Trump revealed classified information to Russian foreign minister and ambassador

[Matty]

Does anyone else find it disturbing that if the evidence is so sensitive, washington post has so much close access to it and other dealings in the intel world? I understand and value the need for a close eye on government, but isn't it a security risk in and of itself when people in the media have access to people in the intel world in a such a close manner?

[Matty]

While he may not be impeached over this, I think it's noteworthy in itself that only three months into his presidency we're already discussing whether his action are impeachable.

Why is this noteworthy when you have at least 45% of the country that probably would be ok with him being assassinated? The level of hatred trump stirs in many American souls is unlike anything we have seen in poliitcs. Obama stirred hatred in the eyes of many conservatives, but this is on another level. Whether or not the hatred is deserved, there is bound to be impeachment talks from rabid haters.

[Matty]

The only good thing about this is watching R's spin in circles trying to defend him.

If we survive the Trump era, there a whole lot of people who should never be taking seriously ever again.

"If we survive".... really? It's stuff like this that is why so many people don't take seriously some of you guys. It's one thing to oppose trump and his worldview and policies, it's another thing to delude yourselves into thinking the world will be on fire and we're all going to die because of one man. It's paranoia and frankly unhealthy. That's schizophrenia.

[Matty]

The only good thing about this is watching R's spin in circles trying to defend him.

If we survive the Trump era, there a whole lot of people who should never be taking seriously ever again.

"If we survive".... really? It's stuff like this that is why so many people don't take seriously some of you guys. It's one thing to oppose trump and his worldview and policies, it's another thing to delude yourselves into thinking the world will be on fire and we're all going to die because of one man. It's paranoia and frankly unhealthy. That's schizophrenia.

if, for example, a.h.c.a. passes that's tens of thousands of people dead per year. get your useless head out of the sand.

Under that logic, can I blame democratic immigration policy for the deaths of people who were hit by unlicensed undocumented immigrants?

[Matty]

The only good thing about this is watching R's spin in circles trying to defend him.

If we survive the Trump era, there a whole lot of people who should never be taking seriously ever again.

"If we survive".... really? It's stuff like this that is why so many people don't take seriously some of you guys. It's one thing to oppose trump and his worldview and policies, it's another thing to delude yourselves into thinking the world will be on fire and we're all going to die because of one man. It's paranoia and frankly unhealthy. That's schizophrenia.

I don't think I've seen a Presidential election yet (and that goes back to 1964, although I didn't start following politics seriously until '68) where the losing side didn't predict the imminent demise of the Republic.  Remember all those on the right who were convinced that if Obama won in 2008, that would be the last election?  And that if he was re-elected in 2012, that one would be the last?

However, I'll grant that Trump, due to his general lack of competence and experience, has a greater likelihood of destabilizing the world than any of his predecessors in recent decades.

I guess that's fair, but some of y'all forget that the president is but one man, and that society has a power in it separate from the state. If a president was ever so horrible that the world started to crumble, we have methods of removal.

[Matty]

The only good thing about this is watching R's spin in circles trying to defend him.

If we survive the Trump era, there a whole lot of people who should never be taking seriously ever again.

"If we survive".... really? It's stuff like this that is why so many people don't take seriously some of you guys. It's one thing to oppose trump and his worldview and policies, it's another thing to delude yourselves into thinking the world will be on fire and we're all going to die because of one man. It's paranoia and frankly unhealthy. That's schizophrenia.

if, for example, a.h.c.a. passes that's tens of thousands of people dead per year. get your useless head out of the sand.

Under that logic, can I blame democratic immigration policy for the deaths of people who were hit by unlicensed undocumented immigrants?

try harder

It's ridiculous to assume that people will "die" because the government does not do this or that. In reality, why should we blame government for the deaths of those without healthcare and not people who refuse to be charitable. Why does government deserve blame but private citizens do not? Philosophically, why is one more liable?

[Matty]

The only good thing about this is watching R's spin in circles trying to defend him.

If we survive the Trump era, there a whole lot of people who should never be taking seriously ever again.

"If we survive".... really? It's stuff like this that is why so many people don't take seriously some of you guys. It's one thing to oppose trump and his worldview and policies, it's another thing to delude yourselves into thinking the world will be on fire and we're all going to die because of one man. It's paranoia and frankly unhealthy. That's schizophrenia.

You are missing the point, you ****ing idiot.

