Tag: Trump White House

Democrats ask Office of Special Counsel to review if Kushner violated the Hatch Act

Two House Democrats on Monday asked a federal watchdog to investigate whether Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump and one of his senior advisers, violated the Hatch Act, a law which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities in their official duties.

Reps. Don Beyer of Virginia and Ted Lieu of California asked the independent Office of Special Counsel (OSC), a federal watchdog agency not to be confused with the now-defunct office of special counsel, to launch an investigation to determine if Kushner violated the statute in the wake of news reports that claimed he has been engaging in campaign fundraising activities from the White House.

The lawmakers cited a report published in the New York Times that claimed Kushner recently organized a meeting at the White House with Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and “a group of big donors” to discuss the fundraising strategy for 2020. They also pointed to a Yahoo News report that alleged Kushner is “the campaign’s key liaison in the West Wing” and has “multiple daily conversations” with Parscale.

View the complete June 18 article by Shira Tarlo from Salon on the AlterNet website here.

Trump fires the polling firm Kellyanne Conway built over leak of polls he said didn’t exist

“They’re giving out phony polls.”

Days after President Donald Trump was caught gaslighting the American people about an embarrassing campaign poll that he falsely claimed did not exist, he has taken action. Rather than change the conduct and message that has made him the most consistently unpopular president in modern times, he has instead opted to change the messenger.

Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign reportedly dismissed three longtime pollsters over the leak of an internal poll that showed him trailing Joe Biden badly in several key states. They included Michael Baselice, Adam Geller, and Brett Loyd. The latter name is particularly noteworthy: he is president and CEO of the polling company inc./WomanTrend, the public opinion firm created by Trump’s counselor Kellyanne Conway back in 1995.

While polling about an election that’s still more than a year away is notoriously unreliable, it is significant that the president of the United States — who, as a candidate, vowed to America “I will never lie to you” — flat out lied about the existence of his own poll.

View the complete June 17 article by Josh Israel on the ThinkProgress website here.

‘There’s no accountability’: Trump, White House aides signal a willingness to act with impunity in drive for reelection

Slumping in the polls and at war with his political rivals, President Trump has signaled a willingness to act with impunity in his drive for reelection, taking steps over the past week that demonstrate a disregard for legal boundaries meant to hold him accountable and protect the sanctity of American democracy.

Trump said in an interview that he would accept damaging information on his election opponents from foreign entities, defiantly unrepentant after spending 2½ years trying to fight off allegations that his 2016 campaign had colluded with Russia to help him win the White House.

The president declared he would not punish White House counselor Kellyanne Conway after a federal agency recommended she be fired for violating rules barring executive branch officials from engaging in political activities.

View the complete June 16 article by David Nakamura and Holly Bailey on The Washington Post website here.

An epitaph for the Sarah Sanders era: She would gladly sacrifice core elements of democratic society to protect Trump

At Politico’s “Women Rule” event in late 2018, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who President Trump announced Thursday would soon be leaving her position as White House press secretary, said that she hoped her legacy would be as a person who was, “transparent and honest throughout that process” and did “everything I could to make America a little better that day than it was the day before.”

Of course, given the sheer volume and magnitude of lies Sanders and her boss have inflicted on the U.S. population over the years, it’s hard now not to laugh at these words. Most recently, Sanders claimed that she had heard from “countless…individuals who work at the FBI who said they were very happy” with the firing of James Comey. It should go without saying that Sanders simply made that up. When offering testimony under oath to the Mueller investigation, Sanders openly admitted that her statement “was not founded on anything.”

“Not Founded on Anything.” I can’t think of a better epitaph to trademark for the Sarah Huckabee Sanders era at the White House. Actually, I can’t think of a better epitaph for the Trump administration in general.

View the complete June 16 article by Christian Christensen from Common Dreams on the AlterNet website here.

Five memorable moments from Sarah Sanders at the White House

Sarah Huckabee Sanders will depart her role as White House press secretary at the end of June, President Trump announced Thursday.

