A succession of new revelations about National Security advisor (and possible Russian operative?) Mike Flynn have gotten people talking about Trump’s Russian connections again.
Of all the scary things I’ve read about Trump and Russia in the past few days, the most telling one came from a piece called “The Spy Revolt Against Trump Begins” in The Observer, revealing that the intelligence community is increasingly convinced that Trump and his people can’t be trusted with America’s secrets:
Our Intelligence Community is so worried by the unprecedented problems of the Trump administration—not only do senior officials possess troubling ties to the Kremlin, there are nagging questions about basic competence regarding Team Trump—that it is beginning to withhold intelligence from a White House which our spies do not trust.
The worst part isn’t the withholding of information. It’s that our spies are probably right to withhold that information. Even aside from the Russia stuff, there seems to be a real chance that Trump will start blabbing about top secret matters while poking at his iceberg lettuce-based salad during dinner at Mar-a-Lago just a few feet away from assorted random diners.
But I digress Obviously, WE NEED A THOROUGH AND INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION into the whole Trump/Russia thing.
So get out those phones and call your Members of Congress!
See my posts here and here for information and advice on how to make your calls and emails effective. If making these sorts of calls is tough for you, here’s some advice on calling politicians if you have social anxiety. But emails are also fine.
The weekly Action Checklist for Americans of Conscience that I mentioned a few posts back has some suggestions of other people to call about Russia:
Action: Support investigation of Russian interference in US elections.
On January 6, an official report of the CIA, FBI, and NSA assessed with high confidence that Vladimir Putin ordered a 2016 campaign to undermine public faith in the US democratic process. Thankfully, three Senate and House bipartisan committees are now examining Russia’s actions.
Call: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
- Chair, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) 202-224-3154
- Ranking Member, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) 202-224-2023
Call: House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
- Chair, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) 202-225-2523
- Ranking Member, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) 202-225-4176
Call: Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
- Chair, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) 202-224-5972
- Ranking Member, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) 202-224-2921
Script: Hi! I’m calling in regard to _name’s_ role on the _committee name_. I strongly support his work on resisting attempts to “move on” from Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. I am looking forward to learning the outcome of the committee’s findings.
See the rest of this week’s Action Checklist here.
Might I suggest also calling and thanking Congresswoman Maxine Waters for her attempts to keep this issue on the front burner? You can leave a message at (323) 757-8900 or (202) 225-2201.
Speaking of giving thanks, the folks at Wall-Of-Us will be hand-delivering a valentine to Elizabeth Warren tomorrow. You can put your name on the card by going here.
My concern is that the investigations are going to peter out now there’s a scapegoat they can point to: “It was his fault, he even resigned over it, nothing else to see here.”
Was it orally transmitted? Or did she insert his memory stick? Inquiring minds…don’t actually want to know.