This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump was pushing to get out in the public eye in recent weeks and tout his leadership during the pandemic, and White House staff thought they had hit on the ideal event: a presidential visit to thank the Pennsylvania factory workers who had recently taken herculean steps to ramp up U.S. supplies of protective equipment.Workers had received national attention after so they could ensure they were virus-free and their production was not contaminated or disrupted by illness.White House officials pressed to hold an...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump was pushing to get out in the public eye in recent weeks and tout his leadership during the pandemic, and White House staff thought they had hit on the ideal event: a presidential visit to thank the Pennsylvania factory workers who had recently taken herculean steps to ramp up U.S. supplies of protective equipment.Workers had received national attention after so they could ensure they were virus-free and their production was not contaminated or disrupted by illness.White House officials pressed to hold an...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump on Friday continued to eschew key public health guidelines from his own administration — meeting with Republican lawmakers and World War II veterans without a face mask — while expressing confidence that he is protected from the coronavirus despite a second White House staffer testing positive this week.The president appeared puzzled that the aide, , the press secretary for Vice President Pence, had contracted the virus “out of the blue” after testing negative several times under a routine White House...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump on Friday continued to eschew key public health guidelines from his own administration — meeting with Republican lawmakers and World War II veterans without a face mask — while expressing confidence that he is protected from the coronavirus despite a second White House staffer testing positive this week.The president appeared puzzled that the aide, , the press secretary for Vice President Pence, had contracted the virus “out of the blue” after testing negative several times under a routine White House...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA U.S. judge put on hold the Justice Department’s move to drop charges against Michael Flynn, saying he expects independent groups and legal experts to argue against the bid to exonerate President Trump’s former national security adviser of lying to the FBI.U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said in an order Tuesday that he expects individuals and organizations will seek to intervene in the politically charged case. Having others weigh in could preface more aggressive steps that the federal judge in Washington could...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA U.S. judge put on hold the Justice Department’s move to drop charges against Michael Flynn, saying he expects independent groups and legal experts to argue against the bid to exonerate President Trump’s former national security adviser of lying to the FBI.U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said in an order Tuesday that he expects individuals and organizations will seek to intervene in the politically charged case. Having others weigh in could preface more aggressive steps that the federal judge in Washington could...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareSenior U.S. officials are beginning to explore proposals for punishing or demanding financial compensation from China for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to four senior administration officials with knowledge of internal planning.The move could splinter already strained relations between the two superpowers at a perilous moment for the global economy.Senior officials across multiple government agencies are expected to meet Thursday to begin mapping out a strategy for seeking retaliatory measures...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareSenior U.S. officials are beginning to explore proposals for punishing or demanding financial compensation from China for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to four senior administration officials with knowledge of internal planning.The move could splinter already strained relations between the two superpowers at a perilous moment for the global economy.Senior officials across multiple government agencies are expected to meet Thursday to begin mapping out a strategy for seeking retaliatory measures...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareIn mid-March, a National Security Council team rushed to address what they saw as a threat to the U.S. government’s ability to function amid the advancing pandemic: a lack of masks to protect enough staff on the White House complex.Alarmed by the small cache and the growing signs of an of protective gear in the United States, a senior NSC official turned to a foreign government for help, according to people familiar with the situation.The effort resulted in a donation of hundreds of thousands of surgical masks from...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareIn mid-March, a National Security Council team rushed to address what they saw as a threat to the U.S. government’s ability to function amid the advancing pandemic: a lack of masks to protect enough staff on the White House complex.Alarmed by the small cache and the growing signs of an of protective gear in the United States, a senior NSC official turned to a foreign government for help, according to people familiar with the situation.The effort resulted in a donation of hundreds of thousands of surgical masks from...