dagblog - Comments for "Trump: Bannon IN Joint Chiefs OUT on National Security"

Trump would probably tweet on

NCD — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 04:32:49 +0000

In reply to look at that, the word "rant"

Trump would probably tweet on this, but he doesn't read.

look at that, the word "rant"

artappraiser — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 21:10:02 +0000

In reply to Trump: Bannon IN Joint Chiefs OUT on National Security

look at that, the word "rant" in a headline @ Business Insider about a White House press conference:

White House press secretary goes on lengthy rant in attempt to clarify changes to national security team

Business Insider - ‎1 hour ago‎

White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday slammed reports about President Donald Trump reorganizing the National Security Council. Spicer defended Trump's decision to sign a presidential memorandum that removed the nation's top military ...

There's a leaker from inside

artappraiser — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 06:41:19 +0000

In reply to Trump: Bannon IN Joint Chiefs OUT on National Security

There's a leaker from inside Trump world to the NYTimes, as evidenced by this excerpt from the relatively long article

Bannon Seizes a Security Role From Generals by Glenn Thrust & Maggie Haberman, Jan. 29:

[....] People close to Mr. Bannon said he is not accumulating power for power’s sake, but is instead helping to fill a staff leadership vacuum created, in part, by Mr. Flynn’s stumbling performance as national security adviser.

Mr. Flynn still communicates with Mr. Trump frequently, and his staff has been assembling a version of the Presidential Daily Briefing for Mr. Trump, truncated but comprehensive, to be the president’s main source of national security information. During the campaign, he often had unfettered access to the candidate, who appreciated his brash style and contempt for Hillary Clinton, but during the transition, Mr. Flynn privately complained about having to share face time with others.

Mr. Flynn “has the full confidence of the president and his team,” Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for Mr. Trump, said in an in email. Emails and phone calls to Mr. Flynn and his top aide were not returned.

A president who likes generals and abhors political correctness, Mr. Trump found in Mr. Flynn — who joined Trump backers in an anti-Clinton “lock her up!” chant during the campaign — perhaps the most politically incorrect general this side of his hero, Gen. George S. Patton.

But Mr. Flynn, a lifelong Democrat sacked as head of the Pentagon’s intelligence arm after clashing with Obama administration officials in 2014, has gotten on the nerves of Mr. Trump and other administration officials because of his sometimes overbearing demeanor, and has further diminished his internal standing by presiding over a chaotic and opaque N.S.C. transition process that prioritized the hiring of military officials over civilian experts recommended to him by his own team.

Mr. Flynn’s penchant for talking too much was on display on Friday in a meeting with Theresa May, the British prime minister, according to two people with direct knowledge of the events.

When Mrs. May said that she understood wanting a dialogue with Mr. Putin but stressed the need to be careful, Mr. Trump asked Mr. Flynn when the two were scheduled to speak.

Mr. Flynn replied it was Saturday — he had delayed it to fit in Mrs. May’s meeting for “protocol” as a United States ally, adding at length that Mr. Putin was impatient to chat.

Mr. Trump, the person said, appeared irritated by the response [....]

Thank you. That was excellent

artappraiser — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 05:30:03 +0000

In reply to Brooks and Shield tag team

Thank you. That was excellent, both ot them.

Brooks and Shield tag team

moat — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 23:47:49 +0000

In reply to Trump: Bannon IN Joint Chiefs OUT on National Security

Brooks and Shields tag team the new opposition:

Brooks: "It is wierd."

It's already common for

NCD — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 22:21:51 +0000

In reply to The part that I like is a ban

It's already common for former officials to find ways to use their influence without registering as lobbyists. Under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, former officials can avoid registering as lobbyists if they spend less than 20 percent of their time in meetings with government officials or preparing for them.

Note 20% of their time. In meetings with government officials or 'preparing' for them. And that is it.

They keep track of this time on the "drain the swamp honor system".

There is no mention of money received for lobbying, or what that constitutes in your gross income, in the definition of a lobbyist, (see disclosure act above).

link

During the campaign, it was

PeraclesPlease — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 22:04:00 +0000

In reply to The hashtag

During the campaign, it was optimistically assumed Mike Pence would run the day-to-day at the White House.

Here's Steve Bannon - 7 years as a junior officer ending 35 years ago, mainly learning to steer a boat. Vague bio has him coming back from the Gulf in late 1980 - under Carter - and getting a job as an assistant for Thomas Hayward, CNO - but Hayward retired June 30, 1982, so that gives Bannon maybe 1 1/2 years doing what (how many assistants does the Chief Naval Officer have?).

Bannon then started working on a Masters at Georgetown, and then left the Navy for Harvard, so it's pretty obvious he wasn't a key mover in the operation. Some hagiographic writeup had him "working 12 hours and then going off to study", which overhypes the typical military day in Washington by quite a bit.

But hey, if we ever need to rescue hostages in the desert, Bannon's seen how not to do it relatively up close.

The problem is that Trump's

rmrd0000 — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 21:08:23 +0000

In reply to The part that I like is a ban

The problem is that Trump's loopholes will quicken the ability to lobby for the agency where a person served, something that can lead to abuse.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/01/28/trumps-l...

There is no reason to believe Trump won't waive the foreign restrictions, he is all smoke and mirrors.

I mean, why would you want

Doctor Cleveland — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 21:05:07 +0000

In reply to Trump: Bannon IN Joint Chiefs OUT on National Security

I mean, why would you want the Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs on that committee? Other than the fact that they're exactly the people the committee exists for?

The part that I like is a ban

A Guy Called LULU — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 20:21:33 +0000

In reply to With Trump, you always have

The part that I like is a ban on administration officials from ever lobbying the US on behalf of a foreign government. I may have missed it but I didn't see any loophole mentioned that affects that part of the signing statement.