There was a rather disturbing development today.

[kentuck]

There was a lot of distractions. But, in the middle of it all, some of the top officials at the State Department were fired. The first report was that they had all resigned. Obviously, a planted story.

Why would Trump, and the men behind him, want to get rid of the most experienced, most qualified people in our State Department? And put Putin's oil man in as the Secretary of State?

And, all the while, we were all talking about the wall, and who was going to pay, and the release of the story about the Russian that was charged with treason? And so forth and so forth.

So, why did they fire those top officials in our State Department? We truly need to know.

[pangaia]

1. Why? Because he wants 'his people,' as he likes to call them, in place.

That's what dictators do.

He would place all reporters if possible. Generals, police chiefs, etc etc

[unblock]

2. wwvd?

[blue cat]

15. +1

[mahina]

3. Aaaand now he wants to drop all sanctions against Russia.

So many disturbing things today and every day it seems

[kentuck]

4. We will finally get to see if the Republicans have any spine, or heart to fight?

They have stood strong for sanctions against Russia. The Republican Party has not been a strong supporter of Russia or Putin in the past.

If they do not fight against lifting the sanctions on Russia, then they will have shown themselves to not be up to the job. That is the most gentle way we can say it.

[mahina]

5. +1

[WinkyDink]

6. Is that "dropping sanctions" fact or rumor?

[kentuck]

7. It's "alternative fact".

I think I saw it on one of those crawlers on the bottom of the television screen this evening? Sometimes it is difficult to tell, whenever they start dropping several stories at a time, in an attempt to distract people, to the point where they cannot tell the difference, between the real story or the fake story? It does seem very relevant and important to me that the top echelon of the State Department was fired today. ??

[mahina]

14. Rachel Maddow reported it tonight

[herding cats]

13. Which was expected.

After the Ukraine change in the RNC platform, dropping the sanctions was a given. What I'm hoping is we've drawn enough eyes to Trumps Russian connections to catch the attention of the press on this move.

[Lint Head]

8. So no one would complain when the Russian hacking story is finally confirmed along with the

pissing prostitute episode. A mole in Russia was arrested today and I think this weekend, when Trump lifts the sanctions, it will confirm we are no longer America but are prisoners of a coup d'etat.

[HipChick]

10. I refuse to be a prisoner..

#Resistance..

[BadgerMom]

11. He may be Putin's prisoner.

I refuse to be. RESIST!

[HipChick]

9. All that historical knowledge is going to be lost

[herding cats]

12. I think it's important to note this wasn't usual.

Yes, presidents do tend to replace some of these positions within their first year of taking office, but they've never been forced out in this fashion. It was beyond the pale.

[mopinko]

16. fired v quit

i suspect what happened is that people handed in their pro-forma resignations, and they were, shockingly and stupidly, accepted.
it is basically a firing.

[herding cats]

19. Yes, that's what I read took place.

One senior State Department official who responded to my requests for comment said that all the officials had previously submitted their letters of resignation, as was required for all positions that are appointed by the president and that require confirmation by the Senate, known as PAS positions.

“No officer accepts a PAS position with the expectation that it is unlimited. And all officers understand that the President may choose to replace them at any time,” this official said. “These officers have served admirably and well. Their departure offers a moment to consider their accomplishments and thank them for their service. These are the patterns and rhythms of the career service.”

Ambassador Richard Boucher, who served as State Department spokesman for Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, said that while there’s always a lot of turnover around the time a new administration takes office, traditionally senior officials work with the new team to see who should stay on in their roles and what other jobs might be available. But that’s not what happened this time.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2017/01/26/the-state-departments-entire-senior-management-team-just-resigned/?utm_term=.67983a91a4c7

[kentuck]

17. Why is the media not reporting this story?

Or holding back?

[TeamPooka]

18. Putin told them to fire the people?

[lisa58]

20. I get the feeling they resigned....

Because of what they were asked to do and the administration didn't like being insulted so they said they fired them.

The State Department senior management resigned the day before the administration said they asked for their resignations- in any other situation it would have been announced by the administration (think Nixon and Haldeman/Erlichman)