.MaddowBlog: Eager to blame China, Team Trump leans on intelligence agencies
It's against this backdrop that Team Trump is, in effect, going to spy agencies with a request: The president wants to blame the lab in Wuhan; see what you can do.
Some intelligence analysts are"concerned"? Well, yes, of course they are. The Bush/Cheney era -- featuring a White House pressing agencies for information intended to justify predetermined decisions -- hasn't faded from view, and Trump has embraced tactics similar to his Republican predecessor. This is not to say there's no value in investigating the origins of the pandemic and the prospect of dishonesty from Beijing. These appear to be lines of inquiry with merit.
But when Team Trump starts with a provocative conclusion, and then seeks evidence intended to bolster that conclusion, trouble soon follows.yesterday that senior administration are exploring the possibility of"punishing or demanding financial compensation from China for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic." The article added:
Senior officials across multiple government agencies are expected to meet Thursday to begin mapping out a strategy for seeking retaliatory measures against China.... Officials in American intelligence agencies are also involved in the effort. President Trump has fumed to aides and others in recent days about China, blaming the country for withholding information about the virus, and has discussed enacting dramatic measures that would probably lead to retaliation by Beijing, these people said.
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