Epstein Secrets

ress secretary, Sean Spicer— whose personal mantra would shortly become “You can’t make this shit up’—to argue his case in a media moment that turned Spicer, quite a buttoned-down political professional, HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019919 into a national joke, which he seemed destined to never recover from. To boot

l they couldn’t control: the Republican National Committee, which was run by Priebus, his sidekick, thirty-two-year-old Katie Walsh, and their flack, Sean Spicer. Instead of being all in, the RNC, ultimately the tool of the Republican establishment, had been hedging its bets ever since Trump won the nomination

political professional, HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019919 into a national joke, which he seemed destined to never recover from. To boot, the president blamed Spicer for not making the million phantom souls seem real. It was the first presidential instance of what the campaign regulars had learned over many month

d-rate guy. I think Brennan is a second-rate guy,” Bannon said, dismissing the FBI director and the CIA director. “The White House right now is like Johnson’s White House in 1968. Susan Rice”— Obama’s National Security Advisor—“is running the campaign against ISIS as a National Security Advisor. They’re p

om a contented, distracted, run-of-the-mill socialite. As a twenty-one-year- old, she appeared in a film made by her then boyfriend, Jamie Johnson, a Johnson & Johnson heir. It’s a curious, even somewhat unsettling film, in which Johnson corrals his set of rich-kid friends into openly sharing their dissatisf

was often blamed on lower minions and permanent executive branch staff, culminating in late February with an all-hands meeting of staffers called by Sean Spicer—cell phones surrendered at the door—during which the press secretary issued threats of random phone checks and admonitions about the use of encrypted

taff. Bannon was disloyal (not to mention he always looks like shit). Priebus was weak (not to mention he was short—a midget). Kushner was a suck-up. Spicer was stupid (and looks terrible too). Conway was a crybaby. Jared and Ivanka should never have come to Washington. His callers, largely because they

and the stage in his own house. He regularly berated Spicer for his ham-handed performances, often giving his full attention to them. His response to Spicer’s briefings was part of his continuing belief that nobody could work the media like he could, that somehow he had been stuck with an F-Troop communic

an majority needed was a man like John McCormick, the Democratic Speaker of the House who had served during Bannon’s teenage years and had shepherded Johnson’s Great Society legislation. McCormick and other Democrats from the 1960s were Bannon’s political heroes—put Tip O’Neill in that pantheon, too. An Ir

nal into a joke figure standing at the White House door. In his daily out-of-body experience, as a witness to his own humiliation and loss for words, Spicer understood after a while—although he began to understand this beginning his first day on the job when dealing with the dispute about the inaugural au

he also wanted it because again and again the response surprised him—and, as though every time was the first time, he could not modify his behavior. Sean Spicer caught the brunt of the daily drama, turning this otherwise reasonable, mild-mannered, process-oriented professional into a joke figure standing at t

e House—Jared, Ivanka, Hope Hicks, and an increasingly ambivalent Dina Powell and Gary Cohn on one side, and almost everyone else, including Priebus, Spicer, Conway, and most clearly Bannon, on the other—were most distinguished by their culpability in or distance from the Comey-Mueller calamity. It was, a

n, Michael, 28, 42 Japan, 39, 106 Jarrett, Valerie, 129 Jefferson, Thomas, 293 Jerusalem, 6 Jews, 73, 140-45, 157, 293 John Birch Society, 127 Johnson, Boris, 70 Johnson, Jamie, 79-80 Johnson, Lyndon B., 6-7, 53, 66, 158, 167 Johnson, Woody, 12 Jones, Paula, 201 Jordan, 6 Jordan, Hamilton, 27

to the dispute over Cyprus," because there were "two different peoples" on the island with "two different democratic orders." Reuters (11/15, Koca, Spicer) quotes Erdogan as saying, "Our priority is to ensure a fair, lasting and sustainable solution. ... A two-state solution must be negotiated on the b

disservice to Americans as well as national security, stating that a new administration cannot begin without any information." On ABC's "This Week," Johnson said, "A new government cannot start on January 20 from a standing-still position. This is what transitions are for. Intelligence briefings, [presi

to the dispute over Cyprus," because there were "two different peoples" on the island with "two different democratic orders." Reuters (11/15, Koca, Spicer) quotes Erdogan as saying, "Our priority is to ensure a fair, lasting and sustainable solution. ... A two-state solution must be negotiated on the b

disservice to Americans as well as national security, stating that a new administration cannot begin without any information." On ABC's "This Week," Johnson said, "A new government cannot start on January 20 from a standing-still position. This is what transitions are for. Intelligence briefings, [presi

to the dispute over Cyprus," because there were "two different peoples" on the island with "two different democratic orders." Reuters (11/15, Koca, Spicer) quotes Erdogan as saying, "Our priority is to ensure a fair, lasting and sustainable solution. ... A two-state solution must be negotiated on the b

disservice to Americans as well as national security, stating that a new administration cannot begin without any information." On ABC's "This Week," Johnson said, "A new government cannot start on January 20 from a standing-still position. This is what transitions are for. Intelligence briefings, [presi

a claim that was easily disproved by looking at two pictures of the crowds. Shortly after, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway infamously defended Spicer by arguing that the administration was merely offering "alternative facts." This is not how the presidency normally works. It's normal, if unfortun

e, but in the long term? It's not unprecedented. Political historians and scholars widely agree, for example, that the pervasive dishonesty of the Johnson and Nixon administrations during the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal damaged faith in the government in the long term. "If you have an adminis

tps://wwvv.reuters.corn/article/us-cyprus-turkey/erdogan-visits-northern-cyprus-calls-for-two-state- solution-for-island-idUSKBN27VOBB> (11/15, Koca, Spicer) quotes Erdogan as saying, "Our priority is to ensure a fair, lasting and sustainable solution.... A two-state solution must be negotiated on the ba

isservice to Americans as well as national security, stating that a new administration cannot begin without any information." On ABC's "This Week," Johnson said, "A new government cannot start on January 20 from a standing-still position. This is what transitions are for. Intelligence briefings, [presid

://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-turkey-analysis/analysis-biden-risk-looms-for-turkeys- erdogan-and-beleaguered-lira-idUSKEN2761JB> (10/21, Spicer) reports that Turkey "stands to lose more than most other countries if Joe Biden is elected president since he is expected to toughen the U.S. stanc

mp granted clemency to a group of people that "includes four individuals convicted on drug charges, including one associate of Alice Marie Johnson." Johnson "has been a prominent" Trump supporter since he commuted her drug-related prison sentence. WPost: Virginia Making Progress On Criminal Justice Refo

om receiving U.S. foreign aid," will "lift Trump's `Muslim ban," and will "reverse his `cruel and senseless' immigration policies." Reuters (10/21, Spicer) reports that Turkey "stands to lose more than most other countries if Joe Biden is elected president since he is expected to toughen the U.S. stanc

p granted clemency to a group of people that "includes four individuals convicted on drug charges, including one associate of Alice Marie Johnson." Johnson "has been a prominent" Trump supporter since he commuted her drug- related prison sentence. WPost: Virginia Making Progress On Criminal Justice Refo