"In the English language, the 'dog' insult is typically used to convey a person is “morally depraved and stupid,” said Mr. Haslam, who studies the psychology of insults."
?
As a woman in an English-speaking country, it has long been my impression that "dog" when used of women, especially women under 40, implies that they are ugly. I don't recall ever hearing or seeing it used of men -- at least, not the word "dog" alone, without a modifier such as "low-down dirty dog."
What a spectacle.
2
The Report is Trump is taking this to Arbitration here in NYC. Oh I can't wait to see his face when he finds he lost this Aribitration. And by the way there is no apeal in Arbitration.
3
Not being afraid to state the obvious ...
"And lordy, there are tapes!"
How about if we listen to the tape?
2
I once wondered if I, as a mere citizen of the country that Mr. Trump is dragging through the mud, could sue him for any of the various ways that he appears to be violating the Constitution and laws. After a bit of research I gathered that one has to have standing - i.e., one must show concrete harm to oneself - to seek redress in court.
In such a big country, I figured there must be someone somewhere who is being harmed by Mr. Trump in the concrete way that a court would need to see. Of course, the chances that such a person has the awareness and inclination to become a plaintiff against the Executive Branch are slim.
So I imagined that there are groups of experts with the time, energy and resources to identify such instances of harm and to advise the victims on their options. I'm thinking: democracy advocacy organizations, associations of legal professionals, even the Democratic members of Congress.
But is that happening? I know lawsuits are underway with regard to emoluments. And of course the investigations around misdeeds by Mr. Trump's campaign officials and the Russian interference in our elections promise to bring justice vis-a-vis that subset of anti-American activity. But when something else surfaces, like this possibly improper NDA requirement for White House employees, is that likely to just flow on by without any accountability or even an official assessment of its legality?
1
Transparency? I thought that was the word.
I must have heard it in fake news.
1
The Crazy Trump/Media Circus goes on: Different players, same tired old themes dressed up in bright new shiny garments. Let's do something about this nonsense. Contact local state and federal anti-Trump candidates' campaign offices, donate money, volunteer to help. Speak out every time we hear lies and see hurtful behavior. November 6, 2018 is one of the most important dates in American history. On this day we the people will tell the world what kind of country we really want to be.
5
Agreed. And in the meantime, please make sure that everyone in your world between the ages of 18 and 29 is registered to vote and gets to the polls on Election Day.
4
We live in an alternate political universe down here,Sandra. Hard to believe that less than 50 years ago this was straight Roosevelt-Johnson Democrat country. In many places in Deep Red Country the local Democratic Party is little more than a conveyor belt that shuttles well connected local elites into government jobs. @Sandra Lee
The article says:
"Federal employees typically are not asked to muzzle themselves to protect reputations or insulate others from embarrassment, as is typical in confidentiality agreements that bind private citizens. They are obliged to respond to disclosure requests from members of Congress and federal agencies, among others. And they enjoy strong whistle-blower protections....."
With respect, federal employees enjoy weak, pitiful whistle-blower protections. I say that based on 32 years as a fed and too many years as a local union steward.
2
Having public officials sign non-disclosure agreements! How does that fit with our constitution?
2
They work for us, the American people, and it's up to we-the-people to hold our government to account. If we can't get our act together, others will gleefully take us for all our country's worth.
2
it would seem to me that a President forcing a govt employee to sign an NDA would be in violation of the first amendment. not that trump would know about or be aware of such a thing
2
There could be thousands of people who signed NDAs with Trump over the years. Can you imagine all the dirt known by people who are afraid of being sued by him?
That would help to explain why he has so many enablers and why tort law reform is no longer a GOP priority. Trump likes the tort laws just the way they are: A hammer used against people and companies that don't have limitless funds to spend on litigation.
I've read that Trump has been involved in thousands of law suits in the U.S., but I haven't heard about international law suits. Just curious if he's less litigious in countries where the loser pays the winner's attorney fees.
4
So when does this reality TV show get canceled? Who is actually president because I do not think it is funny to keep telling the world that this man is the president? Low ratings would normally tank a TV show after the first season, but this one keeps going. It is getting old. Why has this man not had a stroke from all the lies being found out? He can't keep track of the lies so now he is really getting insulting with the name calling. How embarrassing to even admit one lives in the US. Most grown adults do not behave this way with name calling & personal attacks. Many Americans find this humiliating behavior in any adult let alone the president of the country. Please cancel this horrible show & move on with getting America back to the Land of the Free & Home of the Brave & the Land of True Patriots. Enough with racism & bigotry & being the home of old white men & women who hate all others.
17
I miss the days when people of honor, respect, knowledge and decency worked in the White House. That was a time when NDA's were not necessary, for the best of the best kept government running without constant turmoil. People of honor do not need a piece of paper called a NDA, for they had a code of honor.
Trump did not respect Senator McCain, showing he has no sense of honor and respect for a man who served his country. We can look back at so many Congress men and women, Cabinet appointees etc who put their duty to country before taking the road to business or politics. Trump is the biggest example of those who never understood duty to country and have lived their lives only with a duty to self.
I am glad to see military veteran's running for Congress, for they are usually people of honor and respect. General Kelly has lost his sense of honor and his personal code has been abandoned as he has become a lacky of the President.
4
Each day, I'm getting a little more hopeful that the spolied child will take his ball and go home. "Everyone is against me and this just isn't any fun like it was supposed to be! I'll show alll of you! I've got the ball and you can't have it!"
7
I was a sound mixer in the record and TV businesses. If Trump used slurs on a hot mic I absolutely guarantee copies exist. If we got something juicy recorded we made copies. Some circulate privately, some see the light of day. Look up the Troggs Tape. If he said it on a hot mic copies exist, no matter what Trump or Burnett say.
9
This story keeps getting funnier. Here's how things go: Pickering v. Board of Education already established that public employees do not relinquish their First Amendment rights simply by nature of becoming public employees. Free speech trumps anything not weighed against the balance of public interests. Subsequent court rulings have determined that "public interest" means any wrongful disclosure of classified information.
This is where it gets interesting. Omarosa Manigault Newman doesn't appear to have ever been officially granted classified security clearance. Meaning: Any and all information disclosed to Omarosa was by definition unclassified and therefore protected from public censor. Her recording of a conversation in the situation room is irrelevant because no one was ever supposed to share sensitive information with Omarosa in any room.
Unless Omarosa failed to submit her book for pre-publication review, there's no way for Trump to gag her.
6
@Andy
Do you think bringing someone without classified security clearance into the Situation Room (let alone not taking steps to ensure she had no recording device) was itself a breach of security? I browsed the Executive Order covering U.S. classified information (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Executive_Order_13526) but didn't see anything about access to secure locations.
I wonder if, as his employees, Trump's children had to sign non-disclosure agreements? Or son-in-law Jared? How about Melania?
8
@Portola I’m sure all his wives have NDA’s as part of their pre-nups.
1
And to coerce those, he compensates with $175,000 of taxpayer money. Even after he has them fired or they resign in embarassment. Isn’t there a crime in that?
6
Two peas in a pod!!
5
Oh Donald, only you would brag about forcing your staff to sign non-disclosure agreements so that we, the american taxpayers, (to whom you report) cannot find out about your ongoing criminal activities.
Have you never heard of Whistle Blowers?
7
Trump’s action in this instance was of course obscene and criminal— as are all his decisions. America is supposed to be a democracy not a fascist dictatorship.
7
Hillary's detractors had no trouble with the steady release of her campaign and DNC emails. They were just revealing the 'truth' to the public. A public service, if you will. Most were also fine with the lack of disclosures from Trump's campaign, including his mysterious tax returns perpetually under audit.
At the time I had no doubt that similar disclosures from the Trump campaign and the RNC would have been equally damning. Now the worm is turning. Finally.
It turns out no one trusts anyone else in the snake pit known as the Trump White House. And that includes those at the very top. From the record number of press leaks, we already knew it was dysfunctional. And as people are forced out, tell all books and selective releases can now be weaponized, or at least monetized.
The advantage of tapes is their apparent objectivity, and Omarosa definitely needs a credibility boost before her book is taken seriously. It's too bad for the country that we lacked full and unrefutable disclosure of Trump's character and behaviors before the election. Eventually we'll hear fully from the Cohen tapes, the Omarosa tapes, and the copious video outtakes in The Apprentice vault.
Ideally, all these releases will coincide with release of a report from the Mueller investigation. The combination of criminal findings and deep character flaws might finally push congressional Republicans to abandon Trump and join with Democrats in his ouster and jailing.
We can hope.
6
Trump's tweet was "Nasty to people & would constantly miss meetings & work. When Gen. Kelly came on board he told me she was a loser & nothing but problems. I told him to try working it out, if possible, because she only said GREAT things about me - until she got fired!"
So he admits that she was incompetent but he kept her on because she brown-nosed him. Now that's the kind of president we need!
13
@pmbrig. People also say that she was constantly showing up to meetings where she wasn't invited. I’m wondering which it was. At this point, I don’t trust anyone’s version of her time in the White House, least of all Trump’s or Kelly’s.
As much as they might rail against federal employees and so-called waste, fraud and abuse, the President and his administration are employees of the United States government.
Thus, the individuals who work for Trump cannot pledge not to reveal what they have seen and experienced in the workplace. That would place a veil of secrecy over their actions and keep from their employers -- i.e., the American people -- what they are doing on our behalf.
These employees do not work for Trump; he is only their supervisor. They work for us and should ultimately be held accountable to us as well.
49
"It has been routine for White House officials to be required to sign confidentiality documents acknowledging that they may not publicly disclose classified information to people who do not have the proper security clearance."
What has been disclosed so far by Ms. Manigault Newman cannot be categorized, in any shape or form, as confidential. It deals with her own employment and, as such, it is personal to her. As to the reason for which Mr. Trump's administration hired her, it suffices to say: "birds of a feather flock together."
5
Is it constitutional to put an extra-constitutional constraint on US Government employees? By doesnt that take it outside Government? Is it legal for a Senator to ask (or demand/quid pro quo) a US Congress employee for a legal arrangement and binding obligation beyond what the Constitution describes? Isn't this why we have the Constitution and associated laws?
3
Who cares whether Omarosa signed an NDA? (By the way, I have to sign an NDA just to have lunch with my son, who works at a high-tech firm in SF). If Trump said the "N" word on a tape, I'd like to hear it. He says he's never used that word, and Omarosa says ht's on a tape saying it.
At the risk of stating the obvious: Let's hear the tape.
Omarosa says she's never heard it (or otherwise heard Trump make a racist remark), but she says that a former colleague made the tape and offered to play it for her. The former colleague denies ever offering to play the tape for her, but he or she has never (to my knowledge) denied that the tape exists or that he or she would play it for us if asked.
So let's ask, ask that the former colleague play the tape. Seems pretty straightforward to me. If the former colleague plays the tape, we can judge for ourselves what it says. If not, or the former colleague says the tape no longer exists, or never did, or whatever, we can figure out how to proceed.
Am I missing something here? The path forward seems obvious.
1
@MyThreeCents
Pick your battles carefully. Trump has a proven lifelong history of racism and bigotry. He has told more than 4000 documented lies since in office. He has no right to oblige federal employees to sign an NDA. There loyalty is to the people. Backing Trump is to throw credibility out the window, especially now.
5
You are, in fact, missing something.
We don’t need a recording to know trump’s racism, misogyny and overall incompetence. We have video and audio from his campaign, rallies and fact-free “news” conferences.
7
@MyThreeCents
Your son is not a federal employee.
The issue is whether NDA's that public officials were forced to sign will hold up in court. Since public officials are paid by the public (and not Trump) and since they have a statutory duty to inform other parts of the government and the people about certain public information that they work on, the traditional interpretation says that they will be thrown out of court. But today's court is being packed not with judges but with partisan hacks (Gorsuch, Kavanaugh) who are there to put a partisan spin on every decision. And political judges appointed by Trump are beholden to him and will likely rule in his favor no matter what the reasonable interpretation of the law might be. If RBG is also replaced (a strong likelihood given her age) with a hack the entire rule of law will be corrupted and NDA's such as this will be enforced. At that time it will become obvious what an authoritarian regime really looks like.
3
I never thought I would see the day when I wished for a typical politician in the White House. It is exhausting and embarrassing to have a president who behaves like a school yard bully. Bring on someone who knows the rules so we can pay attention to the bigger issues that we should be dealing with and not this constant clown show.
4
What am I missing here?
Omarosa says Trump said the "N" word, though she's never actually heard him say that. He denies it. Omarosa says a tape exists that will prove her claim. She's never listened to the tape, she says, but that her former colleague made the tape and offered to play it for her. The former colleague denies ever offering to play it for Omarosa, but (to my knowledge) has never denied that the tape exists or that he or she will play it if asked.
So ask: "Do you have a tape? If so, would you mind playing it for us? If the former colleague plays the tape, we can judge for ourselves. If the former colleague refuses to play the tape, we can judge for ourselves. If the former colleague says the tape existed but now doesn't, we can judge for ourselves. If the former colleague says the tape never existed, we can judge for ourselves. If the former colleague doesn't respond at all, we can judge for ourselves.
In any event, the path forward seems obvious. What am I missing here?
3
Notice how Trump uses taxpayer money to gratify his adolescent ego: hiring aides whose only qualification is saying "great things" about him, then giving them consulting contracts with NDSs to prevent them from saying what they really think about him after they're fired.
2
NYTimes and serious media, try not to get dragged into the circus that is our government orchestrated by the carnival barker that is our President and focus on what really matters...climate change and the related problems from it, immigrant children being kidnapped, abused and trafficked by the US government, the looting of the US Treasury through the new Tax Law, the GOP’s war on Social Security, Medicare and the Affordable Health Care Act, pensioners filling for bankruptcy in huge numbers due to an unstable retirement and savings system, an affordable housing crisis in our cities, sub par infrastructure, an opioid epidemic created by Big Pharma, the gun manufacturers filling our streets with guns and the subsequent crime that ensues, racism and the under employment for many African American youth, violence against women, health care and women’s reproductive rights being chipped away..etc. you get the point.
Turn off the spigot of tantalizing soap opera drama from the White House.
7
Another day, another staggering hypocrisy from our clueless President.
In today's episode of Celebrity President, the man who has violated every promise he ever made, refused to pay legitimate bills from contractors, cheated on and then divorced his wives, promised to release his tax returns and then never did, and walked away from treaties duly committed to by the US government, complains that a staffer has refused to honor an unenforcable contract. Hilarity ensues.
11
The Republican Congress is nothing more than a corporate owned subsidiary.
The Republican Congress is busy enriching themselves and securing the corporate control of our government.
Our “representatives” have sold the country to the highest bidders.
Money, greed, and betrayal have destroyed the America of our founding fathers.
7
I'd like to know more about these six figure 'so called' jobs the president is giving out to people who have left the White House in order to keep them quiet. Isn't that bribery?
5
Trump is a petty autocrat. The Republicans who are the majority party sit on their hands . Simply amazing how complicit they have become.
6
This so reminds me of the scene near the end of Return of the Jedi in which Darth Vader finally turned away from the Dark Side and killed the Emperor.
The thing is, he was still Darth Vader.
... and Omarosa and Trump are the real-life Vader/Emperor analogues.
3
I'm no Trump fan but I do agree with Sanders recent statement that the media was highly critical and dismissive of Omarosa when she joined the White House and rightly so, yet today they feast on her every word as if it were credible gospel.
The questions that I'd like to see asked of her are:
1. If you knew Trump was a liar and closet racist, then why have you remained friends with him for the last 15 years and why did you take a position working for him in the WH?
2. You say that Trump is a liar, this we already know. What does it say about you in defending and supporting this man for the last two years?
3. When you were initially on the Apprentice and another contestant was publicly highly critical of you, you also claimed that she used the N word, although the producers said it never occurred. Seems that you have a history of invoking this tactic when you're called out.
4. You've made a career out of sensationalized self promotion often using outlandish hyperbole, why should anyone believe anything you say?
2
@MN The president of the United States just called this woman a dog. Let that sink in for a moment. I'm sure there are inaccuracies and distortions and perhaps outright lies in her book, but it's about the totality of the picture she's drawn. I don't have to like her to believe here. And lordy, there are tapes!
So the people who are sending money to the trump 2020 campaign are actually writing a check to Omarosa? Karma is a strange and wonderful thing.
6
@Mark
Well, I don’t think she took the money, but this is a question I’m surprised isn’t getting more coverage. Who is paying for this? Because it seems others did take the money. They say it’s from his reelection campaign. Is that a legal use of campaign finances? Even if it’s legal, do his donors really want their money used this way? If you have such a bad candidate that you have to pay off people not to talk about him, what does that tell you?
1
It's a real mystery why this White House would want to buy the silence of those who leave. Everything appears to run so smoothly and so well.
4
Aides in the West Wing said that Ms. Manigault Newman showed no respect for the presidential institution. They are right. But what do you expect from her? She was just following the exemple of her boss, President Trump whom had, has and will show no respect to the institution. Trump as President is a disgrace and an embarrassment.
Also his tweet shows that the criteria number one to get a job in the Trump's White House is not to be competent but to be a sycophante.
In conclusion Ms. Manigault Newman like Michael Cohen, was smart enough to tape her conversation with Trump. Knowing is non relationship of Trump with the truth that was the smart thing to do.
3
I can't wait for a court to rule on the nonenforceable of the White House employment agreements. Wish I could get a picture of his face when he gets the news, and realizes how much it's going to cost him to try and pay all of them off to keep their mouths shut.
