Scaramucci, Scaramucci, can you do the Drumfdango?

[fraurosena]

The purge has begun. 

Scaramucci to oust White House press aide, offers ‘amnesty’ to others

Quote

Newly appointed White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said on Tuesday that he plans to dismiss assistant press secretary Michael Short.

It would be Scaramucci’s first step toward shaking up the communications shop, which has been dominated by former Republican National Committee staffers loyal to White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, a former RNC chairman.

Scaramucci warned that Short would be the first of many, if he’s not able to stop the leaks coming out of the communications and press shop.

“I’m committed to taking the comms shop down to Sarah [Huckabee Sanders] and me, if I can’t get the leaks to stop,” Scaramucci told POLITICO.

During his first day on the job on Monday, Scaramucci met with current communications staffers and warned about leaks coming from the office. “I offered amnesty in the meeting, but that decision is above my rank,” Scaramucci said.

Short is expected to be the first of a wave of staffers closely aligned with Priebus to be shown the door.

He was closely aligned with press secretary Sean Spicer, who resigned on Friday after Scaramucci was appointed to the communications role. He was scorned by many of his colleagues for quitting the Trump campaign, only to rejoin as a White House staffer because of Priebus.

In a story often retold by campaign staffers, they arrived at Trump Tower one morning, months before the election, to see Short’s computer left open on his otherwise empty desk. He had quit the campaign that day and never returned.

The next time he was seen by former campaign staffers was in January on their first day in the White House, where some were stunned to learn that they were going to have to work alongside him or for some of the press assistants subordinate to him.

Scaramucci said in remarks to reporters Friday that he couldn’t guarantee who will remain in the press shop, aside from social media director Dan Scavino and communications strategist Hope Hicks, both longtime aides to President Donald Trump. He’s also named Sanders to succeed Spicer as press secretary.

Spicer was in the White House on Monday but spent most of the day alone in his office, according to people who were in the building.

They think they are going to get rid of the leakers this way. Well, good luck with that, because it's going to be "mopping with the tap on" as the Dutch saying goes.

Plus, I don't think they realize that the bigliest leaker of all is going to turn out to be that tangerine tan man in charge.

[GreyhoundFan]

15 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

They think they are going to get rid of the leakers this way. Well, good luck with that, because it's going to be "mopping with the tap on" as the Dutch saying goes.

I like that phrase. I have not heard of it before, but will use it going forward. I think of this group as rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

[AmazonGrace]

 

I have a really good feeling about this. 

[Flossie]

It appears that the Scary Mooch is...an idiot.  No wonder Trump likes him so much.

(Now please tell me that the above statement is some kind of satire and Scrumch didn't really say it.)

[AmazonGrace]

No it's real. 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/scaramucci-rails-against-leaks-that-he-leaked

Shortly after telling a reporter that he planned on firing assistant White House press secretary Michael Short, White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said it was “unfair” that the public knew about the firing before Short did — even though Scaramucci himself was the source of the news.

The surreal course of events unfolded over a couple of hours Tuesday morning.

First, Politico’s Tara Palmeri reported that Scaramucci had told her, in her words, “that he plans to dismiss assistant press secretary Michael Short,” as part of his early war on White House leakers and other staffers deemed insufficiently supportive of President Donald Trump.

Short did not respond to TPM’s request for comment, but CNN’s Jeremy Diamond reported less than an hour after Palmeri’s article went live that Short had not been informed of his upcoming firing.

Fifty minutes later, Time’s Zeke Miller reported that Scaramucci said leakers were “unpatriotic” and that Scaramucci refused to confirm Short’s firing, saying it would be inappropriate to speak publicly about the matter — even though, as Miller pointed out, he already had.

Then, Scaramucci blamed “leaking” for the fact that reporters, and thus the general public, knew about Short’s potential firing before Short himself did, even though Politico cited Scaramucci as the source of the information.

[GreyhoundFan]

So, Mooch is just going to fire everybody: "Press aide resigns as White House purge begins: ‘I’m going to fire everybody,’ says Scaramucci"

Spoiler

Anthony Scaramucci, the new White House communications director, threatened on Tuesday to fire his entire staff in an effort to stem the leaking that has plagued President Trump's administration since almost the first day he took office.

