Donald Trump fires Reince Priebus, names Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly as chief of staff
President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday afternoon that he is naming Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly as chief of staff, ousting Reince Priebus. I am pleased to inform you that I have just named General/Secretary John F Kelly as White House Chief of Staff. He is a Great American…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2017 In the swirl of Shakespearean intrigue that surrounds Donald Trump’s White House, Priebus’ fortunes have long been a source of speculation, given his limited role, colorful band of rivals and the president’s public slights. Those questions sharply escalated this week with the arrival of Trump’s new communications director, who was hired over Priebus’ objections and reports directly to the president. Priebus’ already tense relationship with Anthony Scaramucci took a darker turn over the past 24 hours when the communications chief suggested in a late-night tweet that Priebus was one of the “leakers” that President Donald Trump has railed against. The New Yorker published a profanity-laced interview Thursday in which Scaramucci called Priebus a “paranoid schizophrenic.” Trump told The Wall Street Journal in an interview Tuesday that no staff shake-up was imminent. But he has privately floated potential replacements for Priebus, including Secretary John Kelly, deputy national security adviser Dina Powell, chief economic adviser Gary Cohn and former campaign adviser David Urban, according to three people who’ve been in conversation with the president and senior staffers recently. The president often throws out names casually in conversation that end up going nowhere, and there is no indication that anyone has been approached about the job. But Priebus’ power — which has been limited compared with past people with that title — has dwindled. Scaramucci is the latest top aide to be granted a direct line to Trump, and it has become increasingly unclear who actually reports to Priebus. The White House did not respond to requests for an organizational chart. After Trump boarded Air Force One on Friday for a trip to Long Island, New York, reporters saw Priebus and Scaramucci, who was on the telephone and carrying a bag, boarding the aircraft using the rear staircase. Priebus has grown increasingly isolated in the White House, as past Republican National Committee colleagues and other allies have left or been pushed out of the West Wing. Those who have departed include former deputy chief of staff Katie Walsh, outgoing press secretary Sean Spicer and press aide Michael Short. The chief of staff made an appearance Thursday at an East Room event where Trump honored first responders, acting as if nothing was amiss. Asked if Trump had confidence in his chief of staff, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not answer directly, saying: “I think I’ve addressed this question when it comes to staffing and personnel many times, that if the president doesn’t, then he’ll make that decision. We all serve at the pleasure of the president and if he gets to a place where that isn’t the case, he’ll let you know.” Priebus did not respond to repeated requests for comment. On-the-job humiliation is often part of the deal in Trump’s White House, as Priebus well knows. At a meeting of auto company CEOs in Michigan in March, Trump praised the executives and then said, “And then I look at Reince,” drawing scattered laughs with a tone that suggested Priebus was a less impressive presence. Trump quickly added that Priebus has “done a great job.” Trump structured the White House in a way that undermined Priebus’ authority from Day One. In a highly unusual arrangement, he said Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon would serve as “equal partners” in implementing his agenda. In a typical White House, most staffers, including the communications director, report to the chief of staff. But in Trump’s White House, a long list of top advisers bypasses the middle man. Scaramucci, social media director Dan Scavino and counselor Kellyanne Conway all report directly to Trump, as do the president’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, both senior advisers. “I plan on continuing to serve and report directly to President @realDonaldTrump at the @WhiteHouse, as I’ve done since 1/20/2017,” Scavino tweeted over the weekend. Trump has also maintained a near open-door policy, with top aides casually poking their heads in constantly to speak with the boss. “They’ve got all these chiefs running about with or without the title of chief,” said William Daley, the second chief of staff for President Barack Obama. He said that under Obama, there were high-ranking players with direct access to the president, but he was clued in on any policy or governing conversations, noting: “There was a sense that people were working together.” Ari Fleischer, who served as press secretary under George W. Bush, said there are multiple ways to effectively run the White House. George H.W. Bush ran a hierarchical West Wing with a powerful chief of staff who controlled access to the Oval Office. When his son came to office, he chose a different model, creating a system under which numerous senior aides were able to walk into the Oval Office and speak to the president, even if, on paper, they technically reported to someone else. The difference now, he said, is that Trump has created a faction-driven White House, noting: “I just think he has too many independent power centers and not enough team players.” The lone voice coming to Priebus’ defense Thursday was House Speaker Paul Ryan, who called the fellow Wisconsinite a “close friend” and said, “I think he’s doing a great job as chief of staff.” But from within the White House there was less vocal support. Asked on Fox Business Network whether Priebus is in trouble, Conway replied: “You’d have to ask the president that.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Time Inc. exploring sale of Birmingham’s Coastal Living, other titles
