JUST the Stolen Documents/Mar-A-Lago/"Judge" Cannon Trial

[Typical Lax Dad]

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/29/iran-is ... imani.html

Poor warlord.

Trump, however, is in no danger of arrest and it’s highly unlikely Interpol would honor Iran’s request, as the international agency’s guidelines forbid it from “undertaking any intervention or activities of a political” nature.

I find it funny actually. It’s just the reverse of how we see it. Peasants in both countries eat it up.

[CU77]

Cornyn also defended Trump over his assertion that he was never briefed on the intelligence assessment, adding: “I think the president can’t single-handedly remember everything"

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/2 ... sia-345160

Absolutely not! Poor little Bunker Boy can't possibly be expected to remember that his BFF Vladdy was paying to smash little Donnie's toy soldiers!

Because they were just toys, right?

All trumpistas can agree on that point.

[calourie]

Cornyn also defended Trump over his assertion that he was never briefed on the intelligence assessment, adding: “I think the president can’t single-handedly remember everything"

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/2 ... sia-345160

Absolutely not! Poor little Bunker Boy can't possibly be expected to remember that his BFF Vladdy was paying to smash little Donnie's toy soldiers!

Because they were just toys, right?

All trumpistas can agree on that point.

I have a feeling the bounty issue is going to gain a good deal of traction leading up to the 4th. We are likely to get a good deal of fleshing out of the what is still a skeletal story.

[old salt]

I have a feeling the bounty issue is going to gain a good deal of traction leading up to the 4th. We are likely to get a good deal of fleshing out of the what is still a skeletal story.

Timeline -- this reportedly did not bubble up to the level of a NSC meeting until March.
Since the Feb agreement with the Taliban, attacks on Americans have nearly ceased.

[dislaxxic]

Timeline -- this reportedly did not bubble up to the level of a NSC meeting until March.

Didn't he say he wasn't (ever) briefed about it?

..

[old salt]

Timeline -- this reportedly did not bubble up to the level of a NSC meeting until March.

Didn't he say he wasn't (ever) briefed about it?

The NSC meets without the President. There's no reporting that the NSC took it to the President.
That would require solid intel, plans & options.

US casualties in Afghanistan :
under Obama -- 2083
under Trump -- 63

Russia ! Russia ! Russia !

[DocBarrister]

Timeline -- this reportedly did not bubble up to the level of a NSC meeting until March.

Didn't he say he wasn't (ever) briefed about it?

The NSC meets without the President. There's no reporting that the NSC took it to the President.
That would require solid intel, plans & options.

US casualties in Afghanistan :
under Obama -- 2083
under Trump -- 63

Russia ! Russia ! Russia !

Your continued support of Russia is absolutely disgusting.

DocBarrister

[CU77]

There's no reporting that the NSC took it to the President.

Actually there is. The reporting is that it was in the PDB.

And: is this not something that POTUS needs to know?

Either Trump's NSC is incompetent for not bringing it to him, or Trump is incompetent. You make the call.

US casualties in Afghanistan :
under Obama -- 2083
under Trump -- 63

More of the irrelevant misdirection that you've gotten so good at.

Russia ! Russia ! Russia !

Mirrors your sig.

[DocBarrister]

There's no reporting that the NSC took it to the President.

Actually there is. The reporting is that it was in the PDB.

And: is this not something that POTUS needs to know?

Either Trump's NSC is incompetent for not bringing it to him, or Trump is incompetent. You make the call.

US casualties in Afghanistan :
under Obama -- 2083
under Trump -- 63

More of the irrelevant misdirection that you've gotten so good at.

Russia ! Russia ! Russia !

Mirrors your sig.

Does old salt even express any concern for American troops who are threatened by this Russian bounty on American heads?

Regarding his sig ... standing against the Russians actually matters NOW.

DocBarrister

[old salt]

There's no reporting that the NSC took it to the President.

Actually there is. The reporting is that it was in the PDB.

And: is this not something that POTUS needs to know?

Either Trump's NSC is incompetent for not bringing it to him, or Trump is incompetent. You make the call.

