The deal here is simple: So long as former CIA Director John Brennan appears on television to lecture Americans on good versus evil, I will remind everyone that he is a person of low moral quality and extremely dubious character.
This deal applies to the former director’s response this week to President Trump’s disastrous appearance Monday at a joint press conference in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It’s true that Trump was excessively deferential to the brutal Russian authoritarian. It’s true the American president cast doubt on an assessment shared by both the U.S. intelligence community and the U.S. Senate, that the Russians interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Trump even suggested he trusts the Russian KGB as much as (or more than) the American CIA.
It was a shameful display. But like so many Trump critics, Brennan (who spends his days now on the cable news circuit) couldn’t let the president’s own words do the work. Like so many talking heads, the former director opted for over-the-top “Chicken Little” screeching.
Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of “high crimes & misdemeanors.” It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) July 16, 2018
He explained later on the “Today” show, saying, “When I use the term, this is ‘nothing short of treasonous,’ I equate it to the betrayal of one’s nation, aiding, abetting, giving comfort to an enemy.”
[More: ‘A very bad guy’: Trump rips ex-CIA Director John Brennan for ‘treasonous’ remark]
Brennan also cheered Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats for breaking with Trump, adding further that all who failed to act similarly would be “complicit” in … treason, I guess?
He later told the hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday, “What Mr. Trump did yesterday was to betray the women and men of the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and others, and to betray the American public.”
“And that’s why I use the term that this was ‘nothing short of treasonous.’ Because it is a betrayal of the nation. He’s giving aid and comfort to the enemy. It needs to stop, and Mr. Trump needs to understand there will be consequences for him too. I hope those that voted for Mr. Trump in good conscience will see he’s leading us down a very dangerous path,” he added.
A few issues here:
First, the “treason” line is plain silly. To say the president’s actions this week in Helsinki qualify as treasonous is to say he worked on the behalf of a declared enemy of the United States. Russia is definitely a hostile foreign power, and it most certainly has its sights set on besting the U.S. But it is not a declared enemy state. For Brennan’s treason tag to stick, there needs to be a declaration of war and/or open war with Russia. So, unless the U.S. actually goes to war with Russia, the former CIA director’s talk is a load of nonsense. Also, while we’re at it, the U.S. president has broad authority to set U.S. foreign policy. It’s not an issue of treason if that policy includes overtly friendly rhetoric aimed at an unfriendly nation. Further, let’s not lose sight of the fact that the Trump administration is actually tough on Russia.
Second, Trump’s comments are bad enough as-is. Overselling them with a farcical and overly generous interpretation of U.S. Code Title 18 Section 2381 does no one any good. Ridiculous end-times proclamations work only to overshadow the president’s behavior.
Lastly, and maybe this is a little petty, but I really don’t have the time or energy for all these piety lectures from a known liar and sneak. As I’ve noted before, we’re not so fallen a people that we deserve these sermons from an ex-CIA director whose chief qualities are being a bald-faced liar and a drone war enthusiast.
From spying on the U.S. Senate, to lying repeatedly about spying on the U.S. Senate, to supporting torture programs until they were no longer politically expedient, to lying about drone war kills, Brennan would do better to leave the ethics lectures to the ethical.