Time Inc. is exploring a sale of Coastal Living, Sunset and Golf magazines as the struggling publisher concentrates on larger titles in its turnaround strategy, Chief Executive Officer Rich Battista said in an interview Tuesday. Battista said in May the company would sell some smaller properties as it tried to push ahead with a digital strategy and move past months of talks with potential acquirers. In the interview, Battista called the three publications “wonderful brands” but said Time needed to invest in other properties instead. The company also publishes People and Sports Illustrated. “It’s really important to focus on the key biggest growth drivers of this company that will move the needle the most,” he said. “These are wonderful titles and wonderful brands. They’re just relatively smaller in our portfolio.” Signage is displayed on the exterior of Time Inc. headquarters in New York. (Alexander F. Yuan/Bloomberg) Time may also consider unloading other assets, Battista said. Earlier this week, the publisher said it was looking to sell a majority stake in Essence, a monthly magazine for black women. Battista said in the interview that Time was increasing its video production for television and social media and looking to expand the Foundry, which creates content for advertisers. In April, Time announced it was sticking with its online strategy rather than selling itself. Last month, the publisher cut 300 employees, or 4 percent of its workforce, to be more efficient and reinvest resources in growth areas. Digital dollars Like other magazine publishers, Time is struggling to reinvent itself as print advertising dries up and the lion’s share of digital advertising dollars goes to Facebook Inc. and Google. The magazine owner has spent months restructuring its business and replacing senior management, hoping to persuade advertisers to pour money into its titles. Coastal Living, based in Birmingham, focuses on home design and travel in communities along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts. The magazine shares Birmingham with other titles, including Southern Living and Cooking Light, and Time recently announced the relocation of Food & Wine from New York to Birmingham. Based in Oakland, California, Sunset is a monthly publication focused on West Coast lifestyle, including travel, food, home and garden. It was founded in 1898 by railroad executives who wanted to attract people on the East Coast to move out West. Golf magazine, a monthly based in New York, focuses on golf instruction, equipment and courses. It competes with Conde Nast’s Golf Digest. Republished with permission of Alabama NewsCenter.
Bolta marks opening of $49 million Alabama auto parts plant
Global auto parts supplier Bolta Group announced the opening of its new $48.7 million production facility at the Tuscaloosa County Airport Industrial Park. The factory will employ 350 people by the end of 2018. State and local officials joined members of Bolta’s global management team at an on-site ceremony to celebrate completion of the 200,000-square-foot facility. Anil Puri, chairman of Bolta’s U.K.-based parent company, Purico Group, said the Tuscaloosa factory will play an important role in Bolta’s plans to expand its international footprint. In addition to Alabama, Bolta has advanced production facilities in Germany and Mexico and plans for a location in Eastern Europe. “Internationalization is crucial to our development, since it is our ambition to be able to manufacture exactly where our customers need us,” Puri said. “This opening today is an important milestone for the company as a whole and will lead us to the next stages of our corporation’s history.” U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt said Bolta’s decision to make a significant investment in Alabama serves to solidify and advance Alabama’s reputation as the “new heart of American automotive production.” “Companies like Bolta are driving the robust growth that Alabama’s automotive manufacturing industry has been experiencing, which has created jobs and lifted communities across the state,” said Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. “We have forged a strong relationship with Bolta, and we’ll continue to assist this top-notch company and its growing Alabama workforce.” Growing automotive cluster Bolta, founded in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1921, manufactures integrated modules as well as individual parts, like nameplates and decorative trims, for the international automotive industry. The company’s new Tuscaloosa County facility has 200 employees as a ramp-up continues. “Our success depends on the skills and expertise of our employees. We have found an extremely dedicated workforce here in Tuscaloosa, willing and able to learn and apply these specialized skills,” said Bolta U.S. Managing Director and Vice President Johannes Carl. “On the base of this strong workforce, Bolta US offers expertise as well as process and production capabilities for a wide range of surface requirements and creates innovative solutions you will see on tomorrow’s cars,” Carl added. Dara Longgrear, executive director of the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority, welcomed Bolta to the growing automotive cluster in Tuscaloosa. “Bolta’s focus on technology, high quality and customer satisfaction is a wonderful fit for our existing international manufacturing community,” Longgrear said. Republished with permission of Alabama NewsCenter.
