Tag: Kellyanne Conway

Posted on

News Round-Up: April 12, 2017

Some news items you may have missed:

• Fitness model/hottie Nick Sandell (above) is looking forward to Friday, too. Happy Hump Day!

• The wife of Omar Mateen, the shooter in the Pulse Nightclub massacre, has pled not guilty to aiding and abetting her husband in the deadly attack. The judge set a trial date of June 5th – one week before the 1st anniversary of the mass shooting.

• North Carolina Speaker of the House Tim Moore says he won’t bring the recently filed legislation to ignore the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage up for a vote.

• Lisa Kudrow is set to join the cast of “Grace & Frankie!”

• A new medical study suggests poppers, inhalants used by gay men during sex, could cause central vision problems.

• Is Steve Bannon on the way out of the White House? President Trump begins a sentence with, “I like Steve, but…”

• Shortly after Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Washington Post adopted a new slogan – “Democracy dies in darkness.” Today, journalist Michael Wolff told White House counselor Kellyanne Conway that “when they say ‘democracy dies in darkness,’ you’re the darkness.” She wasn’t too appreciative of the sentiment. Watch below.

Posted on

Fox News On Kellyanne Conway: “We Don’t Quote (Conway) Much Anymore Because, Well, History…”

At the top of his newscast today, Fox News’ Shep Smith had this to say about White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway:

”Kellyanne Conway, whom we really don’t quote much anymore because, well, history…”

That was in reference to Conway’s claim yesterday that microwave ovens turn into cameras and that’s “just a fact of modern life:”

Smith followed with:

“Counselor Kellyanne Conway, who’s previous words have been, well, up for debate…”

“Microwaves do not turn into cameras. Fox News can now confirm microwaves heat food. Cameras take pictures. Microphones don’t have cameras. And microphones can’t turn into cameras. Fox News now confirms.”

Watch below:

Posted on

Kellyanne Conway: “I’m Not In The Job Of Having Evidence”

Asked by The Bergen Record on Sunday if she knew for a fact that Trump Tower phones had been wiretapped, White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said, “What I can say is that there are many ways to surveil each other now, unfortunately. There was an article this week that talked about how you can surveil someone through their phones, certainly through their television sets, any number of different ways. Microwaves that turn into cameras, etcetera.”

This morning, Conway made several more appearances and had to answer questions on the idea of “surveillance microwave ovens.” Talking to CNN’s Chris Cuomo, she attempted to obfuscate with, “I was answering a question about surveillance techniques generally.”

Pressed further on the wiretapping allegation, Conway whipped up this whopper: “I’m not Inspector Gadget. I don’t believe people are using the microwave to spy on the Trump campaign. However, I’m not in the job of having evidence.”

Because “alternate facts.”

As a reminder – both President Obama and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper have said there’s nothing to the allegations.

President Trump, in an astounding display of irony, chastised the media for being “rude” to Conway:

Posted on

Kellyanne Conway Will Not Be Disciplined For Promoting Ivanka Trump Merchandise

Kellyanne Conway

According to a letter from the White House to the Office of Government Ethics, the White House has determined that Conway acted “inadvertently” and “without nefarious motive or intent” when she told the TV audience on Fox News to “Go buy Ivanka’s stuff.”

From ABC News:

In the Feb. 28 letter to OGE Director Walter Shaub, White House deputy counsel Stefan Passantino said he met with Conway about the incident and briefed her on federal employee ethics laws.

“We concluded that Ms. Conway acted inadvertently and is highly unlikely to do so again,” he wrote. “Ms. Conway has acknowledged her understanding of the standards and has reiterated her commitment to abiding by them in the future.”

“Go buy Ivanka’s stuff,” Conway said in a Fox News interview last month. “I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody.”

After the incident last month, the OGE sent a letter to the White House calling for an investigation and review of Conway’s actions — which Shaub described as a “clear violation of the prohibition against misuse of position” — and recommended disciplinary action.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said the lack of disciplinary action is “a very bad sign.”

“Other federal employees would likely be suspended for engaging in this conduct, and White House officials should not be held to a different standard,” he said in a statement. “I hope that the president reconsiders his decision and that he and his staff will take their ethical obligations more seriously.”

I would point out that she was quite clear and cognizant of her language. She literally called it a “free commercial.”

