by Nomad
Hillary Clinton famously described Donald Trump as "a man you can bait with a tweet" and this week, Trump seemed to go out of his way to prove her remark was an understatement. In what seemed like a desperate attempt to hold onto control, the president spent most of the last seven days attacking his critics or trying to silence them.
Revenge Served Cold
The news this week was pretty much dominated by Omarosa Manigault Newman. The fired aide to the president- nobody was ever quite sure what her job actually was- revealed that she had secretly taped conversations during her stint at the White House.
As part of her book promotion, she was ready to give Trump (and his inner circle) a public relations form of Chinese water torture. She implied that she planned to release the recordings - reportedly more than 200 in all- to the public. one at a time.
At the end of the week, she even hinted at a “treasure trove” of videos to back up the claims made in her expose. The prospect of humiliating videos- run over and over ad nauseam- might just be too much for the president's staunch defenders.
But probably not.
Shocking Situation in the Situation Room
On Monday, she shared a tape of White House Chief of Staff for President Donald Trump, John Kelly firing her and threatening her with legal action if she decided to become talkative.
One notable point, this conversation was recorded in the Situation Room which, for security reasons, supposed to be free of personal electronic devices and former national security officials. If true it would represent, as an op-ed piece in St. Louis Post-Dispatch observed:
the specter of some attention-seeking, former reality TV contestant waltzing in with a cellphone, which is prohibited there, and using it to secretly record the president’s chief of staff — all while presumably sitting near classified visual, audio or electronic information that America’s enemies would love to get their hands on.
Quite a shocking situation for the Situation Room.
Her second release that day was that of Trump calling Ms. Newman, pretending that he had not been informed of her dismissal beforehand and that he was sympathetic.
Her second release that day was that of Trump calling Ms. Newman, pretending that he had not been informed of her dismissal beforehand and that he was sympathetic.
At that same time, the president took to Twitter- his favorite PA system- and claimed that everybody at the White House hated "Wacky" Omarosa, that she was "vicious but not smart," and that she was a low-life.
As the administration desperately sought a legal means to shut Omarosa down, up or off, the battle between the two reality TV stars was just heating up.
Punishing Peter, Ostracizing Omarosa
Then his private emails to his mistress were made public, revealing a bias against Trump. The administration and Republicans in Congress attempting to use this as a way to close the Mueller's investigation into Russian collusion.
In brighter news, friends of Strzok set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for legal expenses and lost income. In a matter of hours, the site raised more than $325,000 and in four days, has raked in nearly a half million dollars.
Dogs Sense Fear
Silencing Trump's Critics
First Amendment Backlash
Raining on Trump's Parade
Saturday brought us the interesting revelation that Donald F. McGahn II. the White House counsel, has voluntarily provided the Mueller investigators with 30 hours of interviews over the past nine months. According to the New York Times, McGahn has shared "detailed accounts about the episodes at the heart of the inquiry into whether President Trump obstructed justice, including some that investigators would not have learned of otherwise.
As predicted, the skirmish between Omarosa and the Trump administration turned into an all-out war on Tuesday. The tape du jour sent a palpable shiver up the spines of the White House staff: a recording of a discussion between Trump campaign aides about the best way to spin the potential release of yet another recording of Trump using the "n-word."
In reaction to her allegations of both racism and mental impairment, Trump proved once again he was his own worst enemy. In a tweet, the president- representative of our once-great nation- called Omarosa a "crazed, crying lowlife" and still worse "that dog."
As the New York Times remarked:
When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn’t work out. Good work by General Kelly for quickly firing that dog!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2018
As the New York Times remarked:
Even for a president who consistently uses Twitter to assail his adversaries, the morning tweet about Ms. Manigault Newman was a remarkably crude use of the presidential bully pulpit to disparage a woman who once served at the highest levels in his White House.
Some were even claiming that this particular tweet was too much, that Trump had crossed the line. By Wednesday, the faded "red lines" had been scrubbed by the news media and brand-new lines- presumably someplace closer to absolute madness- were drawn for Trump.
Nevertheless, whatever you might think of Ms. Newman, she has demonstrated an impressive instinct for down-and-dirty street-fighting.
Nevertheless, whatever you might think of Ms. Newman, she has demonstrated an impressive instinct for down-and-dirty street-fighting.
Silencing Trump's Critics
Also on Wednesday, Trump took the unusual step of revoking the security clearance of one of his most outspoken critics, former CIA Director John Brennan. It was, critics said, another sign that Trump feels under siege- much like Nixon did before his resignation. Trump's excuse for the largely symbolic action was Brennan's "erratic conduct and behavior."
On Thursday, Trump revealed what everybody already knew about the revocation of Brennan's security clearance: It was punishment for his role in the Russia collusion investigation which Trump called "a sham" and a "rigged witch hunt." Something, said Trump,"had to be done." All pretense that the administration was and is not engaged in obstruction of justice has been left in the dust.
For his part, Brennan was defiant, He told Rachel Maddow that he was considering legal options. Brennan said that Trump was "drunk on power.”"[He] clearly has become more desperate to protect himself and those close to him, which is why he made the politically motivated decision to revoke my security clearance in an attempt to scare into silence others who might dare to challenge him."
A former general counsel of the CIA, Jeffery Smith, weighed in on the president's move, saying that
Twelve former senior intelligence officials signed a letter condemning President Trump for revoking Brennan's clearance Brennan, 60 lower-ranking former CIA officers signed an open letter on Friday also in opposition to Mr. Trump's decision.