US casualties in Afghanistan :
under Obama -- 2083
under Trump -- 63

More of the irrelevant misdirection that you've gotten so good at.

Russia ! Russia ! Russia !

Mirrors your sig.

Does old salt even express any concern for American troops who are threatened by this Russian bounty on American heads?

Regarding his sig ... standing against the Russians actually matters NOW.

DocBarrister

You're so full of it doc. You've never stood up for anything other than your political prejudices.
I don't recall your concern over US casualties in Afghanistan under Obama.
The Russians (& Iranians) have been providing arms & finances to the Taliban for years,
just as we have to the enemies of Russia in Syria & Ukraine.
I bet they enjoyed our triumphalism when they watched Charlie Wilson's War.
You sore losers wanted another Cold War with Russia. You got it.This is what it looks like.
Go play with your reset button & squeeze Medvedev's knee.
Attacks on Americans are down since we started negotiations with the Taliban.
You'd prefer we bleed in Afghanistan forever, rather than give Trump an election year accomplishment.
Sad.

CU77 -- give us a link to the reporting on what exactly was in the PDB & when.

[DocBarrister]

There's no reporting that the NSC took it to the President.

Actually there is. The reporting is that it was in the PDB.

And: is this not something that POTUS needs to know?

Either Trump's NSC is incompetent for not bringing it to him, or Trump is incompetent. You make the call.

US casualties in Afghanistan :
under Obama -- 2083
under Trump -- 63

More of the irrelevant misdirection that you've gotten so good at.

Russia ! Russia ! Russia !

Mirrors your sig.

Does old salt even express any concern for American troops who are threatened by this Russian bounty on American heads?

Regarding his sig ... standing against the Russians actually matters NOW.

DocBarrister

You're so full of it doc. You've never stood up for anything other than your political prejudices.
I don't recall your concern over US casualties in Afghanistan under Obama.
The Russians (& Iranians) have been providing arms & finances to the Taliban for years,
just as we have to the enemies of Russia in Syria & Ukraine.
I bet they enjoyed our triumphalism when they watched Charlie Wilson's War.
You sore losers wanted another Cold War with Russia. You got it.This is what it looks like.
Go play with your reset button & squeeze Medvedev's knee.

CU77 -- give us a link to the reporting on what exactly was in the PDB & when.

I’m so tired of dealing with your pathological delusions and lies.

Obama inherited a mess in Afghanistan from George W. Bush. Ultimately, Obama reduced casualties from a peak of 498 in 2010 to just 13 in 2016. Afghanistan, like just about everything else Obama inherited from W, was an awful mess that Obama spent two terms cleaning up.

Don’t like Obama because he’s African American? Fine. Don’t like Hillary because she’s a woman? Fine, too. Just please stop with the delusional lies.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/262 ... ghanistan/

Your continued defense of Putin and Russia is just sickening. Absolutely repugnant and disgusting. Haven’t heard you condemn Putin yet for putting a bounty on the heads of American soldiers. Haven’t heard you yet condemn Trump for doing nothing about it for over a year.

Explain that.

DocBarrister

[old salt]

US casualties in Afghanistan :
under Obama -- 2083
under Trump -- 63

Does old salt even express any concern for American troops who are threatened by this Russian bounty on American heads?

Regarding his sig ... standing against the Russians actually matters NOW.

DocBarrister

You're so full of it doc. You've never stood up for anything other than your political prejudices.
I don't recall your concern over US casualties in Afghanistan under Obama.
The Russians (& Iranians) have been providing arms & finances to the Taliban for years,
just as we have to the enemies of Russia in Syria & Ukraine.
I bet they enjoyed our triumphalism when they watched Charlie Wilson's War.
You sore losers wanted another Cold War with Russia. You got it.This is what it looks like.
Go play with your reset button & squeeze Medvedev's knee.

I’m so tired of dealing with your pathological delusions and lies.

Obama inherited a mess in Afghanistan from George W. Bush. Ultimately, Obama reduced casualties from a peak of 498 in 2010 to just 13 in 2016. Afghanistan, like just about everything else Obama inherited from W, was an awful mess that Obama spent two terms cleaning up.

