Is there such a thing as a Sunday night news dump?
‘Cause this sure is interesting:
Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to President Trump and one of his longest-serving aides, is leaving the White House at the end of the month.
Conway called her time in the Trump administration “heady” and “humbling,” and said she and George were making the decision based on what they think is best for their four children.
Now, back to the red meat of the story. This is a world in which Adam S. moves much more comfortably than I, but there’s no reading of this news I can come up with that doesn’t point to a pretty straight-forward implication at the level of power politics.
This would be that Kellyanne’s sponsors/capos, the Mercers, have come to the conclusion that their investment in Trump has reached the point of diminishing returns, and are redeploying their assets accordingly.
Further: I think Conway terrifies Trump. He’d be happy to see her gone…except for what that absence implies. He may retain just enough feral cunning to recognize that the wolves are getting clsoer, the sled is skating on through the night, and he’s ever more alone, freezing his ample keister on the ice.
As always, such political meandering is worth precisely what you paid for it. Open thread.
ETA*2: See Adam’s comment below for a different and likely much better take: not the Mercer’s but some combination of true family urgency and/or emergency legal maneuvers.
John Revolta
Im’ma repost my comment from the previous post now that I’ve seen this here one
LesGS
Her 15 yo daughter has been hate-tweeting her, and has tweeted she’s seeking to be emancipated. So, yeah. Trouble at home.
debbie
A fun thought, but this feels more like wishful thinking.
Princess
I think this is the correct read.
(And any speculation about what is or what is not going on with the kids one way or another, whatever you believe about what is going down, is inappropriate in my view. I think they can be left entirely out of our discussion of this.)
ruemara
I believe nothing without evidence. Including their suffering daughter. We’ll see what we see, otherwise, my best to the child & I hope we find out how much KAC &GC knew during the long running Truth & Reconciliation Hearings before they are convicted & jailed.
debbie
@LesGS:
She also tweeted against her father. The home must have been hell with all the bickering and fighting…from the parents.
Yutsano
Cole doing a bigfoot on this post that is covered in the post two to the left of his post is all I need to see from 2020 anymore.
FlyingToaster
Cynthia (one of the Conway twins) has been hate tweeting both parents. She was given a short time out in June, and came back louder.
This week she seems to have contacted a lawyer regarding emancipation.
That hit the crowd who are endlessly fascinated by the Conways, and Cynthia’s tweet showed up in 3 different lists of mine.
George Conway is also leaving the Lincoln Project.
Stay tuned. This is gonna get weirder.
coin operated
Going to 2nd what LesGS *and apparently everyone else* said. George and KAC’s daughter had an epic meltdown on Twitter earlier. Trouble at home is an understatement of the highest order.
Edited to acknowledge everyone else in this thread
John Revolta
I mean I don’t really know what the hell she’s doing in the WH anymore lately, other than presumably acting as a conduit between Trumpf and the Mercers and keeping an eye on things for them. Anybody could do that.
Yutsano
There is definitely something going on here. But we might just be overthinking it. KellyAnne might have read the tea leaves and decided to set up this whole “drama” just so she could get out while the getting’s good. They lay low a week, come back, say everything is copacetic, then she announces her book deal and does interviews stating her real opinion of Dolt45 and crew.
Tom Levenson
@Yutsano: I belong to no organized political party. I’m a Democrat.
I write for no organized almost-top-10,000 blog. I’m a Balloon Juice hack…
trollhattan
Somebody light the Cheryl bat signal.
...now I try to be amused
@FlyingToaster:
Very interesting. A negotiated cease-fire?
Wyatt Salamanca
Kellyanne wants to be the Trump lackey who gets her tell all memoir into bookstores ahead of all the other dirtbags.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Yutsano: Cole’s bigfooting and not-reading of his own blog has been going on since at least 2012.
Thanks, Obama.
Keith P.
@…now I try to be amused: Probably. Kellyanne leaves the WH, so George leaves the Lincoln Project and the daughter quits Twitter.
