Cont’d
“… Trump’s calls have raised alarms from some foreign policy experts — particularly his call with Vladimir Putin.
He advised the Russian president not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of Washington’s sizable military presence in Europe, as
The Washington Post reported.
The absence of an official transcript of the exchange already has created a challenge for Trump, said Daniel Fried, a retired diplomat now at the Atlantic Council think tank, because the Kremlin quickly denied that the call had taken place.
“It would be a lot easier for the Trump team if he were able to say that the Russia team was lying,” said Fried, who played key roles in designing American policy in Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union.
“So there’s a cost to doing it this way. People are scratching their heads and saying, ‘Somebody’s lying.’”
Trump’s transition team has also dispensed with the FBI’s role, in place since before World War II, in performing the background checks that form the backbone of security clearances for political appointees. By law these checks must be performed by federal employees, not private contractors with no agency oversight, to ensure that key decisions affecting public trust are made by “accountable government officials,” according to federal statute.
… Thus far, Trump has left the job of vetting candidates to Stanley Woodward, a Palm Beach lawyer on his campaign who has represented several
Jan. 6 rioters and Trump associates caught up in the classified documents case, according to transition staff who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the decision.
… Trump advisers have begun discussing an executive order that would award clearances to Trump appointees on Day 1, without the customary checks, people familiar with the matter said. Trump resented in his first term how long it took for some people — particularly his family members — to get clearances, and what a “mess it became publicly,” a person who talked to him about it said.
… “There is a theme here,” Van Hollen said of Trump’s unfolding transition. “He is getting rid of all checks on executive power that are in the system.”….
“It’s an end run around constitutional design,” the senator said. “We have tools in the confirmation process to make sure nominees get vetted. What he’s asking Republicans to do is make him king.” …”
