Vast government conspiracies are fiction, best confined to the X-Files or an Oliver Stone movie. In reality, what seems to be a government conspiracy generally is the result of stupidity, incompetence, inexperience (or all three). The allegations of collusion between Trump and Russia, from what we know so far, may fall into the latter category.
While there is a lot of talk about the allegations, thus far, there is no direct evidence of collusion or conspiracy. The former Directors of the FBI and of National Intelligence, and Democratic and Republican lawmakers who have seen the classified information have all said as much.
What we do know raises suspicion, but doesn’t amount to a smoking gun. Mr. Trump had an inordinate number of people around him with close business ties to Russia. Then there’s the series of meetings between people in Trump’s orbit, the timing of which raise questions, as does the tendency of Team Trump to display a peculiar amnesia about them. The phone calls with Russia’s Ambassador and appearance fees accepted by former National Security Michael T. Flynn from Russian state-sponsored media outlet RT, which Mr. Flynn initially omitted from his financial disclosure form, have raised eyebrows. But, it could all be a mixture of coincidence and a consequence of a uniquely inexperienced administration not aquatinted with international diplomacy or the operations of the Federal government.
Lack of Federal Appointments
Political insiders point to the lack of Presidential appointments as an example of how unprepared the incoming Trump administration was for the task of governing. White House adviser Steve Bannon and Mr. Trump himself have railed against the deep state – embedded liberal career bureaucrats out to undermine President Trump’s agenda who they have claimed are responsible for the Trump-Russia narrative. Given that, you would expect Mr. Trump to populate the bureaucracy with his own people. He hasn’t.
There are 1,212 presidential appointments that require Senate approval, 559 of which are considered key by the Washington Post. Mr. Trump had nominated 64 people for those key positions as of June 6th. Just 39 had been confirmed and were in place. Mr. Trump has only nominated 8.73% of the people he legally can.
This is not a new issue for Mr. Trump. As of early February, the White House reportedly still was vetting appointees. A month before the election, the Hillary Clinton transition team had a target number of appointments, and a list of candidates that it submitted on a weekly basis to be vetted for hundreds of the key positions. Had Clinton won, she would have had a full slate of vetted people that Clinton could immediately nominate on inauguration day.
No One with Significant Executive Branch Experience
People who have served in both Republican and Democrat administrations as far back as Reagan say one of the keys is to have people with prior significant White House experience. Those people know how the federal government works, and have many friends within Congress to help pass the president’s legislative agenda. Mr. Trump has employed few people that meet that description.
The only Trump White House personnel who previously have worked there are Joseph Hagin, deputy chief of staff for operations, Dina Powell, deputy national security advisor, and Michael Anton, spokesman for the National Security Council. Mr. Hagin, who served a similar role in Bush’s administration, is primarily concerned with making the Presidential trains run on time. Ms. Powell worked in the Presidential personnel office. Mr. Anton wrote speeches for Condoleeza Rice when she was Bush’s National Security Advisor. None have previously served in roles that would qualify them as the kind of Washington grandees who are normally tapped to guide a President’s agenda.
Washington insiders privately say the Trump administration needs people with significant White House experience who can take control over the much-reported infighting, shepherd the hiring process, and work with the Hill.
. . . Or With Presidential Legislative Experience
President Trump has struggled to implement his legislative agenda outside of the Senate confirmation of Justice Gorsuch. Trump is not entirely to blame for that. The inability of Speaker Ryan to get his conference in order, and Senate rules that allow Democrats to use the filibuster to check the President’s agenda also play a major part.
But the White House bears some responsibility for the lack of legislative progress. Once again, the lack of depth of Trump’s bench is at least partly to blame. Mr. Trump’s deputy chief of staff for intergovernmental relations is Rick Dearbourn, who has a 25-year congressional career, including stints working for two members of Senate leadership. The President’s chief Hill lobbyist is Marc Short, who worked for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, and in the Republican Conference under Vice President Pence.
Those are impressive credentials. But there is a major difference between working for a senator – even one in leadership – or the conference and being the President’s point person on legislation. They require different skill sets, and there is no time for a learning curve when your job is to have Congress approve the President’s policy and legislative agenda.