Cheryl Rofer
@trollhattan: Most speculation has been that this fire was sabotage, probably by the Israelis. Now Iran is saying that it was sabotage but not speculating publicly as to who did it.
Like so many other things as the election approaches, this situation is a race against time, although US bungling may have bought some in the UN. The US attempt to reimpose sanctions (“snapback”) on Iran failed miserably, but Mike Pompeo says that the US will unilaterally impose them in 30 days.
The other parties to the JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal) stood firm and told the US to bug off. Now Iran is talking about making up some deficiencies that the IAEA is concerned about. That would be a good thing.
And somebody, most likely Israel, is sabotaging many things in Iran – there have been a number of explosions over the past month.
If Biden is elected, his team is going to need to go into action ASAP.
FlyingToaster
@…now I try to be amused: Seriously, Cynthia Conway announced that she’s contacted a lawyer and they’re filing for her emancipation on Monday.
Various journalists are being attacked by TCOTs for mentioning Cynthia’s tweets, claiming this is a “family matter”.
sdhays
@LesGS: I still remember how KAC talked in 2016 about how she dealt with Dump like she dealt with her young daughter, something about giving her a choice of green dresses so she got a choice but wore a green dress like you wanted her to. Obviously, that kind of thing is a strategy for children, and children need fewer choices (we all need a small number of choices for most things – David has written about it), but the way she talked about it was so manipulative and disrespectful to both her daughter and her supposed boss.
It seems quaint now, but just that comment would have upended any other campaign.
debbie
@FlyingToaster:
Dimes to doughnuts, the very same people who mercilessly mocked Chelsea Clinton’s appearance.
Keith P.
@FlyingToaster: I would have to think that after both parents quit the Trump business, the daughter would pull her emancipation threat, since that’s what it was apparently about.
West of the Rockies
Wild speculation here, but maybe Conway has simply had enough. Perhaps she is privy to some about-to-drop stinkbomb and decided not to be further tainted by the Trump wretchedness.
VeniceRiley
@FlyingToaster: I saw her tweet earlier today she was taking a social media break and please lay off her parents. This could all be related.
Adam L Silverman
@Tom Levenson:
George and KellyAnne Conway’s eldest daughter, Claudia, who is 15, went on twitter late last night and earlier today alleging that 1) her mother has been emotionally and physically abusing her for years, 2) her father is just as bad politically as her mom, except on Trump so no one should be giving him any credit, and 3) this is why she was seeking to be legally emancipated from both of her parents. I expect this was repeated on Claudia’s Instagram and Tik Tok accounts. Or on others.
Conway isn’t quitting the White House because the Mercers are pulling the plug, she’s quitting because her eldest daughter, who is the eldest of four children, has publicly accused her of being emotionally and physically abusive. And that this is the reason she is seeking to be legally emancipated. While KellyAnne has a law degree, but as far as I know has never practices, George is a very, very, very good attorney. He knows exactly the jeopardy that has been created for them. As an officer of the court he’s a mandatory reporter, so if there was abuse and he didn’t report it, he’s in almost as much trouble as KellyAnne may well be in if Claudia’s allegations are substantiated. If they actually care about her and their other kids they’re quitting the White House (KellyAnne) and the Lincoln Group (George) to try to get her help. If they’re as transactional and psychopathic as I actually expect and believe, they’re trying to figure out how to stay ahead of the authorities and how to keep Claudia from going forward with the emancipation she said she’s pursuing and that would bring everything into the open.
I expect someone flagged Claudia’s tweets for DC’s child protective services. And that an initial contact was made and that prompted PANIC!!!!! The Conways have a primary residence in Manhattan, the apartment they own in one of the Trump buildings, and George actually practices out of his firm’s NY office, though they’ve given him a DC office while his wife worked for Trump so he can work remotely. They also have a large family property in New Jersey, which is where KellyAnne is from – her grandfather was the senior enforcer for the Philly and greater Philadelphia area mob. I would not be surprised to find out that the Conways have left the home they got in DC when KellyAnne took the White House job and are heading to one of their other homes in one of the other jurisdictions, which would slow down any investigations, as well as make it harder for Claudia to pursue emancipation.
