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They're ALL LIARS: Trump, Pence and their White House team…

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Kiwithrottlejockey
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« on: August 04, 2017, 05:40:11 pm »


from The Washington Post....

9 times the Trump team denied something — and then confirmed it

It happened on Tuesday, and it has happened plenty of times before.

By AARON BLAKE | 11:08AM EDT - Thursday, August 03, 2017

President Donald J. Trump. — Photograph: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press.
President Donald J. Trump. — Photograph: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press.

THE White House directly contradicted President Trump's own attorney on Tuesday. It confirmed that the president was involved in that misleading Donald Trump Jr. statement about his meeting with a Russian lawyer after Trump's attorney, Jay Sekulow, had issued two unmistakable comments asserting Trump wasn't.

But this was hardly the first time that the Trump team has appeared to confirm something it previously denied. Below are nine examples.


1. That Trump was involved in Donald Trump Jr.'s Russia statement

The denials

“I do want to be clear that the president was not involved in the drafting of the statement and did not issue the statement.” — Sekulow on NBC News on July 16th.

“The president didn't sign off on anything. … The president wasn't involved in that.” — Sekulow on ABC News on July 12th.

The confirmation

“The president weighed in as any father would, based on the limited information that he had.” — White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, after The Washington Post reported that Trump had changed the statement at the last minute to be more misleading.

 • VIDEO: President Trump personally intervened to write Donald Trump Jr. statement


2. That Trump is thinking about pardons

The denial

“Pardons are not being discussed and are not on the table.” — Sekulow on July 21st.

The confirmation




3. That Trump decided unilaterally to fire FBI Director James B. Comey

The denials

“No one from the White House. That was a DOJ decision.” — Sean Spicer on May 9th.

Asked whether Trump had already decided to fire Comey and asked Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein and the Justice Department to craft a justification for it: “No.” — Huckabee Sanders on May 10th.

“He took the recommendation of his deputy attorney general, who oversees the FBI director…. He has lost confidence in the FBI director, and he took the recommendation of Rod J. Rosenstein.” — Kellyanne Conway on May 10th.

The confirmations

“I was going to fire Comey … Oh, I was going to fire regardless of recommendation.” — Trump on NBC News on May 11th.

“On May 8th, I learned that President Trump intended to remove Director Comey and sought my advice and input.” — Rosenstein on May 19th.

 • VIDEO: Trump's shifting story on Comey turns to threats


4. That Comey was fired because of the Russia investigation

The denials

“That's not what — let me be clear with you — that was not what this is about. That's not what this is about.” — Vice President Pence on May 10th.

Rosenstein's memo contained no mention of the Russia investigation and instead focused on Comey's unusual announcements about the Hillary Clinton investigation during the 2016 campaign: “I cannot defend the Director's handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton's emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken.” — Rosenstein on May 9th.

“Based on my evaluation, and for the reasons expressed by the Deputy Attorney General in the attached memorandum, I have concluded that a fresh start is needed at the leadership of the FBI.” — Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a letter on May 9th.

The confirmation

“And in fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself — I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.” — Trump to NBC on May 11th.

 • VIDEO: Trump denies asking Comey to end Flynn investigation


5. That Michael Flynn discussed sanctions with Russia's ambassador

The denial

“They did not discuss anything having to do with the United States' decision to expel diplomats or impose censure against Russia…. What I can confirm, having spoken to him about it, is that those conversations that happened to occur around the time that the United States took action to expel diplomats had nothing whatsoever to do with those sanctions.” — Pence on January 15th.

The confirmations

Asked whether Flynn discussed sanctions related to Russia's alleged 2016 election interference: “Right.” — Spicer on February 14th.

“So just to be clear, the acting attorney general informed the White House counsel that they wanted to give, quote, ‘a heads-up’ to us on some comments that may have seemed in conflict with what he had said to the vice president in particular…. The issue, pure and simple, came down to a matter of trust, and the president concluded that he no longer had the trust of his national security adviser.” — Spicer on February 14th.

“What I would tell you is that the vice president became aware of incomplete information that he'd received on February 9th, last Thursday night, based on media accounts.” — Pence spokesman Marc Lotter.


