Top Trump-appointee at Veterans Affairs spread conspiracy theories, made anti-Muslim comments



https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/24/politics/kfile-trump-appointee-va/index.html

(CNN)A senior Trump administration appointee at the Department of Veterans Affairs spread birther conspiracy theories about then-President Barack Obama and made anti-Muslim comments on social media while working for the Trump campaign in Arizona.

Thayer Verschoor, the VA's executive director of intergovernmental affairs, is a former Arizona state Senate majority leader and longtime ally of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a well-known birther who is currently running in the Republican primary for US Senate in Arizona.

Shortly after joining the Trump campaign in 2016, Verschoor shared a Facebook post that praised then-candidate Trump for thinking "Obama's birth certificate is a fraud" and understanding there's a Muslim "problem" in the US.

Verschoor originally served as a special assistant at the Department of Agricultural but transferred to the VA in 2017, a change that brought a significant promotion and pay raise to a pay grade reserved for senior level appointees. The Office of Intergovernmental Affairs serves as the VA's "liaison in all intergovernmental affairs matters and is the primary point of contact with federal, state, local, American Indian, and Native Alaskan Government officials," according to their website.

John Harwood
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Retweeted Ari Fleischer
new Quinnipiac Poll: 56% of women, 56% of white college grads, 54% of those under 35, 51% of those over 65, 55% of white women, 68% of blacks and 52% of Hispanics say they’re embarrassed Trump is president. only group w/majority proud of Trump: Republicans (66%)
https://twitter.com/JohnJHarwood/status/1021837241042313217

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/07/trump-threatening-grade-sarah-sanders-press-briefings-struggles-deal-reporters/

Sanders is planning on leaving the White House by the end of this year, according to Politico. Bill Shine, the Fox News alum recently appointed to serve as deputy chief of staff for communications, has been reported to have asked a number of friends and other acquaintances about who they believe should replace Sanders if she steps down. Shine denied this story to Politico, saying that “I have not had a meeting or discussion about this” and praising Sanders as a “total team player.”

Of course, a recent report from The New York Times suggests that Trump may not have as glowing a view about his press secretary as Shine claims to possess.

In recent days, Mr. Trump has asked people privately what they think of Ms. Sanders — an indication, they say, that the press-obsessed president has begun souring on her. He has also told her, before she heads out to the lectern in the briefing room, that he is “going to grade” her televised performances. (People who have heard Mr. Trump make the threat say it is in jest.)

Ms. Sanders has been under a more watchful eye from her boss since the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 27, when she remained in her seat during a scathing roasting from a comedian who called her a liar. Mr. Trump has told people in the West Wing that he thought Ms. Sanders should have walked out, as another White House official, Mercedes Schlapp, chose to do in a showy display.

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Senate Majority Leader McConnell:

"The Speaker and I have made it clear that Putin will not be welcome up here at the Capitol."

https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1021830876299182080

“It’s amazing. They are doing a number, just stick with us,” Trump ranted. “Don’t believe what you see from these people in the fake news.”

“Don’t believe that crap you see from these people, the fake news,” he said, pointing to the journalists in the audience.

After a raucous round of applause, Trump called CNN “the worst,” and then he alleged that NBC’s reporting is created “by the lobbyists and by the people that they hire.”

“Just remember, what you are seeing and what you are reading is not what’s happening,” he said.

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/07/trump-rallies-supporters-ignore-reality-just-remember-youre-seeing-not-happening/

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.@MaddowBlog: President Trump and his legal defense team won't answer Special Counsel Robert Mueller's questions unless he agrees not to ask questions about some of the things the president may have done wrong. (corrects link)

https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1021826140074336256

Giuliani to Mueller: question Trump about collusion, not obstruction

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/giuliani-mueller-question-trump-about-collusion-not-obstruction?cid=sm_npd_ms_tw_ma



Donald Trump and his legal defense team still haven’t agreed to answer Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s questions, despite months of back-and-forth negotiations. A Washington Post report noted two weeks ago that the talks “have been at an impasse” since March, in part because the president’s lawyers are worried about what Trump might say about obstruction of justice.

With this in mind, the Wall Street Journal reported overnight that the president’s attorneys have “submitted a counteroffer” to the special counsel’s team: Trump might be willing to sit down for an interview, but only if investigators agreed in advance not to ask questions about some of the things the president may have done wrong.

President Donald Trump’s legal team has submitted a counteroffer to special counsel Robert Mueller on a possible interview with the president that could allow for questions about collusion with Russia but curtail inquiries related to obstruction of justice. […]

The president’s legal team is open to him answering questions about possible collusion with Moscow, [Rudy Giuliani] said, but is less willing to have Mr. Trump discuss questions about obstruction of justice. “We think the obstruction of it is handled by Article 2 of the Constitution,” Mr. Giuliani said, referring to the provision that gives the president executive authority to appoint and dismiss members of his administration.

Mrs. Betty Bowers
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Thoughts and prayers to @IvankaTrump

https://twitter.com/BettyBowers/status/1021809030279426050

Mrs. Betty Bowers
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@BettyBowers

Crying as I type . . .

https://twitter.com/BettyBowers/status/1021807128061927425

Ted Lieu
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Ted Lieu Retweeted Alexi McCammond
Why do Dem chances of flipping the House keep increasing even though @realDonaldTrump is consolidating his base? At least 3 reasons:

-GOP is shrinking
-Independents are #walkingaway
-Health care costs are rising due to GOP sabotage

Dems have #ABetterDeal that is #ForThePeople.

https://twitter.com/tedlieu/status/1021802263583567873

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Democrats now have their best shot at winning the House — Sabato’s Crystal Ball just moved 17 races in their favor.

https://twitter.com/alexi/status/1021736944173293568

Bad news for Trump: Rising GOP chance of losing House

https://www.axios.com/2018-midterms-democrats-house-respresentatives-trump-76cb45e9-e4f5-424e-b251-62cdb373475e.html

Democrats now have their best shot at winning the House, according to Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball that just shifted 17 races in their favor.

Why it matters: It's the first time this cycle that the analysts at the University of Virginia Center for Politics are giving Democrats better than a 50% chance of winning the House. "[T]he Democrats now look like soft favorites to win a House majority with a little more than 100 days to go."

Sabato, along with his Crystal Ball team at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, has been among the most conservative analysts, repeatedly telling us that House control was a coin flip, despite widespread projections of a Democratic takeover.
"This president is not popular, and no one believes there is any chance the GOP comes out of this election with more seats than they hold now," the Crystal Ball's Kyle Kondik writes.

Donald J. Trump
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I’m very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election. Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely don’t want Trump!

8:50 AM - 24 Jul 2018

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1021784726217142273