That’s the story.
Mary G
This seems like a major family tragedy in the making. That kid is screaming for help; they are horrific parents.
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: It’s a combo op between the Israelis, the Emiratis, and the Saudis. The Saudis and the Emiratis are the bill payers. The Israelis are conducting the op with some Emirati help.
James E Powell
@FlyingToaster:
Damn the TCOT’s and others calling it a family matter. What would they say if this were the Clintons? Or any other Democrat?
Brachiator
My gob is thoroughly smacked. I want to laugh at this development. But I also wonder what kind of creature Trump is going to dredge up to replace her.
Trump certainly knew about this before now. No surprises. And yes, he is not smart, but he is cunning. He probably has some truly creepy new team rested and ready to pounce after the convention.
Makes me wonder why NYT Haberman and other media scum embedded in the White House wasn’t on top of this. Oh yeah, their exclusives depend on their sucking up to Trump and keeping his secrets.
TS (the original)
@LesGS:
When us older folks had trouble with 15 year old daughters, I thank dog that there was no twitter. On the phone for hours complaining to friends about the terrible parents, but at least the world wasn’t joining in.
I travelled for work & the daughter hated it. If she had something like twitter to tell the world about it – I probably would have resigned as well. Never really knew until much later how it affected her.
I hope KA takes the lifeline she has been offered to save the relationship.
Adam L Silverman
@FlyingToaster: Claudia. Her name is Claudia. Here’s the tweets that caused mass panic at the Conway’s disco.
And the last tweet:
sdhays
Holy shit. Small world, right?
FlyingToaster
@James E Powell: All I can say is that I think DC, VA, MD, NJ & NY should all have their Children’s Protective Services (or equiv) on alert. I don’t think that this is going to end “quietly”.
West of the Rockies
@Adam L Silverman:
That sounds like an accurate and informed take. Being 15 is hard. I hope the kids lands on her feet.
Once again, everything Trump touches turns to shit.
FlyingToaster
@Adam L Silverman: Claudia. Correct.
I’ve been baking in between following the soap opera on Twitter. Not an excuse, just a reason for mangling the name.
FlyingToaster+1 (plus 2 loaves of 7-grain bread and two ziplocs of Pizza dough)
Adam L Silverman
@sdhays: Don McGahn’s uncle, who helped the President get his New Jersey gaming license after they had decided to reject him because he lied on his application and disclosures, was one of the senior mob consiglieres for the mob in New Jersey.
Basically everyone around the President can either be tied to a foreign power, a foreign power’s intelligence service, and/or American organized crime or the organized crime of a foreign power.
TS (the original)
@Adam L Silverman:
I didn’t understand the legal implications – i haven’t been anywhere near the family tweets – but I agree that the resignations relate to family. For once I think “resigning to spend more time with the family” may be the valid reason.
Adam L Silverman
@West of the Rockies: It is what it is.
cain
@Cheryl Rofer:
I assume that means putting the leash on Israel?
I’m hoping with Biden in the drivers seat – they can start putting the screws on the right wing Bibi govt. I don’t think we can do anything with the Palestinians at this point. Our reputation in complete tatters.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Adam L Silverman:
KAC is inextricably linked in my mind to Chuck Todd, who brought MSNBC coverage of one of the ’16 debates to a stop so he could assure viewers that Kellyanne Conway wasn’t just good at her job, she is also, he assured us in his most earnest simper, “a good person.” I’ve known Kellyanne Fitzpatrick was a vile human being since I first saw her on the old Maher show in the 90s. But then I’ve never found my place card next to hers at one of Sally Quinn’s candlelight suppers. Or heard the riffs on trump she used to do at the French ambassador’s receptions, and other jus’ folks events in trump’s populist Washington.
Adam L Silverman
@FlyingToaster: Carb loading?