“I’m going to fire everybody, that’s how I’m going to do it,” Scaramucci said. “You’re either going to stop leaking or you’re going to get fired.”

The first to leave the West Wing on Tuesday was senior assistant press secretary Michael Short, who resigned after a report emerged in Politico hours earlier saying that he would be fired in Scaramucci's quest to uproot leakers.

Scaramucci, wearing blue-tinted aviator sunglasses and speaking to a small group of reporters in the White House driveway Tuesday morning, gestured to the guard booth on the outskirts of the complex to emphasize his threat.

“If they don’t stop leaking, I’m going to put them out on Pennsylvania Avenue — it’s a very clear thing,” he said. “You want to sell postcards to the tourists outside the gate or you want to work in the West Wing? What do you want to do? If you want to work in the West Wing, you’ve got to stop leaking.”

Scaramucci entered the White House over the strenuous objections of both former White House press secretary Sean Spicer — who ultimately resigned in protest — and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.

Despite publicly claiming that he and Priebus have a long and respectful working relationship, Scaramucci has made one of his first moves the launch of a broad overhaul of the press office, singling out Priebus allies, many of whom previously worked at the Republican National Committee, for further scrutiny.

An unofficial list of Priebus loyalists has been circulating among Scaramucci allies as those most likely to lose their jobs or be reassigned to somewhere else in the administration.

Asked about press reports that he has already begun to fire West Wing staffers, Scaramucci mentioned that name of a particular staffer floated in a news story as a likely candidate for firing, and said this was one of his frustrations with the leaks coming from the West Wing.

“This is actually a terrible thing,” he said. “The fact that you guys know about it before he does really upsets me as a human being and as a Roman Catholic, you got that? So I should have the opportunity, if I have to let someone go, to let the person go in a very humane, dignified way.”

Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, said that in a meeting of White House communications staff, Scaramucci had promised all aides “a clean slate” and “amnesty” to prove that they are not leaking and working hard to defend the president and support his agenda.

But Scaramucci also made clear “1,000 percent” that he is prepared to fire any communications staffer he suspects of disloyalty. “I’ve got the authority from the president to do that,” he said.

“There are leakers in the comms shop; there are leakers everywhere,” he said. “And leaking is atrocious. It’s outrageous. It’s unpatriotic. It damages the president personally. It damages the institution of the presidency, and I don’t like it. I just don’t like it.”

Typically, the job of firing staffers — even those in the press shop — would be left to the chief of staff, but Priebus has found himself increasingly isolated in recent days, with few areas of the White House reporting directly to him.

Referring to Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was promoted to White House press secretary Friday in the wake of Spicer's resignation, Scaramucci added that he is willing to upend his entire team and rebuild it from scratch.

“If I’ve got to get this thing down to me and Sarah Huckabee,” he said, “then the leaking will stop.”

 

[GrumpyGran]

On 7/23/2017 at 8:44 PM, Cartmann99 said:

Tony honey, if the picture I saw of you on Friday is indicative of the makeup artist's work, you've already made yourself an enemy.

See how your face looks like you've been dipping into Trump's orange self-tanner, while your paler hand looks normal? Not a good look.

Because his real skin color is a very deep red. The hair hides his horns. 

[infooverload]

Just a new swamp creature kicking out everyone to make it look like "he's draining the swamp." In reality he's just going to make it murky and find new creative ways to transplant even dirtier creatures. Needed creatures which support the eco system, will be killed off and no replacements found.

[AmazonGrace]

Scaramucci Seeks Federal Tax Break on SkyBridge Sale

By 

Bill Allison

 and 

Simone Foxman

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-25/scaramucci-is-said-to-seek-federal-tax-break-on-skybridge-sale

[GrumpyGran]

23 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

 

I have a really good feeling about this. 

Ok, from everything I've seen so far from this guy, my gut says this guy has a problem with a white substance.

