National Security Adviser, Conspiracy Theory Fan, Shared Classified Information Without Authorization

Submitted by Ben Bache on

The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, known informally as the National Security Adviser, is the chief adviser to the president on national security issues. Consistent with the pattern of appointees whose political positions or temperaments seem antithetical to the mission of the agencies or positions they've been appointed to fill,  Trump's designated National Security Adviser, Retired U.S. Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, has been investigated for passing classified information without authorization, and has promoted conspiracy theories and fake news.

Trump CIA Director Nominee: "Enhanced" Interrogation Was Constitutional

Submitted by Ben Bache on

Kansas Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo, Trump's nominee for the job of CIA Director, is on record asserting that so-called "enhanced interrogation" techniques were "within the law and within the constitution." Pompeo made his remarks in December 2014 when California Senator Dianne Feinstein released a Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA detention and interrogation. The report documented CIA use of torture including waterboarding, sleep deprivation, "rectal rehydration," and denial of medical care.

Attorney General Who Opposes Civil Rights

Submitted by Ben Bache on

As head of the Department of Justice the Attorney General is responsible for ensuring justice for all citizens. Trump nominee Jeff Sessions has a history of racially hostile remarks, and positions on women's rights, LBGT rights, capital punishment, and presidential authority that have been opposed by the ACLU and other civil rights organizations.

During the Reagan administration, the Senate rejected Sessions for a federal judgeship for making racist statements and falsely prosecuting black political activists in Alabama.

Chief Strategist Steve Bannon's Right Wing Nationalist Associations

Submitted by Ben Bache on

In the November 14 NY Times​​​, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway denied that chief strategist Steve Bannon had a connection to right wing nationalists, or that he would bring those views into the Trump White House. Conway's protestations were as believable as Newt Gingrich, who asserted at about the same time that Bannon could not hold anti-Semitic views because he had worked at Goldman Sachs and in Hollywood.

Earlier this year the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) revealed that Conway and Bannon were both members of the  Council for National Policy, an association of conservatives so secretive that members may not divulge their membership or even the name of the group. Records from 2014 obtained by SPLC listed Conway as a member of the executive committee and Bannon as a regular member.

Cabinet of Deplorables

Submitted by Ben Bache on

Speaking at an event on September 9, 2016, Hillary Clinton said:

You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic -- you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people -- now 11 million. He tweets and retweets their offensive hateful mean-spirited rhetoric. Now, some of those folks -- they are irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America.

The Trump campaign criticized Clinton's remarks at the time, but it has become increasingly clear that Trump has not only "lifted up" the deplorables, he is enlisting them to build the executive branch of the government.

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