6
@Upstate Dave
why are there not more rats leaving this sinking ship? I would want to leave before I was arrested as an accomplice & co-conspirator to treason. If I were Kellyanne & Sarah I would leave now before recordings of my personal conversations start showing up on TV. It's how that works on reality TV, recordings of private whispering conversations start being played to knock out all the other contestants...oops, these not contestants they are federal public employees aiding & abetting. Couldn't happen to a nicer (?) group of bigots & liars.
4
A pox on both houses. She does not belong anywhere near the White House for any reason under any president, and Trump was stupid enough keep hiring her for non-existent jobs "because she said great things about me." She should be prosecuted for bringing recording devices into secure areas. Thank heaven that adults like John Kelly are in a position to remove her from the premises.
1
Is Trump personally paying salaries of those working in the White House? Think not. They work with him, but they work for us.
Let the circus continue. Full employment for lawyers and judges and journalists and talking heads; meanwhile America burns.
8
Trump thinks he has the powers of a dictator. He know and cares nothing about the true role of President of the United States. Trump violates every form of decency imaginable and clearly with these legal contracts that abuse the principles of an open government he wants to be able to muzzle those around him who witness his depraved actions and words.
How long do we have to stand for Trump's insults to our democracy, to our nation to everything that our country has fought and died for?
We have the opportunity in 2018 to cleanse Trump and his Republican lackeys from our government. Get out the vote, overcome the minority of uninformed people and religious hypocrites who adore Trump. Take back Congress for the people and then impeach Trump for any of multiple laws he breaks over and over again. We must stand together against this would-be tyrant Donald Trump. Work hard to get out the vote!!
9
I'm looking for a silver lining in this reality show called The Trump Presidency. We all know that Trump wants and needs to be the "star" of the show. Not a day goes by without the president himself expressing via Twitter (or in a speech to his supporters) his knee-jerk reaction to something he likes or dislikes. Just like any other show, however, the audience may get tired or even bored by his knee-jerk reactions, emotional outbursts, and diatribes.
The silver lining may be that voters will yearn for the establishment of competence, peace, and tranquility in the White House.
When you think about it, maybe the silver lining will be the endless stories yet to be redacted and the "lessons to be learned" from the Trump presidency. Oh yes, it will be very fertile ground, not only for writers... but for grandparents who will talk to grandchildren about the narcissistic blowhard who, amazingly, occupied the White House for a while.
3
A simple tactic to bully people. This will not stop until we vote the Republicans out of congress and impeach the Don. Of course the Mike is horrible.
4
"She said great things about me". uh huh.....yes, we can just imagine the greatest thing she may have told you in order that you'd hire her on the spot. Blech.
Guess she's not so stupid after all eh Donald?
10
Trump has a right to defend his character and respond to defamatory lies about him by his fired employees, even if by “a minority female” calumniator. She started it. She’s getting only what she’s trying to give, unless she’s really devious and out to make Trump look the victim, as she does in each book promo interview.
Now she’s a wonderful political foil, and Trump’s going to play her attacks on him for every ounce of public sympathy, actually making her the political opponent in every Congressional race. Stupidly, his political media enemies are playing right into his hands.
Omarosa has shown her character, and it’s not one most people would want their daughters to emulate. Not only is she a calumniator of the worst kind, but she has the ingratitude and treachery of a rattlesnake, and yet Trump, for all his faults and ignorance of her wily duplicity, picked her up and brought her home to feed and care for her.
Meanwhile, cabinet secretaries Dr. Ben Carson, an African American, Elaine Chao, an Asian female, and Kirsten Nielsen, a white female, etc., and many other supporters reflecting virtues of the American majority, soldier on as loyal Republicans. And we need greater such diversity in the G.O.P, not less, and not more viragos like Omarosa.
1
@Bayou Houma
so when does all the suing start? Someone must be trying to sue trump for the libel & slander & offensive name calling he is issuing constantly in tweets & on TV. Of course, the courts are probably saying "get in line" because of all the lawsuits. He just can't shut up his sewer mouth.
3
Truth is, Omarosa has the same credibility, and qualifications, as Trump for public office. Reality TV celebrity. Period.
6
It is allowed and even admirable for private businessmen to behave as Trump does -- at least, if they are successful -- and to have their employees sign NDAs which are legally enforceable. The same sort of thing is out of bounds in the realm of government.
Many people believe that business is good and government is bad, and that government should be run like a business and serve the interests of business rather than trying to make business serve its interests and obey its rules and regulations. These are designed to serve the public interest, which according to some is just another private interest pretending to be something it is not.
We have to make up our minds whether behavior like Trump's is good (at least in the private sector) or a necessary evil to be put up with, fenced in, and limited. If the only alternative is a stultifying and corrupt bureaucracy, as in the USSR, the evil may be necessary but it is still evil and dangerous.
@sdavidc9 To quote George Conway this morning: "What if a CEO routinely made false and misleading statements about himself, the company, and results, and publicly attacked business partners, company “divisions” (w/ scare quotes!), employees, and analysts, and kowtowed to a dangerous competitor?"
I don't see anything admirable about Trump's behaviour, as a president or a businessman. It astonishes me that anyone still could.
Manigault Newman is stirring up what controversy she can in order to sell her book. It's what she learned from her former boss. It's mostly a lot of nothing.
What is revealing is that she illustrates how Trump operates: the sort of people who Trump hires (those with unhinged ambition and avarice), and how he handles them--using campaign donations to keep them quiet after they quit or are fired (hush money from someone else's pockets, not Trumps).
Those are the damning things.
4
Umm, I'm no lawyer, but I don't think the president has the ability to hold someone to a NDA.
Besides the fact that it seems almost Orwellian for a president to sue a private citizen for recording conversations, I'd think the president doesn't have the ability to sue a private citizen for recording in a public building....the White House is a public building...it belongs to us.
Trump is either an idiot or he's playing to the idiots in his base.
4
Would someone please use the verb "record" rather than "tape." No one has "taped" a conversation in years.
5
This administration is pathetic, a display of incompetence and moral turpitude.
2
Omarosa can never get the stink off of her after sticking around and supporting this guy. She can apologize, write books, pray, be contrite, and even instructive. But she perpetuated this train wreck of a POTUS and is just as responsible as all the others for his antics. People of integrity leave when their moral compass is challenged. She has none. Just another grifter with an interesting story to tell...This admin is one huge disaster...with each person doing their part to insure lasting damage to the Union. Omarosa is just another rat deserting a sinking ship.
4
It is known as fact that Omarosa Manigault Newman has openly lied about both the existence of a tape and a racial slur, this entire matter is simply a book-hawking ploy. Since you probably won't find Lynne Patton's detailed refutation of Newman's race-baiting here, you owe it to yourself to seek this out.
It is a known fact this president lies continuously. What to do?
2
Well, Trump DID say he wanted to run America like a business. His businesses obviously.
What's next, a bloody horse head on the fence outside the White House?
Trump is now the official PR guy for Omarosa's book Unhinged. He is providing the proof with his little tweets. Calling her "that dog" will not elevate his status with the sane.
How much paper do you suppose this guy does away with every day if he is chewing up paper?? Does he eat his Big Mac carton as well?
4
It must be fantastic to live in a world where you formulate an environment where everything and everyone acts to bolster and extends your delusions.
2
So, the Consigliere of American politics is no different than any other authoritarian despot in that intimidation is just one more weapon in his fascist arsenal of innumeral "gotchas". Just that,now, the WH NDA is the latest grotesquerie of horrors in the People's house of fantastic droleries meted out in the name of fantasy governance.
3
Trump: you’re an extremely ungracious man; you work for US, for the Americans people, for OUR government. “Calling ACLU! “-please file a suit ASAP. ———Our country is now an ICU. It’s on life support. H. E.L. P.
We have a president who just called a woman a dog:
It should be noted that at 4:31 this morning, after 11 days on vacation, this is what Trump tweeted as to Omarosa:
"When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn’t work out. Good work by General Kelly for quickly firing that dog!"
3
@One More Realist in the Era of Trump
this is the distraction from Melania's parents becoming citizens using chain migration. Her parents were here on work visa-green cards but were not currently working because of age. If she had not pushed through their citizenships they would have had to leave or be in violation of their green cards. Funny that, don't you think!
2
@One More Realist in the Era of Trump
And lets stay mindful of the long continuum of his vulgar misogyny:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/politics/donald-trump-sexism-tracker-e...
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-elections/donald-tr...
Imagine if the animatronic version of him in Disney's "Hall of Presidents" were to say the things he actually says, when it opens its mouth. Seriously, he's so vile that I sometimes wonder if it will be possible to adequately delouse the Oval Office and Air Force One, or whether we'll need to just build a new White House and buy a new plane when that (blessed) time comes.
@One More Realist in the Era of Trump
He doesn’t try to hide that misogynistic tendency, does he.
Trump is a criminal and a racist. Woman abuser. Liar. He thinks everyone is corrupt. GOP is Trump. Vote out GOP and lock these criminals up. Ray Sipe
3
Trump's thuggish capitalist behavior is not at all appropriate for government service. I doubt the NDAs can hold up in court when allegiance is to the institutions and governing documents of the USA. This admin is a posse of dishonorable creeps who think everyone acts like a lying hypocrite.
2
Who was supposed to pay the $15,000 monthly hush money that Omarosa was ostensibly offered? The same American schmuck... er, taxpayer who pays for the emperor's adoring posse to stay at Trump properties?
Trump's use of the "dog" slur may be a Freudian slip. Unconditional love to the master is required, plus silence when your service is no longer desired and he has someone drop you at the pound.
4
Comey: ‘Lordy, I hope there are tapes’
How about fitting DJT with an audio ankle bracelet?
1
It's a Hollywood script, this White House. The show West Wing never knew how much they actually proved they knew....
2
Ms Haberman nails it. If you work in the White House, you answer to the American people. These NDAs are bogus, and if they have gone mostly unchallenged, this tells me the Trump staff is enen more ignorant of the functions of law and government than I thought.
8
Obviously, Omarosa was a very good Apprentice and learned all of Trump's sleazy tricks. She was fired 3 times on The Apprentice, yet he brought her to the Whitehouse with him. I believe what she says, "the Donald Trump she knew in 2003 was much more mentally capable and stable than the 2017 version".
17
@JRM
I never watched the show. When we say that she was "fired" three times, does that mean as a bona fide employee of the production company - i.e., a member of the cast or staff - or instead just in the context of the show's staged goings-on? If the latter, it's being given way too much meaning.
These NDAs are of a piece with Mr. Trump's tendency throughout his career not to sign documents. He likes to stay as untethered as possible to accountability. That's so he can leave the way open for a dodgy maneuver in whatever situation confronts him next. Some might spin that as "nimble" but I'd call it fundamentally unethical.
6
Contempt and Distrust breed Contempt and Distrust.
Thus, the demand of misfits like Trump for nondisclosure agreements.
5
The paranoia of this president to beyond normal comprehension. This would appear to be one more way he has been trying to obstruct justice since his feable turnout at inauguration.
4
Doesn't that non-disclosure requirement deny those associates their right to free speech?
3
$15,000 per month to ex-aides to keep quiet??? Is this taxpayer money? Where's the investigation here? Ah, the new normal ... and it's anything but.
12
We already know how Trump's Presidential Library will look like: a mini sd card with all his tweets.
5
@atk
I have been saying for some time "what are they going to put in a Presidential Library for someone who proudly said he hasn't read a book in 20 years"?
2
I'd like to know who is being paid $15k / mo and what account it's coming out of. Sounds like more out of control GOP spending, while they call Democrats tax and spend.
13
The take-way is that if one must have a conversation with Donald Trump, it would be foolish NOT to tape it as an insurance policy.
14
"All Trump, all the time" should be the slogan for this administration. All you Obama-haters out there - did you remember being bombarded with stories like this and others while he was President? No, and it wasn't because of some cockamamie conspiracy by the liberal media that you so detest. It's be cause he was honest and upfront, unlike the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
19
And possibly the most corrupt and incompetent (deliberately so?) administration ever?
2
@JMN You’re talking about Trump’s administration, right?
I'm particularly concerned about paragraph 12. Who is being paid $15,000/mo and is MY tax money paying for that???
9
It is quite amazing how Trump can make even Omarosa look like a role model and a hero next to him.
11
When corruption is your middle name
There’s no remorse or need for shame
Trump, Pruitt, Miller, Ross
Let’s not forget Betsy DeVos.
The list is long and the excuses are lame.
The “Grifter’s Circle” has Obama to blame.
1
D.L.Houghly nailed it when he stated that Trump is who America really is. Obama is what America aspires to be.
4
The most incompetent, dishonest person ever to occupy the White House continues to be, well, the most dishonest, incompetent person to ever occupy the White House. That's not surprising.
But here is what is surprising: proven treasonous behavior with the Russians, violations of emoluments, lies and lies and lies including those exposed by his own so-called "staff" (I hesitate to call them that for it is far too professional a term for the sycophants he surrounds himself with) using secret recordings, violations of every known ethical norm you can think of... and yet he's still President. When will the GOP and his supporters wake up to the nightmarish havoc Donald Trump is wreaking on the greatness of our nation and Impeach him?
11
Is there any point in even saying that if you're behaving honourably, you don't need to force people into signing NDAs?
This man is an utter disgrace. I think Americans would have been hard-pressed to find a more vile human to install in the highest office in the land.
9
I recall the different ways in which history shows how we can betray each other -- whether due to race, ethnicity or to some perverse form of bias. This tries to change reality, by ruling some people 'in' and ruling some people 'out.' But the fact is, we are
all here together whether we like it or not.
This is an incontrovertible truth: where we must decide how to account for our personal morals. Trump is the worst example that one could think of. Oppositely we can choose to offer our care and concern for others. Not as a self-interested, ignorant deadweight
Nowadays, when I think about Trump -- I think of just one thing:
TRUMP HIMSELF DEFINES what it means to a planet of the apes.
1
Imagine my shock at learning that yet again, Trump and his cronies have been lying about what they're up to, flouting the law, creating a ridiculous tangle, and generally fighting like Kilkenny cats.
But that is all as nothing compared to my shock at finding out that golly, the President who screams at everybody about secretly taping him has rather a habit of...taping everybody.
Cheap sarcasms aside, I will be truly shocked if I find out that Trump hasn't been taping everybody in the White House. He's just that kind of creep.
12
Hillary Clinton said it most generously when she declared that Donald Trump did not have the "temperament" to be POTUS. Unfortunately he did become POTUS to the embarrassment of a majority of Americans. The office of POTUS has been besmirched by Trump's inauguration. Can that office ever be restored to what it was before this totally ridiculous clown was elected?
9
When it comes to Trump, there certainly seems to be no shortage of those willing to "sell their soul to the devil". I guess we were right about America after all.
2
who's wacky in this White House?
from all reports and observations, ALL of them. some, merely distorted by selfishness, hubris, and greed. others, plainly nutty as a fruitcake. can't point to one exemplar great at a job. and the President has rather wacky taste in lawyers to boot.
a fish stinks from the head.
9
If the agreements are unenforceable all said employees should now come forward and disclose what they know to be true. If they don’t, the shame surrounding them won’t go away any time soon.
5
White House employees don't work for Trump, they work for the American people. It is not ok, and probably not legal, for Trump to force government employees to sign non disclosure agreements. The entire point of government employment is to be accountable the entire citizenry of the United States.
10
The dangerous part of this, of course, is that no one will be candid with someone whom they know is recording, and anyone with any sense knows or believes that Trump is recording everything. And so we have a president who is, really, all alone when it comes to making important decisions. Everyone around him is either a yes man or angling for plausible deniability.
5
Maggie Haberman, a brilliant reporter, seems to leave the most important questions unanswered to wit:1 ) Where are the monthly $15K payments being made to ex-aides coming from? The taxpayers? The RNC? 2) What's the total amount being paid to the dozens of people who've left the White House:? 3) And most importantly, where's the list of jobs I can apply for so that I can get fired quickly and start collecting my monthly $15K?
25
Another plan to obstruct justice - this one involves not only Trump, but John Kelly and whatever other enablers allowed Trump to do this.
4
Trump forgets that he is our employee. I want to know my employees' doings.
7
If you're acting lawfully, competently, sanely, and in the best interests of the American people then you don't need to worry about leaks and silencing staffers with NDAs. If you're not, well...
Anyone on the White House staff that see red flags in the President's (or any other members of the administration) actions and remains silent is not fulfilling their oath of service to the country. If you see something, you must say something otherwise you are complicit.
16
Proof AGAIN that the maniac has not made the transition from private person to public. Since they aren't LEGALLY enforceable how then could they possibly "reassure" him of anything? Unless of course he's delusional.
18
What does Donald Trump need to hide that he would make everyone who worked in his administration sign non-disclosure agreements??? We all (at least all who are not totally brain dead) know that he lies. We all know that he is fickle and changes his mind and forgets what he said a short while before. Omarosa may be self-serving, but she did learn from the "master". What more can we possibly learn about this delusional, lying egomaniac that we don't already know just from watching him in the public arena and reading his Tweets?
9
@RLW
The answer to your question lies in Trump's history and the way he has conducted his businesses, most of which have failed. If he had a brain and was actually capable of hiring competent people, we wouldn't be having this discussion.
5
These NDA's are not enforceable. Many lawyers have come forward to defend anyone who breaks them. Trump silencing people is being revealed as a pattern occurring over many years; from women Trump had affairs with to White House staffers. Trump uses the legal system to break the laws.GOP will do nothing; they are Trump's surrogates now. Vote out GOP for a better America. Ray Sipe
12
Mister Trump is in a class by himself, he has no class. We saw this when he got into a cat fight with Rosie, he went for the juggler because Rosie made fun of his hair. Most of us men try to treat the ladies with a little respect, we learn this at home, Trump makes his own rules.
