Tag: doug collins
Christopher Wray

Newsmax: FBI Director Slated For Dismissal By Trump After Testifying On Russian Interference

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

The White House is preparing a list of names for President Donald Trump to use as it prepares to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray, just one day after he testified before Congress that Russia again is attacking the U.S. election.

"The White House is preparing a shortlist of candidates to replace Christopher Wray as FBI Director," Newsmax White House Correspondent Emerald Robinson reported, which has not been confirmed by other reporters.

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GOP Reps Self-Quarantined After CPAC Coronavirus Scare

GOP Reps Self-Quarantined After CPAC Coronavirus Scare

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Two Republican congressmen who recently interacted with President Donald Trump are placing themselves in self-quarantine because of potential exposure to the coronavirus.

Reps. Doug Collins of Georgia and Matt Gaetz of Florida have said publicly that they came into contact with a person at the conservative conference CPAC who has since tested positive for the virus.

“This afternoon, I was notified by CPAC that they discovered a photo of myself and the patient who has tested positive for coronavirus,” said Collins in a statement. “While I feel completely healthy and I am not experiencing any symptoms, I have decided to self-quarantine at my home for the remainder of the 14-day period out of an abundance of caution. I will follow the recommendations of the House Physician and my office will provide updates as appropriate.”

The Florida congressman made a similar announcement on Twitter:

Reporters quickly pointed out that the president has recently come into contact with both Collins and Gaetz.

The Daily Beast’s Sam Stein noted:

Gaetz, meanwhile, was seen by the White House press pool boarding Air Force One to travel with the president on Monday.

Bloomberg’s Justin Sink also reported that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who placed himself under quarantine on Sunday night for the same reason, also met at the White House on Thursday. He said that White House “officials have stressed that Trump has been religious about hand washing and other precautions.”

There’s no reason to believe that Gaetz, Cruz, or Collins passed the virus to Trump, since it has not been confirmed that any of them contracted it in the first place. But the totality of the contacts shows how easily such an outbreak could spread and can even impact top officials in the federal government. In Iran, where the outbreak has spiraled out of control, two officials have already died from the infection.

Trump, too, attended CPAC, though it has not been reported that he interacted with the person since diagnosed with the virus. But the Washington Post reported:

Trump was photographed shaking hands with Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, who confirmed that he had been in direct contact with the infected man during the Conservative Political Action Conference last month.

Gaetz was the subject of criticism after he wore a gas mask to congressional proceedings last week as lawmakers passed funding to fight the outbreak. Gaetz voted to approve the measure, even while voicing ridiculous concerns about paying for the funds:

Now his office is trying to say that he wore the mask not to mock the seriousness of the disease but to demonstrate “his concern … on the House Floor.”

However, there was no sign at the time that he was taking the issue seriously. And if he was, wearing a gas mask is the last thing he should have done. Officials have urged the public not to wear face masks unless they are themselves infected, and Gaetz’s actions could have muddled the message. And when he spoke to TMZ about the matter, he was clearly in a jocular mood:

When asked by TMZ where he got the gas mask from, Gaetz remained coy.

“I gotta keep that confidential…Top secret. You don’t wanna know what underground lair I pulled this from. It’s not made in China though,” he said.

The congressman said he doesn’t expect President Trump to follow his lead and get himself a matching gas mask, mostly “based on what it does to the hair.”

Just before entering the office building and finishing the impromptu interview, Gaetz decided against advising spring break travelers to cancel their planned trips to Florida.

“In my experience, the things that you consume on spring break will typically kill the coronavirus.”

CPAC coronavirus

GOP Reps Self-Quarantined After CPAC Coronavirus Scare

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Two Republican congressmen who recently interacted with President Donald Trump are placing themselves in self-quarantine because of potential exposure to the coronavirus.

Reps. Doug Collins of Georgia and Matt Gaetz of Florida have said publicly that they came into contact with a person at the conservative conference CPAC who has since tested positive for the virus.

"This afternoon, I was notified by CPAC that they discovered a photo of myself and the patient who has tested positive for coronavirus," said Collins in a statement. "While I feel completely healthy and I am not experiencing any symptoms, I have decided to self-quarantine at my home for the remainder of the 14-day period out of an abundance of caution. I will follow the recommendations of the House Physician and my office will provide updates as appropriate."

