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White House Bans Use of Personal Devices From West Wing (cbsnews.com)
In the wake of damaging reports of a chaotic Trump administration detailed in a new book from Michael Wolff, the White House is instituting new policies on the use of personal cellphones in the West Wing. CBS News reports: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released the following statement on the policy change: "The security and integrity of the technology systems at the White House is a top priority for the Trump administration and therefore starting next week the use of all personal devices for both guests and staff will no longer be allowed in the West Wing. Staff will be able to conduct business on their government-issued devices and continue working hard on behalf of the American people."
Wolff reportedly gained access to the White House where he conducted numerous interviews with staffers on the inner-workings of the Trump campaign and West Wing operations. Sanders told reporters Wednesday that there were about "a dozen" interactions between Wolff and White House officials, which she said took place at Bannon's request. The White House swiftly slammed the book and those who cooperated with Wolff.
Wolff reportedly gained access to the White House where he conducted numerous interviews with staffers on the inner-workings of the Trump campaign and West Wing operations. Sanders told reporters Wednesday that there were about "a dozen" interactions between Wolff and White House officials, which she said took place at Bannon's request. The White House swiftly slammed the book and those who cooperated with Wolff.
I just wish they'd go ahead and say "live it's saturday night" and end the skit. The joke has gone on long enough. It's old.
Seriously. The thing today where Trump videoconferenced into a WH press briefing when he literally sits 100 feet away from the room was surreal. I was expecting Alec Baldwin to show up at any moment.
Security? How about that personal iPhone Trump runs around tweeting with. Take that away too.
It is correct to ban the devices. Of course it would also be correct to get his impeachment underway, but republicans care less about the good of the country, than they do about the good of their donors. The obstruction continues as they look for ways not to get to the truth, but to suppress it.
As far as Trump ignoring the rules, well is anyone surprised? I'd laugh my arse off if someone managed to own his iPhone and publish a few weeks of audio on the internet, provided it didn't hurt the country too much.
Simply put, Trump keeping an iPhone like this is worse than at the time Hillary having her own server. The reason it is worse is the threat environment is worse now and Trump is a far more appealing target.
Hillary should have known better. Trump _does_ know better. He spent the entire election bitching about it. Security is a real thing. The curious thing is Hillary's server didn't get owned as near as we can tell, while the department server did. It is probably the case of a simple installation run by a non idiot with nothing special being sometimes more secure than an installation used by so many. The private server probably just had a smaller attack surface. That doesn't make it a good idea, since part of it not getting owned is likely luck.
Still Trump has no excuse. He values his ability to tweet instantly more than he values the security of the country. Every tweet he makes should be verified by a couple of lawyers and probably some major staff member just to make sure it doesn't make matters worse, such as his latest tweets saying his "button" was bigger than the other guys and Hillary's aid should be jailed...
What do you expect when you appoint someone to a job for which they have zero relevant experience? It's like making the trash collector your new company CEO.
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Yes.
-Dave
Cheeto himself carries a Samsung phone. He mostly tweets in the relatively early morning and late in the evening. During the day, a staffer with an iphone does his tweeting, which is why those tweets tend to be better composed but also sometimes get contradicted by later statements. Most of the media seems to only consider his late night/early morning tweets as significant.
When Obama took office, he was described as a Blackberry addict but was ultimately given a specially secured Android phone that had been vetted by appropriate agencies. As far as I'm aware, his Orangeness has never given up his personal phone.
-- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
Exactly. This new policy is Trump shutting the barn door after the horse bolted. Wolfe was allowed to record conversations in the White House, which only becomes a problem when your entire staff thinks you're a retard.
the garbage man actually does something, is probably more honest, definitely more empathetic. A company could do worse...
elop, fiorina for example..
You know what would be very interesting? Given Trump's paranoid tendencies, and his previous experience as a businessman in the very shady real estate industry, he might be recording all his conversations, Nixon-style. _Those_ would make for some very interesting listening. Business executives record their conversations all the time...they're used to being double-crossed.
Banning personal devices might limit recording, but every staffer he fires is going to get a book deal just based on their experience. One of the biggest leaks is the personal use of Twitter. Conversations like, "Mr. President, can you please refrain from telegraphing our foreign policy positions and your disposition to adversaries?" must be hard to have, especially when ignored.
What do you expect when you appoint someone to a job for which they have zero relevant experience? It's like making the trash collector your new company CEO.
Or "elect" ...
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Links about Trump
Trump's lies:
In 298 days, President Trump has made 1,628 false and misleading claims (Nov. 13, 2017, Washington Post)
In a 30-minute interview, President Trump made 24 false or misleading claims. (Dec. 29, 2017, Washington Post)
President Trump's Lies, the Definitive List (Dec. 14, 2017, The New York Times)
10 Falsehoods From Trump's Interview With The Times (Dec. 29, 2017, New York Times)
Trump takes credit for zero aviation deaths worldwide. (Jan. 2, 2018, Trump's Twitter account)
Replies:
"I'm gonna take credit for puppies being cute..."
"Guess who's responsible for designing the cute kangaroo pouches that keep little Joeys safe? That right, it was Me. ME. ME!"
"That's a job well done, thank you, but don't forget I gave dolphins their blowholes! Without me, they would've drowned!"
Sexual abuse:
The 19 Women Who Accused President Trump of Sexual Misconduct (Dec. 7, 2017, The Atlantic.com)
Mental instability:
Incoherent, authoritarian, uninformed: Trump's New York Times interview is a scary read. (Dec. 30, CNBC) Quotes:
"President Donald Trump tells a string of falsehoods in his recent New York Times interview that make it difficult to tell whether he is lying or delusional."
"Trump appears to suffer from the Dunning-Kruger effect, which holds that the least competent people often believe they are the most competent."
"Trump's comments are, by turns, incoherent, incorrect, conspiratorial, delusional, self-aggrandizing, and underinformed."
Lawyers 'Telling Trump What He Wants To Hear' So He Won't Fire Mueller (Dec. 31, 2017, Huffingtonpost.com) Quote:
"The president of the United States, in their view, is out of control a good deal of the time..." People who work for Trump have to adjust to his instability.
8 of the Sleaziest Things Donald Trump Has Said (June 16, 2015, 2 1/2 years ago, RollingStone.com)
Choosing weak people to be leaders:
Trump's FCC Chairman pick Ajit Pai heralds a weaker, meeker Commission (Jan. 23, 2017, TechCrunch.com, almost one year ago)
Ajit Pai's FCC is still editing the net neutrality repeal order (Jan 2, 2018, ArsTechnica.com)
Trump picks ghost hunter to be federal judge (Nov. 15 2017, BBC News) Quote:
"The appointment of Brett Talley, 36, for a lifetime post as an Alabama federal judge is raising eyebrows because he has never tried a case."
Profiting personally:
Trump has now spe
It's even worse; Bannon was officially part of the National Security Council.
Which means he had a security clearance.
Which means he very likely lied to the FBI during vetoing about the Don Jr. / Russia meeting he now acknowledges.
Every government on Earth is composed entirely of humans.
Most state leaders have pets, usually at least a dog, which presumably helps calm the humans and reduces the risk of rash decisions.
(Trump is the first US president in over a century that doesn't have a pooch. He hates them, like he hates anyone smarter than he is.)