hired and fired a White House communications director within 11 days?

Anthony Scaramucci, a former Wall Street financier, served for a record 11 days as White House communications director.

Anthony Scaramucci at SALT Conference 2016 (cropped).jpg
Anthony Scaramucci / Wikipedia

He replaced Sean Spicer, who resigned after 6 months, and infamously defended verifiable lies from the White House, like claims of mass voter fraud and having the largest inaugural crowd size.

While Scaramucci’s behavior was erratic over the course of his tenure, Trump decided on dismissal after he railed against Chief of Staff Reince Preibus and chief strategist Steve Bannon in a phone call with The New Yorker. Shortly after, Preibus resigned and Bannon was fired.

The 11 day tenure has birthed a new form of measurement, the mooch.

The New Yorker – Anthony Scaramucci Called Me to Unload About White House Leakers, Reince Priebus, and Steve Bannon
Reuters – Trump fires communications director Scaramucci in new White House upheaval
The Week – Anthony Scaramucci measures time in ‘Mooches’
Wikipedia – Anthony Scaramucci
NPR – Trump Chief Of Staff Priebus Is Out — In Biggest White House Staff Shake-Up Yet
The Wall Street Journal – Steve Bannon, Controversial Aide to Trump, Exits White House Staff

fired FBI Director James Comey?

Comey was fired while on FBI business in Los Angeles. He learned of the firing from a news broadcast on television, and initially thought it was a prank. He is the second FBI Director to ever be dismissed by the President (the first being Bill Clinton’s dismissal of William Sessions).

Trump originally did so at the recommendation of his then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Sessions based his reasoning on a report by then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who had criticized Comey’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server. Despite the criticism, he never recommended dismissal.

The next day, White Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders revealed that Trump had considered firing Comey for some time. The day after that, Trump negated all of his own administration’s position, saying that he intended to fire Comey all along, and it was entirely his decision:

Lester Holt: “Monday, you met with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Did you ask for a recommendation?”
Trump: “What I did was, I was going to fire. My decision.”
Holt: “You’d made the decision before they came into the room?”
Trump: “I was going to fire Comey. There’s no time to do it.”
Holt: “In your letter, you said, ‘I accept their recommendation.’ ”
Trump: “Oh, I was going to fire, regardless of recommendation. He made a recommendation, he’s highly respected — very good guy, very smart guy. And the Democrats like him, Republicans like him. He made a recommendation, but regardless of recommendation, I was going to fire Comey.”

The day after the firing, he told two Russian officials in the Oval Office that firing Comey would ease pressure from the FBI investigation into Russian election interference. He later admitted to Lester Holt in an interview that he made the decision to fire Comey because of this investigation.

The Hill – Comey learned he was fired from TV, thought it was prank: reports
CBS News – Trump’s Clinton tweets cut against Comey firing explanation
The Washington Post – All of the White House’s conflicting explanations for Comey’s firing: A timeline
Wikipedia – William S. Sessions

tried to fire the Special Counsel?

In June of 2017, former White House Counsel Don McGahn was directed by Trump to have the Acting Attorney General remove the Special Counsel. Though McGahn ignored the request, he stated that he felt “trapped because he did not plan to follow the President’s directive.”

Trump later told McGahn to put in writing that the request to remove the Special Counsel had never been made. Though Trump suggested that he would be fired if he declined, McGahn refused and ultimately resigned. McGahn noted that during his tenure, he had been asked to “do crazy shit.”

The Special Counsel originated in an FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and officially formed after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.

US Department of Justice – Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election (The Mueller Report), page 85
BBC News – Mueller report: Trump ‘tried to get special counsel fired’
NBC News – Mueller report found Trump directed White House lawyer to ‘do crazy s—“

shared classified intelligence with Russia?

Trump discussed counter terrorism operations in Syria with two Russian officials that he met with in the Oval Office the day after firing FBI Director James Comey, which he claimed would ease pressure from the Russia investigation. Russia’s ally in the region, Iran, is a longtime enemy of Israel, and funds the terrorist organization Hezbollah. The CIA was so concerned with security leaks that they later withdrew a high level informant from the Russian government.

Trump also told the officials that he was unconcerned with Russian interference in US elections.

The Wall Street Journal – Israel Provided Intelligence Trump Shared With Russia, Officials Say
The New York Times – Israel Said to Be Source of Secret Intelligence Trump Gave to Russians
Vanity Fair – Exclusive: What Trump really told Kislyak after Comey was canned
The Washington Post – Trump told Russian officials in 2017 he wasn’t concerned about Moscow’s interference in U.S. election

caused the CIA to extract a high-level informant in the Russian government?