Alabama auto sector primed for growth with $1 billion in new investment
Alabama’s auto industry continues to thrive, racking up new jobs and investments in communities across the state. Last year, there were at least 68 auto projects, for an estimated total of 3,848 jobs and $907.1 million in new capital investment, according to an analysis of the 2016 New & Expanding Industry Report. New projects announced this year push that total past $1 billion and add hundreds of more jobs. The projects included new companies and expanding operations, which manufacture everything from intricate vehicle parts and major component systems to entire automobiles. “Our deep roots in the auto industry keep growing deeper,” said Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. “Last year alone, there were new or expanding auto companies in 26 Alabama counties, showing the vast reach of auto production in Alabama.” The foundation of the state industry is made up of three auto assembly plants operated by Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Hyundai, as well as a major engine plant for Toyota. The 2016 projects included Hyundai’s $52 million investment in upgrades to its Montgomery plant to bring the Santa Fe SUV back to its assembly lines. Another was the 535-job expansion of Tuscaloosa County’s Lear Operation Corp., which supplies seating systems to the Mercedes factory in Vance. Among the other highlights were MöllerTech USA LLC’s new $46.3 million, 222-job facility in Bibb County and a $14.5 million, 200-job expansion for Eissmann Automotive North America Inc. in St. Clair County. Both manufacture parts for car interiors. Elsewhere, Spain’s Truck & Wheel Group is building its first U.S. parts plant in Tuscaloosa County, where it’s investing $30 million in an operation that will employ 70 people. In Lee County, The Berghoff Group announced a $30 million, 100-job precision machining facility. Hyundai invested $52 million in its Alabama assembly plant to launch production of the Santa Fe Sport SUV. (Contributed) Promising outlook As Alabama’s auto industry marks a key milestone – two decades of vehicle production – the sector’s growth prospects continue to look strong in 2017. Mercedes, for example, recently held a supplier forum at its plant to discuss its next-generation SUVs. Officials for the automaker underlined the current and future importance of SUV production in Alabama during personal discussions with partners including Lear, SMP and Kamtek. They also emphasized the successful partnership that has grown over the years since the first Mercedes M-Class rolled down the automaker’s Alabama assembly line on Feb. 14, 1997. “The increasing requirements due to a continual rise in production numbers for the SUV segment was a massive challenge for all suppliers, which was mastered very well,” said Dr. Klaus Zehender, member of the divisional board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Procurement and Supplier Quality. Jason Hoff, president and CEO of the Alabama operations, Mercedes-Benz US International Inc., echoed those comments. “These are exciting times for our Alabama facility as we prepare to take on this new challenge to build the next generation of SUVs,” he said. “Mercedes-Benz became the first auto manufacturing plant to build vehicles in Alabama more than 20 years ago and, since that time, other automakers and suppliers have joined us. “Our suppliers have found – just as we have – that Alabama is a great place to do business,” Hoff added. Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield, left, presents MollerTech leaders with an Alabama seal at a groundbreaking ceremony last year. The company is one of several auto suppliers that announced projects in Alabama during 2016. (Contributed) 2017 momentum Meanwhile, 2017 has brought new auto sector projects to Alabama, setting the stage for more growth across the state. Among them: Auto supplier Hanwha Advanced Materials America LLC plans to invest $20 million to upgrade its manufacturing facility in Opelika, adding 100 jobs over the next three years. Honda announced plans to invest $85 million at its Lincoln plant in the first phase of a multi-faceted project to improve manufacturing flexibility, strengthen logistic efficiency for future models and prepare for future technologies. Spain-based auto supplier Grupo Antolin announced plans to invest nearly $10.4 million to establish a manufacturing facility in Jefferson County that will employ 150 people by 2020. Republished with permission of Alabama NewsCenter.
