For years, U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions has expressed racist views, slammed civil rights organizations like the NAACP and called the Voting Rights Act a piece of “intrusive legislation.” Now, he’s reportedly being considered for a number of top roles in Donald Trump’s Cabinet—including Attorney General and Secretary of Defense.
Sessions, quite simply, would be an unacceptable choice.
As veteran journalist Jonathan Allen has noted, Sessions is “a partially reconstructed baiter of minorities [who] is beyond the ideological fringe.” For decades, Sessions has spouted racist positions and worked to disenfranchise communities of color. He’s even been rebuffed by the Senate on those very grounds. In 1986, the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected Sessions’ nomination to the federal bench after it was revealed that he had called an African-American colleague “boy” and made other racist comments. Since then, Sessions has continued to embrace a suite of draconian policies that would hurt communities of color—including gutting the Voting Rights Act and an unconstitutional anti-immigration law.
Sessions’ record is too divisive, too extreme and too racist to serve in any role in the Trump administration—and his appointment would be a clear attack on our country’s values of fairness and diversity.
Beyond the Fringe: Jeff Session’s Record
Former Washington Bureau Chief and Senior Washington Correspondent for Politico, Jonathan Allen: “Jeff Sessions Is Unfit for the Cabinet.” “Sessions has been normalized by his two decades of service in the Senate (such an outsider!), but his views are more than a little bit outside the mainstream. Just in the last several years, he opposed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, efforts to remove the Confederate battle flag from display on state property, and the repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law. On the latter, he said gay servicemembers would have a ‘corrosive’ effect on morale. He has repeatedly voted against defense authorization bills — the legislation setting policy for the U.S. armed services — because he has disagreed with policies like the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal and a hate-crimes rider. Over the years, Sessions has learned the lesson taught by his first confirmation — to mask his contempt for racial, ethnic and sexual minorities.” [“Jeff Sessions Is Unfit for the Cabinet,” Jonathan Allen, Op-ed, Roll Call, 11/15/16]
Session’s History of Racism and Bigotry
Sessions was Rejected for Federal Judgeship Due to Racist Past
Sessions became just the second nominee in 50 years to be rejected for a federal judgeship due to past racist comments. “It was 30 years ago that Sessions was denied a federal judgeship. At the time, he was a 39-year-old US attorney in Alabama. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony during hearings in March and May 1986, that Sessions had made racist remarks and called the NAACP and ACLU ‘un-American.’…The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10-8 against Sessions’ nomination, making him the second nominee in 50 years to be rejected for a federal judgeship.” [CNN, 11/17/16]
A black assistant US attorney who worked for sessions testified that Sessions called him “boy” and spoke positively about the KKK. “Thomas Figures, a black assistant US attorney who worked for Sessions, testified that Sessions called him ‘boy’ on multiple occasions and joked about the Ku Klux Klan, saying that he thought Klan members were ‘OK, until he learned that they smoked marijuana.’ On why he never spoke up against Sessions’ alleged use of the term, Figures testified: ‘I felt that if I had said anything or reacted in a manner in which I thought appropriate, I thought I would be fired.’” [CNN, 11/17/16]
Sessions stated that minority advocacy groups such as the NAACP, SCLC, and National Conference of Churches were un-American and projected anti-American values. “Figures also testified that Sessions was critical of the NAACP and other groups. ‘On the day in question, Mr. Sessions came into my office just as I was reading a newspaper account of some the recent action of the NAACP. I casually mentioned that development to Mr. Sessions. Mr. Sessions in response stated that he believed the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Operation PUSH and the National Conference of Churches were all un-American organizations teaching anti-American values. This statement clearly was not intended as a joke,’ Figures said.” [CNN, 11/17/16]
A former justice department lawyer testified that Sessions called the NAACP and ACLU “Communist inspired” and criticized them for “trying to force civil rights” down people’s throats. “Transcripts of the hearing also show that J. Gerald Hebert, who was a Justice Department lawyer, also testified that Sessions told him the NAACP and ACLU were ‘un-American’ and ‘Communist-inspired.’ Hebert recalled Sessions ‘said that he thought they did more harm than good when they were trying to force civil rights down the throats of people who were trying to put problems behind them.’” [CNN, 11/17/16]
Sessions Has Attempted to Disenfranchise People of Color
In 1984, Sessions attempted, and failed, to prosecute three civil rights workers for voter fraud over their attempts to increase turnout and registration in heavily black areas of Alabama. “The tip of the problem was a 1984 case that came to be known as the ‘Marion 3’ – Sessions’s prosecution of three civil rights workers over what he perceived as voting fraud. As Lani Guinier lays out in her book Lift Every Voice, before 1965 there were ‘virtually no blacks registered to vote in the 10 western Black Belt counties of Alabama’. But by the 1980s that had started to change. Through the massive get-out-the-vote efforts of three leaders – including a former aid to Martin Luther King – black voter turnout began to creep toward 80%, and a handful of black legislators were elected. That’s where Sessions stepped in, charging three voting rights organisers with voter fraud. All three were quickly acquitted. Sessions’s choice to focus on their efforts looked a lot less like good governance and a lot more like voter intimidation.” [Sarah Wildman opinion, The Guardian, 5/9/09]
Sessions called the Voting Rights Act of 1965 a “piece of intrusive legislation.” “He did, however, also admit that he had called the Voting Rights Act of 1965 a ‘piece of intrusive legislation’, a phrase he stood behind even in his confirmation hearings. To this day, he argues that Section five – a protective measure that concerns a handful of (mostly southern) states with appalling race histories – of the Voting Rights Act should be struck down.” [Sarah Wildman opinion, The Guardian, 5/9/09]
Sessions Has Been a Leading Opponent of Immigration Reform
Sessions was the leading opponent to the 2013 immigration bill. “Mr. Sessions is known for his virulent opposition to the immigration bill that passed the Senate in 2013, which included a path to citizenship for the undocumented immigrants already in the country, and Mr. Trump has made a tough stance on immigration a pillar of his campaign.” [NY Times, 2/28/16]
Sessions attempted to pass a bill that would prevent the Justice Department from filing civil rights lawsuits against anti-immigration laws passed by several states. “A war has ignited between the Justice Department and several states over their controversial new immigration laws, and Republican senators are stepping into the fray, looking to prevent the Obama administration from challenging these laws as unconstitutional. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.)—with cosponsors Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and David Vitter (R-La.)—will soon introduce legislation that would prevent the Justice Department from filing lawsuits against the state laws. At issue: a slate of harsh, new, GOP-authored immigration laws in South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, and Utah that are largely modeled on the controversial immigration measure passed in Arizona last year. That law made it illegal not to carry one’s immigration documents, gave law enforcement officials the green light to detain anyone suspected of being an undocumented immigrant, and made it a state crime to reside in the US illegally.” [Mother Jones, 11/10/11]
Sessions hoped to protect an anti-immigrant law in Alabama that authorized law enforcement to stop and question anyone “based on a ‘reasonable suspicion’ that the person is an illegal immigrant.” “Alabama has passed a sweeping bill to crack down on illegal immigrants that both supporters and opponents call the toughest of its kind in the country, going well beyond a law Arizona passed last year that caused a furor there…The Alabama bill includes a provision similar to one that stirred controversy in Arizona, authorizing state and local police officers to ask about the immigration status of anyone they stop based on a ‘reasonable suspicion’ the person is an illegal immigrant. Federal courts have suspended most of that Arizona law.” [New York Times, 6/4/11]
Seven provisions of the Alabama law were struck down as unconstitutional. “The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama entered its final judgment today in United States v. Alabama, resolving the Justice Department’s constitutional challenge to Alabama’s immigration law, H.B. 56, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and Assistant Attorney General Stuart Delery of the Department’s Civil Division announced. The judgment permanently prohibits Alabama from enforcing seven provisions of H.B. 56 that were designed to affect virtually every aspect of an unauthorized immigrant’s daily life, from employment to housing to transportation to entering into and enforcing contracts. The challenged provisions also threatened to impose significant burdens on federal and state agencies, diverting their resources away from dangerous criminal aliens and other high-priority criminal activity.” [“Alabama’s Immigration Law Permanently Blocked In Justice Department Lawsuit,” Department of Justice, 11/25/13]
Sessions Supported the Iraq War
Jeff Sessions voted for the Iraq War. [H.J. Res. 114, Vote #455, 10/10/02]
2005: Jeff Sessions said that anti-Iraq war protesters, “did not represent the American ideals of freedom, liberty and spreading that around the world.” “Support for U.S. troops fighting abroad mixed with anger toward antiwar demonstrators at home as hundreds of people, far fewer than organizers had expected, rallied Sunday on the National Mall just a day after a massive protest against the war in Iraq. ‘No matter what your ideals are, our sons and daughters are fighting for our freedom,’ said Marilyn Faatz, who drove from New Jersey to attend the rally. ‘We are making a mockery out of this. And we need to stand united, but we are not.’ About 400 people gathered near a stage on an eastern segment of the mall, a large photo of an American flag serving as a backdrop. Amid banners and signs proclaiming support for U.S. troops, several speakers hailed the effort to bring democracy to Iraq and Afghanistan and denounced those who protest it. Many demonstrators focused their ire at Cindy Sheehan, the California woman whose protest near President Bush’s Texas home last summer galvanized the antiwar movement. Sheehan was among the speakers at Saturday’s rally near the Washington Monument on the western part of the mall, an event that attracted an estimated 100,000 people. ‘The group who spoke here the other day did not represent the American ideals of freedom, liberty and spreading that around the world,’ Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, told the crowd. ‘I frankly don’t know what they represent, other than blaming America first.’” [AP, 9/25/05]
]]>Just as troubling is Flynn’s close business ties to foreign powers like Russia and Turkey. Flynn is a regular on the Kremlin-backed TV station RT, backs closer ties with the Kremlin and has even dined with Vladimir Putin. The shady connections don’t end there. Flynn’s consulting firm lobbies for a group tied to the Turkish government, and just last week Flynn personally published a pro-Ankara op-ed in The Hill.
