to do.

Deep Throat said it best.

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