It's an attempt at misdirection.

Hold up. I'm largely with you but Democrats swore the same oath and also get the same intelligence briefings. The majority doesn't sit in t hem alone. Like wtf is Kamala Harris's and Ron Wyden and Mark Warner's excuse? Why aren't they sounding the alarm?

I can't tell whether Trump is trying to convince himself or his idiot brigade of followers that this is nothing more than an attack on him over being butthurt about losing the election...but that's most certainly the reason for these idiotic tweets.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: He could easily quell any and all suspicions and at the same time REALLY STICK IT TO THOSE BUTTHURT LIBS by simply calling for open investigations and cooperating fully. The fact that every single response is LOOK OVER THERE should tell us all we need to know: He's guilty, he's crooked, he might even be a traitor.

Wow, Tapper just said a red state Republican Senator really wanted to vote against Devos but King Turtleface McConnell put so much pressure on him he had to vote yes.

But still: every one of these formulations is implicitly assuming that the IC is RIGHT to be applying 'political pressure' to get Congress members to comply with whatever they want to happen. Am I reading this right? Disabuse me here because believe me, I think Trump is an absolute menace but these kinds of arguments sound downright terrible too. Which is my point.

Like, it should go without saying but I'll say it: the role of the intelligence community is NOT to pressure legislators and the executive to act to achieve political outcomes they want. I presumably share their desires here but that's seriously treacherously slippery territory here. Like I feel like I am reading all these arguments and we are agreeing furiously about what IS happening ("see how they're pressuring everyone to act! Why look, Flynn got fired! Senate Republicans are scared!"). The ****, though, guys? That's not the appropriate role for the IC in a healthy democracy.

I don't know, I can't keep up with everything that is going on right now. I do know that Democrats in the Ways and Means Committee voted to release Trump's tax returns while all Republicans voted against. The House Oversight Committee, led by Republicans is continually refusing to investigate these matters while pressure continues to mount from Democrats to hold an open investigation.

I'm pretty sure they did tell Congress this, or something along these lines. That's why John Lewis just straight up called him illegitimate, publicly, multiple times. He's been briefed.

Of course, those who control Congressional committees know all of this as well, they got the same briefing(s). They simply choose not to act. Unless it's about the leaks. We must plug the leaks of course.

There is a gift basket full of Trump Steaks in it for them.

Sure, sure. I can buy that the government is like holistically failing here. But jesus, that's important! If these assumptions are true that the GOP majority is largely disinterested and the Democrats can't literally communicate effectively with voters about the threats they hear about? Then we are really deeply ****ed. Like this **** is over, build your bunker, we're not coming back from this. To believe these arguments that Trump is truly corrupted and beholden to Putin -- and believe me, IWantToBelieveXFiles.jpg, like I am watching this **** and I am aghast.

But draw it out logically and you have to assume the IC is either:

1. being explicit with Congress and Congress is not being straight up with us or aren't effectively connecting the dots or being transparent in important ways. Including the opposition party? Don'tMakeNoSenseOreilly.jpg. Like Warner heard from his IC briefing that Trump is actually under Putin's thumb then like 10 minutes or a day later or whatever went and calmly voted for Tillerson? I mean, maybe, but -- wow, if Senate Democrats are hearing from the IC all this alarming **** and then just going about their business, what in the ****?

Or

2. the IC is engaged in political propaganda from Langley or wherever these guys hang out. I think that's far, far more likely but unfortunately deeply troubling for our future even if we rid ourselves of Trump.

I don't think Congress members can legally release this information publicly.

She clearly asked the hairdresser for a Rule 63 Hitler. And got her money's worth, too.

Acosta is a very good pick for Labor Secretary. I wish more of his cabinet members were like Acosta.

Not very energetic. Seems tired.

Nope, all classified

And Cummings straight up said that everyone would boycott (the inauguration anyway) "if the public knew what Congress knows."

I really wonder how many of the "leaks" are coming straight from Congress.

hahahahahaha
this guy

trump seems exhausted

The media speaks for the special interests now.

So Nixon wins with this same map in 2016 right? Ny and fl both have 29 evs now, and cali now has 55

I inherited this mess! lmao

Inherited a mess, Trump? What did Obama inherit then exactly, the end of the world? His team is full of pathological liars. Sigh…

No sniffles = low energy

Yes, and iirc Harry Reid back before the election was clamouring for McConnell to join him and release some of the confidential information they'd been briefed on in a bi-partisan way so that it wouldn't be seen as political. McConnell passed, most likely because he a) didn't think Trump was going to win anyways and b) because if Trump did win he wanted that SCOTUS judge.

He used the old military equipment?!

Yeah we've got a good two more years of Obama blaming to look forward to at the very least, maybe four

The implied objective of this line of thought is a nightmare world in which the Leader, or some ruling clique, controls not only the future but the past. If the Leader says of such and such an event, ‘It never happened’ — well, it never happened. If he says that two and two are five — well, two and two are five. This prospect frightens me much more than bombs — and after our experiences of the last few years that is not a frivolous statement.

George Orwell
Looking Back on the Spanish War, (1943)