Intelligence Officials Just Revealed Trump Begged Them To Lie For Him About Russia
As the probe into President Trump and his team’s potentially treasonous collusion with Russia picks up steam under the leadership of former FBI Director and now Special Prosecutor Robert Meuller, his efforts to cover his tracks are growing more and more desperate.
The Washington Post revealed this afternoon that Trump has been begging intelligence officials since March to publicly deny the existence of any evidence of collusion between himself, his team, and agents of the Russian Federation in their efforts to subvert our democratic processes and tilt the election in favor of Trump through an elaborate cyberwarfare and disinformation campaign.
Once the news of the FBI investigation into the Russia affair became public, Trump separately pled with Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and National Security Agency Director Adm. Michael Rogers. His pitiful attempt to force his own exoneration and the refusal of the officials to comply indicates that
His pitiful attempt to force his own exoneration and the refusal of the officials to comply is very revealing.
It clearly shows how Donald Trump and his crew have a very poor understanding of how the government works and an equally poor conception of the integrity of the men and women who actually run this country.
“Can we ask him to shut down the investigation? Are you able to assist in this matter?” reportedly asked White House officials.
The answer was no:
Rogers was taken aback but tried to respectfully explain why he could not do so, the officials said. For one thing, he could not comment on an ongoing investigation. Rogers added that he would not talk about classified matters in public.
“The problem wasn’t so much asking them to issue statements, it was asking them to issue false statements about an ongoing investigation,” said a former senior intelligence official. Former CIA lawyer Jeffery H. Smith called the move “an appalling abuse of power.”
The fact that the request was made at all – and was denied – is just more proof of guilt on the part of Trump. An innocent man does not ask his subordinates to prove his innocence. Trump appears to believe that as President, he’s going to be able to bully his way out of this by simply demanding that people follow his orders. He’s in for a rude awakening if that is the case – and every attempt to obstruct just digs himself a deeper hole.
h/t to Adam Entous and Ellen Nakashima @ Washington Post
