The Republicans are correct that the leaks should be an enormous scandal, particularly given the often hysterical arguments about the government’s intrusions into American privacy over the last 15 years. Leaking a president’s conversations fundamentally undermines the ability of the president — any president — to talk frankly with foreign leaders, especially our allies. That’s a huge story.
.. The GOP’s leaky strategy took a hit when FBI director James Comey broke protocol (again) to confirm that there is indeed an active investigation of “any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign” and the Russians
.. More important, Russia’s meddling, despite all of the gossip and misinformation swirling around it, is also a major story — and a much sexier one.
.. The Russians’ first priority — as it is in elections throughout Europe — was to undermine the legitimacy of the democratic process and to sow chaos in the West. In this, they have succeeded.
.. It’s like the “Chicago way” applied to democratic norms. Once one side starts violating them, everyone feels justified in doing likewise.
.. My hunch is that some of Trump’s henchmen were involved in skullduggery with WikiLeaks and other proxies for Russian intelligence (which may explain why some were fired).