Don’t like Obama because he’s African American? Fine. Don’t like Hillary because she’s a woman? Fine, too. Just please stop with the delusional lies.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/262 ... ghanistan/

Your continued defense of Putin and Russia is just sickening. Absolutely repugnant and disgusting. Haven’t heard you condemn Putin yet for putting a bounty on the heads of American soldiers. Haven’t heard you yet condemn Trump for doing nothing about it for over a year.

Explain that.

DocBarrister

Trump is doing something about it. He's getting us the hell outta there.
The attacks have stopped since we started dealing with the Taliban.

...& Obama greatly increased our casualties in Afghanistan over Bush with his ill conceived, start & stop again, undermanned surge, in which he announced our withdrawal date before we went in. Obama's skin color had nothing to do with his failed policies in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq & Syria. He was advised every step of the way by that doddering old white fool Biden.

AP now reports this intel hit the NSC in early 2019 when neo-con Russia hawk Bolton was NSA.
How urgently did Bolton convey the intel to his CinC ? He's certainly no Putin apologist.

https://apnews.com/425e43fa0ffdd6e126c5171653ec47d1

Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported, according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence.

The assessment was included in at least one of President Donald Trump’s written daily intelligence briefings at the time, according to the officials. Then-national security adviser John Bolton also told colleagues he briefed Trump on the intelligence assessment in March 2019.

The White House did not respond to questions about Trump or other officials’ awareness of Russia’s provocations in 2019. The White House has said Trump was not — and still has not been — briefed on the intelligence assessments because they have not been fully verified. However, it is rare for intelligence to be confirmed without a shadow of a doubt before it is presented to top officials.

Bolton declined to comment Monday when asked by the AP if he had briefed Trump about the matter in 2019. On Sunday, he suggested to NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Trump was claiming ignorance of Russia’s provocations to justify his administration’s lack of a response.

“He can disown everything if nobody ever told him about it,” Bolton said.

The AP reported Sunday that concerns about Russian bounties were also included in a second written presidential daily briefing earlier this year and that current national security adviser Robert O’Brien had discussed the matter with Trump. O’Brien denies he did so.

On Monday night, O’Brien said that while the intelligence assessments regarding Russian bounties “have not been verified,” the administration has “been preparing should the situation warrant action.”

Officials said they did not consider the intelligence assessments in 2019 to be particularly urgent, given that Russian meddling in Afghanistan is not a new occurrence. The officials with knowledge of Bolton’s apparent briefing for Trump said it contained no “actionable intelligence,” meaning the intelligence community did not have enough information to form a strategic plan or response. However, the classified assessment of Russian bounties was the sole purpose of the meeting.

The officials insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the highly sensitive information.

The intelligence that surfaced in early 2019 indicated Russian operatives had become more aggressive in their desire to contract with the Taliban and members of the Haqqani Network, a militant group aligned with the Taliban in Afghanistan and designated a foreign terrorist organization in 2012 during the Obama administration.

The National Security Council and the undersecretary of defense for intelligence did hold meetings regarding the intelligence. The Pentagon declined to comment and the NSC did not respond to questions about the meetings.

Concerns about Russian bounties flared anew this year after members of the elite Naval Special Warfare Development Group, known to the public as SEAL Team Six, raided a Taliban outpost and recovered roughly $500,000 in U.S. currency. The funds bolstered the suspicions of the American intelligence community that the Russians had offered money to Taliban militants and other linked associations.

The White House contends the president was unaware of this development as well.

The U.S. is investigating whether any Americans died as a result of the Russian bounties. Officials are focused in particular on an April 2019 attack on an American convoy. Three U.S. Marines were killed after a car rigged with explosives detonated near their armored vehicles as they returned to Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. military installation in Afghanistan.

[DocBarrister]

There's no reporting that the NSC took it to the President.

Actually there is. The reporting is that it was in the PDB.

And: is this not something that POTUS needs to know?

Either Trump's NSC is incompetent for not bringing it to him, or Trump is incompetent. You make the call.

US casualties in Afghanistan :
under Obama -- 2083
under Trump -- 63

More of the irrelevant misdirection that you've gotten so good at.

Russia ! Russia ! Russia !