The bottom line…
All we do know with any certainty is: Russia attempted to influence the election and Trump and his team maintained a highly unusual level of contact with Russian officials that they have often tried to hide and in some cases have been caught lying about. Yet, it very well may be that Mr. Trump’s contrarian instincts, lack of advisors schooled in Presidential decision-making, and a string of coincidences conspired to make things look worse than they are.
James Comey, the FBI Director President Trump fired, will appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday for the first time since he was sacked last month. Mr. Comey’s testimony has been highly anticipated in Washington. Front and center will be the question of whether Mr. Trump attempted to pressure Mr. Comey to back off of the FBI’s investigation into potential collusion between Mr. Trump’s campaign in Russia’s election meddling last year.
In prepared remarks, Mr. Comey affirmed President Trump’s claim that Mr. Comey told Mr. Trump that he was not under investigation. In his prepared remarks, Mr. Comey wrote:
“…I discussed with the FBI’s leadership team whether I should be prepared to assure President-Elect Trump that we were not investigating him personally. That was true; we did not have an open counter-intelligence case on him. We agreed I should do so if circumstances warranted. During our one-on-one meeting at Trump Tower,based on President-Elect Trump’s reaction to the briefing and without him directly asking the question, I offered that assurance.”
it is unlikely that Mr. Comey will reveal anything new that might signal where the Russia probe, now being led by former FBI Director Robert Muller, is going. Rather, Mr. Comey will address a series of awkward interactions with President Trump seemingly aimed at persuading Mr. Comey to curtail the FBI’s Russia probe.
Those conversations, which Mr. Comey memorialized in a series of memos to the file, have raised questions about whether Mr. Trump abused the power of his office to derail the FBI’s investigation. When Mr. Mueller was named as special council, the Justice Department authorized him to look into whether Mr. Trump broke any laws. Mr. Comey intends to simply report the facts Thursday and leave the legal judgements to Mr. Muller and others.
What we know
We do know that on several occasions over the past few months, Mr. Trump prodded Mr. Comey about the Russia investigation. News reports suggest that Mr. Comey grew increasingly disturbed about what he perceived as an attempt by Mr. Trump to pressure him. During a dinner with Mr. Comey early in his Presidency, Mr. Trump reportedly asked Mr. Comey if he had his loyalty. Mr. Comey promised only his honesty. In an Oval Office meeting with Mr. Comey, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and other aides soon after National Security Advisor Michael Flynn resigned, the topic of the Russia investigation came up again. According to an account reportedly memorialized by Mr. Comey in a memo, Mr. Trump shooed everyone out of the room and, once alone with Mr. Comey, asked if he could move past the investigation into Flynn. “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Trump said. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.” According to a New York Timesreport, Mr. Comey grew concerned enough that he asked Attorney General Sessions to ensure that Mr. Comey was never alone in the room with Trump.
Arms Length
The FBI occupies an odd political space. Independent by nature, the FBI walls itself off from the White House when it comes to politically sensitive investigations. While the FBI Director serves at the pleasure of the President, he doesn’t take orders from him when it comes to the conduct of investigations, certainly not ones involving the President’s own campaign. Mr. Trump’s overtures to Mr. Comey disregarded the traditional arms-length relationship between White House and FBI. On their own they don’t rise to the level of criminal obstruction of Justice, but the pattern of conversations fall into a grey area.
What lawmakers want to ask Mr. Comey Thursday is whether there’s more to the story. Were there more forceful efforts on the part of Mr. Trump than has been previously reported. For example, did Mr. Trump suggest that Mr. Comey should stop investigating Russia or lose his job? There is no indication from what we know so far that this is the case. But, the Committee wants to question Mr. Comey so they can assess just how closely Mr. Trump walked up to that line.
In a sign of the high-stakes nature of Thursday’s hearing, the White House considered invoking executive privilege in a bid to prevent Mr. Comey from testifying. An extraordinary step that it probably didn’t have the power to take. It later rejected the idea.
https://prodroughlyexp.wpengine.com/2017/06/2368/
Mr. Comey’s firing continues to be a rolling nightmare for the White House. Mr. Comey’s on the record accounting of events and the memos he wrote meticulously recording them Thurday could be a make or break moment for the White House. When a reporter asked Mr. Trump if he had anything to say to Mr. Comey in advance of the hearing, the President said simply, “I wish him luck.”
https://prodroughlyexp.wpengine.com/2017/05/fallout-trumps-decision-fire-james-comey-explained/
President Trump’s decision not to invoke executive privilege and, thus, allow former FBI Director James B. Comey to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee was moot before it was even announced.
