White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of one of the most powerful clubs in America.

Omarosa Debuts Secretly-Taped Conversations with President and CoS

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Omarosa Manigault Newman, the former “Apprentice” contestant, White House staffer, and now author of gossip-y Trumpworld book Unhinged, was secretly taping her colleagues in the Trump administration including President Trump and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.

She debuted a conversation she had with President Trump the day after she was unceremoniously fired from her White House role, parts of which she also recorded secretly. In the tape, Donald Trump expresses disbelief that she has been fired though many claim he was being disingenuous.

Omarosa also claims to have heard the long-rumored “Apprentice” tapes showing then-host Donald Trump repeatedly using the N-word while referring to the show’s African-American contestants. Additionally, she claims to have 3 sources which have to corroborate her story. Her book is out Tuesday, August 14th.

Axios and HBO Team Up for News Series

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Axios’ Mike Allen interviewing Assistant to the President, Ivanka Trump.

Washington-based news media startup Axios has partnered with premium television network HBO for a new series that, according to a statement from Axios’ Mike Allen, who just last week scored a rare interview with First Daughter Ivanka Trump, “will feature breaking news, interviews with the world’s most influential leaders, and short documentaries on the topics that matter most.”

The limited run series, out this fall, will be covering the midterm elections across America as well as “politics, technology and culture with a combination of breaking news, short documentaries and high-profile interviews.”

Producers of the series include broadcaster Perri Peltz and filmmaker Matthew O’Neill. Axios CEO Jim VandeHei said in a statement, “The world needs new, smarter ways to better understand the dominant personalities and definitive trends changing politics, business, technology and our lives.”

While the premiere date is still TBD, you can sign up for the Axios AM newsletter for more updates about the show here.

Obama and Biden Salute the Troops at Dog Tag Bakery

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President Obama at Dog Tag Bakery. Photo Courtesy of Dog Tag Bakery

Dog Tag Bakery has long been a company that gave back to the veterans who have given their lives to defend American freedoms. Their program gives jobs to combat veterans and puts them through a leadership training and entrepreneurship course in order to help veterans and their families live the American Dream. Former President Barack Obama and his VP Joe Biden visited Dog Tag Bakery on Monday, July 30th to pay a surprise visit to these deserving veterans.

Fans and customers stopped by to take photos of the duo, who chatted over Dog Tag’s famous pastries and cookies.

President Obama addressed the Dog Tag fellows saying, “What you guys are doing, having already rendered service whether as a member of the military or a spouse or family member, to come back and contribute and do more for your communities, that’s what makes us proud.”

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President Obama and Vice President Biden ordering some tasty pastries. Photo Courtesy of Dog Tag Bakery

 

CNN Reporter Kaitlan Collins Banned from White House Open Press Event

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CNN Reporter Kaitlan Collins, Photo Courtesy AP

Kaitlan Collins, a CNN reporter, was barred from covering an open press event with President Donald Trump in the Rose Garden on Wednesday, July 25th, by Bill Shine, the former FOX News exec and current deputy chief of staff of communications. After shouting what Shine considered an “inappropriate” comment at an earlier press pool, Collins was told she would not be allowed to attend the event between Trump and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

Bill Shine, who joined the Trump administration in recent weeks, later pushed back on reports Collins had been banned from the event, claiming the reporter was simply “disinvited” from attending.

The question Collins was flagged for posing to the president concerned Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen. In the same open press event, she asked about the delayed meeting between Vladimir Putin and President Trump. Both questions went unanswered.

The White House Correspondents’ Association decried the move in a statement, sat that the move was a “misguided and inappropriate decision.”

Olivier Knox, this year’s president of the White House Correspondents Association, said “this type of retaliation is wholly inappropriate, wrong-headed, and weak,” and that “it cannot stand.”

FOX News president Jay Wallace condemned the move from the White House saying, “We stand in strong solidarity with CNN for the right to full access for our journalists as part of a free and unfettered press.”

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders addressed the controversy during a press briefing Wednesday evening. “At the conclusion of a press event in the Oval Office a reporter shouted questions and refused to leave despite repeatedly being asked to do so. Subsequently, our staff informed her she was not welcome to participate in the next event, but made clear that any other journalist from her network could attend.”

