Hope Hicks is Resigning From WH

[Kjbartolotta]

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/28/politics/hope-hicks-white-house/index.html

There seems to be some debate about her reasons for exiting. If she doesn't like the job or DC culture that's fine, excuse my cynicism if I don't think that's the whole story.

 

[cornflake]

How does that affect the subpoena? I mean obviously they can subpoena anyone but I dunno if as a private citizen, not a gov't employee, she's got more or less coverage in terms of what she will or won't or can claim she will or won't say regarding her time in the WH. I suspect that's at the heart of it, but I dunno which way she's going -- for a Fifth thing or to spill or..

 

[Anna Iguana]

How does that affect the subpoena? I mean obviously they can subpoena anyone but I dunno if as a private citizen, not a gov't employee, she's got more or less coverage in terms of what she will or won't or can claim she will or won't say regarding her time in the WH. I suspect that's at the heart of it, but I dunno which way she's going -- for a Fifth thing or to spill or..

I'm not sure she left to be able to say less. Bannon is long gone, but he still has the same demands on him from Congress and Mueller, and on the other hand, he's still stonewalling just like current White House employees. I've already read three editorials that suggest the claim Hicks had been "planning" to leave is laughable. The editorial writers each conclude that she had to leave because she testified to Congress this week that she lies for Trump as part of her job. I mean, she's the White House Communications Director. Even if Trump didn't care, Kelly might have.

 

[Kjbartolotta]

Good questions for a smarter person than I! I suspect there are some protections she'll enjoy as a private citizen, but I suspect this is about her getting ready to spill. Dunno, I can see how maybe she knows it's time to get out, Maggie Haberman's all over Twitter saying this isn't about Mueller, how she isn't being booted out, etc, etc. Don't buy it, but it'd be a hell of a plot twist.

 

[Brightdreamer]

Dang, is it sweeps week again, to shake up the cast like that?

TBH, I've given up trying to guess ulterior motives at this point; they're all so twisted and tangled beneath the slime it's impossible to keep straight...

 

[CWatts]

Dang, is it sweeps week again, to shake up the cast like that?

TBH, I've given up trying to guess ulterior motives at this point; they're all so twisted and tangled beneath the slime it's impossible to keep straight...

At least they keep giving us an excuse to play "Another One Bites the Dust." (That will be especially sweet when homophobe Pence goes...hopefully in handcuffs.)

 

[ElaineA]

I don't think she's going to spill. Yesterday "they" incorporated the Trump team legal defense fund, and you can bet your bottom dollar (argh, pun!) she'll be dipping into it.

I'm with those who think her admitting under oath that she lies for the president sealed her fate, but not because of the dishonesty. If Kelly is consolidating power, he can't afford to have a person loyal enough to the president to lie for him--potentially to Kelly--in the White House.

Kelly is exactly the type who would gladly operate as a shadow president, IMO. It's going to be an interesting finale to the Game of Oval Offices.

 

[Larry M]

There is also the strong suggestion that Hicks obstructed justice (Vanity Fair, Feb. 1), and could soon be indicted by Mueller. That's my bet.

 

[Anna Iguana]

Hicks handed Mueller a gift yesterday when she described some of her own acts as lies. Obstruction of justice requires evidence of intent; other members of the administration caught in falsehoods have claimed to be misinformed and/or misunderstood. Hicks, in contrast, admitted she knew the difference between fact and fiction, then misled people on purpose.

 

[Kjbartolotta]

I should also add that Hicks has been making overtures to bail for a while. I read recently, and with the Political Twitter garbage I inhale all day I cannot cite the source, that Hicks' family members are claiming she's been 'emotionally traumatized', and hinting she's not long for Team Orange. I don't doubt that one bit, but it also sounds like they're setting up for something. Whether that something is she plans to flip on Trump, or rather just cast herself as the victim of the mean 'ol media, who can say? I suspect she's already in a wee spot of trouble personally. But Brightdreamer is right, assume these people want to hurt you and otherwise don't try to follow their logic.

Kelly is exactly the type who would gladly operate as a shadow president, IMO. It's going to be an interesting finale to the Game of Oval Offices.

Oh God, dude. I want to argue against this for reasons of preserving my sanity. Kelly scares me, and (YMMV!) only seems to *think* he knows what he's doing. Tywin Lannister, he is not.

 

[DarienW]

This might not be the right thread for this--but another person leaving? Cheeto has yet to fill all the positions the government requires. If this was anyone else, working any other job, they would be fired for doing the minimum of what is required. His personal pilot to lead the FAA. I haven't seen who is currently there, but seriously!

I feel like I'm in an alternative reality.