Mirrors your sig.

Does old salt even express any concern for American troops who are threatened by this Russian bounty on American heads?

Regarding his sig ... standing against the Russians actually matters NOW.

DocBarrister

You're so full of it doc. You've never stood up for anything other than your political prejudices.
I don't recall your concern over US casualties in Afghanistan under Obama.
The Russians (& Iranians) have been providing arms & finances to the Taliban for years,
just as we have to the enemies of Russia in Syria & Ukraine.
I bet they enjoyed our triumphalism when they watched Charlie Wilson's War.
You sore losers wanted another Cold War with Russia. You got it.This is what it looks like.
Go play with your reset button & squeeze Medvedev's knee.

CU77 -- give us a link to the reporting on what exactly was in the PDB & when.

I’m so tired of dealing with your pathological delusions and lies.

Obama inherited a mess in Afghanistan from George W. Bush. Ultimately, Obama reduced casualties from a peak of 498 in 2010 to just 13 in 2016. Afghanistan, like just about everything else Obama inherited from W, was an awful mess that Obama spent two terms cleaning up.

Don’t like Obama because he’s African American? Fine. Don’t like Hillary because she’s a woman? Fine, too. Just please stop with the delusional lies.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/262 ... ghanistan/

Your continued defense of Putin and Russia is just sickening. Absolutely repugnant and disgusting. Haven’t heard you condemn Putin yet for putting a bounty on the heads of American soldiers. Haven’t heard you yet condemn Trump for doing nothing about it for over a year.

Explain that.

DocBarrister

...& Obama greatly increased our casualties in Afghanistan over Bush with his ill conceived, start & stop again, undermanned surge, in which he announced our withdrawal date before we went in. Obama's skin color had nothing to do with his failed policies in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq & Syria, & he was advised every step of the way by that doddering old white fool Biden.

AP now reports this intel hit the NSC in early 2019 when neo-con Russia hawk Bolton was NSA.
How urgently did Bolton convey the intel to his CinC ? He's certainly no Putin apologist.

https://apnews.com/425e43fa0ffdd6e126c5171653ec47d1

Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported, according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence.

The assessment was included in at least one of President Donald Trump’s written daily intelligence briefings at the time, according to the officials. Then-national security adviser John Bolton also told colleagues he briefed Trump on the intelligence assessment in March 2019.

The White House did not respond to questions about Trump or other officials’ awareness of Russia’s provocations in 2019. The White House has said Trump was not — and still has not been — briefed on the intelligence assessments because they have not been fully verified. However, it is rare for intelligence to be confirmed without a shadow of a doubt before it is presented to top officials.

Bolton declined to comment Monday when asked by the AP if he had briefed Trump about the matter in 2019. On Sunday, he suggested to NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Trump was claiming ignorance of Russia’s provocations to justify his administration’s lack of a response.

“He can disown everything if nobody ever told him about it,” Bolton said.

The AP reported Sunday that concerns about Russian bounties were also included in a second written presidential daily briefing earlier this year and that current national security adviser Robert O’Brien had discussed the matter with Trump. O’Brien denies he did so.

On Monday night, O’Brien said that while the intelligence assessments regarding Russian bounties “have not been verified,” the administration has “been preparing should the situation warrant action.”

Officials said they did not consider the intelligence assessments in 2019 to be particularly urgent, given that Russian meddling in Afghanistan is not a new occurrence. The officials with knowledge of Bolton’s apparent briefing for Trump said it contained no “actionable intelligence,” meaning the intelligence community did not have enough information to form a strategic plan or response. However, the classified assessment of Russian bounties was the sole purpose of the meeting.

The officials insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the highly sensitive information.

The intelligence that surfaced in early 2019 indicated Russian operatives had become more aggressive in their desire to contract with the Taliban and members of the Haqqani Network, a militant group aligned with the Taliban in Afghanistan and designated a foreign terrorist organization in 2012 during the Obama administration.

The National Security Council and the undersecretary of defense for intelligence did hold meetings regarding the intelligence. The Pentagon declined to comment and the NSC did not respond to questions about the meetings.

