It’s bigger than Flynn. New Russia revelations widen Trump’s credibility gap.

The following article by James Hohmann and Breanne Deppisch was posted on the Washington Post website February 15, 2017:

THE BIG IDEA: The credibility gap – maybe chasm is a better word at this point – keeps widening for Donald Trump and his White House.

Two days after Trump’s victory, Russia’s deputy foreign minister told a reporter in Moscow that “there were contacts” between Russian officials and the Trump campaign. “Obviously, we know most of the people from his entourage,” he said. That prompted a vigorous denial from Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks, who insisted there had been “no contact with Russian officials.” Continue reading “It’s bigger than Flynn. New Russia revelations widen Trump’s credibility gap.”

Trump says Flynn was treated unfairly, a day after Spicer said he was fired because of a lack of trust

President Trump  criticized the intelligence community and the media Wednesday for the news reports that ultimately led to national security adviser Michael Flynn’s resignation Monday night, less than four weeks into his White House tenure.

“I think he’s been treated very, very unfairly by the media — as I call it, the ‘fake media,’ in many cases — and I think it’s really a sad thing that he was treated so badly,” Trump said at a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I think in addition to that, from intelligence, papers are being leaked, things are being leaked.”

Trump added that the leaks were a “criminal action, criminal act.”

The president was responding to a question from the Christian Broadcasting Network about whether he thinks that recent reports concerning Russia — that Flynn misled government officials, including now-Vice President Pence, about conversations Flynn had with the Russian ambassador involving sanctions, as well as news that members of the Trump campaign had repeated contact with Russian intelligence officials — could undermine the goal of preventing a nuclear Iran.

His response, in which he defended Flynn as a “wonderful man,” added confusion to the White House’s account of Flynn’s dismissal and conflicted with his press secretary’s assertion that Trump fired Flynn.

“People are trying to cover up for a terrible loss that the Democrats had under Hillary Clinton,” Trump said. “I think it’s very, very unfair what’s happened to General Flynn, the way he was treated, and the documents and papers that were illegally — I stress that — illegally leaked. Very, very unfair.”

On Tuesday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer emphasized that Trump asked Flynn to resign because he could no longer be trusted, particularly after misleading Pence about discussing with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak sanctions put in place by the Obama administration.

“The evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation and a series of other questionable instances is what led the president to ask for General Flynn’s resignation,” Spicer said during his press briefing.

Spicer told reporters Wednesday afternoon that he didn’t see a need to “square” his earlier comments with the president’s praise of Flynn of earlier in the day.

“The president is very clear that Gen. Flynn has served this country, both in uniform and here, with distinction,” he said. “There’s a clear difference between his commitment to caring about this country and the trust the president had to execute those jobs.”

Trump’s comments at the news conference followed a blitz of angry tweets Wednesday morning over Flynn’s departure and what Trump said were leaks from intelligence agencies.

The direct slam against the leaks suggested deepening struggles within the Trump White House as it faces growing questions — and possible congressional probes — about how and when the president and other top officials dealt with the disclosures that Flynn conducted private outreach with Russia’s ambassador before Trump took office. Intercepts showed that Flynn discussed U.S. sanctions in a phone call with the ambassador — a conversation topic that Flynn first denied and then later said he could not recall.

Trump’s ire over the insider tips to journalists also contrasted with his indirect praise of the disclosure of leaked internal emails from the Clinton campaign made public by WikiLeaks during the lead-up to the election.

The real scandal here is that classified information is illegally given out by “intelligence” like candy. Very un-American!

Trump tried to brush off the mounting pressures on his administration as a diversion by opponents, even though senior Republican lawmakers have indicated that investigations into Russian contacts will be expanded. On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said it was “highly likely” that the events leading to Flynn’s departure would be added to a broader probe into alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election.

“This Russian connection non-sense is merely an attempt to cover-up the many mistakes made in Hillary Clinton’s losing campaign,” Trump tweeted Wednesday.

This Russian connection non-sense is merely an attempt to cover-up the many mistakes made in Hillary Clinton’s losing campaign.

The president was referring to recent stories by the New York Times and The Washington Post. Both outlined questionable — and potentially illegal — contact between his aides and Russia.

An article posted by the New York Times late Tuesday reported that members of his presidential campaign team, as well as other Trump associates, were repeatedly in contact with senior Russian intelligence officials during the campaign. And several articles by The Post reported that Flynn had misled administration officials, including Pence, about his discussions with the Russian ambassador to the United States over sanctions before Trump was sworn in.

