Donald Trump Upset With Chief Of Staff For Fumbling Ukraine Controversy Fallout, ‘CNN’ Reports
President Donald Trump is reportedly not happy with Mick Mulvaney, his White House chief of staff, in the wake of the fallout of the release of a transcript of his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to CNN sources.
The president apparently came to terms with the idea of releasing the transcript of the phone call as well as the release of the declassified version of the whistleblower’s complaint after being convinced it was the appropriate move.
Instead, Trump is reportedly not happy with Mulvaney’s lack of a plan to deal with what happened after the release of the documents, which caused a media firestorm and accelerated House Democrats to begin the impeachment process by announcing a formal impeachment inquiry, or investigation, into the entire situation.
One of CNN‘s sources reportedly said the frustration not only comes from the president but from the White House as a whole, citing again the lack of a viable strategy to deal with what comes next. And apparently, Mulvaney is taking the brunt of the incoming fire for it. Mulvaney also reportedly got in the way of a response plan that other White House aides initially planned.
According to a statement on Saturday by White House press secretary “Stephanie Grisham,” the entire controversy is nothing more than media-driven palace intrigue.
“The fact is that President Trump and this Administration have done nothing wrong,” the statement continued. “Why would we need to implement a strategy to explain the contents of a document we willingly released? Sounds to me like more anonymous troublemakers working to stir the pot for their own selfish reasons,” Grisham said.
But while any White House official should probably plan on their next career move once they’re on the president’s bad side, as past firings have proven, CNN‘s sources reportedly said that firing Mulvaney likely isn’t in the works at the current time.
Mulvaney’s allies in the White House also dismissed the idea.
“That literally has no basis in reality,” Mulvaney’s senior adviser, John Czwartacki, said.
Trump’s private attorney, Jay Sekulow, downplayed reaction to the Ukraine controversy and assured CNN that from a legal perspective, any developments will be responded to appropriately.
“There is no war room being established. This is not a war. This is a skirmish. I am confident that our existing legal team will be in a position to respond appropriately to any developments,” Sekulow said.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Trump attacked Democrats on Saturday in a video posted to Twitter, calling the Ukraine scandal the “single greatest scam” in United States history. Though he reportedly appeared irritated in the video, he notably didn’t address or defend his phone call with the Ukrainian president.