Adam L Silverman
@TS (the original): Actually it’s resigning to spend more time with the family in the hope it keeps my kids from being taken away and put into foster care and I don’t wind up as the target of a very messy investigation into child abuse. But you were close!
Adam L Silverman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Chuck Todd is a waste of chromosomal material.
2liberal
i think it’s claudia conway , who mentions emancipation on this twitter account
https://twitter.com/claudiamconwayy
The Moar You Know
That kid could be a hell of a lawyer someday. She said all the right things in the right order to insure that her parents would be absolutely fucked. And they are. And I have zero doubt they deserve it all. I didn’t need to hear from the kid that George and KellyAnne are horrible people, that was obvious from day one, I’m just really sorry to find out they have kids.
Hope she puts a life together free of them. That’s a lot to take on at 15, but she seems pretty fucking tough.
cain
Turns out according to this article that dear old George along with other familar names like Ann Coulter – ol George was the guy who got the scoop of Monica Lewinsky – and was out to get him. His mother was a democrat – did work for George McGovern, but the fool fell in love with Reagan like of people did. Thank god – even at 16 I knew Reagan was an asshat.
cain
@Adam L Silverman:
A man with a DNA map that unfortunately had a missing piece.
Anya
@Adam L Silverman: I think Claudia is the Conways youngest daughter.
I really hate to talk about this child’s life but I also hope she was not abused by her mother like she claims. I keep seeing her tweets on my timeline because some people I follow like her tweets or engage with her. I feel it’s really inappropriate for adults to engage with this child.
mrmoshpotato
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: And here I am thinking Upchuck Todd can’t be an even bigger piece of shit! Silly me!
Monala
@James E Powell: I recall the NYT writing about how Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner’s divorce created troubling concerns about Hillary Clinton, due to reminding voters of her own troubles with Bill and calling into question her judgment in hiring Abedin. They even had the gall to ask Donald Trump to weigh in on what it said about Clinton’s ability to be president (!!).
Ken
@Adam L Silverman: FYI her tiktok handle is datjerseygirl. She’s also speaking on there.
mdblanche
@Adam L Silverman: @Adam L Silverman: Jesus Christ. I used to like making “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” jokes about the Conways before I learned their kids weren’t imaginary. At this point George and Kellyanne make George and Martha look compassionate and well-adjusted by comparison.
Anne Laurie
Thoughts & prayers (in my case, actual prayers, to Murphy Lord of Chaos and Sekhmet Goddess of Consequences).
Conway family drama aside, there’s been a steady trickle of complaints that the Mercers just weren’t chipping in like they did four, or even two, years ago. Since Everything Is Connected, it seems quite possible to me that the Mercers gave the Conways permission to remove themselves from the Beltway area one step ahead of the upcoming RNC conflagration…
Rumors I’ve seen is that the Mercers intend to sit on their money until Biden/Harris take over, and then start
ratfvckinglobbying for their high-L Libertarian principles (We got ours, fvck you) again. On the other hand, since it’s been my impression that Rebekah’s only genuine goal is to be In the Room Where It Happens, I can see her deciding that sucking up to the new kewl Democratic administration might be worth a shot, too.FlyingToaster
@Adam L Silverman: Nope. Household Baker. HerrDoktor is Household Chef. WarriorGirl is Household insanely picky eater.
I was being entertained by the train wreck while concentrating on getting the various things at the various temperatures/risings and trying to wash all of the associated implements.
Our favorite bakery has had to cut various items due to the global pandemic. About 6 weeks ago they stopped making 7 grain bread. I’ve been working my way through various permutations until I have the acceptable-to-ChezToaster recipe.
Check back tomorrow or Tuesday night for a loaf of white bread for WG’s PB&J. Thursday night for Challah, probably.
Adam L Silverman
@Monala: The failure in judgement wasn’t hiring Abedin, the failure in judgement was her fixing Abedin up with Weiner when Abedin’s initial response to the suggestion by Clinton that she accept his request for a date was “I’m not interested”. And I’m not even sure that was a failure in judgement because at that time no one knew Weiner had sexual issues.
