TRUMPTELL 3.0

TOP OF THE NEWS:

- Release the Notes (Weekly Standard) "There were six U.S. officials in the meeting: Trump, McMaster, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell, and two others. The junior-most person at the meeting on the U.S. side is charged with taking copious notes... The White House believes that these notes—distributed to a small list of national security and intelligence officials after the meeting, perhaps two dozen—led to the Washington Post story. In their view, the notes do not support the main claims of the reporting and the conclusions in the Post piece require inference and speculation. Trump supporters don't believe the news reports. Reporters and Trump skeptics don't believe Trump administration denials. Who's right? There's one way to find out—or to get us closer to that truth: Release the notes of the meeting."

- The Car Wreck Presidency (Weekly Standard) "...if the reporting is accurate, it is clear that the intelligence was obviously sensitive. The fact that, apparently, Trump's advisers then went so far as to scrub the internal minutes of the discussion clean of what he passed to the Russians is only further evidence that they knew he had probably gone too far."

- Trump’s Defense of His Russia Leak Is Not Reassuring (National Review) "...disclosure should be the result of a deliberative process, not a momentary impulse. The Resurgent’s Erick Erickson wrote that he knows one of the sources for the media’s stories and that the reality is even worse than the reports. Hillary Clinton lost the presidency in part because her own mishandling of classified information meant that Russia could have had access to American secrets. According to this report, Trump gave Russia dangerous secrets, impulsively, perhaps as part of an effort to impress his guests. The American people should be troubled by what we know. But until we know all the facts, we don’t yet know how troubled we should be."

- Intelligence Lapses and Double Standards (National Review) "...the Post maintains that it was persuaded by 'officials' (not further identified) to withhold from its report the name of the city, lest 'important intelligence capabilities' be jeopardized. If knowledgeable government officials did plead with the Post to refrain from reporting these details, that would be cause for concern that the president erred, perhaps significantly. I’m not suggesting that Trump be cut slack. This seems like it could be a serious error, and one that was easily avoidable. But after a couple of years of hearing the Iran deal and Mrs. Clinton’s homebrew server explained away, I’m just wondering when the media suddenly got so interested again in harmful White House dealings with hostile powers and the proper safeguarding of classified information."

- Conservative media coverage of Trump’s classified disclosure will make your head spin (WaPo) "For several minutes during Tuesday's telecast, “Fox & Friends” displayed alternating graphics on the lower third of the screen."

"Would you like to believe that the story is false? We have a graphic for that!"

"Would you prefer to acknowledge that the report is true but believe it is no big deal because the president can do what he wants? We have a graphic for that, too!"

"Never mind the contradiction."

And there is also this...

- Comey Memo Says Trump Asked Him to End Flynn Investigation (NYT) "'I hope you can let this go,' the president told Mr. Comey, according to the memo. Mr. Comey wrote the memo detailing his conversation with the president immediately after the meeting...according to two people who read the memo. The memo was part of a paper trail Mr. Comey created documenting what he perceived as the president’s improper efforts to influence an ongoing investigation. An F.B.I. agent’s contemporaneous notes are widely held up in court as credible evidence of conversations. The New York Times has not viewed a copy of the memo...but one of Mr. Comey’s associates read parts of the memo to a Times reporter."

NEWS:

- On Drugs, It's Back to War (National Review) "The problem with the war on drugs is the war on drugs. What is instead necessary is an approach that takes into account the complexity of the problem, one that makes fine distinctions between recreational users, addicts, low-level traffickers and desultory distributors, professional criminals and crime syndicates, and international drug cartels. As our friends at Right on Crime sometimes put it, it is possible to be tough and smart at the same time. ...Trump administration’s get-tough posture is unlikely to produce the desired result."

BOTTOM OF THE NEWS:

- Why Swearing Makes You Stronger (New Yorker) "Both studies were consistent with Stephens’s theory that swearing eases pain by triggering aggressive emotions, much in the way that the mere act of smiling can make a person feel happier. The aggression, in turn, triggers a fight-or-flight stress response, releasing adrenaline, which is known to increase physical performance."

TODAY'S SONG:

- Frustrated Incorporated (Soul Asylum)

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