Anti-Trump Campaign Claims First Victim

black-horizontalDispatches from
STEPHEN LENDMAN

L ate Monday evening, National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was sacked – ostensibly for discussing US sanctions on Russia with its US ambassador Sergey Kislyak before Trump’s inauguration, then providing Vice President Pence with “incomplete information” about their conversation. Flynn was a scoundrel media target like various other administration officials. Last month, he denied discussing sanctions with Russia’s ambassador. 

 


Acting Attorney General/Obama administration holdover Sally Yates taped his conversation, information then leaked to the media, indicating sanctions were discussed. Trump fired her for failing to enforce his immigration order. The 1799 Logan Act, amended in 1994, prohibits unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments – considered an attempt to influence bilateral relations.  The act remained unused since passage. No felony action against Flynn is likely. Because the measure’s language is so broad, legal experts suggest it’s unconstitutional. Historically it’s been used more as a threat than justification for prosecution.

Michael Flynn’s Sacking: Hillary’s Revenge?

Eliminating National Security Advisor Michael Flynn in office less than four weeks delivered a major body blow to Trump’s administration. Trump sacking him was poor judgment, a self-inflicted wound on his presidency, a pro-Hillary neocon victory, leaving himself vulnerable to more attacks on his legitimacy. Instead of supporting his national security point man responsibly, he surrendered to forces wanting his presidency undermined, a shameful counterproductive act. 

Ostensibly it was over Flynn’s pre-inauguration phone conversation with Russia’s US ambassador, failing to explain sanctions were discussed, but doing no harm – not making himself vulnerable to Moscow blackmail as media scoundrels claim. Hillary’s deep state supporters, including mainstream presstitutes, are celebrating after scoring a big victory.


The day before Flynn’s sacking, The New York Times headlined “Mental Health Professionals Warn About Trump,” claiming his “speech and actions makes him incapable of serving safely as president” – an accusation no responsible mental health professional would make without firsthand evaluation.

Pro-Hillary, Trump hater Times columnist Charles Blow accused him of wanting to be an “emperor,” not president, saying he wants “to grind the opposition underfoot.”

NYTimes’ Charles Blow: Aggressive point man for deep state fascism, masked by his convenient black face which makes clueless liberals believe he’s automatically a progressive. Opportunists like this are everywhere in the disinformation machine of the empire.

Alleged Logan Act violations occurred in nearly all US administrations. No prosecutions or convictions followed, just one indictment in 1803, involving a Kentucky newspaper article, arguing for forming a separate nation in western America allied to France. No prosecution followed. In his resignation letter, Flynn said his omission was unintentional, stating:

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“In the course of my duties as the incoming National Security Advisor, I held numerous phone calls with foreign counterparts, ministers, and ambassadors…These calls were to facilitate a smooth transition and begin to build the necessary relationships between the President, his advisors and foreign leaders. Such calls are standard practice in any transition of this magnitude…Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian Ambassador. I have sincerely apologized to the President and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology.”
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Flynn was targeted for not being anti-Russia. He believed both countries should work together cooperatively to resolve issues of mutual interest, especially in combating terrorism. He called the emergence of ISIS and al-Nusra the result of calculated policy decisions, not happenstance. He criticized Obama officials for bashing Russian anti-terrorist operations in Syria. Media scoundrels disgracefully portrayed him as a Russian agent. He participated in an RT conference on the occasion of its first ten years of international broadcasting, meeting Vladimir Putin at the time.
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Hostile Democrats want nonexistent Trump ties to Russia and Putin investigated. Is America’s intelligence community spying on its president, part of a longstanding campaign to delegitimize him, now wanting him undermined, perhaps ahead of wanting him impeached and removed from office – a very disturbing state of affairs.
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The Saker calls what’s going on an anti-Trump “color revolution.” I’ve called it an attempted coup d’etat to delegitimize and undermine him. Forcing Flynn out over a telephone conversation doing no harm suggests Trump’s betrayal, according to The Saker, “an act of abject cowardice,” instead of supporting his national security point man and going after Flynn’s accusers. Has Trump surrendered to America’s neocon infested deep state? Will he abandon efforts to improve relations with Russia? Will he maintain hostility toward China, Iran, Venezuela and other independent states? Will he continue supporting terrorism instead of combating it? Is America’s imperial agenda safe in his hands? Will he still be targeted for removal anyway?
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Like GW Bush and Obama, Pence is a pushover, an ideal frontman for dark interests running America, assuring disturbing continuity. Possible Trump administration change, under the best of circumstances, benefitting ordinary Americans was always wishful thinking. It now appears dashed on the rocks of Flynn’s ouster. Dirty business as usual won. Millions of long-abused Americans lost.
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Note: Trump named retired army general Joseph Kellogg, Jr. as acting national security advisor. Reports indicate Admiral Robert Harwood will likely replace him.


MAIN IMAGE: Trump’s former security adviser M. Flynn. Typical of the Trump cabinet, not exactly a man of cogent or progressive views, and certainly not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but at least he entertained some beneficial notions for the normalization of relations between the nuclear superpowers, of obvious value to humanity. 

NOTE: ALL IMAGE CAPTIONS, PULL QUOTES AND COMMENTARY BY THE EDITORS, NOT THE AUTHORS • CONTINUE THE DEBATE ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE. CLICK HERE. 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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STEPHEN LENDMAN lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."  ( http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html ) Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com



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