Executive privilege never applied to the memorandums Comey wrote that reportedly document what Comey thought were Trump’s attempts to influence an FBI investigation into Michael T. Flynn possible connections to Russia. Nor did the privilege apply to Comey himself. Trump also likely waived the privilege when he publicly discussed the reasons behind his firing of Comey.
What Is Executive Privilege, Who & What Does It Cover
Presidents may invoke executive privilege in response to a letter from a congressional committee that requests either documents or witness testimony, or to a congressional subpoena. There are two different types of executive privilege – deliberative process privilege, which covers the executive branch decision making process, and presidential communications, which relates to documents.
The memorandum that Comey reportedly wrote about a meeting or meetings with the President arguably does not relate to decision making. Had the President claimed executive privilege, Congress would then look to its precedent and court rulings to determine whether the Comey memorandum were covered.
Comey Not Covered Under Communications Privilege
There are numerous federal cases – starting with the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Nixon – that address executive privilege as it applies to communications. A Congressional Research Service report on congressional oversight (widely considered the Oversight Bible among congressional staff) notes that “the presidential communications privilege may only be asserted with regard to documents or communications that are authored by or solicited and received by the President or presidential advisers with ‘operational proximity’ to the President. The courts [have] determined that ‘operational proximity’ included advisers within the White House, but did not include cabinet secretaries or cabinet employees.”
Comey reportedly took handwritten notes of his meeting or meetings with the President, and used them to write a memorandum to the file. Neither the President, nor apparently any White House advisers, solicited or received the memos. While the President appoints the FBI director and can fire him at will, the FBI Director is a cabinet employee. The FBI operates within the Department of Justice.
. . . Nor By Deliberative Process
The CRS report notes the deliberative process portion of executive privilege only applies to “the disclosure of executive branch documents and communications that are predecisional, meaning they are created prior to reaching the agency’s final decision, and deliberative, meaning they relate to the thought process of executive branch officials and are not purely factual.”
Deliberative process clearly relates to regulatory or other decisions by executive branch agencies. It likely does not cover a private conversation between a President and an FBI Director in which the chief executive reportedly asked the law enforcement official to go easy on a potential target of an investigation.
Trump Waived Executive Privilege
An argument can be made that President Trump, through his public comments and Tweets about the firing of Comey, has waived privilege. The minute a witness or participant opens their mouth about a subject, they risk a waiver of privilege. Ask Lois Lerner what happens when you make a statement after you invoke your Fifth Amendment right.
Some unnamed legal experts cited by the press contend that, had Trump tried to assert executive privilege over Comey’s forthcoming testimony, the President would be on shaky ground because Comey no longer is a government employee.
That is not quite accurate. Had Comey once served within the White House, he would have been covered. The privilege resides in the President and the White House counsel. It is Trump’s alone to use. It theoretically would not have mattered whether Comey as a now private citizen wanted to testify or not. If Comey served in the White House, the President could invoke executive privilege. Whether the Senate Intelligence Committee would have accepted that is a different matter, and would that likely would have resulted in a story line we all have seen before – subpoenas, possibly refusals to comply, threats of contempt, more refusals, a contempt motion, and a lengthy legal battle.
The author is a former congressional investigator.
The oval shape of rooms in the White House was chosen to accommodate an elaborately formal greeting ceremony known as a “Levee.” The ceremony was borrowed from the royal courts of England and France.
The White House Historical Association explains how it worked in America.
“The levee, a tradition borrowed from the English court, was a formal occasion to allow men of prominence to meet the president. Replete with formal dress, silver buckles, and powdered hair, the event was a stiff public ceremony almost military in its starkness. Invited guests entered the room and walked over to the president standing before the fireplace and bowed as a presidential aide made a low announcement of their names. The visitor then stepped back to his place. After fifteen minutes the doors were closed and the group would have assembled in a circle. The president would then walk around the circle, addressing each man by his name from memory with some pleasantry or studied remark of congratulation, which might have a political connotation. He bowed, but never shook hands. When he had rounded the circle, the president returned to his place before the mantel and stood until, at a signal from an aide, the guests went to him, one by one, bowed without saying anything, and left the room.”