8
The sickest thing about our sick president is that he actually, seriously believes he's one of the best. Not the worst, as history will confirm. But rather, among the top 5 or so.
To apply one of your very, very favorite words, Trumpty: Sad.
8
@Kentop 5? No way! At a rally recently he was saying that everyone always mentions Reagan and Lincoln, and now they re starting to mention Trump all the time. Just another unwelcome glimpse of his thinking.
4
Are these bribes paid for with taxpayer money?
10
We've been hearing about the president and his former attorney talk about non-disclosure agreements for months now. The president surely believes in NDA's, and their worth. If memory serves, he's already invested at least $130,000 in just one of those NDA's.
3
This might be a good piece, but I have accepted money not to read it. You didn't hear this from me.
The sooner Trump is taken away in shackles , the quicker we can begin the healing process to put our nation back together and distance ourselves from the hate and divisiveness this man has thrown at the United States Of America.
13
Isn't it illegal to force a government employee to sign a non-disclosure agreement other than for National Security reasons? We don't have a President of the United States, we have a wanna be dictator. The Republicans has established a anti-American Administration.
14
Has any other President in the entire history of our nation ever felt the need for NDAs? And I'm including the paranoid Nixon here. What is Trump doing in our White House that he's so afraid of the public finding out? Considering all the truly horrible stuff the public already knows about, whatever he's hiding must be pretty awful.
11
I don't see any way an NDA can shield you from subpoena by the Grand jury or Congress.
5
The surprise of Omarosa's appearances yesterday is she came off more intelligent and articulate than the Potus she turned on.
5
My idea for a new game show would be "What Would Giuliani Say? and What Would Sarah H. Sanders say?"
How will they spin illegal non-disclosure agreements?
What will they say now that Rex, Gary, and HR have the all-clear to write the sequels to 'Unhinged?"
Even more importantly, how will they spin Trump calling Omarosa, a human being who is also black, a dog?
No need to find those secret racist tapes of Trump.
Everything is out in the open now. Waiting for the spin cycle.
4
A bit over a year ago, John Kelly was sworn in as DJT's 2nd Chief of Staff. My recollection is that a large part of his duties included reigning in Trump's more outrageous and impulsive outbursts, whether printed, spoken, or tweeted.
As George W. would say: "Heck of a job, Johnny".
9
I used to wonder why in the world Omarosa was in the WH at all - what were her qualifications, and why would a reality TV character be given this type of job. It would be a perfect ending if she were partly responsible for Trump's downfall.
8
I am sorry but isn't it illegal for the Liar in Chief's campaign staff to pay people to be quiet? Isn't that a bribe? Because it doesn't sound like an employment contract to me. And isn't the non-disclosure similar to the docs he had his sexual partners in his adulterous affairs sign? To what depths has our county sunk?
7
What is the difference between a democratic and a communist country? In Communist China all party members are not allowed to disclose anything without the party's permission. A White House staff has to sign a nondisclosure agreement? Seriously? Any other presidents made such requirements?
5
The truth is what he fears most. Vote everyone
7
Yes. Disclosing secret information which could harm the United States is a crime, but disclosing crimes committed by a President is not. . . or wasn't until recently. Can someone explain to Don the Con that he's not running his crime family business and that no one in our government "works" for him. Everyone in the White House is our employee.
13
I'm sure some have tried explaining, but clearly, it's like talking to the wall. and if they're presidential lawyers, then they either get fired or quit before his demands get them disbarred or worse.
5
Now showing: The Apprentice, Presidency Edition.
6
It does seem as if the whistle-blower protections would invalidate any and all NDA's Trump might have had signed. This needs to be clarified so as to remove the menace of retaliation which might prevent members of this Administration from performing their civic duty.
I know the list is getting long, but blackmailing government employees with threatening legalese sounds like another impeachable offense.
113
@Bill Levine
how does Trump come off calling anybody else Whacky?
will the America people really reelect this totally chaotic personality?
really?
1
If there are tapes by federal employees, including Trump because he is a federal employee, they all must be preserved pursuant to Federal document retention laws and are subject to disclosure pursuant to FOIA. This was one of the points made in the investigation of Clinton's computer server. The use of the server inhibited the preservation of government records. All of the tweets, text messages by Trump are official government records and must be preserved and subject to disclosure.
9
So if we take everything Dumpster says as true, the taxpayers were paying more than $100,000 a year to Omarosa because "she said nice things" about him? In which Twilight Zone episode is that OK?
26
More really great writing by Maggie Haberman. Yes, indeed, many of us knew that trump was a lunatic twenty years ago. Ms. Manigault Newman merely validates that knowledge.
Of trump's NDA's:
"Former West Wing officials have said that while they were enacted, members of the White House counsel’s office signaled that they could not be enforced, and that they were being executed to reassure Mr. Trump."
My question is one to the trumpkins: when are you going to snap out of your trances and realize that your lord and master trump is bogus?
I think that one reason trump backed off on his tirade over taping Comey is that Jim Comey said something to the effect, "I hope there *are* tapes." That set trump back a bit.
It's the trump language that responsible parents (not trumpkin parents) want their intelligent kids to eschew. "Wacky Omarosa" is the language of a recalcitrant eight year old. It demonstrates fully that trump has no responsible, coherent thought process.
And right, Cohen might have denied trump's paper-chewing antic, but we know of Cohen's neurotic sycophancy to the president.
Well, we begin yet another week of trump White House confusion which his trumpkins in trumpland will defend to their deaths. After all, trump could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and they'd still vote for him, as trump himself so well described his followers. Trump knows that his followers love his lunacy.
32
@Charles
"My question is one to the trumpkins: when are you going to snap out of your trances and realize that your lord and master trump is bogus?"
Sometimes I think they know full well that he's bogus, and that the whole point is just to stick a thumb in the liberals' eyes. They have had the luxury to do that because this country already was, in so many ways, great. You could call it a lack of appreciation for the liberties that liberal society developed on their behalf.
6
Non-disclosure agreements are corrosive to society at large. They inhibit the rest of us from making informed decisions. And they usually protect the powerful from the weak through asymmetrical leverage. In turn, that sets up the rest of as potential next victims of predators who have covered their patterns of their behavior. "Buyer Beware" no longer works when what we should be aware of has been purposefully hidden.
16
Every now and then,,I have to pinch myself and say, “this is really happening...this guy is the President of the United States”. It continues to boggle my mind.
To those who voted for and still support him, I ask, “do you hate Hillary, Obama, et.al. so much that you still support this creature in the White House”? If so, then I simply don’t understand that kind of hatred.
61
@Patrick alexander We can't understand that kind of hatred- which is why we have to stop trying to understand it and just crush these losers into dust. We can't change their minds- we must defeat them and defeat them so badly that they never ever get up again. We must terminate their hatred with extreme prejudice and defeat everything they ever held dear. They do not respect democracy or our way of life and we can't play by the rules if they do not agree to the same. We are liberals, not pacifists.
9
When you have big capitalist bully managers these days like Trump when you work for them you need to be able to handle all kinds of behaviors from them. You sell your soul to them.
By the way capitalism is only working for the 1 percent and 99 percent in the USA who don't allow themselves to be abused by these bullies are struggling. This upcoming Presidential election we need to force Trump if he is running to show taxes and all his lobbyist off shore money he has . I bet there will be a lot of collusion money from Russia showing up.The only way to do this is get a majority in the Senate and Congress who are Democrats.
15
Somebody remind me what a government is for?
33
Among the many simple concepts that the Bleating Cheeto seems unable to grasp is that he and everyone else in the White House work for us, not him. Frankly, I can't wait for 2020 and the chance to tell them all, "You're fired!"
45
Think about this. A president trying to legally bar a federal employee from being able to disclose non classified information in order to report on illegal actions of the administration. In other words eliminating whistle blower protections needed to uncover graft and corruption in government. Also lawyers of the president who require employees to sign these agreements while fully aware that they are unenforceable. This is getting crazy.
50
@P Lock
It is so Trump, isn't it?
1
Mr. Trump was clearly acting against the interests of honest government in requiring secret "nondisclosure" agreements, along with the promise for some signers of stipends later, which amount to bribes. What's more, those staff who aided and enabled him in doing this earned the status of co-conspirators in dishonorable, if not illegal, acts.
5
@P Lock The lawyers should be disbarred
1
If Trump is a human, I'd rather be more like a dog--loving, loyal and kind.
11
I can't believe this is our present situation. A former TV reality show host, who is now our President, jawing via tweet at a former contestant on his show, who was an administration official?? So tasteless, all of it. Does anyone in this administration take their job seriously?
38
Just think: having signed a non-disclosure agreement, Steve Bannon is getting $15,000 per month.
28
Trump is the definition of amoral. He will never follow rules, norms or laws unless not doing so will cause him personal harm.
The cowardice on display in Washington is unfathomable to me. This is how democracies fall. I pray for a Blue Wave in November.
Please vote democratic!
70
Good for you Omarosa. Proud of you for standing up for yourself and your grounds. WOW!
I know there are many women that are secretly rooting for you.
Stay strong !
18
Amazing how old adages well describe what’s going on here:
1. Birds of a feather flock together.
2. There is no honor among thieves.
How naive of an inveterate con man to imagine he could trust a piece of paper - signed by a con woman.
There is poetic justice in seeing someone like Omarosa publicly flay the one he thought was just a tool.
142
I have no idea whether or not Manigault Newman is telling the truth or not. But two things do appear to be true. First that Trump values flattery and sycophancy more than anything else. Otherwise, why would she have been hired; she appears to have zero in the way of marketable skills or knowledge of how to govern. Second, that we again see how once honorable people like John Kelly debase themselves for Trump. What a pathetic crew surrounds the pathetic excuse for a president we are stuck with.
161
@Ceilidth
So, now Omarosa is a detractor unwilling to bow down and her head is chopped off. First and foremost, Trump demands personal loyalty. No matter that you are a scoundrel, as long as you bow low, you're ok.
Top leadership ranks of the FBI have been purged because the leaders were not deemed adequately subservient. Judge Kavanaugh is Trump's pick for the Supreme Court because, it seems, he would not allow a criminal investigation of the president to proceed under any circumstance, apparently even if that president were to order murders, or perhaps simply illegally firings, of those he deems to be his opponents.
In the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer brilliantly detailed Hitler's seizure of one institution after another after he became chancellor in 1933. It is happening here.
@Ceilidth. Manigault was chosen because 1) she was attractive; 2) he knew her as a pliable "assistant" from his TV show; 3) she was the only black person he thought he could guide; 4) he wanted a liaison with the "black community" who looked good in a photo shoot. His view of women as extensions of the male ego meant he wanted "blacks" who were deferential to him and extensions of his desire who would do nothing to damage him. He used her as a female; he forgot that sometimes women fight back.
@Ceilidth it's starting to seem to me that Kelly could never of been a honorable person, his true colors are now showing.
1
When you elect a clown, the circus comes to town.
12
How can the Liar say that she was a poor employee when on the other side he states he did not know she had been fired? His mind is a mess.
Ten tweets by the Grifter about Mrs Newman. She is getting to him and the thruth.
12
@Welcome Canada You're actually keeping count?
I'd call the Trump White House a clown car, but that seems unnecessarily harsh on clowns everywhere.
12
"Birds of a feather........."
The difference is that he is supposed to be a President, not a petulant, divisive, nasty human being!
8
What a mean-mouthed ugly man! I feel sorry for the troops including my in laws who had to experience him while standing at attention or sitting and (probably) pretending to be interested in his egotistical bigoted rants. The Army after all is now integrated.
12
@stefanie - Trump has been trying to undo the integration of the military - with bans on LGBTQ serving, then to follow, immigrants. Give him time, he will sign an Executive Order mandating a specific religion and shade of skin, before he is done.
When rats jump ship, as they are doing from this wacky White House, what can you expect them to do but rat on the crazy captain who's plotting a perilous course for this country.
For one thing, it's the quickest way to get on the Times bestseller list at least for a week or two until a fellow rat chimes in with his or her tell-all.
Trump and his miserable band of mutineers deserve one another.
6
Is Omorosa telling us anything we didn't already know about our President? Frankly, him eating a piece of paper is the least offensive thing reported about this morally bankrupt, intellectually compromised child who has no business being in the White House.
She's an opportunist, not a patriot, and she's making hay while the sun shines, by confirming what an abomination we have as President.
6
Reading stories about this administration each day, it's easy to feel distraught. It's as though the Sopranos were running the country. If there's any possibility of a solution, I think it lies with getting out the vote.
I will continue to bang the drum to support Michelle Obama's initiative, whenweallvote.org.
Note, I am in no way affiliated with this effort. Just believe it's the only way to inspire some of the 40+% of the population that didn't vote, to participate in elections.
9
The charade continues. Now, we hear that Trump is being humored with fake non-disclosure agreements for individuals who serve him in the White House, individuals whose salaries are paid for by us, the taxpayers. His litmus test for service in the White House? He must hear constant praise forthcoming in public from these individuals. How do we know this? He tweeted it. I can honestly say that if I was a registered Republican in this country right now, I would feel utter shame at my affiliation. What a sorry bunch of cowards.
17
Hear, hear! What next. His minions will probably have to walk backwards out of the room, bowing, as they leave his presence.
Can Muller look for all Trump's tapes?
4
I am not a fan of Omarosa. Like Trump, she is a self-serving, egotistical narcissist and I don't think she has much more integrity than Trump does. BUT... that said, I would still appreciate the karmic justice if it were a BLACK WOMAN who initiated the beginning of the end for this corrupt fraud currently occupying the oval office.
17
Trump is a corrupt, pathological lying, immoral and possibly even treasonous POTUS...that is all a given.
What is so disturbing for me is the total complicity of the Republicans. They have shown themselves to be cowards and to "not" have any respect for the rule of law and for the sanctity of the "Office of the President".
All we can do to save our nation is to all go out and VOTE OUT Republicans.
Vote "D" for Democracy and Decency in November.
26
@Suzanne Sadly, too many of the R's actually agree with his positions and antics. He is a great front man for the show they would otherwise headline.
Can you imagine the right wing freak out that would happen if Obama or Hillary had staff sign secrecy agreements?
14
Keep tweeting, “trump” :)
5
@Matthew And keep paying attention, Mueller!
1
This is really kind of great. Even though White House lawyers know that the NDA's are unenforceable, they still have staff sign them so that the Toddler-in-Chief can feel snuggly safe. So with Trump clutching his bankie thinking he can say and do anything without fear of it becoming public, who knows what will eventually be revealed?
Trump is in so far over his head he needs a step stool to see over his desk.
19
The idiocy of this administration is second only to the idiocy of those who are keeping it in power.
My five year old would make a better president than Trump. She at least has manners and empathy, an ability to learn from experience and observation, and a capacity to deliberate. She can barely read but that's apparently no longer a qualification. And she prefers Paw Patrol to Fox and Friends, so that's in her favor too.
43
@Dan
I'll vote for her. May I have a cabinet position please? Nothing too stressful, but I'd like to travel a lot and appoint my special needs 18 year old to a senior position. You know, business as usual.
4
Who are these "others " ar getting $1500/month as hush money. And don't tell me We the People.....
9
Mr. Trump calls Omarosa a "lowlife", "vicious", "dog", "not smart" and more, but says that he kept her on despite complaints because she has said "nice things" about him?
Who says this president is unhinged?
18
Someone tell me how "...appeared to acknowledge " is derived from this: “Wacky Omarosa already has a fully signed Non-Disclosure Agreement!”
10
Taped? I’ve heard this term thrown around lately given the news of Michael Cohen and now Manigault-Newman. I’m not trying to be the grammar police, but this isn’t the right term. Unless those two are the last remaining holdouts who refuse to let go of an actual tape recorder. In the times we’re living in, I wouldn’t be surprised.
2
If Non-Disclosure Agreements are illegal in this case, then let's ask some others in the Trump orbit to come forward with their stories - and Bob Mueller will have more to add to the mountain of growing guano.
11
The clown car rolls on. Donald just needs to stay away from wacky lowlifes. He had better luck with wife beaters, the Mooch and a son-in-law who couldn't get a security clearance...
11
It is absolutely outrageous that Donald Trump should treat our government as his own mafioso-racket. He is a despicable, sadistic bully, a traitor and a liar. Shame on Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and on all of the supine GOP senators and representatives for colluding with this monstrous catastrophe of an administration. And shame on the so-called Christian Evangelicals who continue to support him. They will have much to account for when they meet their God.
34
The Omarosa story is nothing but a distraction from the Manafort case. The New York Times published no story covering Monday's proceedings. Meanwhile, Omarosa has said nothing we don't already know.
3
New York permitted Trump to happen. If this venal, amoral and completely incompetent and fraudulent so-called "developer" had not been allowed to get away with illegal demolition, misrepresented filings, multiple flagrant violations of the Martin Act, sex assault on multiple occasions, RICO Act and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations and other crimes for decades - this historic debacle would not have occurred.
Make no mistake, in his mind, Trump "paid his way" just the way daddy and Roy Cohn taught him, by 'legal bribes,' campaign contributions to many still prominent state and city political figures, including district attorneys. He also "stiffed his way" - as 'Donny Deadbeat,' he was notorious for suing rather than paying his contractors and then 'negotiating down.' He 'taught' a generation on current developers that includes prominent names like Witkoff and Macklow, exactly how much excess and abuse they could bank on getting away with.
Trump's abuse of employment as a form of restrictive covenant enforced slavery is but another malignant manifestation of his total abuse and contempt for the law.
Trump polled and learned that he could never get elected governor because New Yorkers hated him so after years of close observation. But, an indulgent media helped deliver this Traitor and serial abuser-mega-felon to the White House.
