A Complete Breakdown Of Donald Trump’s 55th Unpresidented Week As POTUS
Rob Porter. Roger Ailes. Roy Moore. Bill O’Reilly. Donald Trump.
These men have a few things in common: They’ve all been accused of abusing women, and they’ve all been defended by Donald Trump.
In these abusers, President Trump sees himself. And in their victims, he sees the women who have accused him of sexual assault. Not to mention the fact his own ex-wife Ivana previously accused him of beating and raping her. This is why the President still can’t bring himself to condemn domestic abuse.
For supporters of the President, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to vouch for his character, as each day Trump adds yet another dose of indefensible depravity to our national discourse.
This depravity isn’t exclusive to the President himself. The White House staff, especially Chief of Staff John Kelly’s role in keeping Rob Porter employed, continue to showcase their lack of moral fortitude as they fumbled the response to domestic abuse.
While this scandal captured the nation, President Trump’s authoritarian tendencies were on full display. Trump called Democrats “treasonous” for not applauding his State of the Union, ordered a military parade, and continued his attacks on the Intelligence Community, DOJ, and FBI.
Here’s a complete breakdown of Donald Trump’s 55th week as POTUS:
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55th Weekend (February 3–4)
#MemoDay Hangover
We ended last week’s Unpresidented debunking the obstructive moves of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA-22). Nunes was last seen vanishing from an Uber and pretending to be recused from his committee’s investigation into Russian interference. Last week, he came back in full Nunes form with yet another dubious attempt to obstruct the Russia investigation. This time, it came in the form of a memo…
Before I start, I have to note up front (as all media outlets should be doing) that Nunes was on the Trump transition team, which is a subject of the Trump-Russia investigation. Also, Nunes did not read the underlying raw intelligence that the memo was based on. Nunes and his staff wrote a book report on a book they didn’t read.
In a nutshell, the memo was an effort to cast the largely Republican FBI and DOJ as corrupted and politically biased against President Trump. More specifically, it was an attempt to discredit Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein by claiming his involvement in the approval of a renewal of FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) surveillance on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, was obtained under pretenses. It tries to cast doubt on the FISA process while at the same time alluding to a false “Deep State” conspiracy.
The Justice Department proclaimed that releasing the memo would be “extraordinarily reckless” and FBI Director Christoper Wray statement expressed “grave concerns” over its accuracy, but nevertheless Nunes persisted.
On Friday, the White House approved its release. Turns out, the memo was a nothingburger.
We read the memo. It is a misleading nothingburger. It omits: -The 2014 date of Carter Page’s initial FISA warrant (which was placed because the FBI thought he was a Russian agent) -The fact the Washington Free Beacon (conservative group) first funded the dossier. #MemoDay
The major new piece of information was that Carter Page’s FISA warrant was renewed 3 times. To clarify, it wasn’t just Rosenstein who approved the renewal. Former acting-Attorney General Sally Yates, current FBI General Counsel Dana Boente, Andrew McCabe, James Comey, and 4 judges approved of it.
Not only that, it had multiple omissions of fact and it debunked one of the GOP’s main talking points which centered around their false notion that the dossier triggered the FBI’s investigation, rather than George Papadopolous drunkenly bragging about the fact Russia had dirt on Hillary Clinton to an Australian diplomat. It also mentions the fact that some of the Steele dossier has been corroborated.
So Team Nunes is admitting that Papadopoulos triggered the FBI’s Russia investigation — not the Steele dossier?
In leveling its central charge dossier was entire basis of #CarterPage warrant, #NunesMemo twice inadvertently undermines the argument: 1, it says Papadopoulos info, not dossier, triggered opening of the FBI probe, and, 2, it notes FBI corroborated some of Steele dossier.
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) chimed in.
The latest attacks on the FBI and Department of Justice serve no American interests - no party’s, no president’s, only Putin’s.”-@SenJohnMcCain Putin’s goal is to undermine faith in U.S. institutions. @realDonaldTrump & @HouseGOP…you are useful idiots. https://t.co/Llb2VWDpvQ
Even Trey Gowdy (R-SC-4) shot down the idea that this discredited the Russia investigation.
