WTF Community

News Sources: Who said that...?

Have you ever had one of those moments where you remember reading something but you just cannot remember where and need to reference it…?

Or on the flip side, have you ever heard of something that happened from a credible person, but you hadn’t seen anything in the news cycle about it?

And in both situations, no matter how many times your google search, you just cannot find it?

Thought we could crowdsource these types of “ugh moment” questions, because you never know who might know exactly what you are looking for!

1 Like

I heard today on the Left, Right & Center Podcast that everyone in the WH are reporting to John Kelly (well, those who are traditionally suppose to report to the COS)…including Ivanka and Jared?

I hadn’t heard anything that it about - anyone seen this?

I’m actually pretty impressed with that, good strategy on his part. How long will it last? I feel like it will work for a while, maybe longer than expected, but will he be the anomaly that actually gets to stay on staff or will Bannon and Ivanka get him pushed out?

1 Like

This seems like it could be big - Shane Harris at WSJ has broken quite a few big TrumpRussia stories. (He’s the one that interviewed Peter Smith right before he died - re: trying to obtain Clinton emails.)

Has anyone heard any more details on his recent FOIA requests? re: Comey firing

1 Like

Has anyone heard of any interviews with Stephen Paddock’s other brothers (Bruce or Patrick)? I know there have been a ton with Eric, his youngest brother.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/10/02/las-vegas-gunman-liked-to-gamble-listened-to-country-music-lived-quiet-retired-life-before-massacre/

For News on the recovery efforts in Puerto Rico follow David Begnaud of CBS News, he’s been on the ground since the beginning and is doing some amazing reporting. Here’s a clip from Face the Nation.

https://www.cbsnews.com/videos/puerto-ricans-are-in-desperate-need-of-food-and-water/

Follow David Begnaud: Facebook and/or Twitter

1 Like

For stories on the Supreme Court I follow Nina Totenberg from NPR. Here’s a link to today’s coverage of the first day hearing the partisan gerrymandering case. The Notorious R.G.B. in the house!

2 Likes

Also, Emily Bazelon from NYT Magazine & Political Gabfest is a great follow for all things SCOTUS.

The Campaign Legal Center is a great source for the gerrymandering case and the #fairmaps hashtag too.

NYT 8/3/17

Mr. Kelly cuts off rambling advisers midsentence. He listens in on conversations between cabinet secretaries and the president. He has booted lingering staff members out of high-level meetings, and ordered the doors of the Oval Office closed to discourage strays. He fired Anthony Scaramucci, the bombastic New Yorker who was briefly the communications director, and has demanded that even Mr. Trump’s family, including his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, check with him if they want face time with the president.

Mr. Kelly, 67, has told his new employees that he was hired to manage the staff, not the president. He will not try to change Mr. Trump’s Twitter or TV-watching habits.

He has privately acknowledged that he cannot control the president and that his authority would be undermined if he tried and failed. Instead, he is intent on cosseting Mr. Trump with bureaucratic competence and forcing staff members to keep to their lanes

3 Likes

I think John Kelly will have more success than anyone before him with organizing and disciplining the White House, but I don’t think it will last either. It’ll depend on how much latitude he’s given by Trump to enforce consequences.

Although Kelly now has a mutual working alliance with H.R. McMaster, extreme ideologues like Bannon, Kushner, Miller, and Gorka are the core problem—aside from Trump himself, of course, who likes to rock the boat.

Interestingly, it has been reported Kelly and Bannon have a good relationship, so that might work in Kelly’s favor. He might also clash less because what he did while running DHS aligned with Trump’s agenda with no pushback.

Kelly does not seem to be in tune with nor have a desire to play political games, though, which is the Chief of Staff’s job. It’s one thing to work at DHS but entirely another to work at the epicenter of The Circus 24/7.

And the last time a military commander was named COS to right the ship of a sinking presidency was apparently under Nixon.

Kelly’s “counterpart” McMaster probably won’t last long either, and he’s a stabilizing force that could make Kelly’s job that much smoother.

Just as McMaster started cleaning house this week, the far-right media machine kicked into high gear to try to smear and oust him (Breitbart, Daily Caller, Fox News, alt-right online activists Cernovich and Posobiec, etc.) If Trump can turn against Jeff Sessions, he’ll easily boot McMaster too, eventually.

On Wednesday 8/3/17, a select group of Russian-linked social media accounts started ramping up the “FireMcMaster” & other related hashtags to get them to trend.



3 Likes