Posted on

Government Ethics Office Recommends Disciplinary Actions Against Kellyanne Conway

It looks like White House counselor Kellyanne Conway will get more than just “counseled” in regard for her recent hawking of Ivanka Trump merchandise on national television.

From The Hill:

The director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) says White House counselor Kellyanne Conway misused her official position by hawking Ivanka Trump’s product line on TV and recommends the White House punish her.

“Under the present circumstances, there is strong reason to believe that Ms. Conway has violated the Standards of Conduct Act and that disciplinary action is warranted,” Walter Schaub wrote in a Tuesday letter to White House legal counselor Stefan Passantino.

Schaub asked the White House to respond by Feb. 28 with the results of its investigation and any disciplinary action it may decide to take. “I recommend the White House investigate Ms. Conway’s actions and consider taking disciplinary action against her,” he wrote.

Here’s Conway on Fox News last week promoting Ivanka Trump’s wares:

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released the letter on Twitter. See below.

Posted on

Catching Up With “Michael Flynn’s Wild Ride”

In this episode of “As The Trump Turns:”

Last night, White House senior advisor Kellyanne Conway told MSNBC that (then) National Security Advisor Michael Flynn had “the complete confidence of the president.”

Just hours later, Flynn resigned as the news emerged that the acting Attorney General Sally Yates (fired for telling the truth) informed the White House last month that Flynn had probably misled Trump and the administration, and had possibly opened himself up to blackmail by the Russian government.

So, President Trump knew of these reports last month, but last Friday when asked about the issue onboard Air Force One by reporters, Trump said he had not read or heard of such reports and he’d have to get back to the media over it.

So, which is it? Did Trump know about the moves by Flynn? Or did President Bannon not keep Trump in the loop?

If Trump knew about these revelations last month, how did Flynn have the “full confidence of the president?”

Or, more importantly, if this had not come to light, would Flynn STILL have the full confidence of the president?

If Trump knew all this, why did he allow Flynn complete access to American intel when he might be vulnerable to Russian blackmail?

It wasn’t Flynn’s lie to Vice-president Pence that brought Flynn down. It was the facts coming to light. The White House knew about these allegations for weeks. Nothing was done until the info got out to the public.

CNN is now reporting that Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Tuesday has called for an investigation into connections between President Donald Trump and Russia, and wants the Intelligence Committee to speak with Michael Flynn.

Here’s Kellyanne Conway this morning twisting in the wind with NBC’s Matt Lauer:

And while Kellyanne was talking in circles at NBC, poor Rep. Chris Collins seemed to have drawn the short GOP straw, and had to spin his own circular nonsense over at CNN:

And just one final piece of irony: here’s now-former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn last summer at the Republican National Convention where he led the crowd in chants of “Lock her up!” in regard to possible security leaks from Hillary Clinton’s email server.

Posted on

Sean Spicer: Kellyanne Conway “Has Been Counseled” About Shilling For Ivanka Trump

During today’s White House press briefing, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer was asked about Kellyanne Conway’s “free commercial” for Ivanka Trump’s Nordstrom fashion line (which is being dropped) on FOX News.

According to Sparky Spicer, “She’s been counseled on that subject.” And then he quickly moved on.

Ethics experts weighed in all morning saying Conway clearly violated federal law which prohibits federal employees from “endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity.”

Watch Spicer below:

Posted on

Did White House Adviser Kellyanne Conway Violate Federal Laws?

Ethics experts are amazed at a promotional shout out from White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway today on FOX News.

Kellyanne Conway used an interview from the White House this morning to officially endorse the Ivanka Trump product line at Nordstrom department store, a clear violation of federal law.

A federal employee (that would be Ms. Conway) may not “use his public office for his own private gain [or] for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated…”

And this was clearly an endorsement. Conway said, “This is just wonderful line. I own some of it. I fully — I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online.”

UPDATE – Congressman Elijah Cummings has sent a formal request for potential disciplinary action regarding Conway’s “free commercial.” See below – click on image to enlarge.

Posted on

Kellyanne Conway: “I Felt Badly About Bowling Green Massacre Mixup”

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper today, says she “felt badly about the Bowling Green massacre mixup.”

You’ll recall last week, Conway told MSNBC host Chris Matthews, “I bet it’s brand-new information to people that President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized and were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre,” she said. “Most people don’t know that because it didn’t get covered.”

The comment went viral in light of the fact that there was no “Bowling Green massacre.”