Trump and his regular unsecured discussions with Russian officials led him to be considered such a massive security risk to any intelligence operations in Russia. After Trump gave classified intelligence to Russians about Israeli counter-terrorism operations, there was mounting concern in the intelligence community about a CIA operative inside the Russian government. The information was withdrawn from Russia in 2017, despite having been in place for decades passing on information to the US government.

The New York Times – C.I.A. Informant Extracted From Russia Had Sent Secrets to U.S. for Decades
New York Magazine – U.S. Intelligence Had to Pull Spy From Russia Because Trump Is a Security Risk
CNN – Exclusive: US extracted top spy from inside Russia in 2017

 

praised authoritarian Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte?

Duterte had become infamous for his use of extrajudicial killings against those perceived as drug users and sellers, as well as against journalists and political enemies. He has bragged about murdering people himself, and compared himself favorably to Hitler. The State Department estimated at the time that there had been over 6,000 executions of suspected drug dealers with little regard for due process.

In a released transcript of a phone call between Trump and Duterte, Trump offered praise for Duterte’s “unbelievable job on the drug problem.” He also shared information on American nuclear submarines in the vicinity of North Korea, a significant security risk.

During a 2017 visit to the Philippines, Trump boasted of his “great relationship” with Duterte. During that same visit, Duterte sang a song dedicated to the US President.

 

The Washington Post – Trump calls Kim Jong Un a ‘madman with nuclear weapons,’ according to transcript of Duterte call
Politico – Trump praises Duterte for ‘unbelievable job’ cracking down on drugs in the Philippines
MSNBC – Trump’s chat with Philippine President Duterte raises alarms

called the press “the enemy of the people”?

Trump has repeated the remark several times at rallies, in interviews, and over Twitter, disparaging anything critical as fake news. He has also suggested taking the press credentials of those critical of him.

The New York Times – Trump Calls the News Media the ‘Enemy of the American People’
Business Insider – Trump tweets the media is ‘the enemy of the American People’
The Hill – Trump ramps up rhetoric on media, calls press ‘the enemy of the people’
USA Today – Trump again calls media ‘enemy of the people’

pardoned Joe Arpaio, who was convicted for illegally detaining immigrants?

The former Arizona sheriff had become infamous for running Tent City, known for its harsh conditions and being what Arpaio himself referred to as “a concentration camp.” The resources put into detaining immigrants also sapped county resources, leading to a backlog of various other violent crimes.

Arpaio was convicted of contempt for violating a judge’s order preventing him from detaining immigrants based on racial profiling and their legal status. Though he was unlikely to serve any jail time, Trump issued a pardon. The pardon was controversial in how it eschewed tradition, including any layers of review or even a formal application by Arpaio.

Arpaio later ran for US Senate, but lost the primary. In an interview during his campaign, he seemed to be unaware that acceptance of a pardon is tantamount to an admission of guilt, per the US Supreme Court finding in Burdick v. United States.

USA Today – Analysis: Trump’s bold Joe Arpaio pardon breaks with presidential tradition
The New York Times – Trump Pardons Joe Arpaio, Who Became Face of Crackdown on Illegal Immigration
NPR – Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio Under Fire For Mishandled Sex-Crime Cases
Wikipedia – Burdick v. United States
Wikipedia – Pardon of Joe Arpaio
Wikipedia – Joe Arpaio

claimed to distance himself from his businesses, using stacks of unlabeled folders as proof?

Presidents divest their private businesses, usually putting them in a blind trust, in order to avoid conflicts of interest and breaking the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. While blind trusts are not necessary to fulfill the requirements of the Emoluments Clause, Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush all did so, while Obama placed his holdings into standard index funds.

Trump refused either a blind trust or relinquishing ownership of his company. He instead said he would resign from all positions and hand control to his sons, with the promise that they would not discuss anything business related.

In January 2017, Trump held his first press conference as President-Elect. He used a large stack of unlabeled folders as proof that he had handed over his company to his sons. He did not allow reporters to look at their contents.

Image result for trump stacks of folders

Don and Eric are going to be running the company. They’re going to be running it in a very professional manner. They’re not going to discuss it with me. Again, I don’t have to do this.

Trump also called the emoluments clause of the Constitution “phony” and claimed that Article II of the Constitution gave him “the right to do whatever I want.” Trump also repeatedly promised to release his tax returns both during his campaign and after becoming President.

The Washington Post – Donald Trump won’t do what Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush did
MarketWatch – Ethics laws don’t require Trump to give up control of his ‘unprecedented’ portfolio 
Reuters – Trump says won’t divest from his business while president
The Hill – Trump barred reporters from examining stacks of folders at press conference
Britannica – What Is the Emoluments Clause?

More assuredly to come soon

Error: Please refresh

Newer Posts
Older Posts