Category: Unpresidential

White House Didn’t Act on Sally Yates’ Warning Because She’s a “Political Opponent”

Leave a comment

The White House has a new explanation for its decision not to immediately fire National Security Adviser Michael Flynn after learning that he could be the target of Russian blackmail efforts: The acting attorney general, who supplied that information, was a supporter of Hillary Clinton.

On January 26, Sally Yates, then acting attorney general, met with White House Counsel Donald McGahn to warn him that Flynn could be compromised by the Russians. He had lied to the Vice President Mike Pence about the content of his conversations with the Russian ambassador, and the Russians knew he had lied. But President Donald Trump waited 18 days before showing Flynn the door for lying to Pence.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer defended the administration’s decision to keep Flynn on as national security adviser for more than two weeks after Yates’ warning by implying that Yates, a Barack Obama appointee, could not be trusted because she was “a strong supporter of Clinton.”

“One thing that I think is important to note is, let’s look at, again, how this came down,” Spicer said. “Someone who is not exactly a supporter of the president’s agenda, who a couple days after this first conversation took place refused to uphold a lawful order of the president’s…she had come here, given a heads up, told us there were materials, and at the same we did what we should do. Just because someone comes in and gives you a heads up about something and says I want to share some information, doesn’t mean that you immediately jump the gun and go take an action.”

Spicer continued, “I think if you flip this scenario and say, what if we had just dismissed someone because a political opponent of the president had made an utterance, you would argue that it was pretty irrational to act in that manner.”

After being asked multiple times if the White House took any steps to reduce Flynn’s role or access to classified information after receiving Yates’ warning, Spicer finally said, “I’m not aware of any.”

Media

Trump: ‘Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama Administration’

Leave a comment

President Trump on Monday attacked the media, saying the “fake news” rarely talks about the fact that his former national security adviser received a security clearance from the Obama administration.

“General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama Administration – but the Fake News seldom likes talking about that,” the president tweeted Monday.

Last month, White House press secretary Sean Spicer deflected blame for the firestorm surrounding Michael Flynn, saying he received his security clearance from the Obama administration.

Spicer signaled support for a Defense Department investigation into payments Flynn received from foreign groups in 2015, but he blamed former President Obama’s team for clearing him.

“My only point is when Gen. Flynn came into the White House, he had an active security clearance that was issued during the Obama administration with all the information that’s being discussed that occurred in 2015,” Spicer told reporters.

Spicer also brushed aside the notion the president has regrets over hiring Flynn, saying he “made the right decision at the right time.”

He added that Trump’s transition team and White House staff trusted the work of the previous administration.

“Why would you rerun a background check on someone who was the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency that had and did maintain a high-level security clearance?” he asked.

Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates, who was fired after her refusal to back the president’s controversial immigration order, is expected on Monday to give her account of the warnings she gave to the White House regarding Flynn’s contacts with the Russian ambassador to the U.S.

(h/t The Hill)

Reality

Just hours before Sally Yates is set to testify before Congress about Michael Flynn, Trump took to Twitter to attack President Obama for giving Flynn “the highest security clearance,” but did not mention that Obama also fired Flynn.

http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-t-flynn-fired-from-dia-2014-4

Update

Obama personally advised Trump to not hire Flynn before the election.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/obama-warned-trump-against-hiring-mike-flynn-say-officials-n756316

 

Trump Uses Power of Office to Intimidate Witness Sally Yates

Leave a comment

CNN’s Dana Bash and John King slammed President Trump on Monday for tweeting about former acting Attorney General Sally Yates, calling it “witness intimidation” ahead of her testimony to a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.

“Before I covered politics all the time, I used to cover the courts a lot. A lawyer would call that witness intimidation,” King, the host of “Inside Politics,” said.

Bash agreed with that charge. “Completely. Look, I think that we have all been kind of desensitized, in some way, to his tweets and to his statements that are so out of the norm,” Bash, the network’s chief political correspondent, said. “This is beyond out of the norm. This is inappropriate.

“For the president of the United States to be this aggressive with somebody who used to work for him, who is coming before the United States Congress in sworn testimony hours later, is beyond the pale. It just is.”

Trump sent two successive tweets on Monday morning, including one directed at Yates urging lawmakers to ask “if she knows how classified information” was leaked to the press.

Yates, a former acting attorney general who was fired by Trump for her refusal to defend his travel ban, will testify during a Senate hearing on Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election.