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareTwo days before Congress was set to formalize President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund was growing increasingly worried about the size of the pro-Trump crowds expected to stream into Washington in protest.To be on the safe side, Sund asked House and Senate security officials for permission to request that the D.C. National Guard be placed on standby in case he needed quick backup.But, Sund said Sunday, they turned him down.In his first interview since pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareTwo days before Congress was set to formalize President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund was growing increasingly worried about the size of the pro-Trump crowds expected to stream into Washington in protest.To be on the safe side, Sund asked House and Senate security officials for permission to request that the D.C. National Guard be placed on standby in case he needed quick backup.But, Sund said Sunday, they turned him down.In his first interview since pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe growing crowds outside the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon sounded menacing but at bay as senators began to debate challenges to the electoral college vote. A top adviser to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stepped out of the ornate chamber for a short break.Alone in the Capitol’s marble halls, just outside the chamber’s bronze doors, it was suddenly apparent that the citadel of U.S. democracy was falling to the mob incited by President Trump.A cacophony of screaming, shouting and banging echoed from the floor below....…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe growing crowds outside the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon sounded menacing but at bay as senators began to debate challenges to the electoral college vote. A top adviser to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stepped out of the ornate chamber for a short break.Alone in the Capitol’s marble halls, just outside the chamber’s bronze doors, it was suddenly apparent that the citadel of U.S. democracy was falling to the mob incited by President Trump.A cacophony of screaming, shouting and banging echoed from the floor below....WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareNext-door neighbors of Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Fla., that he has called his Winter White House, have a message for the outgoing commander in chief: We don’t want you to be our neighbor.That message was formally conveyed Tuesday morning in a demand letter delivered to the town of Palm Beach and also addressed to the U.S. Secret Service asserting that Trump lost his legal right to live at Mar-a-Lago because of an agreement he signed in the early 1990s when he converted the storied estate...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareNext-door neighbors of Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Fla., that he has called his Winter White House, have a message for the outgoing commander in chief: We don’t want you to be our neighbor.That message was formally conveyed Tuesday morning in a demand letter delivered to the town of Palm Beach and also addressed to the U.S. Secret Service asserting that Trump lost his legal right to live at Mar-a-Lago because of an agreement he signed in the early 1990s when he converted the storied estate...WW…

ADVice President Pence has begun looking for a new home in the Washington suburbs, and he’s planning a valedictory foreign trip to begin the day Congress counts the electoral college votes.Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has discussed opening a consulting firm with other White House aides and allies.Top economic adviser Larry Kudlow has told friends he is planning to return to broadcasting, and he has his next gigs lined up.As President Trump remains defiant, refusing to publicly acknowledge that he lost the Nov. 3 election, all signs around the White House point to a four-year whirlwind coming...…ADVice President Pence has begun looking for a new home in the Washington suburbs, and he’s planning a valedictory foreign trip to begin the day Congress counts the electoral college votes.Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has discussed opening a consulting firm with other White House aides and allies.Top economic adviser Larry Kudlow has told friends he is planning to return to broadcasting, and he has his next gigs lined up.As President Trump remains defiant, refusing to publicly acknowledge that he lost the Nov. 3 election, all signs around the White House point to a four-year whirlwind coming...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareAn Army National Guard officer who witnessed protesters forcibly removed from Lafayette Square last month is contradicting claims by the attorney general and the Trump administration that they did not speed up the clearing to make way for the president’s photo opportunity minutes later.A new statement by Adam D. DeMarco, an Iraq veteran who now serves as a major in the D.C. National Guard, also casts doubt on the claims by acting Park Police Chief Gregory Monahan that violence by protesters spurred Park Police to clear...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareAn Army National Guard officer who witnessed protesters forcibly removed from Lafayette Square last month is contradicting claims by the attorney general and the Trump administration that they did not speed up the clearing to make way for the president’s photo opportunity minutes later.A new statement by Adam D. DeMarco, an Iraq veteran who now serves as a major in the D.C. National Guard, also casts doubt on the claims by acting Park Police Chief Gregory Monahan that violence by protesters spurred Park Police to clear...WW…