understand he would not go against the admin's party line publicly. Strictly speaking, depending on what Haspel actually said, the statement "no smoking gun" might not be inaccurate. We have no idea what policy Mattis is pushing behind the scenes. In any event, as much as I disagree with Pompeo and Trump, this is a little more "ordinary course" in the context of any administration trying to balance its view of national interests and moral imperatives.

If my half TIC prediction (I wish I could say it was all TIC) about a Trump power grab came to pass (which would be completely outside the ordinary course), I think Mattis is still a guy who as Defense Secy would be likely to say "you are not commander in chief of the military any longer if you do that, because you will no longer be in compliance with the Constitution, which is how the office of the president derives its authority."