Tag: Trump White House

Newly released e-mails show how much Trump’s OMB ‘lied’ to Congress in the Ukraine scandal: report

AlterNet logoDespite the mountain of evidence that House Democrats presented during their impeachment inquiry last year, Republicans in the U.S. Senate (except for Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah) were determined to acquit President Donald Trump on both of the charges that he faced. Nonetheless, new evidence in the Ukraine scandal continues to come in, including unredacted e-mails that have been obtained by Just Security and show that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) knew more than previously thought about the hold that Trump placed on military aid to Ukraine.

According to Just Security’s Kate Brannen, the e-mails “confirm that OMB, including the general counsel’s office, was fully in the loop about the Pentagon’s concerns and took active steps to bury them. They also expose the extent to which OMB misled and even lied to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a congressional investigative body, as the GAO tried to understand the circumstances surrounding the funding hold.”

The e-mails, Brannen notes, “provide new evidence about how and why the Trump Administration withheld military assistance to Ukraine, the Senate never subpoenaed them or any other documents or witnesses in Trump’s impeachment trial. If it had, senators, as well as the public, could read these e-mails in unredacted form for themselves.” Continue reading.

White House budget to propose ‘savage’ cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security — while hiking Pentagon and wall funds

AlterNet logoJust two days after vowing the White House “will not be touching your Social Security or Medicare” in its budget proposal for fiscal year 2021, President Donald Trump on Monday is expected to unveil a $4.8 trillion blueprint that includes hundreds of billions in combined cuts to those programs over the next decade, deep reductions in safety-net spending, and a major increase in Pentagon funding.

The president’s plan, according to the Wall Street Journal, calls for hiking America’s already outlandish military spending to $740.5 billion in FY2021 and pouring $2 billion more into the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Meanwhile, Trump’s budget would enact punishing cuts to Medicaid, food stamps, and other crucial safety net programs. Continue reading.

Former Republican slams Jared Kushner’s stunning arrogance in a scathing column

AlterNet logoDuring an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria over the weekend, White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner (who is married to President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump) had a lot to say about those who have left the administration on bad terms. Conservative Washington Post opinion writer Max Boot, in a scathing column, notes how “contemptuous” Kushner was of former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, former National Security Adviser John Bolton and former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly during the interview — stressing that Kushner’s remarks underscore his arrogance.

In Trump’s administration, Kushner told Zakaria, the “cream has risen” — and Trump “has cycled out a lot of the people who didn’t have what it took to be successful here.” As Kushner evidently sees it, Boot writes, Tillerson, Bolton and Kelly didn’t have the skills necessary to perform well in Trump’s administration.

“Presumably, Kushner thinks that he is emblematic of the ‘cream’ that has risen to the top,” the former Republican writes. “He must be one of the ‘excellent’ people who have what it takes ‘to be successful here’ — although what that is beyond having married the boss’ daughter remains a mystery. He is the living embodiment of football coach Barry Switzer’s scathing quip: ‘some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple.’” Continue reading.

‘Pathological’: Trump Cabinet member slammed for saying Coronavirus outbreak will bring jobs back to US

AlterNet logoPresident Donald Trump’s Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, whose job reportedly was on the chopping block last year but somehow managed to keep it, just announced his belief that the deadly and fast-spreading coronavirus will bring jobs back to the U.S.

The coronavirus has killed 170 people and there are 7711 verified cases. Death updates are coming sometimes several times a day and in the double digits.

But Secretary Ross found a way to put a positive spin on it. Continue reading.

White House says Bolton book contains top secret information

Axios logoThe White House says that former national security adviser John Bolton’s book contains top secret information in a letter addressed to his attorney that was publicly released Wednesday.

The state of play: The development, first reported by CNN’s Jake Tapper, sets up a potential legal battle between Bolton and the White House over the book’s publication, which is currently scheduled for March 17.

  • The letter, dated Jan. 23, claims the book contains “significant amounts of classified information” that could “cause exceptionally grave harm” to U.S. national security.
  • It was signed by Ellen Knight, the National Security Council’s senior director for records, access and information security management.
  • The letter says, “the manuscript may not be published or otherwise disclosed without the deletion of this classified information” and that the White House will be in touch with “additional, more detailed guidance regarding next steps” on how to move forward.

