Mossad, my God

Trump shared Israeli intel with Russia, and that’s not even the worst misconduct of his to come to light today.
Vox Sentences is written by Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind.
Mossad, my God
Kayhan Ozer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

So you know how Trump revealed super-classified information about an ISIS plot to the Russian government last week, maybe inadvertently? It turns out the information came from Israel. [NYT / Adam Goldman, Matthew Rosenberg, Matt Apuzzo, and Eric Schmitt]
Given that Russia is close allies with Iran, Israel’s greatest regional rival, and that it could have easily passed along this intel to Tehran, the Israelis are not exactly thrilled. An Israeli intelligence official told BuzzFeed that the leak was Israel's "worst fears confirmed. … We have an arrangement with America which is unique to the world of intelligence sharing. We do not have this relationship with any other country." [BuzzFeed / Sheera Frenkel]
Another Israeli intel officer told BuzzFeed that Israel had shared "specific intelligence with the US regarding an active threat to US-bound planes," and said that the US-Israeli intelligence-sharing agreement might be in jeopardy.
(Flashback: In February, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that "there is no greater support for Israel or the Jewish State than President Donald Trump.") [Haaretz / Barak Ravid]
One of the scandal’s main casualties so far is the dignity and reputation of H.R. McMaster, the national security adviser and a highly decorated and respected Army lieutenant general. He issued a non-denial denial Monday night, saying that Trump had not shared "sources and methods" (which was never in dispute), and then on Tuesday morning he defended Trump's leak as "wholly appropriate," and done for “humanitarian” reasons. [Vox / Dara Lind]
What happened between those two statements? Well, Trump tweeted, of course. “As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety,” he wrote in a series of tweets. “Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism.” [@realDonaldTrump]
McMaster first made his name with his 1997 doctoral dissertation turned book, Dereliction of Duty, which contained withering criticism of senior military and foreign policy aides for not challenging Lyndon Johnson on his reckless decision-making in Vietnam. Makes you think. [Task and Purpose / Adam Weinstein]
By the way, the idea that Russia is doing much of consequence to fight ISIS is optimistic bordering on delusional. "Whatever they do against ISIS is done to protect themselves or to support Assad," Jim Townsend, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Oabma, said. [Vox / Alex Ward]
Ultimately, whether the scandal (or the Comey firing, or any other matter) leads to an independent prosecutor, let alone Trump's removal from office, is up to Congress. And so far, Republicans in Congress are expressing concern but not committing to take any concrete action. [Politico / Rachael Bade, Burgess Everett, and Seung Min Kim​]




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