DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Trump says John Kelly must 'keep his mouth shut' after ex-chief of staff said Vindman did the right thing

Trump said Kelly has a "military and legal obligation" to "keep his mouth shut."

President Donald Trump blasted his former chief of staff John Kelly on Thursday after the ex-top aide said Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman did the right thing in reporting his concerns about Trump's July 25 call with Ukraine's president.

"When I terminated John Kelly, which I couldn’t do fast enough, he knew full well that he was way over his head," Trump tweeted. "Being Chief of Staff just wasn’t for him. He came in with a bang, went out with a whimper, but like so many X’s, he misses the action & just can’t keep his mouth shut, which he actually has a military and legal obligation to do."

"His incredible wife, Karen, who I have a lot of respect for, once pulled me aside & said strongly that 'John respects you greatly. When we are no longer here, he will only speak well of you,'' Trump continued. "Wrong!"

Trump was responding to comments Kelly made during a 75-minute speech and question-and-answer session at a Wednesday night event before students and guests at Drew University in New Jersey, which The Atlantic reported.

The retired Marine Corps general, who also served as Trump's Homeland Security secretary prior to taking on his job as chief of staff, said Vindman was simply following his military training in reporting concerns about Trump's call.

That phone call, in which Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden and Democrats, led to Trump's impeachment. Last week, the Senate acquitted the president on two charges, although it was the first time in history a member of a president's own party— Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah— voted to convict.

Vindman "did exactly what we teach them to do from cradle to grave," Kelly said. "He went and told his boss what he just heard."

Vindman, who was the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council and testified in the House impeachment inquiry, was escorted out of the White House last week. Trump later attributed Vindman's removal to the impeachment.

Kelly said Vindman was right to flag the call because it marked a huge change in U.S. policy toward Ukraine and suggested the content of that call was akin to hearing "an illegal order."

"Through the Obama administration up until that phone call, the policy of the U.S. was militarily to support Ukraine in their defensive fight against … the Russians," Kelly said, according to The Atlantic. "And so, when the president said that continued support would be based on X, that essentially changed. And that’s what that guy [Vindman] was most interested in."

"We teach them, 'Don’t follow an illegal order. And if you’re ever given one, you’ll raise it to whoever gives it to you that this is an illegal order, and then tell your boss,'" Kelly added.

Kelly, who departed the administration in late 2018, was also critical of other areas of the Trump presidency. He said Trump "tried" to get North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons "but it didn't work."

"I’m an optimist most of the time, but I’m also a realist, and I never did think Kim would do anything other than play us for a while, and he did that fairly effectively," Kelly said.

In announcing Kelly's impending departure in 2018, Trump told reporters: "John Kelly will be leaving — I don’t know if I can say 'retiring.'''

"But, he’s a great guy," Trump continued.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-i...CecaxajMnaAiRVM

Well the GOP has embolden this guy to act like a thug while in office so.....oh well.

this is what conservative americans told us leadership looks like. not impressed.

embolden is the right word. the louder and more obnoxious he gets the more his base loves him.

Trump contradicts past denials, admits sending Giuliani to Ukraine

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/13/politics/trump-rudy-giuliani-ukraine-interview/index.html

Washington (CNN)Emboldened after his impeachment acquittal, President Donald Trump now openly admits to sending his attorney Rudy Giuliani to Ukraine to find damaging information about his political opponents, even though he strongly denied it during the impeachment inquiry.

The reversal came Thursday in a podcast interview Trump did with journalist Geraldo Rivera, who asked, "Was it strange to send Rudy Giuliani to Ukraine, your personal lawyer? Are you sorry you did that?" Trump responded, "No, not at all," and praised Giuliani's role as a "crime fighter."
"Here's my choice: I deal with the Comeys of the world, or I deal with Rudy," Trump said, referring to former FBI Director James Comey. Trump explained that he has "a very bad taste" of the US intelligence community, because of the Russia investigation, so he turned to Giuliani.
"So when you tell me, why did I use Rudy, and one of the things about Rudy, number one, he was the best prosecutor, you know, one of the best prosecutors, and the best mayor," Trump said. "But also, other presidents had them. FDR had a lawyer who was practically, you know, was totally involved with government. Eisenhower had a lawyer. They all had lawyers."

