Thursday Reads: “Deconstruction of the Administrative State” — President Bannon
Posted: March 9, 2017 | Author: bostonboomer | Filed under: Foreign Affairs, morning reads, U.S. Politics |
Good Morning!!
The tRump administration plans for the US government are beginning to take shape. The plan is to hollow it out from the inside. The only question is whether tRump plans to make the U.S. a wholly owned subsidiary of the Russian kleptocracy or whether he wants to make himself a dictator in the mode of Vladimir Putin.
From the cover story of Time this week: Inside Donald Trump’s War Against the State, by Massimo Calabresi.
At 6:35 a.m. on March 4, President Donald Trump launched an attack against the government of the United States. Deploying his favorite weapon, Twitter, he wrote, “Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!” In fewer than 140 characters, he accused a former President of an impeachable offense, suggested that Justice Department agents might have engaged in a felony and gestured at the possibility that federal judges enabled a political outrage.
He wasn’t finished. Over the next half hour–as Trump’s staff, left behind in Washington, began waking up and unlocking their phones to discover what the boss was up to down at Mar-a-Lago–the President added two more tweets suggesting that Obama and federal investigators had broken the law and should be prosecuted. He capped his indictment with a fourth blurt, comparing the allegation with the worst political crisis of his 70-year lifetime. “How low has President Obama gone to tapp [sic] my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!”
Trump was right that the government now faces a test of historic dimensions. The FBI is probing a plot by Russia to subvert the core exercise of American democracy in the 2016 presidential election. Revelations of contacts between Trump aides and Russian officials have forced the resignation of the President’s National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, and the recusal of his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions. This probe, which may or may not have involved court-approved surveillance, has unleashed an orgy of political exploitation, resulting in a crisis of confidence in the government’s ability to play by the rules.
But no matter what he tweets from his Palm Beach Xanadu, Trump is more author than victim of this crisis. Neither he nor his White House staff provided any evidence for his extraordinary accusations against what some of them call a “deep state.” Obama denied Trump’s assertions, and was soon joined by former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and, via intermediaries, FBI Director James Comey. Trump is rallying his political base against the federal agencies he oversees, thus partnering his presidency with a radical fringe. Win or lose, the standoff he has engineered will diminish the credibility of the government.
Go read the whole thing for more on President Bannon’s quest to destroy the federal government.
Steve Sack / Minneapolis Star Tribune
ProPublica has been investigating how the process of hollowing out is happening: Meet the Hundreds of Officials Trump Has Quietly Installed Across the Government.
A Trump campaign aide who argues that Democrats committed “ethnic cleansing” in a plot to “liquidate” the white working class. A former reality show contestant whose study of societal collapse inspired him to invent a bow-and-arrow-cum-survivalist multi-tool. A pair of healthcare industry lobbyists. A lobbyist for defense contractors. An “evangelist” and lobbyist for Palantir, the Silicon Valley company with close ties to intelligence agencies. And a New Hampshire Trump supporter who has only recently graduated from high school.
These are some of the people the Trump administration has hired for positions across the federal government, according to documents received by ProPublica through public-records requests.
While President Trump has
not moved to fill
many jobs that require Senate confirmation, he has quietly installed hundreds of officials to serve as his eyes and ears at every major federal agency, from the Pentagon to the Department of Interior.
Unlike appointees exposed to the scrutiny of the Senate, members of these so-called “beachhead teams” have operated largely in the shadows, with the White House declining to publicly reveal their identities.
While some names have previously dribbled out in the press, we are publishing a list of more than 400 hires, providing the most complete accounting so far of who Trump has brought into the federal government.
The White House said in January that around 520 staffers were being hired for the beachhead teams.
Read much more at the link.
The next three links may provide some clues to whether or not tRump is trying to increase Russian influence in our government.
Think Progress: Trump leaves key cybersecurity jobs vacant across the government.
The Trump administration is leaving many top technology jobs across government vacant, raising concerns about the security and maintenance of federal computer systems in the wake of an election where hacks dominated the headlines. The White House’s own cybersecurity practices are another source of concern, say experts.
Of the nine agency-level Chief Information Officer (or CIO) roles that are politically appointed, only one is currently filled — and that top tech slot is occupied by a holdover from the Obama administration.
The Federal CIO and Federal Chief Information Security Officer (or CISO) jobs are also vacant, as is the White House CISO gig.
“These are critical roles in terms of shepherding any sort of policy towards cyber and technology across the government,” said Paul Innella, the President of cybersecurity consulting firm TDI.
Leaving the jobs unfilled “doesn’t send a good message” about the new administration’s commitment to keeping its systems safe, according to Innella.
Former director of the CIA and NSA Michael Hayden in an op ed at The New York times: How Trump Undermines Intelligence Gathering.
The relationship between a new president and the intelligence agencies that serve him can be difficult in the best of times. But it’s hard to imagine a more turbulent transition than the current one, which has been marred by assertions that the administration has tried to both politicize and marginalize intelligence gathering.
