Five questions for Ben Rhodes at the House Intelligence Committee
Former Obama "mind meld" and deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes found himself before the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday, answering questions about his suspected role in the rash of national security leaks plaguing the Trump administration. Given the disappointment of the last national election to Obama operatives; Rhodes's arrogance; his known connections to holdovers still in the White House; his connections to the press (his more accomplished big brother, David Rhodes, is chief of CBS News); his record as a spin doctor; his bitter, malevolent tweets about the Trump administration; and his inability to get a security clearance, he's a good one to ask, although one shouldn't get one's hopes up that the top Obama spin doctor will be all that scrupulous with telling the truth to people he hates. He certainly wasn't in the wake of Benghazi, when he cooked up Susan Rice's talking points, nor was he when he duped the public about the Iran deal and then bragged about it. And giving the store to Castro.
His appearance came as a surprise and was announced only after he'd left. But in case they're planning a new one, here are some questions for him we would like to know the answers to:
- Why weren't you able to get a security clearance, Ben? How were you able to do your job without one? Which classified documents did you view without one?
- You made a big deal on Twitter about never talking to Russians before the election (back when you were an insignificant ne'er-do-well creative writing major in the shadow of your brother and couldn't have gotten your phone calls returned from the Russians anyway). What about the meetings you had with the Russians after Donald Trump was elected president when you were deputy national security adviser? Tell us all about those, since you were conspicuously silent on Twitter about any such encounters. Were you ever a Russian agent?
- What do you know about Colin Kahl, your apparent partner on Twitter, who served as Joe Biden's national security adviser and who has also been accused of leaks?
- Which holdovers do you know who are still in the White House? Which ones have you been in touch with?
- Who are your media buddies? Which leaks have you made to your media buddies? Were you ever on JournoList? Did you try to create what you called "an echo chamber," as you admitted did with the Iran deal?
Doesn't hurt to ask. The more that is known about this apparent epicenter of leaks endangering U.S. national security, which is suspected to be Ben Rhodes, the better. It's probably too much to ask, but let's hope there are some forthcoming answers from this professional liar.