MORE-- The Most Explosive Revelations From Bob Woodward’s New Book Inside Trump’s White House
Speed Read:
From Trump calling Sessions ‘retarded’ to the president’s lawyer calling him an ‘idiot,’ here are the most hilarious or terrifying nuggets from Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book.
Pilar Melendez 09.04.18 1:00 PM ET (embedded links omitted)
Acclaimed journalist Bob Woodward’s upcoming new book, Fear: Trump in the White House, is set to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the distrust within the president’s inner circle and the chaos that reportedly consumes his White House.
According to excerpts obtained Tuesday by CNN and The Washington Post, Woodward’s book uses deep-background interviews with many Trump staffers to illustrate how Trump’s top advisers view him in a stunningly negative light and how the president’s obsession with the Russia probe has driven a wedge between him and his most trusted advisers.
Trump Mocked Sessions’ Accent, Called Him ‘Mentally Retarded’
After learning Robert Mueller had been appointed special counsel last year, Trump went after his attorney general, calling him a “traitor” for recusing himself in the ongoing Russia probe.
White House Lawyer Wanted to Prevent ‘Idiot’ Trump from Testifying to Mueller
According to Woodward, Trump’s former personal lawyer, John Dowd, explained to Mueller why he wanted to prevent the president from testifying to the special counsel and his team:
“I’m not going to sit there and let him look like an idiot. And you publish that transcript, because everything leaks in Washington, and the guys overseas are going to say, ‘I told you he was an idiot. I told you he was a goddamn dumbbell. What are we dealing with this idiot for?’ ”
“John, I understand,” Mueller replied to Dowd, according to the book. John Kelly Called Trump an ‘Idiot,’ Lamented ‘Worst Job I’ve Ever Had’
Chief of Staff John Kelly frequently lost his temper and told close aides that he thought Donald Trump was “unhinged,” Woodward writes in the new book.
The journalist details one meeting where Kelly allegedly lamented to colleagues about Trump: “He’s an idiot. It’s pointless to try to convince him of anything. He’s gone off the rails. We’re in crazytown. I don’t even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I’ve ever had.”
Kelly later denied this claim in a statement issued Tuesday. “The idea I ever called the President an idiot is not true,” said Kelly. “As I stated back in May and I still firmly stand behind: ‘I spend more time with the President than anyone else, and we have an incredibly candid and strong relationship. He always knows where I stand, and he and I both know this story is total BS. I’m committed to the President, his agenda, and our country. This is another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from the administration’s many successes.” Mattis ‘Exasperated’ by Trump’s ‘Fifth-Grader’ Understanding of North Korea
Defense Secretary James Mattis bluntly complained of Trump’s understanding of Korea strategy as being that of an elementary school student.
In a meeting in January 2018, Mattis reportedly grew frustrated at the president’s dismissal of the significance of a U.S. military presence in the Korean Peninsula. In an excerpt obtained by The Washington Post, Trump questioned why the U.S. was using resources in the region at all.
“I think we could be so rich if we weren't stupid,” Trump later said in the meeting, with Woodward reporting the president later said the U.S. was being played as “suckers.”
“We’re doing this in order to prevent World War III,” Mattis explained to the president, according to Woodward.
After Trump left the meeting, Woodward writes, “Mattis was particularly exasperated and alarmed, telling close associates that the president acted like—and had the understanding of—‘a fifth- or sixth-grader.’”
In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Mattis claimed: “The contemptuous words about the President attributed to me in Woodward’s book were never uttered by me or in my presence.”
Cohn Stole Papers from Trump’s Desk to Prevent NAFTA Withdrawal
In an effort to curb the president’s “most dangerous impulses,” Trump’s former chief economic adviser Gary Cohn swiped multiple official documents from the president’s desk so he wouldn’t sign them, according to Woodward.
"I stole it off his desk," Cohn told an associate of a document withdrawing the U.S. from a crucial trade deal with South Korea, per the excerpts reviewed by CNN. "I wouldn't let him see it. He's never going to see that document. Got to protect the country.”
Cohn also allegedly removed from the Oval Office a notification letter to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), worried about the economic repercussions of pulling out.
Eager to withdraw from the international trade deal, Trump told former White House aid Rob Porter, “Why aren’t we getting this done? Do your job. It’s tap, tap, tap. You’re just tapping me along. I want to do this.”
When Porter consulted Cohn about the request, Cohn told him not to worry, allegedly replying: “I can stop this. I’ll just take the paper off his desk.”
Trump Ordered Mattis to ‘Fucking Kill’ Bashar al-Assad
Per The Washington Post’s summary of the excerpts: “After Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad launched a chemical attack on civilians in April 2017, Trump called Mattis and said he wanted to assassinate the dictator. ‘Let’s fucking kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the fucking lot of them,’ Trump said, according to Woodward.”
Trump Called Obama a ‘Weak Dick’ for Not Acting in Syria
On a related note, according to the excerpts obtained by CNN, Trump told Sen. Lindsey Graham—a golfing buddy of his—that President Barack Obama was a “weak dick” for not taking more decisive action in Syria. Ivanka Trump, a White House Staffer, Refuses to Be Treated as Staffer
According to the excerpts, White House adviser Ivanka Trump refused to follow normal staffer protocol because she is the president’s daughter.
“You’re a goddamn staffer!” former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon reportedly screamed at her, insisting she report to the chief of staff like all other aides. “You walk around this place and act like you’re in charge, and you’re not. You’re on staff!”
