9/18/2018
Dear Senator Young,
As a distinguished graduate of the US Naval Academy, a former Naval intelligence officer with a top secret clearance, and a former leader of the VMU-2 intelligence department, I want to know what you think about Trump’s broad and indiscriminate declassification of information related to the Russia probe. If you can, put politics aside and please let me know what a person with your background in Navy Intelligence thinks.
Personally, beyond being a transparent attempt to interfere with an ongoing investigation, I believe Trump’s action places the men and women working in the intelligence community at risk. It places America at risk by revealing to foreign intelligence agencies precisely what materials and methods we use in combating foreign threats.
In a word, Trump’s actions are obscene. It’s hard to imagine anyone working in the intelligence community, or who previously worked in the intelligence community, thinks this is a good idea. Do you? Would you want detailed records of your role in Caribbean counter narcotics activities to be made public?
The real question is what you will do to protect America against “all enemies foreign and domestic.”
This is when I really miss John McCain. He would not have been silent on this issue. He would be raising holy hell because above all else he put America first. Everyone on God’s green earth knows Trump only thinks about Trump and his next transaction. I’m starting to give up hope that anyone in the senate is all that different. Are you?
Respectfully,
Dr. Steven Barefoot
Indianapolis, Indiana
Confronting Mediocrity 