Kushner getting downgraded on his "security clearance." Well, let's just let him carry on then, right? There's no one more qualified to take that position--is there? (sarcasm intended)

Since we know Russia is spreading dissension, can't we all address it as such, instead of engaging the endless stream of Hillary and Obama bashing being used to defend the worst offenses of any president who has ever been . . . Would accusing the MAGA, 2020! posters of being a bot silence them, or at least diffuse their impact?

I am seriously concerned about the turn-over rate of all the issues that come up daily. NO reaction to the porn star, (Monica Lewinsky, Donna Rice, Anthony Weiner, etc--HUGE NEWS!) or endorsing a pedophile, Roy Moore. (That's right, buddy, it was the gays who kept you from being elected. Couldn't find the exact article, but I saw it.) Never mind the "Some Very Fine People on Both Sides." May I add the article about all the lies Cheeto has said since he's been in office . . . why is this okay? I don't understand it! The tax bill is going to bankrupt America, and who better to do that! 14% less tax to Amazon, Walmart, Target . . . the list goes on. (Oh p-shaw, Cheeto won't benefit from that--nor will Congress.) Somehow, the 99% is going to replace that income. Is it me?

Can't wait to see the military parade, and oh yeah, enjoy your golfing Cheeto! (26,985,000 so far, but that's not everything. Headline claims 55,980,062.) I'm sure you love all the ka-chings from all the security residing there. (emollients clause anyone? Nepotism?) Who cares about Meals on Wheels, I mean, even if those golf trips were used to fund it . . . nah, old people suck and deserve to die. They're a drain on our economy. Cutting off their food will help speed the process. (I fear they're not the only ones intended to be taken out.)

I have refrained from posting things like this, but I'm at my limit. Sorry if I've sidetracked the topic, but I do read all of the comments on this . . . daily horror, and generally agree with you all. Thanks for indulging me.

I'll end with the intelligent views on Puerto Rico: “This is an island surrounded by water, big water, ocean water. This is an island sitting in the middle of an ocean – and it's a big ocean, a really, really big ocean."

 

[ElaineA]

Oh God, dude. I want to argue against this for reasons of preserving my sanity. Kelly scares me, and (YMMV!) only seems to *think* he knows what he's doing. Tywin Lannister, he is not.

Ha! I'm not saying he knows what he's doing, just that he'd like to be the most powerful player in the room.

 

[Lyv]

Yesterday was wild! I wanted to start a thread about the Kushner loan stuff but I can't grasp it well enough (even after watching Rachel Maddow, who puts things together and lays them out in a way that's easy to understand, imo).

 

[shakeysix]

Yeah. My head was spinning after the weekend so I took a couple days off. I turn on the news this am to the cold war fired up again? And it will go into the fake news dustbin along with Hope Hicks and trashing due process. By next week it will be something newer and scarier. Meanwhile Fux News and Trump keep carping about Hilary, Obama and the (gasp) Godless Liberals.

Know what I think? I think that the 8 years of stiff- necked, blindy self- righteous outrage spewed by the right against Obama, Clinton, liberals, gays, immigrants, any handy scapegoats, have calloused the deplorables to real news. Hilary's e-mails next to Kushner and Manafort's hi-jinx? Bill's blow job next to the Hollywood Insider tapes? Come on, even the dimmest witted deplorable should be able to see that they were played but NOOOO! They are so used to Fux, Breitbart, etc., pumping out lies and paranoid hate that they cannot see the cold, scary truth! We need to give up on persuading the Republican Party to see the light. Ain't gonna happen. We need to step over them and continue on with getting rid of the toxins. Clearly we don't need them Look at the polls! --s6

 

[Roxxsmom]

Yesterday was wild! I wanted to start a thread about the Kushner loan stuff but I can't grasp it well enough (even after watching Rachel Maddow, who puts things together and lays them out in a way that's easy to understand, imo).

Yeah, I've been trying to follow the story, and it makes my head hurt.

The biggest question I have is why it took them so long to downgrade his clearance if leverage by business associates in other countries is a concern. This has been a thing since day 1 with Kushner, and others in #45's administration too. The whole point of his presidency is to expand the business prospects of him and his associates.

 

[MaeZe]

Yeah, I've been trying to follow the story, and it makes my head hurt.

The biggest question I have is why it took them so long to downgrade his clearance if leverage by business associates in other countries is a concern. This has been a thing since day 1 with Kushner, and others in #45's administration too. The whole point of his presidency is to expand the business prospects of him and his associates.

Nothing happens until it is reported on in the press. What's amazing is that once it is reported anything happens.