As I have said repeatedly, I also remain 100 percent confident in Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The contents of this memo do not – in any way – discredit his investigation.
Over the weekend the President cried vindication.
This memo totally vindicates “Trump” in probe. But the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Their was no Collusion and there was no Obstruction (the word now used because, after one year of looking endlessly and finding NOTHING, collusion is dead). This is an American disgrace!
Quite the opposite, Mr. President. The most important fact disclosed in this otherwise shoddy memo was that FBI investigation began July 2016 with your advisor, Papadopoulos, who was secretly discussing stolen Clinton emails with the Russians. https://t.co/2rGOE1jGg2
As each bogus claim of this Nunes memo gets dismantled, all this mess tells me is that there is a big indictment coming and Trump is panicking. Only explanation for such a desperate, sloppy, rushed attempt to discredit the Russia probe. #MemoDay
Then news of a 2013 Carter Page letter gave us even more reason (aside from his campaign trips to Moscow and 2013 meeting with a Russian spy) to believe his FISA surveillance was justified.
Big news from @TIME: “Over the past half year, I have had the privilege to serve as an informal advisor to the staff of the Kremlin,” Page wrote in a 2013 letter. https://t.co/i0ht385qIQ
There is no other way to cover this: The President of the United States, along with his sycophants in the Republican Party and right-wing media, are executing on a coordinated effort to obstruct the Trump-Russia investigation and undermine the rule of law.
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Meanwhile…
It appears some of the GOP’s disinformation tactics are working.
Look at this poll. Look at the damage Trump is doing to the perception of the FBI. The GOP branded themselves with “law and order” and “respect our law enforcement,” but the minute their leader begins to bash them, they turn on them. No principles. Via @SurveyMonkey @axios
This drop in confidence is being exacerbated by conservative media who has been parroting the President’s unpatriotic attacks on our institutions. Luckily, Rep. Eric Swalwell told Fox News’ what we’ve all been dying to tell him for far too long.
Watch @RepSwalwell school @TuckerCarlson SWALWELL: “You’re peddling a narrative that undermines the rule of law…if you’re on the same side as Wikileaks & Putin you should take a step back and wonder whose bidding are you really doing.” CARLSON: “I don’t even know what to say.” https://t.co/zvplkEmcVO
Bravo congressman. Bravo.
55th Week (February 5–9)
Monday, February 5
Authoritarian-lite
President Trump started this week where last week left off: attacking U.S. institutions and his fellow Americans.
In one tweet, the POTUS calls the former directors of national intelligence, CIA, and FBI liars. Then accuses the ranking House Intel Dem of committing a crime… In another, the POTUS praises a Breitbart Republican who is trying to help him obstruct justice… Let that sink in.
Later in the day, as the Dow had it’s largest single-day decline in history, President Trump called Democrats treasonous for not applauding during his speech.
The of President of the US just accused Democrats of being “treasonous” for not applauding his #SOTU speech “unAmerican. Somebody said treasonous. I mean yeah, I guess, why not? Can we call that treason? Why not. I mean they certainly didn’t seem to love our country very much.” https://t.co/JrtSgtqp7f
President @realDonaldTrump (authoritarian-lite) Disliking you doesn’t mean someone doesn’t love America-nor does it make them unAmerican or treasonous. It actually makes them the opposite Your existence is a contradiction to everything America stands for https://t.co/areSWtZ4bQ
While some tried to push this remark aside as a jokey retort, this comes in the context of a President who has called for the jailing of his political opponents, called the press “the enemy of the American people,” and threatens the rule of law by consistently trying to obstruct an investigation into his ties with Russia.
This is not a game, and his remarks should be taken seriously.
Trump has- -accused Democrats of treason for not giving him a standing ovation -called reporters “enemies of the people” – questioned the authority of federal judges, & -declared war on law enforcement officials investigating him Trump is acting like an autocrat.
— @JoeNBC
I didn’t serve 24 years in the uniform of this country to be called treasonous for simply disagreeing with your disastrous policies, Mr. President.
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Meanwhile…
- The House Intelligence Committee unanimously voted to release the Democrats memo.