Mo Brooks: Mitch McConnell ‘head of the swamp,’ calls for ouster
Mo Brooks, facing a tight Republican primary for Jeff Sessions’ Senate seat in Alabama, is no fan of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, calling him the “head of the swamp.” “Inside the Republican conference, Mitch McConnell’s got to go,” Brooks said a breakfast event hosted by the Heritage Foundation. “Absolutely, he is the head of the swamp in the United States Senate.” Brooks, challenging sitting Sen. Luther Strange to serve the rest of Session’s term, is opposing McConnell in an effort to push the race further to the right. Senate Leadership Fund — the super PAC linked to McConnell — has poured millions into the Strange campaign. Alabama’s midsummer GOP primary, notes CNN, has become a proxy battle over the direction of the Republican Party. Brooks is one of the leaders in what has become a three-candidate race, including Strange and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. They are the candidates most likely to be the top vote-getters in the Aug. 15 primary, with a Sept. 26 runoff if no single candidate emerges with 50 percent plus one of the vote. Brooks, seeking the label of staunchest conservative in the race, blasted both McConnell and President Donald Trump: “This primary, to sum it up succinctly, everybody in this room is familiar with Donald Trump, candidate, pledging that as President Trump he would drain the swamp,” Brooks said Wednesday. “In this Senate race, the swamp is fighting back and the swamp’s candidate is Luther Strange. … All those swamp critters feel like he’s at home and he is at home.” According to CNN, Brooks wouldn’t say who he would back to replace McConnell, but did acknowledge “a number of other senators” he would support. He also wouldn’t say if he would support a primary challenger to McConnell in Kentucky, and suggested the Majority Leader should get out of the Senate entirely. “I want to see — out of the Senate and out of the House — people who see the United States Congress as a toy or a plaything or as a trophy or as a thing of stature,” Brooks said, adding that he would support senators willing to tackle the country’s national debt, something he believes is directly leading to American insolvency. Brooks, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, also has multiple complaints about McConnell, particularly his support of a 60-vote legislative filibuster, where lawmakers have to be “groveling at the feet of (Minority Leader) Chuck Schumer” before legislation can pass. “He’s wrong and it’s hurting America,” Brooks added. “I would do what I can with my one vote (if elected) to go back to majority rule.” Brooks also railed about negative ads from McConnell’s PAC trying to paint him as a liberal. “If you had seen some of the ads that McConnell has run … you might understand my consternation,” Brooks told the audience. “The deceit coming from the Senate leadership is remarkable, and that’s coming from a person who has been active as a candidate … for 35 years.” Brooks also had words for Trump, warning the president that he should keep his campaign promises and stop attacking his attorney general — which he had earlier called a “public waterboarding.” “A lot of people who are conservatives have great respect for Jeff Sessions and what he has accomplished,” Brooks said Wednesday. “The respect for Jeff Sessions is so great that I’m sure if President Trump were to fire Jeff Sessions or embarrass Jeff Sessions into quitting, that a lot of President Trump voters, particularly in the primary, will have mixed feelings about what is going on,” Brooks said.
Luther Strange holds 2-point lead over Roy Moore in new Senate primary poll
U.S. Senator Luther Strange holds a slight lead over Chief Justice Roy Moore with less than a month before the Republican Primary for Alabama’s U.S. Senate seat, according to a new WBRC poll. In what is a statistical tie, Strange received 35 percent of “likely” registered voters; Moore received 33 percent. The only other candidate in the 9-person field with double digit support was U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, who took 16 percent. Moore, like Strange, is the only other candidate in the Republican field who has been elected to a statewide office. The survey, using 3,000 registered voters, weighted for demographics and with a 95 percent confidence factor and +/- 2-point margin of error, was commissioned by the Raycom News Network and conducted by Mobile’s Strategy Research. “I don’t want to count Mo (Brooks) out,” pollster Jon Gray of Strategic Research and Public Relations told WBRC. “He’s got money and he just started spending on TV, but Judge Moore is neck and neck with Luther Strange.” Sixty-five percent of respondents identified as Republicans. As for Democrats, Robert Kennedy, Jr., leads the 7-person field with 49 percent; former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones had 28 percent. The remaining candidates took only single digits. “It shows how much voter I.D. really means,” Gray pointed out. “This Robert Kennedy is a young man from south Alabama and he’s got a really good name.”
