Members of "Expedition 54" pose for the history books.
(SOURCE: NASA Archives)
Posted on 07/17/2018 4:51:06 AM PDT by Alberta's Child
In a bombshell story that dates back to September 2017, three current and former U.S. military personnel are under investigation by a myriad of U.S. government agencies and Congressional offices, the Office of the Special Counsel (Robert Mueller), and various media outlets including CNN, MSNBC, and even Fox News.
Details of the story have been breaking overnight in the U.S. The three men are accused of traveling to a former Soviet republic in Asia over a period from September to December of 2017, collaborating with Russian military officials at a secret military installation, and assisting the Russians in a mission that involved an ongoing global surveillance effort through February of 2018. Their work allegedly involved the extensive use of Russian military hardware to access sensitive U.S. military and civilian assets. Communications between various members of the team refer to a cryptic code name for the mission: Expedition 54.
Sources tell the U.S. media that the mission involved three American military personnel, two Russians, and one Japanese national.
The three American men have been identified as Joseph M. Acaba of Inglewood, California (U.S. Marine Corps Reserves); Mark Vande Hei of Falls Church, Virginia (U.S. Army); and Scott Tingle of Attleboro, Massachusetts (U.S. Navy).
A flurry of public statements have been made by the various American leaders and media commentators who are covering the story.
"These men must appreciate that Russia is not our ally. There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals. The United States must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy." -- Paul Ryan, U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives
"Seriously -- what does Putin have on these three men that made them do this? -- Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader
"This incident rises to & exceeds the threshold of 'high crimes & misdemeanors.' It was nothing short of treasonous." -- Former CIA director John Brennan
"This incident will be seen by Russia as a sign of weakness and create far more problems than it solves." -- U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-Saudi Arabia)
"No mission is worth throwing your own people and country under the bus." -- Abby Huntsman, Fox News host and daughter of U.S. Ambassador to Russia
"You have been watching perhaps one of the most disgraceful performances by the U.S. military certainly than I’ve ever seen." -- Anderson Pooper, CNN
"U.S. military personnel on Russian soil talking to our biggest enemy, or adversary, or competitor ... is essentially letting them get away with this. That sets us back a lot." -- Neil Cavuto, Fox News
The most serious allegation against the three men is that they actually reported to a Russian military officer during the course of their mission -- a remarkable turn of events in the history of U.S.-Russian relations. This officer has been identified as Commander Alexander Misurkin.
The Office of the Special Counsel had no public comment on the matter. Curiously, there was no press conference called by the U.S. Dept. of Justice to announce any indictments in advance of President Trump's summit meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Helsinki this week. Predictably, there were howls of outrage from Democrats and #NeverTrump Republicans all day -- criticizing President Trump for failing to take Putin to task over the incident, and for suggesting that the U.S. shared the blame in this hostile surveillance activity.
Legal scholars weighed in on the potential courses of action for the U.S. Justice Department, the Office of the Special Counsel, and Congress. Some suggested that the Americans should be subject to military courts-martial, while others believed they should be called before Robert Mueller's team to testify about what the Trump administration knew about their activities.
"I'm not sure why they'd need a subpoena to find out what those guys were up to," one administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the matter.
"All of this information is posted on NASA's website," he said.
The official refused to confirm or deny rumors that no action has been taken in the matter because the U.S. Justice Department still hasn't confirmed the identity of the three Americans involved in this clandestine mission, even though their names and photos are prominently shown on the materials that their leaders have posted all over the internet.
Members of "Expedition 54" pose for the history books.
(SOURCE: NASA Archives)
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