Yates is expected to testify that she warned the White House about former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s contacts with Russia, which would contradict the administration’s claims.

(h/t The Hill)

Media

EPA Dismisses Five Scientists from Major Review Board

Leave a comment

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has dismissed at least five academic members of one of its scientific review boards and may replace them with representatives from industries the EPA regulates, according to The New York Times.

A spokesperson for EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said Pruitt is considering replacing the five scientists with representatives of industries whose pollution the EPA polices.

“The administrator believes we should have people on this board who understand the impact of regulations on the regulated community,” spokesperson J.P. Freire told The Times.

It’s the latest in a string of controversial moves by the agency in recent weeks. The agency has removed several pages about climate change from its website and has proposed shuttering a regional office that oversees environmental regulation in several states.

Trump has also signed several executive orders that impact the environment, including rolling back former President Barack Obama’s climate change policies and expanding offshore drilling.

(h/t The Hill)

White House Fires First Woman to Hold Chief Usher Position

Leave a comment

The White House has fired Angella Reid, the first woman and second African American to hold the position of chief usher, the person who serves as the general manager of the building and the residential staff.

News of Reid’s firing was first reported by the Washington Post.

The White House said the dismissal was an outcome of the transition to a new administration, but did not provide further details.

“We left on very good terms and wish her the very best and certainly hope for great things for her in the future,” said deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

“It’s not uncommon that you might have a transition of staff when a new administration comes in, and it’s simply nothing more than that,” Sanders added.

Though that’s true of many White House jobs, the residence staff and chief ushers typically have held those position for long tenures, often witnessing several presidential transitions. Since the early 20th century, nine people have held the chief usher position.

Reid took the job in 2011 after Adm. Stephen W. Rochon, the first African American to hold the post, left for a job with the Department of Homeland Security. She had previously worked for the Ritz-Carlton hotel group.

The chief usher oversees the activities of the White House building, managing the house staff and working closely with the first family.

“What I think about most when I walk around the house is who has been here, who has done what in this particular space,” Reid told CNN last year. “Because, you know, just to think that I am able to walk here now when 100 years ago, a president or first lady did, or other guests did, or some of my ancestors did.”

Sanders said she believes that the deputy usher will fill Reid’s position.

(h/t Los Angeles Times)

Reality

The speculation is Trump is paranoid about Obama spies in the White House.

In a Beijing Ballroom, Kushner Family Sells $500,000 ‘Investor Visa’ to Wealthy Chinese

Leave a comment

The Kushner family came to the United States as refugees, worked hard and made it big — and if you invest in Kushner properties, so can you.

That was the message delivered Saturday by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner’s sister to a ballroom full of wealthy Chinese investors, renewing questions about the Kushner family’s business ties to China.

Over several hours of slide shows and presentations, representatives from the Kushner family business urged Chinese citizens gathered at the Ritz-Carlton hotel to consider investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a New Jersey real estate project to secure what’s known as an investor visa.

The EB-5 immigrant investor visa program, which allows foreign investors to invest in U.S. projects that create jobs and then apply to immigrate, has been used by both the Trump and Kushner family businesses.

But President Trump’s vow to crack down on immigration, as well as criticism from members of Congress, has led to questions about the future of a program known here as the “golden visa.”

The EB-5 has been extremely popular among rich Chinese who are eager to get their families — and their wealth — out of the country, though the fact that some move their money out illegally has made the program unpopular with the Chinese government, too.

In the ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton on Saturday, Chinese investors were advised to invest sooner rather than later in case the rules change. “Invest early, and you will invest under the old rules,” one speaker said.

The woman identified as “Jared’s sister” was believed to be Nicole Kushner, who is involved in the family business, not Dara Kushner, who generally stays out of the spotlight. But the woman’s face was not clearly visible from the back of the ballroom, where reporters were told to remain.

Saturday’s event in Beijing was hosted by the Chinese company Qiaowai, which connects U.S. companies with Chinese investors. The tagline on a brochure for the event: “Invest $500,000 and immigrate to the United States.”

Qiaowai is working with Kushner to secure funding for Kushner 1, a real estate project in New Jersey. Promotional materials tout the buildings’ proximity to Manhattan and note that the project will create more than 6,000 jobs.

“This project has stable funding, creates sufficient jobs and guarantees the safety of investors’ money,” one description reads.

