Tag: Reince Priebus

Riding an Untamed Horse: Priebus Opens Up on Serving Trump

The following article by Peter Baker was posted on the New York Times website February 14, 2018:

Reince Priebus, the former White House chief of staff, at an event in the East Room last April. Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The meeting, to say the least, had not gone well. Upset at a presidential dressing down, Attorney General Jeff Sessions had just left the White House vowing to resign. Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, raced out of the building, found him in his car, banged on the door and implored him to come back inside.

The dramatic episode, described by Mr. Priebus in a soon-to-be-released book, proved a turning point in the relationship between President Trump and his attorney general, one that has shaped the administration ever since. More than any president in modern times, Mr. Trump has engaged in a high stakes public conflict with the Justice Department with extensive potential consequences. Continue reading “Riding an Untamed Horse: Priebus Opens Up on Serving Trump”

Mueller’s team interviewed Priebus on Friday

The following article by Josh Dawsey and Annie Karni was posted on the politico.com website October 13, 2017:

‘He was happy to answer all of their questions,’ the former White House chief of staff’s lawyer said.

Former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus had been preparing for several weeks, according to people who spoke with him. | Alex Brandon/AP

Former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus was interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller’s team on Friday, according to his lawyer, William Burck.

“Mr. Priebus was voluntarily interviewed by Special Counsel Mueller’s team today. He was happy to answer all of their questions,” Burck said.

The interview, which took place at the special counsel’s office, was expected as part of Mueller’s sprawling Russia-related investigation. Priebus had been preparing for several weeks, according to people who spoke with him.

Priebus didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon. Continue reading “Mueller’s team interviewed Priebus on Friday”

Mueller gives White House names of 6 aides he expects to question in Russia probe

The following article by Carol D. Leonnig, Rosalind S. Helderman and Ashley Parker was posted on the Washington Post website September 8, 2017:

President Trump has weighed in on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election time and time again. Here’s a look at how he can limit the probe, and what Congress is trying to do about it. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has alerted the White House that his team will probably seek to interview six top current and former advisers to President Trump who were witnesses to several episodes relevant to the investigation of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the request.

Mueller’s interest in the aides, including trusted adviser Hope Hicks, former press secretary Sean Spicer and former chief of staff Reince Priebus, reflects how the probe that has dogged Trump’s presidency is starting to penetrate a closer circle of aides around the president. Continue reading “Mueller gives White House names of 6 aides he expects to question in Russia probe”

Here Are the Top Officials in the Trump White House Who Have Left

The following article by Larry Buchanan, Alicia Parlapiano and Karen Yourish was posted on the New York Times website August 18, 2017:

Below are the top White House officials who resigned, or were fired, dismissed or reassigned. Mr. Trump also fired James B. Comey as director of the F.B.I. and Sally Q. Yates, a holdover from the Obama administration who was serving as his acting attorney general. Continue reading “Here Are the Top Officials in the Trump White House Who Have Left”

Priebus says 80 percent of Americans support Trump’s initiatives. Sure — if all Americans are Republicans.

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website February 23, 2017:

Up until November, Reince Priebus was the head of the Republican Party, tasked with getting Republicans elected and representing the party’s interests publicly. He was good at that job, and with the election of a Republican president to join GOP control of Capitol Hill, he was ready for a new adventure. When President-elect Donald Trump reached out about serving as his chief of staff, Priebus agreed — and took on a new constituency, the American people at large.

He may be getting that new constituency confused with his old one, if a comment he made at the Conservative Political Action Conference is any guide. Continue reading “Priebus says 80 percent of Americans support Trump’s initiatives. Sure — if all Americans are Republicans.”

CPAC Is Trying To Wash The “Alt-Right” Stench Off Breitbart

The following article by Matt Gertz was posted on the Media Matters website February 23, 2017:

The term “alt-right” is toxic. It should be. The loose confederation of neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and misogynists have spent the last year spreading fear, hatred, and conspiracy theories.

The problem for conservatives is that the movement is directly connected to the major right-wing news outlet Breitbart.com; its former executive chairman, Stephen Bannon; and Bannon’s new boss, President Donald Trump. Continue reading “CPAC Is Trying To Wash The “Alt-Right” Stench Off Breitbart”

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace warns viewers: Trump crossed the line in latest attack on media

The following article by Amy B. Wang was posted on the Washington Post website February 19, 2017:

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace cautioned his colleagues and the network’s viewers Sunday that President Trump’s latest attack on the media had gone too far.

“Look, we’re big boys. We criticize presidents. They want to criticize us back, that’s fine,” Wallace said Sunday morning on “Fox & Friends.” “But when he said that the fake news media is not my enemy, it’s the enemy of the American people, I believe that crosses an important line.”

The “Fox & Friends” anchors had shown a clip of Trump recounting that past presidents, including Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, had fought with the press. They then asked Wallace whether Trump’s fraught relationship with the media was a big deal. Continue reading “Fox News anchor Chris Wallace warns viewers: Trump crossed the line in latest attack on media”

The Rudderless Ship of State

The following article by Eliot A. Cohen* was posted on the Atlantic website February 14, 2017:

The departure of Michael Flynn leaves the administration with a feuding crew, and no one at the helm.

There are two theories of the future of President Trump’s foreign policy and the National Security Council. In one, the good ship NSC, like a Nantucket whaler of old, has had a hard shakedown cruise, but is coming to. A couple of misfits have been tossed overboard, and the captain has given up trying to run the ship. He periodically shows up on deck to shake his fist at the moon and order a summary flogging, but for the most part he stays in his cabin emitting strange barks while competent mates and petty officers sail the NSC. It’s not pretty—the ship rolls and lurches alarmingly—but it gets where it needs to go.

This could happen. Trump, overwhelmed by a leadership task far beyond his experience and personality, will focus his efforts on infrastructure projects and the like, and quietly concede the direction of foreign policy to his sober secretaries of state and defense, with a retired general or admiral to reassemble something like an orderly White House process. He is erratic but not stupid: he knows he is in over his head, hates the bad publicity his first few weeks bought him, and has family members nudging him in this direction. Continue reading “The Rudderless Ship of State”