Dad | Editorial Director,
@POLITICOLive
,
@POLITICO
| Former Defense One, NBC/MSNBC, FP, National Journal, Stars & Stripes, Boston Globe, Public Integrity | 🌴⛷️
Coup?! I cover wars. Militaries. Actual coups. Where citizens violently rise up and kill each other for power over each other.
This is alarmingly irresponsible language, even for Fox. Inflammatory. Baseless. Dangerous.
JUST IN: UK military intelligence says so many Russian troops are dying by the Ukrainian resistance that it's likely struggling to conduct offensive operations and is seeking replacements...
Justice Dept is bringing the thunder.
"People are going to shocked" with stories still to come out.
It will be harder for Republicans to minimize and deflect what the FBI and DOJ just said was possibly the largest investigation in its history.
Commander in Chief Biden spent this Sunday 1) at church, 2) at his Army veteran son’s grave (it’s the anniversary of his death), 3) and then giving a Mem Day speech at Veterans Memorial Park near the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
Joe Biden ignored the Rolling To Remember rally today. Not surprised. I guess if there’s no young girls to flirt with from the stage he’s no longer doing events.
I tested positive for Covid on Monday. It sucks. I’m double vaxxed. Home with all the flu-like symptoms, exhausted and can’t smell or taste. Not serious, but not fun.
Get the shots. Stay masked. Consider limiting close-quarter events. I let my guard down and am paying the price.
Trump now singing God Bless America, written by Ирвинг Берлин, an immigrant Russian Jew also known as Israel Beilin, and later known as Irving Berlin. He arrived at age 5 with his parents, fleeing the pogroms.
Luckily, border control didn't separate him from his parents.
I've met a lot of fighter pilots over my years on this beat. They're among the most polite, professional, and respectful of all service members. Not one talked to me the way this Sen. McSally insulted this journalist. No Senator ever has, either, come to think of it.
UPDATE: Former Navy Secretary Mabus, to me: "Either you become a full fledged defender of Trump, regardless of the harm to the military, or you lose your job. Evidently no one is allowed to tell the truth if it conflicts with what Trump is saying."
Who’s going to give back the young and beautiful lives (and others) that have been devastated and destroyed by the phony Russia Collusion Witch Hunt? They journeyed down to Washington, D.C., with stars in their eyes and wanting to help our nation...They went back home in tatters!
So, Trump talked to Erdogan, and Netanyahu...
...but not the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Tell me more about how anthem kneeling disrespects the military.
Trump didn't bother to invite Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dunford to the Syria meeting and kept him in the dark until after the decision was made.
#FFS
@karendeyoung1
reports
Southwest Airlines. Full flight. Only middle seats left. Here comes a worried young solo mom with twin toddler girls. All the way to the back. Nobody offers to move. Flight attendant has to ask for volunteers. Three hands in one row pop up. 🙋🏻♂️
@USArmy
soldiers in ACUs. Atta boys.
NEW: Trump orders the military's legendary independent newspaper
@starsandstripes
to stop publishing on Sept. 30. Shutdown plan due by Sept. 15.
@USATODAY
has the Pentagon memo: via
@usatoday
JUST IN: Trump opens UN speech saying, "In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country" to which then entire UN general assembly LAUGHS OUT LOUD at the president of the United States.
BREAKING: Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia — my JCC where my kids went to preschool — spray painted with 19 swastikas overnight. Police say incident captured on security cameras but culprits still unknown. I’m sickened.
The irony of the media attacking actual troops for supporting
@realDonaldTrump
, their Commander in Chief, but having no problem with 95% of their colleagues donating to Hillary while pretending to be unbiased is why no one trusts the media.
.
@realDonaldTrump
intervened in plans to turn the FBI HQ across the street from his luxury hotel into a construction zone, then invoked executive privilege to block inspector general from learning what he said in meetings.
