With Impeachment Theater in his rear view mirror and with Dems obsessing over their own incompetence and fractiousness--not to mention the public's basic lack of interest--Trump seems to feel free to purge key elements of his administration of Obama era holdovers. The Washington Examiner reports--Bigger than Vindman: Trump scrubs 70 Obama holdovers from NSC:
President Trump is making good on his promises to “drain the swamp” and cut Obama-era holdovers from his staffs, especially the critical and recently controversial National Security Council.
Officials confirmed that Trump and national security adviser Robert O’Brien have cut 70 positions inherited from former President Barack Obama, who had fattened the staff to 200.
Many were loaners from other agencies and have been sent back. Others left government work.
...
“This month, we will complete the right-sizing goal Ambassador O’Brien outlined in October, and in fact, may exceed that target by drawing down even more positions,” John Ullyot, the NSC’s senior director for strategic communications, told Secrets.
This is progress. OTOH, it's best to bear in mind that Obama era holdovers aren't the only problem. Consider: Ciaramella and Misko (and some other Obama holdovers) left the NSC before Impeachment Theater began. They kept in touch with what was going on in the White House through communications with ... Trump's own people! Yes, John Bolton, who brought the Vindman twins into the NSC. We also know that before that other Trump appointees--McMaster comes to mind--carried out purges against people Michael Flynn had brought in. So Draining the Swamp is a bit more complicated than just ousting Obama holdovers.
Also, this morning Joe diGenova announced on radio:
"I am told that soon there will someone else leaving the White House, who wrote that article [see below]. Apparently they have identified 'anonymous' and we were told that – Victoria and I were at dinner with a senior government official last week — and we were told that by this person they have, in fact, identified 'anonymous.'"
Unfortunately he also said he didn't want to burn his source by naming "Anonymous." This is the original article from September 5, 2018:
I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration
I work for the president but like-minded colleagues and I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.
Which once against shows that Obama holdovers aren't the only or, perhaps, biggest problem.
UPDATE: diGenova's claim may not be news--unless Anonymous is someone other than the chief speechwriter for former SecDef Jim "Moderate Dog" Mattis. As commenter Mike Sylwester notes, this story has been "out there" for a while--unless its someone different or they've simply confirmed the identity. According to the NYPost in November, 2019:
A former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton said he believes the anonymous writer of a scathing New York Times op-ed and tell-all book about the Trump administration is the chief speechwriter for former Defense Secretary James Mattis.
David Kusnet, writing in The New Republic on Monday, said he compared the writing styles of “A Warning,” which was published on Nov. 19, with former Pentagon aide Guy Snodgrass’ memoir “Holding the Line,” which was published in October.
Kusnet said by reading the two works, the “clues to Anonymous’s identity are apparent.”
“As in ‘A Warning,’ the sentences and paragraphs are pithy and punchy. Every chapter in both books begins with an inspiring but not cliched quotation from an historic figure,” Kusnet writes in making his case that Snodgrass is Anonymous.
“Many passages in both books are remarkably similar: the ordeal of conducting a Pentagon briefing for Trump; national security staffers exchanging appalled asides about Trump’s conduct of foreign policy via Twitter; and the arguments for why American alliances strengthen national security and immigration policy shouldn’t be based on building a border wall,” he continued.
Snodgrass, a 43-year-old retired naval aviator and Top Gun instructor, tweeted “the swirl continues…” and linked to a copy of the New Republic article.
Kusnet said that while some of what Anonymous wrote in “A Warning” appears to disqualify Snodgrass, other qualities mark him as the author.
“Snodgrass checks three boxes: He can write. He knows and cares about national security — a major theme of ‘A Warning.’ And, to borrow from his description of Mattis, he is ‘a badass’ who eventually offended his hero and won a pre-publication battle with the Pentagon over the release of ‘Holding the Line,'” Kusnet wrote.
Snodgrass did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Kusnet’s supposition.
I covered that back then: Mattis Speechwriter The "Anonymous" Author Of "A Warning"? but forgot. We'll see.
I read that Anonymous is a speech-writer for the Secretary of Defense.
ReplyDeleteYeah, diGenova's bombshell won't be much of one if true. I've updated.
DeleteFor what it's worth.....
ReplyDeleteI was fortunate, or unfortunate, take your pick, to be at a restaurant where they were running both CNN and FOX. The sound was muted.
CNN was covering the purge at the NSC and they were apoplectic. CNN is obsessed with this President. It's not an exaggeration to say they hate him.
Brooke Baldwin was anchoring with her dull glazed eyes. Over at FOX, Dana Perino was anchoring and they covered a lot of non-Trump topics.
I now realize that I gave a rather incomplete CNN update.
ReplyDeleteThe network was covering Lindsey Graham and his comments about the whistleblower and possible charges coming soon. They also covered Rudy turning over evidence regarding the Ukraine to DOJ.
CNN is worried, and with good reason, I'd say. Maybe not for themselves but for their beloved Deep State and Dems.
Prime time cable "news" is the best comedy on television.
ReplyDeleteIts full entertainment value can be realized, as Hillary once said, with a willing suspension of disbelief.
Without the Deep State micturating leaks into the mouths of reporters at CNN, et al, they might have to get off their lazy butts and do some real reporting, instead of regurgitating what is fed to them by Deep State gill-breathing Swamp Creatures.
ReplyDeleteThat's likely why CNN reporters are scared stiff -- the prospect of having to go out and "get the story" on their own frightens them like the imaginary goblin that lives under the beds of small children.