Sally Q. Yates? Oh, well, that's the problem. She must have setup Flynn.

Meanwhile over at Fox News I watched an interview with Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin. The main concern of both Johnson and the anchor was, who leaked the information about Flynn and was this an indictable offense? Johnson railed about how the so-called president needed to have loyal henchmen around him who would protect his back. We sure do live in alternate realities.

Mike, glad you asked about what Pence knew. I've been amazed at how every media outlet has been assuming Flynn lied to him. Maybe so, but maybe he knew - and supported - what happened and is just really good at feigning outrage.

I smell Russiagate in our future. This isn't over, folks.

The problem with asking Duncan to do anything is the irony of Duncan, at this point. He has made a career of making small moves that seem ethically sensible to the little guy. He has operated under the radar because he doesn't do anything to draw attention to himself. He really screwed up big time in this election though by endorsing Trump instead of simply being loyal to the party. It will now be up to him to defend this position or reject Trump and join the call for investigation and accountability. To not do one or the other will expose himself to being corrupt or incompetent and picking the wrong side will do the same. He should have stuck to his original playbook, ducked the issue in the election, and kept his mouth shut. For the first time in his political career, his office is legitimately open to challenge. Supporting Trump was a big mistake on his part, and he knows it.

Don't think for a moment that the Russians haven't used this open door to attempt to infiltrate our entire intelligence system. This is a huge deal and everyone in Washington and Moscow knows it. There will be a mad scramble in D.C. to hide the magnitude of our loss and a similar scramble in Moscow to downplay the size of the victory.

Simply put, it is how the intelligence game works. Duncan knows this and by not using his position he stop any further leaks, he is giving his tacit approval to the Russian government to continue this operation. He's no longer our "down home, folksy" representative, he's moving toward being an enemy of the state.

Russia's test of the cruise missile was likely a test at several levels.

First it was a test of the actual missile. They have been itching to test it for a while, but were on notice from the Obama administration that there would be repercussions should they attempt it.

Second it was a test of Trump to see if he had the strength and knowledge and savvy to stand up to this obvious act of aggression. They clearly do not fear him, but it was necessary to see what kind of adversary they were facing. It is obvious he is in over his head and that our national security is in disarray.

Third, it was a test of their intelligence community. It's pretty obvious they have infiltrated this administration at a high level in a short period of time. This is not surprising. Trumps complete disregard for protocol left the door wide open for deep and thorough infiltration.

Fourth, it was a test of the present world order. Who are our allies? Who are our adversaries? Which relationships have been deeply damaged and which are still sound? How will we react as a group?

Fifth, it was a test of the American system. Will our congress stand idly by and watch as our overmatched president sacrifices our nation's interest, or will they stand up and perform their constitutional duties? Will our judiciary hold Trump accountable? Will our citizens have the resolve to act as Americans instead of sheep, blindly following path to the slaughterhouse?

It's hard to say what's going to happen, but this is the damnedest first four weeks of a presidential administration I've ever seen. And there's still three days left.

(link...)

This is a great quick overview.

This will come in handy
The fall of Michael Flynn: A timeline