Category: National Issues

Trump knew Flynn misled officials on Russia calls for ‘weeks,’ White House says

The following article by Abby Phillip was posted on the Washington Post website February 14, 2017:

President Trump was aware that his national security adviser Michael Flynn had misled White House officials and Vice President Pence for “weeks” before he was forced to resign on Monday night.

Trump was briefed by White House Counsel Don McGahn that Flynn had discussed U.S. sanctions with the Russian ambassador “immediately” after McGahn was informed that Flynn had misled Pence, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday. Continue reading “Trump knew Flynn misled officials on Russia calls for ‘weeks,’ White House says”

Here’s Why Flynn Was a Trump Failure

The following article was posted on the trumpaccountable.org website February 14, 2017:

Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser, a key post in the administration and integral to US security, resigned abruptly after 24 days on the job. Michael Flynn had sensitive conversations with Russian officials even as President Obama was enacting sanctions following Russia’s interference with US elections. Flynn misled Vice President Pence and President Trump about the nature of the conversations which led to his ouster. This is the shortest tenure of a National Security Adviser in US history and presents a problem for Donald Trump for three reasons: Continue reading “Here’s Why Flynn Was a Trump Failure”

Trump Criticized Obama for Golfing. Now He Spends Weekends on the Links.

The following article by Erin McCann was posted on the New York Times website February 12, 2017:

As a private citizen, Donald J. Trump was repeatedly critical of President Obama’s fondness for relaxing with a round of golf.

“Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf.” Mr. Trump tweeted on Oct. 13, 2014. “Worse than Carter.”

“We pay for Obama’s travel so he can fundraise millions so Democrats can run on lies,” he said a day later. “Then we pay for his golf.” Continue reading “Trump Criticized Obama for Golfing. Now He Spends Weekends on the Links.”

Trump and Russia: A Timeline

The following article by Corey Ciorciari and Anna Perina was posted on the Center for American Progress Action Fund website February 10, 2017:

AP/Andrew Harnik
President Donald Trump—accompanied by, from the left, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Mike Pence, White House press secretary Sean Spicer, and National Security Adviser Michael Flynn—speaks on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on January 28, 2017, in the Oval Office.

Recordings of phone conversations by U.S. intelligence agencies show that President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Flynn likely lied when he denied discussing election-related sanctions on Russia with Kremlin officials before Trump’s inauguration.

The intercepts contain disturbing revelations showing a long history of contact between Flynn and Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak that began before the election and continued into the transition, with Flynn telling the Russians that Trump would revisit sanctions. Critically, these contacts persisted even after the U.S. government concluded the Kremlin engaged in a covert influence operation to put Trump in the White House. Continue reading “Trump and Russia: A Timeline”

From Trump’s Mar-a-Lago to Facebook, a National Security Crisis in the Open

The following article by Michael D. Shear and Maggie Haberman was posted on the New York Times website February 13, 2017:

President Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Saturday. He and his aides coordinated a national security response there in full view of diners instead of moving to a private location. Credit Al Drago/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump and his top aides coordinated their response to North Korea’s missile test on Saturday night in full view of diners at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida — a remarkable, public display of presidential activity that is almost always conducted in highly secure settings.

The scene — of aides huddled over their computers and the president on his cellphone at his club’s terrace — was captured by a club member dining not far away and published in pictures on his Facebook account. The images also show Mr. Trump conferring with his guest at the resort, Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister. Continue reading “From Trump’s Mar-a-Lago to Facebook, a National Security Crisis in the Open”

Trump’s Watered-Down Ethics Rules Let a Lobbyist Help Run an Agency He Lobbied

The following article by Justin Elliott was posted on the ProPublica website February 10, 2017:

President Trump’s executive order on ethics also cites a section of the law that doesn’t exist.

President Trump speaks as Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) listens at a Republican retreat on Thursday in Philadelphia. (Pool)

Geoff Burr spent much of the last decade as the chief lobbyist for a powerful construction industry trade group. Burr sought to influence a host of regulations of the Department of Labor, opposing wage standards for federal construction contracts and working against an effort to limit workers’ exposure to dangerous silica dust.

In the Obama administration, someone like Burr would have been barred by ethics rules from taking a job at an agency that he had lobbied. Continue reading “Trump’s Watered-Down Ethics Rules Let a Lobbyist Help Run an Agency He Lobbied”

Trump’s TV Star Fades: He’s No Longer A Ratings Magnet

The following article by Eric Boehlert was posted on the Media Matters website February 10, 2017:

President Donald Trump might have been cheering the New England Patriots’ historic comeback on Super Bowl Sunday, but he couldn’t have been happy about his own contribution to the day. His sit-down interviewwith Bill O’Reilly, which aired during Fox’s pre-Super Bowl coverage, turned out to be something of a ratings dud. And for a president who obsesses over TV ratings and uses them to validate his own identity, the Sunday interview seemed to be the latest example of his fading personal appeal.  Continue reading “Trump’s TV Star Fades: He’s No Longer A Ratings Magnet”

GOP hypocrisy on election aid

The following commentary from the Editorial Board was posted on the Washington Post website February 12:

Maryland’s new voting machines going from electronic touchscreen to paper ballots that are fed through a machine. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

ONE WOULD imagine that, with President Trump and other Republicans questioning the integrity of the nation’s election systems, Congress would create an agency to help state and local officials run clean and efficient polls. In fact, the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) already exists. At least for the moment: Despite all the GOP rhetoric about flawed elections, a GOP House committee voted along party lines last week to kill the commission. Continue reading “GOP hypocrisy on election aid”