28
Remember as you read these articles that this is not just about Trump. It is about the entire GOP. They gave us Trump, and still refuse to acknowledge any issues within this Presidency.
All of this can change in November.
20
@Pete The same can be said about the Bernie Sanders supporters who refused to vote.
3
@Jeff. Bernie may have been treated unfairly by the DNC, but they were never in a situation to wield the kind of power that the GOP has given (and continues to give) Trump.
A job asking you to sign a nondisclosure agreement when they let you go?
Who knew.
Not that I can talk about it, I signed a paper saying I would not.
Translation - this is not news. This is a regular occurrence in most jobs.
2
@Shark
Being a PUBLIC servant is not a PRIVATE job!
2
But this is not 'most jobs'. This is a public job, those people, including Trump himself, are supposed to be working for us and must be held accountable to we the people. These NDAs are unenforceable in a court of law, and that's all that really matters.
2
@Shark
Not in government jobs.
Totally unenforceable and against the principles of being a federal employee. And we’re paying both their salaries and for their “silence”.
This is irrefutable proof the President's tongue is hung in the middle and works both ways.
And all this time I thought it was just an old saying.
3
Is "taping" one of those words we keep in our cultural lexicon, despite "tape" being an obsolete recording technology? These are digital recordings, aren't they?
1
Sure! We still say 'hang up' the phone too, and I suspect my kids have no idea why.
2
Another episode in the White House Reality Show! When I do not read the news at the beginning of the week, I am wondering by Wednesday who is Trump’s target for the week, who has “betrayed “ him and who or what he is attacking. I never wonder how he is governing or doing good for his country, although apparently in his own world, he thinks that going an a rampage against his enemies on tweeter IS governing. Every week I also ponder the same question: how much more will the American people take? I truly, truly hope that not more than the 2020 elections.
12
@Patricia Gonzalez Let's make the 2018 elections even more important to stop this crazy conman.
4
Non disclosure agreements when it comes to government jobs are nonsense. The responsibility of all who serve is to the institutions of government and Constitution which represent the people. When anyone works in the government everything is public business. Classified status is very restricted as are Executive privileges. The government is not like a private business and the President is not a private citizen while serving.
The Republican Party members of Congress go hysterical about any perceived deviation from precedent that assures equality and justice for all but say nothing about Trump’s blatant attempts to undermine precedents established to keep the President the Chief Executive without being an emperor with a term limit. They seem to think that they can manage power without laws and limits upon those with that power. It’s dangerously careless.
16
Trump's latest symbiotic relationship to devolve into pariah status confirms that what he values most is loyalty. If you're not just as corrupt, racist, felonious and vindictive as he is, he has no place for you in his inner circle of deceit and criminal intent. Frankly Trump and Manigault Newman are the perfect couple — the Bonnie and Clyde of the West Wing. "Lordy I hope there are (more) tapes."
5
NDA's for government employees are totally illegal. These employees work at the behest of the citizens, not some corporate gangster. Everything they do, including emails, office documents, meeting minutes, calendars, etc. are public record, unless there is a legitimate national security reason to withhold it.
20
When Trump took over the White House, he must have thought he hit the jackpot when US Government employees, en masse, agreed to give up their dignity for no good reason - an effective pay cut. I wonder if he also conned some of them into co-signing his loans!
One begins strongly to support the idea of another Constitutional Amendment when one considers that an honest and capable FBI agent (Peter Strzok) can get kicked to the curb for publicly reviling Trump, and with civil language, no less (a 1st Amendment privilege); and yet, in turn, Trump proceeds daily, with nary a hand-slap and with vile language, to diminish fellow human beings as if they were chattel.
Considering that an honorable citizen like Peter Strzok can lose his job (and reputation) for speaking out, the next Constitutional Amendment should make express provision for a dishonorable sitting president to lose his job (and reputation) for speaking out (e.g., for calling a woman a "dog").
Meanwhile, a reminder to us all: Our Constitutional freedoms make NO provision for despots....
41
@Ken: Great post. It sure seems that, while our constitutional freedoms make no provision for despots, embedded within this Constitution is its own demise.
Our electoral system produced trump, along with help from Fox News, Russian trolls and other Right Wing media that propagated trump's lies to a poorly educated Republican electorate, whose poor education is also a factor in our democracy's demise.
5
@Charles: Thanks for your salient words. In his eminent biography about George Washington, Ron Chernow reminds us of the truth that certain things never change in mankind, not the least, Stupidity.
Chernow writes, for example, about how General Washington had endlessly to corral interminable drunkards as well as those who were constantly giving away the Continental Army's positions by flagrantly shooting off their rifles: for the fun of it.
The thing that keeps me going, Charles, is that, mercifully (last I checked), we prudent, intelligent types still prevail over the low-lifes. (Phew.)
I am so sick of waking up everyday to "The Trump Reality Show" I don't care if you are a republican, democrat, or independent - we have to ask ourselves what comes after "The Trump Show" and can the US get back on track before the world totally explodes
24
It only takes a third of the population to be silent or in agreement with the policies of the government for the rest of the society to be neutered in their opposition. Neither Mueller nor November's election will change a thing unless disgruntled voters turn out in overwhelming, gigantic numbers — enough to overcome the gerrymandering and the voter suppression and the voting machine hacking and the disappearing machine cast ballots.
21
@B. Rothman
The VOTE is our only real weapon.......Use it
5
By way of excusing Trump's use of non-disclosure agreements, erstwhile Kellyanne Conway claimed, "“It is typical to sign an NDA … in any place of work." What? "Any place of work?" I worked in both the financial services industry and the communications industry for years before my retirement and was never asked to sign one. So, either my places of work were the only ones in America not to require an NDA, or as is typical for a Trump spokesperson, Conway's claim is based on nothing but her desire to cover for her boss. Just one more lie.
22
@Ms. Pea And the White House is not "any place of work."
12
Well I guess Mr.Trump is a dictator and has ignored all pretense of leading a democratic government.Government employees pledge their loyalty to the United States government.The exercise to require loyalty oaths from employees is a travesty and is a sign that Mr.Trump is still running Trump Inc. with payoffs to mistresses, NDAs for employees and always concern only for his image rather than the stature of the United States.Mr.Trump pledged to serve, protect and defend the United States-I guess he has completely forgotten that.The voters in November should not forget.
5
Did Sarah Saunders sign a NDA? Is that why all we get from the Trump White House is lies? Did Trump sign a NDA from Putin and that's why he can't talk about what happened in Helsinki?
11
Trump sees himself as the all powerful Emperor. It was all said by the expression on his face early in his administration when answering a question by the press, he replied, "I AM the president!" to excuse some questionable behavior. So it does not surprise me that he demands that those around him sign non-disclosure agreements (although personally I think that as a "public servant" and employee of the people working and living in a publicly funded building, I don't feel he has that right).
As to Omarosa and others that work there? They weren't conscripted at gunpoint. Her taping in the highest security room in the country I feel is a violation, and she might have unknowingly at any time taped information that possibly might be security protected. When an employee leaves a job, whether voluntarily or not, what they obtained while working there belongs to the government. The tapes should be turned over to the FBI for examination, cleared of security violations, and if any crimes are exposed, follow down that investigative route. Unless there REAL events that affect our nation, I would like the press to stop being her social media book tour advance team.
Meanwhile, there is no doubt that Emperor Don runs his day to day life like a mafia don. Let's hope his consigliere Cohen saves his own neck by cooperating with the Mueller team. We need to stop this spreading cancer in our government.
8
I'm going to keep writing anti-Trump letters and campaigning against him until someone pays me $15,000 a month just to stop. Until then, Trump's presidency is costing me money, as well as most of the world. He's simply not worth it. I suspect he's making the same payments to Republican Congressmen. I want mine.
10
@Barbara Snider
You only get the $15,000 a month if you say "nice things" about Trump.
2
On to the next fire. Nothing surprises at this point. I just hope that the Trumpster Fire is a blip on presidential history.
12
The atmosphere in Trump's White House sees incredibly toxic, and has been from day one. It's no wonder people record their conversations and go through wild machinations to save their own skin. Manigault Newman is just one more casualty in a long line of "only the best people" to populate the most dysfunctional West Wing in U.S. history.
6
This non disclosure mess just shows one that to Trump being Presidrnt of the United States is the same thing (in his White House) as being president of the Senior Class in high school.
5
Exactly who is paying the $15,000/month bribe to former employees to keep quiet?
13
@Linda J. Moore
Paul Manafort.
"Privately and publicly, West Wing aides said they think the tapes revealed more about Ms. Manigault Newman’s disrespect for the institution than it did about her boss."
I don't whether to laugh or cry when I read statements like this. "Disrespect for the institution?" While I do not have a high opinion at all on Newman - she is a blatant opportunist who speaks out of both sides of her mouth - disrespect for the institution? White House aides are working for a president who disrespects the presidency and the Constitution on a daily basis.
The irony is so thick one can choke on it.
18
When Trump isn't watching tv or playing golf at one of his clubs,
he's embroiled in feuds, twitter rants, and suspicions of betrayal.
His tweets this morning, included his enraged broadside calling Omarosa, a former adviser to the president, a "dog" appear to be evidence of rage that's completely consuming him.
Trump used his public defense bill signing at an army base yesterday as a way to take another dig at Senator John McCain.
We have no evidence the president does any work at all. He seems consumed by his ongoing multiple feuds with Omarosa,
Obama, Mueller, Hillary, Strzok and who knows who else.
We need a president who can behaved in a decent, mature, professional manner in public. Trump is not that person.
We need a president who will dedicate himself to solving the problems of this country to help make a better environment for all of us. Trump is not that person.
Trump's never going to stop being distracted by all his angry obsessions, fixation on 'enemies' real or imagined, paranoid focus on the various criminal investigations into him, his family and his associates.
Too many unhealthy - even disturbed - obsessions, many playing out in public.
This man is not fit to be president.
We need a president who cares about the country and gets up every day dedicated to working hard for us. We pay him to do this. We have given him a sacred trust.
Donald Trump is not only refusing to do his job, he's obnoxiously refusing to do his job in plain sight.
16
Why did Trump use a disparaging term to describe OMN in his recent tweet? My guess is that he subconsciously realizes that the release of surreptitious recordings made by ex/White House employees like Omarosa,who fell out of favor with Trump, are likely to “dog” this administration so long as it remains in power.
11
I look forward to an article about the Trump Campaign using funds to silence former White House employees. And it should discuss the issue with donors and legal experts.
7
New revelations about any of these people: zero.
3
Who is paying the hush money to former White House employees? I hope it's not us taxpayers. $15,000 a month, $180,000 a year, adds up.
13
"A few others who have departed the White House under inauspicious circumstances are receiving that amount."
Who is paying this hush money to these "others?" The US Treasury? Donald Trump? This is serious business.
9
Every republican senator and congressperson needs to be relentlessly grilled about why they are silently tolerating this blatant breach of the public’s right to know.
20
If this isn’t grounds for impeachment, nothing is.
9
Dogs are nice animals. People are the problem
4
Trump is running his presidency just like a reality TV show: a lot of tension filled moments where heros (mostly himself) and villans (mostly the media and all democrats) are pitted against one another in an unholy battle to win the grand prize. He has cliffhanger moments ( "I will let you know in a few days, but it's going to be very ,very good/bad/ amazing") He incites hysterical furor at his rallies to promote his message of self aggrandizement. His world is repletet with battles. It is all drama, drama, drama. He lies, his staff lies, they all lie. Why not. In the land of the Real House Wives, Honey Boo Boo and The Bachelor nation truth is malleble and scripted. So, of course he would have his White House staff sign nondisclosure agreements. That is what is done in the world of reality TV. That they are non-binding for government employees would not even have entered into his orbit of thinking. Just as his deafness to the harm he causes with his tweets and off the cuff comments in the vast and complex world of politcal and diplomatic releationships he must navigate to be an effective president. I would bet that if you sat down with Trump and asked him to explain the details, strategies and long term effects of any of his policies he would be unable to respond with anything more than the broadest strokes. He is president for the fame, adulation and attention. It doesn't surprise me that his White House is a chaotic mess. Anything less would be bad for ratings.
139
"It has been routine for White House officials to be required to sign confidentiality documents acknowledging that they may not publicly disclose classified information to people who do not have the proper security clearance."
It's mandated by law. It's not just a routine for convenience sake, tradition or presidential prerogative.
1
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus
Your comment is completely false.
There is such a thing known as executive privilege, but that is entirely different.
Please try again.
@Homer No. It's fact.
"(c) Employees shall not be granted access to classified information unless they:
(1) have been determined to be eligible for access under section 3.1 of this order by agency heads or designated officials based upon a favorable adjudication of an appropriate investigation of the employee’s background;
(2) have a demonstrated need-to-know; and
(3) have signed an approved nondisclosure agreement."
Only the president and vice president are exempt.
@Homer
No. I am absolutely certain that people within government service, or as contractors, with a security clearance are required by law to sign a non-disclosure agreement as soon as they receive that clearance and when they leave government service. The executive, that is, the president, and the vice president, does not have a security clearance. Everyone else in in the White House are employees and are not exempt of those requirements. Even cabinet officials must have a security clearance and must sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Need proof, or can you look that up yourself?
All public officials must be accountable to the public or to their representatives. Nobody wields the power of the state alone in our system of government. It was founded by men who knew history and saw the many ways that even the best intentioned used power destructively. It’s a challenge for elected officials to act on behalf of the people but to have to suffer the mistrust that having that authority under scrutiny even by opponents but that is necessary to keep our republic a republic. The Congress needs to confront the legality of NDA use in the Executive Branch and to see it stopped.
6
I may have missed it, but who is the other party to the agreement an employee signs? Is it the White House as an official entity? Is it the president? What exactly is the employee expected not to disclose?
Unless it's some long-standing official US Government document, which is doubtful, this seems to open a legal can of worms.
We already know that trump is secretive to the point that we have had to rely on Russian reports of meetings he has had with Russian officials. What else is he hiding when he is supposed to be conducting the people's business?
61
Who would have thought that people working for Trump would use the same dirty tactics against him that he has used against others for years. Apparently the self-described genius didn't.
28
Gee, wherever did Trump ever get the notion of taping conversations? Maybe from some TV character he had to have admired, someone in whom Trump saw a total winner?
See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd4CVTE0m0Q at about the 2:00 mark. But the entire 3 minutes is delicious.
5
Noting unusual about sighing a non-disclosure, press just making a big deal out of nothing as usual.
2
@tonyjm
"Noting unusual about sighing a non-disclosure"
Yes there is when it is our government making policy decisions that affect our lives--
Of course, since that's not what the Trump administration is: it is a power grab by a grifter enriching himself (and the wealthy donors who contributed to his campaign) at the expense of hard-working every day taxpayers, a mob boss and his enablers, so in that sense demanding silence isn't unusual
12
My appeal to all GOP contestants for the 2016 election and voters who are going to the poll in November. Contestant - you know how Mr. President treated you. You knew he cannot lead the country with his vulgar approach who does not praise him constantly. Other than your destructive conservative policies no human being with decent taste can support him. do you have any love for the country? Please do something to get rid of Mr. Trump. if you think there is no other candidate with dignity and civility then give up the partisan politics. Voters - what you got to lose? Presidency is not just making money for the family and corrupt officials who stick to Mr. President's tent for making more money. In normal days, these officials could not stand the public scrutiny for a single day. Mr. Trump is sheltering them for his own interests. you know it - he does not have respect for women, immigrants, blacks, mexicans and other minorities. there is no single group he did not attack for some reasons. This is not presidency - this is a total disgrace for a country who benefited from hard work of these people. Can you take him another two years? Whether you are republican or democratic please vote him out so that he can be impeached. For republicans if you do not see a better candidate than Mr. Trump in GOP leadership quit the party and start a new party - a party of minorities and immigrants who will be a majority in next two or three decades.
6
NDAs aren't worth the paper they're printed on. And should not be as they constitute a breach of the public's trust in their officials. Just more shame from an abundantly shameful president.
27
I don't think people should be so quick to blame Trump. He is simply a Putin Puppet who does what he is told. Remember, puppets have wooden heads and strings and thus cannot be expected to have any intelligence.
15
If I were a former aide in the White House, I too would want a non-disclosure clause.
To prevent anyone from disclosing the fact that I worked in that nut house.
60
@Jeremy T
HaHa, Jeremy, thanks for that comment, you made my day....Rod.
5
This article simply reaffirms how low the bar has already been set by Trump. It is shameful what Trump (a) first said to her, acting as if he knew nothing about her being fired, then (b) showing what a truly gutless individual he is. There is no one better at kicking someone when they are down as Trump is. All you have to do is observe how he spoke almost half an hour about the military spending bill, which is named after Senator John McCain, without mentioning his name. Trump is truly gutless; he has the heart of a grape seed.
11
First rule of engagement with Donald Trump is don't do it, because he never delivers and it is a waste of your time. If you must, make sure you tape any conversation you have with him. Omarosa, Cohen, and Putin did that. Takes a con to know another con.
Unfortunately 35% of Americans still thinks highly of him. What does it say about the country?
21
This is just one more example (of dozens) that shows what a hot mess this administration is. It would be comical if our national security and our economy weren't hanging in the balance, but they are.
Wake up trump supporters. All I ask is that you hold this POTUS to the standards that you would hold any other POTUS.
22
Trump hired the "best" incompetent, useless, faux loyal, people he could find in his safety net of low lifes, paying them with our tax dollars. People who work for a grifter. Some of whom are grifters.