‘Sit this one out’: Ivanka Trump’s complaint about ‘smug ridicule’ of nation’s ‘elites’ hilariously backfires

AlterNet logoIvanka Trump complained about coastal elites to defend her father — and was swiftly met with furious mockery.

The White House adviser and eldest daughter of President Donald Trump shared a video clip of former Republican strategist Rick Wilson ridiculing the president’s “credulous boomer rube” supporters, and complained the attack was derogatory and unfair.

“You consistently make fun of half the country and then complain that it is divided,” Ivanka Trump tweeted. “The arrogance, mocking accents and smug ridicule of this nation’s ‘Real Elites’ is disgusting.” Continue reading.

Mike Pompeo Doubles Down On NPR Reporter Attack. No One Buys It.

Twitter critics called BS after the secretary of state indicated Mary Louise Kelly misidentified Bangladesh as Ukraine in the president’s map challenge.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came out swinging — again — Saturday in yet another attack on a National Public Radio host, indicating she mistook Bangladesh for Ukraine in his map challenge.

But no one is buying it.

Pompeo exploded in a profanity-laced tirade at “All Things Considered” host Mary Louise Kelly after she dared to ask him questions about Ukraine in an interview Friday. He led her to a private office after the interview and yelled at her, using the “F-word and many others,” said Kelly. “He shouted at me for about the same amount of time as the interview itself,” which was 10 minutes. Pompeo also asked: “Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?” Kelly recounted. Continue reading.

White House snubbed watchdog agency seeking info on Ukraine aid

The Government Accountability Office later concluded the White House violated the law by freezing the military aid.

The White House declined to provide documents to a congressional watchdog investigating President Donald Trump’s decision to withhold military aid from Ukraine, according to documents released Thursday by Sen. Chris Van Hollen.

The White House responded to the Government Accountability Office’s inquiry with a one-page letter on Dec. 20, citing a legal memo from the Office of Management and Budget that defended the hold on military aid as necessary to ensure spending the funds wouldn’t “conflict with the President’s foreign policy.”

“The White House does not plan to respond separately to your letters,” wrote Brian Miller, a senior associate counsel to Trump, who indicated that the GAOinquiry was meant for acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and White House counsel Pat Cipollone. Cipollone is now Trump’s lead attorney in an impeachment trial that centers on his decision to freeze Ukraine’s military assistance. Continue reading.

Trump’s lawyers, Senate GOP allies work privately to ensure Bolton does not testify publicly

Washington Post logoPresident Trump’s legal defense team and Senate GOP allies are quietly gaming out contingency plans should Democrats win enough votes to force witnesses to testify in the impeachment trial, including an effort to keep former national security adviser John Bolton from the spotlight, according to multiple officials familiar with the discussions.

While Republicans continue to express confidence that Democrats will fail to persuade four GOP lawmakers to break ranks with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has opposed calling any witnesses in the trial, they are readying a Plan B just in case — underscoring how uncertain they are about prevailing in a showdown over witnesses and Bolton’s possible testimony.

One option being discussed, according to a senior administration official, would be to move Bolton’s testimony to a classified setting because of national security concerns, ensuring that it is not public. Continue reading.

Eyeing swift impeachment trial, Trump’s legal team aims to block witnesses and cast doubt on charges

Washington Post logoWhite House lawyers are trying to engineer the fastest impeachment trial in American history, aiming to have President Trump acquitted by the Senate without witnesses and after just a few days of proceedings, according to senior administration officials.

Trump’s desire for a short trial has solidified over the past few weeks, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) delayed transmitting two articles of impeachment to the Senate because of concerns about how the trial would be structured. The White House, which previously supported a more expansive trial in the GOP-led Senate, has now accepted the idea that senators should make quick work of acquitting Trump.

“I think it’s extraordinarily unlikely that we’d be going beyond two weeks,” said a senior administration official, who briefed reporters Wednesday on the condition of anonymity. “We think that this case is overwhelming for the president, and the Senate’s not going to be having any need to be taking that amount of time on this.” Continue reading.