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New Details Cast Doubt on Why Price Needed Private Jet

September 22, 2017 at 7:01 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

An HHS spokesperson told Politico that Secretary Tom Price “has been taking private jets because an unreliable commercial flight once forced him to cancel an important meeting.”

“But the flight in question — to a two-day industry conference at a Ritz-Carlton hotel in southern California — didn’t get off the ground on a day when storms virtually shut down air traffic in the Washington region, preventing even private jets from getting out.”

“The details cast into doubt HHS’ justification for Price’s use of private jets as he faces criticism from congressional Democrats and a review of whether he complied with Federal Travel Regulations from his department’s inspector general.”

Trump’s Defense in Russia Probe Funded By Wealthy Few

September 22, 2017 at 5:16 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Presiden Trump’s attorneys in the probe of Russian election interference “are being funded in part through a Republican Party account with a handful of wealthy donors—including a billionaire investor, a property developer seeking U.S. government visas and a Ukrainian-born American who has made billions of dollars doing business with Russian oligarchs,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The RNC and campaign’s payment arrangement for Mr. Trump’s lawyers is legal. But ethics experts cautioned that Mr. Trump’s decision to rely on party and campaign accounts to pay for his attorney fees can raise thorny political issues.”

White House Won’t Defend Price’s Use of Private Jets

September 22, 2017 at 12:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The White House says it didn’t sign off on what are reportedly at least two dozen private jet trips made by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price,” Bloomberg reports.

“Price took at least 24 flights on private airplanes since he became a cabinet secretary in February. The trips have cost taxpayers more than $300,000 and were a sharp departure from Price’s predecessors, who typically used commercial flights in the continental U.S..”

Quote of the Day

September 22, 2017 at 7:11 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Russia hoax continues, now it’s ads on Facebook. What about the totally biased and dishonest media coverage in favor of Crooked Hillary?”

— President Trump, on Twitter.

Kim Calls Trump a ‘Deranged Dotard’

September 22, 2017 at 6:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Responding directly for the first time to President Trump’s threat at the United Nations to destroy nuclear-armed North Korea, its leader called Mr. Trump a ‘mentally deranged U.S. dotard’ on Friday and vowed the ‘highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history,'” the New York Times reports.

“Although Mr. Kim is often quoted by official North Korean news media, it is highly unusual for him to issue a statement in his name. In North Korea, the supreme leader’s statement carries a weight that surpasses any other formal document.”

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports Trump “announced new financial sanctions targeting North Korea as his administration seeks to build international support for more aggressively confronting the rogue nation.”

Trump Aides Head for the Exits

September 22, 2017 at 6:08 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A fast-growing number of White House staffers are starting to look for the exits, even though the one-year mark of President Trump’s first term is still months away. Many who joined the administration in January did so with the explicit idea that they’d stay for at least a year, enough to credibly say they’d served,” Politico reports.

“But in the aftermath of a wave of abrupt, high-profile departures over the summer that culminated with former strategist Steve Bannon’s ouster in August, aides up and down the chain are reaching out to headhunters, lobbyists, and GOP operatives for help finding their next job.”

“They’re talking to headhunters about positions as in-house government affairs experts at major companies, or as executives at trade associations, universities, or consulting firms – ironically, jobs that run counter to Trump’s ‘drain the swamp’ mantra.”

Pruitt’s Security Detail Has Swelled to 18 People

September 21, 2017 at 7:29 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Scott Pruitt’s round-the-clock personal security detail, which demands triple the manpower of his predecessors at the Environmental Protection Agency, has prompted officials to rotate in special agents from around the country who otherwise would be investigating environmental crimes,” the Washington Post reports.

Mueller Wants Air Force One Phone Records

September 21, 2017 at 4:44 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Special counsel Robert Mueller has sought phone records concerning the statement written aboard Air Force One defending a meeting between Trump campaign officials and Russians at Trump Tower last year that was set up by Donald Trump Jr.,” Politico reports.

Spicer Insists He Never Lied

September 21, 2017 at 8:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer acknowledged to ABC News that he’s “made mistakes,” but says that for those who “want some blanket apology — that’s not happening.”

Spicer added that he “tried to own” some of his mistakes, but said that “the personal attacks, questioning my integrity … you know, what my intentions were, I think, were really over the top.”

When asked if he had ever lied to the American people, Spicer responded: “I don’t think so.”

Spicer’s Notebooks Could Be a ‘Honey Pot’ for Mueller

September 21, 2017 at 6:47 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Mike Allen: “Now we can tell you about another potential honey pot for Mueller. Former colleagues of Sean Spicer tell Axios that he filled ‘notebook after notebook’ during meetings at the Republican National Committee, later at the Trump campaign, and then at the White House.”

“When Spicer worked at the RNC, he was said to have filled black books emblazoned with the party’s seal. Spicer was so well-known for his copious notes that underlings joked about him writing a tell-all.”

Said one source: “Sean documented everything.”

