Infighting Is Funny

The Daily Beast reports: A former National Security Council official now working for Attorney General Jeff Sessions explored ways to surreptitiously monitor the communications of White House staff for leaks or perceived political disloyalty to Donald Trump, according to three former Trump NSC officials familiar with the effort. Ezra Cohen-Watnick, whom former national security adviser Michael Flynn brought onto the …

The Associated Press reports: Oklahoma’s Republican Gov. Mary Fallin vetoed a bill late Friday that would have authorized adults to carry firearms without a permit or training, dealing a rare defeat to the National Rifle Association in a conservative state. The veto comes after opposition from the business community and law enforcement authorities, including top officials with the Oklahoma State …

He’s baaaaaack! Raw Story reports: Appearing on MSNBC, a ducking and weaving Sam Nunberg refused to say specifically what he told a grand jury empaneled by special counsel Robert Mueller looking into outside influence in President Donald Trump’s campaign, but admitted he was questioned about Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s finances. Nunberg said that he had no idea what Cohen was …

“If the Attorney General does not take significant measures to find urgency and speed up delivery of these requested for months and even years of unredacted documents, then it is time for Sessions, Rosenstein, and anyone else who is obstructing Congress’ investigation to be held in contempt and face the serious legal consequences associated with it. In other words, Mr. …

Axios reports: If you were gobsmacked watching Rudy Giuliani’s media tour this week — which he launched on Fox News’ Hannity by announcing that Trump reimbursed lawyer Michael Cohen for a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels — you weren’t alone. What we’re hearing: A White House official told me there were “a couple of Mooch references” in the West Wing …

The Washington Examiner reports: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes announced Sunday he’s going to push Congress this week to hold Attorney General Jeff Sessions in contempt of Congress. This extreme step is a culmination of the frustration the California Republican explained he’s felt in dealing with a Justice Department that had stymied his requests for information, during the panel’s …

The Atlantic reports: As Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt faces a seemingly endless stream of scandal, his team is scrambling to divert the spotlight to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. And the White House isn’t happy about it. In the last week, a member of Pruitt’s press team, Michael Abboud, has been shopping negative stories about Zinke to multiple outlets, …

Via Mediaite: President Trump, likely in response to the new reporting about John Kelly calling him an “idiot,” went off on the “Fake News” yet again tonight. NBC News reported earlier today that Kelly has called the President an “idiot” on multiple occasions. And perhaps Trump was watching CNN’s reporting tonight before tweeting, for that network reported Kelly used the …

The New York Daily News reports: She may be out of the “Big Brother” house, but Omarosa is keeping the White House gossip coming. President Trump’s former aide lent her two cents to the discussion over the President’s infamous “s–thole countries” remark by tweeting directly to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. “President @MBuhari FYI he said it. #Naija,” she wrote on …

NBC News reports: White House chief of staff John Kelly has eroded morale in the West Wing in recent months with comments to aides that include insulting the president’s intelligence and casting himself as the savior of the country, according to eight current and former White House officials. The officials said Kelly portrays himself to Trump administration aides as the …

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. was joining France and Britain in a coordinated airstrike against Syria broke Alex Jones. “What the fuck!” Jones shouted, pounding his fist on the table. “Is there nobody fucking pure in this goddamned fucking world?!” “You fucking goddamn degenerate fucks!” Jones said. “I shouldn’t be on air right now.” And then, …

Over on the Resurgent, right wing commentator Erick Erickson has recounted a conversation with an unnamed GOP member of the US House. An excerpt: “If we’re going to lose because of him, we might as well impeach the motherfucker,” said the congressman as we roamed the aisles of a Safeway grocery store together. I haven’t been in a Safeway since …

The New York Daily News reports: Infighting among white supremacists led to a major development this week: one of the most notorious pro-Trump internet trolls was outed as a Middlebury College grad who lives in Manhattan. Ricky Vaughn, an alt-right troll who was banned from Twitter for spreading anti-Semitic and racist content, got into a toxic back-and-forth with other far-right …

“I have a great working relationship and a great relationship with Jared and Ivanka, had dinner with them recently at their house. He [Trump] knows about this story, and he has said publicly and privately who the leakers and the liars are and have been. Those of us who have the privilege of actually having access to him and working …

Last week Fox News analyst Ralph Peters quit the network with a scorched-earth statement declaring that he was ashamed to have ever worked for their “propaganda machine.” Peters goes even farther today in an op-ed for the Washington Post: You could measure the decline of Fox News by the drop in the quality of guests waiting in the green room. …

The Daily Beast reports: Two former aides to Donald Trump waged a war of words against each other this week, using cable news and social media as their battlefields. Roger Stone, a longtime confidant of Trump’s, took to his personal Instagram page on Thursday to call fellow ex-aide Sam Nunberg, a man who once viewed Stone as a mentor, a …

The Daily Beast reports: Right-wing firebrand Ann Coulter, whose 2016 campaign book In Trump We Trust touted the many virtues of the Republican nominee, is having second, third, and possibly even fourth thoughts about Donald J. Trump. “I knew he was a shallow, lazy ignoramus, and I didn’t care,” Coulter admitted to an audience largely composed of College Republicans and …

Talking Points Memo reports: The chairman of the House Oversight Committee is seeking details from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke about a $139,000 project to upgrade doors in Zinke’s office. Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy of South Carolina asked Zinke to explain the need for the replacement doors and provide details about the project’s cost estimates, bids and final contract. The letter …

Ann Coulter raged against Trump this afternoon over his empty threat to veto the spending bill because it contains no DACA solution. Mediaite reports: If Coulter’s jumping on the I-hope-Robert-Mueller-indicts-Trump bandwagon, this could indicate a significant shift in her opinion on the president. Indeed, the conservative firebrand has bashed Trump before and said she has a limited amount of patience …

Mediaite reports: Fox News Strategic Analyst Ralph Peters — a longtime contributor to the network who frequently appeared across various programs to discuss matters of national security — sent an email announcing his departure from the network. And in it, he absolutely scorched the earth. Peters railed against the network — calling it a “propaganda machine” for President Donald Trump‘s …