John Ratcliffe is another one of Donald Trump’s henchmen, who in any kind of a sane or normal administration would not have a job that he is so woefully unqualified for. Ratcliffe made a move today that was audacious and bold, and unfortunately underscores the fact that Trump knows he is losing this election, and so he’s depending upon Russian interference to get him over the finish line as it did the last time — that, and manipulating the postal service. Trump has no qualms about selling out America, in fact, he’s delighted to do so, because he needs to win in order to stay out of prison.

So today John Ratcliffe, as you have no doubt heard, announced that the ODNI will no longer be holding briefings on election interference in person, but will rely upon written reports to keep Congress and the country informed. This is despite the fact that the Director of National Counterintelligence and Security, William Evanina, released a report detailing election security threats earlier this month. The Hill:

“The ODNI will primarily meet its obligation to keep Congress fully and currently informed leading into the Presidential election through written finished intelligence products,” the letters read, according to copies obtained by The Hill.

“I believe this approach helps ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that the information ODNI provides the Congress in support of your oversight responsibilities on elections security, foreign malign influence, and election interference is not misunderstood nor politicized. It will also better protect our sources and methods and most sensitive intelligence from additional unauthorized disclosures or misuse,” the letters added. […]

The announcement comes after William Evanina, the director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, released a statement detailing election security threats.

Evanina warned that Russia and some Kremlin-linked actors are trying to hurt former Vice President Joe Biden and others it views as part of the anti-Russia “establishment” while trying to “boost President Trump’s candidacy on social media and Russian television.”

There was a strongly worded statement from Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff in response to this assault on election security, but frankly, we are past that now. That is not going to cut it. Ratcliffe, and Richard Grenell the other night, speaking at the Republican National Convention, have made it clear that they are all in to keep Trump in office and they don’t care how they have to lie or what norms or institutions they have to destroy in order to do it.

And Mitch McConnell is sitting back and watching all this, like it was a football game. He’s fine with the fact that a couple of C-team players are staging a coup d’etat to keep Trump in power and guarantee themselves massively powerful positions that they otherwise would never achieve in the brave new world they’re trying to create. He’s more than fine. The man lives for power. McConnell’s gotten where he got and has stayed there as long as he has — longer than anybody else in that position — not because of any policies or personal vision. He got there because he understands power and how the levers of politics work.

This is the point of no return. The bottom line is this: if the post office is to be safeguarded, if the election is to be safeguarded, if democracy itself is to be preserved, it comes down to Democratic leaders taking the bull by the horns and making it happen. Their actions — or inaction — will determine whether we slide into fascism and this election is stolen or not.

This Trump phenomenon has different levels to it, it always has. On the superficial level, Trump is the cult leader of the aggrieved in our society. He’s also the mouthpiece of the racist, the backward, the ignorant, and the uneducated — and he’s openly declared his love for the uneducated, why wouldn’t he?

But beyond that, there are dark forces who put Trump where he is and who want him to stay there. Robert Mueller told Congress that Russia was “interfering in the election as we speak.” Even Marco Rubio and Richard Burr found evidence of Russian interference. The Senate Intelligence Committee just released it’s fifth and final report on Russia’s “aggressive, multifaceted effort” to interfere in the 2016 election on Trump’s behalf. So it’s not like we don’t know what we’re up against. Right now John Ratcliffe is stonewalling, so that this election can be stolen. That is as simple as it gets. So whatever our Democratic leaders have to do, they best do and do it immediately. The election is in 65 days. We are way beyond pearl clutching and fainting couches. We need to act decisively and we need to act now.

It’s amazing to be in this position, but we are here. Ratcliffe needs to be stopped dead in his tracks by the full force of the House of Representatives and the rule of law. If we can’t do that, then America is done. Make no mistake. Ratcliffe, Grenell, and the powers of darkness that they represent intend to keep Trump in office so that they can take over America.

 

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1 COMMENT

  1. Another day, another scare tactic, another waste of everybody’s time by us fretting about it when we could have been using it to run up the scoreboard. Guess the Post Office wasn’t working anymore or that Trump is still pissed that everyone tuned him out or both. But seriously, it’s not like a) he was reading the damn thing anyway, b) pushback over this latest outrage isn’t coming as part of the cycle that we should ALL KNOW BY HEART and c) that he won’t eff up this plan like he has all the others he’s tried this year. As the kids say online, “don’t feed the trolls.”

  2. I really wish people would STOP with all the “outrage” at Pelosi and Schiff for not doing something *immediately* upon hearing of something. Things do NOT happen “immediately” in DC. They never have.