Although there was no visible reference to Trump, the materials noted the Kushner family’s “celebrity” status. Wang Yun, a Chinese investor who attended the event, said the Kushner family’s ties to Trump, via son-in-law Jared, were a part of the project’s appeal — but also a source of concern.

“Even though this is the project of the son-in-law’s family, of course it is still affiliated,” Wang.

Wang reasoned that the link to Trump would be a boon if the presidency goes well but could be disastrous if it does not: “We heard that there are rumors that he is the most likely to be impeached president in American history. That’s why I doubt this project.”

Many of the people who attended the event declined to be interviewed, citing privacy concerns, or were blocked by organizers from speaking to the news media.

Though the event was publicly advertised in Beijing, the hosts were exceptionally anxious about the presence of reporters.

Journalists were initially seated at the back of the ballroom, but as the presentations got underway, a public-relations representative asked The Washington Post to leave, saying the presence of foreign reporters threatened the “stability” of the event.

At one point, organizers grabbed a reporter’s phone and backpack to try to force that person to leave. Later, as investors started leaving the ballroom, organizers physically surrounded attendees to stop them from giving interviews.

Asked why reporters were asked to leave, a public-relations representative, who declined to identify herself, said simply, “This is not the story we want.”

(h/t Washington Post)

Reality

Other people at the event tweeting pictures of the booth.

Trump Attacks News Media Over ObamaCare Repeal Coverage

Leave a comment

President Trump attacked the news media Friday night on Twitter over perceived negative coverage of the House GOP’s passage of legislation aimed at repealing and replacing ObamaCare.

“Wow,the Fake News media did everything in its power to make the Republican Healthcare victory look as bad as possible,” Trump tweeted. He also predicted the Republican plan would be “far better” than the Affordable Care Act.

In a second tweet, Trump questioned why the news media “rarely reports” that ObamaCare “is on its last legs and that insurance companies are fleeing for their lives?”

“It’s dead!” Trump declared, reiterating a longstanding position.

(h/t The Hill)

Reality

Maybe the Republicans should have put forth a bill that didn’t kick 24 million people off of healthcare, raise rates for the elderly, and allow insurance companies to discriminate based on preexisting conditions?

The reality is, when the CBO had a chance to score the first version of Trumpcare, it was very clear the insurance markets are stable. This idea that Obamacare is in a “death spiral” is pure fiction.

 

 

 

FCC to Investigate, ‘Take Appropriate Action’ on Colbert’s Trump Rant

Leave a comment

Late night talk show host Stephen Colbert’s controversial joke about President Trump drew the attention of the Federal Communications Commission. The agency received “a number” of complaints about Colbert’s commentary earlier in the week, according to the FCC’s chief.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai promised to “take the appropriate action” following a comprehensive investigation of Colbert’s remarks.

The FCC’s response will depend on whether Colbert’s remarks are considered “obscene.”

“We are going to take the facts that we find and we are going to apply the law as it’s been set out by the Supreme Court and other courts and we’ll take the appropriate action,” he told Talk Radio 1210 WPHT Thursday.

“Traditionally, the agency has to decide, if it does find a violation, what the appropriate remedy should be,” he said. “A fine, of some sort, is typically what we do.”

Broadcast television is governed by different rules depending on the time of day, Pai said Wednesday, prior to viewing Colbert’s comments.

The FCC flags speech it considers “indecent” before 10 p.m., he told Fox Business Network, and looks for “obscene” content after that point. Colbert’s “The Late Show” airs at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.

The agency’s website states that content must meet a three-tier Supreme Court test to be labeled “obscene.”

“It must appeal to an average person’s prurient interest; depict or describe sexual conduct in a ‘patently offensive’ way; and, taken as a whole, lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value,” it reads.

Colbert on Monday unleashed a flood of insults at Trump, satirizing an interview with CBS news the president cut short the day before.

“The only thing your mouth is good at is being [Russian President] Vladimir Putin’s c—k holster,” he said of Trump.

Colbert on Wednesday defended his joke amid fierce backlash online.

“I don’t regret that,” he said. “[Trump], I believe, can take care of himself. I have jokes; he has the launch codes. So, it’s a fair fight.”

Reality

Last week all Republican media, like Fox News, could stop talking about how the First Amendment is under attack because Ann Coulter wasn’t able to bring her racist hate speech to Berkley, CA. This week they want Stephen Colbert fired over jokes they didn’t like.