[GreyhoundFan]

"No one sidesteps a question like White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci"

Spoiler

We’ve seen White House counselor Kellyanne Conway talk about “alternative facts.” We’ve seen former White House press secretary Sean Spicer scold reporters for this or that. We’ve seen Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Trump, talk about nothing burgers.

Now comes recently appointed White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci. “I’m not going to answer that question because I just said I’m not going to answer it,” Scaramucci told CNN anchor Chris Cuomo on Wednesday morning on “New Day.” The question was this: Did President Trump order the firing of the communications aide — Michael Short — who resigned Tuesday in a bungled bit of personnel management?

“What happened to being straight?” asked Cuomo.

Scaramucci: “I’m being straight. I’m straightly, straightly not answering your question.” The failure to answer, said Cuomo, suggested that he was confirming that it was indeed Trump who had ordered the dismissal.

Smart move to ask about the mechanics of this episode. Politico reported early Tuesday that Short was on the outs with the White House and Scaramucci even confirmed as much to the news site. Apparently Short himself wasn’t looped in, however — a circumstance about which Scaramucci later expressed regret in a chat with reporters on the White House driveway. “This is the problem with the leaking,” said Scaramucci. “This is actually a terrible thing. Let’s say I’m firing Michael Short today. The fact that you guys know about it before he does really upsets me as a human being and as a Roman Catholic.”

The Trump White House, where everything is mishandled.

As Scaramucci told Cuomo on Wednesday, the mishandling extended into the night. Scaramucci: “I called [Short] last night and I said to him, the reason you were let go was because someone above my rank — I’m not going to say who — said that you needed to be let go and you weren’t being let go. And so I had to send a managerial message to the people that are working for me that I’m going to do what I say. I also report to somebody. If he asks me to do something, I’m actually going to go do it. I’m not a politician, Chris. And I’m never going to be a politician. What I’m going to be is an entrepreneurial business executive that’s gonna try to inject some accountability into the system.”

Upon his hiring last week, Scaramucci said that he will report directly to the president.

More on Short: “I didn’t want to fire him as much as we wanted to give him the opportunity to resign, which he did.”

Yet more: “I talked to him last night by phone and I said to him, ‘Hey, I’m here to help you find another job. Because whatever happened right or wrong inside the administration, you’ve got a long life, I’ve got a long life, and let me help you build your career.’ I also believe in the process of redemption, so if somebody does something wrong on a job and then go find another job and try to do that right. I wrote that in my book. People are fallible people, myself included. I have a whole phone book of fallibility about myself.”

It just added a page or two.

In the interview, Scaramucci said he’d never met “the person personally.” And he said he wouldn’t mention Short’s name — as if it hadn’t been published in 10 million news accounts already. Cuomo likewise said he wasn’t using the name. “We’re both compassionate people,” said Scaramucci.

Trump loves television ratings and remarked on more than one occasion on the audience that Spicer rounded up for his briefings. This fellow Scaramucci may bring the whole operation up a notch or two on this critical metric. Because in addition to his showy approach to dodging questions and stating his beloved principles, Scaramucci is now showing a flair for real-time color commentary. “I’m getting so subtle and surgical in terms of the way I talk,” said Scaramucci in his tete-a-tete with Cuomo.

Oh yeah, Mooch, you're soooo subtle and surgical. Oh please.

[GrumpyGran]

53 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"No one sidesteps a question like White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci"

  Hide contents

We’ve seen White House counselor Kellyanne Conway talk about “alternative facts.” We’ve seen former White House press secretary Sean Spicer scold reporters for this or that. We’ve seen Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Trump, talk about nothing burgers.

Now comes recently appointed White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci. “I’m not going to answer that question because I just said I’m not going to answer it,” Scaramucci told CNN anchor Chris Cuomo on Wednesday morning on “New Day.” The question was this: Did President Trump order the firing of the communications aide — Michael Short — who resigned Tuesday in a bungled bit of personnel management?

“What happened to being straight?” asked Cuomo.

Scaramucci: “I’m being straight. I’m straightly, straightly not answering your question.” The failure to answer, said Cuomo, suggested that he was confirming that it was indeed Trump who had ordered the dismissal.

