"If Trump can't speak privately with foreign leaders, then that means no President can do that!"

[ck4829]

Maybe I don't want a President to speak privately with foreign leaders, nobody forced Trump to run for President, being President doesn't mean you are above and beyond ever other American, being the President means one is ultimately an employee of 300 million Americans.

If your boss can check your bags when you are leaving work, search your locker, look up your Facebook, drug test you, etc. then we're fools if we don't do that for our employee... the POTUS.

[beachbumbob]

1. unil trump we had little fear with presidents selling out our country

[flibbitygiblets]

2. Straw man argument along the lines of "attorney client privilege is dead"

The point being, there are limits, including colluding to a crime. In both examples, actually.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Other presidents have managed to have conversations with foreign leaders

without offering them military aid on the condition that they manufacture dirt on a political opponent.

[WePurrsevere]

13. My thoughts as well. nt

[Newest Reality]

4. This means that.

You gotta' watch out for complex equivalences or what is called a the fallacy of false equivalence, especially when there is insufficient evidence or data to substantiate it. This is a common, trumpian ploy. He may believe that saying this means that makes it so, but analysis of his statements contradict that, often.

So, yes, transparency is important, however context matters here. When an official is involved in a classified matter, then whatever protocols apply should be followed precisely in that case. These are all subtleties that t-Rump does not seem to understand or adhere to, being a two-bit rookie salesman who lacks the intelligence to adhere to or follow them correctly.

And of course, accountability is important as well.

Good points! Thanks.

[brewens]

5. Yup. I'm thinking you aren't claiming we should immediately know everything they discuss,

but that a record should exist and be available to Congress for oversight. I guess we don't know for sure how well that has worked, since only Congressmen with the proper clearance have seen all that over the years. Any real horror stores would have come out eventually, so that system seems to have worked pretty well.

[napi21]

6. I think all the scrutiny and oversight of a POTUS' speech & actions came as a BIG SUPRISE to DT.

He thought a POTUS is the Top Dog of the Country and can do as he wants. Even after all the criticism and investigations, he STILL THINKS he an do & say what he wants!

[onecaliberal]

7. Presidents have conversations with foreign leaders, they don't hide/destroy transcripts and they're

not trying to keep it secret. They’ve definitely not asked for foreign countries to attack American elections.

[GoCubsGo]

8. Yes. I wish the American people would understand that we are our government's employer.

That includes the President and Congress. THEY WORK FOR US. Not the other way around. Enough of this shit, already.

[Garrett78]

9. Who are you quoting? Because that person obviously isn't familiar with the Presidential Records Act.

An act that we know Trump has repeatedly violated without consequence. He's given foreign leaders his personal cell phone number, he had a private meeting with Putin, he's torn up papers that officials had to tape back together (no telling how many he's torn up that weren't taped back together), etc.

No president *can* (legally) have private conversations with foreign leaders.

[C_U_L8R]

10. No President is allowed to break the law

Is that concept too difficult for Republicans to understand?

[onecaliberal]

11. Of course it is. There is one standard for republicons and another for Democrats.

Dump is talking about corruption of Dems, when he and all republicans are the fucking poster children for criminality and corruption.

[Leith]

12. When do presidents speak to foreign leaders with no one else around?

Even in private talks, there are translators, aides, note takers, photographers, video camera operators, etc., in there with them. It's impossible to imagine any other president bringing high level Russians into the oval office with no other Americans accompanying them.