Trump had previously denied that he sent Giuliani to Ukraine. Asked in November if he directed Giuliani to "do anything" in Ukraine, Trump said, "No, I didn't direct him," but went on to call Giuliani a "great corruption fighter." Giuliani says he's exposing legitimate corruption in Ukraine, even though his claims about former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden have been widely debunked.
In the new interview, Trump defended the decision to "use" Giuliani, even though US diplomats previously testified that Giuliani had undermined long-standing US policy toward Ukraine.
Giuliani was a central player in the scandal that got Trump impeached, though the President was acquitted by the Senate last week. Multiple witnesses described how Giuliani met with former Ukrainian officials in search of dirt against Joe and Hunter Biden. Other key players described how Giuliani and his allies pressured Ukraine to announce investigations into the Bidens.

Trump's past denials came in November, when the House of Representatives was investigating the President's conduct with Ukraine. Multiple US diplomats and national security officials testified that Giuliani was a central figure in the pressure campaign to secure political favors from Ukraine. Trump also mentioned Giuliani in his phone call last summer with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In the week since his acquittal, Trump has taken a series of bold steps to punish his opponents and reward his supporters. He fired several US officials who had testified against him in the impeachment inquiry, and he successfully lobbied the Justice Department to water down its request that his longtime adviser Roger Stone face as many as nine years in prison for lying to Congress.

________

He just straight up DGAF anymore. This dude straight up denied it, and now that he KNOWS he got an entire party to take bullets for him, openly admits to using Rudy like it ain’t nothing.

Congrats conservatives, you claimed Putin was such a great leader during Obama’s presidency, and now you got that style of government, too.

He can really shoot someone on fifth ave and not lose support. What a disgrace this country has devolved into.

I've said more than once, they'd not only continue to support him; they'd actually hide his ass in the Attic like Anne Frank, and lie to the cops when questioned.




Hey! The country is still here. This blame is specific. Don't get it twisted. There's disgrace for sure, but it ain't the country's to bear. "The Country" suggests we are all culpable. Sorry- I won't own that. I didn't ask for any of this tawdry, low-class s#.


-just sayin'.

Sorry but the President of the United States and Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces has every right to hire and fire those who serve him.

The President also has the right to surround himself with those who will help him with his agenda and not those who would work against an agenda the People of these United States elected him to carry out.

But please, cry on about the big meanie.

They have the right to come out about how moronic the president is....usually they don't, but this fool keeps ticking them off... He gets what he deserves.

What kind of a moron does it take to think John Kelly still works for Trump?

John Kelly not only doesn't work for Trump, he is also retired from the military. No matter what King Trump says, Kelly can say anything he wants to say.

Just because your cry baby president throws yet another tantrum about it, doesn't mean he's right.

Actually he's too old to throw tantrums. From now on I'll just call the tantrumps.

You and your reading comprehension.

You got moron right tho.

I did. And it was directed to the right person.

Not the majority of the people.

Weak. Very weak.

TRUTH. Powerful truth.

They just can't seem to bring themselves to say "the minority of the American people".

Trump admits he lied. Kelly and Bolton could testify and bury him.

No.

Trump's Dream Team Lawyers would eat their lunch.

You mean that dream team that was there for his impeachment? And you think they done a good job? Did you miss the part where they GOP Senators agreed the dems proved their case but they were not going to remove trump? smh

Please keep that team together for all future legal issues.

Did you miss the fact the vote wasn't even close and it all ended with an ACQUITTAL?

No att all, I saw the spineless GOP cower to Trump and let him rig his impeachment. I saw that plain as day, and so did the rest of thinking America.

I don't see how you can be so proud of a party that sells out every American institution and value to support a corrupt regime.