Speaking Truth to Power: John Brennan, former Director of the CIA

I have mixed feelings about James Comey, the former head of the FBI whom Trump fired, and know little about his deputy Andrew McCabe except that he not coincidentally was fired by Attorney General Sessions immediately before he would have qualified for a higher pension based on his years served.  That strikes me as mean-spirited, flagrantly mean-spirited, and unworthy of the Attorney General of the US.  But I suppose that act by Sessions may have postponed Trump's firing him for just a bit longer, so perhaps it's understandable.  After all, invertebrates should not be criticized for lacking a backbone.

What I do see as uncalled for is Trump's continuing to bad-mouth McCabe.  Here's his triumphant tweet from March 17, 2018:

Verified account

@realDonaldTrump

Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI - A great day for Democracy. Sanctimonious James Comey was his boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy. He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!

No American president before Trump has ever been this concerned to devalue the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  And the more Trump rants and raves, the more he makes many of us wonder what he has to hide.

And so it comes as something of a relief to read John Brennan's same-day response to Trump's tweet.  Brennan was head of the CIA from 3/2013 to 1/2017 and by that alone is worthy of respect.  He knows, probably more than anyone, whose body is buried where.  It's noteworthy that he's not disclosing secrets, though it seems obvious that he knows what the secrets are.  Even more noteworthy is his willingness to speak truth to power.  Here's Brennan's resounding response to Trump's tweet above:

When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history. You may scapegoat Andy McCabe, but you will  not destroy America...America will triumph over you.