“Information is being illegally given to the failing @nytimes & @washingtonpost by the intelligence community (NSA and FBI?). Just like Russia,” Trump tweeted Wednesday.

Information is being illegally given to the failing @nytimes & @washingtonpost by the intelligence community (NSA and FBI?).Just like Russia

Wednesday was not the first time he had blamed the media and the intelligence community for an unflattering portrait. Shortly before his inauguration last month, amid reports by CNN that Russia may have compiled a dossier of compromising material on him, Trump criticized leaks from the intelligence community, asking on Twitter, “Are we living in Nazi Germany?”

The fake news media is going crazy with their conspiracy theories and blind hatred. @MSNBC & @CNN are unwatchable. @foxandfriends is great!

But he did have praise for one reporter — Eli Lake, an opinion writer for Bloomberg News— who in a column Tuesday said that Flynn was a victim of a “political assassination.” The column was not particularly flattering to Trump, but it criticized the push for Flynn’s ouster, with Lake writing that Flynn was “thrown under the bus” for his ties to Russia and for becoming “a fierce critic of the intelligence community leaders he once served with when he was the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama.”

“Thank you to Eli Lake of The Bloomberg View — ‘The NSA & FBI … should not interfere in our politics … and is’ Very serious situation for USA,” Trump tweeted.

Thank you to Eli Lake of The Bloomberg View – “The NSA & FBI…should not interfere in our politics…and is” Very serious situation for USA

Philip Rucker and Brian Murphy contributed to this report.

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In the early weeks of the new administration, the humbling of a president

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

Photo: Aude Guerrucci/AP

The presidential campaign was a heady experience for Donald Trump: months of triumph and, better yet, disproving all the so-called experts who said he never had a chance of winning. The early weeks of the new administration have been the opposite: the public humbling of a new president. Continue reading “In the early weeks of the new administration, the humbling of a president”

10 unanswered questions after Michael Flynn’s resignation

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch was posted on the Washington Post website February 14, 2017:

THE BIG IDEA: President Trump should thank his lucky stars that Republicans control both chambers of Congress, because Democrats would be announcing a Benghazi-style inquest today if they could.

Reince Priebus, Mike Pence, Steve Bannon, Sean Spicer and Michael Flynn listen at Trump speaks by phone with Vladimir Putin on Jan. 28. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Michael Flynn lost his job as national security adviser after just 24 days less because he offered potentially-illegal secret assurances to Russia’s ambassador, an adversary of the United States, but because he gave an inaccurate accounting of those conversations to his colleagues in the White House, particularly Vice President Mike Pence. Continue reading “10 unanswered questions after Michael Flynn’s resignation”

While Trump scandals mount, Chaffetz decides to investigate… a cartoon character

The following column by Dana Milbank was posted on the Washington Post website February 13, 2017:

Angry Utahans shouted down Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, at the Republican’s recent town hall meeting.

“Do your job!” they chanted, scolding him for refusing to investigate the Trump administration.

In fairness to Chaffetz, he is busy with more pressing matters.

True, Chaffetz, after his unending probes of the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton, hasn’t shown any appetite to examine, say, the Trump administration’s ties to Russia or its many conflicts of interest. But the chairman has shown determination to probe, without fear or favor, the threat to America posed by Sid the Science Kid. Continue reading “While Trump scandals mount, Chaffetz decides to investigate… a cartoon character”

Warren calls for probe into Trump White House Russia Ties

The following article by Martin Finucane was posted on the Boston Glub website February 14, 2017:

In a series of tweets posted in the wake of national security adviser Michael Flynn’s resignation, Massachusetts US Senator Elizabeth Warren called for a bipartisan inquiry into the Trump administration’s contacts with Russia, saying national security was at stake.

Trump’s voracious appetite for cable news is troubling. But that’s not stopping him.

The following article by Chris Cillizza was posted on the Washington Post website February 12, 2017:

(Photo by Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images)

In the heat of the 2016 campaign, “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd asked Donald Trump whom he spoke to for military advice.

“Well, I watch the shows,” Trump responded. “I mean, I really see a lot of great — you know, when you watch your show and all of the other shows, and you have the generals.” Continue reading “Trump’s voracious appetite for cable news is troubling. But that’s not stopping him.”

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”