Tag: Mike Pence

A mysterious case playing out in Washington amid tight secrecy – and presumed to involve the special counsel Robert Mueller – has been revealed to concern an unnamed corporation, owned by an equally anonymous foreign country. The US circuit court of appeals on Tuesday issued a ruling that answered some of the questions in a judicial drama that has increasingly obsessed Mueller-watchers intrigued by the exceptional lengths to which the US government has gone to keep it secret. Read more With all documents in the proceedings closed to public scrutiny, and with Politico reporting in October that one of its journalists had overheard someone in the appeals court clerk’s office requesting Mueller’s latest sealed filing in the case, a mushroom cloud of speculation was unleashed. We now know that the grand jury’s subpoena refers not to an individual but to an anonymous corporation “owned by Country A”. The corporation had been trying to resist handing over information to the grand jury on grounds that to do so would be a breach of the law in the anonymous sovereign country that owns it. The appeals court affirmed that fine, and insisted that the corporation had to hand over to the US government the information demanded in the subpoena. The case has passed from the DC district court to the appeals court twice in less than four months, astounding legal experts. As Mueller's inquiry deepens, is the net closing in on Trump? Read more Moss said that the involvement of a foreign-owned corporation in such a supremely sensitive and high-profile case suggested a bank with possible financial dealings with Trump or his family business. Given the secrecy surrounding the case, though, there is no indication that any of these countries or corporations were involved in any way in case 18-3071.

Among some senior White House officials, Mick Mulvaney had long been considered the “Original Plan B.” Al Drago for The New York Times WASHINGTON — President Trump announced on Friday that he had selected Mick Mulvaney, his budget director, to serve as acting White House chief of staff, putting a halt — at least for now — to his consideration of a parade of possible candidates, including several who turned him down, to take over one of the most important positions in the federal government. In Mr. Mulvaney, Mr. Trump made a safe choice for a Republican administration — a hard-line conservative and former congressman from South Carolina with a deep understanding of how Congress works and a personal chemistry with the president. Among some senior White House officials, Mr. Mulvaney had long been considered the “Original Plan B.” Mr. Trump made the announcement on Twitter, one week after his first choice for the job, Nick Ayers, a Georgia political operative who is now Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, took himself out of the running, citing family considerations. While Mr. Kelly, a retired Marine general, was initially seen as someone who could work well with Democrats and Republicans, Mr. Mulvaney has a reputation as a sharp-elbowed partisan, who as both the director of the Office of Management and Budget and the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau pursued a strongly conservative agenda. During Mr. Trump’s first full fiscal year in office, which ended in September, the deficit surged to $779 billion, the largest since 2012, when the economy and federal revenues were still recovering from the depths of the recession. The deficit has surged in large part because of Mr. Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cut and the spending increases enacted by Congress, which have contributed to the government paying out more than it takes in. Similarly, many of Mr. Mulvaney’s budget proposals have pleased Mr. Trump only to be rejected outright by his former Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill. He’s the acting chief of staff, which means he’s the chief of staff,” the official said. Mr. Mulvaney was asked about his interest at a briefing with reporters at the consumer bureau in June, when the speculation was intense, and ultimately incorrect, that Mr. Kelly was about to leave the White House. “If the president asks you to be chief of staff, the answer is yes,” Mr. Mulvaney said.

There were several moments of sustained silence as the frowning leaders of the United States, sitting stiffly and surrounded by cameras, waited for a very important meeting to start. That would be the least awkward part of the heated exchange that followed between Chuck Schumer, the US Senate Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, and Donald Trump – in which the president said he would be proud to shut down the government over his demands for a border wall. There was some blinking and maybe some thinking. But mostly, there was a whole lot of sitting and even more staring. The internet was quick to poke fun at his statue-like pose and blank expression. Memes began to spread and by Tuesday afternoon, “Mike Pence” was trending on Twitter. pic.twitter.com/mU2F2O7zkf December 11, 2018 The vice-president took only short breaks from his transfixed gaze on Pelosi to silently turn his head toward Schumer. Not even a joke at the expense of the Washington Post, which Trump directed at the vice-president, could conjure Pence from his trance. Can someone please check to see if Mike Pence is actually still alive or is this a "Weekend at Bernies" type scenario where they just prop up Pence at meetings. Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) Pence checking his nonexistent watch for 2020 pic.twitter.com/UPE3xKbQSd December 11, 2018