The Florida congressman made a similar announcement on Twitter:



Reporters quickly pointed out that the president has recently come into contact with both Collins and Gaetz.

The Daily Beast's Sam Stein noted:

Gaetz, meanwhile, was seen by the White House press pool boarding Air Force One to travel with the president on Monday.

Bloomberg's Justin Sink also reported that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who placed himself under quarantine on Sunday night for the same reason, also met at the White House on Thursday. He said that White House "officials have stressed that Trump has been religious about hand washing and other precautions."

There's no reason to believe that Gaetz, Cruz, or Collins passed the virus to Trump, since it has not been confirmed that any of them contracted it in the first place. But the totality of the contacts shows how easily such an outbreak could spread and can even impact top officials in the federal government. In Iran, where the outbreak has spiraled out of control, two officials have already died from the infection.

Trump, too, attended CPAC, though it has not been reported that he interacted with the person since diagnosed with the virus. But the Washington Post reported:

Trump was photographed shaking hands with Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, who confirmed that he had been in direct contact with the infected man during the Conservative Political Action Conference last month.

Gaetz was the subject of criticism after he wore a gas mask to congressional proceedings last week as lawmakers passed funding to fight the outbreak. Gaetz voted to approve the measure, even while voicing ridiculous concerns about paying for the funds:

Now his office is trying to say that he wore the mask not to mock the seriousness of the disease but to demonstrate "his concern … on the House Floor."

However, there was no sign at the time that he was taking the issue seriously. And if he was, wearing a gas mask is the last thing he should have done. Officials have urged the public not to wear face masks unless they are themselves infected, and Gaetz's actions could have muddled the message. And when he spoke to TMZ about the matter, he was clearly in a jocular mood:

When asked by TMZ where he got the gas mask from, Gaetz remained coy.

"I gotta keep that confidential…Top secret. You don't wanna know what underground lair I pulled this from. It's not made in China though," he said.

The congressman said he doesn't expect President Trump to follow his lead and get himself a matching gas mask, mostly "based on what it does to the hair."

Just before entering the office building and finishing the impromptu interview, Gaetz decided against advising spring break travelers to cancel their planned trips to Florida.

"In my experience, the things that you consume on spring break will typically kill the coronavirus."


On Live TV, Rep. Collins Rejects Top Intelligence Job

On Live TV, Rep. Collins Rejects Top Intelligence Job

On Friday morning, hours after Donald Trump said he was considering nominating Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) as the permanent director of national intelligence, Collins went on Fox Business to say he has no interest in the job — rejecting Trump on live television.

While Collins said it was “humbling” that Trump was considering him for the position — in which he would oversee all of the U.S. intelligence agencies — he said the director of national intelligence role was “not a job that’s of interest to me, and at this time it’s not one that I’d accept.”

Trump floated Collins’ name Thursday night aboard Air Force One, telling reporters that he was seriously considering nominating Collins for the permanent role.

Trump’s comment came after the New York Times reported that Trump fired Joseph Maguire, who had previously held the title, because Maguire briefed the House Intelligence Committee about Russia’s continued efforts to help get Trump reelected in 2020.

According to the Times, Maguire told lawmakers that Russia was even trying to interfere in the Democratic primary in an effort to help Trump.

The fact that Maguire told lawmakers this reportedly enraged Trump, who fired Maguire and placed U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell in the position in the interim. Grenell has no national intelligence experience, but he is a Trump loyalist.

Grenell, however, cannot stay in the position long-term without a permanent nomination because of vacancy rules. And because Grenell has no national security experience, his nomination might face trouble even in the GOP-led Senate.

Nominating Collins to take over the role would check a few boxes for Trump.

First, it would put an ally likely to follow Trump’s orders in a prime position to hide any Russian election interference in the 2020 election.

But it would also neutralize what’s expected to be a messy Republican primary in a Georgia Senate race.

Collins is challenging appointed GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler in a Republicans Senate primary in Georgia. And Republican strategists worry an ugly primary could cost the GOP money in a year where they are trying to protect their majority.

The Republican establishment is behind Loeffler and has been trying to force Collins out of the race to no avail.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.