“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”
– Dwight Eisenhower
On Monday night, Michael Flynn resigned from his position as Trump’s National Security Advisor after 24 days on the job. This was preceded by more leaks that Flynn had “questionable” contact with a Russian ambassador, and allegedly lied to Vice President Pence about this contact. This adds yet another blemish to the new administration, and certainly does not ease the concern about Trump’s favorability towards Russia. Some are calling his departure a “resignation,” and some a “firing,” but here is the truth: Flynn was assassinated by the Deep State.
The Deep State, also known as the “shadow government,” is the term used to describe the not-so-secret group of bureaucrats in public and private institutions, including national security and law enforcement agencies, that are unelected, yet are entrenched and hold a great deal of dangerous power. They use their security clearances to leak classified information, usually anonymously, to the salivating mainstream media who will run with any story that feeds their narrative without looking back. Many of these bureaucrats are leftovers from the Obama Administration, and, at the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist at Breitbart or InfoWars, it would appear that they are going to use their power to blackmail Trump. Trump went after the intelligence community during and after the election, and now they are getting their revenge.
Just a bit of background on the Flynn situation: The story has, to what should be the surprise of no one at this point, spiraled slightly out of control. On December 29th, Flynn spoke on the phone with Russian Ambassador Kislyak, discussed the sanctions put in by Obama, and then denied that this occurred. The message from the Trump team is that Flynn was only let go for lying to Pence, and that his actions with Russia were just part of his job. The message from the media is that Flynn is a modern-day Benedict Arnold and needs to be hanged. As usual, it appears the truth is somewhere in between the two narratives. What we know for sure is that three people from the Trump team are being investigated by the FBI for their alleged ties to Russia during/after the campaign: Paul Manafort, Carter Page, and Roger Stone. Notice a name that’s not there. FBI Director James Comey decided around January 16th that there was not enough evidence surrounding Flynn to warrant an investigation. While it is clear that Flynn did have some interactions with Russians that don’t look good for him or Trump, nothing he did appears to be illegal, and anything else being thrown around appears to be speculation. No, he didn’t commit Treason. No, there is no violation of the Logan Act (which all of a sudden people care about again). The over-the-top coverage on this by the mainstream media is mainly devoid of facts and is playing on the Left’s eagerness to see Trump fail.
All that being said, something about this does not add up. In an administration that is clearly not too concerned with telling the truth (see “Alternative Facts,” or the bright, sun-shiny day when Trump was sworn in as President in front of the largest inaugural crowd in history, or Trump’s insistence that over 3 million illegal votes were cast in the election that he won), why would Flynn lying to Pence be enough to get him fired? It isn’t. Trump is caving to the pressure from the bureaucrats. It turns out, the swamp does not want to be drained.
The intelligence community has repeatedly demonstrated their willingness to use classified information against someone they don’t find favorable. The FBI and NSA, using their authority from Executive order 12333 and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, were monitoring correspondences between the Russian ambassador and Flynn. There is a plethora of laws that dictate how this information is to be used and distributed, especially if there is a “U.S. Person” involved. If there are concerning legal matters, they are to be brought before the Director, and ultimately Congress. Leaking non-criminal private conversations is not only illegal, but it gives the Deep State the power to destroy their opponents from a façade of anonymity.
This should be seen from all sides as inherently bad, and there is plenty of hypocrisy from the Left and the Right on this issue. The same people who were outraged about James Comey’s behavior during the election are overjoyed about this, and the people who celebrated Hillary’s woes think that Flynn should be hanged for treason. Actions don’t change legality or morality because they’re done “for your team.” This is also not the first example of leaking to hurt the Trump team. Did you ever think to wonder how it is that the media finds out what is said on Trump’s phone calls to foreign leaders? Or how we know who in the administration was denied or granted security clearances? Whether or not you want to see Trump fail, you need to be intellectually honest. When it becomes acceptable for the intelligence community to be waging their own wars against the current administration, or influencing elections, a “police state” is not out of the question. There are examples of this throughout history, and even in modern-day Russia. If they can take down the most powerful in our country, what do you think will happen if they set their sights on the general public?
The Deep State would not have as much influence if not for its most powerful allies: The mainstream media and the side of the political aisle that lost, which right now is the Left. As I wrote above, the media coverage of this has been disgraceful. This “scandal” has, just this week, been treated like the worst event that has ever happened in the history of America, and has been compared to a “Class 5 Political Hurricane,” Iran-Contra, Watergate, 9/11, and Pearl Harbor by the likes of CNN and the New York Times. We have no idea what is going on. Should we maybe wait for some more facts? The media are lighting themselves on fire and jumping off the cliff over everything that is happening in the Trump White House. They are so eager to see him fail that they are stating reports that are impossible to prove as fact.
The members of the media are chumming the water for their base, the political Left. The Left has gone back and forth between all the stages of grief every day since November 8th. Twitter and Facebook are filled with talk of Trump Impeachment Parties, ways that Hillary or Bernie can still be elected, Trump/Hitler comparisons, and the aforementioned flammable reaction to all news Trump. The media is purposefully adding fuel because they know their stories will sell. We are seeing a collaboration between the media and the intelligence community to take down an elected administration, of which neither are very fond. I really hate that I even need to make these comparisons, but this is only a few paces away from Stain’s Purges, Mao’s Red Guard, or Mussolini’s Blackshirts. These tyrants utilized secret agencies, as well as propagandized through their media, to take out the “undesirables” in their country and/or government. Throughout the election, and now, the Left keeps referring to Trump and his team as fascists. If secret groups within the government, in concert with the media, are taking out the people they don’t like…this might actually be a reasonable time to sound that alarm.
Once again, it doesn’t matter whether you love or hate Trump. We all should be able to rally behind the idea that it is not a good thing for these D.C bureaucrats to have the amount of control that they have. The Left is already faced with a president who has all the overreaching powers that they were so happy to give Obama because he was on their side. Do you really think this pendulum won’t also swing back? Allowing power to go unchecked, especially at the federal level, is a very dangerous game. If you think that the Deep State is finished, you better buckle up. They’ve tasted a small victory, and now won’t stop until they have their grand prize: Trump’s impeachment.
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Luke Garrison is currently studying Criminal Law and Constitutional Theory at Seattle University Law School, and is a graduate of The Catholic University of America. For Questions, Comments, or Hate Mail, he can be reached at contact@lukegarrison.com. To hear more from Luke, follow him on Twitter: @_lukegarrison.
Photo: NBC News
Luke Garrison
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