What was the closed-door briefing that left everyone pale and shaken?

January 14, 2019 10:28 AM

I remember a few years ago a MeFi post about some closed-door Congressional committee briefing where the participants were said to have left the briefing "visibly shaken" or "pale" or words to that effect ...

Does anyone else remember this? Could you point me to a link or three? Did any additional info about the briefing ever emerge?

posted by ZenMasterThis to Law & Government (10 answers total)

Senators left shaken by extent of Russian meddling following security briefing

After a closed door meeting discussing election security on Wednesday, senators from both sides of the aisle are considering what the U.S. can do to thwart the efforts of Russia meddling ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:36 AM on January 14, 2019 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: No, this was pre-Trump, and at the time there was no indication about what had upset the attendees so much. IIRC, there was some speculation on MeFi that it could have something to do with a new Russian weapon.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 10:40 AM on January 14, 2019

There was a famous Congressional briefing during the financial crisis (during the attempted passage of TARP, I believe) that left the Reps/Senators shaken/stunned/etc.
posted by Mid at 10:53 AM on January 14, 2019

Response by poster: No, it was more recent than that. Sometime around 2015 +/- 1 year, I'm guessing, and the subject and content of the briefing were unknown to the public, at least at the time.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 10:57 AM on January 14, 2019

I feel like those phrases are clichés in political journalism that could have been used by someone somewhere to describe officials exiting pretty much any high-level closed-door meeting anytime in like the last fifteen years, to be honest. Do you have any more information?
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 11:52 AM on January 14, 2019

Response by poster: Perhaps it had to do with a Congressional intelligence or security committee? Perhaps Nancy Pelosi was one of the attendees?

Sorry I don't have more info.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 11:57 AM on January 14, 2019

I feel like I know the one you're talking about. It might not have been "pre-Trump" in the sense of before his candidacy, but it was definitely over a year ago. Unfortunately I'm having the same problem googling "that one briefing that left the Democrats all shaken" as you probably are.

The closest I found is an Alexandra Erin tweet from August 2017: Our reps go into a classified briefing. The Dems come out pale and shaken and angry, the GOP comes out and says "It's a lot of nothing." It was part of a thread, and the rest isn't about that particular hearing/briefing. It's possible she would respond to a direct message, but she has a lot of followers so I wouldn't count on it.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:17 PM on January 14, 2019

Best answer: A possibility: March 15, 2017 [another article with more details]. First comment in a megathread here, and discussion followed. There was discussion about Feinstein's non-verbals using the word "shaken."
posted by whatnotever at 12:19 PM on January 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

A second possibility I just uncovered: January 13, 2017.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 12:21 PM on January 14, 2019

Response by poster: Thanks, whatnotever, that's the one. Seems longer ago but, y'know, we're all on slow-motion-trainwreck time now.

Was anything more about this meeting ever made public?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 12:29 PM on January 14, 2019