Ray McGovern

The U.S. Constitution and international law suffered a stinging blow last night at the hands of an odd coalition that might be called Goldilocks and two moral dwarfs posing as Marine generals, together with a “Right Dishonorable” harridan and a young French poodle. As was the case 15 years ago when the US and UK … Continue reading “Attacking Syria: Thumbing Noses at Constitution and Law”

John Bolton’s March 22 appointment-by-tweet as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser has given “March Madness” a new and ominous meaning. There is less than a week left to batten down the hatches before Bolton makes U.S. foreign policy worse that it already is. During a recent interview with The Intercept’s Jeremy Scahill (minutes 35 … Continue reading “Coming Attraction: Lunatic Loose in West Wing”

John Bolton’s appointment as national security adviser to President Donald Trump is the latest blow to hopes for a less confrontational U.S.-Russia relationship that would include new talks on arms control. Mutual trust is now hanging by a very thin thread. One wag suggested to me that the Bolton appointment should not really come as … Continue reading “US Establishment: Nixing Arms Control”

What prompted former CIA Director John Brennan on Saturday to accuse President Donald Trump of “moral turpitude” and to predict, with an alliterative flourish, that Trump will end up “as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history”? The answer shines through the next sentence in Brennan’s threatening tweet: “You may scapegoat Andy McCabe [former … Continue reading “Former CIA Chief Brennan Running Scared”

Let’s try to make this simple: The basic rationale behind charges that Russian President Vladimir Putin interfered in the 2016 U.S. election to help candidate Donald Trump rests, of course, on the assumption that Moscow preferred Trump to Hillary Clinton. But that is wrong to assume, says the House Intelligence Committee, which has announced that … Continue reading “Intel Committee Rejects Basic Underpinning of Russiagate”

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s team swept a doubleheader on March 1, with his mid-day speech claiming strategic parity with the U.S., and then the nightcap duel with NBC’s Megyn Kelly. Any lingering doubt that Putin is a shoo-in for another term as President is now dispelled. Putin might consider sending NBC a thank-you note. As … Continue reading “NBC’s Clueless Boost for Putin”

In a sad commentary on the parlous state of the U.S. media, a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson from four United States Senators dated March 8 calling for opening arms control talks with the Kremlin ASAP is nowhere to be found in mainstream newspapers a day after its release on the Senate home … Continue reading “Gang of Four: Senators Call for Tillerson To Enter Into Arms Control Talks With the Kremlin”

Jane Mayer of The New Yorker and Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks are the latest progressives to jump on the anti-Trump, pro-Russiagate bandwagon. They have made it crystal clear that, in Mayer’s words, they are not going to let Republicans, or anyone else, “take down the whole intelligence community,” by God. Odd? Nothing is … Continue reading “‘Progressive’ Journalists Jump the Shark on Russiagate”

With the House Intelligence Committee vote yesterday to release its four-page memorandum reportedly based on documentary evidence of possible crimes by top Justice Department and FBI leaders, the die is cast. Russia-gate and FBI-gate are now joined at the hip. The coming weeks will show whether the U.S. intelligence establishment (the FBI/CIA/NSA, AKA the “Deep … Continue reading “Will Congress Face Down the Deep State?”

We learned in recent days that the FBI and the National Security Agency “inadvertently” deleted electronic messages relating to reported felonies, but one noxious reality persists: No one in the FBI or NSA is likely to be held to account for these “mistakes.” It is a 70 year-old tradition. Today’s lack of accountability is enabled … Continue reading “Foxes in Charge of Intelligence Hen House”