The Oval Rooms of the White House Residence
Lorenzo Winslow’s circa 1947 plan for changes to the White House, close to the actual implementation
George Washington ordered the bowed walls that characterize the three oval shaped rooms on the South side of the White House residence: the Diplomatic Reception Room, the Blue Oval room on the State Floor and the Yellow Oval Room on the third floor for Levee ceremonies.
White House Blue Room during the Kennedy Administration
But, the Levee ceremony was only briefly used. The practice was not loved by John Adams, the White House’s first resident. While Adams accepted the reasoning behind the Levee, an efficient way to grant wider access to the President in a manner consistent with his station, he didn’t disguise his personal distaste for it. In a letter to his wife Abigail, Adams said simply: “I hate Levees.”
The Most Famous Oval of All
Time/Life diagram of the West Wing in 1934; “Rabbit” was the nickname of Louis Howe’s secretary.
The Levee was promptly abolished by Thomas Jefferson, who saw the ritualized grander of the ceremony as uncomfortably close to the trappings of monarchy from which the young nation had just fought a revolution to divorce itself. The oval shape nevertheless was reprised in the design of the iconic President’s office when the West Wing was built in 1909. The shape of the Oval Office serves no formal purpose except as a homage to the oval rooms of the White House residence, reinforcing the sense of awe for the power wielded within its cornerless walls.
News reports circulated last week that Jared C. Kushner, the son-in-law turned advisor to President Trump, is now a person of interest in the FBI investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 elections.
According to the reports, the FBI’s specific interest in Kushner is focused on a series of meeting that he held with Russian ambassador Sergei I. Kislyak and Sergei N. Gorkov, the head of Vnesheconombank (also known as Veb) the Kremlin-controlled Russian state development bank. Gorkov is also a graduate of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Academy. The FSB is one of the Russian intelligence agencies at the heart of the allegations of interference in the 2016 election. Veb has been associated with spy intrigue as well. Evgeny Buryakov, a senior official at Veb, was deported last month after his conviction last year on espionage charges.
A Series of Meetings at Heart of Investigation
Both NBC News and the Washington Post reported that the FBI is interested in a series of three meetings Kushner or his aides held with Kislyak and Gorkov.
The first, held early last December, involved Kushner, Kislyak, fired National Security adviser Michael T. Flynn. It was held in New York, most likely at Trump Tower, and the discussion reportedly centered around U.S.-Russian relations, possibly to include American sanctions imposed on Russia.
An aide to Kushner attended a second meeting with Kislyak. It is unclear what the subject of that meeting was. After the second Kislyak meeting, at the end of December, Kushner held a meeting with Gorkov.
Different Accounts of Kushner-Gorkov Meeting
The Trump administration and Russian officials have given different accounts of the Gorkov meeting. A Veb spokesman said it merely was one of a series of that bank officials held with “the largest banks and business establishments of the United States, including Jared Kushner, the head of Kushner Companies.” A spokesman for Putin endorsed that view, saying the meeting with Gorkov “was ordinary [bank] business.”
An unnamed White House official said Kushner attended the meeting with the Russian banker “in his capacity as a transition official in his role as a member of the Trump transition team.”
Timing of Kushner-Gorkov Meeting Is Crucial
The timing of the Kushner meeting with Gorkov is critical. As Business Insider reported, it “. . . came as Kushner was trying to find investors for a Fifth Avenue office building in Manhattan that is set to be heavily financed by Anbang Insurance Group, a firm with ties to the Chinese government.” The Anbang deal fell through earlier this year.
New York real estate insiders told Roughly Explained it was common knowledge within the industry that, at the time of his meeting with Gorkov, Kushner “was shopping around” for a source of funds that would help his family bail out 666 Fifth Avenue, the firm’s planned flagship building that had been losing money since at least 2008.
After The New York Times first reported on the Kushner-Gorkov meeting, a White House White House spokeswoman said “the Kushner Tower” project wasn’t discussed during the meeting.