Concerns about Russian bounties flared anew this year after members of the elite Naval Special Warfare Development Group, known to the public as SEAL Team Six, raided a Taliban outpost and recovered roughly $500,000 in U.S. currency. The funds bolstered the suspicions of the American intelligence community that the Russians had offered money to Taliban militants and other linked associations.

The White House contends the president was unaware of this development as well.

The U.S. is investigating whether any Americans died as a result of the Russian bounties. Officials are focused in particular on an April 2019 attack on an American convoy. Three U.S. Marines were killed after a car rigged with explosives detonated near their armored vehicles as they returned to Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. military installation in Afghanistan.

I see some harsh words from you against Obama and Biden, but no criticism of Putin or Trump.

That’s pretty twisted.

DocBarrister

[old salt]

I see some harsh words from you against Obama and Biden, but no criticism of Putin or Trump.

That’s pretty twisted.

DocBarrister

...only if you favor a permanent bloody & expensive US presence in Afghanistan.

Show us my harsh words against Obama.

[CU88]

Trump Got Written Briefing in February on Possible Russian Bounties, Officials Say


American officials provided a written briefing in late February to President Trump laying out their conclusion that a Russian military intelligence unit offered and paid bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, two officials familiar with the matter said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/us/p ... trump.html

[CU88]

David Sanger @SangerNYT

I’ve covered national security over four presidencies. This is the first in which a written intelligence product sent to the President didn’t constitute a “briefing.”

Quote Tweet

Jim Sciutto@jimsciutto

Several intelligence veterans have advised me to beware administration officials parsing the word “briefed”, as in whether they mean orally briefed or contained in briefing documents.

7:05 AM · Jun 30, 2020

[CU88]

Jun. 30, 2020 7:49 AM EDT
AP Sources: White House Aware Of Russian Bounties In 2019

https://hosted.ap.org/article/fcf3ec359 ... nties-2019

Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported, according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence.

The assessment was included in at least one of President Donald Trump’s written daily intelligence briefings at the time, according to the officials. Then-national security adviser John Bolton also told colleagues at the time that he briefed Trump on the intelligence assessment in March 2019.

The White House didn't respond to questions about Trump or other officials’ awareness of Russia’s provocations in 2019. The White House has said Trump wasn't — and still hasn't been — briefed on the intelligence assessments because they haven't been fully verified. However, it's rare for intelligence to be confirmed without a shadow of a doubt before it is presented to top officials.

AND

The U.S. is investigating whether Americans died because of the Russian bounties. Officials are focused on an April 2019 attack on an American convoy. Three U.S. Marines were killed after a car rigged with explosives detonated near their armored vehicles as they returned to Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. military installation in Afghanistan.

The Defense Department identified them as Marine Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman, 43, of Newark, Delaware; Sgt. Benjamin Hines, 31, of York, Pennsylvania; and Cpl. Robert Hendriks, 25, of Locust Valley, New York. They were infantrymen assigned to 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines, a reserve infantry unit headquartered out of Garden City, New York.

Hendriks' father told the AP that even a rumor of Russian bounties should have been immediately addressed.

“If this was kind of swept under the carpet as to not make it a bigger issue with Russia, and one ounce of blood was spilled when they knew this, I lost all respect for this administration and everything,” Erik Hendriks said.

[Typical Lax Dad]

David Sanger @SangerNYT

I’ve covered national security over four presidencies. This is the first in which a written intelligence product sent to the President didn’t constitute a “briefing.”

Quote Tweet

Jim Sciutto@jimsciutto

Several intelligence veterans have advised me to beware administration officials parsing the word “briefed”, as in whether they mean orally briefed or contained in briefing documents.

7:05 AM · Jun 30, 2020

It’s not a briefing because Old Sycophant said so.

[CU88]

From pandering to Putin to abusing allies and ignoring his own advisers, Trump's phone calls alarm US officials
By Carl Bernstein, CNN

Updated 4:28 AM ET, Tue June 30, 2020

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/29/politics ... index.html


The calls caused former top Trump deputies -- including national security advisers H.R. McMaster and John Bolton, Defense Secretary James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and White House chief of staff John Kelly, as well as intelligence officials -- to conclude that the President was often "delusional," as two sources put it, in his dealings with foreign leaders. The sources said there was little evidence that the President became more skillful or competent in his telephone conversations with most heads of state over time. Rather, he continued to believe that he could either charm, jawbone or bully almost any foreign leader into capitulating to his will, and often pursued goals more attuned to his own agenda than what many of his senior advisers considered the national interest.