Smart move to ask about the mechanics of this episode. Politico reported early Tuesday that Short was on the outs with the White House and Scaramucci even confirmed as much to the news site. Apparently Short himself wasn’t looped in, however — a circumstance about which Scaramucci later expressed regret in a chat with reporters on the White House driveway. “This is the problem with the leaking,” said Scaramucci. “This is actually a terrible thing. Let’s say I’m firing Michael Short today. The fact that you guys know about it before he does really upsets me as a human being and as a Roman Catholic.”

The Trump White House, where everything is mishandled.

As Scaramucci told Cuomo on Wednesday, the mishandling extended into the night. Scaramucci: “I called [Short] last night and I said to him, the reason you were let go was because someone above my rank — I’m not going to say who — said that you needed to be let go and you weren’t being let go. And so I had to send a managerial message to the people that are working for me that I’m going to do what I say. I also report to somebody. If he asks me to do something, I’m actually going to go do it. I’m not a politician, Chris. And I’m never going to be a politician. What I’m going to be is an entrepreneurial business executive that’s gonna try to inject some accountability into the system.”

Upon his hiring last week, Scaramucci said that he will report directly to the president.

More on Short: “I didn’t want to fire him as much as we wanted to give him the opportunity to resign, which he did.”

Yet more: “I talked to him last night by phone and I said to him, ‘Hey, I’m here to help you find another job. Because whatever happened right or wrong inside the administration, you’ve got a long life, I’ve got a long life, and let me help you build your career.’ I also believe in the process of redemption, so if somebody does something wrong on a job and then go find another job and try to do that right. I wrote that in my book. People are fallible people, myself included. I have a whole phone book of fallibility about myself.”

It just added a page or two.

In the interview, Scaramucci said he’d never met “the person personally.” And he said he wouldn’t mention Short’s name — as if it hadn’t been published in 10 million news accounts already. Cuomo likewise said he wasn’t using the name. “We’re both compassionate people,” said Scaramucci.

Trump loves television ratings and remarked on more than one occasion on the audience that Spicer rounded up for his briefings. This fellow Scaramucci may bring the whole operation up a notch or two on this critical metric. Because in addition to his showy approach to dodging questions and stating his beloved principles, Scaramucci is now showing a flair for real-time color commentary. “I’m getting so subtle and surgical in terms of the way I talk,” said Scaramucci in his tete-a-tete with Cuomo.

Oh yeah, Mooch, you're soooo subtle and surgical. Oh please.

What the hell was that? The Trump Administration continues its assault on grammar. And what does being Catholic have to do with any of this? Yeah this guy has got bigly issues. Bigly.

[nvmbr02]

Scaramucci compares Trump attempting to repeal the ACA to Lincoln abolishing slavery. 

I don't know how many times I have said WTF today. But WTF! 

He may be as big of an idiot as his boss. He is sure a bullshitter in any case.

Edited July 27, 2017 by nvmbr02
deleted extra link

[nvmbr02]

So Scaramucci is off to a good start. He sent out a tweet that basically said he was going to turn in Reince Priebus into the FBI for leaking his financial disclosure form which is a felony. Problem is, that isn't classified information and it is filed with the OGE and it isn't a felony. It may (or may) not be public information, I don't know for sure. In any case he deleted the original tweet (I have a screenshot) and then sent out another tweet saying the first one was a just public notice that they are cracking down on leakers. Whatever Mooch. Real smooth.

 

 

 

Edited July 27, 2017 by nvmbr02

[GrumpyGran]

7 hours ago, nvmbr02 said:

So Scaramucci is off to a good start. He sent out a tweet that basically said he was going to turn in Reince Priebus into the FBI for leaking his financial disclosure form which is a felony. Problem is, that isn't classified information and it is filed with the OGE and it isn't a felony. It may (or may) not be public information, I don't know for sure. In any case he deleted the original tweet (I have a screenshot) and then sent out another tweet saying the first one was a just public notice that they are cracking down on leakers. Whatever Mooch. Real smooth.

