Chief of Staff John Kelly, looking to escape the Trump White House Zoo, may be forced out instead
The NY Times mentioned it in a report on Trump’s inability to listen to anyone and promotion of chaos in the one place in this nation where order and careful decision-making is most needed.
Several high-profile aides, including John F. Kelly, the president’s chief of staff, and Joe Hagin, a deputy of Mr. Kelly’s, are said to be thinking about how much longer they can stay. Last week, Mr. Kelly told visiting senators that the White House was “a miserable place to work,” according to a person with direct knowledge of the comment.
The turnover, which is expected to become an exodus after the November elections, does not worry the president, several people close to him said. He has grown comfortable with removing any barriers that might challenge him — including, in some cases, people who have the wrong chemistry or too frequently say no to him.
Kelly tried to block a pardon recommendation from the wife of Trump’s new BFF Kanye West:
On Wednesday, President Trump pardoned Alice Johnson, a first time non-violent drug offender, after meeting with lifestyle mogul Kim Kardashian a week prior. The president’s decision to grant Johnson clemency, however, came under fire by White House chief of staff John Kelly.
After last week’s prison reform meeting at the White House, wherein Kardashian made the case for Johnson’s pardoning, Kelly advocated against granting Johnson clemency, according to CNN. Sources also told the outlet that Trump’s pardoning sprees have sometimes jolted his staff, surprising even those receiving a pardon.
This headline, which appears to have slipped between the media cracks, may well hasten Kelly’s decision departure.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly informed his staff in an email that one of his personal email accounts hacked while he was still serving as Secretary of Homeland Security, confirming previous reports that suggested one of his phones may have been compromised.
The breach, which the White House has previously declined to comment on, was confirmed by Kelly in an email obtained by BuzzFeed through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Ironically, the email in which Kelly confirmed the hack was a message urging staff to limit email communications to avoid surrendering information via FOIA.
“As we discussed in NYC about the toxic atmosphere here in the D.C. cesspool, my folks are nervous about e-mails you send and ask that you no longer include them on any postings,” Kelly wrote in an email to an unknown recipient on June 8, 2017. “FOIA is real and everyday here in the cesspool, and even federal court action on personal accounts is real.”
Kelly then made reference to concerns about being hacked, in which he confirmed one of his accounts was compromised. “Then there is hacking which one of my own personal accounts has suffered recently,” he wrote. As a result of the breach, Kelly said he does “almost everything” over the phone or in person.
Jeebus Chrome, we’re talking about the nation’s “Homeland Security®” brand name and the e-mail is easily hackable? You can bet this reveal will hasten Kelly’s removal.
Two words, John: stronger passwords.
Two more, John: encrypted e-mail.
You’re welcome.
ou can bet this reveal will hasten Kelly’s removal. ‘Nuff said.
