As a matter of prudence, I’ve been inclined to take the compromising material on President-elect Donald Trump held by the Russians with a grain of salt. There is likely truth and disinformation mingled together. The ratio of truth to disinformation is important. You can sprinkle a bit of truth on a heap of lies and give the whole thing the color of truth. Or, you can sprinkle a few lies on a heap of truth and give the whole thing the color of lies. We have to sort it out. It is imperative. It is imperative for the nation. It is imperative for the Presidency. Without a full investigation and accounting this will hang over Trump forever and hang over the nation. No confirmation, no legislation, no appointment can proceed until we know the truth. To what degree is there truth in this? To what degree is this, again, Russian interference?
The British MI6 agent who uncovered the material was at first undermined by the Trump and GOP. Now more recent reports indicate that the individual is very credible and has access to unique resources inside Russia. American intelligence seems to be walking on eggshells. The GOP seizes on the fact that the reports are unverified and unconfirmed. This means exactly what it says. The reports are unverified and unconfirmed, which does not tell us to what extent they are true.
If you are on the right side of this, then the best strategy is to urge further investigation, transparency and disclosure, even at the risk of some embarrassment. Embarrassment can be survived. If you are on the wrong side of this, then the best strategy is to deny and to attack. The Trump response is the latter and lends credence to these reports.
Most disturbing are Donald Trump’s attacks on our national intelligence resources. Attacking our own national intelligence agencies is not a tactic that will serve anyone. We know intelligence agencies can get some things wrong, but we also know they get most things right and that we must listen to what they tell us. This is especially true on this matter. This has the potential to be more serious than Pearl Harbor. It is potentially more dangerous to national survival than the Civil War or World War II.
Trump finds himself caught up in the very same storm that he used so skillfully to defeat his Republican and Democratic opponents. As Trump was fond of saying then, “I hear a lot of people are talking. We just don’t know. We don’t know.”
We need to know. We need to decipher this labyrinth wherever it leads and to understand who built the labyrinth.
Submitted by Michael Pfeifer