Flynn is an a man utterly compromised by his business ties to foreign governments. As National Security Advisor, Flynn would only enable Trump’s most dangerous instincts and in the process, make our country less safe.
Flynn’s consulting firm lobbies for a firm tied to the Turkish government. “Donald Trump wants to forbid his officials from lobbying for foreign governments, but one of his top national security advisers is being paid by a close ally of Turkey’s president. Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a vice chair of the Trump transition who is in the running for a top national security post in the new administration, runs a consulting firm that is lobbying for Turkish interests, an associate told POLITICO. Asked if Flynn’s firm was hired because of the general’s closeness to Trump, the associate, Robert Kelley, said, ‘I hope so.’ Kelley told POLITICO that the client, a Dutch consulting firm called Inovo BV, was founded by Kamil Ekim Alptekin. Alptekin is chairman of the Turkish-American Business Council, known as TAIK, an arm of the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey, whose members are chosen by the country’s general assembly and economic minister. In that role, Alptekin was involved in organizing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Washington earlier this year.” [Politico, 11/14/16]
Flynn, recently, wrote an op-ed calling on the U.S. not to provide a “safe haven” to Fethullah Gülen, who the Turkish government blames for the recent coup attempt. “History repeats itself when people repeat the mistakes of the past. It is time we take a fresh look at the importance of Turkey and place our priorities in proper perspective. It is unconscionable to militate against Turkey, our NATO ally, as Washington is hoodwinked by this masked source of terror and instability nestled comfortably in our own backyard in Pennsylvania. We need to adjust our foreign policy to recognize Turkey as a priority. We need to see the world from Turkey’s perspective. What would we have done if right after 9/11 we heard the news that Osama bin Laden lives in a nice villa at a Turkish resort while running 160 charter schools funded by the Turkish taxpayers? The forces of radical Islam derive their ideology from radical clerics like Gülen, who is running a scam. We should not provide him safe haven. In this crisis, it is imperative that we remember who our real friends are.” [Gen. Michael Flynn, Op-ed, the Hill, 11/8/16]
Flynn appears as an analyst on RT and addressed its anniversary gala dinner with Vladmir Putin in attendance. “It was December 10, and Vladimir Putin was the guest of honor at RT’s 10th anniversary dinner, at Moscow’s Metropol Hotel in the shadow of the Kremlin. […] Seated next to Simonyan at the dinner and just two seats away from Putin himself was perhaps the most intriguing example of how the Russians have gone about recruiting disaffected members of that establishment: a rugged-looking man in a tuxedo who less than 18 months earlier had been head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s powerful in-house equivalent of the CIA. Michael Flynn, now a private citizen after a reportedly disgruntled retirement, was not there to gather intelligence. His attendance at the RT gala, before which he also gave a talk on world affairs, appeared to inaugurate a relationship with the network—presumably a paid one, though neither Flynn nor RT answered queries on the subject. Flynn now makes semi-regular appearances on RT as an analyst, in which he often argues that the U.S. and Russia should be working more closely together on issues like fighting ISIL and ending Syria’s civil war. ‘Russia has its own national security strategy, and we have to respect that,’ he said in one recent appearance. ‘And we have to try to figure out: How do we combine the United States’ national security strategy along with Russia’s national security strategy, despite all the challenges that we face?’” [Politco Magazine, May/June]
Flynn compared RT to CNN and seemed to dismiss the notion it was a Kremlin mouthpiece. PRIEST: Have you appeared on RT regularly? FLYNN: I appear on Al Jazeera, Skye New Arabia, RT. I don’t get paid a dime. I have no media contracts. … [I am interviewed] on CNN, Fox … PRIEST: Why would you go on RT, they’re state run? FLYNN: Well, what’s CNN? PRIEST: Well, it’s not run by the state. You’re rolling your eyes. FLYNN: Well, what’s MSNBC? I mean, come on … what’s Al Jazeera? What’s Sky News Arabia? I have been asked by multiple organizations to be a [paid] contributor but I don’t want to be. [Washington Post, 8/15/16]
Flynn wants the U.S. to work more closely with Russia to resolve global security issues. “Donald Trump is receiving foreign policy advice from a former U.S. military intelligence chief who wants the United States to work more closely with Russia to resolve global security issues, according to three sources. The sources, former foreign policy officials in past administrations, said retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, who was chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama from 2012-2014, has been informally advising Trump. Trump, who is leading the Republican race to be the party’s presidential candidate in November’s election, said earlier this month that he would soon release a list of his foreign policy advisers, but has yet to do so. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment about Flynn. Flynn declined to comment when asked by Reuters whether he is advising Trump. Asked to describe his views about ties with Russia, he referred Reuters to his public statements.” [Reuters, 2/26/16]
2014: Flynn was forced out of his position at the Defense Intelligence Agency, according to officals. “The top two officials at the Defense Intelligence Agency said Wednesday that they will retire from those positions in the coming months, part of a leadership shake-up at an agency that is under pressure to trim budgets and shift focus after more than a decade of war, current and former U.S. officials said. Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn is expected to end his tenure as DIA director this summer, about a year before he was scheduled to depart, according to officials who said Flynn faced pressure from Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. and others in recent months. His deputy, David Shedd, had been in his job since 2010.” [Washington Post, 4/30/14]
Former Secretary of State and retired four-star general Colin Powell said Flynn was fired from DIA because he was “abusive with staff, didn’t listen, worked against policy, bad management, etc,” according to leaked emails. “In private emails hacked and leaked to the press, Colin Powell, former secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs, called Trump a ‘national disgrace and an international pariah’ and Flynn ‘right-wing nutty’ for empowering him. ‘Flynn got fired as head of DIA. … I asked why Flynn got fired. Abusive with staff, didn’t listen, worked against policy, bad management, etc. He has been and was right-wing nutty every [sic] since,’ Powell wrote, later wondering ‘how [Flynn] got that far in the Army?’” [Politico, 10/16/16]
Flynn shared an anti-Semitic message on Twitter. “Less than a week after giving an impassioned speech at the Republican National Convention, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn is catching heat for sharing with his Twitter followers — as Donald Trump has in the past — an anti-Semitic message. Flynn was responding Sunday to an assertion by Robby Mook, Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, on CNN that Russia was behind the hack and release of tens of thousands of internal Democratic National Committee emails last week. ‘The corrupt Democratic machine will do and say anything to get #NeverHillary into power. This is a new low,” he tweeted, sharing a link to a tweet from a user named Saint Bibiana (@30PiecesofAG_) who wrote “>Cnn implicated. ‘The USSR is to blame!’ … Not anymore, Jews. Not anymore.’ That user’s tweet linked to a post from CNN Politics sharing the clip of Mook’s remarks.” [Politico, 7/24/16]