How Did Gorkov Know Kushner Needed Money?
Here is the time-line that everyone agrees upon: Kushner met with Kislyak; there was a follow-up meeting between a Kushner representative and the ambassador; then Kushner has a meeting with the Russian banker.
The Russians are not known for their veracity. But, for the moment, let us assume that the Veb and Putin spokesmen are telling the truth – the meeting between Kushner and Gorkov merely involved financial matters.
Current and former government investigators have said the circumstances that surround the meeting between Kushner and Gorkov raise major red flags. The investigators all have the same question: How did Gorkov know the Kushner family needed money for their Fifth Avenue building?
One possible way is that Kushner or someone close to him mentioned it to Kislyak. Another is that one of the many Russian real estate developers with whom Trump has done business knew about it, and passed it on. Or an unknown third party either could have passed it on, or have been a Russian agent (willingly or not). We do not know. But, it’s likely a question Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller will be looking to answer.
The author is a former Congressional investigator.
Editor’s Note: We’ve all received spam emails promising huge sums from Nigerian princes and fabulously wealthy foreigners that need you (of all people) to help them invest their vast sums. Humor contributor Dave Alexander decided to see what happens if you took them up on it. The results were hilarious. In an increasingly absurd email exchange that took place over several weeks, Dave turned the table on the scammer. In the end, the con-man realizes he’s the one who is being conned. – tg
It started with an email…
Dear sir — I am a prominent investor who would like to invest in your country… If you have a good project plan that requires funding or looking forward for expansion of existing business, and you know you can handle such transaction, get back to me with your ideas for feasibility study. Looking forward for possible business collaboration. — Best Regards, Koneswaran.
Dear Koneswaran — I have an upcoming mining project that requires funding and looking for expansion. Let me know if you would like to collaborate on a feasibility study.Best Regards, Dave
Dear Mr. Dave — Thanks for your response and your high level business proposal is very nice and sensibility.what will be the requirements and estimated cost? Best Regards, Koneswaran.
Thank you for your savvy business sense to contact me about this.
Dear Koneswaren — I am seeking investors for a diamond mine in the United States. We are currently mining with a pick ax and small tractor but we are seeking a $100,000 investment for a bulldozer, buckets and other mining equipment. We have already discovered 12 great diamonds. If we can secure an investment, we feel that our mine will be among the greatest of all time.Thank you for your savvy business sense to contact me about this. Best Regards, Dave
12 great diamonds!
Dear Mr. Dave –– I am so glad that you have discovered 12 great Diamonds, i suggest that we should secure an investment deal to expand the mining sector. i budgeted over $137,000,000 for projects. I have a joint venture in Malaysia with a Malaysian, a palm plantation and processing plant. And i also invested into some other areas such as tourism and real estate. I am Norwegian. I also work with United Nation… But you have to promise me your confidentiality in the transaction and you have to prove your stands and capacity to handle the funds once i transfer it to your account. i suggest we should have a round table meeting. Sincerely, Koneswaran.
Together we intend to take over the U.S. diamond market
…we plan to appear on the American television series “Shark Tank” and secure an investment deal with Mark Cuban.
Hi Koneswaran — I can tell that you are a great business negotiator. You will be a perfect partner in our mining endeavor. I have included my business partner, CP on this email. He is also an investor in the mining business. He is very good with the pick ax and has been assisting me with the tractor. Together we intend to take over the U.S. diamond market within the next two years.
With your investment we can expedite this process and control the world diamond economy with the next year. With $100,000 we can quickly expand our current mine. With $134,500,000 we can open a mine in each of the U.S. states and quickly expand and open diamond kiosks in every major city.
After this, we plan to appear on the American television series “Shark Tank” and secure an investment deal with Mark Cuban. From here we plan to overtake De Beers and quickly put them out of business with our discount diamond collection.
