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The revelation of the June 2016 meeting between Trump campaign officials and Russian nationals has spurred more than a few former intelligence officials to label it an apparent Russian intelligence operation masquerading as an opposition research meeting.

To be sure, however, Russias covert operations during the 2016 cycle didnt start or end there. Political operatives of both parties fell for Russian spearfishing attempts, and the intelligence community concluded with high confidence that the Kremlin was responsible for a covert influence campaign that saw the release of pilfered emails.

But Moscow had another target in its multi-pronged campaign to influence the vote: American reporters, who, in some cases, were equally credulous andin extremisenablers of the Russian assault on our democracy. Just as the Trump administration must be unequivocal in holding Moscow accountable, so, too, do some corners of the Fourth Estate need to soul search in advance of what surely will be subsequent foreign intelligence operations targeting our democracy.

As a former CIA officer and the National Security Council spokesperson during the election, I took particular notice as the media provided a megaphone to a Russian intelligence operation. A single date, Oct. 7, 2016, put much of this on full display. It was that afternoon that the Obama administration formally attributed the hack-and-release effort to the highest levels of the Russian government. Moscows culpability had been speculated on for months following a private security companys assessment to that effect in June, but the statement from the director of National Intelligence and the secretary of Homeland Security that day was the first official confirmation.

Those of us in the White House expected that determination to receive significant media attention. And it did for about 30 minutes. Shortly following the issuance of the statement, The Washington Post had its own scoop in the form of the Access Hollywood tape. Interest in the attribution came to a halt. A colleague later relayed that a reporterwho was peppering him with questions about the statementstopped mid-sentence, muttering something to the effect of: Oh my God, Ill have to call you back. He never did.

ButOct. 7had more surprises in store. That evening, WikiLeakswhich the intelligence community just a few hours earlier had publicly characterized as an instrument of Moscows operationbegan trickling out the hacked emails of John Podesta, the Clinton campaign chairman. Just as soon as interest in the Access Hollywood tape waned somewhat, media interest in the cache waxed. But, notably, reporters covered the leaked correspondence for its substance, not its origins. Intrigue in perceived campaign infighting, inside baseball decision-making, and even Podestas risotto recipe took hold, as the media largely glossed over the fact that they were peddling emails pilfered by an American adversary. This was lamentable, but given where we are these days, it was perhaps understandable.

But there was another element to Moscows enlistment of the American mediaand one that was far less excusable. Starting in mid-2016, Russian intelligence fronts, namely a website known as DCLeaks and an online persona calling himself Guccifer2.0, began peddling exclusive scoops to hand-picked reporters, both niche and mainstream. These exclusivespointing reporters to a particularly juicy email, for examplebegan after it had been widely reported that the Kremlin was behind the hacks and, most disturbingly, continued even after the administration labeled Guccifer and DCLeaks elements of the Russian operation. To be fair, some reporters took a principled stand, refusing to publish spoon-fed scoops. The Associated Press, for instance, declined to publish the exclusive and, instead, subsequently published a news story on its teams interactions with the hackers. Nevertheless, others felt no such compunction, occasionally publishing gossipy content without noting the provenance.

Reporters could be forgiven for taking this approach early in the summer before Moscows meddling was widely understood. But that excuse eroded over time and should have been eviscerated with the administrations October attribution statement. Nevertheless, they persisted even after the Russiansapparently having a little fun with their eroded coverbegan disseminating scoops through the Fancy Bear Hack Team, a reference to a codename applied to Russias military intelligence service. And Moscow surely had even more fun upon realizing that some reporters continued to be willing mouthpieces.

To be clear, I dont mean to partake in todays baseless media bashing, and this criticism of some corners of the Fourth Estate comes from a recognition of the critical role the media canand mustplay in national politics. Indeed, the press is arguably the only functional check in our democracy today, holding to account those who see themselves as unaccountable. In light of the medias indispensable role, however, those in the industry must never again advance our adversaries assault on our most sacred democratic exercise.

There are initial reasons to be optimistic that the lessons of 2016 are taking hold. Just as soon as the election concluded last November, reporters seemed to become more interested in Moscows meddlingso much so that the topic dominated President Obamas end-of-year news conference that December. Perhaps with Clinton relegated to the woods of Chappaqua, the origins, rather than substance, of Podestas emails came into focus.