No White House likes it when intelligence agencies — such as the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency or the Defense Intelligence Agency — deliver bad news, or when that information undercuts the executive’s preferred policies or political positions. But I can’t remember another White House so quick to dismiss those agencies’ judgments or so willing to discredit them as dishonest or incompetent.
We’ve seen presidential tweets with “intelligence” in accusatory quotation marks, a kind of dog whistle that equates intelligence assessments with news reporting that the president condemns as “fake.” In addition to lumping the intelligence agencies in with the “dishonest” mainstream media, the president has compared his espionage services to Russians, Nazis and WikiLeaks.
Last weekend, Mr. Trump accused President Barack Obama of ordering phones at Trump Tower tapped during the 2016 campaign, a claim so outrageous that James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, denied it a day later. (So did the F.B.I. director, James Comey, according to this paper.) And last month, Mr. Trump blamed the intelligence community, along with the press, for the downfall of his first national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, saying on Twitter that “information is being illegally given to the failing @nytimes and @washingtonpost by the intelligence community (N.S.A. and F.B.I.?).”
I want to highlight these two paragraphs (emphasis added):
As the former director of both the N.S.A. and the C.I.A., I know that leaks are a real problem that can endanger national security. But why would the administration reflexively and punitively blame its own services for leaks, since we do not yet know who is responsible for them?
The president has asserted that the leaking will stop “because now we have our people in,” a choice of words that creates more than a little shudder in the ranks of intelligence professionals, who prefer to work in the background for presidents, Democratic or Republican.
Max Boot at Foreign Policy: WikiLeaks Has Joined the Trump Administration.
As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump declared, “I love WikiLeaks!” And he had good reason to display affection to this website run by accused rapist Julian Assange. By releasing reams of emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, WikiLeaks helped tilt the 2016 election in Trump’s favor.
As president, Trump hasn’t come out and said anything laudatory about WikiLeaks following its massive disclosure of CIA secrets on Tuesday — a treasure trove that some experts already believe may be more damaging than Edward Snowden’s revelations. But Trump hasn’t condemned WikiLeaks. The recent entries on his Twitter feed — a pure reflection of his unbridled id — contain vicious attacks on, among other things, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the New York Times, and Barack Obama but not a word about WikiLeaks. Did the president not notice that the intelligence community he commands has just suffered a devastating breach of security? Or did he simply not feel compelled to comment?
Actually there is a third, even more discomfiting, possibility: Perhaps Trump is staying silent because he stands to benefit from WikiLeaks’ latest revelations.
I hope you’ll read the whole thing.
More reads, links only:
CNBC: EPA chief Scott Pruitt says carbon dioxide is not a primary contributor to global warming.
Business Insider: ‘There are no sacred cows’: Breitbart’s honeymoon with establishment wing of Trump White House may be over.
Mother Jones: A Running List of People Who Hate Trumpcare..
Buzzfeed: Republican Chairman Says Sean Spicer Should Stay “In His Lane” On Health Care Bill.
Thanks to NW Luna for this link from The Smoking Gun: Roger Stone’s Russian Hacking “Hero.”
Buzzfeed News: Nigel Farage Just Visited The Ecuadorian Embassy In London.
T.A. Frank at Vanity Fair: The Terrifying Truth Behind the Trump-Russia Mess. (Caveat: I don’t usually agree with Frank and I have a lot of problems with this piece.)
Also from Vanity Fair: Is Louise Mensch Really the Root of this Trump Fiasco?
Please post your thoughts and links in the comment thread and have a great Thursday!
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Sky Dancing 
Rachel Maddow is doing a masterful job of connecting the dots on Trump and Russia.
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I’m very glad to see this get to a wider audience. Many of these connections were exposed by Adam Khan and a few others before the election.
To be fair, Rachel has been covering this since before the election too. Joy Reid has also.
I actually watched LO last night but the minute Brian Williams came on I had anxiety again. I’m gonna try Rachel tonight. I can’t stand hearing or seeing Trump in anything other than Cartoon format.
She most certainly is doing a great job. She’s getting the facts out, as fast as she can.
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great. Sick, hungry and homeless. We’l have to change the inscription on the statue of liberty. USA. Home of the sick, hungry and homeless! You’re not welcome!!!
It’s in their heart of hearts.
Great post, BB.
I’m still so shell shocked, I’m not functioning very well.
How’s the smoking situation going?
It’s still pretty bad. I got an air purifier and I have another one coming on Friday that my mom bought for me. I did figure out that if I leave the purifier inside the front door it keeps a lot of the smoke from getting back into my bedroom. But if I want to be free of it while he is smoking I have to stay shut up in the bedroom, which really sucks. But if I inhale the stuff I get really sick. I guess I have so many allergies that one more thing just puts me over the edge.
I have to keep the windows open all the time. Luckily my apartment stays pretty comfortable even though I have the heat turned off because I’m on the 10th floor with three more floors above me. Today I’m going to try to find some small fans that I can use to blow air out the window.
I complain every day, and the woman I’m working with has been supportive. They are going to try to evict him and she asked if I’d be willing to testify in court.