- As Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic Senator Chris Coons were set to unveil their bipartisan immigration deal this week, Trump took to Twitter…
Any deal on DACA that does not include STRONG border security and the desperately needed WALL is a total waste of time. March 5th is rapidly approaching and the Dems seem not to care about DACA. Make a deal!
- Some of the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles have decided not to visit the White House.
- Head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Mick Mulvaney, continued his efforts to make sure that the bureau doesn’t live up to its name. Reuters reported:
Mick Mulvaney, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has pulled back from a full-scale probe of how Equifax Inc failed to protect the personal data of millions of consumer
- After the backlash over Speaker Paul Ryan’s tweet last week about the $1.50 boost someone would get from their tax law, the person spoke up.
CBS News found the secretary Paul Ryan bragged got a $1.50 a week. She’s not happy. Since Paul Ryan’s tweet-over 12,000 people have chipped in $150,000 to our campaign. Join us. Pledge $1.50 a week ($6 a month) through November & help us defeat Paul Ryan: https://t.co/Fib729Wryr https://t.co/aKQvby9t7E
- The Supreme Court ruled that Pennsylvania is allowed to redraw their congressional districts.
- More indicators showcasing the damage Trump is doing to Republican’s faith in their own institutions.
73% of Republicans think the FBI and Department of Justice are trying to “delegitimize President Trump through politically motivated investigations,” poll finds https://t.co/fvlWqfSn86
— @axios
Tuesday, February 6
The Military Parade
In a January 18th meeting at the Pentagon, President Trump implored his generals to throw a Bastille Day-like military parade. The Washington Post reports:
Surrounded by the military’s highest-ranking officials, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., Trump’s seemingly abstract desire for a parade was suddenly heard as a presidential directive, the officials said.
“The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France,” said a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the planning discussions are supposed to remain confidential. “This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.”
The right tried to argue that this isn’t a problematic suggestion, but it is. This request didn’t happen in a vacuum. It occurred in the context of the authoritarian tendencies that I mentioned earlier. And veterans concur:
Retired Major General Paul Eaton says @realDonaldTrump‘s parade idea underscores his authoritarian tendencies, and that our military is not there to be “used and abused” to prop up his image. VoteVets full statement on Trump’s orders for a military parade.
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Meanwhile…
- Devin Nunes was already on to his next conspiracy theory.
New: Devin Nunes’ investigation is entering phase 2. A former State Department official and friend of Chris Steele is in his crosshairs. https://t.co/VQDnxglSnL
- Trump’s lawyers are advising him against interviewing with Robert Mueller, citing that he may be charged with perjury:
Lawyers for President Trump have advised him against sitting down for a wide-ranging interview with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to four people briefed on the matter, raising the specter of a monthslong court battle over whether the president must answer questions under oath.
His lawyers are concerned that the president, who has a history of making false statements and contradicting himself, could be charged with lying to investigators.
- Steve Bannon received a week extension on his subpoena to appear before the House Intelligence Committee.
- As the shutdown deadline on Thursday approached, Trump said that he’d love to see a shutdown if Congress couldn’t come to a deal on immigration.
- EPA Head Scott Pruitt falsely said that climate change may benefit humans.
- Chief of Staff John Kelly stirred controversy after he called undocumented immigrants lazy.
JOHN KELLY: Many immigrants were too lazy to get off their asses and sign up for DACA. ALSO JOHN KELLY: A 10-page memo is super-long and we’ll have to get some people to brief Trump about what it says.
Dear John Kelly: undocumented immigrants are anything but lazy. They work hard every day with no promise of citizenship or a return on their taxes when they get old. If they were afraid to sign up for DACA, perhaps it’s bc many feared that one day someone like you would run DHS.
Wednesday, February 7
Abuse
White House Secretary Rob Porter, who spent almost every day with the President, was outed for emotionally abusing and physically beating his ex-wives. By the end of the day he would resign, but we learned that John Kelly and much of the White House was well aware of his history of abuse and did nothing about it. In fact, Kelly pushed to keep him on board. And even worse, the White House, especially John Kelly, went out of their way to defend him after these allegations initially came forward on Tuesday.
