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State Department: White House gift records for Trump, Pence missing
Read full article: State Department: White House gift records for Trump, Pence missingThe State Department says it's unable to compile a complete accounting of gifts presented to U.S. officials by foreign governments during the final year of the Trump administration due to missing White House data.
CIA's new recruitment website aims to diversify spy agency
Read full article: CIA's new recruitment website aims to diversify spy agencyFILE - This May 21, 2018 file photo shows incoming Central Intelligence Agency director Gina Haspel at the agency's headquarters in Langley, Va. Striving to further diversify its ranks, the nation's premier intelligence agency launched a new website Monday to find top-tier candidates who will bring a broader range of life experiences. The CIA director is a woman and women head all five of the agency’s branches, including the directorates of science and technology, operations and digital innovation. “We’ve come a long way since I applied by simply mailing a letter marked ‘CIA, Washington, D.C.,’” said CIA Director Gina Haspel, who joined the agency in 1985. She first joined after attending a CIA job fair in New Jersey.
GOP backs Trump as he fights election results, transition
Read full article: GOP backs Trump as he fights election results, transitionIn fact, election officials from both political parties have publicly stated that voting went well and international observers also confirmed that there were no serious irregularities. And the White House moved to crack down on those not deemed sufficiently loyal as Trump continued to refuse to concede the race. White House officials and Trump political appointees informed career government staffers they were not to begin acting on transition planning until GSA approved it, according to officials familiar with the matter. The White House hasn’t provided a “readout” of any call between the president and a foreign leader in weeks. He hasn’t met with members of the White House coronavirus task force in months.
Refusing to concede, Trump blocks cooperation on transition
Read full article: Refusing to concede, Trump blocks cooperation on transitionIn fact, election officials from both political parties have publicly stated that voting went well and international observers also confirmed that there were no serious irregularities. And the White House moved to crack down on those not deemed sufficiently loyal as Trump continued to refuse to concede the race. Trump is not expected to formally concede but is likely to grudgingly vacate the White House at the end of his term, according to several people around him. The White House hasn’t provided a “readout” of any call between the president and a foreign leader in weeks. He hasn’t met with members of the White House coronavirus task force in months.
AP source: Envelope addressed to White House contained ricin
Read full article: AP source: Envelope addressed to White House contained ricinWASHINGTON – Federal officials intercepted an envelope addressed to the White House that contained the poison ricin, a U.S. law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Saturday. A preliminary investigation indicated it tested positive for ricin, a poison found naturally in castor beans, the U.S. official said. The U.S. official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Federal investigators were working to determine where the enveloped originated and who mailed it. In 2014, a Mississippi man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after sending letters dusted with ricin to President Barack Obama and other officials.
Trump lags Biden on people of color in top campaign ranks
Read full article: Trump lags Biden on people of color in top campaign ranksTwenty-five percent of the Republican president's senior staff are nonwhite, compared to 36% of Bidens senior staff. Along with adding more people of color to his campaign, Biden has promised an administration that looks like America if he is elected on Nov. 3. His campaign declined to discuss minority representation on the campaign staff. The Biden campaign said LGBTQ staff and staff of color hold such positions as senior advisers, deputy campaign managers, national coalitions director, chief financial officer, chief operating officer and national press secretary, among others. Trumps campaign defined its senior staff as senior leaders who meet regularly to make decisions.
Trump, top officials defend response to Russia bounty threat
Read full article: Trump, top officials defend response to Russia bounty threat(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, Pool)WASHINGTON Criticized for inaction, President Donald Trump and top officials stepped up their defense of the administration's response to intelligence assessments that Russia offered bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The president has repeatedly said he wasnt briefed on the assessments that Russia offered bounties because there wasnt corroborating evidence. Those assessments were first reported by The New York Times, then confirmed to The Associated Press by American intelligence officials and others with knowledge of the matter. Senate Republicans who received their own briefing largely agreed with the White House that the intelligence was unverified. Intelligence officials told the AP that the White House first became aware of alleged Russian bounties in early 2019 a year earlier than had been previously reported.
Report: State Dept official quits over Trump race response
Read full article: Report: State Dept official quits over Trump race responseWASHINGTON A State Department official resigned Thursday over President Donald Trump's response to racial tensions sweeping the country over the killings of black people by police, The Washington Post reported. Mary Elizabeth Taylor, the assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs, said in her resignation letter that Trump's actions cut sharply against my core values and convictions." The State Department declined to comment in response to a question from The Associated Press. We do not comment on personnel matters, the State Department said in an emailed response to a request for information about Taylors resignation. There was no immediate explanation for why the State Department officials, including Pompeo and other top aides, had chosen to comment extensively on the decision to fire the departments Inspector General Steve Linick in May.