Flynn likened Islam to “a cancer” and said it was a “political ideology” that “definitely hides behind being a religion.” “The contents of Flynn’s book, How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies, was a main topic of discussion. He took special interest in discussing what he called the dangers of Shariah law in Texas. ‘Islam is a political ideology,’ Flynn said. ‘It definitely hides behind being a religion.’ Flynn said that earlier in the day he met with Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne, who has been a polarizing figure in the public debate over Islam and the treatment of Muslims since rumors of an illegal Shariah court at the Irving Islamic Center began spreading in 2015. ‘Beth is incredibly brave,’ Flynn said. ‘Vote for her for anything.’ He likened Islam, a religion with 1.6 billion adherents worldwide, to ‘a cancer’ and said that documents recovered from terrorist organizations instruct followers to ‘get into the bloodstream of the opposition,’ which Flynn said means to attack Western nations.” [Dallas Morning News, 8/10/16]
Flynn tweeted that “Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL.” “Flynn has also echoed positions similar to Trump’s on Islam and religious-inspired violence in recent weeks, as the candidate has won a string of caucus and primary contests and become the Republican frontrunner. ‘Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL,’ read a tweet from Flynn’s account on Feb. 26, encouraging others to share the message. It linked to a video that purported to reveal ‘the basics of Islam,’ and argued that ‘the term Islamophobia is an oxymoron, since having a phobia means having an irrational fear. Fearing Islam, which wants 80 percent of humanity enslaved or exterminated, is totally rational…’” [Daily Beast, 3/09/16]
Flynn said radical Islamic terrorists “are infiltrating into our education system.” FLYNN: “The second thing is [Trump] needs to talk about this enemy and call them for what they are, which he has done very well. And he needs to have a couple of key points that he just needs to, I think, to hit on that send the message to not only the American public, but the enemy that we will fight you wherever you exist. And we will go after your message the way that you are trying to message us. I mean, they are infiltrating inside of our social media. They are infiltrating into our education system. They’re infiltrating into our society. I mean, just look at the mess that’s going on in Europe, and frankly, the United States is not that far behind. We just have to have a much larger population here that’s able to sustain and hide in a way, allow these guys to hide amongst our own population.” [General Michael Flynn interview on Hugh Hewitt, 6/6/16]
Former government officials said that Flynn without authorization shared classified information with Pakistan on terror networks responsible for killing American troops. “At the Republican National Convention, amid shouts of ‘lock her up’ from the audience, Flynn delivered a fiery speech condemning Hillary Clinton’s handling of emails on her private server. ‘I have called on Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race because she put our nation’s security at extremely high risk with her careless use of a private email server,’ Flynn said. But Flynn’s own record with classified information has been called into question during his military career. On at least two occasions, his handling of classified information came under scrutiny by the US military. Two former government officials with direct knowledge of the issue tell CNN that while Flynn oversaw intelligence in Afghanistan, he shared classified information with Pakistan on terror networks responsible for killing American troops. The intelligence, the sources say, came from another agency. Flynn wasn’t supposed to share it. They say he was trying to convince Pakistan to stop sheltering terrorists.” [CNN, 11/16/16]
Flynn violated established security procedures by sharing classified intelligence with allies. “In separate incident, the two officials with whom CNN spoke said Flynn did not follow established security procedures when he shared classified intelligence with allies. In an August interview with The Washington Post, Flynn has acknowledged the incident. ‘The investigation on me was for sharing intelligence with the Brits and Australians in combat, and I’m proud of that one,’ he told the paper. ‘That was substantiated because I actually did it.’ Flynn says he had permission to share the classified information. In both cases, sources say the retired general was informally reprimanded but never charged with wrongdoing. And in 2010, while still a serving senior officer, he published an article criticizing the state of US intelligence operations in Afghanistan. CNN has learned the CIA was so furious at Flynn for publicly disclosing shortfalls that the agency complained to the Pentagon, which had signed off on the article.” [CNN, 11/16/16]
Flynn advocated bringing back waterboarding and other “enhanced” interrogation techniques. “Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn — a top foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump — said today, ‘We must maintain all options,’ including a return to waterboarding and other ‘enhanced’ interrogation techniques when the U.S. government captures terror suspects. ‘At the end of the day, this is about U.S. selfish self-interest,’ Flynn said in an interview with Yahoo News. ‘And if the situation that we are faced with is for the potential for a dirty nuke to go off in New York City … we must maintain all options.’ Flynn, who has been widely discussed as a likely candidate to be the director of national intelligence or another top national security post if Trump is elected, spoke to Yahoo News on the eve of a primetime speech he is scheduled to deliver on the opening night of the Republican National Convention.” [Yahoo News, 7/18/16]
Flynn said the West needed to go beyond airstrikes and “put troops on the ground” to defeat ISIS. “SPIEGEL ONLINE: How does IS treat people who volunteer? Flynn: They document everything. These guys are terrific about it. In their recruiting and in interviews, they ask ‘What’s your background? Are you good with media? With weapons?” It’s this kind of well-structured capability they have that then evolves into a very, very unconventional force. SPIEGEL ONLINE: How should the West fight this enemy? Flynn: The sad fact is that we have to put troops on the ground. We won’t succeed against this enemy with air strikes alone. But a military solution is not the end all, be all. The overall strategy must be to take away Islamic State’s territory, then bring security and stability to facilitate the return of the refugees. This won’t be possible quickly. First, we need to hunt down and eliminate the complete leadership of IS, break apart their networks, stop their financing operations and stay until a sense of normality has been established. It’s certainly not a question of months — it will take years. Just look back at the mission we created in the Balkans as a model. We started there in the early 1990s to create some stability and we are still there today.” [Der Spiegel, 11/29/15]
Flynn said the U.S. should “destroy” the city of Raqqa since it was ISIS’s headquarters. “So [Trump] does need to also talk about, I think, both tactical military actions that must occur, so there are some tactical military actions that must occur. And you know, if we know that there, for example, if we know that their headquarters exist in a place called Raqqa, Syria, we should eliminate, we should destroy Raqqa, Syria. We should create, you know, safety zones, flight zones, whatever, both ground and air. So those are tactical issues that we have to deal with.” [General Michael Flynn interview on Hugh Hewitt, 6/6/16]
]]>Even most disturbing, Gaffney’s views appear to align closely with both Trump and Steve Bannon. Gaffney helped inspire Trump’s Muslim ban and both have been fiery promoters of birtherism. With Gaffney’s involvement in advising the president-elect, Trump now seems intent on taking his campaign’s darkest and most bigoted elements into the White House.