Darryl Paulson: Please fire Robert Mueller!
For all my friends who think I have finally gone off the deep end, I really do not want Special Counsel Robert Mueller to be fired. I do think the firing of Mueller, if it happens, may be the only way to end the tyranny of President Donald Trump. Trump has already fired FBI Director James Comey, as well as releasing National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Press Secretary Sean Spicer. This does not include a half dozen lesser-known officials who have been shown the door in the first six months of Trump’s presidency. Nor does it include the likely departures of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Special Counsel Mueller. Trump fired Comey out of fear of where the Russian investigation was headed, although he told the public that Comey had lost the confidence of FBI employees. There was no evidence to support that. Trump told Russian officials in the Oval Office that Comey was fired because “he was crazy, a real nut job. I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken care of.” Or, so he thought! Terminating Mueller would mean that the two highest-ranking officials investigating the Russian influence in the 2016 election were fired. If Mueller is fired, Republicans will quickly distance themselves from Trump, something they should have done long ago. Democrats will clamor for Trump’s impeachment. The American public will be asking why Trump fired both Comey and Mueller. What did he have to fear? What was hiding in his financial records that might demonstrate Trump’s ties to Russian government and business? If Trump has nothing to hide, as he has maintained from the beginning, then why stop the investigations? What could be better for Trump than to be given a clean bill of health by one of the most respected individuals in government? If that were to happen, I could envision Trump’s early morning tweet: “I told you so. What a waste of taxpayer’s time and money. I have been completely exonerated.” A clean bill from Mueller would do more to help Trump than anything imaginable. Mueller is a decorated Vietnam veteran, a respected attorney, and appointed by Republican president George W. Bush as Director of the FBI in 2001. Mueller served the full ten-year term and stayed on for two additional years at the request of President Obama. Not only is Mueller universally admired by both Republicans and Democrats, but he is more trusted by the American public than is the president. 64 percent of Americans said, “Donald Trump is more concerned about protecting his administration from being investigated,” than “protecting the United States from Russian interference.” When asked if President Trump should stop the investigation by the Special Counsel, 81 percent said no. The attacks on Mueller are two-pronged. First, Trump has attacked the scope of the investigation. Trump told The New York Times that if Mueller looks at anything involving his business dealings, “that’s a violation.” Trump Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the media that “the investigation should stay within the confines of Russian meddling in the election. Nothing beyond that.” Both Trump and Sanders fail to recognize that Mueller’s mandate was given to him by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein who appointed Mueller to his position. Rosenstein stated that Mueller had the authority to look into “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign.” The second attack on Mueller relates to potential “conflicts of interest.” Trump argues that the day before Mueller was appointed Special Counsel he was being interviewed to head the FBI. “He wanted the job,” said Trump. Even if he did, I am not sure how this constitutes a conflict of interest. The Justice Department regulations do allow the Special Counsel to be fired for “conflict of interest,” as well as “misconduct, dereliction of duty and incapacity.” Rosenstein has stated he sees no grounds for removing Mueller. During the debate at the Constitutional Convention on impeachment, George Mason of Virginia asked whether “any man be above the law.” Future president James Madison included some of the grounds for impeachment, including that the president “might betray his trust to a foreign power.” (Now known as the Trump Provision.) If Trump is wise, he will let the Mueller investigation run its course. Wisdom has not been one of Trump’s strengths during his first six months in office. Trump could fire Mueller, and that would lead to a constitutional crisis. Perhaps nothing could be done to unify the nation or the political parties more than Trump acting like Caesar. Trump and his advisors are looking at whether he can pardon himself and family members. Although there is no precedent for this, Trump is not likely to find this a successful path. If, as Trump has repeatedly stated, there is no substance to the allegation of collusion with the Russians, then let Mueller complete his investigation and issue his findings. If there is something that would indicate collusion between Trump and the Russians, then Trump would be best advised to step aside and let Vice President Mike Pence assume office. To a great extent, Trump may have one last chance to “make America great again.” ••• Darryl Paulson is Emeritus Professor of Government at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg specializing in Florida Politics and Elections.