    I can only imagine if the internet had been around back when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941, that Americans would be demanding “immediate” action from FDR and Congress; for the record, they DID do something–the very next day. But, now? It’s like even one second is too long.

    Do these people forget the impeachment? Pelosi was hounded for months by *certain* loudmouths who were demanding “hearings NOW!!!!!!!” Where were all these loudmouths pestering McConnell for a FAIR Senate trial? Where were these people shutting down McConnell’s Twitter feed and clogging his Senate email inbox with their demands? We did get the impeachment and it ultimately did no good; it certainly wouldn’t have done any better if Pelosi had caved in to the early demands by the loudmouths.

    • Bravo × a million. The second Trump pulls one of his Roy Cohn moves, it is time to hate and denigrate Pelosi and Schiff. Fickle jerks. 60 days left to go, so let’s call our leadership names and treat them like crap. Brilliant.

      • Eff ’em, Cmae. Such mental midgets may share our views but are less than useless when it comes to getting things done. They keep expecting someone ELSE to do it for them. So let’s oblige them on that last so we can give them the middle finger salute after we’ve done what they wouldn’t.

  3. In the Senate, there’s the Ranking members, Schumer and Mark Warner. The four together are the Dem half of the “Gang of Eight”, the members of congress who are *required* to be briefed on this stuff. And Himself has been trying to leave them out.
    I expect more than letters, I expect actions.

    • I don’t get why people scoff at “letters.” They are a critical formality that puts a request on the official record. I know we want shrieking and table overturning, but letters are essential to the process.

      • Because it’s not as sexy or impressive as magic wands. Swear to Christ, Eset and Hades, it’s a view every bit as childish, ignorant or uninformed as Trump’s.

  4. Let us just figure out how to go about arresting these fascist which have lots of obedient killers at their disposal. Wait till they are in the shower, create a power outage and then do a no knock raid of the perps’ house and then remove the perp naked and in cuffs. Oh, and make sure CNN is there to film. Of course we are all going to do this with the Master at Arms office, which is probably a bunch of fascist, too. Oh, and we would have to sedate and secure all the Republicans and their staff, all at the same time, otherwise they would sound the alarm or create and ambush. We have a fucked up country with too much dependence on the honor system. Fascist have no honor.

    Pelosi and Biden should be on the attack. Pound the killer virus and the killer cops and the fascist terrorist that prevail in the good ole USA. Pound the facts and call out the lies. And start calling these bastard traitors and murderers. Let the fat bastard sue them. Gun play with the M@A is ridiculous. Traitors. Show courage with your words and actions.

  5. We’ve reached so many points of no return, this is just another. I’m not sure what anyone can do. We have to get this thug out of office or America is done. Fuck you, Mitch McConnell. You are the face of evil.

  6. Pelosi is a useless hack. She’s fine with Trump winning. Then she can blame everything on him and fundraise her ass off, which is all she really cares about. Master legislator my ass.

    • You got somebody better, now’s the time to bring up the name. Make sure it’s one I won’t laugh at in scorn for being the pipe dream it likely is. On the other hand, here’s a better idea: how about you use the next 60 days to kick as many of these asswipes OUT of their seats? Online moaning doesn’t count for anything.

  7. As a mere citizen, watching the GOP dismantle our democracy, I need to know exactly what can be done by the House to slow or stop the process. As long as the Senate is a corrupt, gutless adjunct to the Trump administration, just what can the Representatives do? Neither Pelosi nor Schumer nor Schiff are cowards, so is the system handcuffing them? If all their subpoenas are ignored, what recourse is there? Does inherent contempt have any teeth? The vaunted Checks & Balances depended upon a non-corrupt Congress, which doesn’t exist under McConnell. It looks to me as if the only possible defence left is the American voter.

    • Oh, I don’t know, how about giving them a day or two to come up with a response while you play French Revolution from behind your keyboard?

  8. I just wrote all three of my Congress critters an email. This is a big deal, you are right, Ursula! tRump thinks he can jack the entire federal government around to his liking and he needs to be stopped. Who knows what he’s doing that isn’t getting reported? And it’s true: he has to stay in office because otherwise he’ll go from the White House to the Big House! That’s where he belongs!

    • Perhaps your congresscritters will actually read your letters. I congratulate you that they evidently aren’t mine; I found out long ago that that’s a waste of time, there has to be another way around them. You may have heard of at least two of them, their names are Richard Burr, Thom Tillis, and Ted Budd. Back to bustin’ ass trying to GOTV around here!

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