Southern Poverty Law Center: Frank Gaffney is “one of America’s most notorious Islamophobes.” “Frank Gaffney Jr. Once a respectable Washington insider, Frank Gaffney Jr. is now one of America’s most notorious Islamophobes.” [SPLC, accessed 11/16/16]
Gaffney founded the Center for Security Policy, designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. “CENTER FOR SECURITY POLICY Founded in 1988 by former Reagan administration official Frank Gaffney, Jr., The Center for Security Policy (CSP) has gone from a respected hawkish think tank focused on foreign affairs to a conspiracy-oriented mouthpiece for the growing anti-Muslim movement in the United States.” [Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed 11/16/16]
Gaffney backed a “Moratorium on Refugees and Muslim Colonization” months before Trump called for his Muslim ban. “Compelling images of would-be immigrants from the world’s hellholes offer an incomplete picture of what’s afoot, literally. First, the overwhelming majority of those on the move are Muslims. Their migration conforms to a duty of their faith known as hijra, or spreading Islam’s reach to the non-Muslim world through colonization. Second, there’s no limit to the flow. Whatever is being said about distributing ‘refugees’ among Western nations means nothing if there are millions more who are ready to come, too. Third, we’re told the United States isn’t doing its part and must take many thousands of unvettable Syrians and others. In fact, the Obama administration has given refuge and/or permanent residency to over 280,000 Muslims in the past year alone. Rep. Brian Babin has introduced legislation calling for a moratorium on further refugees here. Sounds like a plan.” [“We Need a Moratorium on Refugees and Muslim Colonization,” Frank Gaffney, Center for Security Policy, 9/15/15]
Donald Trump justified his call for a ban on Muslim immigration by citing figures from Gaffney’s Center for Security Policy. “The most tangible example of that is Donald Trump’s call for a ban on Muslim immigration, which he justified by citing figures from Gaffney’s think tank, the Center for Security Policy, about the supposed jihadist sympathies of American Muslims. (Gaffney called for a ‘moratorium on refugees and Muslim colonization’ in September.” [Slate, 12/8/15]
2008: Gaffney said there was evidence that Obama “was born in Kenya rather than, as he claims, Hawaii” and, while he was in school in Indonesia, “identified not only as a Muslim but as an Indonesian.” “Another question yet to be resolved is whether Mr. Obama is a natural born citizen of the United States, a prerequisite pursuant to the U.S. Constitution. There is evidence Mr. Obama was born in Kenya rather than, as he claims, Hawaii. There is also a registration document for a school in Indonesia where the would-be president studied for four years, on which he was identified not only as a Muslim but as an Indonesian. If correct, the latter could give rise to another potential problem with respect to his eligibility to be president. Curiously, Mr. Obama has, to date, failed to provide an authentic birth certificate which could clear up the matter. — Then there is the Democratic candidate’s get-out-the-vote effort. In addition to the prospect that its ‘Arab-Americans for Obama’ effort is recruiting Muslim Brotherhood elements to enhance turnout, the Obama campaign is trolling for voters in problematic places. Some are felons in prison systems long used by Islamists as centers for recruiting converts to their causes.” [“GAFFNEY: The jihadist vote,” Frank Gaffney, Op-ed, Washington Times, 10/14/08]
Gaffney claimed the Muslim Brotherhood was undertaking “civilization jihad” within the US Government and called for a new House Un-America Activities Committee to root out sympathizers. “‘So pervasive now is the MB’s [Muslim Brotherhood’s] ‘civilization jihad’ within the U.S. government and civil institutions that a serious, sustained and rigorous investigation of the phenomenon by the legislative branch is in order. To that end, we need to establish a new and improved counterpart to the Cold War-era’s HUAC [House Un-American Activities Committee] and charge it with examining and rooting out anti-American – and anti-constitutional – activities that constitute an even more insidious peril than those pursued by communist Fifth Columnists fifty years ago. ‘ –column, Center for Security Policy, October 2011.” [SPLC, accessed 11/16/16]
In 2011 Gaffney led the debunked charge that Huma Abedin was part of a Muslim Brotherhood conspiracy. “Gaffney’s wild-eyed accusations would certainly fit right into the red-baiting HUAC tradition, judging from his long history of smears and innuendo aimed at Muslims. There was his groundless 2011 claim that Huma Abedin — aide to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — was part of a ‘Muslim Brotherhood conspiracy.’ That charge was subsequently trumpeted by U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), prompting even conservative Republican stalwarts such as Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and House Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) to condemn it.” [SPLC, accessed 11/16/16]
Gaffney’s Center for Security Policy claimed the “Iran Lobby” associated with government individuals such as UN Ambassador Susan Rice and special advisor to Hillary Clinton, Dennis Ross, was influencing U.S. policy. “In 2009, another dubious CSP report alleged that an ‘Iran Lobby’ operating in Washington, D.C., was influencing U.S. policy through a network of shady operatives and prominent politicos. The report said that ‘in one way or another’ U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass and Dennis Ross, then the special advisor for the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, were among those associated with the Iran Lobby. In fact, the Iran Lobby was essentially a fabrication.” [SPLC, accessed 11/16/16]
Gaffney suggested that Chris Christie was turning a blind eye to treason when he appointed a Muslim to the New Jersey state judiciary. “The Daily Beast credited Gaffney in 2012 with driving the state and federal push for anti-sharia laws. When New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie defended his appointment of a Muslim to the state judiciary against charges that the governor was abetting the implementation of sharia, Gaffney suggested on a radio show that Christie might be turning a blind eye to treason.” [Washington Post, 11/15/16]
Gaffney accused U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan of trying to inject Islamic Sharia law into the country’s financial system. “Gaffney argued in a series of 2010 columns that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, then the dean of Harvard Law School, was trying to inject Islamic Sharia law into the country’s financial system. Because Islamic Finance Project was established at the school during Kagan’s tenure there, Gaffney alleged she was a cog in the ‘stealth jihad’ machine helping the Muslim Brotherhood dismantle American capitalism from within. The op-eds even ran alongside photoshopped images of Kagan wearing a turban. Kagan wasn’t the only prominent figure that Gaffney accused of submitting to Sharia law, either. Gen. David Petraeus was the subject of Gaffney’s ire after he condemned a controversial Florida pastor who burned a Quran.” [TPM, 7/24/15]
Gaffney accused General David Petraeus of “submission” to Islamic Sharia law after the general strongly condemned the burning of a Quran by a Florida pastor Terry Jones. GAFFNEY: “We won’t have time here to go through this. Let me just mention several different ways in which this kind of influence operation is being run against those sorts of target sets. An important part of it is keeping us ignorant of what they are doing. I’m sure most of you witnessed General David Petraeus, the much admired military leader, responding to the Quran burning down in Florida by Pastor Terry Jones. Saying that the holy Quran — repeatedly — the holy Quran must not be desecrated, and in other ways, suggesting that what we are doing here is a kind of submission to this program, lest we give offense, which is a blasphemy and a capital crime under Sharia.” [Frank Gaffney, Liberty Union conference, (accessed via, Think Progress, 4/28/11)]
Gaffney opposed the proposed Ground Zero mosque, calling it “a durable, symbolic taunt by our enemies about their bloody victory.” “Now, an imam in New York who suddenly has come into $100 million from undisclosed sources wants to build a 13-story Islamic Cultural Center adjacent to the site of Shariah’s greatest triumph to date in America: Ground Zero, the place where the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers proudly stood until they were destroyed by Shariah-adherent jihadists on Sept. 11, 2001. It is not a coincidence that the imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf, has called his project the Cordoba House. Such a mosque on Sept. 11’s hallowed ground would not only constitute a durable, symbolic taunt by our enemies about their bloody victory. In accordance with Shariah, once ground has been taken for Islam, it can never revert to the non-Muslim Dar al-Harb, literally ‘the house of war.’” [Frank Gaffney opinion, Washington Times, 6/28/10]
Gaffney praised the work of leading white nationalist Jared Taylor during an interview on Gaffney’s radio program. “Washington Times columnist Frank Gaffney praised the ‘wonderful’ work of a leading white nationalist during an interview on Gaffney’s nationally-syndicated radio program. Republican politicians and conservative media outlets have regularly cited Gaffney as a purported expert on foreign policy despite his long history of extremism. Gaffney, the founder and president of the Center for Security Policy, has raised questions about President Obama’s birth certificate; was banned from the Conservative Political Action Conference after accusing prominent conservatives of somehow being Muslim Brotherhood operatives; and has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as ‘one of America’s most notorious Islamophobes.’ The former Reagan official can now add praising a notorious leader of the white nationalist movement to his resume. Gaffney hosted Jared Taylor on the September 29 edition of his Secure Freedom Radio program. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which first noted Taylor’s appearance, wrote that Taylor is one of the country’s ‘most outspoken and prominent white nationalists.’ The non-profit group wrote that Taylor hosts a conference ‘where racist intellectuals rub shoulders with Klansmen, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists’ and ‘founded the New Century Foundation, a pseudo-intellectual think tank that promotes ‘research’ arguing for white superiority.’” [Media Matters, 9/30/15]