For all we know, Trump and Ms. Manigault Newman are working in concert with each other. You will get fired, then go write a book, then mention you have more than one taped conversation, and then drip the stuff out so that every week the media is talking about this tabloid type information, instead of the real malfeasance that is perpetrated on our country on a daily basis. Manigault Newman has had her fifteen seconds of fame, now can we all just ignore her.
39
It's the Mafia Business Administration. No concept of public service whatsoever.
VOTE THEM OUT. All of them; all Repubs, who as a party have abdicated any idea of actual governing and are now part of the Trump Mafia. My Senator Susan Collins among them, despite her constant "concern". There is no more time to let normal politics play out.
47
@LS Collins lost her gag response a long time ago. A real hypocrite.
1
Birds of a feather flock together.
23
@Michelle
Or - wacky knows wacky when wacky sees it.
3
Grifters grifting grifters!
@Michelle
Except last week she was a bad mean person for working for him, and today she has an article right here in the NYT praising her by Michelle Goldberg.
NYT, make up your mind.
Does this go against his oath of office?
13
When your mind is as scrambled as Trump's, what you say one day has no relation to what you claimed the day before.
Sure seems like a "perjury trap" to me.... on day 2 he swears that what he swore on day 1 wasn't true.
This administration is gonna collapse of his weight!
8
The real story now is that Trump publicly called Omarosa a "dog."
Whatever you think about Omarosa's behavior, this is beyond the pale and unacceptable behavior by the President of the United States.
The news stories about Omarosa have left Trump feeling betrayed and enraged.
His public response is to equate this former colleague, friend and White House advisor with a "dog."
I can't remember ever being this disgusted with Trump before.
Or maybe this is just so 'normal' from Trump I don't even remember.
Trump has known Omarosa for over 13 years. Omarosa attended his family gatherings, is friends with his children.
If Trump gets angry enough, he'll say literally anything - publicly - about anyone.
We can't afford to have someone this abusive, impulsive and mentally unstable as POTUS.
What happens if Kim Jong Il ups his insults or threats against Trump? Does Trump respond by calling Kim a "dog"? What happens then?
How many civilized norms does Trump have to smash before
the Vice President, the Congress and the Senate remove this monster from office before something far worse happens? We
seem on the path to tragedy as a result of the enraged behavior of this horrible man.
Donald Trump is shaming our country before the world every day he's in office.
Donald Trump is completely unfit to be President.
48
@fast/furious I am quite certain that he meant to say “god”, not “dog”.
1
@fast/furious
Yes, he is unfit, and most real dogs have far more integrity than any of these benighted people.
4
Trump kept Manigault Newman on because "she said nice things" about him. Sums it up completely and succinctly. It's what he's all about.
24
Of course he wants others to be complicit in covering up his lies!
8
He kept her around because she said nice things about him. I guess that’s what he really meant about hiring the best people—the best at kissing his ring.
14
Isn't trump's former driver also being paid $15,000 per month by the RNC? To keep his mouth shut?
17
Trump lives in an elaborate but fragile fantasy world of lies where truth is the enemy.
35
President Trump got a taste of his own medicine. Wasn’t Omarosa a government employee that was attached to the President like “gum;” was she his “partner in crime?” In my opinion they are both pathological liars and now that she’s been fired, he’s suffering from anxiety for allowing her hands in the cookie jar.
15
If there were ever two people made for each it is Trump and Manigault Newman. Their moral compasses and intellectual abilities seem perfectly matched.
Just another sideshow (like Stormy) to the main event -- the Mueller Investigation. But it provides some light entertainment during the dog days of summer.
107
@Fred She sounds highly intelligent when compared to the Donald. But then she has far more education than he does.
1
While I am no fan of Omarosa, the fact that she was easily able to make those recording shows that the White House is lacking in basic security protocols.
I was invited to the White House a half dozen times during the Obama administration - my wife was his southeastern fundraising chair - and no matter how high a roller one might have been, everyone had to go through security to get into the White House. We were wanded, had to pass by a bomb sniffing dog, and, of course, we had to clear vetting before we even got there.
What happened to that? If you’re going to fire someone, in the situation room no less, wouldn’t you also ensure that they didn’t have any devices on them?
Heck, I went to a meet a greet with the Castro brothers in Atlanta a couple of years ago, and they had everyone hand over their phones to ensure nothing was recorded.
This isn’t rocket science.
138
@Bill Seng
Why wouldn't you simply carry two phones? Apparently they have cell phones about the size of an adult's index finger now. Some claim to be all plastic. They are popular among prison inmates for obvious reasons. I won't elaborate on why exactly. Hand the big phone over first and record with the auxiliary on airplane mode. You'd need an airport body scanner to find the device on someone.
If someone really wants to record a private conversation, I have a feeling they'll be mostly successful.
@Bill Seng Well, to most people it isn’t. But then this administration doesn’t believe in science anyway, so that’s where the problem is.
I'd like to congratulate those that graduated our country into this level.
Hush money.
Non disclosure.
Children in cages.
Highway checkpoints.
Betsy Devos and Erik Prince, king and queen of confederate operations of contractors and sub-contractors, we now surrender our military and education to as well as darling Jeff Sessions stacking the deck in his newly formed self governing judicial department.
Congratulations to all, as Donald Trump allows you to get your teeth into the tax break ballooning our deficit to ONE TRILLION.
(and gas is up a buck since Obama left)
26
A very stable genius.
This is what Trump thinks of himself. Let that soak in for a few minutes.
12
Here's Randy Rainbow's brilliant take on that--if you think you can't laugh anymore, try this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-LTRwZb35A
@jb Life imitating art imitating life imitating...
Authoritarian leaders use intimidation and mistrust of their employees to maintain their power. Stalin used fear tactics very effectively, but Trump as much as he would like to be an emperor inherited s system that can not be ruled by one iron fist, at least not yet.
So we have a mass turn over of abused sycophants who now turn against their want to be master. Ms. Newman who has known her former employer since 2003, says that Trump's state of mind has deteriorated greatly from that time as he no longer can speak coherent sentences or come up with a consistent thought. Many senile people react with anger and spite as they lose their former abilities . Have we turned the white house into a nursing home for authoritarian wanna bes?
31
@just Robert
Agree. DJT is behaving the exact same way my senile father did in his early stages of dementia. It's textbook...no filters, fits of anger, bizarre stories, contradicting statements, paranoia, boasting how he knew everything.
4
@just Robert: The US Congress has become a collection of fools who live in fear of an unregulated militia they chose to arm with assault weapons, and pray for divine intervention from a God void of reason to intervene.
4
These nondisclosure agreements aren't going to stop government officials who signed one from revealing Trump's dysfunctional, narcissistic personality. Anonymity, the law and our First Amendment will protect them. But criticizing him in public is something that his damaged personality can't tolerate even to the least degree. So, I'm beginning to wonder how long Trump can last before he collapses into some sort of psychosis.
14
This whole POTUS gig, thingy was never about public service. It has always been Trump's next scam, con, grift. Albeit the biggest one he has attempted to pull off to date.
When he moved into "the dump" (his word), there was no respect for the office of the President, no respect for service to the nation nor any respect for the rules and traditions of the Oval Office and clearly no respect for democracy.
This is Trump's greatest opportunity to make more money for himself and fill that black hole of an ego that he carries with him wherever he goes. Now with possible insider trading scams, fraudulent deals made behind the door and outright stealing from the treasury bit by bit, Trump assumes he needs NDAs to protect his grifting.
He's THE boss so no wonder he hires like minded people of little to no integrity. No matter he pulled off his biggest pay day with the GOP tax cuts. Now Ivanka will inherit Daddy's money with no tax liability whatsoever.
Trump has turned the Oval Office into a corrupt cesspool of greed and infighting. Bring on the tapes!
26
If this administration was presented as a movie five years ago, I would have dismissed it as an incredulous plotline with no likeable characters, but we are now immersed in a White House that is more The Sopranos and antithetical to The West Wing.
Trump sets the tone and appoints those who flatter him, until they stop flattering him. In the Trump Universe of moral bankruptcy and absence of integrity, those who surround him are like vipers ready to do whatever it takes to survive and to keep their job. Sanders is still around because Trump lies at least 15 times per day and she swears to it. Maybe she is taping private conversations with Trump to use as leverage in case he wants to dump her.
Omarosa was never qualified to be in the White House but neither is Trump. We are witnessing the worst of human nature. The aides are the court jesters there to flatter and amuse Trump as he pulls their strings like marionettes, each not trusting the other. There is nothing that can be revealed about Trump that would alter my opinion. He is an inept and despicable man bereft of integrity and moral virtue. In Trump World, it's every man for himself. Omarosa's book is just a symptom of a White House ravaged by moral rot.
56
Trump's narcissistic, pathological sensitivity to any and all criticism is made more clear by the revelation of these NDAs. Combine this pathology with his belief that he is a great leader, a genius, the most knowledgeable person on any subject--another symptom of narcissism-- and we have a person who is emotionally unable to accept the grade school concept that our elected officials are answerable to us citizens. Trump truly is a dangerous man.
14
@micheal Brousseau Who knows if the NDA's are about groping? Will we ever find out?
4
A non-disclosure agreement is an absolute necessity for a president often under attack by implanted political snakes in his own administration. Bot to mention the relentless 24/7 fake news assault from the 90 percent "left" media obsessed with damaging him.
1
@Eyes Wide Open. And I thought White House employees worked for the People of the United States, not Donald Trump. How about if they all sign a “say nothing but the truth” agreement?
Wouldn’t that be a foreign concept for Trump’s band of White House con artists.
5
@Eyes Wide Open
That must be the "left" media owned by Republicans?
1
The routine requests to sign non-disclosure agreements simply means Trump’s is afraid of the truth coming out.
The truth that he has difficulties to read and absorb information required to make rational presidential decision, that he does not understand proper functioning of a president and the law, that he wastes time daily on watching cable TV, wastes public money on frequent trips to play golf, to Mar a Lago and to promote himself &GOP agenda, that his family members in the WH are there to run Trump’s Kushner’s and Ivanka’s business while pretending that they are public servants, that he does not UNDERSTAND the difference between the truth and the lies, and that he is scared of Mueller exposing some truths about him.
As soon as Trump suspects that someone around him acquires “too much” truth about him, he fires that person to be replaced with one incompetently and impulsively chosen. That is why requesting to sign non-disclosure agreements are a rare instances of Trump exercising rationality.
10
I wonder when it will become public that Trump has been having an affair with her...I know this from former employees of one of his businesses!
9
@Peter
Yikes.
Well, that would be a real "bombshell" news story and certainly explain DJT's frantic responses to her book, but, yuck, I'm not sure Omarosa would want to admit that.
1
So U.S. taxpayers had to pay the salary of a poor employee whose only purpose was to say nice thins about Trump.
34
@LSR $15,000 a month. But she did not take it.
How many other fired employees are we the taxpayers paying though?
2
Kellyanne Conway flat-out admitted this on This Week last weekend. This jumped out at me while I was viewing it on Sunday, and I was surprised the press didn't pick up on this yesterday.
The exchange starts around minute 7:00 and her statement "absolutely" they exist for W. Wing staff is found at 7:25.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/kellyanne-conway-accusation-trump-racist...
6
It is one thing to lie and misdirect. It is another to sign a paper that forbids you tell the truth. Why will the Times ask these people to answer any questions about anything now. It makes no sense to do (not that it made much sense before) unless you keep mentioning that the person speaking has signed a Non Disclosure Agreement?
7
Hard to pick a side to support in the saga of this loathsome duo. I have no doubt that Omarosa was a terrible employee and that Trump a terrible boss. Trump routinely hires the worst possible choice for every job. I fully expect him to nominate Satan to lead Session's Religious Freedom Task Force.
If there is a lesson to learn from Omarosa, it is that it actually matters who surrounds the President. Advisors matter. Whether it is Darth Cheney and crew pushing for war; or Stephen Miller channeling his inner cyborg; or Bannon drumming up support for Mussolini; or the entire inept Administration of the otherwise admirable Jimmy Carter, advisors matter.
Over and over, Trump has demonstrated that personal loyalty to him, and a love of toadying are the necessary qualifications to be on his team. Competence, a desire to serve the nation, an ability to keep one's hands out of the till - none of those qualities are required.
Omarosa? She's a bump in the road. A noxious tell-all and a history of no actual impact on the nation will be her epitaph.
15
Every day the President of the United Staes of America is squabbling with somebody. How does he find time to all that work?
11
I believe it was the White House counsel, McGahn, who said these NDAs are unenforcable because they infringe on First Amendment rights. They also don't say much for government transparency, but then swamps and sewers are never very transparent. And who is paying for those $15,000 a month lip-sealing bribes, us taxpayers?
14
@Christy Trump probably knew that these nondisclosure agreements could not hold back the swamp of negativity that would descend on him as his former toadies would find a way to make a killing for fun and profit. Of course this is what Trump has done so well over the extent of his tawdry life, but now he seems to think his excuse for an election grants him the power to indulge his crass stupidity.
Trump as it is to be expected tries to throw money at the problem thinking that a pay off will fix everything. But now Trump finds that the problem is in Shakespeare's words, not in his stars but in himself.
2
What country do we live in again?
13
These are federal employees, not employees of the Trump Organization. They are employed by "we the people", not by the President. A court needs to determine whether these agreements have legal standing; if they don't, the President himself may be guilty of obstructing justice in regards to the proper workings of government under our laws.
10
Vlad the Impaler, House of Borgia, Idi Amin, Donald Trump, Josef Stalin
or
Nelson Mandela, Ghandi, Donald Trump, Lech Walesa
I do not expect at this point Trump comes close to deserving a position on either list. I do however feel the strong tug of history as if something important happens in this presidency and many minds from the future are probing this period to understand its formation.
1
Hoisted by his own petard indeed. In time Daffy Donny will prove be more whacky than Omarosa.
Trump is the president. The president must always be above the fray and work for the common good, not for the good of himself, or herself by requiring federal employees to sign non-disclosure agreements to keep them from telling us the obvious-the emperor really has no clothes, or clue.
7
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the president and his administration work for the American people? By agreeing to nondisclosure agreements, the people in Trump's administration are conspiring to keep information from the American people and to protect Donald Trump by concealing the truth.
22
Trump needs to sign an NDA to stop him from disparaging Mueller, Warren, Pelosi or anyone else. The ship of state is sinking does anyone believe the skipper will go down with it?
4
How can a government official be asked to sign a non- disclosure agreement if there is and inquiry into the administration? Exactly what is he trying to hide? He is not running a corporation nor is he a Hollywood figure who might want to protect his privacy. He is answerable to the American people and their are no secrets.
5
Maggie Haberman - I just finished watching The Fourth Estate for the second time. Thank you to you and the entire team at the Times for your dogged pursuit of the truth. We know you're exhausted. We know you're all sacrificing your families and lives to hold this president and his administration to account for their actions. It's primary day in Minnesota. The first meaningful opportunity to cast our votes to end the insanity. Please keep up the AMAZING reporting.
17
First and foremost, public employees are paid by the taxpayers and answer to the taxpayers and citizens of this Country.
Where does Trump get off having administration officials and staff sign non-disclosure agreements ? I understand a Memorandum of Agreement. However, who in the White House legal team determined that a NDR is legal plus state not disclose the document to their lawyers? Really? What a "Mickey Mouse operation." Rock on Omarosa, even if she a questionable character. She is smart, knows Trump and is able to kick him in the behind.
7
Who else is getting $15k per month?
9
Trump’s former bodyguard, Keith Schiller.
6
Trump's inexperience, needy personality and pathological egotism can't deal with any form of criticism, and he therefore thinks a non-unenforceable agreement will help shield him. This just continues to highlight his mixture of ignorance and continued confusion over the difference between governing the world's most powerful country and running a branding company, where he was accountable to no one.
10
Trump dismissed her as a poor employee but said that he kept her on despite complaints because she has said nice things about him.
Trump's ego is running the show. Remember the Cabinet meeting where everyone lathered praise on him? In his mind it was probably one of the finest days in his presidency.
10
It is becoming increasingly clear that Trump is more a reflection of the extent to which American society has eroded. The Constitution is a mockery as a model of representative government. Instead of the ‘right hand not knowing what the left hand doing’ or one hand washing the other, one hand is trying to cut off the other. This all can’t end well. There is no honor among thieves. And incompetence seeks its own level. This is as corrupt and degraded as it seems. Can’t wait till the show gets cancelled.
4
Are you saying that Trump lies about NDA for his staff? The next thing that you will be telling us is that he doesn't hire the best people like Price, Pruitt, Ross, Porter, and Manigault Newman.
3
Somebody neglected to mention to him the old “transparency in government” idea.
5
"Mr. Trump posted throughout the morning about Ms. Manigault Newman, dismissing her as a poor employee but saying that he kept her on despite complaints because she has said nice things about him."
That comment says a lot more about Trump's vanity than it does about Ms. Manigault Newman's capabilities. I guess he didn't do too well in his management courses at Wharton.
6
OK, so who are the several other former White House staffers who are drawing $15,000 a month to keep their mouths shut?
I could use the dough. Can I get in on that?
For 15K, I can keep a whole lot of quiet. Deal me in.
8
When a WH staffer says "Everyone in the WH lies," then she's lying. And of course Trump is lying too. But if they're lying, then "Everyone in the WH lies" is a lie. Not true. In the real (non reality-TV) world this classical paradox can only be maintained by a master and apprentice who are either mentally weak or insane: unless, like the N. Koreans and Chinese during the Korean War, paradox is used to brainwash and then control people, as in "The Manchurian Candidate." In "Star Trek" Cap. Kirk also weaponized paradox.
1
@Cryptolog Sometimes liars tell the truth.
