What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[Tamas]

If we get over the next 8 years without serious wounds done to American democracy, a world-wide economic meltdown, and no nuclear war, I'll be happy.

[The Brain]

Just duck and cover.

[Syt]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/us/politics/rep-jason-chaffetz-ethics-monitor-investigation-threat.html

G.O.P. Lawmaker Hints at Investigating Ethics Chief Critical of Trump

The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee on Thursday issued a stern letter, including a veiled threat of an investigation, to the federal government's top ethics monitor, who this week had questioned President-elect Donald J. Trump's commitment to confront his potential conflicts of interest.

In an unusual action against the independent Office of Government Ethics, Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah accused the office's director, Walter M. Shaub Jr., of "blurring the line between public relations and official ethics guidance."

He cited a bizarre series of Twitter posts that the office made in late November congratulating Mr. Trump for divesting from his business — even though Mr. Trump had made no such commitment. Mr. Chaffetz also said that the office had failed to adequately investigate Hillary Clinton, based on allegations that she had not properly disclosed fees paid for speeches she gave after leaving her post as secretary of state.

Mr. Chaffetz's letter made no mention of Mr. Shaub's airing of doubts a day earlier about Mr. Trump's ethics plan, which includes retaining his own stake in his business empire and putting it in a trust managed by his two adult sons. Mr. Shaub, during an unusual news conference at the Brookings Institution, a policy research center in Washington, said that Mr. Trump had not gone far enough and would leave himself susceptible to "suspicions of corruption."

Tensions have also flared in recent weeks between the ethics office and Republicans over the pace at which Mr. Trump's cabinet appointees — many of whom are millionaires or billionaires — were moving through the review process.

Mr. Chaffetz, in his letter, noted his committee's authority to reauthorize the office, a hint that it could perhaps be shut down. "The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal oversight committee of the House of Representatives and may at 'any time' investigate 'any matter' as set forth in House Rule X," he wrote.

A spokesman for the Office of Government Ethics did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mr. Chaffetz asked Mr. Shaub to appear for an interview with the committee's staff by the end of the month.

Richard W. Painter, who served as an ethics lawyer in the administration of George W. Bush, said that Mr. Chaffetz was apparently trying to punish Mr. Shaub for criticizing Mr. Trump.

"They are strong-arming them," Mr. Painter said Thursday night after being sent a copy of the letter. "They are obviously very upset the Office of Government Ethics is leaning on Trump and not willing to jam through his nominees. It is political retaliation."

Attacks on the ethics office are rare. Mr. Shaub joined the office when Mr. Bush was president, and he was appointed to direct the agency in 2013 by President Obama.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee came to Mr. Shaub's defense, citing what it called Mr. Chaffetz's "hypocrisy" in not responding to letters from committee Democrats asking him to investigate the apparent conflicts of interest presented by Mr. Trump, who is prepared to enter office while his family still controls a global real estate firm.

"Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz's bizarre and fawning devotion to President-elect Donald Trump is beneath the committee he oversees and an affront to the trust his constituents have placed in him," the Democratic committee's spokesman, Tyler Law, said in a statement.

A group that supports Republicans, America Rising PAC, this week accused the ethics office of trying to slow down the process for Mr. Trump's nominees, as a number of hearings have been delayed.

On Wednesday, the organization said it had sent information requests to the office. "The American people deserve to know if Walter Shaub has turned the ethics office into an arm of the Senate Democrats' campaign of obstruction," it said in a statement.

[Syt]

[garbon]

lots of people never gave obama a chance, just like lots of people aren't willing to give trump a chance.

Plenty of people who were optimistic about Obama changed their tune when they saw he was appointing conservative establishment types to his cabinet. I don't see why Trump cannot be judged by his cabinet appointees as well.

trump is looking p good from his cabinet appointees given how low expectations were. he cut out christie, giuliani, gingrich, etc. he's not pushing to indict clinton, etc. etc. there's been a number of positive things trump has indicated that get glossed over. I think people created an image of trump in their head during the election, and that image has carried over despite some positive things that suggest trump won't literally be hitler

And then he picked up Giuliani...

http://uk.businessinsider.com/rudy-giuliani-cybersecurity-adviser-trump-2017-1?r=US&IR=T

Trump taps Rudy Giuliani as cybersecurity adviser

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani will have a spot in President-elect Donald Trump's administration after all.

Trump's transition team announced Thursday that Giuliani, will serve as a cybersecurity adviser in an informal capacity to Trump, The Washington Post reported.