6. That Trump's navy secretary nominee was going to withdraw

The denial

After CBS's Major Garrett reported that Navy secretary nominee Philip Bilden was likely to withdraw, Spicer tweeted on February 18th:




The confirmation

“Mr. Philip Bilden has informed me that he has come to the difficult decision to withdraw from consideration to be secretary of the Navy.” — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on February 26th.


7. That Trump shared classified information with Russian leaders in the Oval Office

The denial

“The story that came out tonight, as reported, is false.” — national security adviser H.R. McMaster [on May 15th.

The confirmations

“It is wholly appropriate for the president to share whatever information he thinks is necessary to advance the security of the American people. That's what he did.” — McMaster on May 16th.




8. That intelligence officials briefed Trump on an unconfirmed dossier that suggested Russia had compromising info on him

The denial

“And [the story] says that they never briefed him on it, that they appended two pages to the bottom of his intelligence report.... [Trump] has said that he is not aware of that.” — Kellyanne Conway on Seth Meyers's show on January 10th. (The report had said he was, in fact, briefed.)

The confirmation

“I think [Comey] shared it so that I would — because the other three people left, and he showed it to me. ... So anyway, in my opinion, he shared it so that I would think he had it out there.” Asked whether it was used as leverage: “Yeah I think so.” — Trump to The New York Times on July 19th.


9. That Trump had a tense conversation with Australia's prime minister

The denials



The confirmation

“Well the President takes these leaks very seriously. Cause if you think about it, they are happening in a secure setting between two world leaders, two heads of government.” — Sean Spicer later on February 3rd.


• Aaron Blake is senior political reporter for The Fix at The Washington Post.

__________________________________________________________________________

Related to this topic:

 • Trump admits he punked his supporters on Mexico paying for the wall

 • Trump berated Australia's prime minister over a refugee policy he barely understood

 • Trump says the Boy Scouts called to tell him his speech was the ‘greatest’. He appears to have imagined this.

 • PHOTOGRAPH GALLERY: Members of President Trump's administration: Moments that made headlines


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/08/02/7-things-the-trump-team-denied-and-then-later-confirmed
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Donald
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« Reply #1 on: August 04, 2017, 07:55:25 pm »

..and lies actually in NZ ...not some other distant country🙄

EXCLUSIVE: The REAL reason Jacinda is Labour’s leader right now

Labour sources have confirmed to Whaleoil that the real reason that Andrew Little is no longer the leader of the New Zealand Labour party is because caucus discovered it had been lied to about “internal” poll results.

A very recent internal UMR poll had Labour on 20%.   And NZ First on 19%

We have always maintained that the internal polls were rubbish, but it turns out UMR may have been doing a much better job of it.  It was the people telling caucus porkies that were the problem.

Once it was clear that the much lauded “30%” was just a dream and the actual number was 20%, it was no longer possible for Andrew Little to stay as leader.  Both for not being truthful to his own colleagues and for the fact that this would mean a zero list MP intake for 2017 as well as an overhang in parliament.


You can see why a reluctant Jacinda Ardern is willing to take one for the team.  Any percentage point higher than 20% is potentially a job saved.  This isn’t about winning an election.  This is about basic party survival.

The mere thought of Winston Peters’ NZ First being the second largest party in parliament has been a reality check that even self deception cannot conquer.

 Cam slater
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Kiwithrottlejockey
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« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2017, 08:26:10 pm »


from The Washington Post....

Here's a sword, General Kelly. Use it on the White House lies.

The new chief of staff's biggest disciplinary challenge: Fighting Trump White House lies.

By MARGARET SULLIVAN | 4:00PM EDT - Sunday, August 06, 2017

President Trump with then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly in May at the Coast Guard Academy commencement ceremonies. — Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters.
President Trump with then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly in May at the Coast Guard Academy commencement ceremonies.
 — Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters.


GENERAL John Kelly was just joking, of course, when he handed President Trump a saber at a U.S. Coast Guard Academy ceremony in May and offered a suggestion: “Use that on the press, sir.”

But now, as Trump's new chief of staff, Kelly needs a few weapons of his own — not so much to control wayward reporters but to bring discipline to a White House that often seems uncontrollable, especially when it comes to telling untruths.