Whats more, the Kremlins efforts were foiled when Moscow attempted to run the same play in the French elections. While Frances media blackout laws proved beneficial, the American experience may have served as a cautionary tale, leaving journalists more attuned to what was unfolding. Just this month, moreover, MSNBCs Rachel Maddow did her colleagues a service by reporting on what may well have been a Russian forgery purporting to be a U.S. intelligence report. Rather than rush to publish a scoop, Maddow and her teams deliberate approach helped inoculate against future such attempts. (Full disclosure: Im an NBC analyst and contributor).

Efforts such as these are so important because the next assault on our democracy is not a question of if; its a matter of time. And when it arrives upon our shores, Americans must be united in recognizing it for what it is and working togethergovernment, private citizens, and, yes, the mediato stop it in its tracks.

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Memo to the Media: Don't Abet the Next Assault on Our Democracy - Daily Beast

Photo President Trump used his speech to the Boy Scouts as a platform for political grievances, and Stephen Colbert was not thrilled about it. Credit CBS

Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown that lets you sleep and lets us get paid to watch comedy. What do you think of it? What else are you interested in? Let us know: thearts@nytimes.com.

Stephen Colbert said President Trump didnt exactly play to the crowd with his politically combative speech to the Boy Scouts of America on Tuesday, bragging about his election win and calling Washington a sewer. Mr. Colbert pointed out that the Boy Scouts is a nonpartisan organization, known for their love of civic engagement.

They have a deep, abiding, non-cynical, non-ironic belief in our democracy. And Donald Trump took the opportunity to drop a deuce in that punch bowl. STEPHEN COLBERT

On The Daily Show, Trevor Noah had an equally frank appraisal. He focused on the fact that Mr. Trump took the opportunity to favorably compare himself to his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Trump sounds less like a president and more like a drunk stepdad. Did your real dad ever take you to Chuck E. Cheese?! Huh? Hah? Let you have a glass of Jack, take you fishing? Im gonna be sick TREVOR NOAH

Seth Meyers continued to give the new White House communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, a full dose of late-night welcome. Mr. Scaramucci announced on Monday that he would be allowing cameras back into the briefing room.

Anthony Scaramucci announced that press briefings will be televised again, tweeting yesterday, TV cameras are back on. Yeah, I bet they are. Look at that guy. He did not work on his hair that long to go on the radio. SETH MEYERS

Look at him: Hes like a televangelist without the humility. SETH MEYERS

On Tuesday, Senate Republicans voted to continue debating whether to pass a bill repealing the Affordable Care Act. The late-night hosts thought that it was so convoluted it was funny.

Ahead of the health care vote senators were saying that they had no clue what theyd be voting on. Then Americans said, Hey, just like us during the election. JIMMY FALLON

The bill was a total mystery. Its like Westworld: No one knows exactly whats going on, but its probably going to be a bad thing for women. STEPHEN COLBERT

This morning two senators were caught on a hot mike calling President Trump crazy. And when the news came out, literally every member of the Senate was like, Wait, was it me? JIMMY FALLON

Were still getting to know Trumps communications director, Anthony Scaramucci. I saw that his friends like to call him the Mooch. When Trump heard that he was like, Great, now what am I gonna call Don Jr. and Eric? JIMMY FALLON

The Late Show started with a Boy Scouts horror story about the invasion of a pumpkin man.

Youre spinning a record? Its a baby? Its a child?

Michael Moore was among the most prominent figures on the left to predict Mr. Trumps victory in November. Now hes starring in a one-man Broadway show. Stephen Colbert will speak to Mr. Moore on The Late Show on Wednesday.

Charlize Theron, star of Atomic Blonde, has a habit of playing dauntless women who face down great challenges. She revealed to our reporter what draws her to the roles.

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Stephen Colbert Says Trump Attacked Boy Scouts' 'Belief in Our Democracy' - New York Times

For the past two days, Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner has met with Senate and House investigators in closed-door sessions on Capitol Hill. Kushner was there to discuss his meetings with various foreign officials (some referenced in his security filings, some initially not).