Thanks for asking.
Stay strong and keep demanding this situation be fixed. He’s the one violating the rules of his tenancy. Cigarette smoke contains numerous substances harmful to respiratory, cardiac, and immunological health. It’s too bad you and others have to bear the effects of his behavior and work so hard to get him out.
The woman I’m working with wants me to report every time I smell smoke. She is documenting each one. I think she’s really working hard on this, but it’s difficult to evict someone in MA. She said her boss is pushing the lawyer to deal with it ASAP.
Can’t wait till you tell us he is GONE.
Daily Beast:
Russia Turns WikiLeaks CIA Dump Into Disinformation
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/08/who-s-behind-the-massive-cia-leak.html
This.is.horrifying.
There are only a few Republicans that can stop it and all they care about is destroying the Federal Government. This is a coup.
The GOP truly doesn’t care about American — only about staying in power. Also, hacked RNC information has not been leaked yet, so Putin’s got kompromat on them.
Remarkable in that they each took an oath to protect the Constitution. This is a full-blown failure to serve.
And where are our overpaid GOP congress critters these days? Sitting back and watching these horrid people dismantle our democracy piece by piece while they work to protect their “donors” rather than the nation at large.
These are the only people right now who can stem the flow of what is coming out of the WH. But they should all face primaries back home in letting this diabolical plot gain muster. I love how they run down the halls of congress when asked to comment on the latest crapola churned up by President Bannon. Cowards all.
Meanwhile Rachel,along with the Washington Post (thank god for Marty Baron!) and the NY Times are busting their butts to put these pieces together. The “conspiracy” has taken shape and Trump and Friends are up to their lying necks in espionage. This cannot be ignored for much longer. Which brings this back to the feckless majority GOP.
Imagine if this were a Dem president involved with Russia. Hearings would be underway the day after the inauguration and they would be tripping over themselves to get to that camera to condemn, denounce and opine. Instead – crickets.
This is serious stuff if what has been hinted at falls true. No time to sit back and pretend that our democracy has been highjacked. Trump is the center and the failure to investigate is enormous.
So far reaching it is mind boggling.
I think tRump’s base is happy with the “deconstruction” of D.C. agencies and bureaucracy. After all – they voted their GOPer reps right back in office, so apparently that was not the part of the swamp they wanted to drain.
As for the hypocrisy of the situation were this a Dem administration – it’s a moot point; the GOPers in Congress have no capacity for shame. Their base doesn’t care either as long as libtards aren’t winning.
https://twitter.com/GovHowardDean/status/839898453559939072
The repubs want to rush their plan through to keep the base happy and to squeeze out some more voters for 2018 and 2020 wins. Women, the elderly, and the sick are the big losers. I actual believe they want the pre-ACA plan as they want out of any socialized health planning to do what they like best — taking away every beneficial legislation or regulation and planning military expansion, whether it’s needed or not, for the next invasion.
That concept of “sharing risk” Does Not Compute in GOPer brainz. I can see their heads exploding. Their entire concept of life is I Got Mine – Now Go Get Yours.
Or, I got mine, now give me yours too….
Yup. It’s all about the risk pool size and risk sharing. I swear no Republican can do the math for that.
Interesting. So maybe there’s a Russian mole working for the CIA.
Or worse: they don’t need a mole because their cyber/hacking skills far exceed our own. If they can infiltrate and manipulate from a laptop anywhere in the world, who needs a vulnerable physical presence to do their dirty work?
Washington State Wants Restraining Order Applied to Trump’s New Travel Ban
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/washington-state-wants-restraining-order-applied-new-travel-ban-n731216
Three states suing to block Trump’s new travel ban
http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/323226-three-states-sue-to-stop-trumps-new-travel-ban
Dam I love this woman:
video/1
Maxine Waters saying she pretty much believes everything in the golden showers dossier is true. Hey if it ‘s good for the gander…
My guess is some one has dug up the film(s) by now.
She’s got kick ass power.
Keep going, Maxine Waters:
http://shareblue.com/maxine-waters-tells-trump-get-ready-for-impeachment/
https://twitter.com/Khanoisseur/status/840003648004415488
Pence and Ryan are dangerous because they seem normal, but are ultra conservative and will gut everything Obama put in place, and every thing enlightened and progressive. All these alpha males must go or be neutered.
Neither Pence nor Ryan seems normal to me–certainly not “alpha males.” I think they both look like freaks of nature or the results of inbreeding, but maybe that’s just me.
I suspect they only seem normal next to Trump. And many of us here are not affected by whatever it is that alpha males have.
Pence’s smug look all the time pushes my buttons. Pence scares me more than tRump I think.
Must watch!
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Hahaha!
Then I thought — Hillary would have handled that without batting an eye. Or apologizing.
Or pushing her child away….
Exactly.
hysterical
https://twitter.com/BecketAdams/status/840246706520371200
Goes under “Who’d a thunk it?”
https://apnews.com/789224e9049b407eaa6b1724eeac82af