Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Sharp elbows seen ahead of Trump’s inauguration
Incoming chief of staff admonishes critics; departing CIA chief has warning on Russia
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump entered the week of his inauguration fending off questions about the legitimacy of his presidency even as he promised to unite the nation as its new leader.
His aides went on the attack against the Democratic Party and civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, DGa., who questioned the legitimacy of Trump’s claim to the White House. And a top aide issued a pointed warning to the head of the office of government ethics to “be careful” after he publicly called for Trump to make a cleaner break with his business interests.
Trump’s top aides pushed back hard on the notion that Trump’s presidency was somehow not legitimate — a charge that stems from the allegation that Russia meddled in the elections — with incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus calling Lewis’ charges “insanity” and “incredibly disappointing.”
“I think President (Barack) Obama should step up,” Priebus told ABC’s “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos. “I think the administration can do a lot of good by telling folks that are on the Republican side of the aisle: Look, we may have lost the election on the Democratic side, but it’s time to come together.”
On CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Vice President-elect Mike Pence asserted Trump’s right to “defend himself” against the suggestion he is not a legitimate president, even coming from an “icon” such as Lewis. And he criticized Lewis for refusing to attend Trump’s inauguration.
Meanwhile, adding another chapter to the intense conflict between Trump and the intelligence community, CIA Director John Brennan on Sunday sharply criticized the incoming president, suggesting that he needed to focus more seriously on the security issues facing the nation.
“What I think Mr. Trump has to understand is that this is more than being about him, and it’s about the United States and our national security,” Brennan said in an interview with “Fox News Sunday.”
“And he has to make sure that now he’s going to have the opportunity to do something for national security, as opposed to talking and tweeting; he’s going to have tremendous responsibility to make sure that U.S. national security interests are protected and are advanced.”
That was particularly the case when it comes to Russia, Brennan said.
“I don’t think he has a full appreciation of Russian capabilities, Russia’s intentions and actions that they are undertaking in many parts of the world,” he said.
The combative stance comes days before Trump will take the oath of office and address a bitterly divided nation.
“For many years our country has been divided, angry and untrusting. Many say it will never change, the hatred is too deep. IT WILL CHANGE !!!! ” Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon.
On Saturday, Trump was widely criticized for responding to Lewis in a series of tweets, claiming that the Georgia congressman was “all talk” and “no action, no results.” Lawmakers in both parties pointed to the arrests and physical beatings Lewis withstood as a leader in the civil rights movement as evidence to the contrary.
Trump also poured salt on old wounds for Democrats who argue that his long history of doubting Obama’s citizenship was a racist effort to delegitimize the country’s first black president.
Priebus said Sunday that questions about Obama’s birth have “been resolved for at least two years in Donald Trump’s mind” and distinguished between questioning Obama’s citizenship and accepting the results of the election.
Stephanopoulos corrected Priebus, noting that Trump continued to raise questions about Obama’s eligibility well into his own presidential campaign. “That’s not the point. The point is not where Barack Obama was born,” Priebus said. Priebus also took a firm stance against Walter Shaub, director of the Office of Government Ethics.
Shaub has publicly criticized Trump’s transition for rushing his nominees’ ethics reviews, and he called on Trump to divest from his business assets to avoid conflicts.
The comments prompted Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, to call for Shaub to testify before Congress.
“The head of the government ethics ought to be careful because that person is becoming extremely political,” Priebus said on ABC. “Apparently, (Shaub) may have ... publicly supported Hillary Clinton ... calling out the president with info on Twitter about our disentangling of the business over a month ago. So I’m not sure what this person at government ethics, what sort of standing he has any more in giving these opinions.”
The comments and the prospect of a congressional investigation were taken as a barely-veiled threat to Shaub, a political appointee named by Obama in 2013 to a five-year term.