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So, here is Donald J. Trump‘s latest Twitter lie:
The “Intelligence” briefing on so-called “Russian hacking” was delayed until Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2017
As you may recall, President-Elect Donald Trump insisted on New Year’s Eve that he “has more information” than everyone else about Russian interference in our election. He said he’d disclose it today (Tuesday) or tomorrow (Wednesday). And now, this latest tweet, in which he disparages the CIA and several other intelligence agencies for delaying the briefing. And then there’s the veiled (or maybe not so veiled) implication that there’s something untoward in this delay.
But, it turns out, there was never to have been a briefing on the hacking today. It has always been scheduled for Friday. And with this tweet, Trump once again is (at the best) dismissive and (at the worst) adversarial with our own U.S. intelligence services. It suggests a predisposition to dismiss the findings, preferring instead to put his faith in his BFF Vlad, whom Trump calls smart.
Let’s take a close look at the tweet. “Intelligence” in quotes, as if to suggest a priori that the reports of nearly 20 agencies are wrong or intentionally misleading. He makes this inference from his insistence that the intelligence services failed us regarding weapons of mass destruction before the Iraq war. Actually, he’s lying (or horribly misinformed) about that too, since the intelligence never said “weapons of mass destruction.” The good intelligence information was massaged and bent to serve Vice President Dick Cheney. (So I guess this post reveals not one but two Twitter lies).
The use of “so-called” Russian hacking again suggests that nothing that the CIA or any other agency can show Trump will suffice. I have to wonder, guys, if Trump really does know more than everyone else and actually had a hand in the entire Russian scheme. If that were the case, Trump would do everything he could to sabotage the impact of the real intelligence. I’m not saying I’ve got anything to back that up, but it’s awfully “strange.”
Perhaps they need more time to build a case? The case is built, and the real president (at least for the next two and half weeks) has acted upon it. What? The CIA has to prove itself to Trump? As if Trump will believe anything coming from the big bad government. Oh yeah, that he’s about to lead. Oy.
It’s almost as if this is all some sort of game for Trump. Only this game is like Russian roulette being played with live ammunition. Every tweet means something. Right now they mean little, but once he’s actually POTUS, those tweets are weapons that can trigger bad things.
Stay tuned for the next Trump Twitter Lie.
Follow me on Twitter at @B_Barnett
