Thursday, August 2, 2018

Another Extraordinary Day for the White House

The White House responds...

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders calls on a reporter at today's briefing.

Today was another extraordinary day for the White House.

The administration pushed back on several fronts.

Rudy Giuliani responded to questions about the president meeting with Robert Mueller. 

Russian election meddling and more were topics at the press briefing.

Ivanka Trump said the press was not the enemy of the people and separating families at the border with Mexico was a "low point."


The Mueller investigation

At 1:50 pm the White House said the president's criticism of the special counsel's Russia probe is not obstruction, according to washingtonpost.com.

Sarah Sanders said Wednesday that Trump's broadsides are simply the president "fighting back."

For more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-latest-white-house-trumps-russia-tweet-just-opinion/2018/08/01/3bff8f6c-95f8-11e8-818b-e9b7348cd87d_story.html?utm_term=.c05d5594fcf4

Today, Fox News reported that Rudy Giuliani and Trump's lawyers are still negotiating with the Mueller team about interviewing the president.  

For more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDc4OVVOM1s

Russian election meddling

Senate intelligence committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-NC, summed up how lawmakers and Trump administration officials have failed to acknowledge the dangerous problem of foreign influence operations in America on Wednesday, with a description of an Internet meme, npr.org reported.

"Some feel that we as a society are sitting in a burning room, calmly drinking a cup of coffee, telling ourselves, 'This is fine.' That's not fine," Burr said.

"We should no longer be talking about if the Russians attempted to interfere with American society.  They've been doing its since the days of the Soviet Union, and they're still doing it today."

For more of Senator Burr's comments: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/02/634682228/this-is-not-fine-new-evidence-of-russian-interference-meets-inaction-frustration

Today, the White House brought in the heads of the FBI, the NSA, Homeland Security, the National Security Advisor and the Director of National Intelligence to comment on Russian meddling and election security measures and to take reporters' questions at this afternoon's press briefing.

For more: Stung by criticism, Trump administration emphasizes election security response: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/02/634960518/stung-by-criticism-trump-administration-emphasizes-election-security-response

For more: http://time.com/5356617/white-house-election-meddling-russia/

For a state-level view of the need for election security and an interview this evening with California Secretary of State Alex Padilla: https://twitter.com/NewsHour/status/1025151516754100226

Ivanka Trump: The press is not the enemy of the people

Ivanka Trump said Thursday she does not believe the press is the enemy of the American people, a contrast with her father, the president, who has regularly derided the media as such, cnn.com reported.

Asked at an Axios event at the Newseum in Washington if she believes the "media is the enemy of the people," the White House senior adviser and first daughter replied, "No, I do not," according to cnn.

"No, I don't," she continued.  "I've certainly received my fair share of reporting on me personally that I know not to be fully accurate, so I have some sensitivity around why people have concerns and gripe, especially when they're sort of targeted.  But no, I do not feel the media is the enemy of the people," she said, according to cnn.

For more: https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/02/politics/ivanka-trump-media-not-enemy-of-the-people/index.html

At today's White House press briefing, CNN's Jim Acosta asked Sanders to respond to Ivanka Trump's comments about the press not being the enemy of the people, cnn. reported.

For that heated exchange: https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/08/02/sarah-sanders-jim-acosta-press-briefing-sot-vpx.cnn

Later this afternoon, Trump tweeted: "They asked my daughter Ivanka whether or not the media is the enemy of the people.  She correctly said no.  It is the FAKE NEWS, which is a large percentage of the media, that is the enemy of the people!", according to idahostatesman.com.

For more: https://www.idahostatesman.com/entertainment/article216001450.html

Ivanka Trump: Family separation a "low point"

Ivanka Trump called the administration's immigration enforcement policy that led to more than 2,500 family separations along the southern border a "low point" that she felt "very strongly about," usatoday.com reported today.

"That was a low point for me," she said.  "I feel very strongly about that.  I am very vehemently against family separation and the separation of parents and children," according to usatoday.

Her criticism ended there as she went on to explain that illegal immigration is a complex issue that requires tough decisions from the US government, the news service added.

For more:  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/08/02/ivanka-trump-calls-fathers-immigrant-family-separation-policy-low-point-administration/888593002/


QAnon surfaces

The Washington Post reported more on QAnon, the conspiracy theory spawned by a Trump quip, and why it's of concern.



Photo: Washington Post.
Next time on The Allen Report:
The Latest Darien Real Estate Update.

No comments:

Post a Comment