April 11, 2018
ALLAHU AKBAR!:
At the White House, Trump Takes Selfies and Seethes Over Mueller (JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and MAGGIE HABERMAN, APRIL 10, 2018, NY Times)
Doesn't this have to end with the Oval surrounded by authorities and Donald inside wearing a grenade vest?White House advisers were particularly alarmed by the president's tirade in front of reporters on Monday, when he called the raids on Mr. Cohen "an attack on our country" in far angrier terms than he has ever referred to the Russian assault on the 2016 election.Few people still at the White House are able to restrain Mr. Trump from acting on his impulses after the departures of crucial staff members who were once able to join forces with other aides to do so. That included Hope Hicks, his former communications director; Rob Porter, his former staff secretary; and, in 2017, the chief of staff Reince Priebus and the chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon.John F. Kelly, the current chief of staff whose influence over the president has waned for months, appeared beaten down and less hands-on, according to two White House officials. Mr. Kelly has told Mr. Trump it is frustrating for staff members that the president deems most news media stories fake news but believes the ones accusing various advisers of leaking, according to people familiar with the discussions.It is not clear whether Mr. Trump can fire Mr. Mueller himself. Many legal experts believe the president would have to direct Mr. Rosenstein to do so because Mr. Sessions has recused himself from the case and Mr. Rosenstein technically oversees Mr. Mueller.Mr. Rosenstein has told Congress that he would dismiss Mr. Mueller only for cause, and people close to Mr. Rosenstein have indicated he would resign if the president ordered him to fire Mr. Mueller. Bipartisan legislation has been introduced to protect Mr. Mueller, with senators urging the president to let it go forward "without impediment."Republican leadership has dismissed such legislation as unnecessary. But the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, warned Mr. Trump on Tuesday to not fire Mr. Mueller, saying in an interview on Fox Business Network it would be "suicide" to continue to talk about firing him.
Posted by Orrin Judd at April 11, 2018 4:14 AM