Her response, according to Woodward: “I’m not a staffer! I’ll never be a staffer. I’m the first daughter.”
Trump Personally Insults His Cabinet Members
According to the excerpts, Trump would often insult his top cabinet members, once reportedly mocking former national security adviser H.R. McMaster’s bravado and commenting on how he dressed in cheap suits, “like a beer salesman.”
In another excerpt, Trump allegedly told his Commerce Sec. Wilbur Ross, “I don’t trust you. I don’t want you doing any more negotiations… You’re past your prime.”
Trump Considers Himself the Ernest Hemingway of Twitter
The president is quite proud of his tweeting habits, according to the excerpts obtained by The Washington Post. But according to Woodward, staffers are often concerned his firebrand social-media persona could endanger American security. “Twitter could get us into a war,” one national-security leader reportedly feared. According to Woodward, Trump aides formed a committee to attempt to review Trump’s tweets, but failed.
Per the Post: “Priebus, who was blindsided when Trump announced his firing on Twitter, referred to the presidential bedroom as ‘the devil's workshop’ and called the early morning hours and Sunday night—a time of many news-breaking tweets—‘the witching hour.’”
And when Twitter expanded its character limit to 280, Trump—ever-so-pleased with his tweeting habits—reportedly said, “It’s a good thing, but it's a bit of a shame because I was the Ernest Hemingway of 140 characters."
Guilty: U.S. Convicts Kremlin-Linked Russian Hacker | The Beat With Ari Melber | MSNBC
"Michael Eric Dyson: President Donald Trump Is A 'Lethal Liar' | The Beat With Ari Melber | MSNBC "
MSNBC Published on Sep 12, 2018
New reporting reveals former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort is seeking a plea deal in the Mueller probe, but negotiations have stalled, because the Special Counsel wants information pertaining to Trump and the 2016 campaign. BuzzFeed News also reports a barrage of suspicious money transfers occurred 11 days after the 2016 Trump Tower meeting and a major Russian hacker, who has claimed links to the Kremlin, was convicted by U.S. Prosecutors, after being extradited from Spain.
At 2:13 - Notorious Russian cybercriminal pleads guilty to US charges Published: September 12, 2018
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Russian man considered to be one of the world's most notorious hackers pleaded guilty Wednesday to U.S. charges alleging he operated a network of devices used to steal computer credentials, distribute spam emails and install malicious software.
Peter Levashov, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud, identity theft and other charges during an appearance in federal court in Hartford, Connecticut.
Investigators linked Levashov, who also went by the names Pyotr Levashov and Peter Severa, to a series of powerful botnets, or networks hijacked computers capable of pumping out billions of spam emails.
Federal officials said Levashov had controlled the botnets — including one that infected at least 50,000 computers — to harvest email address, logins and passwords from infected computers and also distributed malware and other malicious software.
Prosecutors said Levashov had also moderated online forums used to sell and trade stolen identities and credit card numbers.
Levashov was arrested in April 2017 while vacationing in Spain. His arrest was one of a series in the last few years targeting Russian cybercriminals outside their homeland, which has no extradition agreement with the United States.
Russian authorities fought his extradition, but Levashov was transferred to the U.S. in February.
"Today's guilty plea should serve as an unequivocal reminder to all those who use the internet for illicit purposes: The FBI will pursue you regardless of what country you live in and the length of time it might take to secure your eventual arrest," said Brian Turner, the special agent in charge of the FBI's office in New Haven, Connecticut. "As we move forward, no cyber criminal should rest easy." https://www.tampabay.com/notorious-russian-cybercriminal-pleads-guilty-to-us-charges-ap_nationalf479f9087c5b4d498c60b1de17679160
One other - President Trump's enemies list .. second down .. Jared Kushner Tried and Failed to Get a Half-Billion-Dollar Bailout From Qatar .. close to two-thirds down .. President Trump, the pageant, the pop star, and Putin
Trump Denies Bombshell Claim That He Approved Trump Tower Meeting | The Beat With Ari Melber | MSNBC [...] President Donald Trump Targets Key Witnesses In Mueller Probe | The Beat With Ari Melber | MSNBC [...] After Campaign Exit, Manafort Borrowed From Businesses With Trump Ties .. with others .. https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=142534801
A good sortagreen summary of some of the question marks around Trump - Hiring your family and putting them in charge of US Policy comes to mind. Suggesting that we deport people without due process violates the Constitution. Suggesting he can pardon himself says that he views himself as completely above the law. Maintaining a hotel down the street from the White House is basically nothing more than soliciting bribes. The lease there specifically states that no member of the government can be on the lease. Doing government business at his private club and charging people for access to him raises a few corruption questions as well. His turn around on ZTE after the Chinese agreed to put $5 billion into infrastructure for one of his projects is certainly corrupt. Shaking down Qatar to bailout the Kushner company is corrupt. Conspiring with the Russians to help him win an election is probable. Asking Russia to help by hacking Hillary's email certainly violates the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2009. Selling condos in "all cash" deals (and way above value) to shell corporations, appears to violate various money-laundering statutes. Wait until we see how many Russian controlled shell corporations there are. Changing the Republican platform to let Russia off the hook is quite suspicious. Trump Tower meeting, Seychelles meeting... I think there are going to be a lot of shoes falling here. We haven't heard from Roger Stone or Manafort or Gates or Michael Cohen yet... I'm sorry top. That's a ridiculous fucking post https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=141806860
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