US intelligence leaders were able to:
- find the most wanted terrorist leader
- on the other side of the earth,
- positively ID him
- kill him
- with no Americans on the ground
- via a technological miracle
Ignore the Twitter hacks.
This is like finding Eichmann. Take the win
Mark Hamill wields LASER sword and armor-piercing firearms, space fighter jet w megabomb, kills 10,000s of security professionals and innocent contractors aboard security outpost - TWICE! - despite advocating for gun control. What do you have to say for yourself,
@HamillHimself
?
JUST IN: Open Letter to Gen. Milley: "If Donald Trump refuses to leave office at the expiration of his constitutional term, the United States military must remove him by force, and you must give that order." Commentary by
@DrJohnNagl
& Paul Yingling
Nobody’s gonna put out shot glasses or empty chairs for these five sailors. There’s no politics in it. But you should know they died serving this nation, too.
We are deeply saddened by the loss of five Sailors and those injured following the MH-60S helicopter tragedy off the coast of Southern California. We stand alongside their families, loved ones, and shipmates who grieve. 👉
JUST IN: Biden at the Pentagon says, "I'm the first president in 40 years, I'm told, who had a son or a daughter serve in a war zone," and pledges "a responsible end to wars that have dragged on for far too long."
NBC and CNN with multiple independent sources have now backed up ABC’s reporting that there is raw US intel spotting the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, all the way back in November, despite official denials.
"Russia is redeploying forces from as far afield as its Eastern Military District, Pacific Fleet and Armenia. It is also increasingly seeking to exploit irregular sources such as Private Military Companies, Syrian and other mercenaries." - UK defense attaché to the US embassy
SCOOP: The Pentagon will not host a traditional Armed Forces Farewell tribute to President Donald Trump; first time since Ronald Reagan. It’s a shame, but not a surprise. // Pentagon Won’t Throw Traditional Farewell Ceremony for Trump
@DefenseOne
I care about the royal wedding. We need the joy, the love, the humanity. Prince Harry is an avid advocate for wounded warriors, including w the wonderful Invictus Games. Not many public leaders like him stateside. Looking forward to the next gen pageantry.
Also, this...
Armed heckler? Man came to a peaceful political rally tried to stir trouble and incite violence and then PULLLED A GUN, threatened to kill “everyone.” Thats no heckler. That’s a terrorist.
They've closed the Washington Monument due to threats from right-wing American extremists.
Not al-Qaeda. Not the Taliban. Not ISIS.
American right-wing extremists.
JUST IN: Washington Monument closed until Jan. 24, National Parks Service says, citing "credible threats to visitors and park resources."
"Groups involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol continue to threaten to disrupt the 59th presidential inauguration on Jan. 20."
FORCE PROTECTION? West Point had no idea, is now forced to recall 1000 graduating cadets for Trump's surprise speech. "Everyone is leery about bringing 1,000 cadets into the New York metropolitan area for a ceremony,” she added. “It’s definitely a risk.”
Trump just cause an unfathomable amount of disruption and cost to the US Air Force and other services by his last minute refusal of the codel's travel. Truly immeasurably but enormous man hours, intelligence assets, vehicle 7& aircraft allocations, prep, security. Stunning.
When asked about the 11 U.S. servicemen injured in the Iran airstrikes, President Trump told
@weijia
he didn't "consider them serious injuries relative to other injuries I've seen."
French President
@emmanuelmacron
laid a white rose on the tomb of Pierre L’Enfant, the military engineer who served with Lafayette & Washington and later designed much of Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (📸: pool)
JUST IN: Sen. Warner says Trump violated oath of office.
“For the President of the United States to stand next to Vladimir Putin...and side with Putin over America’s military and intelligence leaders is a breach of his duty to defend our country against its adversaries."
Exclusive: 2 months after declaring all US troops are leaving Syria, President Trump wrote to members of Congress that he now agrees "100%" with keeping a military presence in Syria.
Ron DeSantis showing up at today’s Trump super spreader event in Sanford with no mask and no social distancing is a smack in the face to the 15,000 Floridians who have died under his incompetence.