Jared Taylor: “Blacks and whites are different. When blacks are left entirely to their own devices, Western Civilization — any kind of civilization — disappears.” “To be sure, the story of Hurricane Katrina does have a moral for anyone not deliberately blind. The races are different. Blacks and whites are different. When blacks are left entirely to their own devices, Western Civilization — any kind of civilization — disappears. And in a crisis, it disappears overnight.” [Jared Taylor, American Renaissance, October 2005]
The Conservative Political Action Committee banned Gaffney from future events after his wild claim that two CPAC board members were aiding the Muslim Brotherhood. “Then there was Gaffney’s 2011 claim that two board members of the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) were secretly aiding the Muslim Brotherhood, proving that even potential right-wing allies are not safe from his vitriol. Gaffney’s evidence was predictably flimsy — board member and anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist’s wife is Palestinian-American, while board member Suhail Khan is a Muslim. Both were political appointees in the George W. Bush administration with long experience in conservative Republican Party affairs. Calling the accusations reprehensible, CPAC banned Gaffney from participating in future events.” [SPLC, accessed 11/16/16]
Gaffney tried ban Grover Norquist from CPAC over his alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. “But Frank Gaffney, head of the Center for Security Policy, is trying to ban Norquist from CPAC. He has launched an online petition demanding that the American Conservative Union, which puts on CPAC, get rid of Norquist because he allegedly has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Gaffney, who is committed to raising the alarm about what he sees as the growing influence of Islam in American politics, has unsuccessfully been trying to get Norquist banned for years. In addition to Norquist, Gaffney has called for the removal of Suhail Khan, a former official in the administration of former President George W. Bush who serves on the ACU’s board. ‘Both Norquist and Khan have had relationships with a bevy of individuals with strong ties to the Muslim Brotherhood … that make their participation in the American Conservative Union anathema to the organization’s supposed vision. It behooves true conservatives, Republicans–and, indeed, the American people as a whole-to resist such subversive operations and to expose and counter those who enable them,’ Gaffney writes in his anti-Norquist petition.” [Huffington Post, 3/5/14]
Gaffney was invited by Breitbart and executive Stephen Bannon to participate in “The Uninvited” panel featuring a number of anti-Islam speakers as an alternative to CPAC. “Therefore, in his honor, the Breitbart News Network put on a panel called ‘The Uninvited’ to feature topics and speakers otherwise absent from the CPAC agenda. Breitbart News CEO Larry Solov and Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon compiled an ambitious slate of foreign policy experts and activists, as well as a discussion of the cronyism that has turned our nation’s capital into a boomtown…The final hour of the program was devoted to a panel on radical Islam at home and abroad featuring Rosemary Jenks of Numbers USA, Dan Gouré of the Lexington Institute, The Hudson Institute’s Nina Shea, Frank Gaffney of Center for Security Policy, Jihad Watch blogger Robert Spencer, and Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs.” [Center for Security Policy, 3/18/13]
Gaffney served as a moderator for Breitbart’s second “Uninvited” panel in 2014. “In 2014, Breitbart organized a full-blown conference, ‘The Uninvited II: National Security Action Summit,’ where Gaffney served as a moderator. The Summit took place at a hotel down the street from the 2014 CPAC conference in D.C., and featured anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant speakers as well as politicians, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), speaking on panels with titles like, ‘Amnesty and Open Borders: The End of America – and the GOP,’ and ‘Benghazigate: The Ugly Truth and the Cover-up.’” [SPLC, accessed 11/16/16]
This Apprentice-esque “knife fight” is having real consequences for the country. According to The New York Times, in a clear breach of protocol, key American allies—including the United Kingdom—have struggled to reach the president-elect. The Trump team still hasn’t finished the process allowing for information sharing with the Obama administration—putting the entire effort weeks behind schedule. And perhaps most alarming, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, famous for making racist statements and supporting draconian anti-immigrant laws, are now being considered for cabinet roles.
As former Bush administration official Eliot Cohen noted, “In a normal transition to a normal administration, there’s always disorder… This time may be different. Trump was not a normal candidate, the transition is not a normal transition, and this will probably not be a normal administration.”
CNN: Donald Trump’s team of bitter rivals
New York Times: Firings and Discord Put Trump Transition Team in a State of Disarray
Wall Street Journal: Pence Takes Reins as Trump Transition Team Is Shuffled
CNN: Kushner at the center of Trump transition ‘infighting,’ sources say
NBC News: Trump’s Rough Transition Start
Washington Post: Key figures purged from Trump transition team
CNN: Former Bush official warns against serving in Trump admin
BBC: Donald Trump denies transition disarray after sackings
Huffington Post: Donald Trump’s Transition Team, Or Lack Thereof, Is Causing Real Panic
Politico: Power battles bog down Trump transition
Slate: Trump’s Transition Operation Is Just As Chaotic As His Campaign. Uh-Oh.
New York Times: Trump’s Wild Ride With the Press
Quartz: Donald Trump is already proving he has no idea what he is in for
]]>In addition, Giuliani has little foreign policy knowledge and almost zero formal diplomatic experience. Instead of fighting for American interests, he’s spent the past fifteen years making money off deadly dictators and sworn enemies of this country. Giuliani is the last person we want taking on America’s enemies on the world stage and protecting our country.
Giuliani was paid by a Marxist Iranian opposition group, MEK, to advocate on its behalf while it was designated as a terrorist organization by the State Department. “Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani is reported to be in contention to be Donald Trump’s attorney general or secretary of state. Senators who will be considering his confirmation may want to examine the fact that Giuliani took money to advocate on behalf of an Iranian dissident group while it was listed by the State Department as a foreign terrorist organization, potentially breaking the law. For years, Giuliani has been one of the most prominent American officials to advocate on behalf of the Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK), a Marxist Iranian opposition group that claims to be the legitimate government of Iran and resembles a cult. A Treasury Department investigation in 2012 examined whether speaking fees paid by several MEK front groups to a long list of U.S. politicians, including Giuliani, violated laws on Americans receiving money from designated terrorist organizations.” [Washington Post, 11/15/16]
MEK was involved in the killing of U.S. citizens in Iran in the 1970s and an attack on U.S. soil in 1992. “The State Department added the MEK to the list of foreign terrorist organizations in 1997 due to its involvement in the killing of U.S. citizens in Iran in the 1970s and an attack on U.S. soil in 1992. The group, which has about 3,000 members living in exile in Iraq, has not conducted a confirmed act of terrorism in more than a decade. In the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the United States mostly disarmed the MEK and provided its members with protection at their Iraqi base, Camp Ashraf.” [Washington Post, 11/15/16]
Giuliani worked for a law firm whose clients included Saddam Hussein, terrorist Abu Nidal, a Saudi bank linked to drug cartels, and an Italian company that provided “expertise” for Gaddifi’s chemical weapon program. “But according to Giuliani critics, Noriega is not the only skeleton in the former mayor’s closet. As Wayne Barrett wrote in his book Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11: ‘The law firms [Giuliani] would up working at did business with multiple institutions that had ties to terrorist activities. The firm he joined in 1989 – White & Case – became a campaign issue in part because of its representation of the Saudi-based Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) a veritable life force for drug cartels, despots like Saddam Hussein, and even the most notorious terrorist of the time, Abu Nidal… Giuliani personally represented the Milan-based Montedison, which was accused in Italian press reports of providing ‘chemicals and expertise’ to a poison-gas plant in Libya.’” [Huffington Post, 3/28/08]
Giuliani’s law form lobbied on behalf of an oil company controlled by Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez. “Rudolph W. Giuliani’s law firm has lobbied for years on behalf of an oil company controlled by the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, a strident critic of President Bush and American-style capitalism. Bracewell & Giuliani, the firm based in Houston that Mr. Giuliani joined as a name partner two years ago, handles lobbying in the Texas capital for the Citgo Petroleum Corporation of Houston. Citgo is the American subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, the state-owned oil company that Mr. Chávez controls. Mr. Giuliani’s duties at his law firm do not include lobbying. But the financial relationship with a company affiliated with one of the most outspoken critics of the United States potentially exposes Mr. Giuliani to new scrutiny as he campaigns to become the Republican nominee for president in 2008.” [New York Times, 3/15/07]
