JUST ONE MORE EXAMPLE OF TRUMP LYING

…Trump with his back to the CIA’s Memorial Wall

 

Too bad the president doesn’t believe in John’s Gospel that “the truth shall make you free”.

 

Everyone probably knows about the special wall at the CIA.  It’s the Memorial Wall, with its 117 stars, one for each CIA officer who has died in the line of duty.  It is in the area of the Book of Honor that lists the names of those officers, where their under-cover considerations allow, and near the fresh flowers that are almost always there.  These flowers are placed by friends and colleagues inspired by the officer’s sacrifice.

 

It was Trump’s standing at this wall that drew all the negative commentary about President Trump’s visit to the CIA last month.  This negative attitude was due to the president’s offhand reference to this memorial that is truly the soul of the intelligence agency.  The strong negativity to the president is because of Trump’s elevation of his own ego above the sacrifices of those memorialized on the wall. Such anti-Trump commentaries were definitely on the mark, and they captured the feelings of many that attended.

 

What many people are not aware is that there is another wall in the lobby that is almost as significant as the Memorial Wall.  This other wall is to the left as you enter, and it is one that is often missed.  On that wall is a bible verse from the Gospel of John that reads, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

 

This quote was carved into the stone at the insistence of Director Allen Dulles, the CIA’s fifth director.  Dulles, the son of a Presbyterian minister, felt strongly that a biblical verse needed to guide the work of his officers.

 

 

This verse actually became the “motto” of the CIA.  Some say it is the basis of the goals and aspirations of the agency.  In fact, it is stressed in the CIA’s training classes, and it is the foundation of both the operational and analytic parts of the organization. It is a deeply embedded part of the culture and its directors regularly reference it in their speeches..

 

Many of the CIA agents believe that this statement is the true job of the CIA, as it relates to national security.  Their job is to discover the truth and share it with the president, no matter what the implications might be for policy, politics or the president himself.

 

When new young officers raise his or her right hand and take the oath of office, this verse from John’s Gospel is considered part of the oath.

 

What is causing all the turmoil about Trump’s visit to the CIA was his turning his back to “The Wall’.  With his back to the wall, that means he was facing that wall with John’s Gospel verse.  And, as one political writer wrote, “He was looking directly at the wall and at the verse on knowing the truth, when he then stood there and told a lie.”

 

As he was speaking, and with his back to the Memorial Wall, Trump was  in the process of taking Time magazine to task for not correcting an error in its reporting, he said, “So I only say that because I love honesty.”

 

With a man that is known for offering up false statements every few seconds when he is speaking, one can understand why those in attendance to hear the president were so totally offended.

 

The agency’s attitude toward the truth is ingrained to the point that every executive department within the agency shares this view to some degree.

 

Before he arrived, the agency was already upset at Trump for his attacking their conclusion that the Russians had interfered in the general election.  And this frustration with Trump is being played out with others in government and it will most likely continue over the next four years.

 

Trump’s statement that he “loves honesty”, would be hilarious if it wasn’t so wrong and sad.  Because all of us wish Trump actually did “love honesty”.

 

Copyright G.Ater  2017