Each Diamond with be sold for 25% off and we will offer a buy two, get one free special on every major holiday. I assume with you business expertise, you can see the high potential with this plan. Please let me know how you would like to proceed. I am anxious for our round table meeting. Sincerely, Dave
Dear Mr. Dave, I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to partner with you and meet with you for further discussion on our partnership. I have to reiterate that my position remain the same regards the financial position. I will appreciate if you will make all our discussion and transaction confidential due to my position as a public servant, you must agree with me that as a public servant I have limitation therefore i want to confide in you . The $134,500,000 for the project will be made available to you after the meeting with my representatives. My enthusiasm for the interest to work with you were greatly strengthened as a result your commitment to meet. I am confident that we will have a smooth partnership. The money will be transferred to your account after the meeting with my representatives. Best Regards, Koneswaran.
Tragedy strikes
Dear Koneswaran, I have very bad news! Our business partner CP is currently trapped in the mine. It collapsed on him while he was uncovering a large bed of rubies deep underground. I am very worried as he has no food or water. I have been up all night with the rescue team. Attached is a photo of the current situation here at the mine. Please pray for him. It would be very hard to find another miner as great as CP. Do you have any resources with the United Nations that could help us with the rescue? In Mourning, Dave
Dear Dave, It’s a very sad news, i pray he will be alive and safe. Please always keep me update for the latest development on the mining site. And also i will like to have your phone number.
Dear Koneswaran, I have a very troubling update for you. Our good friend CP is dead. His head was mutilated by a flying boulder. The mood is very somber here at the mine. I have attached photo of him being carried away. I thank you for being my closest friend during this terrible tragedy. CP was a great miner, but together we will endure this horrible time and move forward to overtake the world’s diamond business.
Now it is just the two of us. We will split the business 50/50. You will handle the investing, email marketing, and PR. I will take care of the mining, door-to-door sales, and accounting. Together we will be an unstoppable team. Are you available for a Skype video chat to discuss our flourishing business? Optimistically, Dave
Dear Mr. Dave, I am so troubled and saddened with the news you sent to me which i am not expecting. CP has come and gone, GOD you brought him to us and you took him back to be in a special place you prepared for him………… MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PERFECT PEACE, AMEN. Sincerely, Koneswaran.
Love is in the air
Dear Koneswaran, Thank you for your prayers and your sympathy. You are a wonderful lover.
Dear Koneswaran, Thank you for your prayers and your sympathy. You are a wonderful lover. Now, let’s get back to the diamond business. Right before CP was mutilated, he discovered a cavern containing an abundance of alluring diamonds. You can see in the photo that this mine is richer than we ever dreamed. With your permission, I would like to donate a diamond to the family of CP. I feel it would be the right thing to do considering all that he has done for us. His family is grieving and I believe this would be a generous gesture of love from our business. Also, we could write if off as a tax deduction. I will be at the funeral this weekend. I know you are a busy investor, but I feel in my heart that CP would want you here. Please join us if you can make it. I would like to further discuss our business on Monday. I would prefer a chat on Skype or I can give you my phone number. Your Lover, Dave
Dear Mr. Dave, My condolence once again to the family and friends of CP. I will be waiting to hear from you on Monday. Best Regards, Koneswaran.
My Dearest Koneswaran, The funeral was a bitter and lonely time without you. You can see that I decorated my car to pay tribute to the greatest miner who ever lived.
CP’s family is very grateful for the diamond that we presented to them. They are impoverished and have lost their home. Our act of kindness will allow them to pay for the funeral expenses. I realized through this experience that special friends like you and CP are very hard to find.
Koneswaran, you are my dearest love. I believe we have a special bond between us that cannot be broken. Our love and our diamond business will survive any tragedy. Please call me as soon as possible. CP’s pick ax was broken in the mine and we need to discuss replacement options. Yours Forever, Dave
The ‘Roundtable’ Meeting
The final message
After weeks of absurdity, the scammer finally realizes he’s been played. Koneswaran’s final message.
You are a joker, please if you don’t mind you better go to bed if you are jobless. Thanks!
Editors Note: No miners were actually harmed in making this prank. CP is alive and well.
Every modern President has met with Russian officials. Presidents Obama and Bush have both met with the very same Russian official Trump did, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov — and they met with others as well.
The fact that President Trump met with Russian officials is not at all unusual. Rather, what has people worked up is the circumstances surrounding the meeting — amid an investigation of Russian interference in the election on Trump’s behalf, possible collusion between Trump and Russia related to it, and allegations that Trump shared classified information with the Russian officials during the meeting.