Mr Trump has always approached the presidency like a reality television producer, which was his most successful previous role. No programme has been more closely linked to Mr Trump than his favourite, the inane morning chat show Fox & Friends. Blonde and attractive in the standard Fox News mould, Ms Nauert no doubt seemed straight out of Mr Trump’s vision of “central casting”, especially since she was unencumbered by any relevant diplomatic or administrative experience or expertise. _______________ Read more from Hussein Ibish: _______________ But central casting can be unreliable. The appointment of such a relative nonentity to the UN position conveys precisely the kind of disdain for multilateral institutions that Mr Bolton has championed. Moreover, she will be in no position whatsoever to challenge Mr Bolton’s command of US foreign policy and her media-centred and skimpy resume suggests the most she will be expected to do is defend other people’s policies on television. Along with Vice President Mike Pence, she was one of two potential successors as president within the administration. By the time Mr Trump had to replace Mr Tillerson, Ms Haley had ruled herself out as a candidate because she had used her UN post to become too powerful and independent. But Ms Haley was one of the most senior of Mr Trump’s initial appointees. Even if she does end up sitting in the cabinet, however, Ms Nauert’s appointment will strongly solidify Mr Bolton’s pre-eminence in foreign policy-making, typically in coordination with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Six former and current White House staffers were reprimanded Friday for posting political tweets, such as the campaign slogan "Make America Great Again" and "MAGA," on Twitter accounts they use for government business. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel sent warning letters to the six warning them that their tweets violated the Hatch Act, which restricts political activities of federal employees working in the executive branch. The special counsel's office sent a five-page summary of its findings to CREW on Friday. In his tweet, he included a link to an RNC webpage that outlined RNC research on what Trump accomplished in his first 500 days in office. Alyssa Farah, press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence, violated the Hatch Act when she used her official "@VPPressSec" Twitter account to post two messages that included "#MAGA." One in May 2018 said: "This is what #MAGA looks like: Under @POTUS TRUMP, the unemployment rate is the lowest it's been in 17 years." MAGA is short for Make America Great Again. The four others cited for violations were: Madeleine Westerhout, executive assistant to the president; Jacob Wood, deputy communications director of the Office of Management and Budget; Jessica Ditto, White House deputy director of communications; and Helen Aguirre Ferre, former special assistant to the president and director of media affairs. This isn't the first time that Trump administration officials have run afoul of the Hatch Act. CREW filed a complaint in that case too, and Scavino was warned if he engages in such activity in the future, the office will consider it a "willful and knowing violation of the law."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Six former and current White House staffers were reprimanded Friday for posting political tweets, such as the campaign slogan "Make America Great Again" and "MAGA," on Twitter accounts they use for government business. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel sent warning letters to the six warning them that their tweets violated the Hatch Act, which restricts political activities of federal employees working in the executive branch. The special counsel's office sent a five-page summary of its findings to CREW on Friday. In his tweet, he included a link to an RNC webpage that outlined RNC research on what Trump accomplished in his first 500 days in office. Alyssa Farah, press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence, violated the Hatch Act when she used her official "@VPPressSec" Twitter account to post two messages that included "#MAGA." One in May 2018 said: "This is what #MAGA looks like: Under @POTUS TRUMP, the unemployment rate is the lowest it's been in 17 years." MAGA is short for Make America Great Again. The four others cited for violations were: Madeleine Westerhout, executive assistant to the president; Jacob Wood, deputy communications director of the Office of Management and Budget; Jessica Ditto, White House deputy director of communications; and Helen Aguirre Ferre, former special assistant to the president and director of media affairs. This isn't the first time that Trump administration officials have run afoul of the Hatch Act. CREW filed a complaint in that case too, and Scavino was warned if he engages in such activity in the future, the office will consider it a "willful and knowing violation of the law."

We’re leaving you with some stories here to read and discuss for the rest of this week, and will be back in your inboxes on Monday, November 26. Happy Thanksgiving! Trump is reportedly planning to visit U.S. troops in Iraq or Afghanistan for the first time in his presidency. The White House authorized troops stationed at the border to engage in lethal force and take on some law-enforcement roles, if necessary. The so-called “Cabinet order” was signed by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, not Trump. But at the same time, these Democrats are worried that their approach might sometimes prove counterproductive.” ? Read on. Are white liberals playing into that trap? “It’s true that overt racists flocked to Trump...But does this mean every Trump voter is a deplorable whom Democrats could never win over, and would never want to?” ? Read on. From the Ideas Desk 13 tips for politicizing your Thanksgiving dinner “Do you freeze up when it’s time to say what you’re thankful for? Sign up for our daily politics email here.

CHATTANOOGA (The Borowitz Report)—Employing the fear tactics that have typified his midterm campaigning, Donald J. Trump told a rally audience on Sunday that electing Democrats would drag the nation back to the dark days of tolerance and decorum. Trump made his closing argument to the Chattanooga, Tennessee, audience by raising the spectre of a return to the dignified and restrained discourse that plagued the nation during the regime of his predecessor, Barack Obama. “We had eight years of talking about people of different genders, races, and nationalities as if they were human beings,” Trump warned. “Do we want to go back to that?” “No!” the crowd shouted. “Do we want our public figures to consider the consequences of their words and actions?” he asked. “No!” they thundered. Appearing on Fox News, Vice-President Mike Pence defended Trump against charges that he was irresponsibly stoking his supporters’ worst fears about a return to compassion and civility. “This election is about whether we, as a nation, want to move forward or backward,” Pence said. “And I have faith that the American people want to keep moving backward.”

Watch Live at 11:45 am ET: Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks at a Get Out The Vote event for Rep. Troy Balderson and Mike DeWine for Governor in Mansfield, Ohio. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news…