Jeff Sessions says he’s staying, will fight for Donald Trump’s agenda
His loyalty to the boss severely tested but seemingly intact, Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he will stay in the job for as long as President Donald Trump wants him to serve. Sessions told The Associated Press he and Trump have a “harmony of values and beliefs” and he intends to stay and fight for the president’s agenda “as long as he sees that as appropriate.” His assessment came after a week of being berated by Trump in the most public fashion as a weak and ineffective leader. “If he wants to make a change, he has every right,” Sessions said in an interview outside the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador during a mission to increase international cooperation against the MS-13 gang. “I serve at the pleasure of the president. I’ve understood that from the day I took the job.” Congressional Republicans have rallied around Sessions, a former senator from Alabama, and expressed mortification at the humiliation visited on him by Trump in several interviews and a series of tweets. Trump is upset that Sessions recused himself months ago from the investigation into interactions between Russian officials and the Trump campaign, and that Sessions has not taken a tougher line against Trump’s defeated Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina warned Thursday there would be “holy hell” to pay if Trump fired Sessions. After meeting his Salvadoran counterpart, Sessions told AP he was “thrilled” with the support he’s received, presumably from lawmakers. “I believe we are running a great Department of Justice,” he said. “I believe with great confidence that I understand what is needed in the Department of Justice and what President Trump wants. I share his agenda.” He acknowledged, with considerable understatement, “it hasn’t been my best week …. for my relationship with the president.” The two have not spoken recently, he said. “But I look forward to the opportunity to chat with him about it.” In Congress, Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska went to the Senate floor Thursday to discourage Trump from making a so-called recess appointment while the Senate is away at the end of August – should that be the president’s intention. A recess appointment would allow Trump to appoint anyone of his choosing and bypass Senate confirmation until 2019 if the Senate recesses for 10 days or more in August. “If you’re thinking of making a recess appointment to push out the attorney general, forget about it,” Sasse said. “The presidency isn’t a bull, and this country isn’t a china shop.” The previous evening, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, tweeted that he wouldn’t be holding a confirmation hearing for a new attorney general if Trump decided to go that route. Although largely deferential to a president who seemed bent on tormenting him, Sessions stood his ground on his decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation. He had bowed out of any involvement in that probe after acknowledged meeting with Russia’s ambassador during the campaign. “Knowing the integrity that’s required of the attorney general, I believe I made the right decision,” he told Fox News. He said his recusal was in keeping with the rule of law “and an attorney general who doesn’t follow the law is not very effective in leading the Department of Justice.” The White House of late has appeared to be trying to tamp down the notion that Trump wants Sessions out – without offering a rousing endorsement of him, however. “The president wants him to do his job, do it properly,” the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said Thursday. “He wants him to be tough on the intelligence leaks and he wants him to move forward.” In San Salvador, Sessions met his Salvadoran counterpart, Douglas Melendez, and congratulated him on charges outlined over the last two days involving strategy against more than 700 gang members, many of them from MS-13, said the Justice Department. He also met members of an international anti-gang task force at an event where an FBI agent described MS-13 as a highly coordinated and well-organized gang whose imprisoned leaders order violence in the U.S. from their prisons in El Salvador. MS-13 is an international criminal enterprise with tens of thousands of members in several Central American countries and many U.S. states. The gang originated in immigrant communities in Los Angeles in the 1980s then entrenched itself in Central America when its leaders were deported. It’s known for hacking and stabbing victims with machetes, drug dealing, prostitution and other rackets. Its recruits are middle- and high-school students predominantly in immigrant communities, and those who try to leave risk violent retribution, law enforcement officials have said. MS-13 members have been accused in a spate of bloodshed that included the massacre of four young men in a Long Island, New York, park and the killing of a suspected gang rival inside a deli. The violence has drawn attention from members of Congress and Trump, who has boasted about efforts to arrest and deport MS-13 members across the United States. For Sessions, the anti-gang mission was a way to show his priorities are Trump’s priorities after days of being upbraided by the president in the most public fashion. In Washington, lawmakers from both parties moved on efforts to prevent the dismissal of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a development that might be made easier if Sessions were moved aside. Graham is working on legislation that would block the firing of special counsels without judicial review. Democrat Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, among several senators involved in the effort, said the bill would protect Mueller and other special counsels. He said firing Mueller “would precipitate a firestorm that would be unprecedented in proportions.” Sessions recused himself from the investigation into election meddling after he acknowledged meeting with Russia’s ambassador during the campaign. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Anthony Scaramucci reports more than $50 million in assets