 

 

 

Will Priebus be the one to reveal all of the secrets? Scary Mooch may be playing with fire here.

[candygirl200413]

How did Harvard Law give him a degree?

[GreyhoundFan]

I like this analysis of the Mooch vs. Rancid situation: "The Trump White House just went full reality TV"

Spoiler

If Thursday morning is any indication about what the Scaramucci Era will look like, it will make the first six months of the Trump administration look tranquil.

The new White House communications director just called into a morning show and suggested that White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, who would be his boss in any normal West Wing, may be behind the leaks that are plaguing the administration. He also mused openly about their strained relationship and suggested the president may have to decide between them.

What's more, he did it all in response to a story written by a reporter who says nobody leaked anything to her, as Scaramucci had alleged.

There's a lot to unpack here, but here are the basics: Scaramucci phoned in to CNN's “New Day” program to respond to the New Yorker's Ryan Lizza, who had reported that Scaramucci was fingering Priebus for the leaks.

...<Ryan Lizza's tweet : In case there's any ambiguity in his tweet I can confirm that Scaramucci wants the FBI to investigate Reince for leaking.">

Scaramucci had seemed to suggest as much himself in a Wednesday night tweet about his personal financial disclosure supposedly being leaked to Politico -- something he labeled a "felony." The tweet, which has since been deleted, tagged Priebus.

...

On CNN, Scaramucci said he tagged Priebus because Priebus, as chief of staff, is responsible for rooting out leakers. But he also said Priebus would have to prove that he is not a leaker himself.

"If Reince wants to explain that he's not a leaker, let him do that," Scaramucci said.

He added: “I can speak for my own actions. He’s going to need to speak for his own actions.”

Scaramucci also openly admitted he and Priebus are at something of a crossroads — just six days, mind you, after saying they were “brothers” and assuring that “I don't have any friction with Reince.” Priebus had also assured the Associated Press that they were “very good friends.”

“I don't know if the relationship with Reince is reparable,” Scaramucci said. “That's up to the president.”

Here's the full, relevant passage:

As you know, from the Italian expression, the fish stinks from the head down. But I can tell you two fish that don't stink, okay, and that's me and the president. I don't like the activity that's going on in the White House. I don't like what they're doing to my friend. I don't like what they're doing to the president of the United States or their fellow colleagues in the West Wing.

Now if you want to talk about the chief of staff, we have had odds, we have had differences. When I said we were brothers from the podium, it's because we're rough on each other. Some brothers are like Cain and Abel. Other brothers can fight with each other and get along. I don't know if this is reparable or not; that will be up to the president. But he's the chief of staff. He's responsible for understanding and uncovering and helping me do that inside the White House, which is why I put that tweet out last night.

The kicker here is that Scaramucci's outburst wasn't even about an actual leak; the Politico reporter who got his financial disclosure said it was obtained from the Export-Import Bank, which had it publicly on file. In other words, there was no leak, no "felony" and really no reason for Scaramucci to lash out at Priebus in this manner.

...

This is the kind of reality-TV drama that the president thrives on: Having two of his closest advisers battle it out for loyalty, including one of them doing it in an impromptu appearance on Trump's obsession, cable news. To the extent Scaramucci is now running the show in the West Wing -- and Priebus's stock certainly seems to be declining -- we can apparently expect plenty more of this.

But even if Trump approves of all this -- and it seems likely he does particularly given Scaramucci said he had been talking to Trump just before calling in -- this is still his top advisers engaging in a very public battle, live on cable TV. It's really difficult to see what benefit all of that has.

Lizza's response to the scene pretty much said it all.

...<tweet: "This is surreal">

Maybe next week we'll have Melania and Ivanka throwing drinks at each other in a new season of "Real Housewives".

[Cartmann99]

I've noticed that Scaramucci has been paying a lot of attention to Sarah Huckabee Sanders since he started his new job, and my Spidey-sense says he's up to no good. After seeing the picture in the tweet below, his body language towards he makes me think that he's trying to use his "charm" to make her think he's interested in her, just so he can manipulate her into doing what he wants. Notice how her legs are turned slightly away from Perry, and towards Scaramucci.

