Dan Coats was a right-wing Republican senator from Indiana (twice) before Trump appointed him Director of National Intelligence. He had a reputation of taking his orders from leadership and not being very independent or making any waves-- perfect for a Trumpanzee looking for enablers. Yesterday, I imagine Trumpanzee flipped out when he watched him and FBI head-- another of his own appointees-- Christopher Wray, being questioned in open session by the Senate Intelligence Committee. What they did the Senate get out of them? That they're concerned that Trump's Kremlin allies-- the ones he colluded with-- are working to steal the 2018 midterms for the GOP, just the way the stole the 2016 election for Trump by micro-targeting sensitive precincts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan (and possibly Ohio, North Carolina and Florida).Coats' prepared statement said that Russia is both capable and aggressive when he appeared with Wray and CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Coats: "Moscow seeks to create wedges that reduce trust and confidence in democratic processes. We assess that the Russian intelligence services will continue their efforts to disseminate false information via Russian state-controlled media and covert online personas about U.S. activities to encourage anti-U.S. political views."
The testimony underscores continued unanimity among American intelligence agencies that Russia conducted an extensive campaign to meddle in the 2016 presidential campaign. President Donald Trump has dismissed the continuing investigation into Russian interference as a “witch hunt,” especially the suggestion that anyone close to him colluded in the effort.Senator Mark Warner, the Intelligence Committee’s top Democrat, said in his opening statement that “we’ve had more than a year to get our act together and address the threat posed by Russia and implement a strategy to deter future attacks. But we still do not have a plan.”Trump “hasn’t even tweeted a single concern,” he said.Coats said that while Russia would aim to cooperate with the U.S. in areas that advance its interests, intelligence officials expect Moscow-- “at a minimum”-- to continue using propaganda, social media, “false-flag personas,” sympathetic spokesmen and other venues to “try to exacerbate social and political fissures” in the U.S.From missiles to cyberattacks, the intelligence assessment paints a world where China and Russia seek to upend U.S. influence as allies uncertain of American commitment may turn away from Washington.“The risk of interstate conflict, including among great powers, is higher than at any time since the end of the Cold War,” Coats said in the prepared testimony. “The most immediate threats of regional interstate conflict in the next year come from North Korea and from Saudi-Iranian use of proxies in their rivalry. At the same time, the threat of state and non-state use of weapons of mass destruction will continue to grow.”
Anyone think Trump is the right commander-in-chief under these conditions? What if Putin offered Trump a billion dollars? Ten billion dollars? Does Trump have a price? Coats also said that "There should be no doubt that Russia perceives that its past efforts have been successful and views the 2018 midterm US elections as a potential target for Russian influence operations. Frankly, the United States is under attack." Trump is probably plotting to fire him right now. He just admitted that Russia helped Trump win and that Putin would try to help the GOP win in November.I watched Jack Reed (D-RI)-- who I don't think is on the Committee, but is the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee-- question Wray about whether Trump is directing the FBI to prevent Russia from meddling in 2018. Wray danced around the question at first but when pressed, admitted Trump isn't at all. Trump still considers any talk of Kremlin interference in the election as a hoax being perpetrated by his political enemies although only traitors to America like California Republicans Devin Nunes and Dana Rohrabacher go along with that. Intel Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-VA) said that Senor Trumpanzee "inconceivably continues to deny the threat posed by Russia... He didn't increase sanctions on Russia when he had a chance to do so... This threat demands a whole-of-government response, and that needs to start with leadership at the top... We've had more than a year to get our act together and address the threat posed by Russia and implement a strategy to deter further attacks. But I believe we still don't have a comprehensive plan."