President Trump uses the NDA the way he uses Mar-A-Lago as his Situation Room. And remember one of last week's Top 50 Outrages of the Week was that denizens of Mar-A-Lago have input toward the running of the VA. The other Top 49 outrages? Who can remember while reading about Turkey and Syria? And it's only Tuesday, right? Let's go all the way back to outrage #1 - Show Us Your Tax Returns!
12
No tax returns, NDAs, hush money after firings. How's that for transparency in our government!
16
Well another one bites the dust. Maybe it is time for these tapes of the former employees of Trump Administration be subpoenaed by the Mueller Investigators to ascertain what other information might be on it. Also the tapes from the Oval office that Trump is surely hiding, should be listened too.
Trump appears to be more paranoid than Nixon.
And perhaps an interview again of Kelly.
What a bunch of civil servants that we have in the White House.
Or should I say Trump servants.
10
I have read about and watched the circus side show that defines the current and seemingly endless Omarosa/Trump dispute. We all know Trump lies and we all know he thinks he's running "his" country and not "our" country and that he gets to make the rules (ie: NDA's for a federal job). This won't change until he's gone. Just replace Omarosa's name and we'll see a similar conflict with someone new next month. The script doesn't seem to change that much. Sad!
9
If Trump were capable of thinking straight, he would have asked lawyers (not Michael Cohen, though) if these nondisclosure agreements were legal and enforceable. But he's not a man who is capable of critical thinking, nor does he take advice from people who know what they're doing.
38
Confidentiality in discussions in the Oval Office is necessary; revelation of classified information is illegal. This all used to presuppose that the President carefully appointed staff based on qualifications, and that they all had some sense of respect for the responsibilities of the mission.
Non Disclosure agreements are completely unsuitable - and should be banned - for US GOVERNMENT employees - answerable ultimately to the public.
Trump and co are not producing a proprietary product, they are governing -- and every President is subject to outside assessment which is in part come from former appointees describing the processes that occurred.
Omarosa I had no qualifications for the job -- not remarkablein this Administration. The President's tweets disparaging her are simply disgusting; emblematic of his misogyny and racism.
The comments - revealing his egotistical views, his lack of personal control and yes - his deep seated mistrust and dislike of a majority of US residents - would get someone in the business world fired
This man continues to treat the Presidency as if it were HIS alone. It is time for Congress to demonstrate that he does not own the government nor does he represent the views of most Americans.
vote vote VOTE
42
He definitely does not represent the views of most Americans. He lost the popular vote by 3 million. We need to get rid of the electoral college but I don't think the republicans will ever want to give up their advantage.
8
If the people who work for Trump are considered govt employees, and if, as I have heard the penalty is a lawsuit in which the person has to pay Trump money, somehow that doesn't seem right.
They might be on Trump's staff, but they receive their checks (pay) from the government.
Trump is a government employee just like anyone else who works for the government.
To be able to sue for damages just because they signed an agreement, isn't that extortion?
38
So, Amorosa and 2 to 3 other former White House employees were given $15,000 a month as some kind of severance pay (hush money?) I assume the Trump Foundation paid for this, not the tax payers??
61
@Monica C: Amorosa declined the deal. $180,000 per year is roughly a congresscritter's salary.
@Monica C that question crossed my mond too!
@Monica C
Omarosa has said she refused to take this money which she characterized as an attempt to "silence" her with an NDA and a pay-off.
The revelation of all these nondisclosure agreements isn't exactly a good advertisment for transparency in government, is it?
63
Trump shows again and again that Government should not be run like a business. Government should be run like government.
80
@Derek Wilmott Trump runs government like a poorly-run business. Remember, this is a man who ran his businesses into bankruptcy six different times. He is also a terrible businessman.
2
There are five elements of a contract to make a fully enforceable document. A public servant is paid a certain amount to perform public duties. Where is the extra consideration(cash) coming from to support this additional duty of nondisclosure, outside their normal course of services in perpetuity? Is Trump paying for this ? I am sure Mr. McGahn has explained this to the signees.
17
White House staff are not Trump's private workers, and they are to support The Constitution, not sign agreements to the man himself as loyalty pledges.
It will be interesting to see what happens next. This is the problem with electing an unsuited president.
Did he ever take civics classes? Are his lawyers intimidated or compromised?
Almost 2 years in office, and Trump doesn't know these agreements aren't binding. I would love to see it challenged.
327
@One More Realist in the Era of Trump
Not a fan of Omarosa but thanks to her, I would imagine current aides and staffers are not as fearful of "talking" knowing their NDA's are not binding.
2
@One More Realist in the Era of Trump: Given the current makeup of SCOTUS, I'd be wary.
1
Did tupPence also sign one? if so it likely violates his oath of office since an NDA essentially swears loyalty to something other than and in conflict with the Constitution
chuck 'em both out
Trump's narcissism, paranoia and neediness have no bottom. That well is infinite in its depth.
He referred to Omarosa Manigult Newman using the n-word off screen and out of her presence during his 'star turn' in an asinine 'reality' show. Fired her from said show three times according to reports. Yet he put her in his White House because "she said nice things about me." Needy, needy, needy.
So now, yes, Trump, the inveterate, compulsive taper, is being "hoist on his own petard," and I for one am loving it. Is Trump taping conversations in the Oval Office? If you believe otherwise, look up the word "gullible" in the dictionary. That's you. The Comey tapes exist. And so do hundreds, thousands of others. Remember, Trump is a narcissist's narcissist. He can't hear his own voice enough. And if he can get someone else saying something that compromises them on tape, he gets chill bumps of pleasure.
He has a right to be paranoid, all things considered. As a disgusting person accustomed to saying and doing disgusting things, he knows he is open to discovery, and now it is coming true. Omarosa and Cohen are lightweights, though. His BFF Vladimir has the recordings the world really needs to see and hear. If Putin really wants to endear himself to the real (not fake) majority of American voters, not merely to Trump and his cult, all he need do is post them on YouTube. His popularity would be off the charts.
61
I'm not a big fan of Ms. Manigault Newman, but the old saying "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" popped into my head while reading this article.
26
@Stan Carlisle
Any male who calls any woman a dog has earned that rage, and has no business governing. That's what popped into my head.
21
@Stan Carlisle — They’re both acting out of juvenile spite. That’s why I take Omarosa with a huge grain of salt, and not as the courageous heroine as she sees herself.
She has obviously learned from the best. You get hit? Hit back harder.
2
All dogs are adorable so this is an insult to the canines.
1
Obviously, Trump the showman has turned the White House into a reality show for the world to watch in rapt interest. He knows nothing about leading a government, but simply has transformed our entire country into a version of the Apprentice with him in the starring role. Maybe congress will finally get off its collective butt and do its job and fire our Presidential Apprentice with "You're Out!!"
40
Dear GOP,
This is your leader and standard bearer. Aren't you ashamed yet?
We the people will have something to say about the depravity in our White House come November. Just you wait. We have had enough of this lowlife.
Good luck with your power trip
Signed, America
"When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn’t work out. Good work by General Kelly for quickly firing that dog!" DJT 8.14.18
32
@deb
I would like to hear what Sarah Huckabee Sanders when she tries to lie her way out of this one.
4
If they signed nondisclosure agreements wouldn't that start with the agreement itself?
4
@Tom B - I think you're thinking of Fight Club, not the American government. I understand how confusing that can be for some people...not really.
#Thetruthshallsetyoufree
2
Let's all stop for a moment and reflect upon how much of the administration's and Congress' time, attention and resources has been expended on nonsense. Pure and utter nonsense. Are we becoming a banana republic- without the bananas?
72
We are not becoming, we are one. Do you think the Asian countries president Obama lured into the trans pacific agreement are waiting for us to come back? Do you think China is waiting? All while our president is spending precious country time on Omarosa.
7
Yes
@Tom Garlock
It's not without the bananas. The administration and the Republican party are all bananas.
Up next, the Presidential Non-Disparagement Agreement.
32
This country’s voters seem determined to prove to the world that they were correct in calling us “Ugly Americans”.
I partly blame Hollywood industry for introducing us to shows that exploit and celebrate people’s dysfunction. Perhaps one could argue it was always there and now it’s just out in the open.
22
@Maria unfortunately, these shows must have been watched and enjoyed by some people, or they would not have continued-
1
In general the machinations of the White House, aside from classified information, are public records and are kept by the National Archives. These NDA's are an obvious attempt to protect his own misdeeds and lies as are his "private" meetings with Putin and Kim Jong-un. Trump lacks an understanding that he is no longer a private citizen and what he does affects all of us not just his "base" of fans. National Archive employees have had to follow him around with Scotch tape to preserve documents. So Trump's Presidential library will be full of papers that have been picked out of the trash and taped back together.
27
@psrunwme, ...and what of those pieces of paper that he chews up?
It seems to me that Mr. Trump's revelation of the Non Disclosure Agreement is an index of how fearful he actually is that Ms. Manigault Newman will now say some things that might pose a genuine threat to his reign.
21
This is not fake news.
According to VOA this report is published:
'Voice of America's Mandarin Service correspondent and a multimedia journalist working for VOA were detained Monday evening by Chinese police while attempting to interview a retired Chinese professor who was taken away by authorities during a live television interview with VOA nearly two weeks ago."
I have written to my local member of parliament to protest the incarceration of these folk.
Mr Trump could with his deal making skills get his buddies Mr Xi, Mr Putin and Mr Kim to release these journalists.
The Voice of America is heard around the world.
Mr Trump has an opportunity to assert free speech or not.
The right thing to do is assert that VOA journalists have a right to pursue their job and not be incarcerated in a foreign land.
Putin laughs at the vapid indignity and crass ignorance of Mr Trump.
Man up Mr Trump.
21
Kellyanne Conway who has signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement when asked if she ever heard her boss use racial slurs responded "No."
19
Just imagine if various agencies, such as the FDA, VA, EPA etc., were required to sign NDAs at the behest of the heads of such agencies. Oh boy..! While confidential and sensitive information are protected, nothing else is, and that nothing else subsumes a large amount of information that belongs to the public. 1984 has finally come.
25
@Nhersh
I wonder when this started. Maybe Trump panicked after the employees at the EPA reported their bosses' loonie behavior, and realized that he might be next.
6
Who is paying the hush money - these $15k per month "payments"? The taxpayers? The corruption is staggering.
62
And the political Chess game between the two parties continues. It is quite clear that this is how the game is being played; ergo, we should not be asking how is this even possible.
If you recall, the primary objective in chess is to checkmate your opponent's King. When a King cannot avoid capture then it is checkmated and the game is immediately over. The game is drawn when the player to move has no legal move and his king is not in check.
6
i am wondering who or what organization is paying the $15K each month to the however many former aides?
98
@chris I heard that it was Trump's election campaign funds--but from the last election or the 2020 that he's already running for?
5
@chris I think some of the inauguration money is being used. Also, RNC has a slush fund for these kind of payments.
4
@chris
Putin and the Russian oligarchs?
1
What is the source of these $15,000/month hush money payments? If they are public funds, is this an impeachable offense. Using our money to pay off former government employees to keep quiet should be illegal. If they are private funds, whose? Quite a convenient way to bribe the administration, and should be illegal.
130
@SDG writes:
"What is the source of these $15,000/month hush money payments? If they are public funds, is this an impeachable offense. Using our money to pay off former government employees to keep quiet should be illegal. If they are private funds, whose? Quite a convenient way to bribe the administration, and should be illegal."
That's a very good question!
Non-disclosure agreements and sinecures offered in exchange for silence. This is not how a democracy works. But it does seem to be how the United States government now works under Trump. Which raises the question: are we still a democracy?
34
@617to416
Good question. Especially when we seem to be becoming more and more like the Kremlin everyday...Guess all those meetings with Mr. Putin paid off.
7
@N. Smith
Yeah, next time a candidate tells you he admires Putin's leadership style, believe him.
1
Somewhere in all of these thousands of tweets there are more than a few that are going to come back and haunt this guy.
26
@Stan Carlisle If a person doesn't learn from history he is bound to re tweet it
25
@Stan Carlisle — Just when will that happen? He’s tweeted enough over the past two years that would, for anybody else, constitute terms of service violations and account suspensions (if not outright bans). His egregious and inflammatory public and private comments, in addition to his 3 a.m. Twitterstorms, should have pushed him off the public stage as well. His sketchy business past is yet one more red flag.
Yet he’s still here.
He has gotten the reinforcing message since birth, and now from both Congress and his base, that he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. No wonder he is such an insufferable, childish human being.
If there is unclassified information that the public ought to know, the media should file and refile FOIA requests until they are like gnats buzzing around his head. Trump and his staff work for us — these NDAs are just a small step toward a secret government, and are a truly bad precedent to set.
2
Not as long as Americans have the attention span of a Golden Retriever.
5
I don't think trump "appeared" to acknowledge the NDA's, he admitted that he has had staff actually sign them. The fact that these NDA's are not enforceable and are at best just another symptom of trump's narcissism.
I would appreciate the media actually stating facts rather than always giving trump the benefit of the doubt by using terms such as "appeared to", "may have", et al to describe things he has actually done.
He is not a king or a monarch although autocrat works well to describe him.
84
@Oyster Bay , Trump is an autocrat since the checks and balances that our founders enshrined in our Constitution are not operational under this Republican juggernaut now in power. The Republicans in Congress and the Supreme Court have completely abrogated their constitutional duties to provide checks and balance on the executive branch of government.
16
@Oyster Bay Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.
3
@Oyster Bay
To be fair, The Times is reporting he said she signed an NDA. It's not like we have any reason to believe anything he says and accept it as verifiable facts.
Does Trump talking about the unenforceable NDAs violate the NDA?
Trump is melting down publicly, one tweet at a time.
He wonders why there is so much negative coverage of him.
It would be funny in a sick way, but this man is President.
45
@Rita
There's probably going to be a lot of speculation of what the non-disclosure agreements are covering up. Hence, more negative coverage.
5
@Rita I think his IQ is a lot higher than that of his supporters. So, of course they think he is a genius.
2
"As stewards of the taxpayers federal employees typically are not asked to muzzle themselves to protect reputations or insulate others from embarrassment, as is typical in confidentiality agreements that bind private citizens."
Trump is, in effect, creating a private standing army at the tax payers expense and to the tax payers humiliation. We may not have an endless supply of money, but it seems that our capacity for humiliation is unlimited. Thank you, Mr. Trump, for showing us what cowards your fellow Americans really are.
36
Just be more example of how badly Trump misunderstands (or just doesn’t care about) the nature of public service. We as taxpayers and citizens must be able to know the daily workings of the White House (quaintly known as “The People’s House”); 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is not a satellite of Trump Tower.
As the presidency was conceived and has been understood, by everyone who managed to stay awake during junior high civics class, HE works for US. I know that is a foreign concept that sticks in his craw, but the presidency was never intended to feed one man’s insecurities and bloated ego, or to keep his secrets.
58
@MDB1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has become a satellite of Trump Tower.
26
@Ralph — “We the People” can easily change that, no? It’s up to us if we want one man to redefine, if not dismantle, the concept of government and public service as it’s been understood since the days of the Founders. We don’t have to let this man rewrite the rules to suit himself. Again, our choice.
I still say the Federalist Papers should be required reading for everyone. These essays show how exquisitely and beautifully defined our system of government is, and why it’s worth protecting. I highly reccomend it over, say, “The Art of the Deal.”
A clarification to my comment: I intended to write, “assuage his insecurities and feed his bloated ego.” Makes more sense that way.
1
@Ralph The only thing missing is the golden "TRUMP". But perhaps it will appear during his third rate despotic military parade.
More Art of the Deal behavior: maximize leverage to control outcomes, ignoring ethics, tradition, manners, and respect of others. If Trump's lawyers weren't preoccupied with staying out of jail or bullying the Palestinians, they'd be all over her with legal threats and possible breakage of limbs.
11
This man has admitted several times in print that he hires people out of personal prejudice rather than merit. To whit, he's admitted to because a person says nice things about him, that he hired now-wacky Omarosa because she begged him with tears in her eyes. No business I'm familiar with would be able to use those hiring criterion. No clever lawyer can do something with this? Or is this monarchy beyond the pale. To paraphrase Leona Helmsey ...it seems only the little people must follow rules.
25
Who hires someone 4 times?!? After that person has repeatedly been fired? Is that good leadership? Certainly seems like bad judgment.
20
@HSNYC
This is something I keep seeing repeated. She was eliminated as a contestant on a reality TV contest, not really “fired”, just like she got kicked out of the Big Brother house. She actually came rather close to winning that one. Reality TV people—not real, not real jobs! Kinda like the real White House, unfortunately.
Omarosa’s latest publicity book stunt has made Trump look more and more sympathetic than if she had been openly supporting him. For given the unbroken negative pubic attacks against Trump in the liberal media, he could not have asked for a more obnoxious personality at this crucial off-year election period as a contrast to his act of extreme tolerance and generosity.
As a matter of fact, on any “Who do you trust/Who do you prefer” likeability scale of public opinion, ‘Omarosa or Trump,”it’s no contest, especially among most working Americans, most white voters, and the largest segment of Hispanic and black voters in polls of Trump support among them ever. Omarosa’s vulgar persona is making Trump’s character look very good to voters. Liberal Democratic embrace of her for her vicious smears has been a brilliant political success — for Trump and his Republican candidates for Congress this fall.
