I think intelligence chief Dan Coats has it right; there is a serious issue with security clearances if Rob Porter was allowed to work his job without a clearance, which appears to be the case. He was allowed to control the flow of information to President Trump's desk without a clearance for a year....why? As someone might say, this is Yuge.
Moreover, let's dispense with the issue of whether the allegations are true for a moment and ask a simple question; should we expect to find something "interesting" about a twice-divorced Mormon only 40 years old, and whose marriages lasted two and four years, respectively? The Mormon faith is not mine, but I do know that they do take a dim view of divorce. Porter clearly has made a stench of his personal life despite a resume that screams "marry me!" in that culture.
It also occurs to me that most standard background checks, and I would guess the Brady check for buying a gun, would have found the restraining order against Porter. The FBI may be too preoccupied with ignoring crimes by Hilliary Clinton and Lois Lerner to get background checks done quickly, but there are ways of getting around this. It simply takes some thinking.
Odds & Ends: November 15, 2024
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How to Think About the Great Ideas: From the Great Books of Western
Civilization by Mortimer Adler. I still remember stumbling upon this book
in high sch...
4 hours ago
4 comments:
my question is: domestic violence should be handled in a court of law. Men who have rage issues need to seek help, or face the legal ramifications.
a lot of normally good men have anger issues. I've posted bail for some of them.
Women have these issues too. I've posted one of those.
why wasnt he arrested when his faults first came to light? maybe he would have gotten the help he needs, and i know, his church would have bent over backward to help him in this regard.
this man was failed by his wives, who didnt report, and the system, who didnt hold him to account.
none of this means he is unfit to serve in his White House position.
Agreed that it ought to occur in a court of law, but effective prosecution of domestic violence in this country is really pretty new, and I'd guess Utah is a laggard state in this regard. Plus, a lot of people just want out of the relationship. (e.g. my mom)
Is he fit to work in the White House? It could turn out that way, but to me it's very meaningful that he pissed away two marriages with his resume and in Mormon culture. It means that the FBI probably heard a lot more than just one black eye and a routine restraining order filed when divorce papers are filed.
does you abusing your wife make you an incompetent engineer? should you be denied your livelihood because of it? or should you be allowed/encouraged/forced to seek help?
I think the trick is that if I'm right that there's a lot more under the surface, it does mean that if he got a high level security clearance, he could be susceptible to blackmail because of his relationship history. He's got a lot of great options, and he doesn't apparently have a criminal conviction, but he simply does not qualify for a top secret clearance.
Kinda like Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and most of Bob Mueller's team as well.
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