Trump’s story about Iran threatening four US embassies has fallen apart as his own defense secretary said that he never saw the evidence.
The cover story unraveled during Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s Face The Nation interview:
MARGARET BRENNAN: But, broadly, can you clarify though, was the specific threat that the president shared with Fox News about four U.S. embassies being under threat, also shared with Congress? Why was there a difference?
SEC. ESPER: Well, what the president said was he believed that it probably and could have been attacks against additional embassies. I shared that view. I know other members of national security team shared that view. That’s why I deployed thousands of American paratroopers to the Middle East to reinforce our embassy in Baghdad and other sites throughout the region.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Probably and could have been. That is- that sounds more like an assessment than a specific, tangible threat with a- a decisive piece of intelligence.
SEC. ESPER: Well, the president didn’t say there was a tangible- he didn’t cite a specific piece of evidence. What he said is he probably- he believed, could have been—
MARGARET BRENNAN: Are you saying there wasn’t one?
SEC. ESPER: I didn’t see one with regard to four embassies. What I’m saying is I share the president’s view that probably- my expectation was they were going to go after our embassies. The embassies are the most prominent display of American presence in a country.
Video:
Mark Esper didn’t see the evidence because it doesn’t exist. In less than 3 days, the story has gone from Trump saying that Iran was going to attack four US embassies to his Secretary of Defense saying that they believed that the embassies could be attacked, to the same Sec. of Defense admitting that he never saw any evidence that Iran was going to attack the embassies.
The cover story for Trump’s Iran attack is dead, and now the House must investigate why the administration lied about the threat justify killing Soleimani and potentially escalating war in the Middle East.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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