FBI Director: White supremacists are a bigger threat than antifa.
He finally says it out loud to Congress after Republicans press him to support their political play to give cover to Trump on Antifa, and Dems counter-press him on white supremacists.
@RepSlotkin
presses Wray to give numbers providing a proportional sense of the threat of white supremacist violence versus other domestic terrorism threats. Wray doesn’t & but eventually says that white supremacist violence is “the biggest chunk” of domestic terrorism.
AP NewsBreak: The U.S. Army has moved in recent weeks to discharge dozens of immigrant recruits and reservists who enlisted through a program that promised them a path to citizenship.
Exclusive: U.S. Defense Secretary
@EsperDoD
says that "of the 11,000 or so detainees that were in prisons in northeast Syria, we’ve only had reports of a little bit more than a hundred that have escaped... So right now we have not seen this big prison break that we all expected."
In other private military contractor news:
NEW: A Private Company Has Evacuated 6,500 People From Ukraine // Global Guardian is now evacuating Ukrainians who work for Western companies and their families.
@DefenseOne
This is how you do it, kids. A great journalist asks a straightforward question. When condescending-toned spokeswoman tries deflect and find escape in calling on a planted fake "reporter" from OANN, the actual journal keeps asking for a real answer. Well done,
@Yamiche
.
JUST IN: Taliban spokesman tells
@AymanMSNBC
live on air they told the US they would not attack Americans. Says won't block anyone who wants to leave. "We will not punish them.. will not pose arrest to them, their property, or their life... they are welcome (to go)..."
My parents dog died unexpectedly this summer, which really sucked. Today, they brought home this little chunk of pure awwwwwwww wook at himmmmmm schmooosh face
JUST IN: FBI has seized back pipeline ransom funds from DarkSide's bitcoin wallet. Lisa Monaco: "Today we turned the table on Dark Side"... US now going after "the entire ecosystem."
I remember when I was growing up no Jews were allowed to be members at the Country Club of Orlando. I know because our family was one of the first.
No Blacks, either.
No women, either.
Do you remember when you were growing up, do you remember how simple life was, how easy it felt? It was about faith, family, and country. We can have that again, but to do that, we must vote Joe Biden out.
#RTM2023
Last night was incredibly emotional. I wish I could share a clear picture to brag about my now adult son graduating HS, but Twitter is so full of threats toward journalists. So here, for the rest of you who have followed me for years, a proud dad moment:
Wow // Hollyanne Milley, a cardiac nurse who is married to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley, gave lifesaving CPR to a veteran at a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery via
@WSJ
@glubold
Macron is GOING THERE. He just gave a huge rebuke to the entire Trumpian world view of America First and the rise of nationalism, and warned of the fall of international organizations.
ENTIRE CONGRESS GAVE A STANDING OVATION.
I’m just sickened and heartbroken. Not the first time. This building was tagged with Nazi “SS” lightning bolts recently. But this beats all.
All the “globalist” and “Soros” code wording matters. All the alt right infowar snake oil selling matters. All the permissiveness matters.
Proof Elon Musk is pushing his agenda?
@NPR
gets labeled “state-affiliated media” which is bogus.
@starsandstripes
, which is actually owned by the US government, is ignored.
Trump said Kim Jong Un “really was excellent to these people.”
They were hostages.
One was in hard labor.
One hadn’t seen daylight in a while, Pence said.
Really excellent.
What a difference a few weeks make. From ridicule of Kim Jong Un to praise: "We want to thank Kim Jong-un, who really was excellent to these three incredible people," said
@POTUS
overnight on the tarmac at
@JBA_NAFW
.
Trump has taken over VOA, Radio Free Europe, etc... planting loyalists, firing critical journalists. He can't do that with Stripes so he's just... zeroing out the budget. Congress didn't act, didn't take Trump/Esper's attacks on Stripes seriously, just shook their fists.