He is destroying the US credibility and damaging our institutions. No country is ever going to fully trust the US again after this administration.

Yea, because Obama and Bush won over so many hearts and minds in regions of the world that we need trust.

[Matty]

people who don't want this thread to become about obama/hillary just shouldn't reply to the snark, eh?

Well, when you call out trump for undermining American leadership, expect to be called out for your hypocritical worship of Obama's middle eastern policy, which made many of our allies in the region disappointed and let down after 8 years.

[Matty]

Who the heck would leak this? That's my concern.

As much as I believe Trump could do this, it's hard to believe that anyone in the room would leak this -- at least on this side. It would have only been the upper circle in the room, correct? So wouldn't the leak be more likely to have come from the Russians? I'm totally willing to believe this, but it seems just... a bit off. I don't know.

This is my point. If this hurts our credibility, why would a concerned leaker not just let it kept secret? That way, our allies wouldn't even know about it.

Leaking this is in and of itself a security issue.

[Matty]

I do love how neo-con bush republicans are now heroes on this board are worthy of being retweeted on here.

I honestly think at least 1/3rd of you guys would smile on the inside, at least for a moment, if you woke up to the news of his assassination.

[Matty]

I do love how neo-con bush republicans are now heroes on this board are worthy of being retweeted on here.

I honestly think at least 1/3rd of you guys would smile on the inside, at least for a moment, if you woke up to the news of his assassination.

More deflection.

Deflection according to this board is saying anything that goes against the mob consensus and/or refusing to agree with the outrage

[Matty]

I do love how neo-con bush republicans are now heroes on this board are worthy of being retweeted on here.

sure they are.

frum, podhoretz, kristol and co never drank the trump kool-aid.

partisanship is the worst drug of them all.

They did much worse. They crafted policy that made the middle east far worse and are responsible for the second most unpopular war in our nation's history.

[Matty]

We already know Trump is a traitor, time to get him out and at best locked in solitary for the rest of his life.

Hate is the cancer that inflicts the heart. Please provide me proof of trump being a traitor.

You essentially are calling for his death (at best solitary confinement).

It is simply unhealthy, dude.

[Matty]

Who the heck would leak this? That's my concern.

As much as I believe Trump could do this, it's hard to believe that anyone in the room would leak this -- at least on this side. It would have only been the upper circle in the room, correct? So wouldn't the leak be more likely to have come from the Russians? I'm totally willing to believe this, but it seems just... a bit off. I don't know.

This is my point. If this hurts our credibility, why would a concerned leaker not just let it kept secret? That way, our allies wouldn't even know about it.

Leaking this is in and of itself a security issue.

same logic: we never should have learned that clinton mishandled classified info because it make us look bad and could be a security issue.

There IS an argument that it never should have been made public her server issues. It allowed hackers to explore whether others in gov't were doing similar things and it undermined american public trust in gov't

[Matty]

He literally gave a two minute press conference, reading off of a note card, and took no questions. I do not believe one word that came out of McMaster's mouth.

Why blindly trust wapo, a left-leaning newspaper, but automatically refuse to respect the word of perhaps the most respected person in the trump admin?

HR mcmaster's hire was lauded by almost everybody.

[Matty]

He literally gave a two minute press conference, reading off of a note card, and took no questions. I do not believe one word that came out of McMaster's mouth.

Why blindly trust wapo, a left-leaning newspaper, but automatically refuse to respect the word of perhaps the most respected person in the trump admin?

HR mcmaster's hire was lauded by almost everybody.

All media outlets that report on stories you people don't like are left leaning and biased in your view.

deflection! I'm not saying you shouldn't think it is credible, but wapo has been wrong in the past. The "comey asked for more money before firing" was a lie, as was the story that vermont't utility system was hacked by russia.

You think a respected and honorable military guy like mcmaster is going to destroy his image like that?

[Matty]

yes, because predictit mere hours after a story hits is an accurate measurement.

[Matty]

He literally gave a two minute press conference, reading off of a note card, and took no questions. I do not believe one word that came out of McMaster's mouth.

Why blindly trust wapo, a left-leaning newspaper, but automatically refuse to respect the word of perhaps the most respected person in the trump admin?

HR mcmaster's hire was lauded by almost everybody.

All media outlets that report on stories you people don't like are left leaning and biased in your view.

deflection! I'm not saying you shouldn't think it is credible, but wapo has been wrong in the past. The "comey asked for more money before firing" was a lie, as was the story that vermont't utility system was hacked by russia.

