When he flew to Germany, Tillerson took a small press pool with him but did not give it the opportunity to ask questions. At his first meeting on Thursday with the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, journalists were hustled out of the room before Tillerson opened his mouth, according to the Bloomberg news agency, rather than be allowed to stay to record the routine exchange of introductory platitudes. When Tillerson emerged, he delivered a very short statement, but refused to take questions.

~~~
Neither he nor his staff were consulted on the executive order imposing a travel ban on refugees and nationals of seven predominantly Muslim countries. A memo strongly dissenting from the policy has been signed by about 1,000 state department employees.

~~~

“What concerns me is that in the absence of any confirmed officials other than the secretary, they will not have the weight to make those educated voices heard as the White House makes policy,” said Thomas Countryman, former assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation and one of the senior staff who was suddenly sacked before Tillerson’s arrival.

“My nagging suspicion is that the White House is very happy to have a vacuum in the under-secretary and assistant secretary levels, not only at state but across government agencies, because it relieves them of even feeling an obligation to consult with experts before they take a new direction.”

And this from Deutschewelle:

http://www.dw.com/en/g20-world-leaders-in-search-of-lost-trust/a-37590637

Washington (CNN)Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford meet face to face with their Russian counterparts Thursday, as the Trump administration evaluates the future direction of US-Russian relations.

Tillerson, a former oil executive who was confirmed as Secretary of State two weeks ago, departed Wednesday for a G-20 ministerial meeting in Bonn, Germany -- his inaugural international trip as the United States' top diplomat. He'll be joined in Bonn by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and representatives from the world's other major economies.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday that Tillerson and Lavrov will meet on the sidelines of the conference on Thursday. It will be their first such meeting since Tillerson took office.

~~~
Also this week, Trump's Vice President, Mike Pence, plans to address the Munich Security Conference over the weekend and meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The meeting will be Merkel's first in-person encounter with a member of the Trump administration since the inauguration last month.

After defending Flynn amid the controversy, Russian lawmakers are now signalling a turn toward U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in improving ties.

~~~

The Russian establishment has not harboured any illusions about the Trump administration’s pro-Russia stance for some time now, said Alexei Makarkin at the Moscow-based Center for Political Technologies.

“This infatuation with Trump in Russia is over, and Flynn as a person who has contributed to this infatuation stopped being perceived as a figure who can have a real impact on the U.S. foreign policy,” Makarkin said.

The nomination of Tillerson, former chief executive at ExxonMobil, showed the Russians that he, not Flynn, would be doing the negotiating, Makarkin said.

Controlling the message coming out of Donald Trump’s White House may seem like an impossible task — and it’s one that many are hesitant to try right now.

The White House has gone without a full-time communications director since Trump was sworn in last month, and although chief of staff Reince Priebus is spearheading a robust effort to fill the position, his overtures to several Republican communications professionals have been met with a lack of interest, according to a half-dozen sources with knowledge of the situation. At least two candidates have turned down the job, a position normally coveted by Washington political operatives, according to another source familiar with the conversations.

On Thursday, Purcell told reporters that discovery and potential depositions during the full court case could provide critical insight into the events leading up to the executive order.

“We would like to get some answers about what really was the order of events,” said Purcell. “We’ve heard a number of different stories from the administration about who did what and when, and whether this was even reviewed by the national security agencies.”

The mission was approved over dinner five days after the presidential inauguration by Trump and his closest advisers, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his special adviser and former Breitbart executive Stephen Bannon, as well as defence secretary General Jim Mattis.

~~~

The special forces, apparently lacking full intelligence, were confronted by heavily-fortified positions, including landmines, and faced heavy gunfire from buildings all around during the 50-minute firefight. One of the US planes sent in to help had to be left behind and was deliberately destroyed.

US military officials told Reuters that Trump approved his first covert counterterrorism operation without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations.

The mission had been prepared under the Obama administration but it had not been approved.

It’s “The Apprentice, SCOTUS Edition.”

Mr. Trump, who has a penchant for the theatrical and loved teasing out suspense in his key appointments throughout the campaign, plans to bring his two top choices for the United States Supreme Court to the White House ahead of his announcement tonight at 8 p.m., according to a CNN report.

~~~

Trump wants a big show for his Supreme Court rollout. Networks oblige
The major broadcast networks are set to carry President Trump’s Supreme Court announcement live on Tuesday evening, cutting into regular prime-time programming.

The coverage by ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox broadcast affiliates is likely to significantly expand the television audience for the president’s announcement, which has taken on the air of a reality television special. Mr. Trump has used his Twitter account to encourage Americans to tune in for the event.

We’ve had no written instructions yet from the US, at least not on the frontline, and the instructions that we have received don’t mention dual nationality or green cards – it’s very unclear what to do.

Some people are being stopped, while others are being given the benefit of the doubt. So if, for example, a passenger is Syrian holding a US passport we’re turning a blind eye – we’re pretending we haven’t seen the Syrian passport.

One passenger stuck in the airport here is a Syrian green card holder who was denied boarding. Her family, her job, her whole life is in the US and when she asks us when we will allow her to go home, none of us know what to say. Unfortunately because she’s Syrian it’s difficult for her to get a visa for Dubai and it’s difficult for her to go elsewhere.

At the moment her chances of getting into the US depend on which airport she goes to. If she’s landing in New York they’ll send her back, if it’s Houston they might accept her – what we’ve found is it really depends on which shift is operating; it’s not even a standard airport policy.