Kurt Eichenwald explains why the Flynn-Russia affair is so troubling for Trump

[DonViejo]

February 21, 2017
Kurt Eichenwald

Call it what you will: Flynnghazi. Russiagate. The Crackpot Dome scandal. No matter the sobriquet attached to the inappropriate discussions between the Russian ambassador and Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor, the growing cancer from this case is not going away.

Perhaps the Russia scandal seemed like it had disappeared amid the antics of the past week, from Trump’s rambling, 77-minute press conference, his Saturday rally—where he surprised Sweden with news of some imaginary immigrant disaster the previous night—or his declaration that the news media was the enemy of the American people.

But even if Trump tries to sweep the Flynn affair aside with his now-cliché proclamation that everything he dislikes is “fake news,” enough evidence already exists to demonstrate that this scandal could consume the administration for months to come. Little doubt, Trump’s words at his press conference about Flynn’s Russia contacts—“I would have directed him to do it if I thought he wasn’t doing it’’—will likely join the ranks of ill-advised presidential scandal comments along the lines of “I did not have sexual relations with that woman Lewinsky,’’ and “I am not a crook.”

There are multiple issues at play in this matter, but the basic story is this: The United States imposed sanctions on Russia following its 2014 military incursion into Ukraine. Additional limited sanctions were put in place last year in reaction to Russia’s use of hacking and propaganda campaigns to influence the American election. In a December 30 conversation with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, Flynn discussed the sanctions, raising questions of whether he had said anything to undermine the policies of then-still-in-office President Barack Obama. On January 12, The Washington Post reported that the discussions between Flynn and Kislyak had taken place. That day, Flynn denied to White House spokesman Sean Spicer that he had mentioned sanctions. Flynn also deceived Vice President Michael Pence, assuring him that they had only discussed logistics for phone calls with Trump; Pence then repeated that falsehood publicly on January 16.

All very embarrassing. But what has happened since makes clear this is more than just an issue of White House bumbling. The magnitude of the growing scandal, even without specific details of Flynn’s words to the Russian ambassador, require an understanding of the rules involving surveillance by the National Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Despite the fears of the uninformed, America’s surveillance teams do not read emails and listen in on phone calls haphazardly. There are very specific requirements that already signal that Flynn’s communications with Kislyak, along with any other intercepted information transmitted to representatives of the Kremlin, raise serious issues.

more
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/kurt-eichenwald-explains-why-the-flynn-russia-affair-is-so-troubling-for-trump/

[KittyWampus]

1. The article goes into some depth on information is collected and analyzed. Many DU'ers would do well

to read the full article.

[d_r]

3. thanks for advice nt

[wiggs]

2. K &R. Left unsaid is the potential that the Flynn mess is just a small piece of the puzzle,

that there's a lot more to be concerned about with Trump/Russia and THAT'S the reason the telephone conversations got kicked up the intelligence and justice ladders over and over until public.

Would there be this many investigations, resignations (more than Flynn), leaks, etc if this was ONLY a matter of Flynn stepping on the policy toes of an outgoing administration? Doesn't seem so....

"Even still, America is far from being out of the spy business, and for someone like Flynn to get swept up in the surveillance and analysis system requires that the counterintelligence experts in government clear some very high hurdles."

I think Eichenwald, a good and bold journalist, wrote the Newsweek article very carefully...only stating things that are known without dramatic and entertaining speculation. What we know is that this is important and serious. Multiple agencies from multiple countries are working on it.

[Pacifist Patriot]

5. Eichenwald may be my favorite journalist right now.

Digging hard, not giving up, writes exceptionally well, and doesn't leap to conclusions or engage in unnecessary speculation.

[Pacifist Patriot]

4. Agree with KittyWampus. Definitely worth reading the entire thing to gain a better....

understanding of processes. It answered some questions that have been nagging at me.