Giuliani was a consultant for a Serbian nationalistic party that opposed European Union membership and condemned U.S. involvement in the Balkans. “Mr. Giuliani, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and now works as a consultant, also met with Tomislav Nikolic, the party’s candidate for president, in what is expected to be a close race against the pro-Western incumbent, Boris Tadic, of the Democrat Party. Messrs. Vucic and Nikolic used to be prominent members of a staunchly nationalistic party that opposed European Union membership and condemned U.S. involvement in the Balkans. They left in 2008 and launched the Progressive Party, which says it supports Serbia’s eventual membership in the EU. Opponents of the Progressives said the two men appeared to be trying to polish their image and win votes by associating themselves with Mr. Giuliani, who won global recognition for his leadership of New York after the September 11 attacks. A spokesman for the party dismissed the complaints as untrue. For his part, Mr. Giuliani said his visit had no political agenda. ‘I’m here because I’ve been asked to give them advice,’ he said. ‘I’m not endorsing anyone.’ The U.S. Embassy issued a statement to Serbian media saying that Mr. Giuliani’s visit didn’t indicate official U.S. support for any candidate or party.” [Wall Street Journal, 4/20/12]
Giuliani campaigned for Peruvian rightist Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of the disgraced former president Alberto Fujimori, who is still serving a twenty-five-year sentence for human rights abuses. “Undeterred, Giuliani moved on from private equity to running for president, hoping to capitalize on his brilliant success in business. But his campaign was a dismal failure. In the years since, he has desperately been searching for clients overseas. In 2011, he went to Peru to campaign for rightist Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of the disgraced former president Alberto Fujimori, who is still serving a twenty-five-year sentence for human rights abuses. As reported by CNN, ‘she praised Giuliani’s tough stance on crime and his track record turning around New York City, signaling that Giuliani would be her security adviser.’ She lost, dismally. Around the same time, he was advising Mexico City’s police department and speaking in Brazil to law enforcement agencies about his ‘zero tolerance’ crime policies.” [The Nation, 2/25/15]
AP: “Giuliani has little foreign policy experience.” “Sequestered in his Manhattan high-rise, President-elect Donald Trump is preparing to fill key foreign policy posts. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has emerged as the favorite to serve as secretary of state, a senior Trump official said. Although Giuliani has little foreign policy experience, the official said there was no real competition for the job as the nation’s top diplomat. However, a second official cautioned that John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, remained in contention for the key post. Both officials requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the process by name.” [AP, 11/15/16]
New York Times: Giuliani’s “formal diplomatic experience is slim.” “Though that ordeal gave Mr. Giuliani a firm grounding in domestic security issues, his formal diplomatic experience is slim. Like other New York City mayors, he made occasional ventures into foreign policy, on issues like the Middle East peace process or more parochial concerns, like going after foreign diplomats for their unpaid parking tickets.” [New York Times, 11/16/15]
Slate’s Magazine’s Fred Kaplan: “Rudy Giuliani’s essay in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, laying out his ideas for a new U.S. foreign policy, is one of the shallowest articles of its kind I’ve ever read.” “Rudy Giuliani’s essay in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, laying out his ideas for a new U.S. foreign policy, is one of the shallowest articles of its kind I’ve ever read. Had it been written for a freshman course on international relations, it would deserve at best a C-minus (with a concerned note to come see the professor as soon as possible). That it was written by a man who wants to be president—and who recently said that he understands the terrorist threat ‘better than anyone else running’—is either the stuff of high satire or cause to consider moving to, or out of, the country.” [Fred Kaplan, Slate, 8/16/07]
Giuliani claimed the U.S. should have seized Iraq’s oil, falsely arguing “anything’s legal” in war. “Rudy Giuliani defended Donald Trump’s assertion that during the Iraq War the United States should have seized the country’s oil, saying that ‘anything’s legal’ in war, despite the fact that laws governing war prohibit just that. Trump has repeatedly said the United States should have taken Iraq’s oil, including at a forum last week.” [CNN, 9/11/16]
In 2007, Giuliani endorsed torture techniques including waterboarding. “During tonight’s presidential debates, candidates were asked whether they would support the use of waterboarding — a technique, defined as torture by the Justice Department, that simulates drowning and makes the subject ‘believe his death is imminent while ideally not causing permanent physical damage.’ Both former mayor Rudy Giuliani and Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) suggested they would support using the technique. Specifically asked about waterboarding, Giuliani said he would allow ‘every method [interrogators] could think of and I would support them in doing it.’ Tancredo later added, ‘I’m looking for Jack Bauer,’ referencing the television character who has used torture techniques such as suffocation and electrocution on prisoners.” [Think Progress, 5/15/07]
Los Angeles Times HEADLINE: “Giuliani praises Bush’s Iraq policy, foresight” [Los Angeles Times, 2/11/07]
Giuliani: America was “very fortunate to have President Bush.” “‘In the business world, if two weeks were spent on a nonbinding resolution, it would be considered nonproductive,’ Giuliani told the lunch crowd, setting off a burst of laughter. He called the concept ‘a comment without making a decision.’ America, he added, is ‘very fortunate to have President Bush.’” [Los Angeles Times, 2/11/07]
Giuliani: George W. Bush had the ability “to look into the future” on Iraq. “The former New York City mayor came to Bush’s defense as he promoted his White House candidacy at a California Republican convention. Drawing parallels between Iraq and America’s Civil War, Giuliani compared Bush’s political troubles to Abraham Lincoln’s. When the Civil War was unpopular, Giuliani said, Lincoln ‘kept his eye ahead.’ ‘He was able to say, ‘I know my people are frustrated, and I know my people are angry at me.’ ‘ But after weighing public opinion, Lincoln had ‘that ability that a leader has — a leader like George Bush, a leader like Ronald Reagan — to look into the future,’ Giuliani said. Giuliani’s defense of the currently unpopular president comes as he is portraying himself as a decisive leader unafraid to buck public opinion.” [Los Angeles Times, 2/11/07]
]]>Just a week later, Trump Tower has a very different message: Just kidding!
Trump is already swimming in the DC muck, relying on the same old insiders for advice and stuffing his transition team with lobbyists. As NBC News reported last week, “despite Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to ‘drain the swamp’ in Washington and his outsider campaign, many of the prospects [for his Administration] are clear Washington insiders.” And it’s not just Trump’s team that is in the swamp— The Donald himself is getting in on the action with his blatant and disturbing conflicts of interest. Trump has refused to put his business into a blind trust, instead handing over the Trump Organization to his family members, who will also be informally advising his administration. The entire arrangement is unprecedented, ethically dubious and reeks of nepotism.
As The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin noted, it “doesn’t sound like Trump wants to ‘drain the swamp.’ It sounds like he will be flooding it.”
NBC News: ‘Drain the Swamp’? Trump’s Potential Cabinet Fills Out With Washington Insiders
Washington Post: Donors and lobbyists already shaping Trump’s ‘drain the swamp’ administration
CNN: Team Trump is already filled with Washington insiders
Washington Post: Trump relies on Washington insiders to build administration
Politico: Insurgent Trump taps GOP insiders, lobbyists for transition
Washington Post: Trump’s transition team signals return to GOP establishment
New York Times: Donald Trump’s Far-Flung Holdings Raise Potential for Conflicts of Interest
Politico: Trump adviser linked to Turkish lobbying
Politico: Defense lobbyists deluged in wake of Trump victory
Huffington Post: Lobbyists Stand Ready To Help Donald Trump Drain The Swamp
Washington Post: Right Turn: Drain the swamp?
The Hill: Opinion: How not to drain the swamp
New York Times: Editorial: The Wrong People to Drain the Swamp
Bangor Daily News: Opinion: President-elect Trump has already misled America
The Week: Washington’s biggest lobbyists are ready to help Donald Trump ‘drain the swamp’
Business Insider: ‘Drain the swamp’? Trump’s transition team is full of DC lobbyists and insiders
TPM: ‘Drain The Swamp’? Trump Stocks His Transition Team With Lobbyists
Washington Examiner: Conway: Trump can ‘drain the swamp’ with DC insiders in his administration
]]>The “controversial” pick has sparked “backlash,” a “storm of criticism,” and “court[ed] fury.” The decision effectively gives Bannon broad authority to influence policy and the work of the federal government—and makes clear that the Alt-Right will play a prominent role in the new administration. As NBC News’ Benjy Sarlin wrote, “Trump is signaling that the far right wing of the party will be going with him to the White House, where it will have a chance to influence policy, as well.” Republican strategist John Weaver was even more blunt, tweeting that “the racist, fascist extreme right is represented footsteps from the Oval Office.”
The fallout? Incoming Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus’ first task has been to defend Bannon “from accusations of racism, hate.” It looks like the Trump administration is off to a roaring start.
NBC News: Trump’s Pick of Steve Bannon as Chief Strategist Sparks Backlash
Business Insider: Trump’s choice for one of his top advisers has been met with a storm of criticism
NBC News: Analysis: Breitbart’s Steve Bannon Leads the ‘Alt Right’ to the White House
TIME: Donald Trump Courts Fury by Bringing Stephen Bannon to the White House
Huffington Post: A White Nationalist Is The New White House Chief Strategist
The Times of Israel: Ex-Breitbart head accused of anti-Semitism mooted as top Trump aide
The Forward: Will Steve Bannon Be the Anti-Semitic Firebrand in Donald Trump’s Inner Circle?