Here’s President Obama with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the same Russian official Trump met with:
And here’s President Bush with Lavrov too:
Other Presidents have had similar meetings. Here’s President Clinton with Russian Special envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin:
And President Bush with Russian President Vladimir Putin himself:
Even at the height of the Cold War, meetings with Soviet officials were not unheard of. Here’s President Reagan with Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev:
It’s important in the present swirl of outrage surrounding President Trump that we keep things in context. There’s nothing at all wrong with a U.S. President meeting with Russian leaders. But, never before has there been reason to suspect that a U.S. President might do so with anything other than our nation’s best interests at heart.
The suspicions around Trump and Russia are still only that. But they have nevertheless changed how Trump’s interactions with Russia will be viewed.
Conversations in the Oval Office are generally not recorded. However, notetakers may be present in important meetings, especially those with foreign leaders.
Presidents could choose to bug themselves if they like, but as Richard Nixon demonstrated for the ages, it’s not such a good idea. No one is infalliable. A complete record of every utterance of even the most virtuous president is bound to include something unflattering.
It also might have a chilling effect on the level of candor with which aides offer advice. Knowledge that their words are being recorded might cause a president’s advisors pause about offering advice the president might not want history to hear. The ability of a president’s staff to speak frankly is critical. When presidents are wrong, and they sometimes are, aides need to be able to tell them that without fear of tarnishing their legacy.
In the four months since his inauguration, Washington Republicans have clung tightly to the glimmers of promise from President Trump. The early policy fumble of the immigration ban, the air ball on Obamacare, and his countless ill-advised tweet-storms could still be weighed against Trump’s inspired choice of Neil Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme Court, his rousing address to a joint session of Congress in February, and hints of pragmatism on NATO, trade, and immigration. Republicans could rationalize Trump’s stumbles as the consequence of an unconventional but ultimately well-intentioned President inexperienced in the mechanics of governing who, once he got his feet under him, held the potential to upend the sclerosis in Washington and meaningfully change the course of the nation for the better. But, the events of the last two weeks make that harder.
President Trump’s ambitious foray abroad is tempered by dread of the other shoes to drop upon his return. As Josh Jordan (@numbersmuncher) quipped on Twitter, “We have yet to see concrete evidence that Trump colluded with Russia on anything, but Trump is doing his best to make everyone believes it.”
Things are going sideways, and even the President’s closest aides know it. As Air Force One climbed away from Joint Base Andrews Friday evening for President Donald J. Trump’s first foreign trip, a sense of sober resignation prevailed among all but the most ardent Trump loyalists.
A dispatch from Axios’ Jonathan Swan drew a gripping portrait of the state of mind among Trump’s inner circle. “WH officials I’ve spoken to privately this week are closer to being numb than panicked. Those who went through the campaign with Trump are numb to the crises and thought so many times before that *this* would be the one to break Trump. They’ve been wrong so many times before… They view their boss as completely undisciplined and self-destructive. They’re exasperated by him … They’re sick and tired of the media feeding frenzy. But even in their most frustrated moments, they’ll admit that Trump has got some special resilience that they can’t begin to understand. A coat of protection that almost seems supernatural to them.”
Yet, there remains a hardy band of loyalists around Trump who are “unfazed” by it all, Swan writes. “They’re just swinging for Trump and have no qualms working to defend him,” he added. Still, the flood of leaks coming from within Trump-land suggest a nervous White House White House staff hedging their bets in case their boss’ luck runs out.
‘The Drips are Filling the Bucket’
The Russia investigation is grinding Trump’s agenda to a halt. Although few Republicans are saying so publicly, official Washington is racked with doubt. Trump’s political capital is now all but exhausted — frittered away on a series of unforced errors and miscalculations. After the firing of an FBI director investigating his own White House, suggestions that the President attempted to pressure him to pull his punches before doing so, and the apparent careless disclosure of classified material to Russian officials, it’s growing increasingly difficult to rationalize the White House’s problems as just the manufactured controversies of an admittedly hostile press corps. As one outside advisor to the White House told Axios’ Mike Allen in an email, “[t]he drips are filling the bucket.” Trump’s Republican allies, who just a few weeks ago were still dreaming of triumphs, would now settle for mere survival.