Sarah is a married woman with a family of her own, but I think Scaramucci believes that she has not had a lot of attention from men, and can be easily manipulated by a little attention and flattery from him. 

This guy is trouble and will play mind games with people to get what he wants. 

[GreyhoundFan]

@Cartmann99 -- I agree, the body language is telling. She's a fool. What a group of unpleasant people.

[AnywhereButHere]

@Cartmann99  Damn! That is telling.  The other two are posing and friendly enough, but they're each in their own personal spaces with legs crossed and arms tucked.  He is so playing her, leaning in with his arm resting behind. He's so slimy. I guess it's possible that she's playing him as well, though. They're all snakes of one sort or another. Maybe she sees how easy it is to lose your job in the snake pit and figures "making friends" is the way to keep hers?

[GrumpyGran]

1 hour ago, Cartmann99 said:

I've noticed that Scaramucci has been paying a lot of attention to Sarah Huckabee Sanders since he started his new job, and my Spidey-sense says he's up to no good. After seeing the picture in the tweet below, his body language towards he makes me think that he's trying to use his "charm" to make her think he's interested in her, just so he can manipulate her into doing what he wants. Notice how her legs are turned slightly away from Perry, and towards Scaramucci.

Sarah is a married woman with a family of her own, but I think Scaramucci believes that she has not had a lot of attention from men, and can be easily manipulated by a little attention and flattery from him. 

This guy is trouble and will play mind games with people to get what he wants. 

That is quite a lean-in there! Kellyanne and Rick are keeping it to themselves but those other two-very unprofessional. What is he doing with his left arm? They have seemed a little too close from the get-go. You can guess what she wants from him, but what's his game?

[GreyhoundFan]

"Sean Spicer was right about Anthony Scaramucci"

Spoiler

Sean Spicer resigned as White House press secretary in a huff. As the New York Times reported, the much-derided spokesman for President Trump “vehemently disagreed with his appointment of Anthony Scaramucci, a New York financier, as his new communications director,” saying “that Mr. Scaramucci’s hiring would add to the confusion and uncertainty already engulfing the White House.”

In an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, Spicer said he’d told the president this: “I think it is in the best interests of this administration and your presidency that I give these two individuals the opportunity to operate without me in the way so that they have a fresh start, that I’m not lurking over them.”

Uh-huh.

In less than a week, the world is getting an up-close view of what put Spicer in such a vehement mood.

On Tuesday, Scaramucci confirmed to Politico that he was prepared to fire a communications staffer — Michael Short, who later resigned — and then complained about how the media figured that out before the deed could be done. On Wednesday morning, Scaramucci went on CNN and spoke at great length about this otherwise unspectacular personnel action, riffing about how he wanted to help this person with his career. For real. When asked whether the president had demanded the action, Scaramucci replied in comic fashion, “I’m straightly, straightly not answering your question.”

Now on to Wednesday evening. At around dinner time, the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza tweeted news of dinner at the White House: “Scoop: Trump is dining tonight w/Sean Hannnity [sic], Bill Shine (former Fox News executive), & Anthony Scaramucci, per to 2 knowledgeable sources.”

...

Later on, Scaramucci tweeted something strange: “In light of the leak of my financial disclosure info which is a felony. I will be contacting @FBI and the @TheJusticeDept #swamp @Reince45.” The Twitter handle @Reince45 belongs to Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, an ally of Spicer and a man who had opposed Scaramucci’s accession to high-level White House posts.

Except there was a problem: There was no leak. Politico reporter Lorraine Woellert merely procured the document via public request. It noted that Scaramucci had continued profiting from his ownership stake in SkyBridge Capital, according to the disclosure form filed with the Office of Government Ethics.

Yet for Scaramucci, a guy who came into his job as White House communications director determined to stop the leaks, every disclosure is a leak. It’s the hammer-nail problem. Lizza reported:

...

After Scaramucci deleted the offending tweet, he rejected any notion that he wanted an FBI investigation of a colleague:

...

