Sixth Week of the Trump Presidency

• Trump accused President Obama of ordering wire tapping at Trump Towers prior to the election. Former FISA and FBI officials deny the White House ordered wire tapping. (As a result of Watergate, the president and the White House do not have the authority to authorize wire tapping.) Trump wants an investigation.
• Jeff Sessions, Attorney General, has recused himself from investigations involving Trump administrative connections to Russia. This occurred after he was accused of lying under oath about having no meetings with Russian officials during the campaign; he had at least 2 meetings with Russian officials. One of Sessions’ meetings with Sergey Kislyak took place at the same time as the RNC presidential convention. Republican Party support for Ukraine was dropped during the RNC convention.
• Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has stock in the Russian parent company that has contracts to provide foreign steel for the Keystone XL Pipeline. Contrary to what he has already stated, Trump has excluded requirements that American steel be used for construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.
• The Dept. of Justice is disputing previous findings in DOJ reports that systemic policing abuses in Ferguson and Chicago have occurred.
• The Dept. of Justice overturned several court decisions that a Texas voter–ID law is discriminatory to minorities.
• Trump signed an executive order which guts the Clean Water Rule. This rule protects the water of 60% of America’s water bodies and the drinking water of 1/3 of the U.S. population
• Trump blamed Jewish people for the bomb threats to Community Centers and the vandalizing of Jewish cemeteries.
• Trump stated that Obama is responsible for the protests at Republican Town Halls and rallies and the “leaks” in agencies.
• Trump’s budget proposal includes a 54 billion dollar increase for the military at the expense of domestic agencies and programs. His budget proposal slashes the EPA budget by 24% and EPA staff by 20%. Pruitt again announced his support to eliminate the EPA after being confirmed as EPA Administrator.
• Trump has signed executive orders to change the order of succession if the Attorney General resigns.
• Trump stated, “Civil liberties end when an attack on our safety begins”.
• Trump is spending his 4th weekend at Mar-a-Lago. (Camp David is apparently not an option- “It’s rustic, but only good for about 30 minutes”.)
• Trump proposes a new program titled VOICE, Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement. The agency will publish and promote information which focuses on crimes committed by immigrants whether legal or undocumented. He made no mention of providing information regarding crimes committed against immigrants.
• During his “Address to Congress”, Trump stated that his Defense Secretary, Jim Mattis told him that the Yemen raid, which resulted in a navy seal’s death, generated large amounts of vital intelligence. Intelligence officials stated that it didn’t.
• The DHS is considering a plan to separate children from their parents if the family is apprehended at the border. DHS argues that this will protect children from exploitation, but there has been no mention of investigating and then reuniting families.
• SLPC, Southern Poverty Law Center has documented 1,372 post election hate-related incidents.
• As Governor of Indiana, Mike Pence used a private email account with top advisors on topics ranging from security gates to the state’s response to terrorist threats.
• Scott Pruitt, the new EPA chief, may also have used private email accounts when he served as Oklahoma’s Attorney General.
• Trump sold personal property to a Russian oligarch, possibly a Putin emissary, for 2 ½ times the assessed value of the property before the election.
• Prior to the election, Trump’s plane and a Russian oligarch’s personal plane were seen at the same airports at the same time far more often than would be termed a coincidence.