Zignal Labs Beats the Bots CEO Josh Ginsberg Warns Business Leaders 50% of Social Media is Fake

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Josh Ginsberg, CEO of Zignal Labs, with Andrew Ross Sorkin on CNBC’s Squawk Box July 17, 2018

How do you know if your social media followers are real? Zignal Labs has developed a powerful new solution to combat malicious online bot attacks. Zignal Bot Intelligence is a patent-pending software that extends Zignal’s media analytics capabilities to identify bots, create a realtime visual picture of the attack, and provide their customer with data-driven insights about the attack so the customer can put together an informed response strategy.

“Bots are synthetic accounts, these are not real people. Oftentimes, it’s one person controlling thousands, even millions of conversations online in a coordinated manner so that they’re able to influence the outcome of something,” says Josh Ginsberg, CEO and Co-Founder of Zignal Labs. “Here’s the problem: companies have no idea this is happening.”

Based upon extensive media analysis of Fortune 1000 companies, Zignal Labs has found that virtually all businesses, regardless of size or industry, are at risk of attack from bot-led disinformation and media manipulation campaigns – if they haven’t been attacked already.

“This is more than just a problem with a singular platform…when an attack happens, it’s happening on multiple platforms, it’s happening on blogs and comment sections, all of this is working together,” says Ginsberg. “This is a massive problem and the only way you can solve it is with technology. Zignal Labs has developed a unique solution and that’s why we’re committed to working with customers to solve it.”

See for yourself at Zignal’s Bot Intelligence:
http://www.zignallabs.com/bots

 

Video: Greta Van Susteren Witnesses Deteriorating Conditions at Rohingya Refugee Camp in Bangladesh

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Voice of America’s Greta Van Susteren visited Bangladesh’s vast Rohingya refugee camp in June. According to Van Susteren, conditions at the refugee camp are “unthinkable, absolutely unthinkable that anyone could suffer like this.” She adds that the monsoon season has taken a heavy toll on the nearly one million refugees.

During the monsoon season, heavy rains and flooding have devastated makeshift shelters and left water sources contaminated and the residents susceptible to diseases like cholera. Van Susteren says that they’ve been able to vaccinate about half of the people in the camp but “there’s another 480,000 people who haven’t been.”

Van Susteren met with some of the relief workers who have come from all around the world to assist the people of the camp and notes that while they are doing amazing work, there’s just too many people in the camp for aid workers to adequately care for. According to Van Susteren, “This is ethnic cleansing…The world media can’t cure cholera, it can’t reverse what’s happened, but it can use its power and influence to put a spotlight on this crisis.”

Greta Van Susteren’s new show “Plugged In”, which debuted in February, airs Wednesdays at 10:30am on Voice of America and can be streamed live on VOA’s Facebook.

 

WashPost: Leon Panetta Urges Cooperation with NATO Allies Ahead of Trump’s Europe Visit

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Former CIA Director and Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta sat down for a one-on-one interview with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius as part of the Post’s Worldviews: The Future of Democracy on Wednesday, June 11th. Worldviews takes a look at the state of democracy, both in America and around the world, ahead of President Trump’s weeklong trip to visit with European leaders and NATO allies.

Panetta issued an impassioned plea to all Americans to help preserve democracy saying, “Our democracy is not going to solve its problems from the top down. It will only solve its problems from the bottom up…from the election of new individuals who are willing to give back.”

During the conversation, Leon Panetta expressed dismay at the President’s seemingly comfortable relationship with Vladimir Putin saying, “I worry that this president, for whatever reason, is not operating with the awareness of how much an adversary Russia is to the stability of the United States.”