Again, all of this went down after the dinner hour, raising an important question: Why not just stop “working” for a few hours?

Scaramucci on Thursday morning spent about a half-hour on CNN’s “New Day” with co-host Chris Cuomo hashing the whole thing out, claiming that he’s a “crystal-clear transparent person.” For an administration that had already minted a number of insane cable-news moments, this was exceptional. And it came with some coaching from the president himself. In his chat with Cuomo, Scaramucci said that Trump had told him that Cuomo had better be “nice” — or he wouldn’t let Scaramucci go on the show again.

However: Before Scaramucci began his therapy session with Cuomo, he did something else remarkable. At the time that Scaramucci called into CNN remotely on the telephone, Lizza was on air discussing these same issues with the “New Day” team. So Scaramucci decided to speak directly to Lizza, about a phone call they’d had the night before. “When I was speaking to you last night, Ryan, I said it was unpatriotic that you weren’t telling me who the leakers were. I was on a plane landing in New York. I have to go visit my mom. And so you may have caught it the wrong way. I was teasing you and it was sarcastic. It was one Italian to another. It wasn’t me trying to get you to say — if you could give me a sense of who they are because I have a responsibility to the president of the United States. When you said you didn’t, I totally respect your journalism and your integrity.”

That was the just-kidding defense for a communications director — a man whose job requires sophistication in dealing with the media — who just admitted on national television that he called a journalist’s refusal to disclose sources “unpatriotic.” And, in the process, he admitted that he was sufficiently naive to have called the journalist about sources in the first place. The brilliant Sean Spicer never, ever would have done this.

Then Scaramucci failed to shut his mouth in a stemwinder of an interview with Cuomo. The highlight came when Scaramucci told Cuomo that he hadn’t looked into what prompted Trump to decry leaks. “I didn’t study like that like Quincy. I wasn’t a coroner studying that, remember the Jack Klugman show?” Cuomo lashed back: “He was a medical examiner, not a coroner. But continue.”

Other moments:

• Scaramucci said, “If Reince wants to explain that he’s not a leaker, let him do that.”
• He at one point tried to micromanage Cuomo, saying, “A couple more minutes without Russia and then ask a few more questions, but we can go to Russia at the end of the segment.” Cuomo: “We both know I’m going to ask what I think is important, and we both know I have trouble taking direction.”
• He said in regard to Russia sanctions that perhaps Trump would sign a bill working its way through Congress, or perhaps he’d veto it and negotiate a deal for a tougher set of sanctions.
• He said he had talked for 15 minutes with the president on Thursday morning. “I’m far from in trouble. I have his full support,” said “the Mooch.”
• He lamented distractions from the president’s agenda.

Yet as Scaramucci spoke with Cuomo, he was furthering the president’s very clear agenda, which is to dominate programming on cable news by whatever means necessary. Even after the Scaramucci-Cuomo conversation ended, CNN continued to hash out the particulars. Lizza said that in their own phone call, Scaramucci “was very worked up and wanted to know who leaked that to me, so the call was in the context of his war on leaks.”

Commentator A.B. Stoddard said that all this is a “total distraction designed, I think, to get us to stop talking about the disarray and disruption of the transgender [military] ban and what he’s doing to [Attorney General Jeff] Sessions.” No: Neither Scaramucci nor anyone else in the administration could design a ham sandwich, let alone a distractive Beltway news flash.

Joshua Green, a Bloomberg Businessweek reporter, said, “It is important to step back and let viewers know how bizarre and unusual what just transpired is. The White House communications director live on CNN revealing conversations with reporters, calling reporters unpatriotic.”

Shaking my head.

[AmazonGrace]

I find it very scary that the White House is calling reporters to try to intimidate them into revealing their sources. 

[JMarie]

Gotta love Jeanne Moos!

http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/07/27/the-mooch-loves-trump-ebof-pkg-moos.cnn

[AmazonGrace]

Damn the Mooch is so phony... One day it's "I love the team" and then, "I'll fire everybody because they're all dirty leakers who should be hung"