3
@Bayou Houma
There is no "Liberal Democratic embrace" of Ms. Manigault Newman. What we do see that that we were, are and will be always be proven right about the folly of electing to public office a lying, morally bankrupt attention hound with no experience or interest in actually governing that Trump supporters and most Republicans seem to have embraced with open arms. Neither Donald Trump nor Ms. Manigault have any "character" and both are equally "vulgar." For some mysterious reason, Trump supporters and Republican can't or refuse see this, probably because they are too embarrassed to admit their own gullibility in supporting this corrupt clown and his freak show. There is nothing to for them to be proud of.
@bayou I think you miss the point - If Omarosa is of poor character, then why was she hired by and championed by Trump...and multiple times? Why are there so many "disloyal" people in Trumps's orbit? Why is the Trump administration firing people right and left and why is the leaking in this administration something that mirrors the Titanic (after the iceberg) Having someone like Omarosa do her publicity thing is just watching one more corrupt, conscienceless drone exit Trump's corrupt, conscienceless orbit. Perhaps the takeaway from all this is - Why does Trump surround himself with so many of these people? maybe the answer is, Trump is corrupt and conscienceless himself.
@Bayou Houma Making Trump appear more sympathetic? No, Omarosa's book is making herself, along with Trump and the rest of the staff look, well, take the "sym" off of sympathetic and you get it.
Second, any persona that is vulgar is perpetrated by Trump. Omarosa is merely doing what Trump does-grift and sell us snake oil.
Lastly, I see no "liberal Democratic embrace", only disbelief that another former Trump staffer, after being fired, is taking advantage of that brief employment to practice con-artistry, as Trump does, and is successful in his con in reading your comment.
Proof positive that this man thinks he's still filming The Apprentice. "Say anything and I'll sue you for all you're worth!" NDAs are the actions of a Liar in Deceiver, not a Commander in Chief.
I wonder if he realizes that, like attorney/client privilege, NDAs are often negated out the window when crimes are thought to have been committed.
24
@Sarah, the threat of bankruptcy through frivolous litigation is quite common in the US.
4
Ah, non-disclosure aggrements, secret government, deep state, lies, scams all add up to Trump and the GOP!
28
1) Will President Trump sue Ms. Manigault Newman for breaking an NDA? And who will sue? As she's a federal employee, will the Justice Department take legal action?
2) Isn't it curious that President Trump kept this "poor employee" around only because "she said nice things things about him." If true, is this the strategy of a "successful businessman"? So much for "hiring the best people."
It seems that every new day I have to catch my breath again, as this President's utter contempt for the law and for basic ethics is truly breathtaking. Our democracy is slowly choking to death.
42
@jrinsc Bro, I am black enough to know america was never a democracy.
As a never Trumper, the Press has to choose it's battles. Signing NDA's is hardly unusual or press worthy. It is SOP for everyone from high level (and lower) corporate employees exposed to confidential materials to hollywood A listers. Further, non-disparagement clauses would also not be unusual though Trump would never be able to handle his side of the bargain.
4
@Chris You should read the piece again. Federal employees do not sign non-disclosure agreement save for the secrecy agreement one signs when granted a security agreement.
Further, federal employees are protected by whistleblower laws and are encouraged to report illegal acts in their departments.
I served as a federal employee for 25 years and never signed an NDA other than what was required upon being granted a security clearance.
What the third rate despot is demanding is no one write a tome about their term, or maybe sentence, in the White House.
230
@Chris: What do you not understand about the difference between public service and private employment? Everyone in government, from the president to the file clerks in the basement of any given agency, are public servants. We pay them. We are their bosses. Our covenant with public servants allows them to keep certain secrets in the interests of national security, but otherwise public servants do not keep secrets from their bosses. Trump has no right to force anyone to sign NDAs, because he is not in charge. This is not the private sector, where paranoia and the urge to manipulate and control others dominate many executives' behavior.
We have allowed Trump to act as steward of the executive branch on our behalf. But we, the American people, decide if he is doing a good job. Right now, a growing number of Americans think he is probably the worst steward of the executive branch we have ever hired. And we are going to elect a Congress that is going to put the brakes on him and take him down several pegs. He needs to learn a major lesson: that of humility.
25
Since when is the President of the USA, when working in the White House, to be considered or treated like a Hollywood "A lister"? Since he has a reputation for paying off porn stars for their silence?
1
I want to know if the NDA's include a nondisparagment clause. It could help explain why aides twist themselves in knots to justify this president's hateful words. Seriously, does Sarah Sanders have one?
27
The very fact that in order to have anything to do with Donald Trump, one of the first thing anyone has to do is immediately sign a Non-Disclosure Agreements, should tell you how toxic the environment is around him.How paranoid does one have to be in order to force those who deal with him on a daily bases must be silenced on anything pertaining to the Truth. I cannot; and never will; imagine signing anything like that in my life. What is the difference between that; and the Mafia`s "Code of Silence?"Yet those who would sell their soul to the devil if the price is right; continue to do so. What a Swamp!
22
I know Trump thinks that his "counter punching" is some sort of show of strength. I believe most people, myself included, think it's just plain petty and very unbecoming of the President of the US.
47
Has Trump not reached the height of hypocrisy? Requiring "Non-Disparagement Agreements" of his underlings while, on a daily basis, cementing his reputation as the most insulting, rude, vulgar, and condescending president in history.
The flip side to the NDAs was also revealed by Trump (via Tweet):
Saying GREAT things about TRUMP turns losers and lowlifes and wack jobs and low IQs into BFFs. That is a standard for professional political competency that is almost hard to fathom coming from the most powerful human on Earth.
23
@rab Perhaps Trump is suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome.
4
I'm exhausted. Trump is exhausting. This administration is exhausting. Please vote in November so we can begin the process of repairing the ways this man has broken our country.
319
@Rose in PA
Please make sure the voting results are not hacked and the results changed by an 11 year old.
4
"Mr. Price said that the episode with Ms. Manigault Newman showed that “this is not an administration, it’s more a personal fiefdom of Donald Trump.”"
There is delicious irony for those of us who don't support this president or his administration that the very tabloid tactics he used for decades are being turned on him.
As taxpayer though, I take no comfort from the fact that "inconvenient" staffers get booted out on retainers of $15K a month essentially for keeping quiet.
This isn't an administration so much as a racket. When all the dust settles from this small-minded den of vipers we call a presidency, I hope some RICO charges can be brought to deal with these non-disclosures and hush money.
Why should we pay for Trump's paranoia and obsession with control?
75
This white house aspires to stifle criticism through non-disclosure agreements that won't stand up in court.
When you recall the Michael Wolff book along with Omarosa's accounts---Trump is out of the loop, as staffers advance their own interests.
Trump doesn't even know what General Kelly is doing?
Is Kelly the shadow president, as "adviser" Steve Bannon seemed previously? Trump's own words on tape claim Kelly "runs a big operation."
Trump didn't know Omarosa was fired? Exhaustion now has Trump's picture beside it in the dictionary: Ample incompetence, horrible judgment + amateurish behavior in this white house.
19
“...said more about Ms. Manigault Newman’s disrespect for the institution than it did about her boss.”
———
These people have no shame. There has been no greater disrespect for the office of President than that which Trump practices. Daily, he stomps on it, pounds it, and grinds it into the marble floors in the West Wing. Their hypocrisy is beyond understanding.
75
The White House is the American people's house. Trump Tower, Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster are Trump's houses. Every person working in the White House is our hired help including Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
49
It would be great to be able to read one of these non-disclosure agreements to see what kind of a monarchy Trump is trying to establish.
It’s one thing to keep national secrets, but it’s a whole different thing to say you won’t tell the country you serve that the bum running it is the biggest liar in the world.
52
Trump and his administration are an abomination. He still does not understand that his role as POTUS is not just another corrupt run at the helm of one of his corporations where he can do business with and align himself with the same slimy "leg breakers" who can "get stuff done" He thinks his administration and the people of this country WORK FOR HIM! Hense the NDA's. He threatens and or fires his own people right and left when they do not show what he feels is proper loyalty and runs this country like it's his own (eventually to be bankrupt) company. His interests are in himself (as always) and consequences are meaningless (as they have always been) to this privileged narcissist. Can his supporters and sycophants actually believe this ugly and evil man is doing anything other than his own bidding? These people are going to be on the wrong side of history here and I anticipate them telling a majorly revisionist account of their role in and support of this dark time when all is said and done. If Trump supporters want people to stop thinking they are evil, corrupt, and ignorant well they will just have to stop supporting our evil, corrupt and ignorant president.
33
The non-disclosure agreements should come as no surprise. An instrument commonly used in the corporate world to protect trade secrets, it fits right into the operations of Team Trump who treat the executive branch of our government as a feeding trough.
Please encourage our "brilliant" guy in the Oval Office to seek enforcement of them in a Federal court. Hint: they are worth little more that a used garbage bag.
32
One of the biggest clubs carried by well-heeled bullies is the fact that they always have powerful legal weapons at their disposal, while their victims often do not. In the end it rarely matters who's right. There's usually a legal mismatch between those who can afford the best help and those who can't.
44
Containing Trump’s scandals is like trying to contain all of California’s fires with one water hose.
45
@TMOH
A water hose connected to a gasoline tanker.
4
Using slurs such as “Wacky” and other before are called incivility. Incivility is a desire to destroy civilization. Now the entire Republican Party stands for the complete end of the Aermican experience. Sad, the party of Lincoln is now the party of Trump.
55
@JDW
I hope I live long enough to read the history books' coverage of Trump when he is out of power and unable to control information about him.
5
@JDW .
Wacky is kind.... he called her "low life", "vicious" and now "a dog" as well as.
As much as I don't care for Omarosa, she is really getting under his skin, and diverting his attention from attacks on Mueller.
5
Kelly's words to her in the Situation Room sure sound like a threat, don't they?
44
could these NDAs conflict with the Constitutional oaths of office?
Our democracy is supposed to be based on service to the common good not fealty to a single person, monarch, emperor, or dictator.
might these NDAs by formalizing a conflicting loyalty (to don the con rather than the United States Constitution) make all who sign them - or require them to be signed - "traitors?"
37
So "Ms. Manigault Newman has also claimed that she was offered a hush-money contract with the Trump re-election campaign for $15,000 a month. A few others who have departed the White House under inauspicious circumstances are receiving that amount."
Campaign finance law needs urgent reform if campaigns can legally pay off people to remain silent.
98
@C Wolfe I think that this is a point that you raise is highly significant. How can a democracy function if the party in power can buy off critics with that kind of money?
19
@HHenson I'd like to know the source of "that kind of money".
Doesn’t the president of the United States have more on his plate than a former unhappy White House employee?
How is he doing the “people’s work,”—which was all he was elected to do—by getting down in the dirt to spar and jab with Omarosa Manigault Newman, a person who, by every account, was a non-entity?
This is mud wrestling, not an activity that distinguishes the office of the presidency and “makes America great.” Oh; I forgot—“again.”
22
Frankly the use of Nondisclosure Agreements does not surprise me at all. Consider the circumstances driving interactions and relations in the White House.....high levels of insecurity and vulnerability, staff with little commitment to traditional institutional practice, personal vilification and abuse as common behavior, etc. In addition staff are in an exceptional position to witness and hear or hear about illegal activity or significant violations of ethics regulations. Once the ebb and flow of White House life becomes a Hobbesian war or all against all one would expect those in a position to demand such agreements would make every effort to see them in place. Others would regard steps to bypass agreements as prudent precautions against lies, deceit, smears, and general mistreatment. Clandestine taping might break the rules but it is rational behavior. And by all means document everything.....which members of Congress visit, and which call; who comes by in the evenings; what are hot topics for discussion; who is especialluy nervous. The White House as the capital of the surveillance state, how fitting!
16
people who work in this administration is "high suspect of lies " for potential future employers. i would love to read Sarah Huckerbee Sanders' tell-all book. she is damaged goods. who would have hired her, after this administration, except her father ?!
4
For Trump to be appalled at anyone in his wretched circle to violate a NDA is laughable. He is an inveterate violator of the law. Trump's swamp is overflowing with vipers and backstabbers and he's coming apart at the seams. Unhinged? Quite an apt title. Just desserts.
20
That picture in the attic is even more hideous than I expected. Mirror is another apt metaphor for of the condition of the condition we're in. I picked a bad century to quit drinking.
17
Let's look at this from a middle America point of view. They see Trump being stabbed in the back by the people he hired. By the people he gave jobs to. People who are disloyal to the max. So I ask them: Do you record your conversations with your boss? Do you have to sign non disclosure agreements? Why is that? And regardless of how YOU feel about Ms. Manigault-Newman or Mr. Cohen, why do you think they went to the trouble (and for her it was great trouble) to record their conversations with Trump? Do you think, just maybe, they felt he was not trustworthy, that he didn't have their backs, and that he would stab them in the back just as sure as he would shake their hand? Where do you think they got the idea they needed to protect themselves. To avoid being left hanging out to dry. How many people told them "Watch your back with Trump- he is not to be trusted" ? When it walks like a back stabber, talks like a back stabber, and has a history of being a backstabber, it must be.....well a back stabber. Stop looking at this guy as an innocent bystander being taken advantage of for his money. And start putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. They are all right there in front of you. For some reason you want the picture to be Jesus. When two of the pieces have horns and the skin is red. And there is no piece with a halo.
46
@Walking Man it is awfully arrogant of you to assume you can get inside of the heads of all of “middle america”.
@Walking Man
A boss that routinely insults his employees deserves to be "stabbed in the back".
3
I totally get it, why worry about the planet changing for the worst in front of our eyes, the rich and large corporations feasting at everyone's expense, the Chinese expanding into our markets and becoming a global leader, Putin running around the Kremlin yelling "I can't believe this worked out so well, give those guys a million ruble bonus". We can just go every night to the Forum and watch the slaughter of our institutional dignity. It's really quite funny. Who doesn't want $15,000 a month to look the other way.
21
As a lawyer, I've always wondered why DT frequently behaves as if he has no legal advice, as here, where he's demanding employees sign a contract as if he were a private entity, not a member of the government. This article explains it: Apparently his lawyers jolly him along, encouraging him to rely on unenforceable contracts, telling the other employees don't worry, it's an invalid contract you're signing. What does this say about the cognitive abilities of the client? What does it say about the integrity of the lawyers? What does it say about the obsequiousness of the employees?
244
Can’t lawyers be disbarred?
3
@Leigh
I'm sure he gets legal advice. He just doesn't listen unless he's in danger of being arrested or impeach. I read that when he was caught hiring illegal immigrants to build his properties in New York, he was begging his lawyer to get him out of trouble.
4
Congress must have signed the same agreement. It would explain why they let him destroy our Democracy.
424
@joan,
THIS!
2
@joan
Stunning! Just stunning what absolute fools these GOP supporters have become trying to please their false god, Trump.
They are freneticaly jumping through hoops and fabricating bizarre explanations that put them in legal jeopardy or make no sense just to keep up with Trump's growing madness.
5
@joan:
Doubt there is enough ethics in congress anymore to adhere to agreements, legal or not, that are in their self-interest.
1
Of course they must agree to confidentiality. It called executive privilege. Read the constitution.
3
@Steve executive privilege has nothing to do with this. It applies to the executive office's ability to refuse to release information as when the executive may be asked to by the legislative branch, not employees' prerogative to share information.
15
@Steve
" The power of Congress or the federal courts to obtain such information is not mentioned explicitly in the United States Constitution, nor is there any explicit mention in the Constitution of an executive privilege to resist such requests from Congress or courts "
-- From a simple Google search of Wikipedia...
3
The words do not appear in the US Constitution.
3
Even Trump knows the NDAs are legally unenforceable, but so what? The people in question still agreed to them. I would respect someone who’s refused to sign, but legal or not, everyone else agreed to keep quiet. Trump uses NDAs to intimidate people, even though he knows the law is not on his side, his enablers knuckle under to please him, only to later go back on their word. Who am I supposed to be rooting for in this scenario?
12
Why root for any of them. Kick them all out and start over.
10
@Peter Trump created a hostile environment where people are mistreated, hence the lack of loyalty. Some of these people were definitely not who I would root for, but I'm certainly not rooting for Trump. He is the "root" cause.
10
@Peter:
Believe Peter,as all decent citizens must that the strength of our major written laws, The U.S. Constitution above all else will save us and this country.
Libby Wein
3
I'm not sure what is more appalling--this president's requirement that White House employees sign nondisclosure agreements or his apparent use of taxpayer money to enforce them.
The U.S. government is not a commercial entity like the Trump Organization--which needs to protect its brand, its reputation and the reputation of its leader as a matter of preserving business value. Nor does the loyalty obligation of federal employees--even those who work in the White House--run to the individual holding the office of president. That obligation, by the oath required of all U.S. employees, is to "bear true faith and allegiance" to the United States Constitution.
So what does it say about this man that he would require White House employees to sign contracts not to disclose negative information about him? Is his ego is so fragile he is unable to accept criticism of any sort? Does he see the office of the presidency as an extension of his business empire with a Trump brand to protect? Does he know he is likely to do or say things in office that will compromise himself and the value of that brand? Does he not have the strength of character to elicit loyalty without having to buy it?
And does he really expect U.S. taxpayers to pay for the silence required to preserve his ego and the commercial value of his brand? Does he have no appreciation at all for the fact that our government is "of the people, by the people and for the people" and not for himself and himself alone?
116
@Steel Magnolia The answers to all your questions is YES.
9
As an aside, is it not time to stop referring to electronic recordings as "tapes" unless an actual tape recorder was used? It would be more accurate to know what device was used when conversations are played back. Was the person wearing a device with a hidden microphone?
14
When Trump was asked for his tax returns, he issued a statement to the American people that “I’m under a routine audit and it'll be released, and as soon as the audit is finished it will be released." PolitiFact rated this promise as "Broken".