The ambassadors from Brazil, Israel, and France discussed the global outlook for democracy, while FOX’s Steve Hilton spoke with Amb. John Negroponte about the rise of the populist movement in the wake of President Trump’s election as well as the Trump administration’s foreign policy in a panel moderated by Washington Post Global Opinions editor Karen Attiah. Democracy Fund president Joe Goldman was also on hand to remind the audience of the importance of protecting democracy in a country where 25% of the population think that America should have a strong leader who doesn’t need to bother with Congress or hold elections.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar Addresses Family Separations at Washington Post Health Event

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HHS Secretary speaks with Paige Winfield Cunningham at the Washington Post Health 202 Live event

The Trump administration policy forcing asylum seekers entering to US to split up with their children has sparked outrage around the world. As part of the Washington Post’s Health 202 Live event, health policy reporter Paige Winfield Cunningham spoke to HHS Secretary Alex Azar about his role in shaping the president’s policies, including immigration and child separation, as well as lowering insurance costs, and Medicare reform on Wednesday, June 20th.

On the controversial issue Azar said, “Nobody has ever desired to separate children from their families but, just like you or me, if you are arrested, your kids aren’t going to be with you. If you want to remain with your children, don’t come across the border illegally… Present yourself at a legal border crossing.”

Azar added, “Once members of Congress—the one who have actually visited facilities and toured it as opposed to those who are just talking about it—I think have been impressed. We take the mission quite seriously.”

Gary Cohn Talks Life After the White House, Addresses Peter Navarro Comments at Washington Post Live

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Gary Cohn, the former economic advisor to Donald Trump, spoke with Washington Post White House economic policy reporter Damian Paletta on Thursday, June 14th to discuss the legacy of his tax reform bill, Peter Navarro’s explosive comments at the G7, trade, infrastructure, and what’s next for the former Goldman Sachs CEO.

Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan kicked off the discussion saying “Gary Cohn has had a remarkable career and has stepped down from his position at the pinnacle of wall street and government finance to answer the call of government service.”

Gary Cohn says that the chance to serve in the White House was “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” On his signature achievement at the White House, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, he said, “There was a moment every day where we thought this was going to fail.”

When asked by Paletta whether or not he thought the bill will eventually be revenue neutral, Cohn answered, saying “I’m going to make a bit on news here: It won’t be revenue neutral,” and suggesting that it would be either positive or negative depending on how the economy performs.

Paletta asked Cohn for his response to Peter Navarro’s incendiary comments suggesting there was a “special place in hell” for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by saying, “It was inappropriate and uncalled for. And it’s not his job.”

 On his time in the White House alongside fellow advisors Steve Bannon, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Cohn said, “Last year was the best year of my life.” When asked if the facts always won out in the Oval Office, Cohn replied, “I may not comment on that!”

Paletta asked Cohn if he could see himself coming back to work in this administration in a different role. Cohn said, “I can see myself coming back to Washington,” prompting cheers from the crowd.

Other highlights included Cohn thinking his nickname, “Globalist Gary” was “kind of a flattering name,” and suggesting that he knew of some CEOs that would make for great presidents. He also claimed that Trump’s tweets “100 percent” affect investment markets. As for his plans going forward, Cohn plans to spend more time with his family and also that, “At this stage of my life I’d like to go and do something more unique.”

Affair with Former Senate Intel Aide Compromises Reporting from NYTimes’ Ali Watkins

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NYTimes writer Ali Watkins

The New York Times has reported that federal investigators have seized email and phone records from national security writer Ali Watkins on Thursday, June 7th. Now, press freedom groups and news organizations are condemning the move, calling it an intrusion into the freedom of the press. The Justice Department seized files from Watkins’ office after news broke that she had a three-year-long affair with retired Senate Intelligence Committee staffer James Wolfe, who was arraigned in federal court on Friday for lying to the FBI about his communications with numerous journalists.

According to the New York Times, Ali Watkins had disclosed this relationship to the publication when she was hired and did not use him as a source for her reporting. Questions linger about a Buzzfeed article, penned by Watkins, that revealed Russian operatives tried to recruit Carter Page as part of its efforts to undermine the 2016 US elections. The reporting was supplied with leaked information from the Senate Intelligence Committee. Wolfe maintains that he did lie to the FBI but that he never disclosed information related to his Senate Intelligence Committee work.

The Committee to Protect Journalists released a statement calling the Justice Department’s actions “a fundamental threat to press freedom.” The New York Times called the seizure in its own statement “an outrageous overreach.”

President Donald Trump weighed in on the charges against Wolfe, claiming that he is “a very important leaker” and that his arrest would be “terrific”.