Tag: Trump Administration

George Conway is the man at the center of everything

The following article by Ben Terris was posted on the Washington Post website May 14, 2017:

George Conway, seen with wife Kellyanne Conway at an inaugural party in January, “is somebody who likes to be in the mix, where the action is,” says a friend. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

If it weren’t for George Conway, the nation might never have met Monica Lewinsky, and Donald Trump might never have met Kellyanne.

In the 1990s, George was a quiet but critical presence in what Hillary Clinton would dub a “vast right-wing conspiracy” — a hotshot young attorney working to undermine President Bill Clinton by offering secret legal aid to his accusers and reportedly funneling salacious details to the Drudge Report. “This one disgruntled New York lawyer almost single-handedly brought down the president,” David Brock, the conservative provocateur-turned-Clinton acolyte, later wrote. Continue reading “George Conway is the man at the center of everything”

Trump’s Expected Pick for Top USDA Scientist Is Not a Scientist

The following article by Jessica Huseman was posted on the ProPublica website May 12, 2017:

Sam Clovis likely to be named undersecretary of the USDA department that manages research on everything from climate change to nutrition.

Sam Clovis speaks during a news conference with Donald Trump ahead of a rally in Dubuque, Iowa on Aug. 25, 2015. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The USDA’s research section studies everything from climate change to nutrition. Under the 2008 Farm Bill, its leader is supposed to serve as the agency’s “chief scientist” and be chosen “from among distinguished scientists with specialized or significant experience in agricultural research, education, and economics.”

But Sam Clovis — who, according to sources with knowledge of the appointment and members of the agriculture trade press, is President Trump’s pick to oversee the section — appears to have no such credentials. Continue reading “Trump’s Expected Pick for Top USDA Scientist Is Not a Scientist”

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

The following article by Susan Milligan was posted on the US News and World Report website May 12, 2017:

Brett Ziegler for USN&WR

If it was the setting for a reality TV show instead of the center of government of the world’s leading democracy, the White House might be criticized for displaying too much drama. But even by the high-bar standards of an administration that has had a very difficult start, President Donald Trump and his administration have had an unusually bad week.

On Monday, fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates delivered devastating public testimony to a Senate committee, telling lawmakers she had warned the White House that then-national security adviser Michael Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail by the Russians because of lies he had told about his connections to the foreign nation. As she spoke, skeptical federal judges peppered Trump administration lawyers with questions about the president’s imperiled travel ban on entrants from majority-Muslim nations.

Continue reading “A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week”

What France and the UK can teach Trump about reviving America’s middle class

The following article by Steven Pressman was posted on the Conversaion website May 11, 2017:

America’s middle class is in deep trouble.

Signs of its decline are everywhere, from stagnant incomes and falling wealth to soaring household debt and the rise of populist politicians promising a return to the “glory days.”

While there is near universal agreement that a thriving middle class is essential to long-term economic prosperity, we’re deeply divided about what builds it. Conservatives, such as those in the White House and in control of Congress, contend that lower taxes are a key ingredient. Liberals argue it comes down to government policies that give low earners a leg up and support those already in the middle. Continue reading “What France and the UK can teach Trump about reviving America’s middle class”

3 Ways Comey’s firing echoes Watergate (and 2 ways it doesn’t)

The following article by James Pindell was released by the Boston Globe in their Ground Game email May 10, 2017:

In the aftermath of President Trump firing FBI director James Comey, one word seemed to circulate on Washington’s lips and among the country’s political class: Watergate.

Watergate, the scandal that forced President Nixon to resign as he faced impeachment, became a trending topic on Twitter, and it dominated the discussion for much of Tuesday night on at least two cable news channels.