With a special counsel now in place, the die is cast. Trump may yet be exonerated on the core accusation that he personally colluded with Russia in Moscow’s efforts to influence the 2016 elections. But, the suggestion that he may have pressured the investigation may hold new troubles. Further, it seems increasingly likely that the special counsel investigation led by former FBI Director Robert Mueller might uncover evidence of wrongdoing, if not by Trump himself, then by at least some people within Trump’s orbit.
Still, all the breathless talk of impeachment is premature. President Trump remains popular among grassroots Republicans. His support has slipped a bit in the past week, but most of his voters are still sticking with him. While Trump’s troubles are making Congressional Republicans nervous, few will be willing to turn against him — but they aren’t go out of their way to defend him either.
As sacked former FBI Director James Comey, prepares to testify on Capitol Hill and the special counsel investigation gains steam, that “supernatural” veil of protection White House advisors talk about will surely be put to the test.
Two major characteristics separate President Trump from other men to hold the office: He has no political experience, and he heavily relies on family members and a few long-time trusted advisers. One of the people the president leans on is White House counsel Donald F. McGahn, whose family has long ties to Donald J. Trump. As the Washington Post noted, McGahn is the nephew of Patrick ‘Paddy’ McGahn Jr., who once was Trump’s lawyer.
Patrick McGahn, who died in 2000, was more than a lawyer. He controlled the South Jersey Democratic machine and largely was credited with bringing casino gambling to Atlantic City. New Jersey state records show that he assisted Trump in the $1.1 million cash purchase of property from organized crime figures.
Mobsters and Parking
The Trump Organization in 1982 began construction on Harrah’s at Trump Plaza, an Atlantic City casino that later became the Trump Plaza. While Trump had the casino site, he did not have a place to park customers’ cars. Trump was interested in two potential site that he wanted to turn into parking.
In a book about Trump, investigative reporter Wayne Barrett, who died earlier this year, wrote that the site Trump eventually purchased was owned by two sons of organized crime figures: Salvatore “Salvie” Testa and Frank Narducci, Jr. They had paid $195,000 in 1977 for the property directly across the street from the Trump Plaza, and operated a nightclub on it.
Testa’s father, Philip “Chicken Man” Testa, was killed by a bomb – an act that was immortalized in the Bruce Springsteen song “Atlantic City” (“Well they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night now they blew up his house too”). Barrett alleged that Testa “headed Nicodemo “Nicky” Scarfo’s hit-man squad called the Young Executioners.” FBI reports state the Scarfo crime family at the time “dominated Atlantic City and Philadelphia.”
A Website about organized crime called Narducci Jr. a “Philly Wiseguy.” He was convicted of murder along with Scarfo and five other reported organized crime figures. Narducci’s father ironically was killed reportedly in retaliation for his role in the murder of Philip Testa.
Patrick McGahn’s Role
New Jersey state investigative records show that Trump paid $1.1 million for the site, after the title was transferred from Testa and Narducci to Patrick McGahn’s secretary and then to a Trump entity.
An investigative report on Trump’s license to operate Trump Plaza undertaken by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement states that Trump knew the property was owned by what the DGE called “Testa Group.”
The DGE report states: “Because [Trump] did not want to negotiate with those people directly, he instructed his attorney, Patrick T. McGahn, Jr., to deal with a broker and arrange for a cash deal. With respect to the property in question, by deed dated July 11, 1977, Jeanne’s Enterprises transferred the property to Frank J. Narducci Jr. and Salvatore A. Testa. By deed dated April 1, 1982, Narducci conveyed his interest in the property to Testa.”
The DGE reports that Trump “authorized McGahn to purchase the property . . . for such entity which [Trump] would thereafter designate in writing. [Trump] also requested that McGahn ensure that the property would be fully assignable.” Barrett alleged the other “entity” was McGahn’s secretary.
The closing was held on November 4, 1982 in McGahn’s law office. The DGE report states that the people who attended the closing included McGahn, Testa and his lawyer, and Chris Scarfo – “the son of Nicodemo Scarfo.” The DGE notes: “The $1,100,000 purchase price of the property was paid in cash.”
The author is a former Congressional investigator.
The White House Historical Association explains how it worked in America.
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