If the allegations made in former National Security Adviser John Bolton's book The Room Where It Happened about President Trump's troubling approach to foreign policy are true, that means other intelligence and national security officials were likely aware of them, NBC News notes. Yet, the so-called "Deep State," has theoretically kept quiet about such malfeasance despite Trump's concerns about being undermined by unelected officials.
If Bolton's tales are true, there are reasons why very few people — including Bolton himself, who only did so after leaving his post — have come forward about incidents, NBC News reports. Back in the days of impeachment, the CIA whistleblower who first flagged Trump's infamous phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had to be protected by a security detail and was accused by Trump and his allies of being a spy, while Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a former National Security Council official who testified during the House impeachment hearing, was dismissed from his job at the White House. His promotion to colonel is now reportedly in jeopardy.
"You see what happens to the people who speak up," a former national security official told NBC News.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It's not necessarily just fear of retribution, however. Marc Polymeropoulos, a retired CIA officer who served in senior agency roles during the early days of the Trump administration, said officials are likely making calculations about whether they're doing more good by bringing potentially scandalous matters to the public or by sticking around at their post and keeping "our institutions intact." The former national security official also said bureaucrats often defer to the president because they're in unelected positions, and that sometimes the line between a bad decision and abuse of office is murky. Read more at NBC News.
-
Bluetoothing: the phenomenon driving HIV spike in FijiUnder the Radar ‘Blood-swapping’ between drug users fuelling growing health crisis on Pacific island
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to ChicagoSpeed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