Adam L Silverman
@Ken: I don’t do Facebook because I don’t want my info sold by Zuckerberg to Deity knows who so he can buy another house. I don’t actually use twitter, in that I don’t have an account and don’t log in, because that form of communication except for breaking news and cute animal videos is toxic. I don’t use Instagram for the same reasons as Facebook. And I don’t use Tik Tok because the PRC’s intel serviced don’t need any more information about me than they already have from hacking OPM back in 2014.
Adam L Silverman
@Anne Laurie: The Mercer’s actual interest is getting out from under their $7 billon past due tax bill. They made it known about two years ago they were sitting out this cycle. So they’ve either gotten that taken care of, but it was never announced, or they’ve realized that not even the President and Mnuchin are going to fix this for them.
Adam L Silverman
@FlyingToaster: I don’t eat refined carbs, but I await your update.
RaflW
@Adam L Silverman: “her grandfather was the senior enforcer for the Philly and greater Philadelphia area mob” was not a detail I’d known nor was that a plot twist (yes, I know this is real life, but it’s so damn weird).
One could (irresponsibly?) speculate that one of the assets she brought to the Trump Organization was a level of comfort with extralegal activities of an organized and possibly repetitively fraudulent-seeming nature.
Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom
@Mary G: Earlier, Claudia was on TikTok live, and she was completely unimpressed and underwhelmed by both her parents. She also claimed the Conways were planning to divorce, but put it on hold, to thwart her bid for emancipation. I hope she’s safe.
Kent
They are a multi-generational power family in it for the long haul. I expect they realize they have ridden the Trump horse as far as it can take them and might as well cash out now since they already got their $7 billion tax break from Trump. They are probably looking around for the next sure GOP bet to put their money on in 2024.
James E Powell
@Adam L Silverman:
I doubt that Hillary Clinton could have known Anthony Weiner’s secret life when she urged Huma Abedin to go out with him. But once everybody knew about him, Clinton should not have employed Abedin in any capacity. That would have been my “Do you want to get elected or not?” advice. Clinton had enough to deal with.
It’s always been notable to me that Clinton is supposed to be this cold blooded Machiavellian, but she was loyal to Abedin such that it cost her the White House.
Susan Einbinder
Why didn’t she mention her three younger siblings?!? Doesn’t bode well that she did not … if as she alleges she has been chronically abused/neglected/maltreated, they are, too, and as the older child, she would naturally become the ‘caretaker’. Has she? I’m not holding her to any standards because she is only 15 and I sincerely hope she gets the help she needs, but I can assert that I did everything I could to make sure my brother, 6 years younger than me, was protected, always …
Kent
@James E Powell: She was also repeatedly cautioned not to bypass state department email for government business and brushed those warnings aside too. Yes, others like Powell did it before her. And without 18 Benghazi investigations it never would have come to light. But if anyone should have known the rules are different if your name is Clinton, it should have been her
But that’s all spilled milk now. We have a new election to worry about. So far I have been impressed with the Biden campaign discipline. And I check off as a victory, every day closer to November that passes with no basic change in the basic status of the race.
Benchin Teamster
Adam , Smdh. Dinatale was nothing more than an associate, a knock around guy. Never made and certainly no “enforcer” . The philly crew, the made guys themselves, back in the day were all capable and didn’t rely on “enforcers” to tcb. Let alone have a main guy. Doesnt work that way. Also mcghans uncle is Irish. What’s this bullshit about consigliere to New Jersey mob? What, the decavalcantes? The luchese crew? The genovese crew? The sattelite philly crew? What crew then ? Thought so. A lawyer like bobby simone was more of counselor of legal matters to the boys. Mcgahn repped casinos and white collar stuff not the mob. I’m a lurker who enjoys this site but damn that’s some misinformation to sell a narrative that doesn’t exist. Trump and his people are bad enough why make stuff up? I figure 100% of the people reading this have no idea what the fuck I’m talking about and, fuck it, why not let a few mistakes slide ,but if your this sloppy about understanding OC what else slips by your grasp.
