Priebus and NOW BANNON are coming back? What fresh hell is this?

[bettyellen]

Edited to add Bannon- wtf is going on?


I'm guessing he's going to try and disrupt the investigations- get support to limit the scope?

Or maybe they anticipate some ugly headlines from this tour and they need someone stateside to wrangle GOP reps, keep them on message?

[democratisphere]

1. Priebus is coming back to ensure the locks aren't changed throughout the WH.

[Wounded Bear]

3. Has to make sure they don't move any of the light switches...

[delisen]

2. Just discovered he is the designated fall guy. nt

[Tanuki]

4. Maybe they're trying to figure out who's leaking by sending them back

one by one....if the leaks continued when Kellyanne was the only one there, she was the leaker. If they only start again when Reine comes back, he was the leaker.....

[Laura PourMeADrink]

10. interesting. surely a liar as good as Kelly Ann would be smart enough not

to leak when she's alone. Pence stayed here, right. Maybe he's the leaker?

Out of Kelly Ann, Spicer, Reince, Pence, Bannon, who else? Who is the most likely leaker? What
about one of their spouses?

[NCjack]

5. He faked the need to return. With the WH almost empty, easier

for him to collect and copy documents, meet with FBI and DoJ, and arrange to be hidden in a safe house before Bannon and Trump return. He's really afraid that Trump will let Bannon loose to kick the crap out of him.

[dembotoz]

6. he is a link to the mainstream gop...trump dumps him at his own peril

[underpants]

31. I agree. He's the RNC's inside guy.

Why on earth take that job when he could have been taking a victory lap with donors (regardless of the actual results)?

Bannon's a dicey situation for Trump too. Dump him and he could turn the whole alt-right world against Snowflake.

[MineralMan]

7. Whole lot of shakin' up goin' on.

That's my guess. Trump is going to come back from this trip to meet his new West Wing staff. I don't know, though, whether Rinse Prepuce is going to be part of the new staff or whether he is returning as hors de combat. I suspect the latter, frankly. I think he's out. I could be wrong, though. Trump may be trying an end-around and moving some Party regulars in in an attempt avoid wholesale abandonment by the Repugs.

[bettyellen]

12. It's very weird with Stone ankle biting Kushner and praising Melania....

Seems to be a calculated way to distract from the Bannon/ Priebus thing. But DT is so mercurial that it's hard to say which way he'll go. I guess it's wherever he calculates he can salvage his reputation. I'd be shocked if they didn't try to screw around with the independent investigation.

[MineralMan]

14. Priebus coming back early is weird on a number of levels,

which is why it may be significant. Perhaps he has been canned, and was sent home in shame. Perhaps he's been charged with the job of clearing out White House staff that has been fired. Perhaps he's going back to greet Kimberly Guilfoyle who will be replacing Spicer as Press secretary.

Perhaps Trump is keeping Bannon close because he is dangerous and he doesn't want to fire him while he's out of the country, and Priebus is going back to deal with that situation.

Maybe Priebus has been IDed as the West Wing Leaker. That may be the actual best possibility. He's been fired, if that is the case, and is going back to clear out his desk. Except that leaving him alone in the White House might be really dangerous for Trump. So, maybe not.

There are other scenarios, as well.

It's hard to say, but it's definitely unusual for someone like Priebus to suddenly be sent home from a 9-day trip like this.

[Amaryllis]

22. Or perhaps there is no logical reason, as is the case with so much of what this WH does.

THey do live in a parallel universe with alternative facts and logic.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

29. I can't imagine Priebus being canned and Trump not crowing about it

quite publicly.

Has Spicer actually been replaced? I managed to miss that.

[Leghorn21]

8. Dagnabit, betty! I thought he was rolling on back for a cozy FBI interview, or that he's

been pink-slipped altogether and just wants to grab his toothbrush and socks before heading home...

Cuz you know, that sob did OBSTRUCT JUSTICE when he dialed up the FBI in late March (i think it was) and asked them to take their investigation down a notch, right??! I went crazy/loony/berserk, and...nope, he suffered no consequences grrrrr

But okay, if he's coming back to whip this administration into shape (??!!) - fine. grrrrrr

[bettyellen]

9. Priebus also called the FBI?!?! Jeeze there's so much wrong doing it's impossible

To keep up with.

[Leghorn21]

18. Sorry, website won't let me copy/paste, but here's link to story from Feb. -

it's a little more complicated than I recall, but still - all this "casual contact" between WH and FBI - BAD


http://www.npr.org/2017/02/24/517011779/white-house-asked-fbi-to-publicly-refute-reports-trump-associates-had-russia-con

[bettyellen]

19. Thanks Legs! I'd forgotten that was Priebus....

[Maven]

11. Well SOMEONE has to oversee the obstruction of justice while Trump is away. nt

[bettyellen]

15. I think he's going to see how much support DT has lost and try to shore it up...

And that they'll double down in their attempt to obstruct justice. Becasue there's going to be more leaks all week and Priebus is going to try and mitigate the damage.

[yurbud]

13. He's establishment GOP. The rest of his crew are a mix of extras from DELIVERANCE & ONE FLEW OVER

THE CUCKOO CLOCK.

Maybe Trump is figuring out that if he doesn't do exactly as he's told by those with a lot more money and power than him that he will be leaving office early.

[Demtexan]

16. Maybe he is talking to somebody.

Prison would not be fun for him.
You know deals are going to be made.
The first people to turn will get the better deals.

[bettyellen]

17. I'd love to see him jump ship now. Isolate Trump.

[Demtexan]

20. If he was needed to stay at home to take care of things he would have stayed.

Maybe his lawyers got him a deal going.
Told him to come home.
Look at all white house gang who left on the plane.
That looks really strange.

[bettyellen]

26. Now it's Bannon too?!?

[Charlotte Little]

21. Um

...Am I the only one who thought it was more weird that Priebus and the goonies, et al. went on the trip to begin with?

[bettyellen]

24. Nope, that's strange too... but I think everyone is trying to figure out who will flip...

Or who will be tossed aside next. People speculated people came out of fear they'd be targeted since they were out of sight, out of mind.

[Buns_of_Fire]

23. He got wind of the ongoing "Pee On the Boss' Bed" party

and didn't want to miss out on giving his 2 ounces worth.

[bettyellen]

25. And now Bannon coming home?

[geek tragedy]

27. somebody has to respond to DOJ subpoenas and interview requests nt

[haele]

28. If this were a Hollywood movie, I'd be worried about AF1 over Europe.

Priebus and Bannon are the continuity pieces to the Mercer/Dominionist plans to "Christianize" the U.S.

If something happens to Drumpf, Pence - being just as stupid and malleable - needs all the Mercer support he can muster. Putin doesn't need Drumpf anymore, he's got what he wants from the U.S.
And lazy "didn't want the job" Tillerson is just as much an out-lived tool/liability to him on the world stage as Drumpf is.

On edit - I'm thinking the leaks were from the Russian handlers to stir up chaos, not from the True Believers who are trying to get their policy through. Now is the time for Putin to disengage. You don't stay on a sinking ship, after all.

Haele

[VigilantG]

30. I thought I read this weekend that Preibus

Returned to do FBI interview today??

Is Bannon also being summoned or as someone else suggested, he is headed back to cover things up?