Haunted by probe into ties with Russia, administration staff, supporters in flux
The Trump administration was in turmoil last week as one high-level official resigned and leaks implicated another in communications with the Russian ambassador. On Friday, President Donald Trump’s decision to hire financier Anthony Scaramucci as communications director prompted Press Secretary Sean Spicer to abruptly resign. News outlets reported that Spicer told the president he believed Scaramucci’s hiring would deepen the turmoil swirling around the White House. Meanwhile, scrutiny tightened on Attorney General Jeff Sessions amid leaks and criticism from both sides. On Wednesday, Trump told reporters he wished he had not offered the job to Sessions because of the latter’s recusal from the Russia investigation. Two days later, the Washington Post reported on leaked intelligence that Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak had told his superiors that during the 2016 presidential campaign, he and Sessions had discussed matters relating to the campaign and U.S.-Russia policy. If true, that report would contradict Sessions’ claim under oath that he did not speak with Kislyak about campaignrelated matters. He had previously claimed he had not met with any Russians at all but later said they occurred only in his function as a senator. The Russia investigation cast shadows on not just Sessions but also Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort as a Senate panel probes their meeting with a Russian lawyer last summer. The leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee say Manafort and Trump Jr. are in talks to testify in private and potentially turn over documents. Kushner is set to testify privately on Monday before the Senate Intelligence Committee and on Tuesday before its House counterpart. The political turmoil of the week seized headlines, drawing attention away from the White House’s “Made in America Week,” aimed at celebrating domestic-made goods. Also last week, the Trump administration reportedly stopped a long-running program to arm Syrian rebels in their fight against President Bashar al-Assad. And the State Department announced a ban on American citizens traveling to North Korea after the death last month of a student who was jailed while on a tourist trip.