You think a respected and honorable military guy like mcmaster is going to destroy his image like that?

It's not just the Washington post which has reported on and confirmed this story. Get your head out of your ass.

Yes, I do believe that people associated with this garbage administration including McMaster are willing to jeopardize their public image in a vein attempt to stay in Trump's ear.

Why should we automatically value the "statements" of leakers in the intel community, both current and retired, who likely hate the fact that trump is in office? Don't you think it is at least partly the case that trump's "anti-establishment" and total political outsider status irks these people to their core ,and they will go to the papers and fling anything to the wall to hope it sticks. What do you have to lose? You can't be punished for leaking fake stuff.

By far, the biggest story of the trump WH so far is the intel community's soft war against him. Whether or not it is justified is up to you, but it's definitely a thing. They want him out, and there will be leaks every week like this for the rest of his days in the WH.

[Matty]

CNN: Rex Tillerson's statement was a surprise to the State Department.

what was his statement?

[Matty]

If trump was alone in the room with mcmaster and the russians, how did people know what was said?

[Matty]

Question for dems: when did you decide that indeed the 1980s don't deserve their policy back?

[Matty]

marty you make funny posts sometimes but you're making it really hard not to put you on ignore.

I'm just trying to provide balance.

I want to know

1) If the leakers realize how reckless they were telling wapo the details.

2) How the leakers obtained the info that classified info was said. If indeed it was highly, highly secret, to the point where even our allies don't know, how did the leakers get it?

Are those 2 things really all that much to ask?

[Matty]

So Trumpers are literally party before country after 30 years of waving the flag

If that's not clear by now, I don't know what more evidence you could possibly need to show that the "real Americans" and Evangelicals alike (a lot of overlap there) are the biggest bunch of hypocrites and should never be taken seriously ever again.

Wait, why must it be assumed that *your* position is the american one, and anyone who disagrees with you is a traitorous human being? Isn't that sort of absolutism dangerous to society?

Why do so many red avatars on this board act like they are somehow above the fray when it comes to their views and their actions? You guys think your opposition to trump stems from some higher, more decent source than partisanship, when in reality it doesn't. Because for 15 MONTHS this board poo-pooed the hillary email story, a development that virtually ALL independently-minded people, even many on the left, admitted was a huge deal that played a role in her losing.

I'm fine with you being against trump, but do not sit here and tell me you are somehow a better person than people who choose to defend him. You call others "party before country" people, but you punted when it came to hillar's reckless practice.

We are all in the mud of partisanship, and it's not as black/white as "anyone who defends him is anti-american". Get out with that crap. It's a mechanism to protect you from debate. You are set in your ways and will never  change from your basic worldview, which is that

right=bad
left=good

[Matty]

I'm getting sick of this "Republicans are putting party before country" bulls***.  Suddenly, searching for the truth stopped becoming relevant for Democrats.  Literally every. single. damn. thing. with Russia is now somehow traitorous.  GET THE FACTS.

Nancy Pelosi saying ACA needed to be passed before reading the bill wasn't party over country?  Democrats protecting Hillary despite her perjuring herself wasn't party over country?  Obama gave guns to f***ing Mexican criminals, one of which killed a border patrolman.  WHERE WAS THE F***ING OUTRAGE FROM DEMOCRATS?!?!?

In addition, I have never once called a Democrat a traitor to the country.  That is a disgusting accusation if not true, yet Democrats have no problem spending EVERY F***ING MINUTE calling Republicans traitors.

Grow the hell up.

Holy, false equivalence.

Oh well, I cut you some slack. It must be hard having to defend this ****show every single day.

I just want the damn truth.  The actual truth, not the Democrat-washed one.

Just think...if Trump released his tax returns and a special bi-partisan prosecutor investigated this whole thing...you could get the truth

the idea that democratic hysterics would end if a special investigator found nothing wrong, or that tax returns showed nothing, is a comical thing to think.

[Matty]

This board has a huge bubble issue. The 5 right-leaning posters who post here are never even responded to honestly. It's gifs, personal attacks, insults, and ad-homs which we get in reply.

Tired of it. I try to be nice but this board is eaten up with its hatred for all things republican.

It's quickly resembling the pre-election days when anyone who questioned hillary's lead or her position was mocked into oblivion.

This is a basic fact: there is not one red ava on here that even for a minute has the urge to seek out counter arguments.