In the days before his speech in Congress President #Donald Trump seemed to declare war on leaks within the Administration. Despite the efforts of Sean Spicer and other members of the Administration, it is likely that leaks will be the subject of late night tweets by the President for a long time into the future.
Address
President Donald Trump would have walked out of the Congress a happy man. He had just made an address that surprised many, not so much in missing details, but by being able to concentrate on the message without being distracted by side issues as often occurs when he is in public.
The image of him in the car reciting the speech as he left the White House were transmitted around the world and many politicians and journalists asked after the speech whether the address had been a turning point in the new Administration’s stormy beginning.
The next day the news from the New York Time, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington post about Attorney General #Jeff Sessions would have dispelled the President’s euphoria and set the scene for political battles for at least the near future that may well have serious consequences not only for Sessions, but potentially for the President as well.
Russia
The reports that Sessions had met with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian Ambassador to the United States, during the presidential campaign have reopened the allegations of Russian interference in Trump’s election victory.
These will continue to haunt President Trump until the intelligence community completes their investigations.
Yet the bad news of the reports was not so much the renewed and probably increased pressure for high level investigations by both the Senate and Congress. The revelation about Sessions was the latest and probably most conclusive proof that the war on leaks was being lost by the Oval Office.
The New York Times report that the Obama Administration left a trail for investigators to follow was already proof that steps had been taken to ensure that the allegations would not die a quiet death. But the most important proof that the leaks would not top is that they almost certainly came from within the Justice Department of which Jeff Sessions is the Secretary.
Not so fake news
Despite the fact that Candidate Donald Trump complimented the release of leaked information against Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign, he has certainly not expressed the same appreciation when he in turn became the subject of leaks and not only in regards to the alleged Russian interference.
His constant battles with the intelligence community and even leaks from within the White House in regards to unorthodox telephone calls with other world leaders have shown that there is a hidden base of opposition in the White House and Departments to the 45th President. The use of these leaks has been labelled “fake news” by the Oval Office, despite the fact that the President confirmed in a press conference that they were “absolutely real”.
Ongoing
Yesterdays revelations are the final proof that the leaks will continue and at very high levels for as long as it takes for the ongoing investigations to provide definitive answers to the many questions. The increased probability that the Senate and Congress will also undertake high level examinations and even the appointment of a Special Prosecutor will put even more pressure on Donald Trump.
The days of accusing the Press Corps of supplying “fake news” are now drawing to a close. In fact, the White House is nearing the day that it will have to provide ever more detailed and confirmable information to prove the allegations false and they will no longer be able to avoid answering the questions.
Yesterday the country learnt that the battle of leaks is being lost by the White House and in turn it must begin to answer the ever more revealing and embarrassing questions.