Every NATO head of state has congratulated Biden except Turkey's dictator Erdogan and the leaders of Slovenia (Melania Trump's original home country).
That's 27 treaty allies.
Fake candidates, meant to steal votes from Democrats, mysterious funding traced to a UPS box... crazy story. // Evidence suggests several state Senate candidates were plants funded by dark money
TODAY: TWO of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are sidelined due to COVID. Navy’s Adm. Gilday is quarantining after being near a positive family member and National Gaurd chief is awaiting a third confirmation to double check a positive result.
SCOOP: No vax? Your Army career is over. Biden's Army secretary signed orders that US soldiers who continue to refuse the vaccine will be barred from re-enlistment, promotion, and other benefits -- and yes, that includes the Oklahoma National Guard.
And for his (nearly) final act, the president once again throws the entire US intellience, military, and national security community under the bus. America has been attacked. Trump defends Russia, instead. Again.
The Cyber Hack is far greater in the Fake News Media than in actuality. I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control. Russia, Russia, Russia is the priority chant when anything happens because Lamestream is, for mostly financial reasons, petrified of....
Wow. This is stunning. House members pull a stunt to 1) undermine the nonpartisan intelligence community and b) break the law? What’s the penalty for unauthorized entry into a classified meeting in a SCIF?
Three of Fox News’s most popular TV actors (Ingraham, Hannity, Kilmeade) directly texted the White House chief of staff believing they were empowered to immediately change the behavior of the president of the United States.
Tell me more about the liberal elite media.
—
@Liz_Cheney
reads texts sent by Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Brian Kilmeade, and Donald Trump Jr. to Mark Meadows during the insurrection, imploring him to get Trump to do something.
Pentagon's spokeswoman Sabrina Singh just said if Ukraine moves on Crimea, the US would support. "That includes an operation in Crimea. That is a sovereign part of their country and they have every right to take that back." Not a new stance from DOD, but a firm restatement.
“He was the most intellectually honest person I ever met. He was anti-ideology, anti-camp — he was open minded. …He was constantly adjusting his world view.” -
@RichardHaass
on Colin Powell.
JUST IN: "We don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator." - Gen. Milley's voice cracks as he loudly praises the Constitution in his retirement speech at Fort Myer just now
I’ve seen this with my own eyes, flying to Beijing at night on a SecDef Gates trip. Creepy and powerful to see IRL. I remember thinking: my god, the entire country is a prison. All those people.
#Olympics
This is the Korean Peninsula at night. The bottom, awash in light, is the free and democratic South. The North is in complete darkness save for a pinprick of light in Pyongyang. Keep the darkness in mind while watching the North's Olympic charm offensive
I see lots of questions, so I'll just add that every administration has tried to or threatened to fuck with Stripes, cut its budget. The political press secretaries can't stand they can't control it's content and turn it into a pro-White House rag.
It’s stunning the Trump administration hid the details of the deal they signed until after it was signed basically. Zero press conferences in Washington.
After 18 years, Trump just committed to a total withdrawal by next April.
No WH announcement.
No Pentagon briefing.
I appreciate Congress's renewed urgency for Afghanistan oversight responsiblities.
Just give me a minute to pull up 10,000 photos of completely empty Congressional hearings on Afghanistan for the past 10 years or so since about the time Petraeus left...
Unbelievable.
The correct question to this was a simple: “no, of course not, don’t be absurd, we’re not handing over our former ambassador to Vladimir Freakin Putin, over my dead body”
Instead, Trump’s team: We’re considering it.
JUST IN: Sens. Romney & Murphy, top R/D, Sen For Relations counterterrorism subcmte: "The President’s decision to abandon our Kurdish allies in Northern Syria in the face of an assault by Turkey is a betrayal that will have grave humanitarian and national security consequences."
Is everyone just gonna ignore this? "Both acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf and second in command Ken Cuccinelli were unlawfully appointed to their posts"
@DefenseOne