But by Friday, Trump was talking about taking similar actions against others who have criticized him. Citing anonymous sources, the Washington Post reported that the White House had already drafted documents to strip a number of other prominent intelligence community figures of their clearances.
the president has grossly abused his authority and violated Mr. Brennan’s First Amendment right to speak freely. The president’s actions are therefore unconstitutional and demand a response from Congress.Clearly, Trump feels that in the name of protecting his position- indeed, his liberty- he is fully justified in taking action, whether it is legal or not.
Twelve former senior intelligence officials signed a letter condemning President Trump for revoking Brennan's clearance Brennan, 60 lower-ranking former CIA officers signed an open letter on Friday also in opposition to Mr. Trump's decision.
But by Friday, Trump was talking about taking similar actions against others who have criticized him. Citing anonymous sources, the Washington Post reported that the White House had already drafted documents to strip a number of other prominent intelligence community figures of their clearances.
Seventy-Five to Twenty-Four
A poll conducted by FiveThirtyEight predicted that, as of August, Democrats have a 75.4% of winning the House in the midterms while Republicans have a 24.6% chances of retaining control.
It has been suggested that this is the reason the Republican-controlled Congress is pushing hard at the confirmation of conservative Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. This will not only ensure the high court leans to the right on issues such as same-sex marriage, religious liberty, and abortion, but will also provide the president with an escape route if articles of impeachment are drawn up in a Democratically-controlled House.
It has been suggested that this is the reason the Republican-controlled Congress is pushing hard at the confirmation of conservative Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. This will not only ensure the high court leans to the right on issues such as same-sex marriage, religious liberty, and abortion, but will also provide the president with an escape route if articles of impeachment are drawn up in a Democratically-controlled House.
First Amendment Backlash
In a show of unity against the administration, over 300 newspapers published editorials criticizing Trump's increasingly belligerent attacks on the press. "This dirty war, "the message read,"on the free press must end."
In reply, the president tweeted that the publications were "in collusion" to publish "FAKE NEWS, pushing a political agenda or just plain trying to hurt people."
In reply, the president tweeted that the publications were "in collusion" to publish "FAKE NEWS, pushing a political agenda or just plain trying to hurt people."
On Friday, President Trump gave up on one of his fixations- the one that most tin-pot dictators share. He announced that his plan for a military parade in Washington had been nixed due to cost. The day before, CNBC had reported that the predicted cost of the parade would be something around $92 million, much more than the previous estimates of $12 million and $30 million. This new figure forced the Pentagon- which was never too keen on the idea- to postpone the parade until 2019.
A Very Sad Day for Our Country
Even as jurors in the trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort deliberated, the president could not stop from interfering. Calling Manafort "a very good man, "Trump also characterized the trial as "a very sad day for our country."
He did, however, stop short of saying whether he would use a presidential pardon for Manafort if convicted. That might not be necessary. If convicted, Manafort's attorneys could, in theory, ask for a mistrial, citing that the president's statements had negatively impacted jurors.
A Very Sad Day for Our Country
Even as jurors in the trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort deliberated, the president could not stop from interfering. Calling Manafort "a very good man, "Trump also characterized the trial as "a very sad day for our country."
He did, however, stop short of saying whether he would use a presidential pardon for Manafort if convicted. That might not be necessary. If convicted, Manafort's attorneys could, in theory, ask for a mistrial, citing that the president's statements had negatively impacted jurors.
In related news, the judge presiding in the trial has asked for U.S. Marshal protection after receiving death threats. He was also concerned about the "peace and safety" of the 12 jurors.
Mr. McGahn described the president’s fury toward the Russia investigation and the ways in which he urged Mr. McGahn to respond to it. He provided the investigators examining whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice a clear view of the president’s most intimate moments with his lawyer.The president immediately claimed that this was a sign of transparency. Regardless of the spin, legal experts said that it was not usual practice for an attorney to share so much information with investigators, ignoring attorney-client privilege, and in the case of presidents, executive privilege.
So, why would McGahn have been so forthcoming? Only Mueller and his team can answer that question.
But here's one possibility mentioned in the NYT piece. Trump might have mistakenly believed that Mr. McGahn would act as a personal lawyer would for clients and solely defend his interests to investigators.
In fact, the scope of the attorney-client privilege between the Counsel and the President, applies to official and not strictly personal matters. A President relies on a personal attorney for confidential legal advice.
In fact, the scope of the attorney-client privilege between the Counsel and the President, applies to official and not strictly personal matters. A President relies on a personal attorney for confidential legal advice.
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Weel, that about wraps things up for this week. Any breaking news on Sunday will be added as an update. So what do you think, have I overlooked a major news story that should have gotten more attention? Any predictions for next week?
The playlist consists of:
In Memory
This week brought the sad but not unexpected news that "the Queen of Soul," Aretha Frankin had died of pancreatic cancer at her home in Detroit. The 76-year old was surrounded by family and friends when she passed.
This week's Sanity Sunday is dedicated to the memory of Aretha Franklin.
This week's Sanity Sunday is dedicated to the memory of Aretha Franklin.
The playlist consists of:
- A Change Is Gonna Come
- Won't Be Long
- Bridge Over Troubled Water
- Ain't No Way
- Evil Gal Blues
- Respect
- Don't Play That Song (You Lied)
- A Song For You
- Think
- Running Out of Fools
- Since You've Been Gone (Sweet, Sweet Baby)
- Chain Of Fools
- Cry Like A Baby
- (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
- That Lucky Old Sun
- For All We Know
Here's wishing you all a bright and cheerful Sunday.