The world is totally respecting us now.

Trump's pick to replace Flynn has said thanks but no thanks due to WH "Obvious Dysfunctionality"

President Trump's pick to replace his former national security adviser Michael Flynn told the president he could not accept the position, according to reports Thursday.

Trump is working to convince retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward to change his mind after he turned down the position, Financial Times reported citing two sources familiar with the situation.

https://twitter.com/alanhe/status/832364767117447169

Reports emerged Wednesday that Trump had offered the job to Harward, a former Navy SEAL, following Flynn's resignation on Monday.


Trump was reportedly "a bit surprised when Harward responded by saying he needed a couple of days to think it over," according to Foreign Policy.


http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/320015-trumps-pick-to-replace-flynn-turns-down-offer-report

https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/832362974761381889




MORE:
https://www.ft.com/content/e89c64b8-f494-11e6-95ee-f14e55513608

LOL: Tillerson Forced to Stay at Sanitarium in German Village for G-20

On his first trip abroad as U.S. secretary of state, Rex Tillerson was forced to stay at a sanitarium in a German village known for its hot springs, 30 minutes from where other world leaders gathered. Diplomatic security agents mingled in the parking lot with elderly people in wheelchairs arriving for spa treatments.

Tillerson, the former head of Exxon Mobil Corp., was at the sanitarium because Bonn’s hotels were all booked by the time he confirmed his attendance at this week’s Group of 20 meeting. Counterparts including U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had to make a trek out to meet him.

The unusual diplomatic debut continued during an awkward encounter with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. After Lavrov delivered some perfunctory opening remarks alongside Tillerson, U.S. aides quickly ushered reporters from the room. “Why did they shush them out?” Lavrov asked.


https://politicalwire.com/2017/02/16/lepage-trump-tv-show/

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) to Trump: "The TV Show Is Over"

said that too many people are vying for power within the White House and that the President should stop treating it like a TV show, CNN reports.

Said LePage: “The thing I’m sensing is that there’s three or four chiefs at the top. I would say this: You’ve got to put someone somebody in charge.”

He added: “In his case, too much competition. Everybody’s fighting to be that No. 1 person. You’re gonna have a lot of slip ups. I’ve met Donald Trump, I think he does promote some competition. He brings that business aspect to it. We got to tell him that the TV show’s over and he’s gotta move on now.



More:
https://politicalwire.com/2017/02/16/lepage-trump-tv-show/

"We needed someone who'd shake things up. Drain the swamp."

Judge orders Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to release emails related to fossil fuel industr

Source: KFOR

OKLAHOMA CITY A judge has ruled that Americans have a right to know how much of a relationship Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has with oil and gas leaders before becoming the head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

For years, Pruitt has been an outspoken adversary of the EPA and is currently suing the agency.

................

A 2014 New York Times report claimed that Pruitts ties to Devon Energy Corporation directly influenced decisions he made while in office in Oklahoma.

Through open records requests, the New York Times obtained a letter written by Devons attorneys, which was then taken to Pruitt.

..........

Read more: http://kfor.com/2017/02/16/judge-orders-oklahoma-attorney-general-scott-pruitt-to-release-emails-related-to-fossil-fuel-industry/

The latest report: Former national security adviser Michael Flynn lied to the FBI

Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn denied to FBI agents in an interview last month that he had discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with that country’s ambassador to the United States before President Trump took office, contradicting the contents of intercepted communications collected by intelligence agencies, current and former U.S. officials said.

The Jan. 24 interview potentially puts Flynn in legal jeopardy, as lying to the FBI is a felony, but any decision to prosecute would ultimately lie with the Justice Department. Some officials said bringing a case could prove difficult in part because Flynn may attempt to parse the definition of sanctions. […]

Two days after the interview, acting Attorney General Sally Q. Yates informed Donald McGahn, Trump’s White House counsel, about the contents of the intercepted phone call. Yates and other officials were concerned that Russia could use the mischaracterization of the call—which Pence had repeated on national television—to blackmail the national security adviser and did not think it was fair to keep Pence in the dark about the discrepancies, according to officials familiar with their thinking.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/flynn-in-fbi-interview-denied-discussing-sanctions-with-russian-ambassador/2017/02/16/e3e1e16a-f3d5-11e6-8d72-263470bf0401_story.html?utm_term=.45f0dd0e1cfd

Sally Yates gets heros welcome at Atlanta race panel discussion

Rep. Elijah Cummings says Trump's account of canceled meeting was a Complete Fabrication

February 16, 2017
Press Release
Washington, D.C. (Feb. 16, 2017)—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s press conference:

“I have no idea why President Trump would make up a story about me like he did today. Of course, Senator Schumer never told me to skip a meeting with the President.

“I was actually looking forward to meeting with the President about the skyrocketing price of prescription drugs. What I have been doing for the past several weeks is working closely with my partner on these efforts, Senator Bernie Sanders. My goal was to finalize our proposal to allow HHS to negotiate lower drug prices so I could present it to the President. The President has said many times that he supports this proposal, so I wanted to have our bill ready to get his support.

“I also sincerely have no idea why the President made this claim in response to an unrelated question about the Congressional Black Caucus. I am sure members of the CBC can answer these questions for themselves.

.........


https://cummings.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cummings-issues-statement-response-president-trump-s-press-conference
https://cummings.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cummings-issues-statement-response-president-trump-s-press-conferencehttp://thehill.com/homenews/house/319961-cummings-trump-made-up-cancelled-meeting


AND THIS:
https://twitter.com/OfficialCBC/status/832316384260526081

J.K. Rowling Strikes Again!