These officials' concerns about the calls, and particularly Trump's deference to Putin, take on new resonance with reports the President may have learned in March that Russia had offered the Taliban bounties to kill US troops in Afghanistan -- and yet took no action. CNN's sources said there were calls between Putin and Trump about Trump's desire to end the American military presence in Afghanistan but they mentioned no discussion of the supposed Taliban bounties.

[CU88]

Trump has no excuse for his failure to take action to defend America’s troops

Opinion by Leon E. Panetta
June 30, 2020 at 11:52 a.m. EDT

Leon E. Panetta is a former defense secretary and director of the CIA.

When the report came out that the United States had intelligence that the Russians were paying bounties to the Taliban for killing U.S. troops and that the White House had not decided what to do about it, President Trump tweeted: “Nobody briefed or told me, [Vice President] Pence, or Chief of Staff [Mark Meadows] about the so-called attacks on our troops.”

Wrong answer, Mr. President. The fact that you or your staff were not “briefed" on this critical intelligence does not excuse the White House for its failure to take action to defend our troops. The answer is not “nobody briefed or told me.” The answer is: What is the United States going to do about it?

If Russians are, in fact, paying money to those killing our men and women in uniform, they are just as guilty of murder as those pulling the trigger. What they are doing is as close to an act of war as you can get, and it demands that we do everything necessary to defend our troops.

No matter what excuses the president puts forward, there is nothing that can justify the failure to act. The president’s duty as commander in chief is not just to defend the nation but also to defend the men and women in uniform who are willing to put their lives on the line for our country.

When I was defense secretary, the toughest duty I had was to deploy our forces into harm’s way. It was essential that they had all of the support and weapons they needed to accomplish the mission. But in addition, they must have the latest intelligence on the enemy they are fighting so they are prepared for the worst consequences. This is not about who did or did not brief the president. It is about life and death.

It is tough enough to look parents in the eye after their loved one has been killed in action knowing that you tried to do everything you could to protect them in battle. But to look at grieving parents knowing that the Russians were putting a price on the heads of their loved ones and that nothing was done about it is both shameful and disgraceful.

For the sake of those who lost their lives because of Russian bounties, someone must be held responsible.

If the president was not briefed as he should have been about this critical intelligence, then his staff must be held accountable.

If the National Security Council did meet on this intelligence in March and failed to bring options for action to the president, then the national security adviser needs to be held accountable.

If the intelligence was in the PDB — the president’s daily intelligence briefing — and the president ignored it or failed to even read it, then he should be held accountable.

If the intelligence was in the PDB and those in the chain of command — the defense secretary, secretary of state, vice president and others — failed to read or have it pointed out by their respective briefers, then they, too, should be held accountable.

If the leadership in Congress was not briefed on this intelligence, then the director of national intelligence and the director of the CIA should be held accountable.

Incompetence is not an excuse when it comes to the lives of our troops. There is no tweet or foreign policy rationale that can justify what the Russians are doing. Those in positions of power cannot hide behind bureaucratic screw-ups or allegations of politics or fake news. If a military commander lost the lives of men and women under his or her command because he or she failed to act, that commander would face a court-martial. Leadership is not about excuses; it is about responsibility.

The president seems to enjoy the symbols and displays of military power, particularly on the Fourth of July. But even he should understand that the real strength of our military is not in our fancy weapons or ships or planes or technology. It is the men and women who are willing to fight and die for our country and their patriotic families who support their courage and sacrifice who represent the real strength of America.

Defending these brave troops from our enemies is a hell of a lot more important than a Fourth of July flyover.

The president needs to understand that the best way to honor those who serve this nation is to make clear that what the Russians are doing with their bounties will not be tolerated and that the United States will do everything necessary to protect the lives of our fighting men and women. That would be the right answer, Mr. President.