Fox News: Priebus’ first role is defending colleague Bannon from accusations of racism, hate
The Daily Beast: Steve Bannon’s Dream: A Worldwide Ultra-Right
Boston Globe: Controversial chief of Breitbart is headed to the West Wing
The Telegraph: Steve Bannon: Who is Donald Trump’s chief strategist and why is he so feared?
Independent: Steve Bannon: the alt-right media baron who has the ear of the President-elect
]]>In a triumph for the bigoted Alt-Right, Donald Trump announced that Steve Bannon, former executive chairman of the right-wing Breitbart News, would serve as his chief strategist—declaring him and chief of staff Reince Priebus “equal partners.” Bannon is one of the most dangerous political operatives working today and is a well-known promoter of anti-Semitism, racism, sexism, workplace harassment—and Trump’s darkest impulses. It was Bannon who urged Trump to run a nationalist, racist presidential campaign and often enabled Trump’s most divisive and scorched-earth rhetoric. Former employees have called Bannon a “vindictive, nasty figure” who verbally abused colleagues and transformed Breitbart into a “cesspool for white supremacist mememakers.” Conservative radio host Glenn Beck has compared him to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. In the 1990s, Bannon was even charged with domestic violence and battery. And Bannon’s ex-wife has even alleged that he complained that his daughters were going to school with Jewish children.
Now, Bannon is set to bring his white supremacist ideology, abusive personal behavior and divisive, ugly politics to the White House—at the expense of the American people.
Former Breitbart Editor: “Under Bannon’s Leadership, Breitbart Openly Embraced The White Supremacist Alt-Right.” “Under Bannon’s Leadership, Breitbart Openly Embraced The White Supremacist Alt-Right. Andrew Breitbart despised racism. Truly despised it. He used to brag regularly about helping to integrate his fraternity at Tulane University. He insisted that racial stories be treated with special care to avoid even the whiff of racism.” [Daily Wire, 8/17/16]
Former Breitbart Editor: Under Bannon “Breitbart has become the alt-right go-to website” and a “cesspool for white supremacist mememakers.” “With Bannon embracing Trump, all that changed. Now Breitbart has become the alt-right go-to website, with Yiannopoulos pushing white ethno-nationalism as a legitimate response to political correctness, and the comment section turning into a cesspool for white supremacist mememakers.” [Daily Wire, 8/17/16]
Breitbart has been a platform for anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant movements, including organizing conferences featuring nativist group leaders. “Breitbart has always given a platform to parts of the radical right, most notably elements of the organized anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant movements. Breitbart has also organized conferences featuring nativist speakers and published op-eds and interviews with movement leaders. But since 2015, Breitbart began publishing more overtly racist diatribes about Muslims and immigrants.” [Southern Poverty Law Center, 4/28/16]
After a Breitbart reporter tweeted that the U.S. should “deport anchor babies” and espoused other anti-immigrant views, a top editor joked that he and Bannon were considering rewarding the her with a weekly column. “This never-back-down philosophy was reflected in the way top editor Marlow responded when presented with a series of tweets by Breitbart reporter Katie McHugh that many people would find highly offensive. Among them: ‘It’s important to keep families together. We must deport anchor babies along with their illegal alien parents’; ‘Mexicans wrecked Mexico & think invading the USA will magically cure them of their retarded dysfunction. LOL’; and ‘Indian tribes never bothered to build any kind of civilization. They killed each other and chased bison. Yawn~’. Marlow’s reaction: ‘Neither Steve nor I are big fans of Twitter, but after reviewing these tweets, we’re considering giving Katie a weekly column.’” [Daily Beast, 3/1/16]
Conservative host Glenn Beck compared Bannon and Breitbart’s fawning over Trump to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. “Others noticed this, too: By February of this year, Glenn Beck was angrily lashing out at Breitbart on his radio show for what he saw as overly favorable coverage of Trump, comparing the site’s executive chairman, Steve Bannon, to Joseph Goebbels.” [NY Mag, 5/26/16]
Former Breitbart Editor, Ben Shapiro called Bannon “a bully” who “shaped the company [Breitbart] into Trump’s personal Pravda.” “In his own statement, Shapiro said the episode was emblematic of how he believes the site’s management had sold out the legacy of its founder and namesake, the late Andrew Breitbart. ‘Andrew’s life mission has been betrayed,’ Shapiro wrote. ‘Indeed, Breitbart News, under the chairmanship of Steve Bannon, has put a stake through the heart of Andrew’s legacy. In my opinion, Steve Bannon is a bully, and has sold out Andrew’s mission in order to back another bully, Donald Trump; he has shaped the company into Trump’s personal Pravda, to the extent that he abandoned and undercut his own reporter, Breitbart News’ Michelle Fields, in order to protect Trump’s bully campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who allegedly assaulted Michelle.’” [BuzzFeed, 3/14/16]
Time: Bannon mandated pro-Trump coverage and had final approval of stories written about Trump. “Pro-Trump coverage at Breitbart was a mandate enforced harshly by Bannon, according to a Vanity Fair report in March. Bannon had final approval of stories written about the billionaire and frequently exercised his veto power. Tension arose when former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was accused of assaulting Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields at a rally.” [Time, 8/17/16]
Bannon was charged with domestic violence and battery following an altercation with his ex-wife. “Stephen K. Bannon, the new CEO of the Donald Trump campaign, was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence, battery and dissuading a witness following an incident in early January 1996, though the case was ultimately dismissed, according to a police report and court documents. The Santa Monica, Calif., police report says that Bannon’s then-wife claimed he pulled at her neck and wrist during an altercation over their finances, and an officer reported witnessing red marks on her neck and wrist to bolster her account. Bannon also reportedly smashed the phone when she tried to call the police. While the case ended when Bannon’s ex-wife did not appear in court, the incident presents a new problem for the Trump campaign following the hiring of the controversial Bannon. He went on leave from Breitbart News, where he is chairman, to take over the Trump campaign.” [Politico, 8/25/16]
Bannon told his ex-wife, according to court documents, that he didn’t want his children “going to school with Jews.” “Donald Trump’s campaign CEO Stephen Bannon was branded an anti-Semite by the same ex-wife who claimed he choked her, court documents reveal. Mary Louise Piccard said in a 2007 court declaration that Bannon didn’t want their twin daughters attending the Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles because many Jewish students were enrolled at the elite institution. ‘The biggest problem he had with Archer is the number of Jews that attend,’ Piccard said in her statement signed on June 27, 2007. ‘He said that he doesn’t like the way they raise their kids to be ‘whiny brats’ and that he didn’t want the girls going to school with Jews,’ Piccard wrote. ‘I told him that there are children who are Jewish at (a competing school), and he asked me what the percentage was. I told him that I didn’t know because it wasn’t an issue for me as I am not raising the girls to be either anti-Semitic or prejudiced against anyone,’ she wrote.” [NY Daily News, 8/26/16]
Former Breitbart Editor: Bannon is “a vindictive, nasty figure, infamous for verbally abusing supposed friends and threatening enemies.” “Bannon Is A Legitimately Sinister Figure. Many former employees of Breitbart News are afraid of Steve Bannon. He is a vindictive, nasty figure, infamous for verbally abusing supposed friends and threatening enemies. Bannon is a smarter version of Trump: he’s an aggressive self-promoter who name-drops to heighten his profile and woo bigger names, and then uses those bigger names as stepping stools to his next destination.” [Daily Wire, 8/17/16]
Breitbart insider described Bannon and his team “the kind of people who, if you accidentally brushed against their shopping cart in the supermarket, their response is to burn down your house.” “Bannon revels in what he likes to call a Fight Club ethos. A Breitbart insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says that ‘they’re the kind of people who, if you accidentally brushed against their shopping cart in the supermarket, their response is to burn down your house.’ Asked about this characterization, Bannon didn’t deny it. Quite the opposite, he laughed uproariously.” [Daily Beast, 3/1/16]
Bannon has been described as a bare-knuckled fighter who supports Trump’s “pugilistic instincts.” “Mr. Bannon has no experience with political campaigns, but he represents the type of bare-knuckled fighter that the candidate had in Corey Lewandowski, his combative former campaign manager, who was fired on June 20. Mr. Bannon has been a supporter of Mr. Trump’s pugilistic instincts, which the candidate has made clear in interviews he is uncertain about suppressing. He is also deeply mistrustful of the political establishment, and his website has often been critical of Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader.” [New York Times, 8/17/16]