Bharara Details Trump’s Inappropriate Communications

September 21, 2017 at 6:08 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Preet Bharara, the US attorney who President Trump fired just three months into his presidency, said on his new podcast that he believes that if he had stayed Trump would have asked him “to do something inappropriate.”

Said Bharara: “I believe based on the information that we have on the president talking to Jim Comey relating to Michael Flynn, the information about the president talking to Jeff Sessions about the case of Joe Arpaio, and how he wanted both of those cases to go away — that had I not been fired, and had Donald Trump continued to cultivate a direct personal relationship with me, it’s my strong belief that at some point, given the history, the President of the United States would have asked me to do something inappropriate.”

Mueller Seeks Documents Related to Trump’s Actions

September 20, 2017 at 3:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Special counsel Robert Mueller “has asked the White House for documents about some of President Trump’s most scrutinized actions since taking office, including the firing of his national security adviser and F.B.I. director,” the New York Times reports.

“In recent weeks, Mr. Mueller’s office sent a document to the White House that detailed 13 different areas that investigators want more information about. Since then, administration lawyers have been scouring White House emails and asking officials whether they have other documents or notes that may pertain to Mr. Mueller’s requests.”

“One of the requests is about a meeting Mr. Trump had in May with Russian officials in the Oval Office the day after James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, was fired.”

Washington Post: “The requests broadly ask for any document or email related to a series of highly publicized incidents since Trump became president, including the firing of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Comey, the people said. The list demonstrates Mueller’s focus on key moments and actions by the president and close advisers which can address whether Trump sought to block the FBI investigations of Flynn and of Russian interference. His team is also eyeing whether the president sought to obstruct the earlier Russia probe.”

Price Travels on Private Jets for Official Business

September 20, 2017 at 1:45 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In a sharp departure from his predecessors, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price last week took private jets on five separate flights for official business, at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars more than commercial travel,” Politico reports.

“The travel by corporate-style jet comes at a time when other members of the Trump administration are under fire for travel expenditures… Price, a frequent critic of federal spending who has been developing a plan for departmentwide cost savings, declined to comment.”

Trump Using Facebook Ads to Reassure Base

September 20, 2017 at 10:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump “is using targeted Facebook ads to reassure supporters that he still plans to build the border wall after his recent public comments caused many to question whether he would keep his promise,” BuzzFeed reports.

“The ads are not visible on the timelines of the Trump or Pence Facebook pages. They are therefore so-called ‘dark post ads’ because they can only be seen by people the campaign chose to target with the message. This is the same type of ad Facebook recently acknowledged was purchased by a Russian troll factory in order to target Americans during the election.”

Mueller Interviews His Boss on Russia Investigation

September 20, 2017 at 7:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Wall Street Journal reports Robert Mueller’s office has interviewed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about Trump’s firing of James Comey.

“The interview, which occurred in June or July, presents the unusual situation of investigators questioning the person directly overseeing their probe. Mr. Mueller as special counsel has a good deal of independence, but he ultimately answers to Mr. Rosenstein, because Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation. The special counsel’s handling of the interview could be a sign that Mr. Mueller’s team doesn’t view Mr. Rosenstein as a central witness in its probe, as the deputy attorney general hasn’t withdrawn himself from overseeing it since that interview. A key witness would likely have to take such a step.”

Trump Rebounds from Polling Slide

September 20, 2017 at 7:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Following a low of 39 percent in the Politico/Morning Consult poll last month after his controversial reaction to the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, Trump is back at 43 percent in this week’s survey. Other surveys show similar results: Trump bottomed out at 35 percent in Gallup’s weekly tracking poll in late August, but ticked up to 38 percent last week. Trump is at 40 percent in the RealClearPolitics average, up about 2.5 points from his low-water mark last month.”

Officials Reject Study Showing Positive Impact of Refugees

September 19, 2017 at 12:02 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Trump administration officials, under pressure from the White House to provide a rationale for reducing the number of refugees allowed into the United States next year, rejected a study by the Department of Health and Human Services that found that refugees brought in $63 billion more in government revenues over the past decade than they cost,” the New York Times reports.

The story hints the information was kept out of the final report by White House adviser Stephen Miller.

“An internal email, dated Sept. 5 and sent among officials from government agencies involved in refugee issues, said that ‘senior leadership is questioning the assumptions used to produce the report.’ A separate email said that Mr. Miller had requested a meeting to discuss the report. The Times was shown the emails on condition that the sender not be identified.”

An Accidental Scoop

September 19, 2017 at 11:57 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Kenneth Vogel writes about how he happened to be sitting next to two of President Trump’s lawyers at a restaurant:

To my astonishment, they were in the midst of a detailed discussion of the Russia investigations being conducted by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, and various congressional committees, as well as the strategy of Mr. Trump’s team for responding.

They were in a public place where they could have been overheard by anyone. I just happened to be a reporter, so I figured their conversation was fair game. I ordered another iced tea, pulled out my phone and began typing out notes, hoping that they would assume I was merely responding to emails, tweeting or surfing the internet.