Morning Roundup: Loyalty, Loyalty, Loyalty Edition
It’s clear that President Trump expects loyalty above all else, including justice and the rule of law. And with their effort to release a flawed, misleading memo, it seems Congressional Republicans do too – and are siding with the President over law enforcement and the intelligence community. A look at news reports today shows they are putting partisan politics ahead of our country’s national security and the principles of justice and the rule of law:
From CNN’s The Point with Chris Cillizza:
From Politico:
From CNN’s The Point with Chris Cillizza:
“When Donald Trump met with James Comey in the Oval Office in January 2017, the President said this to the then-FBI director: ‘I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.’”
“When Trump brought then-acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe into his office shortly after firing Comey in May, the President reportedly asked McCabe who he had voted for in the 2016 election.”
“When Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein met with Trump in December 2017, hoping to gain the President's help in beating back document demands from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, Trump had something else on his mind: He asked Rosenstein whether he was ‘on my team.’”
“Comey was fired. McCabe was pushed out. And now, there are whispers that Trump may use the memo produced by Nunes -- alleging widespread misconduct by top Justice Department officials and expected to be released Friday -- as the impetus to get rid of Rosenstein.”
“(The release of that memo, by the way, runs directly counter to the wishes of current FBI Director Christopher Wray, a Trump appointee.)”
“Does any right-minded person need any more evidence that Trump has zero interest in maintaining the line of independence traditionally separating the executive branch from the Justice Department? 1+1=2. It's that simple.”
“Trump views the entire federal government -- including the Justice Department -- as people who work for him. As such, he expects their loyalty. The idea that the FBI or the attorney general hold a higher commitment to enforcing the fair application of the rule of law is totally lost on Trump.”
“He expects total loyalty. And when he doesn't get it, he moves to get rid of the people unwilling to pledge him fealty.”
“The Point: Between the planned release of the Nunes memo and the ongoing special counsel investigation by Robert Mueller, Trump's relationship with the Justice Department is likely to get worse, not better. And nothing in how he has treated those law enforcement officials to date is anything close to normal.”
“When Trump brought then-acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe into his office shortly after firing Comey in May, the President reportedly asked McCabe who he had voted for in the 2016 election.”
“When Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein met with Trump in December 2017, hoping to gain the President's help in beating back document demands from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, Trump had something else on his mind: He asked Rosenstein whether he was ‘on my team.’”
“Comey was fired. McCabe was pushed out. And now, there are whispers that Trump may use the memo produced by Nunes -- alleging widespread misconduct by top Justice Department officials and expected to be released Friday -- as the impetus to get rid of Rosenstein.”
“(The release of that memo, by the way, runs directly counter to the wishes of current FBI Director Christopher Wray, a Trump appointee.)”
“Does any right-minded person need any more evidence that Trump has zero interest in maintaining the line of independence traditionally separating the executive branch from the Justice Department? 1+1=2. It's that simple.”
“Trump views the entire federal government -- including the Justice Department -- as people who work for him. As such, he expects their loyalty. The idea that the FBI or the attorney general hold a higher commitment to enforcing the fair application of the rule of law is totally lost on Trump.”
“He expects total loyalty. And when he doesn't get it, he moves to get rid of the people unwilling to pledge him fealty.”
“The Point: Between the planned release of the Nunes memo and the ongoing special counsel investigation by Robert Mueller, Trump's relationship with the Justice Department is likely to get worse, not better. And nothing in how he has treated those law enforcement officials to date is anything close to normal.”
From Politico:
“Friday's remarks are the latest instance of the president taking direct aim at Justice Department and FBI officials since entering the West Wing.”
“James Clapper, a former Director of National Intelligence, said Trump's charge that the FBI and DOJ had ‘politicized’ their investigations was ‘the pot calling the kettle black,’”
“‘Transparency is a great thing, but let's be factual and objective about it, and this clearly is a pretty blatant political act,’ Clapper added during a Friday morning appearance on CNN, rebuffing Republicans who say the memo's release will bolster government transparency.”
From Axios:“James Clapper, a former Director of National Intelligence, said Trump's charge that the FBI and DOJ had ‘politicized’ their investigations was ‘the pot calling the kettle black,’”
“‘Transparency is a great thing, but let's be factual and objective about it, and this clearly is a pretty blatant political act,’ Clapper added during a Friday morning appearance on CNN, rebuffing Republicans who say the memo's release will bolster government transparency.”
“White House aides recognize there could be a high cost to President Trump's decision to allow — with no redactions — release of that classified memo about the Russian investigation.”
“The White House plans to dress up the decision by arguing that it's an action of ‘transparency.’ But this puts President Trump publicly crossways with both the intelligence community and the FBI — not a place you want to be.”
“This is clearly the most aggressive thing that [Trump] has done, public-relations-wise, to try and brush back the Justice Department."
"This is a clear effort to undermine [Deputy Attorney General Rod] Rosenstein; [special counsel Bob] Mueller by extension."
“The White House plans to dress up the decision by arguing that it's an action of ‘transparency.’ But this puts President Trump publicly crossways with both the intelligence community and the FBI — not a place you want to be.”
“This is clearly the most aggressive thing that [Trump] has done, public-relations-wise, to try and brush back the Justice Department."
"This is a clear effort to undermine [Deputy Attorney General Rod] Rosenstein; [special counsel Bob] Mueller by extension."