Bannon has been urging Trump to run more aggressively as “an unabashed nationalist.” “Bannon, in phone calls and meetings, has been urging Trump for months to not mount a fall campaign that makes Republican donors and officials comfortable, the aides said. Instead, Bannon has been telling Trump to run more fully as an outsider and an unabashed nationalist.” [Washington Post, 8/17/16]
Bannon allegedly referred to Michelle Fields as “that f*****g c**t” after the Daily Beast published an article in which Corey Lewandowski admitted to grabbing Fields. “According to a witness to a conference call with Bannon last Wednesday, as the controversy was reaching a boiling point, the notoriously foul-mouthed Bannon erupted over a story in The Daily Beast that recounted a version of Boyle’s late-night communication with Lewandowski, in which the campaign manager admitted to the political editor that he had grabbed Fields, but didn’t realize she was Breitbart reporter. ‘That f*****g c**t,’ Bannon allegedly said, referring to Fields. Bannon, who until recently was responsive to Daily Beast inquiries, didn’t reply to a detailed text message outlining this anecdote.” [Daily Beast, 3/15/16]
March 2016: Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski “forcibly yanked Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields” as she attempted to ask Trump a question at a press conference, “nearly bringing her down to the ground.” “Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski forcibly yanked Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields out of the way after his press conference in Florida on Tuesday night. Fields was attempting to ask Trump a question as he exited the press conference. Secret Service was starting to clear a path, when Fields was forcibly grabbed on her arm by Lewandowski, moving her out of the way and nearly bringing her down to the ground, a source who witnessed the situation told POLITICO. Fields was clearly roughed up by the move, the witness said.” [Politico, 3/9/16]
Jupiter, Florida police issued arrest for Lewandowski on misdemeanor battery charges. “Nearly a month of jousting on social media culminated Tuesday in the arrest of a top Donald Trump presidential campaign aide on misdemeanor battery charges following a March 8 incident involving a reporter. Michelle Fields, then with the online Breitbart News Service, alleges that Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski forcefully grabbed her at a news conference at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter. Lewandowski — who has denied wrongdoing and who the Trump campaign said will plead not guilty — turned himself in to town police just before 8 a.m. Tuesday, in what Jupiter Police Chief Frank Kitzerow described as ‘a very straightforward procedure.’” [Palm Beach Post, 3/29/16]
Trump on Fields: “Perhaps she made the story up. I think that’s what happened.” “Trump himself also denied the attack, adding that Secret Service agents assured him ‘nothing happened’ at the press conference. ‘Perhaps she made the story up,’ he told reporters. ‘I think that’s what happened.’” [New York Daily News, 3/30/16]
Trump on Fields’ bruises from Lewandowski: “How do you know those bruises weren’t there before?” “But Mr. Trump’s and Mr. Lewandowski’s depiction of Ms. Fields as a drama queen faking an injury — ‘How do you know those bruises weren’t there before?’ Mr. Trump asked — risked a new level of fallout for a candidate repeatedly accused of making misogynistic remarks who polls show is already viewed negatively by an overwhelming number of American women.” [New York Times, 3/30/16]
Mediaite: Trump performed “a mock dramatic reading of Michelle Fields’ original statement on what happened when Corey Lewandowski grabbed her” on CNN. “Donald Trump seriously kicked off his appearance at CNN’s GOP town hall tonight by––and I’m not kidding here––doing a mock dramatic reading of Michelle Fields’ original statement on what happened when Corey Lewandowski grabbed her.” [Mediaite, 3/29/16]
Breitbart published story doubting its own reporter, claiming “likeliest explanation” was that Fields was grabbed by security, not Lewandowski. “The Breitbart News reporter allegedly roughed up last week at a Donald Trump press conference has resigned from the conservative website, saying that she can’t work for an organization that doesn’t support her, and three other news employees followed her out the door. Michelle Fields, who said that she was grabbed by Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski as she attempted to question the candidate last Tuesday in Florida, was joined in her resignation by Breitbart editors Ben Shapiro and Jarrett Stepman, along with national security correspondent Jordan Schachtel. […] After initially publishing Fields’ account, Breitbart posted a story doubting its own reporter, saying the ‘likeliest explanation’ is that Fields was grabbed by a security officer, not Lewandowski.” [Associated Press, 3/14/16]
Michelle Fields resigned from Breitbart News with editors Ben Shapiro and Jarrett Stepman, and national security correspondent Jordan Schachtel in protest of the outlet’s treatment of Fields. “The Breitbart News reporter allegedly roughed up last week at a Donald Trump press conference has resigned from the conservative website, saying that she can’t work for an organization that doesn’t support her, and three other news employees followed her out the door. Michelle Fields, who said that she was grabbed by Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski as she attempted to question the candidate last Tuesday in Florida, was joined in her resignation by Breitbart editors Ben Shapiro and Jarrett Stepman, along with national security correspondent Jordan Schachtel.” [Associated Press, 3/14/16]
]]>
In contrast, Trump was his typical self. He once again called Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas” and offensively remarked that “the inner cities, in so many cases, are like living in hell.” Trump is ending this campaign exactly where he started: with hateful rhetoric and bigoted lies. Over the course of the past sixteen months, he has made a mockery of our democracy and has used his candidacy to instill fear in the hearts of voters. He is unqualified for the presidency and his enablers, including Kelly Ayotte, are unfit to represent this nation.
Hillary Clinton knows we are stronger together. Tomorrow, Americans can show once and for all that love trumps hate.
How Obama brings Clinton onto stage: “this fighter, this stateswoman, this mother, this grandmother, this patriot, our next president!”
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) November 8, 2016
Obama: I am betting that tomorrow you will reject fear & you’ll choose hope…that is a bet I have never ever lost.
— Steven Rattner (@SteveRattner) November 8, 2016
Obama says for black voters “this journey we’ve been on was never about the color of a president but the content of his or her character.”
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) November 8, 2016
“I am betting that tomorrow that you will reject fear and choose hope” – Obama for Clinton in Philadelphia
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) November 8, 2016
With a kiss, Pres Obama turns over lectern with presidential seal to “next president” @HillaryClinton. pic.twitter.com/UhBNj5t3ZX
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) November 8, 2016
Clinton asks voters to choose a “hopeful, inclusive, big-hearted America.”
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 8, 2016
“We will have to bridge the divides in our country,” Clinton says. “I regret deeply how angry the tone of the campaign became.”
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) November 8, 2016
WATCH LIVE: #HillaryClinton: “I believe with all my heart that America’s best days are ahead of us.” https://t.co/VFCHYJDR4b #Election2016 pic.twitter.com/z4ld2hMcvG
— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) November 8, 2016
Donald Trump: “The inner cities, in so many cases, are like living in hell. Crime is rampant, horrible. You can’t walk to a store without getting shot. Schools are terrible, as bad as it gets. And there are no jobs.” [Manchester, NH, 11/7/16]
“She’s being protected by a totally rigged system – I been saying it a long time,” Trump says of Clinton.
— Ali Vitali (@alivitali) November 8, 2016
Trump: “do you want America to be ruled by the corrupt political class or do you want America to be ruled again by the people?”
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) November 8, 2016
Trump has now called Hillary Bill’s “lovely wife” at every rally today. Can you hear that gender dog whistle?
— Ali Vitali (@alivitali) November 8, 2016
Guys behind the press pen at Trump rally in Manchester still going: “She’s evil!” “She’s sick!” “All she does is lie!”
— Ben Schreckinger (@SchreckReports) November 8, 2016
“She said he’s a pussy.” – Trump in February, repeating a woman’s critique of Ted Cruz, at the same New Hampshire venue where he is tonight.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) November 8, 2016
One guy started screaming “f— you” at the top of his lungs and giving us the double finger.
— Sara Murray (@SaraMurray) November 8, 2016
Trump on refugees: “Her plan will import generations of terrorism, extremism and radicalism into your schools”
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) November 8, 2016
Trump slams Obama for campaigning. Guys behind press pen: “lock him up too. You suck Obama” “they should share a cell.” “piece of shit.”
— Ben Schreckinger (@SchreckReports) November 8, 2016
Trump on Elizabeth Warren: “Everyone who watches her, they say she’s a terrible human being.”
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) November 8, 2016
]]>Trump’s closing message: “Massachusetts is represented by Pocahontas right? … she is a terrible human being”
— Ben Schreckinger (@SchreckReports) November 8, 2016