Departure of communications aide could be first in Trump shake-up

[webfact]

Departure of communications aide could be first in Trump shake-up

By Jeff Mason

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump listens to questions from the media as he meets with Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos (not pictured) in the Oval Office in Washington, DC, U.S., May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's communications director is leaving the job, the White House said on Tuesday, as the president considers wider staff changes to try to contain political damage from investigations into Russia and his presidential campaign.

 

Mike Dubke confirmed reports he had resigned, saying in a statement, "It has been my great honour to serve President Trump and this administration." Dubke, who had been in the job just three months, gave no reason for leaving.

 

Trump, who returned to Washington on Saturday after a nine-day trip to the Middle East and Europe, has been expected to shake up staff to tackle the firestorm over investigations into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and communication between Russia and Trump's campaign and transition team.

 

Trump plans to bring in new aides to the White House, adding experienced political professionals including a former campaign manager, according to administration officials and people close to the president.

 

Dubke, who was joined the White House in March to head the office that runs press and other public relations issues, oversees the White House's message strategy while spokesman Sean Spicer, a more high-profile figure, handles daily media briefings.

 

The Republican president came home to face more questions on Russia after media reports about communications during and after the campaign between his son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, and Russia's ambassador to Washington.

 

Spicer was asked on Tuesday whether Trump knew about reported efforts by Kushner in December to set up a back channel for communications with Russia.

 

"What your question assumes is a lot of facts that are not substantiated by anything but anonymous sources that are so far being leaked out,” he told a news briefing.

 

MORE CHANGES?

 

Asked about a possible staff shake-up, Spicer said: "I think the president is very pleased with his team and he has a robust agenda."

 

Dubke resigned just before Trump left on his foreign trip but will stay on until a transition is concluded, Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, said.

 

Other potential staff changes could be in the works, according to Axios News, which first reported Dubke's departure, including fewer on-camera news briefings by Spicer, the White House press secretary.

 

Trump also will take more questions directly from the media, Axios reported.

 

"Ultimately the best messenger is the president himself," Spicer said on Tuesday.

 

Senior adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News the White House will continue to bring in Cabinet secretaries and other top officials to handle news briefings on topics in their patch.

 

Conway also dismissed persistent speculation that Spicer, who has been pilloried on TV comedy shows since Trump took office on Jan. 20, was on his way out.

 

Controversy over the Russia issue deepened after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey earlier this month, leading to allegations by critics that the president sought to hamper the agency's investigation of the matter.

 

Moscow has denied U.S. intelligence agencies' conclusion that it meddled in the campaign to try to tilt the election in Trump's favour.

 

The president has denied any collusion, repeatedly denouncing the probes by a special counsel at the Justice Department, the FBI and several congressional panels as a Democrat-backed effort to explain Hillary Clinton's upset defeat in the White House race.

 

Congressional investigations into the Russia issue have expanded to include Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, ABC News reported on Tuesday.

 

Cohen confirmed he had been asked to provide information and testimony to investigators in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate but said he declined because "the request was poorly phrased, overly broad and not capable of being answered," ABC reported.

 

Cohen did not respond to Reuters' request to comment. The White House declined to comment, saying Cohen is not an employee of the administration.

 

However, former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn, who resigned after failing to properly disclose his own contacts with Russian officials, told the Senate Intelligence Committee he will begin turning over some documents subpoenaed by the panel, a government source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

 

(Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton, Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey, Mark Hosenball and David Alexander; Writing by Alistair Bell and Amanda Becker; Editing by Frances Kerry and Bill Trott

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-05-31

[KarenBravo]

He himself quit on the 18th May and was asked to stay on during Trump's foreign tour. The reason given for quitting was "frustration".

Spicer looks safe (for now).

[darksidedog]

What a fun job? Try to put a spin on all the gaffes and lies, deny as much of what is being revealed as you can, and get no thanks whatsoever, because you have an idiot for a boss, who wants bad news to go away, and approval ratings that just aren't possible.

[spidermike007]

First Manafort, then Flynn, now Dubke. It is only the beginning, of the exodus. I think most that worked with him, felt that he would be a better president, and far more competent than he has proven to be, so far. They simply did not take into account his nasty temperament, his black heart, his inability to focus for more than four seconds, his constant pathological lies, his utter refusal to pick up a book, or read a briefing, and his psychosis. I think if he stayed on his meds, it would benefit all of us. To be involved with his handling of the press, and his insane fake news narrative, must be incredibly difficult. And with his complete lack of consideration when it comes to keeping even his own people in the loop (paranoia?), it is an impossible, and thankless task. No doubt Spicer will depart soon also. 

 

As I stated before: Anything Cheeto does not like, he labels as fake news. His devotees tend to just go along with it, as they have been indoctrinated, and tend to be drinking the same Kool-Aid he drinks. It creates a nice little narrative, that ties in perfectly with his imperial ambitions. The media are restraining his power. They are reporting on all of the discord, the incredible dysfunction, and the astonishing lack of competence. All things Cheeto does not want to hear. Hence, the narrative continues. He made war with the press, and now this infantile neophyte is paying the price. And he hates it. He does not like being disapproved of. He craves approval in the worst way. He is not getting it. He refuses to be briefed on intelligence. He refuses to study the topics at hand. He cannot concentrate for more than four seconds, as he has never developed the powers of concentration, like many adults do. So, what is the result? What we are seeing nearly every day.

 

It is fun watching this clown shoot himself in the foot daily. He cannot help himself. That is just who he is. He cannot get out of his own way. Fun. Fun. 

Edited May 31, 2017 by spidermike007