"This is a rapidly evolving field both as to intrusions and solutions and it is critically important to get timely information from all sources," the transition team said in a statement.

"Mr. Giuliani was asked to initiate this process because of his long and very successful government career in law enforcement and his now sixteen years of work providing security solutions in the private sector," the statement continued.

As part of his role, Giuliani will assist with meetings between Trump and corporate executives regarding cybersecurity issues.

The announcement drew skepticism from critics who questioned Giuliani's expertise in cybersecurity.

According to The New York Times, Giuliani has spent the last 16 years in private security and heads the security consulting firm, Giuliani Partners.

Giuliani's new post may be a challenging one as cybersecurity has been a hot button topic since intelligence officials found that Russia organized an election-related cyberattacks that aimed to damage Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and catapult Trump to the presidency.

The former New York City mayor, who was a vocal supporter of Trump and served on his transition team, was once a top contender for a spot as secretary of state.

After questions arose about Giuliani's financial ties to foreign governments, Giuliani took himself out of the running and Trump selected former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson for the secretary of state role instead.

In an interview with Fox and Friends last month, Giuliani denied being forgotten by Trump and said he was offered other cabinet positions but "it just didn't work out in terms of my private life."

[LaCroix]

  at least it's an informal advisory position

[CountDeMoney]

Rudy's going to have his own hands full once the IG's investigation of the Comey letter situation dials in on the role he played in the FBI New York office's leak of the Weiner investigation.

[derspiess]

Dang, had not heard of that one.  Has the official Languish List of Approved Conspiracy Theories been updated?

[garbon]

Dang, had not heard of that one.  Has the official Languish List of Approved Conspiracy Theories been updated?

Well Rudy said that Trump campaign had advanced knowledge but then turned around and said no one talked to him.

[CountDeMoney]

Dang, had not heard of that one.  Has the official Languish List of Approved Conspiracy Theories been updated?

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/04/politics/rudy-giuliani-hillary-clinton-email-fbi/

Do try to keep up, derfetusfacefucker.

[The Minsky Moment]

Dang, had not heard of that one.  Has the official Languish List of Approved Conspiracy Theories been updated?

Well Rudy said that Trump campaign had advanced knowledge but then turned around and said no one talked to him.

IIRC he said no current FBI guy talked to him.  I don't think he disputes that he had advanced knowledge.  Just that it came through the conduit of former agents.

[Jacob]

Trump orders DC National Guard chief removed during inauguration ceremony.

In a bizarre move, Donald Trump has demanded that the commanding officer of the Washington, D.C. National Guard resign from his post in the middle of the Inauguration ceremony, even though the general will be in the middle of helping oversee the event's security, the Washington Post reported on Friday.

Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz will be removed from his post at 12:01 p.m. on Inauguration Day, just after Trump is sworn in but before the Inaugural parade begins, according to a memo obtained by the Washington Post.

Schwartz has helped plan the security for Inauguration weekend, and he will be charged with overseeing the D.C. National Guard as well as an additional 5,000 troops sent in for the weekend. But he will have to hand over commend to an interim officer in the middle of Inauguration Day.

"The timing is extremely unusual," Schwartz told the Washington Post on Friday.

"My troops will be on the street," he added. "I'll see them off but I won't be able to welcome them back to the armory."

Schwartz told the Post that he was not informed why he must step down abruptly on Inauguration Day.

"I'm a soldier," he said. "I'm a presidential appointee, therefore the president has the power to remove me."

Trump's team has also ordered all politically appointed diplomats to leave their posts by Inauguration Day, breaking with tradition of allowing some ambassadors to stay on as their children finish out the school year.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/dc-national-guard-chief-removed-inauguration

[CountDeMoney]

Imagine that.

For a guy who knows more than the generals do, he sure appoints a lot of them.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2016/12/trump_names_marine_gen_john_allen_to_head_the_department_of_homeland_security.html#correx

Because he wants the opportunity to fire them all.  Seriously.

"These men will stay here: Mattis, Kelly, Flynn and TBA."

It's a demagoguery thing, you wouldn't understand.

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful and always right.

[Caliga]

If this sort of thing continues I think it's likely Trump will encounter an unfortunate accident before his term is up.

[Jacob]

Imagine that.

Yeah, it seems pretty likely that he likes to make sure that these generals know that they serve at his whim, so they better make sure to keep him sweet. And if they don't, well he'll end their careers with a snap of his fingers.