Her tenure, which officially began in July 2017, featured many controversial moments as she fiercely defended the president and frequently clashed with the press corps.

Over her tenure, she became a trusted aide to Trump and one of the most prominent faces of the White House. She also helped shape the White House’s handling of the media.

View the complete June 15 article by Chris Mills Rodrigo on The Hill website here.

Oversight Committee Schedules Hearing On Conway’s Hatch Act Violations

The Trump administration is refusing to act on Kellyanne Conway’s constant lawbreaking, and a House committee chairman has had enough.

The Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which is headed by a Trump appointee, announced Thursday that Conway repeatedly violated the Hatch Act, a law prohibiting certain federal employees from “engaging in partisan political activity” while in their official government capacity, and recommended she be fired. The OSC cited more than half a dozen television interviews Conway had given as examples of her violating the law.

However, the White House isn’t budging and dismissed the idea that she would be punished. But Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-M.D.,) the chairman of the Oversight and Reform Committee, announced late Thursday that Conway is not off the hook, and scheduled a hearing with the OSC.

View the complete June 14 article by Mike Stankiewicz on the National Memo website here.

Oversight Committee Schedules Hearing On Conway’s Hatch Act Violations

The Trump administration is refusing to act on Kellyanne Conway’s constant lawbreaking, and a House committee chairman has had enough.

The Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which is headed by a Trump appointee, announced Thursday that Conway repeatedly violated the Hatch Act, a law prohibiting certain federal employees from “engaging in partisan political activity” while in their official government capacity, and recommended she be fired. The OSC cited more than half a dozen television interviews Conway had given as examples of her violating the law.

However, the White House isn’t budging and dismissed the idea that she would be punished. But Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-M.D.,) the chairman of the Oversight and Reform Committee, announced late Thursday that Conway is not off the hook, and scheduled a hearing with the OSC.

View the complete June 14 article by Mike Stankiewicz on the National Memo here.

Sarah Sanders was the disdainful Queen of Gaslighting

When Sarah Sanders said Thursday that she hopes to be remembered for her transparency and honesty, the first impulse was to laugh.

But lying to citizens while being paid by them really isn’t all that funny.

Sanders took on an impossible job when she became President Trump’s spokeswoman, a job that’s about to reach a welcome conclusion.

View the complete June 14 article by Margaret Sullivan on The Washington Post website here.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders leaving White House press secretary post

Trump tweets she will return to Arkansas, encourages her to run for governor

Updated 5:59 p.m. | White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who shut down daily briefings and was frequently accused of making false statements, is leaving her post at the end of this month and returning to her home state of Arkansas, President Donald Trump announced Thursday.

Sanders said she was “blessed and forever grateful” to Trump for the opportunity to serve, adding that she was “proud of everything he’s accomplished.”

She has avoided the White House podium, at Trump’s direction, for over 90 days after her soon-to-be former boss said the media was too harsh on her and asked unfair questions. She replaced her briefings, which usually lasted around 20 minutes, with impromptu “gaggles” in the White House’s north driveway following cable news hits, typically on Fox News. Those almost always lasted under or around 10 minutes.

View the complete June 13 article by John T. Bennett on The Roll Call website here.

Federal watchdog recommends Conway be removed from role for Hatch Act violations

A federal watchdog agency on Thursday urged President Trump to remove Kellyanne Conway as White House counselor over repeated violations of the Hatch Act, which bars federal employees from engaging in elections in their official capacity.

The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) sent a 17-page report to Trump accusing Conway of breaking the law on numerous occasions “by disparaging Democratic presidential candidates while speaking in her official capacity during television interviews and on social media” and calling on the president to oust her “immediately.”

“As a highly visible member of the administration, Ms. Conway’s violations, if left unpunished, would send a message to all federal employees that they need not abide by the Hatch Act’s restrictions,” special counsel Henry Kerner wrote to Trump. “Her actions thus erode the principal foundation of our democratic system — the rule of law.”

View the complete June 13 article by Jordan Fabian and Al Weaver on The Hill website here.