Trump Aides Keep Writing Memos to Protect Themselves

[babylonsister]

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/03/trump-aides-keep-documenting-their-actions-safety-net/583966/


Trump Aides Keep Writing Memos to Protect Themselves
Their urge to document the president's requests and interactions is justified by his behavior.
David A. Graham

snip//

Time and again, Trump has attacked former aides only to have their contemporaneous documentation back them up. Cohen has become a frequent target of the president, who has called him a “rat” and said he is not to be trusted. Cohen is in fact a convicted liar, who will soon report to prison to serve time for tax evasion, bank fraud, and lying to Congress. That makes the tape even more important, because it requires less faith in Cohen.

Comey and Trump have been engaged in a dramatic he-said, he-said drama, but the fact that the former FBI director’s memos were written at the time of the conversations lends his version credence (as does Trump’s prolific lying). McCabe was fired for lying to investigators (which he claims was a pretense), but once again, his memos from the time hold more weight.

Trump has not publicly attacked McGahn or Kelly in the same way, but he has tension with both men. He and Kelly were reportedly barely on speaking terms by the time the chief of staff left the White House. Trump had become disgruntled with McGahn and publicly announced that the lawyer would be leaving before telling McGahn himself.

In short, if aides are keeping these notes because they feel the president will turn on them or try to point fingers at them, they are not wrong. While the Comey, McCabe, and Cohen documentations are by now old news, the news about McGahn and Kelly opens up the question of how many other memos from the two men there might be, and what topics they could cover. It seems likely that Mueller would already have anything from McGahn’s shop related to the Russia probe—McGahn cooperated extensively with the special counsel—but there’s no telling what trove of revelations might exist for the rest of the American people.

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Themselves, NOT America

[Iliyah]

2. Comey, McCabe and Cohen are not old news . . .

As to t-rump's WH crew, they chose to be there. Deal with it and by all means document every fucking thing shithole does. He is absolutely insane.

[brush]

3. Kelly wrote one too about trump ordering him to grant Kushner's clearance.

[Andy823]

4. He most certainly will turn all of them

He won't go down alone, and he will blame everything he can on others.

[Wounded Bear]

7. Yeah, Trump is approaching Hitler in the bunker mode...

[C_U_L8R]

5. When you have a crazy boss who's breaking the law

that's could be all you can do short of quitting.
I hope they all have Mueller's number on their iPhones.

[SWBTATTReg]

6. You know when a place where all of the people start writing CYA memos (cover your a&&), the ...

end is getting in sight. I've seen this several times in the past where CYA memo writing was the task of the day, to the exception of all else.

Perhaps this is a sign of the times to come, that we all hope for?

No one does want to go down in a sinking ship.

Rump speaking over two hours at his self glorified conference is a sign too, of trying to be relevant...just some thoughts of my own here.

[erronis]

8. Subject: I want to be saved! To whom do I address my memo before the Rapture?

I don't want to be left behind (or right behind or crack in the middle either.)

I know these are the end times. I'm just confused about which of the many prophets of hope/doom would forward my email to the appropriate authority.

Surely our Father Who Art In the White House is very busy fighting those Satan democratics. Please advise on the best lackey to guarantee my place on the great ship in the heavens.

Thank you,
Yer patriotic, god-we-trust, trump-uber-alles
Max D. Plorable