Trump has broken many promises to the American people. He has little standing to complain when someone breaks one with him. He's the person who set the current (and hopefully temporary) norms for the White House.
83
Trump is right. There is an urgent need to drain the swamp. Let us help him in this process by voting his cronies out of office this November. Unfortunately it'll take another two years before the swamp king himself can be thrown out.
166
@chickenlover
Not if he's impeached first.
4
Question for all Americans to ask today, August 14, 2018: Is this practice legal, or illegal? Answer, please...
10
@FritzTOF
Illegal....44 U.S.C. Chapter 31 §3101-§3106...broadly known as the Federal Records Act 1950, since amended to include electronic media. This act maintains records of every media type for legal exegesis and other post facto analysis. Citizens on the public payroll are subject to many restrictions: this is not one.
Clearly an effort to intimidate by the Executive.
A man past 21 never changes. He taped conversations before. I am waiting for the Alexander Butterfield reveal!
10
It may be legal but definitely not enforceable
5
FritzTOF
There is something else to question here, ethics. To consider only legality would be to strip the activities of our leaders down to the sociopathic level of human interaction, to the level of corporate thinking, of solipsistic endeavor, of absence of empathy, absence of compassion, absence of the Golden Rule. We expect that kind of behavior from large corporations and banks, not from our individual leaders.
I've said it before in my commentaries here and elsewhere, after over five decades of behavioral studies, I can say with high confidence that he has a serious mental disturbance. It originates from the extreme pain he suffered throughout his childhood from his tyrannical bully father. His behavior is a result of the skills he developed during childhood and later to defend against the buried extreme pain which keeps bubbling up to the surface. The result is behavior that covers the range from disturbed to highly skilled. The general public has very limited knowledge of this kind of disturbance and tends to rationalize the irrational. The disturbance enables divisiveness, cult-like behaviors, various defensive behaviors, tendencies to believe in conspiracy theories, and many other disturbed patterns of behavior in all who interact with him or react to him. It also attracts people with sociopathic tendencies who may only have an interest in personal wealth or power over all other human interests and support him for purely selfish gain. It is also devolving. It's bad
1
I'm beginning to think that we need to radically change the way our elected officials serve. There seems to be no counterbalance to this man's craziness and overreach. I suggest that we allow Senators and Representatives to serve only one term, thus ending the inordinate time, money and energy spent on their reelection campaigns and removing the incentive to protect a president so clearly unqualified and dangerous. He is a disgrace to the office and so, increasingly, are his enablers.
99
P
Your "suggestion" would unfortunately preclude any skilled legislator dedicated to good governance from making a long term commitment to serving our nation, thereby preventing us from benefitting from that service. The problem is not term limits but the legalization of bribery in our political system from the Citizens United SCOTUS decision. Because of that, wealthy people and groups can achieve tyrannical power over our legislators. The NRA is a case in point. The result is that executives of large corporations and banks rule our lives and control us, and we never elected any of them for the job.
Government is not the enemy. It is the dissolving of good governance through the corruption of large sums of money that is the enemy.
25
Perhaps a better idea would be to ban all political "contributions" (bribes) from "special interests" (corporations). That is what is corrupting our government. We are supposed to be a government of the people, not a sugar daddy to for profit businesses.
11
@P
Another thought would be publicly financed elections.
5
Why are we not surprised that His Unhinged Unraveling Unfitness - who never previously held elected office and whose vast 'bidness experience' never included running anything where he was publicly responsible to shareholders - thinks nondisclosure agreements he forces employees of OUR government, are enforceable ?
Another artifact of the Rolling Trumpster Fire's overall bullying personality, giving him a cudgel to threaten people with dragging them into expensive legal proceedings/demeaning publicity based on his frivolous whim.
76
I wonder what sort of "teeth" are built into the NDAs? What penalty do those who sign them expect to face for violating the NDA?
Just one more example of Trump's systematic debasement of our government and institutions.
23
A White House NDA is not a binding. Workers there are employed and paid by the public, not Trump himself. He can have all his employees sign them, but there is no way they can be legally enforced. Of course, Trump believes (and behaves with impunity) he is above the law, so there's that.
106
The President of the United States is so despicable and underhanded he requires the people who serve our government to sign papers promising not to tell the American people all the horrible things he does and says?
That is pure Authoritarian Evil.
303
@Ronny
Geesch, I wonder what Melania had to sign to protect herself, her son and her immigrant parents.
4
As they say, when you lay down with dogs don't be surprised when you get fleas.
35
Anyone who pressures a public employee to sign a non-disclosure agreement is guilty of creating a hostile work environment and intimidation. This is truly a conspiracy to perpetuate a crime.
Are the people in this Administration supposed to serve the nation or Donald Trump? The two are not synonymous.
391
A $15000 hush money contract? In spite of the questionable source of this money from the "re-election" campaign, they cannot possibly think this would keep someone as striving as Ms. Manigault Newman quiet.
Mr. Trump's continuing confusion about the roles and responsibilities of government employees (to serve the people), and his staff's efforts to appease him are nothing short of remarkable, and disgusting.
114
@Chris Clark
Not $15,000. $15,000 a MONTH. That's the same $180,000-per-year salary she (word used loosely) "earned" when she (another word used loosely) "worked" in the White House.
Granted, a scrupulous person wouldn't sell his/her conscience to Trump for any amount.
16
@Chris Clark
15,000 a month.
2
The National Anthem starts off with "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America..."
Trump seems to believe that it starts off with "I pledge allegiance to Trump BEFORE the flag..."
31
The Pledge of Allegiance starts that way. The National Anthem starts "Oh say can you see..."
6
@Sajwert
First sentence is wrong. National Anthem's first line is "O say can you see"
Last 3 words of the Pledge of Allegiance are "justice for all." The Republicans (with hand over heart) intentionally ignore these last 3 words.
7
Oh so that's why this White House leaks like a sieve. The staff thought they were signing 'Disclosure Agreements'.
28
I would dare trump to file a lawsuit against just one person who has violated an NDAs. I do not believe that he will. He knows that they have questionable legal standing and is only part and parcel of his blustery persona.
32
Only a person and an organization that has things to hide would require this. Keep in mind this action is not for the good of the government as our system of secret clearances protects sensitive information. This is simply to protect our deal leader and pals from being exposed for what they are, scam artists.
148
@Thomas Renner: Not only does this administration behave as if it has a lot to hide, but it also begins by establishing an atmosphere of mistrust. If you have to ask employees to sign an NDA that is not pertinent to intellectual property, then you are essentially stating that you have an utter lack of trust in everyone. It immediately sets up an adversarial situation, as you assert that the integrity of others is questionable. That is one of the biggest problems that NDAs pose to civil society, and one reason why I will not work for anyone who requires them for anything except the protection of intellectual property. I assume that anyone who is so controlling and so paranoid as to ask me to sign an NDA covering all aspects of my employment is someone who has something illegal or unethical to hide, and that is someone I do not want to work for. As a citizenry, we really need to reflect upon how some business practices are destructive to human relationships and society in general.
9
And Trump calls the Washington of the establishment "the swamp." It sounds like his White House is filled with swamp creatures of the sort most of us would not care to have in our lives.
87
Don't NDAs run counter to freedom of information requirements and laws that require record keeping of government decision-making?
This POTUS's "presidential library" will consist almost entirely of a huge twitter archive, a large collection of spy-quality audio tapes, and many shelves of tell-alls written by administration insiders (many of whom will most likely do their writing inside the "big house").
164
There won’t be a library.
3
@JFR I can't believe taxpayers have to erect a permanent tribute to his ego..... on the other hand, it could serve as a constant reminder of how important rigorous public education is, and how the masses could ever think (and many still do) that it is a solid idea to put a self-serving megalomaniac into the WH.
Ultimately, I blame the Dems for abandoning blue collar workers, the lower and middle class back in the 90's for easy money.... they have been more interested in capturing the moderate Republican vote than representing their constituents. I guess they thought "Who else would they vote for?" Now we know. And those voters are still solidly in Trump's corner.
1
@JFR Lots of TV screens with old Fox News clips running on them ... that's all a Trump "Library" should contain, since Trump himself does not even read.
1
This isn't chaos. Chaos has rules, theory and order, even when it appears not to. This is personal aggrandizement on an international scale abetted by family, friends, anglers, connivers, appointees, and, worst of all elected Republicans in Congress.
466
Aides should not be allowed to sign non disclosure agreements. They work for the American people and country not one man. These agreements should be void.
203
They are unenforceable. They are purely intimidation tactics. The problem stems from the fact that they wouldn't get the job if they don't sign them.
12
@Blackcat66....ummm, they are. Null and void. Unenforceable. The White House lawyers as much as said so, in a way that the aides would understand and our "very stable genius" of a president would NOT understand. Are we winning yet? What boggles my mind is this: anyone working closely with this guy for days on end HAS to know that he is completely out of his depth, totally incompetent...and they continue on, just like it all makes any sense whatsoever.
8
Another example of Trump's poor judgment. So may of his appointments have left the adminstration by choice or the 'boss' has been forced to fire them.
20
Perhaps the NDA's can be worked into additional Obstruction of Justice charges as the opportunity to begin impeachment proceedings comes along with the next Congress. Or maybe they will be addressed with any indictments that the Special Prosecutor formulates. Either way, they are obviously corrupt in their intent as an essential element of the criminal conspiracy that is the Trump Administration.
They demand a vigorous response.
214
Could someone name one thing that an honest man would do that Trump has done?
One?
266
@Marie
For the record I reluctantly voted for Clinton...
But Trump did manage the return of remains of American soldiers from North Korea. I have to admit, while lacking any style points, he did something that our congenial approach to diplomacy has failed to do for 60 years.
You asked for one thing. . .
@Tom Stoltz He cannot get credit for that just yet. We have no idea if the remains sent to the US are in fact Americans, or even human. It will take years of forensic analysis to determine the exact content of those boxes. My prediction is that we will discover those remains won't live up to the hype, as is true for everything Trumpian.
1
@Tom Stoltze
Remains have been returned in the past. The Times article that mentions th emost recent return also states "The remains flown out on Friday were the first handed over since a joint effort by American military experts and North Korean workers between 1996 and 2005. The group collected the remains of what were believed to have been 220 American soldiers."
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/26/world/asia/us-korea-war-remains.html
3
I'm sure these NDAs are illegal -- they are like bribes. Trump is demanding something of personal value to himself, in exchange for giving these people government jobs. He just doesn't have the mental concept of "public service".
232
You mean like when he said: "I wouldn't have hired him, if I would've known that he would recuse himself from investigating me"?
53
@Jonathan
Just to remind Mr Trump, perhaps we should refer to him as "Public Servant, Trump" instead of President.
6
nondisclosure for anything other than copyright or patent should be illegal. anything else is hiding .
27
@Don: I heartily second that. NDAs are harmful to the establishment of trust among colleagues.
5
One cannot but enjoy the ironies of all these stories. We have a president who is one of the great con men of USA history and 40% of the population believes in him. That any person in the White House would sign a non-disclosure agreement for him tells you more and much about the ambitions of those who work there than it does about their personal integrity.
84
@vincentgaglione, he's not a great con man if only 40% of the population believes in him. He likes to act as a populist but has never once, in all these years, had popular support... it's all imaginary, projections of his false realities that come and go as suits his megalomania.
9
It still has not gotten through to Trump that he along with everyone in the White House and government work for us, the American people. I predict in a few months Mueller will make it abundantly clear to Trump that he works for the American people and not just his voters and supporters. The question is will the republicans get the memo too.
310
@Chris
I think Devin Nunes made it perfectly clear in his closed door donor meeting, that the Republican party's role is not to serve the american people, they only goal is to protect Trump.
8
A civilian in a private business can have an employee sign an NDA. A POTUS can't. White House employees do not work for Trump but for us so those NDAs are not valid.
553
Sooner or later, the whole truth about this Administration will come out, whether or not Non Disclosure Agreements enter into the picture.
For my part, I wish it would happen sooner. And I would think that, by now, even Mr. Trump's most ardent supporters would be tired of the incompetence, the ineptitude, the lying, the pettiness and the general nastiness that have been the hallmarks of his tenure. I hope that future generations will study and shudder at what happens to a democracy when malice and the cult of personality take over.
413
@Jimbo; good luck, "incompetence, the ineptitude, the lying, the pettiness and the general nastiness" defines most of it's supporters
6
For me, the above statements apply double for the ranks of attack dogs on the GOP side of the House Investigation Committee, summoning full nastiness in their efforts to dismiss in advance the findings of Mr. Mueller's investigation before the facts are fully known, despite the arrests of Russian conspirators already off to a good start and those of Trumpian operatives just beginning.
If Trump is innocent as they say he is, all they have to do is sit back and wait. But they don't dare, and must manufacture self-righteousness to cover panic.
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@Jimbo Never underestimate the power of a tax cut for the rich and demonization of women and minorities. Remember, this is the GOP we're talking about - this is their reason for existence.
It will go to the supreme court and likely be upheld that his non- disclosure agreements can be enforced. This will be true even in light of freedom of information laws and no sock in mouth illegality.
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@terry brady I'd be surprised if it happened because in that process a lot of bad things would come to light Trump and his ilk want to keep hidden. Maybe you should ask yourself why there is a need for NDAs in the first place. If Trump did not foster such a hostile work environment he would not need NDAs.
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As someone who live and believe in democracy, the set of events happening in US seems very troubling.
Democracy does not work if there is no good opposition, where are Democrats in all this ? Correct that Republicans have won the election but that does not means Democrats can just have a four year vacation. This does not happen in India and should not happen in any democracy. Democrats should file petition or whatever possible, print posters, conduct press meetings, rallies or whatever legally allowed to spread the wrongdoings of current administration.
I don’t have much expectations from current Republicans but it’s more sad to see the inaction of everyone else. This is not how democracy works.
A single person should never be allowed to destroy everything in a democratic nation, don’t make a joke of your nation. Wake up Democrats. You the people of US, Wake Up.
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@Singh
America was not and is not a democracy.
America was and is a divided limited power constitutional republic of united states where the people are the ultimate sovereign. This is not Ancient Athens. Nor is it the modern United Kingdom.
Trump won the meanigful Electoral College majority in 50 separate state elections plus the District of Columbia. The 4 million vote majority that Hillary Clinton won in California did not count nor matter in any other state.
The Founding Father's originally intended that only white Anglo-Saxon Protestant men who owned property like themselves were divinely naturally created equal with certain unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
You can't preserve, protect and defend what you clearly do not understand.
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@Singh,
It's not a single person that is destroying our democracy -- it's the entire Republican party. The Democrats are doing as much as they can, right now.
For Democrats to shout about it doesn't change any minds, because our population is strongly polarized between those who despise Trump (and the Republicans) and those Republicans who love Trump (about 80% of Republicans, at last count).
Until the balance shifts in Congress, Democrats are pretty well locked out. So we Democrats are focused intensely on the Fall elections!
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@Singh
I absolutely agree. If the democrats think they can sit this one out, there won't be anything left for them to take over.
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Is anyone going to stand up to this man and say, "No, you cannot do this. This is illegal and you cannot do it." Anyone?
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There will be a "Joe McCarthy" or "Lance Armstrong" moment when people reach a tipping point and the tide turns against him. A bully can only go on so long, but he can do a lot of damage in that time. Our nation could be a smoking ruin before he's done, except that Mattis would probably hold the line against starting an illegal war.
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@Paul Smith. The Dems should be shrieking from the rooftops making life uncomfortable for the Republican leadership. Most of them seem to be copacetic with this behavior.
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@Paul Smith
President Trump's tweets and non-disclosure agreements are fodder for late night comedy and satire.
President Putin does not tweet nor use NDA's. Putin smiles and smirks as he sends his foes to hospitals,mental institutions, prisons, urns and coffins. Putin gives gifts of bullets, Novichok or polonium -210. Putin hacked and interfered in the American Presidential campaign and election in 2016 in order to make Trump President and Russia great again.
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Except for seeing the occasional picture of her and her husband Eric boarding Air Force One with the President, Trump daughter-in-law Lara, had remained under my radar. However, now in her current role as a campaign advisor for Trump’s re-election and purportedly the conduit for offering a lip-smacking non -disclosure agreement to Ms. Manigault Newman, she is very much on my radar.
Maybe she has been taking pointers in “complicity” from sister-in-law Ivanka. Apparently she’s a fast learner.
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@Susan. I suspect Lara Trump is just collecting a salary and signing documents when told to, while there is some Cohen like low-life arranging the chairs on the deck of this modern day ship of state...the Titanic.
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Typical Trump. Although Newman was "a poor employee but he kept her on despite complaints because she has said nice things about him.
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@Norm Bezane This struck me as well. What kind of "boss" keeps someone on solely because they are a suckup? And, even stranger, admits it?
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@Norm Bezane It gets worst for Trump, he messed with the wrong woman, Omarosa is not Michael Cohen.
Omarosa learned long ago, to make secret "tapes" when dealing with Trump, she learned from him.
She is very smart and hard as a rock.
She silenced 2 NBC anchors yesterday, she is hard.
Omarosa said she would love to talk to Bob Mueller, about Russia. She is not a joke.
It is amazing that 2 unlikely woman may bring Trump down, porn star Stormy Daniels and Omarosa.
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@Norm Bezane
That's all that it takes?
No wonder Putin has control of our country!
If we say enough "nice things" about Trump's performance on Celebrity Apprentice maybe we can get him to resign and go back to "reality tv".
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If said aides signed NDAs, they wouldn't be able to disclose it, would they. Reductio ad absurdum...
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@martin brown boy is this naive. People sign things all the time that are unenforceable. Caveat emptor is probably the more apt idea when signing anything.
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