LIES AND LEAKS

It doesn't seem to have occurred to anyone that Donald (The Bully) Trump may have leaked the stuff about Michael Flynn himself.  Why would he do such a thing?  Well, Flynn was getting pretty hot.  You knew he was a Russian asset and had been a Turkish agent, but it was going to come out that Flynn had been a Turkish agent all through the election process into the time when he became Trump's"security adviser.  So Trump is not only the liar-in-chief,* but I suspect he is the leaker-in-chief also.  What secret information Flynn transferred to the Russians and Turks is yet to be disclosed.

Presidents themselves make leaks to the press so Trump would hardly be the first to do such a thing.**

Personally, I don't believe anything Trump says.  I would have to check even if he told me that it is raining outside.  Take his comments on playing golf.
Trump has played golf at least 10 times since becoming president in late January, despite the fact that he teed off several times at his immediate predecessor Obama for indulging that very same hobby while in office.

"He played more golf last year than Tiger Woods," Trump said of Obama in December after being elected president.

"We don't have time for this. We have to work," Trump said at that time.

And, at an August campaign event, Trump said: "I'm going to be working for you. I'm not going to have time to go play golf."***

I'm sure you recognize that this comment as to Obama is called "Do as I say, not as I do."  But he actually lied about such a simple thing as playing golf.

We are only past the 2nd month of the Trump administration and it seems like forever.  I don't see how he can make it through his first term.  He is doing everything he can to alienate our allies when he is all praise for Vladimir Putin, the Russian dictator.

Certainly there are grounds to impeach him already with his Obama wiretap accusation maybe being the worst, but he is basically giving the Republicans what they want in policies.  And it could be worse.  Remember that many Republicans don't like TrumpRyanhealthcare because throwing 24 million people off of health care isn't conservative enough.  They want even more thrown off.

* http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-scale-of-lying.html
** https://books.google.com/books?id=Pne7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=Presidents+themselves+make+leaks+to+the+press.&source=bl&ots=slYMgC91W_&sig=qTqOqIydsypEa5NP_jaMtsm_pvU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj1tdXcyOrSAhVQ1GMKHculCKsQ6AEIJjAC#v=onepage&q=Presidents%20themselves%20make%20leaks%20to%20the%20press.&f=false
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2006/04/weve_found_the_leaker_in_the_white_house.html
*** tp://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/20/president-trump-uses-golf-as-chance-to-do-presidential-business.html

MICHAEL FLYNN

So Michael Flynn spoke to the Russian Ambassador in December* presumably about the sanctions President Obama imposed on Russia.  It is assumed that he was telling the Russian Ambassador not to worry, that when they took office the sanctions would be taken care of.   And recall that Putin did not have any outrage over the sanctions.

As a private citizen at the time, it was illegal for Flynn to discuss such things with a foreign government.  So Flynn lied when he first said he didn't do it and then that he didn't remember.

I can believe that Flynn lied to Vice President Spence, but Trump?  Come on, there are two possibilities:  Either (1) Flynn asked Trump if he should call the Russian ambassador and tell him to cool it over the sanctions, or (2) Trump just told Flynn to call the Russian Ambassador. and tell him to cool it over the sanctions.

For awhile it looked like Michael Flynn might "take one for the President" and be dumped by Trump.  Wishful thinking.  My bet is that Flynn is in good shape with President Trump (in like Flynn) and Kellyanne Conway has said as much today.

So Putin will still have at least two assets running the U.S. Government.

Note Added (Feb. 14, 2017): Well, Flynn is out after all.**  shows what a prognosticator I am.

* http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38964079\** https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/02/14/flynn-is-out-can-it-get-any-worse/?utm_term=.2464f892f512