WMAL Interview - SARAH WESTWOOD - 04.03.17
INTERVIEW -- SARAH WESTWOOD - White House Correspondent for the Washington Examiner
Russia intrigue blots out the sun during White House briefings. (Washington Examiner) -- White House press secretary Sean Spicer is spending more and more time behind the podium at the White House trying to contain a growing media frenzy over the Trump administration's connections to several Russia-related probes. The daily swarm of questions has prevented the White House from advancing other aspects of its agenda during an exercise that has historically provided administrations an opportunity to promote their talking points to a far more cooperative press corps. Spicer has instead used his briefings to push back on a constant stream of unflattering stories, and scold reporters over the direction of their inquiries. It's a dynamic that has forced the Trump administration into perpetual defense, despite its best efforts to lead an offensive charge on tax reform, reinvigorated healthcare negotiations and a crackdown on sanctuary cities.
White House releases dozens of financial disclosure forms. (Washington Examiner) -- White House officials released dozens of financial disclosure forms Friday evening, revealing the past business ties and millions of dollars in assets of some of the highest-ranking aides in the West Wing. Staffers are required by law to fill out the disclosure documents and submit them to the Office of Government Ethics. White House press secretary Sean Spicer had touted the release of the forms earlier Friday as a signal of the administration's commitment to transparency. However, the White House did not publish the forms — many of which were signed days or weeks ahead of their release — until late Friday evening, preventing the information within the documents from getting as much media scrutiny as they would have had they been published during the business day.
White House releases Steve Bannon's financial disclosure. (Washington Examiner) -- White House officials released chief strategist Steve Bannon's financial disclosure form Friday evening, outlining the former Breitbart News chief's past positions in media and film companies. Bannon received a $191,000 salary for his work as Breitbart's chairman, a role he left in August when he joined the Trump campaign. He took in $61,539 for his role as chairman of the Government Accountability Institute, a nonprofit associated with Breitbart that also boasts Peter Schweizer, author of Clinton Cash, as its president.
Top Democrat on House Intelligence Committee headed to White House to review surveillance reports. (Washington Examiner) -- Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, is set to visit the White House grounds on Friday to review the same materials that his Republican counterpart, Chairman Devin Nunes, accessed earlier this month, press secretary Sean Spicer said Friday. "He has made contact and is trying to arrange a time," Spicer said of Schiff's planned visit to the White House. "I don't know the nature of — I know that the request was made, and that's one where there's follow-up at the staff level" to determine the logistics of Schiff's arrival, Spicer said.
UNMASKING NEWS:
Bombshell report: Fox News says Congress knows ID of ‘senior’ intel source unmasking US citizens to embarrass Trump. Fox News senior correspondent Adam Housley, who is reporting that the unmasking of private U.S. citizens began before Trump was the GOP nominee and was done for political purposes that have nothing to do with national security. “The main issue in this case, is not only the unmasking of these names of private citizens, but the spreading of these names for political purposes that have nothing to do with national security or an investigation into Russia’s interference in the U.S. election,” a congressional source close to the investigation told Fox News. Housley said his sources have grown “frustrated with the politicalization of our intelligence agencies,” stressing that these individuals are “not Trump people.”
Susan Rice Requested Unmasking of Incoming Trump Administration Officials. Susan Rice, who served as the National Security Adviser under President Obama, has been identified as the official who requested unmasking of incoming Trump officials, Cernovich Media can exclusively report. The White House Counsel’s office identified Rice as the person responsible for the unmasking after examining Rice’s document log requests. The reports Rice requested to see are kept under tightly-controlled conditions. Each person must log her name before being granted access to them.