Tehanu
Me too. Hope all the kids get through this in one piece.
Stevie
@Adam L Silverman: my parents moved us all over the country for the same reason. Every time there was bad trouble, we moved to a new state.
Gvg
@Susan Einbinder: I can’t find much info on the kids, which is actually appropriate since they are minors, but it appears Claudia has a male twin George. It is possible George is the caretaker personality of the younger ones. It is also possible the kids don’t get along I guess. Maybe the others are conservatives.
i don’t know that we are going to find out. The kids all deserve some privacy, so we may never really find out.
Smalla
@Adam L Silverman: Here in Wisconsin, someone is a mandated reporter only if they suspect abuse or neglect of a child seen in the course of their professional duties. Also, here in Wisconsin at least, there ha tveo physical injuries for it to be considered abuse and the injuries have to be substantial. Not sure what exactly Claudia is alleging, of course, but to me it seems like this is a family crisis but not a legal one and not one in which CPS would get involved.
MomSense
@Adam L Silverman:
Claudia has been using social media for several months to try and expose what is going on. I’d have to go back and look through her posts, but tI think it was two weeks ago that she started asking for referrals to an attorney. Even though she has been alleging abuse, people kept trying to make this a political disagreement with her parents. She keeps saying that this is about years of abuse and trauma.
I am very concerned for those children right now.
MomSense
@Smalla:
I think it is absolutely a legal crisis for the parents which is why I’m so worried for the kids.
Smalla
@MomSense: Well, I think it is a legal crisis in terms of Claudia wanting to getting emancipated. I don’t think George violated any mandated reporter laws and this is not a case in which CPS would get involved unless there is more that is not yet known.
debbie
@MomSense:
If she’s as carping and critical as my mother was, I don’t think having her at home 24/7 will be any sort of benefit to the children.
ET
George had a tweet thread yestrday before he announced he was stepping back from Project Lincoln, about how he was going to be off twitter.
Obviously this situation at home is why.
rattlemullet
@Adam L Silverman: I agree whole heartedly with your positions on the social media platforms. Even though it is a sweeping generalization I say “Facebook is for fools and Twitter is for idiots.” these media platform billionaires commit thought crimes against humanity everyday.
Adam L Silverman
@Benchin Teamster: Jimmy “the Brute” Dinatale was an enforcer. Patrick “Paddy” McGahn was the fixer attorney for casinos and casino owners that had problems with the gaming commission. Given the mob infiltration of the casinos, and Paddy McGahn’s role of advising the owners and fixing their problems using the now commonplace term of consigliere, despite him being Irish American, is appropriate. This information on McGahn is available in a significant amount of reporting done on the President, specifically focusing on when he was running casinos in Atlantic City (see Wayne Barrett’s and David Cay Johnson’s article and book length reporting). The information on Dinatale is covered in a number of articles about KellyAnne Conway.
That said, if the source material is wrong, then anything I base on the source material will also be wrong.
Susan Einbinder
Investigating will be difficult because they live in 3 different states and CPS policies are state-by-state. Then the lucky person who is chosen to investigate will be facing quite a few challenges. in CA, emotional abuse is considered maltreatment and if substantiated, grounds for child removal, but it is very difficult to prove. Most likely, if the situation is investigated (and mandated reporters are mandated through their jobs, not by profession – in other words, I’m mandated to report suspected child maltreatment disclosed in a research study by a subject, even if it occurred 30+ years ago in another state, because I’m the faculty PI at my university, but I am not mandated to report, let alone do anything, if I see someone beating the s**t out of their kid on the street – although I would intervene), the family lawyers will block access and take every step to prevent any impact. What might happen, at best, is that a lawyer will contact the 15-year-old as an advocate – although I do not know if a minor has a right to representation at all – my ignorance. It happens with star actors, so … maybe Gloria Allred’s already in touch with her. I doubt we’ll find out – it’s confidential by law.