White House infighting flares amid impeachment inquiry

[Dennis Donovan]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2019/11/11/white-house-war-with-itself-even-it-fights-impeachment-inquiry/

A dispute erupts between Mulvaney and Cipollone camps over how to counter House Democrats’ impeachment push


White House counsel Pat Cipollone (center), and Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney (right), in a file photo from last year. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

By Erica Werner, Josh Dawsey, Carol D. Leonnig and Rachael Bade

November 11, 2019 at 6:44 p.m. EST

The White House’s bifurcated and disjointed response to Democrats’ impeachment inquiry has been fueled by a fierce West Wing battle between two of President Trump’s top advisers, and the outcome of the messy skirmish could be on full display this week, according to White House and congressional officials.

Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has urged aides not to comply with the inquiry and blocked any cooperation with congressional Democrats. Top political aides at the Office of Management and Budget, which Mulvaney once led, have fallen in line with his defiant stance, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk freely about the behind the scenes developments.

Mulvaney’s office blames White House counsel Pat Cipollone for not doing more to block other government officials from participating in the impeachment inquiry, as a number of State Department officials, diplomats, and an aide to Vice President Pence, have given sworn testimony to Congress.

Cipollone, meanwhile, has fumed that Mulvaney has only made matters worse with his Oct. 17 news conference, when he publicly acknowledged a quid pro quo, essentially confirming Democrats’ accusations in front of television cameras and reporters. Cipollone did not want Mulvaney to hold the news conference, a message that was passed along to the acting chief of staff’s office, according to two senior Trump advisers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. A Mulvaney aide said a team of White House lawyers prepared him for the news conference and never said he should not do it.

Neither Mulvaney nor Cipollone has broad experience navigating a White House through such a tumultuous period. But their actions have contributed to the White House’s increasingly tenuous response to the impeachment inquiry, where public hearings are set to begin Wednesday in the House. Despite the high stakes, the White House moved slowly to hire a staff specifically dedicated to working on the impeachment issue, a concern that was expressed to the White House by multiple GOP senators, Hill aides said.

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[GoCubsGo]

1. It was inevitable.

This is what you get when you have a bunch of criminals whose only interest is in saving their own asses.

[RobertDevereaux]

2. "How do want us posed?"

"Just like that'll be swell. A couple of dickweeds, born to be scorned and reviled."

[dweller]

3. and it's not even wednesday !

when the hearings begin airing on major network news ... hooboy


✌🏼

[llmart]

4. How many times since this dufus has been squatting in our White House...

have we seen a headline similar to this one? There's always "chaos" or infighting or the revolving door of staff, etc.

This is what you end up with when some in this country thought it would be a good idea to have someone running the country that has absolutely zero experience or knowledge of government.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

5. Wow, that body language speaks volumes, doesn't it ?