Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Deadly Pettiness

 
by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

Donald Trump, a politician who has elevated petty retaliation to an art form, used part of his first week in office to settle old scores.   Just yesterday, for example, Trump's acting attorney general fired more than a dozen professional prosecutors who had been involved in helping Special Counsel Jack Smith build a criminal case against Trump.  But those guys are all lawyers and have had time to begin building their defense against Trump's certain retribution, so some will probably take their dismissals to court where they could take months or years to resolve.

However, others who have been targeted by Trump could face more consequential dangers than just the loss of a regular paycheck.

This week Trump ordered the termination of security details for three prominent former government officials, all of whom were involved discussions and planning of the deadly drone attack that killed an important Iranian general in 2020.  The three have also been marked for death by Iran.

Trump's former National Security Adviser John Bolton, an Iran hawk,  has received death threats from Iran.  When Trump fired Bolton in 2019, he lost his protection detail, but President Biden reinstated it.  Last week Trump again eliminated Bolton's security detail even though Bolton still remains targeted for assassination by Iran over matters resulting from his service to America and to the presidency of Donald Trump.

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, both of whom worked in the first Trump administration, were told Wednesday evening that they were losing their security details.  Both of those individuals, like Bolton, are under active threat from Iran for actions they took while in the service of the United States of America.  Pompeo and Hook had fallen out of favor with Trump since the end of his first term in office, and Trump announced several weeks ago that Pompeo would have no role in his new administration.  Last week Trump also fired Hook from his presidentially appointed position on the board of the Wilson Center, a national security think tank.

It has also been falsely reported that Trump cancelled the security detail of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former head of the nation's COVID response effort and a man vilified by Trump.  Dr. Fauci's security detail ended in September of 2024 under a "Memo of Understanding" with the Biden administration, and he has since employed his own security team   As the stories spread in the press this week that Trump had ended Fauci's security detail, there were no denials from Trump - and he seemed more than happy to take credit for it.

Trump said in North Carolina last week that he would feel no personal responsibility if harm befell any of the men who have lost their security details.  His own government-funded security detail will remain in effect for the rest of his life.

Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton and a few other members of Congress have risen to the defense of Bolton, Pompeo, and Hook, and urged Trump to rethink his position on the elimination of the security details for the three men.  Cotton said on a television interview with Fox this past weekend that "Iran is committed to vengeance against all of these people."

Apparently Donald Trump is too.

1 comment:

Helen said...

Here's a thought that would save taxpayers millions & millions of dollars: Stop paying for ANY security details for ANYONE except former presidents - no spouses, no children, none. Sitting presidents are protected by Secret Service.