Trump Could Disclose National Secrets

[Ralph_Kirk]

Originally Posted by bu2

If you have ever dealt with high level management, you would know you keep it short. They want the big picture, not all the little details. Tells me those former staff members are incompetent.

The people who brief the president are very aware of how to produce the most succinct possible briefings. They're very aware of how to convey "what this means for us" rather than just spout details.


Very often, it's necessary for the president to be able to change his mind from his campaign viewpoint. For instance, John Kennedy campaigned a hard line against the Soviets and a need to close the "missile gap" he thought existed. Once he got in office and got the complete story, he discovered the "missile gap" was actually in the other direction, and he moderated his stance.


I personally recall that Carter came into office with the intention of moving away from confrontation with North Korea and pulling troops out of South Korea. When we fully briefed him on the actual significance of the North Korea threat, he pulled back from his campaign viewpoint.


There's a difference between "management" and "leadership." Sometimes an issue is so important that it's necessary for a leader to fully understand more than can be conveyed by a short Powerpoint...and sometimes a president has to be willing to have his mind changed by facts.

[anononcty]

Wasn't Trump going to release all information on UFOs or the JFK Assassination? I'm still waiting. Did I miss something.

[CC Permit]

[hbdwihdh378y9]

Originally Posted by Seacove

This was a concern I always had with Trump's kids because they were denied security clearances but he overrode the denials and gave it to them anyway. But watching Trump's behavior for the past week, I'm not surprised officials are concerned.

As an ex-president, Trump could disclose the secrets he learned while in office, current and former officials fear

Any official who "fears" the release of government secrets is someone who ought to be in prison. Other than military stuff, there's no reason to HAVE government secrets except to conceal government wrongdoing.

[Mircea]

Originally Posted by Seacove

Trump Could Disclose National Secrets

It's best that people who don't know what they're talking about not comment on things they know nothing about.

There's nothing Trump knows.

Being President does not equate to "need to know."

Case in point, Kennedy knew there were 8"/203mm chemical nerve agent artillery rounds stored in Germany, because he specifically authorized their secret deployment.

LBJ had no idea they were there, because he did not have a "need to know."

Nixon had no idea they were there, because he did not have a "need to know."

Ford had no idea they were there, because he did not have a "need to know."

Carter had no idea they were there, because he did not have a "need to know."

Reagan had no idea they were there, because he did not have a "need to know."

Bush? It's quite possible he knew, but only by virtue of the fact that he had been in the CIA forever and was the director.

It was Helmut Kohl's country and he had no idea they were there (and my understanding is he was quite peeved when he found out).

At a press conference, Reagan once said there were no "backpack nukes" in Germany.
He was wrong. Did he lie? Nope. That was the truth as far as Reagan knew, because Reagan did not have the "need to know" they were there and no one told him they were there (until a few months later).

I knew. I knew there were 226 of them and I knew exactly where every single one of them was.

The way classified information works is I tell you only what you need to know to do your job and nothing more.

So, you're a truck driver and I tell you that you need to have your mask and MOPP gear because you're transporting toxic organic chemical compounds.

I don't tell you it's UDMH, because you don't have a need to know.

I don't tell you the UDMH is in an MM5A, because you don't kneed to know.

I don't tell you the MM5A is the engine/booster for the Lance missile system, because you don't need to know.

I don't tell you the final destination of the MM5A's because you don't need to know that, either.

Same with Presidents. They're told only what they need to know to make a decision and they're not given any details, especially details about assets, type of assets, location of assets, how assets were acquired and such.

If the mission required crossing borders of other States, a President would be told that, but not necessarily how or why.

There's a good reason for that. Since Presidents know nothing, and apparently everyone on Earth knows that except you, there's no reason to attempt to kidnap a ex-President or any member of their immediate family or even their extended family, because it ain't worth it, since everyone -- except you -- knows that Presidents don't know anything of value.

[jeffdoorgunner]

Originally Posted by Robertfchew

what's traeson? Did you learn that word from you know the thing?

treason= jane fonda

[hbdwihdh378y9]

Originally Posted by burdell

Trump Could Disclose National Secrets

And should he do that he could be tried for traeson.

No, he couldn't be tried for treason. The people actually guilty of wrongdoing (not treason -- that's a wild exaggeration) are the people concealing things from the public.