A lot of the media attention has been focused on whether Kushner did anything wrong.

But that misses a bigger point. Kushners very presence points to what critics call a troubling trend in the Trump administration: a tendency to rely on friends and family for policy advice and action. Political scientists who study the world have a term for this: sultanism, or nepotism. And they say its bad not just because its unfair but also because nepotism leads to corruption and the erosion of the rule of law.

Heres why: In a robust, well-functioning democracy, there are many checks against the abuse of power. There are institutions that establish procedures to regulate decision-making and set limits. These institutions are run by people loyal not to any particular leader, but rather to the rule of law itself. They understand, in theory, that their job is to protect the citizens and the constitution, not their bosses.

[Ivanka Trumps White House role is a symbol of democratic decline]

When leaders rely on their friends and relatives to take key jobs, they can subvert the power of institutions because those people (who often arent experts coming into a position with a particular set of objectives) arent loyal to the institution. Theyre loyal to the person in power.Nepotismallows presidents to prioritize loyalty and subservience, Henry Carey, a political science professor atGeorgia State University, wrote to me in an email. That also means that when laws are broken by the leader, those loyal have to compensate the latter by looking the other way on corruption, often combined with plausible denial from below and denial syndromes from above, he said.

Theres another, longer-term danger, too. In some countries, leaders use nepotism to appoint their children and spouses to top jobs or as successors. In those cases, the regime itself becomes institutionalized, replacing the regulations and rules.In those cases, he explained, the incentives and temptations for corruption become pervasive.

In authoritarian regimes, that allows a corrupt family to stay in power for years or decades. In democracies, Carey wrote, elected leaders rotate but the deterioration of the rule of law erodes steadily and corruption consequently increases steadily.

There are lots of places where the link between nepotism and corruption is painfully clear. In South Korea, President Park Geun-hye was removed from office in March in a corruption scandal involving a close family friend and adviser.

[The investigation of Jared Kushner fits a very troubling pattern]

In Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev (who inherited his job from his father) appointed his wife as vice president. His children have enriched themselves through their leadership in various state-run businesses, some vaguely disclosed, most not. The country has one of the worlds lowest transparency ratings, according to Transparency International, and corruption is endemic to the way the government is run.

In India, where the Nehru-Gandhi family has held some kind of power for nearly as long as the country has been independent, political dynasties are common on the national and local level. More than a fifth of all elected officials are relatives of someone else in office. Corruption is crippling all the organs of state and reaching into its highest offices, former Indian finance minister Jaswant Singh wrote on Al Jazeeras website.

Other American presidents have sometimes shown similar impulses. President John F. Kennedy appointed his younger brother Robert as attorney general; its often said that he was also his closest adviser. (Robert Kennedy also helped cover up his brothers more tawdry behavior with women.) In response, Congress passed the Anti-Nepotism Statute, nicknamed the Bobby Kennedy law, which made it illegal to appoint close relatives to official positions. President Bill Clinton rather famously relied on his wife, Hillary, to navigate his efforts to pass health-care reform an unsuccessful effort. President George W. Bush relied heavily on Cabinetmembers who had also served his father.

[Trump would join motley crew of nepotists with appointment of son-in-law]

Trump, who swept into office as an outsider with no government experience, has largely surrounded himself with people who are also light on government experience but heavy on personal loyalty. As Carey said in a piece in The Conversation:

The U.S. presidency has always been prone to sultanistic tendencies, but under a Trump presidency what were once isolated incidents have predictably become a way of governing. When the closest advisers, both institutional (like Ivanka andKushner) and informal (in the case of his two adult sons), are dominated by family members, the decision-making process will not only be erratic and possibly influenced by private family interests but also tend to ignore legal procedures that have also met the test of time.

Instead ofa team of rivalsunder the rule of law, the Trump presidency may be akin to a medieval monarchy, with decisions made by court politics, not legal procedures.

Original post:
The real danger of having Jared Kushner and Ivanka in the Trump administration - Washington Post

Before it all totally hit the fan on Tuesday before Sen. John McCain turned the very concept of JFKs Profiles in Courage on its head, before our pro-life vice president Mike Pence cast a vote that could lead to the premature death of thousands of uninsured Americans a hardy band of protesters briefly tried to bring the U.S. Senate to a halt. They chanted Kill the bill! and Dont kill us! before the Capitol Police quickly moved in for arrests. Other officers blocked the hallway to keep journalists away from the scene, as one reportedly shouted No photos! before adding, Delete your photos!

