February 28, 2018 09:56 AM UTC

White House Turmoil Reaching New Heights

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• by: Colorado Pols

As CNN explains, a White House that has always been in disarray is reaching new levels of dysfunction:

A volley of stunning revelations over Jared Kushner and the Russia probe are rocking Donald Trump’s inner circle and suggest a pivotal moment is at hand in the West Wing personnel wars that have raged throughout his presidency.

First, it emerged Tuesday that chief of staff John Kelly downgraded the top secret security clearance for the President’s son-in-law in a bid to clear up a scandal over whether top administration players are qualified to access the most sensitive intelligence.

Then, The Washington Post published a bombshell report that at least four countries had discussed how to use Kushner’s sparse experience, financial troubles and intricate business arrangements to manipulate him.

Hours later, CNN reported that special counsel Robert Mueller is asking questions about Trump’s business dealings with Russia before the President’s campaign, a potentially significant development in the investigation.

This would be a lot of noise for any administration to handle, but today President Trump turned up the volume even louder. From the Washington Post:

President Trump on Wednesday lashed out again at his attorney general, questioning why the man he picked as the country’s top law enforcement official was relying on the Justice Department’s Inspector General to review alleged surveillance abuses.

In a message that takes some liberties with the facts, Trump wrote, “Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!”

Trump was referring to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s assertion the day before that Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz would look into alleged surveillance abuses that legislators on the House Intelligence Committee have been debating in recent weeks. An inspector general spokesman confirmed the attorney general had asked the office to review such issues but declined further comment.

Things are so crazy in the White House right now that it’s almost a secondary story that Communications Director Hope Hicks refused to answer even basic questions about interactions with Trump during a 9-hour closed meeting with the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. Critics allege that the White House is pushing the limits of the “executive privilege” defense.