On MSNBC, for example, longtime NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, told viewers, “The one thing I learned during Watergate: Everybody take a deep breath.” Continue reading “3 Ways Comey’s firing echoes Watergate (and 2 ways it doesn’t)”

Fact Checker: Trump’s pointing of the finger at Obama for failing to vet Flynn

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website May 9, 2017:

“General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama Administration — but the Fake News seldom likes talking about that.”
— President Trump, in a tweet, May 8, 2017

“If President Obama was truly concerned about General Flynn, why didn’t he suspend General Flynn’s security clearance, which they had just reapproved months earlier. Additionally, why did the Obama administration let Flynn go to Russia for a paid speaking engagement and receive a fee?”
— White House spokesman Sean Spicer, at a news briefing, May 8

The Trump White House has tried to point the finger at the Obama administration for its travails with retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, whom the president fired as national security adviser just three weeks after taking the oath of office. Flynn was fired after The Washington Post reportedthat he had misled other administration officials, including Vice President Pence, about whether he had discussed pending sanctions with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition. Continue reading “Fact Checker: Trump’s pointing of the finger at Obama for failing to vet Flynn”

Trump’s multiple residences, large jet-setting family and commuter marriage drive up first family travel and protection costs

The following article by Barbara Demick was posted on the LA Times website May 8, 2017:

New York police officers outside Trump Tower with sand-filled trucks, which serve as a protective barrier for the building. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

On the Thursday evening before Easter, photographers staking out Palm Beach International Airport in Florida awaiting President Trump were surprised to see not one, but two Air Force planes arriving within minutes of each other.

Shortly before the president landed, Melania Trump arrived on a Boeing C-32 — a military version of a 757 — with their 11-year-old son, Barron, and other family members to spend the holiday at the Mar-a-Lago golf resort. Her one-way trip from New York, where she lives separately from her husband so their son can finish the school year, cost taxpayers more than $110,000. Continue reading “Trump’s multiple residences, large jet-setting family and commuter marriage drive up first family travel and protection costs”

t Mark Green withdraws as Trump’s Army secretary nominee, citing ‘false and misleading attacks’

The following article by Dan Lamothe was posted on the Washington Post website May 5, 2017:

The Trump administration’s second Army secretary nominee withdrew from consideration Friday amid mounting opposition to past comments he made about Islam, evolution and gender issues.

Mark E. Green, a firebrand Republican state senator in Tennessee and veteran of the Iraq War, said there can be no distractions in overseeing the military and blamed “false and misleading attacks against him” in a statement provided to the media. The Pentagon and the White House had no immediate reaction to his announcement, but it came hours after a Defense Department spokesman declined during a meeting with journalists to say whether Defense Secretary Jim Mattis still supported him for the job. Continue reading “t Mark Green withdraws as Trump’s Army secretary nominee, citing ‘false and misleading attacks’”

Flynn was warned by Trump transition officials about contacts with Russian ambassador

The following article by Greg Miller and Adam Entous was posted on the Washington Post website May 5, 2017:

The Pentagon’s inspector general launched an investigation into Gen. Michael Flynn over payments he accepted from foreign governments. The revelation came on April 27, when House Democrats released a letter sent from Defense Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine to the House Oversight Committee. (Reuters)

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn was warned by senior members of President Trump’s transition team about the risks of his contacts with the Russian ambassador weeks before the December call that led to Flynn’s forced resignation, current and former U.S. officials said. Continue reading “Flynn was warned by Trump transition officials about contacts with Russian ambassador”

While in White House, Trumps remained selling points for ‘very special’ Philippines project

The following article by Drew Harwell and Matea Gold was posted on the Washington Post website May 2, 2017:

Investors looking to buy a condo at Trump Tower in the Philippines would have found, until this week, some high-powered video testimonials on the project’s official website.

There was Donald Trump, in a message filmed several years before he was elected president of the United States, declaring that the skyscraper bearing his name near the Philippine capital would be “something very, very special, like nobody’s seen before.” Then there was his daughter Ivanka Trump, now a senior White House adviser, lavishing praise on the project as a “milestone in Philippine real estate history.” Continue reading “While in White House, Trumps remained selling points for ‘very special’ Philippines project”