I know Valentine’s Day is for all intents and purposes merely a
Hallmark Holiday for many, but a holiday it is. Yesterday, as I’m sure you
know, was Valentine’s Day. Typically, I lean toward recycle mode during holiday
weeks. Today, I’m opting for a compromise. I’m going with a rare trilogy
theme. I can only recall once before
when I actually used an entire month to develop strands of a central theme.
This is not that. It has just played out that way.
For the past two weeks, I have ferreted out a
variety of aspects dealing with a device commonly known in writing as irony.
The topics of the past two weeks, and of this week are topically unrelated, and
are tied together simply by the infusion, in each case, of irony.
The news this week has been rife with reports
about former National Security Adviser, General Michael Flynn, and his tortuous
route to unemployment. The irony referenced in this post has to do with the
response of the administration, stemming from Flynn’s resignation, or firing,
depending upon whose account you choose to believe.
There really is a significant amount of
background that ultimately led to the disassociation of General Flynn and the
current administration. I will not be
providing much of it. If you have followed the current administration, you
already know. If you haven’t, chances are you neither know nor care. As a
matter transparency and generally being forthcoming, and, in the event you
haven’t noticed, I have opted not to write directly about the winner of
November’s election for the country’s top official. That won’t change today.
I digress. Back to the matter at hand, it was
reported several weeks ago that certain Russian operatives had attempted to
sway the outcome of our general election, to the detriment of Hillary Clinton,
and in favor of her opponent. It was revealed that said reporting reflected the
consensus opinion of 17 American National Security agencies. The administration
in waiting dismissed the findings, characterized the reporting as fake news,
and leveled charges at the outgoing administration for trying to undermine its
successor.
As reported by NBC News yesterday, below are a
number of key dates and occurrences related to the trajectory of Adviser Flynn:
Summer
2015 — Flynn first
meets Trump, according to an interview he gave to the Washington Post.
Dec. 2015 — Flynn took a paid trip to Russia and
appeared at a gala for RT, the state-run TV station, where he dined with
Russian President Vladimir Putin.
June 2016 — Russian hackers are identified as
the culprits behind
hacking of Democratic institutions and figures; U.S. officials will
later say Putin was
involved and the goal was to meddle with the electoral process.
I highly
recommend the just out book - THE FIELD OF FIGHT - by General Michael Flynn.
How to defeat radical Islam.
Nov. 18,
2016 — President-Elect
Trump names Flynn his
national security adviser.
Dec. 29,
2016 — Obama
administration unveils
sanctions against Russia for election-related hacking, expelling
diplomats and shutting down two compounds. The same day, Flynn speaks to
Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak by phone.
Dec. 30,
2016 — Putin says he
won't retaliate for the sanctions and invites children from the U.S. embassy to
a Christmas party. Trump then praises Putin in a tweet.
Great move
on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!
Sometime
after Dec. 30, 2016 —
The FBI reviews intercepts and finds the Flynn-Kislyak conversation. The matter
gets folded into the FBI's ongoing probe into Russian election-related hacking
and related issues.
Jan. 11,
2017 — Trump denies
members of his staff had contact with
Russia before the election, during the campaign.
Jan. 12 — Washington Post columnist David
Ignatius first reports the contact between Flynn and Kislyak, raising questions
about whether sanctions were discussed.
Jan. 13 — Trump spokesman Sean Spicer says
Flynn did not discuss sanctions with the ambassador and the purpose of the call
was to schedule a time for Trump and Putin to speak post-inauguration.
Jan. 15 — Vice President Mike Pence tells
CBS's "Face the Nation" that sanctions were not discussed: "It
was strictly coincidental that they had a conversation. They did not discuss
anything having to do with the United States' decision to expel diplomats or
impose censure against Russia."
Jan. 19 — Obama administration officials —
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan and
Acting Attorney General Sally Yates — discuss the situation and want to warn
the Trump team that Flynn has misled Spicer and Pence. FBI Director James Comey
vetoes that, saying it will compromise his ongoing investigation.
Jan. 20 — Trump inaugurated.
Jan. 20
or 21 — The FBI
questions Flynn about his call to the ambassador as part of the bureau's
broader investigation into Russia, according to a senior U.S. official.
Jan. 23 — At Spicer's first White House press
briefing, he says that Flynn assured him the night before that the
Flynn-Kislyak call did not involve sanctions. The subject, Spicer says, was a
plane crash over the holiday, Christmas greetings, a potential conference in
Syria on ISIS, and scheduling a call with Putin.
Jan. 26 — Acting AG Yates tells White House
Counsel Donald McGahn what she knows about the call, according to the White
House. Trump was told immediately, Spicer says, and the White House counsel
launched an "exhaustive" review that included questioning of Flynn.
Jan. 30 — Trump fires Yates,
saying she's being axed for refusing to defend his executive order temporarily
banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Feb. 9 — The Washington Post reports that
Flynn, according to current and former U.S. officials, did discuss
sanctions with the Russian ambassador; officials confirm the content
of the discussion to NBC News. This day is the first time Pence is informed of
the Justice Department warning about Flynn's call — two weeks after Trump was
told.
Feb. 10 — A spokesperson for Flynn tells NBC
News that Flynn "can't be 100 percent sure," but doesn't remember
talking sanctions. Trump denies knowledge of the reports that Flynn and the Russian
talked sanctions. "I don't know about it. I haven't seen it. What report
is that?" he tells reporters. Also that day, Flynn speaks by
phone to Pence, reportedly to apologize to him.
Feb. 13 — Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway
tells NBC News that Flynn has the full confidence of the president. Moments
later, Spicer says Trump is evaluating the situation. Hours after that, Flynn resigns,
saying he "inadvertently briefed the Vice President Elect and others with
incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian
Ambassador."
Feb. 14 — At a press briefing, Spicer says
Trump asked Flynn to resign because of an erosion of trust — not because any
laws were broken.
"No,
absolutely not" says Sean Spicer, when asked if @POTUS instructed Flynn to talk about
sanctions with Russian ambassadors
The record
shows there is a lengthy summary of dates and acts. It appears that there are a
number of inconsistencies and other incongruences relative to the assertions of
the Trump administration. So in this
third edition of ironies, we appear to have arrived at the irony of all
ironies. How does the administration conclude, after all of the above, that the
real concern is leaks to the media, rather than the actions of a National
Security Adviser who apparently either misled (notice I generously did not say
lied) the Vice President, or perhaps, really acted on behalf of the
administration, and is now just being a good soldier and taking the fall for
his Dear Leader?
Well, on
second thought, the administration couldn’t cop to the latter. But the former
does seem to be quite a compelling point. Beyond that, it should be noted that
had the report not surfaced (been leaked), the administration would still be
poised to feign ignorance, and keep this story from the American public. In
summation, I give you...”Irony Part III: Perhaps…TheMother of All Ironies!”
I’m done; holla
back!
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Consult the links below for more
detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:
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