The CIA doesn’t have “feelings”
by digby
It used to be a rare thing to hear a Senator call the president a liar, but with Trump there’s really no choice:
The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee on Friday accused President Donald Trump of lying about the CIA’s report that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi
Trump said Thursday that the CIA “did not come to a conclusion” about the crown prince’s involvement in the murder.
“They have feelings certain ways, but they didn’t — I have the report,” Trump said.When asked if the President was lying about the CIA’s conclusion, Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Jack Reed said, “Yes. The CIA concluded that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia was directly involved in the assassination of Khashoggi.”
“They did it, as has been reported to the press, with high confidence, which is the highest level of accuracy that they will vouch for,” Reed said. “It’s based on facts, it’s based on the analysis. The notion that they didn’t reach a conclusion is just unsubstantiated. The CIA has made that clear.”
“High confidence” is the CIA’s way of saying that it happened. It’s as close as they get to saying it’s a fact.
The president doesn’t care if people are murdered. He is an amoral cretin, we know that. But suggesting that the CIA’s analysis is actually “feelings” is just bizarre. Once again he’s saying black is white and up is down. And that leaves people who live in reality no choice but to call him a liar.
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