John Kelly and Sarah Sanders defended Rob Porter on Tuesday. Kelly on Porter: “A man of true integrity and honor… I am proud to serve alongside him.” Sanders on Porter: “Someone of the highest integrity and exemplary character.” https://t.co/PdLtrrtP2X
‘Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor and I can’t say enough good things about him. He is a friend, a confidante and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him.’ White House chief of staff John Kelly to Daily Mail This is what integrity looks like.
WH Chief of Staff John Kelly defended Rob Porter AFTER photos were published showing how Porter physically assaulted one of his ex-wives. Kelly is as despicable as Trump. He has no honor or integrity, don’t let the “General” title fool you!
Those who are surprised by John Kelly’s defense of alleged domestic abuser Rob Porter…don’t be. Kelly’s revealed his character again & again: -Inhumane ICE raids at DHS -Praised Robert E. Lee -Slandered @RepWilson -Called undocumented immigrants lazy https://t.co/SwRRLtRoxh
Those who shield abusers are no better than the perpetrators themselves
This defense of an alleged domestic abuser is nothing new for this administration, but more on that later.
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Meanwhile…
- For about 9 hours straight, and in four-inch heels, Nancy Pelosi read the stories of DACA recipients.
We’re demanding @SpeakerRyan commit to bring up bipartisan legislation to #ProtectDREAMers. https://t.co/BGnQEsMJaY
Nancy Pelosi, in alignment with her history of excellent leadership, demonstrated the type of fortitude we should be enacting in the fight to protect DREAMers. And she did it all in four-inch heels. #GoNancyGo
- The New York Times didn’t give the Kelly coverup the attention it deserves.
This is how important the New York Times thinks the Porter/Kelly scandal is.
- Democrats won a State House seat in Missouri that Trump won in 2016.
- ICE is looking to expand their capabilities.
Officials at ICE are actively exploring joining the Intelligence Community, The Daily Beast has learned. Civil libertarians call the prospect “frankly terrifying.” https://t.co/dDSdZ9PXVA
Given their current track record, I’ll go with no.
A doctor who’s been here for 40 years, ripped from his family Parents detained while taking their kids to school In 2017, 12 people died in ICE custody-highest since 2009 As Trump tries to codify his racism into law, ICE is acting on his worst impulses https://t.co/TcQNBZkeU6
- Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says that the U.S. isn’t prepared to handle Russia’s incoming midterm election meddling.
- Speaking of election meddling…
DHS cybersecurity head just said she has “no doubt” that the Russian government “successfully penetrated” voter registration systems. Last week, the Trump admin refused to impose congressional sanctions on Russian oligarchs, saying they weren’t needed… https://t.co/TAchJ0u0LC
Thursday, February 8
Complicity
We learned even more about how White House officials were aware for months about Rob Porter’s domestic abuse allegations…and in some cases, years. The Washington Post reported:
White House Counsel Donald McGahn knew one year ago that staff secretary Rob Porter’s ex-wives were prepared to make damaging accusations about him that could threaten his security clearance but allowed him to serve as an influential gatekeeper and aide to President Trump without investigating the accusations, according to people familiar with the matter.
Chief of Staff John F. Kelly learned this fall about the allegations of spousal abuse and that they were delaying Porter’s security clearance amid an ongoing FBI investigation. But Kelly handed Porter more responsibilities to control the flow of information to the president.
Porter, who denied the “vile” allegations, resigned Wednesday after the ex-wives’ accounts of years of verbal and physical abuse were published, along with graphic pictures of Colbie Holderness, his first wife, bruised from what she said was a punch to the face.
….
Porter is having a romantic relationship with White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, and that relationship led the former girlfriend to come forward, according to White House officials. Hicks helped draft some of the early White House responses to the allegations against Porter.
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Meanwhile…
- President Trump responded to a Fox News story as expected.
Wow! -Senator Mark Warner got caught having extensive contact with a lobbyist for a Russian oligarch. Warner did not want a “paper trail” on a “private” meeting (in London) he requested with Steele of fraudulent Dossier fame. All tied into Crooked Hillary.
@realDonaldTrump 1. Assange tells fake Hannity account he has “news” on Warner 2. Fox News reports of Warner’s contact (Which @marcorubio says “Warner fully disclosed this to the committee four months ago.Has had zero impact on our work”) 3. Trump tweets the story ???https://t.co/q0WpIOIwNZ
- Trump began to complain about John Kelly…to his ex-chief of staff.