 

[ElaineA]

The Rob Porter story forced their hand. That's what got everyone investigating how many other people were as yet uncleared. They couldn't excuse some and not others without raising a stink, and it's clear Kush will never be able to pass a top-level clearance.

As for the details, the Apollo one is easiest to parse through. The private equity firm, with the financial capacity to make a loan, is headed up by Joshua Harris, a man who sits on the president's infrastructure policy board. Kush is also on that board. So...let's say Apollo's CEO whispers to Kush, "hey, I can get you a loan, but can you get us in on these infrastructure deals? Let me know who's going to be bidding, who's likely to get preference so we can invest? And oh, by the way, how about a job in the administration?"

The loan they gave Kush is 3x their average loan, which doesn't say they've *never* loaned so much, but it's enough to raise questions. Because we know one thing for certain. Kushner Co. can't pay its debts. The have half a stake in a $1.2B mortgage on 666 Fifth Ave with a due date of February, 2019. They're so beyond leveraged even the Qataris won't touch them. So why would Apollo Capital Management?

Yes, everyone knows they're grifters, but the unwritten rule is supposed to be grift quietly, I guess? Still, even this isn't jangling any GOP bells that I can see.

By the by, it's in the president's purview to declassify anything so someone without clearance can look, and then re-classify it. That's how he'll get around this if Kelly doesn't manage to eject him.

Bloomberg long form article on Kushner NYC buildings

 

[Roxxsmom]

The loan they gave Kush is 3x their average loan, which doesn't say they've *never* loaned so much, but it's enough to raise questions. Because we know one thing for certain. Kushner Co. can't pay its debts. The have half a stake in a $1.2B mortgage on 666 Fifth Ave with a due date of February, 2019. They're so beyond leveraged even the Qataris won't touch them. So why would Apollo Capital Management?

This definitely smells funky.

By the by, it's in the president's purview to declassify anything so someone without clearance can look, and then re-classify it. That's how he'll get around this if Kelly doesn't manage to eject him.

Bloomberg long form article on Kushner NYC buildings

I'm afraid you are right, and #45 won't care how it looks.

 

[blacbird]

#45 won't care how it looks.

Oh, but he does. Which is why he is not pointing his tiny fingers another direction and imposing big tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Just one more deflection. Oh, yeah, and by the way that announcement caused the Dow to drop 400 points today.

And, as another by-the-way, the U.S. may import produced aluminum from other nations, but we have absolutely zero of the raw material for refining it, aluminum ore. Let's piss of the suppliers of that to the point that they put a trade embargo on it and sell it all to China and Russia.

caw

 

[Brightdreamer]

Ha! I'm not saying he knows what he's doing, just that he'd like to be the most powerful player in the room.

As much of that usually occurs in the halls of power, I suspect it's x100, at least, in this regime.

We need to step over them and continue on with getting rid of the toxins. Clearly we don't need them Look at the polls! --s6

If we can unite against them, we don't need them; this is a very vocal minority we're fighting. But that's a very big If. Problem is, the left and center (and even the more moderate right) are easy to fragment, turning on ourselves or simply giving up - a problem exploited and exacerbated by that vocal minority and those who have an interest in seeing them in power (or at least seeing America fragmented and weakened.) Doesn't matter how big the army is: if it's everyone for themselves, the few who stay united will most likely win.

And this may not be why HH left, but, if true, it sure would make a decent balm: Report on possible book deal figures. I wouldn't doubt that there'd be strong interest, whether or not any are on the table. Though the existence of that diary (again, if true) might make things Interesting (TM)...

 

[MaeZe]

It has been suggested the diary is subpoena-able. Should be interesting if it exists.

 

[Kjbartolotta]

It has been suggested the diary is subpoena-able.

(• ε •) ORLY?

 

[ElaineA]

HH is like a surrogate daughter to Trump. She's known widely as one of the few people that could tolerate and deal with his tantrums. I'm finding it very hard to believe she'd be out shopping a diary for a tell-all the day after she announced her resignation and while she's still working in the Oval Office.

That said, if she is, she's the stupidest (honorary) Trump of them all.

 

[cbenoi1]

Which is why he is not pointing his tiny fingers another direction and imposing big tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Just one more deflection.

He needed a victory after this week's debacle and found a low-hanging fruit. I'm sure the Big-Three are overjoyed by the news.

Are you tired of winning yet?

-cb

 

[Lyv]

He needed a victory after this week's debacle and found a low-hanging fruit. I'm sure the Big-Three are overjoyed by the news.

Are you tired of winning yet?

-cb

And with all that's going on and Putin running animations of nuking Florida, *45 is tweeting attacks on Alec Baldwin for playing him on SNL. He's not well.