So far, so good. He's fired the potty-mouthed narcissist Anthony Scaramucci as communications director and showed no interest in retaining the hapless Sean Spicer. And he reportedly is forbidding West Wing staff from trotting into the Oval Office with news reports intended to infuriate the president and fire up his tweet machine.

In short, Kelly doesn't mess around — as noted by “Late Night” host Seth Meyers after Trump predicted “a good time” with Kelly in charge.

“I'm sorry, but John Kelly doesn't look like a guy you bring in ‘to have a good time’,” Meyers said. “John Kelly looks like a guy who introduces himself by saying, ‘I'm not here to have a good time’.”

But can the general take on the hardest job of all — hacking through the thicket of lies that the Trump White House produces? You can have all the discipline and efficiency in the world, but it won't do much good without a basis in reality that starts at the top.

The prospects for that are grim.

The Washington Post's Fact Checker has relentlessly catalogued the president's prevarications. A few months ago, The New York Times produced an astonishingly long list of the lies since he took office, and described the problem:

“There is simply no precedent for an American president to spend so much time telling untruths. Every president has shaded the truth or told occasional whoppers. No other president — of either party — has behaved as Trump is behaving. He is trying to create an atmosphere in which reality is irrelevant.”

As Kelly, under the president's direction, looks for a communications director to replace Scaramucci, the truth problem looms large. How do you maintain credibility and, yes, integrity when the boss is wandering through the fields of fantasy?

Spicer, after all, got off to a terrible start when on the first day of his tenure as press secretary he vehemently defended the president's easily disprovable falsehoods about the size of the inaugural crowds.

It's unclear how Scaramucci would have handled that, but the first signs didn't bode well as he dodged an early question about Trump's false statements on voter fraud. “If the president says it, there's usually some level of truth to that,” he offered.

The Mooch's memo about his new job, published in draft form last week, gave lip service to working toward better media relationships. But he showed his hand when he suggested a broader role for one of the most outrageously truth-averse Trumpsters.

“Use Kellyanne Conway more,” Scaramucci urged. “She has consistently been the President's most effective spokesperson, and she provides a direct link to the President's historic electoral victory.”

Remember the “alternative facts” episode? That was vintage Conway, defending the president on inaugural crowd size, blissfully unencumbered by the weight of reality.

It never stops. Just days ago, Trump claimed to have received phone calls praising him from the head of the Boy Scouts and the president of Mexico.

His new press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, acknowledged these calls never happened, and condemned lying “from the podium or any other place,” but stopped short of calling the statements what they are: “I wouldn't say it was a lie. That's a pretty bold accusation.”

Kelly, though, is a force to be reckoned with. As The Washington Post's James Hohmann pointed out last week, the former homeland security secretary may have convinced the president he didn't need to build a physical border wall with Mexico; called James B. Comey just after Trump fired him to express his dismay; and reached out to prominent Democrats in preparation for the fight over tax policy.

Kelly may well be Trump's best hope for saving the White House from utter chaos. A grounding in reality — yes, truth — needs to be a part of that salvation.

For inspiration, Kelly could consult a Nixon-era John Lennon song from the year the future general turned 21: “Gimme Some Truth”. (“I've had enough of watching scenes from schizophrenic egocentric paranoiac prima donnas/All I want is the truth, just give me some truth.”)

More realistically, he could turn to the Marine Corps values that presumably guided his decorated military career. The bedrock, they state, is honor: “It is the quality that empowers Marines to exemplify the ultimate in ethical and moral behavior: to never lie, cheat, or steal; to abide by an uncompromising code of integrity….”

It's hard to imagine how that admirable ethos and this mendacious White House can co-exist for very long. If there's a sword involved, Kelly may have to fall on it.


• Margaret Sullivan is The Washington Post's media columnist. Previously, she was The New York Times public editor, and the chief editor of The Buffalo News, her hometown paper.

__________________________________________________________________________

Related to this topic:

 • Trump’s ‘best’ people aren't even average: The best people won't work for the worst president.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/heres-a-sword-general-kelly-use-it-on-the-white-house-lies/2017/08/04/3830e27e-786b-11e7-8f39-eeb7d3a2d304_story.html
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If you aren't living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space! 

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