Trump griping to Priebus about Kelly and asking others what they think of Mick Mulvaney as chief of staff. https://t.co/xRzspSsjFB
- Reuters reported: “The Trump administration is considering making it harder for foreigners living in the United States to get permanent residency if they or their American-born children use public benefits such as food assistance, in a move that could sharply restrict legal immigration.”
Friday, February 9
President Donald Trump: Enemy Of Victims
When given the opportunity to say that he stands with the victims of Rob Porter, and domestic abuse victims in general, President Trump once again stood for the abuser…and by extension, he stood for himself.
BREAKING: Trump wishes Porter well, points to his denials. “He says he’s innocent. I think you have to remember that.” https://t.co/t3PfTVtld0
CNN wins this afternoon’s shade award.
President Trump defended Roy Moore. President Trump defended Bill O’Reilly. President Trump defended Roger Ailes. President Trump defended Rob Porter. President Trump defended himself. President Trump chooses abusers over victims every single time.
Despite his own depraved defense of Porter, Trump was reportedly angry at a woman, Hope Hicks, about this.
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Meanwhile….
- Rachel Brand resigned from the DOJ. This was a consequential move.
Ms. Brand will become the global governance director at Walmart https://t.co/3i299dzZvf
With Rachel Brand’s resignation, the two people below Rosenstein are now gone. Trump signed an EO that changed the line of succession: https://t.co/Sw1n0y8esn If Rosenstein is fired, and Boente’s seat remains vacant, Trump appointee NC Attorney Robert Higdon Jr can fire Mueller
- The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump refuses to read his presidential daily briefing.
In light of news that Trump refuses to read the PDB, that 14 individuals in the WH receive the briefing because it’s “cool,” and that at least 12 WH staffers don’t have permanent clearances, re-upping this piece I wrote for @RanttMedia back in Dec. 2016 https://t.co/yQQbm7BySH
- The government shut down for a few hours but then was reopened after a short-term spending bill was agreed upon.
- Seeing how Trump’s entire campaign was run attacking Hillary Clinton for potentially putting classified information at risk, this was quite the hypocritical news.
JUST IN: Thirty to 40 White House officials and administration political appointees are still operating without full security clearances, including Jared Kushner, senior adviser to President Donald Trump, sources say https://t.co/hyyqmVx6Iz https://t.co/v8P3iOQdQp
— @CNN
- President Trump blocked the release of the Democratic memo.
So let me understand. The President ignored DOJ concerns to release the #GOPMemo but is now yielding to DOJ concerns to block release of #DemocratMemo?
Over the weekend, President Trump continued his depraved defense of abusers and also distorted a report about a Russian false flag operation.
Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused – life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?
@realDonaldTrump Trump has claimed for years Obama was born in Kenya. Trump called for the death penalty of 5 black & latino teens after they were accused of rape-Doubled down after they were exonerated by DNA evidence. Don’t lecture us about due process @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/rfkxgklwFu
@realDonaldTrump Trump could’ve used his own lecture on due process when he was leading rallies of people yelling “lock her up!” and directly calling for his political opponents to be jailed. Don’t throw stones when you live in a glass house @realDonaldTrump We have receipts ?
According to the @nytimes, a Russian sold phony secrets on “Trump” to the U.S. Asking price was $10 million, brought down to $1 million to be paid over time. I hope people are now seeing & understanding what is going on here. It is all now starting to come out – DRAIN THE SWAMP!
@realDonaldTrump @nytimes As expected, Trump is blatantly lying about this story Real story: Russians were desperate to drive a wedge between the IC & Trump by providing sketchy intel The CIA did not take the deal Now, Trump is casting doubt on IC Russia’s mission accomplished https://t.co/A8ukIDhZ82
Trump appears to be working in concert with Moscow on this. Russians ran a likely dangle op (https://t.co/xhLLqF1j9m) to set up US intel, which assessed and rejected it. Having taken the op as far as it could, Moscow likely planted the story. Now, Trump echoes Moscow’s narrative. https://t.co/sCgOpU1c2H