It was only a few months ago that someone warned us that democracy dies in darkness. Now, at 2:45 p.m. on a bright and seasonable July afternoon, the American Experiment was quickly fading to black. And the last thing the co-conspirators wanted was a photographic record. After the last annoying pocket of resistance had been cleared, the U.S. Senate once, hard to believe, known as the greatest deliberative body in the world moved with not-deliberative speed to take a great leap forward to briefly debate a plan that no one has actually seen but is believed to divorce millions of Americans maybe 15 million, maybe 32 million from their health insurance, while fixing few if any of the actual problems with U.S. health care yet stirring up a beehive of new ones.

To note the insanity of that would miss the point. The Republicans who run this country (with help from their friends Gerry Mandering and E. Lector al-College) werent voting Tuesday with the foggiest notion of actually improving your familys health care. That barely crossed their collective mind. No, they needed to show they could get 51 votes for something to prove and maintain their power over you, which is the No. 1 goal of American government in 2017. Theres a word for this mindless exercise of authority. Its authoritarianism.

Remember the doomsday clock that nuclear scientists have promoted since the height of the Cold War, chiding world leaders on how close the world stands toward nuclear Armageddon? Its time to belatedly wind up a doomsday clock for American democracy. Looking back, we should have started a couple of decades ago with the rise of GOP obstructionism, the war on science, mass incarceration and entertainments Amusing Ourselves to Death hostile takeover of political discourse. But things start moving downward swiftly in that moment two summers ago whena real estate mogul descended on an escalator from his gilded tower on 5th Avenue. After some ups and downs these six months since Donald Trump became Americas 45th president, we may look back on this last week of July 2017 as the moment the democracy doomsday clock struck 11:58 and the ticking noise grew insufferable.

The fish continues to rot from the head, of course. It is President Trump with his non-stop bullying, his stream of falsehoods, a crudeness that mocks the claim he could be more presidential than anyone since Honest Abe, and a willingness, sometimes born of cruelty and sometimes of ignorance, to trample the norms of democracy underneath his tiny footsteps who is setting the table for American autocracy. Lets quickly review some of the things that have happened just in the last two days:

Trashing any remaining dignity of the office of the presidency: The bizzaro Trump Youth rally in West Virginia in the guise of a Boy Scout Jamboree was in many ways a moral low point for Trumps tenure: The crude sexual innuendo, the relentless and highly inappropriate politicking, Trumps pleas for praise and, of course, for loyalty, and his mocking of political rivals brought the presidents Straight Outta Nuremberg style to our nations impressionable youth. Even a former CIA director saw the appalling moment for what it was.

The theme continued Tuesday night, as Trump brought his more familiar brand of rally shtick to Youngstown, where he bullied and mocked a protester, harangued against a free press, and portrayed immigrants as committing violent acts against teenage girls in a sickening style that echoed Europes worst autocrats of the 1930s. And the more that Trump pumps this toxic brand of authoritarianism into the system, the more normal that the incredibly not-normal becomes.

The lies, remarkably, are increasing:Keeping score of Trumps prevarications has become something of a sport as 2017 devolves, and this week the president racked up some epic numbers. The Washington Post has just documented 29 false or misleading Trumpian claims in just 26 hours, on everything from the size of his crowds (a favorite falsehood) to the ownership of the Washington Post to the facts in a misleading allegation about ties between the Democratic National Committee and Ukraine.

The rule of law is hanging on by a fingernail: Trumps bullying of Attorney General Jeff Sessions in an apparent effort to force one of his cabinet members to resign (for arguably the only reason he shouldnt resign), while the president can (try to) avoid the political consequences that would stem from firing, has become an almost comic soap opera with a most unfunny potential punch line. The reason, after all, for Trumps dissatisfaction is that Sessions cant bend to his will and quash the Trump-Russia probe, presumably by firing special prosecutor Robert Mueller. And crushing the independence of prosecutors, along with the media (another Trump target) and the judiciary is the No. 1 hallmark of autocracy.

