Will former CIA Director Gina Haspel Replace Kamala Harris???
Oh, wow - Are we in for an August Surprise?
It was September of 2014 when CBS launched a drama series titled Madam Secretary, starring Téa Leoni as the Secretary of State. I remember laughing at what to me was a naked effort to meld a likable fictional character to Hillary Clinton’s decidedly toxic persona. Vox covered it and astutely observed it “boasts a killer cast and complete lack of subtlety.”
I must admit that I watched every episode. It was reasonably well-written (if way too obvious), well-cast (I have an academic background in religion, and Tim Daly as religion professor Henry McCord was excellent), and just all-around worth watching.
Back then, it reminded me of The West Wing - which was also a “must-see” for me - even though I didn’t drink its political Kool-Aid. Being old enough to remember all of this, I can tell you the point of a series like this is to project an image the producers want you to see when you look at a certain analogous real-world politician.
And this brings us to the recently released Netflix series The Diplomat.
Before explaining just enough (I will not spoil it for those who have not watched it yet), it is interesting to note that Allison Janey - who burst onto the TV drama scene in The West Wing - will be joining the cast of The Diplomat for Season 2, where she will be rejoining West Wing creator Debora Cahn.
The storyline goes like this: Katherine “Kate” Wyler (played by Keri Russell) is a career diplomat and is hoping for an appointment in Kabul. Instead, the President asks her at the last minute to be the U.S. ambassador to the UK. Unbeknownst to her, the current female Vice President is about to be part of a scandal and will soon resign. The President's team is looking at picking Wyler and wants his team to surreptitiously vet her for the VP position.
Just as soon as Wyler settles in, a British aircraft carrier is struck by a small boat loaded with explosives (in much the same way as the USS Cole was struck in October 2000). Fingers are pointed at Iran, but Wyler believes it was a rogue Russian figure (a naked play on Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group). The entire first season is devoted to Wylers’ heroic attempt to talk the situation down from escalating into WW III.
And, of course, the undercurrent of the whole affair is positioning Wyler to replace the current VP on the upcoming re-election ticket. As far as TV drama goes, it really is outstanding and entertaining. I have left a few crucial details out, so you'll have to watch it for yourself. But trust me... Watch it on a weekend because you’ll binge it and be left hanging - and looking forward to Season 2.
And now - the ultimate August surprise?
And here is where some very recent reporting in Substack publications Public and Racket comes into play.
Matt Taibbi, Michael Schellenberger, and Alex Gutentag are reporting on the existence of a 10-inch binder of documentation gathered by Kash Patel and a team of investigators working for then-House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes. Apparently, the information in the binder shows a weaponization of the “Five Eyes” intelligence program to seek compromising information on people associated with the Trump campaign in 2015-2016. President Trump - immediately before leaving office - apparently declassified the information in the documents.
Back in 2022, it was already clear that diplomats and/or officials from both the UK and Australia were involved in “Crossfire Hurricane” - the 2015-2016 FBI investigation into Trump and his campaign. At that time, the CIA’s Chief of Station in the UK was Gina Haspel - who Trump would later nominate as CIA Director as Mike Pompeo moved from the CIA to the State Department.
As Kash Patel recently noted, if such an operation were to be conducted in the UK, it would need to be approved by the Station Chief - then Haspel. As Taibbi et al. report, it was Haspel - as CIA Director - that slow-rolled the declassification of the information in the 10-inch binder. There are two crucial aspects to this: First, the classification system exists by Executive Order. There are laws concerning how classified information is handled. But what, exactly, is “classified information” is defined in Executive Order 13526. Because it is an Executive Order, the ultimate arbiter of what is and is not “classified” is the President.
As for declassifying previously classified information, Trump famously claimed: “There doesn’t have to be a process, as I understand it. You’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified, even by thinking about it.” Trump’s Attorney General, Bill Barr, also famously asserted Trump’s claim was “absurd.”
The problem is that both are right; absurd does not mean illegal. There is a formal process by which classification markings are struck through as a result of declassification. But these processes arise from the Executive Order and apply to those under the Executive to whom are delegated the appropriate Executive authorities. There is no process encumbering the President in his (or her) determination that information in documents is to be declassified.
Secondly, the Executive Order expressly forbids either classifying information or failing to declassify information because it would reveal either illegal or embarrassing conduct. And if Haspel, as Chief of Station, approved the use of Five Eyes “source and methods” against Trump’s campaign staff, her not recusing herself in the process of declassifying the information in this 10-inch binder appears clearly in violation of EO 13526.
The fear of a second term
The New York Times recently reported on a general fear and anxiety over what Trump’s return for a second term might mean. It seems a big part of the fear is having everything about this sordid mess revealed by way of declassification. So, how can this be avoided?
Enter Gina Haspel - “The Diplomat.” The former Chief of Station in the UK. Dropping the absolute disaster that is Kamala Harris in favor of Haspel on the Democratic ticket for 2024 would be an election season surprise for the ages. It would also be a stroke of absolute genius. Trump would immediately not be running against Joe Biden - everyone would see right through the reality that Biden will resign the office after being re-elected and Haspel - Trump’s CIA Director - becomes President!
Damn!
I mean, really, here are Russell and Haspel:
They almost look like each other!
If you haven’t watched it yet, watch The Diplomat on Netflix! Remember, set aside a weekend day. Trust me; you’ll binge it. Then tell me I’m wrong!
Good article, and glad to read a piece by somebody who knows about classification procedure and even got the Executive Order correct. I enjoyed Keri Russell in The Americans and will put The Diplomat on my radar. As for Gina Haspel, she was one of the good selections made by Trump, but looks nothing like Keri Russell. Maybe when Haspel was 30 years younger, but I don't see the resemblance today. Of course Haspel will never replace Kamila Harris on the Biden ticket. She is too bright and doesn't check enough PC boxes.