Posted on 07/20/2018 2:03:38 AM PDT by be-baw
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Thursday that he felt he "needed to correct the record" following President Trump's comments during the Helsinki summit with Russia President Vladimir Putin, adding that he wished Trump had "made a different statement" as it is "undeniable that the Russians are taking a lead on this."
Our thought bubble: It was a STUNNING interview ... and is already catching heat and attention among Trump loyalists. I've already had two phone calls from sources close to Trump expressing their astonishment. The fact that Trump’s own intelligence director is saying these things is extraordinary. A moment of true and startling independence. Reveals how concerned Coats is about what happened with Putin.
What we're hearing: Sources close to Trump tell Axios that they're already speculating about whether Trump ends up firing Coats. Per a source with knowledge, Trump has never had much affection for Coats.
Why it matters: All week the White House has been trying to clarify Trump's performance at the summit, during which he failed to publicly confront Putin for claiming Russia didn't interfere in the U.S. presidential election, even though the U.S. intelligence community concluded that it had.
The backdrop: Earlier this week, Coats issued a statement reinforcing the intelligence community's assessment that Russia meddled in the 2016 election.
Coats said he doesn't know what happened during Trump's closed-door meeting with Putin, and asked if it was recorded by the Russians, he said: “That risk is always there.” How Trump prefers his intelligence briefings: "He likes it orally. He likes examples .... We use models. We use charts. We use a number of things." Coats said the Oval Office meeting between Trump and former Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak and foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, during which Trump shared classified information, was “probably not the best thing to do." His take on Putin: "Look, I think anybody who thinks that Vladimir Putin doesn't have a stamp on everything that happens in Russia is misinformed. It is very clear that virtually nothing happens there of any kind of consequence that Vladimir Putin doesn't know about or hasn't ordered. I think we're pretty sure about that."
Coats looked like a fool when he found out about the Fall meeting being planned in Washington with Putin....a laughing and disloyal fool at that.
The president should $hit can this idiot.
Dan should run for office and show us how it’s done.
WTF is this Aspen “security” conference? ANDREA MITCHELL was the damn moderator. Why did Trump allow both Coats and Nielsen to attend this leftist, globalist farce?
Sessions sucks as Attorney General, also.
I totally agree with that. And I mistakenly wrote Secretary of State because that was the position I thought at the time best suited him. Never saw him as Attorney General. Thought Guliani was made to order for that position.
It was about 6 AM when I mistyped “Secretary of State” Sessions. Haven’t been sleeping too well of late.
Except that Trump’s the boss . . . and he is elected by us. Dan Coats can resign if he doesn’t like it.
This was a really bad appointment. Coats has always been a big ole RINO. He has just recently got a big mouth.
He should be retired.
If anyone is aware of the nature and extent of Russian meddling in our elections it would be Dan Coats. He needs plainly and clearly to explain the nature extent of that meddling. Did they alter the vote tally directly? Dumbass low information voters think so. I cannot believe how many people fail to distinguish and state clearly, especially those who hold public office.
He has. He had been elected, retired, and ran again for Senator.
I hear that. I do it all the time.
How do you know the DS wasn’t trusting Coats?
I don’t.
It was about 6 AM when I mistyped “Secretary of State” Sessions. Haven’t been sleeping too well of late.
......................
Don’t worry about it. Most of us are having sleepless nights thanks to the raving maniacs who have been running the country. Pray to God Trump can clear the decks and keep the bilge pumps working. There are a lot of politicians on both sides who need flushing!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.