WTF Just Happened Today

Monday, September 9, 2019

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1/ An Air National Guard crew stayed at Trump's Turnberry golf resort in Scotland in March. The Air Force plane stopped at a nearby airport to refuel both en route to the Middle East and back, with the crew staying at the resort, which lost $4.5 million in 2017, but revenue went up $3 million in 2018. The Air Force confirmed that crew members stayed at Turnberry, but said "it did not appear" that they stayed at the hotel on the way back. There are more than two dozen hotels, guesthouses and inns a few miles from the Prestwick airport with most of them much less expensive than the $380/night advertised rate at Trump Turnberry. The fuel would have also been cheaper if purchased at a U.S. military base. (Politico / New York Times)

2/ Trump denied being involved in the stays at Turnberry by Air Force crews, tweeting that "I know nothing," but that "they have good taste!" Air Force crews will typically stop at U.S. military bases in Europe to refuel, where it's cheaper to do so. Trump added: "NOTHING TO DO WITH ME." (Politico)

• The Air Force ordered a review of how it chooses hotels after military personnel stayed at Trump properties on multiple occasions. In one case, air crews were found to have occasionally stayed at Trump's Turnberry resort in Scotland while refueling at Prestwick Airport, a nearby commercial airport. Another time, the Maine Air National Guard also landed at Prestwick on its way back from Qatar and stayed at Turnberry. An Air Force spokesperson said the branch is reviewing "all associated guidance" related to personnel lodging because "lodging at higher-end accommodations, even if within government rates, might be allowable but not advisable." (Politico)

3/ In 2017, the U.S. extracted one of its highest-level covert spies from inside the Russian government. The previously undisclosed secret mission was driven, in part, after Trump shared classified information with the Russian foreign minister and Russian ambassador in a May 2017 Oval Office meeting. (CNN)

• ???? Day 111: Trump met with Putin’s top diplomats at the White House. The talks came one day after Trump fired the FBI Director, who was overseeing an investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. Sergey Lavrov met with Rex Tillerson earlier in the day and sarcastically acknowledged the dismissal of James Comey by saying "Was he fired? You're kidding. You're kidding." The Kremlin said Trump's firing of Comey will have no effect on bilateral relations between the two countries. Trump also met with Sergey Kislyak, a key figure in the Flynn investigation. (Associated Press / Reuters / Washington Post / NPR)

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