Epstein Secrets

ought up the possibility of firing everybody. Should I fire Bannon? Should I fire Reince? Should I fire McMaster? Should I fire Spicer? Should I fire Tillerson? This ritual was, everyone understood, more a pretext to a discussion of the power he held than it was, strictly, about personnel decisions. Still, i

dy with foreign policy stature and an international network had been put in HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_020053 place—even the new secretary of state designate, Rex Tillerson, had no real experience in foreign policy. To bewildered foreign secretaries, it seemed logical to see the presidentelect’s son-in-law as a figure of

HT_020046 As it happened, the Justice Department—Attorney General Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein—were,

on about Kushner’s meeting with Kislyak. OOK Ok Few jobs in the Trump administration seemed so right, fitting, and even destined to their holder as Jeff Sessions’s appointment as the nation’s top law enforcement officer. As he viewed his work as AG, it was his mandate to curb, circumscribe, and undo the interpre

president was shown the story, he didn’t see its significance. “So what?” he said. Well, during his confirmation, it was explained to the president, Sessions had said he HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019996 didn’t. Facing Sessions at the January 10 hearing, Al Franken, the former comedian and Democratic senator from

USE_OVERSIGHT_020114 president’s part. The daily discussion among senior staffers, those still there and those now gone—all of whom had written off Tillerson’s future in the Trump administration—was how long General Kelly would last as chief of staff. There was something of a virtual office pool, and the j

believed that the sole upside of being part of the Trump White House was to help prevent worse from happening. In early October, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s fate was sealed—if his obvious ambivalence toward the president had not already sealed it—by the revelation that he had called the president “a fucki

ge Bannon’s ouster by McMaster’s hand from the NSC. With the president promising that he would make up his mind by August, and McMaster, Mattis, and Tillerson pressing for a decision as soon as possible, Bannon- inspired media began a campaign to brand McMaster as a globalist, interventionist, and all aroun

focusing the blame for the Comey-Mueller mess on Sessions, even more forcefully belittling and threatening

going to do? Am I going to go in and save him? He’s Donald Trump. He’s always gonna do things. He wants an unrecused attorney general. I told him if Jeff Sessions goes, Rod Rosenstein goes, and then Rachel Brand’—the associate attorney general, next in line after Rosenstein—“goes, we’ll be digging down into Oba

us impressions of the man, agreed to sign on. Jim Mattis, a retired four-star general, one of the most respected commanders in the U.S. armed forces; Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil; Scott Pruitt and Betsy De Vos, Jeb Bush loyalists—all of them were now focused on the singular fact that while he might be a pecu

every cabinet member for the next seven days through their confirmation hearings,” he said of the business-and-military 1950s-type cabinet choices. “Tillerson is two days, Session is two days, Mattis is two days... .” Bannon veered from “Mad Dog” Mattis—the retired four-star general whom Trump had nominate

he EO envelope. Now, in something of a zero-sum game, Trump’s EOs would undo Obama’s EOs. During the transition, Bannon and Stephen Miller, a former Sessions aide who had earlier joined the Trump campaign and then become Bannon’s effective assistant and researcher, assembled a list of more than two hundred

id Walsh. Bannon got Stephen Miller to write the immigration EO. Miller, a fifty-five-year-old trapped in a thirty-two-year-old’s body, was a former Jeff Sessions staffer brought on to the Trump campaign for his political experience. Except, other than being a dedicated far- right conservative, it was unclear w

r had urged the ouster of many of them), any of whom might testify against him. In March alone, Gary Cohn, the president's chief economic adviser, Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, and Andrew McCabe, the deputy director of the FBI—each man bearing the president deep contempt— were pushed from the admini

a, the federal pros- ecutor there, a move whose optics were alarming to all of his advisers, including Don McGahn and the incoming attorney general, Jeff Sessions. (The meeting foreshadowed the one Trump would shortly have with Comey, during which he sought a pledge of loyalty in return for job secu- rity.) H

on McGahn and the incoming attorney general, Jeff Sessions. (The meeting foreshadowed the one Trump would s

intended to promote "greater transparency" among the sector. Fossil fuel interests rallied hard against the rule, including now Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who fought it while he was still the head of Exxon Mobil. EFTA00635617 Republicans, particularly those from coal states, strongly object to the n

Litigation in a similar Texas case is now on hold, pending guidance from the new attorney general. If Mr. Trump's attorney general nominee, Senator Jeff Sessions, is confirmed, the Justice Department will be likely to all but abandon enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. Mr. Sessions once called it a EFTA006

ral nominee, Senator Jeff Sessions, is confirmed, the Justice Department will be likely to all but abandon enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. Mr. Sessions once called it a EFTA00635630 "piece of intrusive legislation." That would allow state and national lawmakers to impose even tighter voting requi

es Secretary Tom Price was forced to resign in September 2017 due to excessive use of private charter jets and military aircraft, and Trump replaced Tillerson as Secretary of State with Mike Pompeo in March 2018 over disagreements on foreign policy.1446X43n In 2018, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Inte

L5721 He bemoaned the recusal of Attorney General Sessions on Russia matters, stating that Sessions should

hanging his mind.L5721 He bemoaned the recusal of Attorney General Sessions on Russia matters, stating that Sessions should

the first place because of his father. A second former senior White House official plainly called it 'a nepotism job.- -- Former secretary of state Rex Tillerson said it's "wrong" to ask another country for personal favors. "If you're seeking some kind of personal gain and you're using — whether it's America

' he said, declining to identify anyone by name." -- "Last year, Ratcliffe's name was floated as a possible replacement for former attorney general Jeff Sessions," Karoun Demirjian notes in a sidebar. "He joined the House Intelligence Committee earlier this year, where he has been considered the GOP's repla

ble replacement for former attorney general Jeff Sessions," Karoun Demirjian notes in a sidebar. "He joine

will remain in place until Aug. 31, 2020, unless revoked by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The ban was imposed in 2017 by then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and renewed in 2018 (The Associated Press). EFTA00047371 > Venezuela: The United States, frustrated after unsuccessful international efforts to

ion's chief law enforcement officer after firing Jeff Sessions. From Politico: "Acting on a Freedom of Informati

chief law enforcement officer after firing Jeff Sessions. From Politico: "Acting on a Freedom of Informati

sign the letters but wrote an op-ed in 2016 saying Trump should not be president and would lose the election. Trump foiled then- Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's attempt to name Abrams as his deputy in spring 2017. But Pompeo succeeded in January of this year in appointing Abrams as special envoy for Venezu

s chief law enforcement officer after firing Jeff Sessions. From Politico: "Acting on a Freedom of Informat

attorney general Matt Whitaker, a cable talking head whom the president tapped to serve as the nation's chief law enforcement officer after firing Jeff Sessions. From Politico: "Acting on a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by BuzzFeed, District Judge Trevor McFadden ruled Wednesday that the draft

hner had urged the ouster of many of them), any of whom might testify against him. In March alone, Gary Cohn, the president's chief economic adviser, Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, and Andrew McCabe, the deputy director of the FBI—each man bearing the president deep contempt— were pushed from the adminis

on McGahn and the incoming attorney general, Jeff Sessions. (The meeting foreshadowed the one Trump would sh

ra, the federal pros- ecutor there, a move whose optics were alarming to all of his advisers, including Don McGahn and the incoming attorney general, Jeff Sessions. (The meeting foreshadowed the one Trump would shortly have with Comey, during which he sought a pledge of loyalty in return for job secu- rity.) His