White House: Trump Travels to His New Jersey Golf Club to ‘Save the Taxpayer Money’

Leave a comment

President Trump is working a long weekend from his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., a trip that the White House claims saves taxpayers money, though it is estimated to cost the government and local authorities hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Trump touted his visit to the golf club on Twitter on Friday, claiming that the visit “also saves country money!” compared with the cost of staying at Trump Tower in New York City.

Of course, remaining in Washington would save even more money. The White House is already a secure facility, and Trump would not need to use Air Force One and the federal government would not spend more to house, feed and pay agents for additional security outside of Washington.

Asked why the president does not work from Washington, deputy White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders dodged the question.

“Had he stayed in Manhattan, the disruption would have been far greater than being in New Jersey,” Sanders said. “The bottom line is that the president is the president no matter where he goes.

“I think he’s trying to save the taxpayer money the best way he can by taking his team and focus and being in New Jersey instead of being in New York, where it would have caused a much greater disruption and a much greater cost to taxpayers.”

Trump arrived in New Jersey on Thursday night after attending a gala dinner in New York City earlier in the evening. He is expected to remain at Bedminster until Sunday, making it the eighth weekend he has spent outside Washington and at one of his private clubs since being sworn into office. It is his first weekend spent in New Jersey as president.

Trump’s stays at his properties outside of Washington cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a day in security costs.

The White House has said that the president works on his trips out of the office, but he has been spotted by club-members and photographers hitting the links on the golf course during his visits to his Florida clubs Mar-a-Lago and the Trump International Golf Club.

(h/t Washington Post)

Trump Administration Proposes Massive Cuts to Drug Czar Office

Leave a comment

The Trump administration is looking to slash the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) budget by nearly 95 percent, according to a memo obtained by CBS News.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has proposed major ONDCP budget cuts for fiscal year 2018 that would cut 33 employees, nearly half the office staff, along with intelligence, research and budget functions at the agency, as well as the Model State Drug Laws and Drug Court grant programs.

The cuts were outlined in OMB’s “passback” document, a part of the budget process where the Office instructs federal agencies to draw up preliminary budgets that are subject to Congressional approval. It was uploaded to MAX Collect, the OMB’s budget database.

The document also zeroes out funding to a number of grant programs including the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program and the Drug-free Communities Support Program. These grants are “duplicative of other efforts across the Federal government and supplant State and local responsibilities,” the memo states.

HIDTA serves as a catalyst for coordination among federal state and local enforcement entities, and funds task forces in 49 states across the country. It is considered a vital tool used by law enforcement agencies to go after very high profile drug dealers and conduct in-depth interagency investigations.

The drug free communities support program is the nation’s largest drug prevention program and funds 5,000 local anti-drug community coalitions across the country. This program has also enjoyed broad bipartisan support.

President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order last month to create a presidential commission to tackle the national opioid commissions, chaired by New Jersey Governor Christ Christie. The Order stated that the ONDCP would be providing support for the Commission.

“I have been encouraged by the Administration’s commitment to addressing the opioid epidemic, and the President’s personal engagement on the issue, both during the campaign and since he was sworn into office,” the ONDCP’s Acting Director, Richard Baum, wrote in an office-wide email.

“However, since OMB’s proposed cuts are also at odds with the fact that the President has tasked us with supporting his Commission on Combatting drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.”

“These drastic proposed cuts are frankly heartbreaking, and if carried out, would cause us to lose many good people who contribute greatly to ONDCP’s mission and core activities,” Baum wrote.

The staff was notified of the cuts Friday after Baum and top aides were notified of the draconian cuts last Thursday. According to a source familiar with the discussions, Baum has been in close contact with Jared Kushner, who heads up the White House Office of American Innovation.

Baum had hoped to convince the Office of American Innovation that the ONDCP is an essential tool in combatting the opioid epidemic. The discussions did not go as planned.

“The budget process is a complex one with many moving parts,” The White House said in a statement to CBS. “It would be premature for us to comment – or anyone to report – on any aspect of this ever-changing, internal discussion before the publication of the document. The President and his cabinet are working collaboratively to create a leaner, more efficient government that does more with less of tax payers’ hard-earned dollars.”

(h/t CBS News)

1 … 256 257 258 259 260 … 340