Alarmingly erratic behavior in the Oval Office: All of the above behavior, including the presidents raging narcissism and inability to display empathy compounded by Trumps alternately bullying and paranoid posts on Twitter has sparked a raging debate among Americas psychologists whether the so-called Goldwater rule barring public discussion of a politicians mental health still applies. But members of Congress and other key players are having these conversations if not yet in public. Earlier this week, an open hot mike captured Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island and GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine discussing Trumps crazy state of mind, with Collins stating, Im worried. Welcome to the club.

Which brings us to why this weeks health care action in the Senate is so important. Americas founders anticipated the potential problems of a chief executive who shredded the rule of law or who otherwise proved to be unfit for the office. But there was no way, constitutionally, to prepare for what happens when the people handed those powers primarily the Congress refuse to exercise them. Rather than serve as a realistic check on the authoritarianism at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and their minions have chosen to work as accomplices part out of shameless expediency and part out of fear.

The specifics of the various Obamacare repeals plans that are now being debated, thanks to Tuesdays vote, are horrific, but the equally significant alarm bell is the wretched legislative process that got us to this point. The lack of regular order a fancy term for having both a lengthy and unhindered debate about health care involving not just lawmakers from both parties but the key stakeholders like patients and their doctors, at open public hearings is the kind of thing that takes place in a so-called banana republic and not a nation that for years has branded itself around the globe as democracys shining city on a hill.

The fact that 50 GOP senators, with Pence, were willing to vote to debate a bill that none of them have actually seen is proof that loyalty and discipline are the only things that matter in Trump/McConnell Washington not the will of the people or a free exchange of ideas. (And theres just too much to be said about Sen. John McCain and the meaning of political courage to go down that rabbit hole right now, but suffice it to say that his hypocritical vote and broken promise to fight for regular order render his pretty-sounding words after the vote utterly without meaning.) In the long run, the Senates spinelessness may prove more damaging to democracy than Trumps buffoonery.

Thats why 11:58 p.m. feels like the proper setting for our democracy doomsday clock. Because the two-minute drill for Americas soul, and maybe even its survival, starts right now. The debate over an actual health care bill, which clearly could go either way, is a starting point. Massive public pressure on a few key lawmakers phone calls, letters to the editor, protest marches, or even just making your feelings known in your community or on social media could start to turn things in the right direction. That may prove doubly true in pressing Congress to use whatevers left in its tool box including impeachment, if necessary to thwart a Trumpian coup at the Department of Justice. Such activism stands counter to modern American tendencies our couch-potato political culture is how we ended up with Trump in the first place, right? but the alternatives are unfathomable. And the ticking keeps getting louder.

Published: July 26, 2017 3:01 AM EDT | Updated: July 26, 2017 12:20 PM EDT

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America's democracy doomsday clock just hit 11:58 - Philly.com

The Russians are not our friends. They are our enemies. Today wherever an AK-47 opposes an American soldier, communism is there. Vladimir Putin is a student of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.

The core values of Presidents Eisenhower and Reagan offer opposition to communism in any form. The Russian oligarchy opposes the very concept of a democracy. Within their own country, freedom of speech has been trampled if not by arrest then by assassination. Scores of journalists have been murdered to date.

As a former Vietnam veteran and intelligence specialist, I believe I have a good understanding of Russias motives for tampering with our democracy. There are three reasons: One is to make up for the embarrassment they suffered with the breakup of the Soviet Union. The second is to discourage democracy across the globe. Finally, they want to be the most powerful county in the world to the detriment of the United States.

Recently the Senate overwhelmingly passed the Russian sanctions bill. The senators who regularly receive intelligence briefings on Russians' clandestine motives against the U.S. understand what is going on.

Now the president, who has dismissed our own intelligence communities opinion and supported Russia, has put in power as the White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci. He told the Russian news agency TASS that he did not support the sanctions, saying the sanctions probably galvanized the nation with the nations president. Putin is promoting the downfall of democracy.

Michael Phelan Shrewsbury

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Putin is no friend of democracy, the United States | Letters to the ... - STLtoday.com