He vows to be a fresh voice in the Trump administration, but in one way he is like many of the others: He is wealthy, with a vast and complicated array of assets. New White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci owns property and businesses worth more than $50 million, according to a financial disclosure report filed with the government’s chief ethics agency. The biggest source of his wealth is an ownership stake in an investment fund he founded, SkyBridge Capital. The fund is in the process of being sold to a division of Chinese company HNA Group, a deal that has drawn scrutiny and helped dash Scaramucci’s hopes to move to the White House much earlier in the year. He was turned down as chief liaison to the business community in February. “In any administration there are always some really extraordinary wealthy individuals, but in this White House, there are so many,” said Don Fox, who stepped down as general counsel at the Office of Government Ethics in 2013. “Their finances, their potential conflicts, become exponentially more complicated to manage.” Scaramucci joins a long list of former Goldman Sachs employees in the administration, including economic adviser Gary Cohn, chief strategist Steve Bannon and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. SkyBridge accounted for a bulk of his income. In the nearly 18 months from the start of last year through June 27, Scaramucci took in about $10 million in salary and other income from the investment fund. The financial disclosure also shows Scaramucci earned $88,461 as a contributor to Fox Business Network. Scaramucci expressed frustration on Thursday with the scrutiny of his personal holdings, and the conflict they may pose. “I sold SkyBridge. I don’t work there anymore,” he told CNN’s “New Day” on Thursday morning. “There’s residual profits that once the sale occurs I am going to receive, but I am not on salary. I do not have a W2 there. What do you want me to tell you?” SkyBridge announced it struck a deal to sell to HNA Capital and RON Transatlantic in January. A call to SkyBridge’s spokesperson was not immediately returned. Another issue raised by Scaramucci’s holdings involves the treatment of taxes on gains from the SkyBridge sale. Federal officials are allowed to file a so-called certificate of divestiture to defer paying taxes if they are being forced to sell an asset because of potential conflicts with their public job. Since Scaramucci announced the SkyBridge sale long before he took his job, that raises the possibility he will fail to qualify, putting in doubt perhaps millions of dollars of profit for him. Walter Shaub, the former head of the Office of Government Ethics and a big critic of the Trump administration, has tweeted that Scaramucci should have waited for a ruling about whether he needed to sell before entering into a deal to do so. He tweeted on Tuesday, “U don’t qualify for employee tax relief by entering into a deal & then go looking for a job that may or may not necessitate closing the deal.” But Richard Painter, former chief White House ethics lawyer to President George W. Bush, isn’t so sure. He said that Scaramucci may be able to qualify if owning SkyBridge is deemed a conflict before the sale is complete. “They don’t take away the certificate of divestiture because you thought about selling before,” Painter said. Scaramucci’s lawyer, Elliot Berke, said in an email Thursday that his client had been advised to sell SkyBridge to avoid conflicts before he stuck a deal to do so. “Throughout the review, career nonpartisan officials have recommended he be granted a certificate of divestiture, as has the White House Counsel’s office,” Berke wrote. Scaramucci has vowed to shake up the administration in part by rooting out those who leak information to press, and the release of his personal finance report on Politico on Wednesday stoked his anger. He took the Twitter with a vow to contact investigators. “In light of the leak of my financial disclosure info which is a felony,” he tweeted, “I will be contacting @FBI and the @JusticeDept #swamp @Reince45.” In fact, the report wasn’t leaked. It was released after a public records request by a Politico reporter to the Export-Import Bank, where Scaramucci had been employed at a senior level since mid-June. The Associated Press subsequently obtained the same financial disclosure Thursday. A reporter filled out a publicly available form, turned it in at the bank’s office and was emailed a copy of Scaramucci’s financial disclosure about 30 minutes later. The report shows that Scaramucci owns several residential properties and businesses. A stake in the New York Mets and property in the Hamptons on Long Island are each worth at least $1 million. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
