This article was republished from dermotcole.com with permission.
Sen. Dan Sullivan should come clean with Alaskans about why he didn’t actually read the 37-count indictment before announcing his verdict that it’s all Joe Biden’s fault.
The all-purpose “Blame it on Biden” Sullivan statement, probably written by one of his employees, recycles lazy talking points, which is also what happened March 31 when Sullivan attacked the previous Trump indictment without bothering to read it.
The first indictment “moved our country into banana republic territory,” Sullivan falsely claimed in March.
Had Sullivan read the latest indictment before attacking it Friday, he would have mentioned the allegations regarding national defense, military secrets and intelligence, areas in which Sullivan claims to have expertise.
The allegations about the mishandling of these documents are alarming. Sullivan’s negligence is alarming.
When it comes to Trump, he never stops ducking, dodging and deflecting.
Special Counsel Jack Smith said the unauthorized disclosure of information in the documents could put national security at risk, as well as U.S. military personnel and intelligence operations.
“Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States and they must be enforced. Violations of those laws put our country at risk,” said Smith.
There is a recording of Trump bragging about having a classified document about a “plan of attack” against Iran. Some of the documents deal with nuclear secrets, and the “potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.”
That the disclosure of the information could have damaged national security and the military is not addressed by the junior senator from Alaska because he didn’t know about the details when he announced that the Biden administration “is shoving our country into dangerous territory.”
Sulllivan later told the Anchorage Daily News he couldn’t comment on the indictment details because he hadn’t read it. He didn’t say why he had failed to read the document before pontificating.
Sullivan told the Alaska Beacon that the statement from his office, written in advance before the indictment was released, was his story and he’s sticking to it.
“You’ve got my statement and that’s what I’m sticking with,” Sullivan said.
Asked about the claims that Trump mishandled nuclear secrets, Sullivan acted as if the statement released by his office contains substance.
“I just saw the news on the indictment, and supposedly it includes the Espionage Act, and I don’t understand the implications, so I’m sticking with my statement as this unfolds more,” he said.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, in contrast, did read the indictment before commenting on it. She said the charges are “quite serious and cannot be casually dismissed.” She’s exactly right.
Murkowski said “mishandling classified documents is a federal crime because it can expose national secrets, as well as the sources and methods they were obtained through.”
Murkowski and Sen. Mitt Romney stood out for making pointed comments about Trump, while Sullivan and most other GOP officials, including Gov. Mike Dunleavy, used the same old arguments about Biden overreach and went on the attack without reading the indictment.
When Trump was president, Sullivan always ducked questions, claiming he couldn’t comment on this, that or the other thing because he hadn’t read the report, watched the event or listened to the news. No one believed him then.
It’s easy to see what he believes—he doesn’t have to inform himself before deciding that whatever it is, it’s Biden’s fault.
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