Exclusive: Trump's "Deep State" hit list
The White House and its allies have assembled detailed lists of officials to oust and loyalists to replace them.
www.axios.com
The Trump White House and its allies, over the past 18 months, assembled detailed lists of disloyal government officials to oust — and trusted pro-Trump people to replace them — according to more than a dozen sources familiar with the effort who spoke to Axios.
By the time President Trump instructed his 29-year-old former body man and new head of presidential personnel to rid his government of anti-Trump officials, he'd gathered reams of material to support his suspicions.
While Trump's distrust has only intensified since his impeachment and acquittal, he has long been on the hunt for "bad people" inside the White House and U.S. government, and fresh "pro-Trump" options. Outside advisers have been happy to oblige.
In reporting this story, I have been briefed on, or reviewed, memos and lists the president received since 2018 suggesting whom he should hire and fire. Most of these details have never been published.
A well-connected network of conservative activists with close ties to Trump and top administration officials is quietly helping develop these "Never Trump"/pro-Trump lists, and some sent memos to Trump to shape his views, per sources with direct knowledge.
Members of this network include Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and Republican Senate staffer Barbara Ledeen.
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"I think [the firings are] a very positive development," said Rich Higgins, who served on Trump's National Security Council in 2017. H.R. McMaster removed Higgins after he wrote a memo speculating that Trump's presidency faced threats from Marxists, the "Deep State," so-called globalists, bankers, Islamists, and establishment Republicans.
Let's get to the memos.
1. The Jessie Liu memo: Shortly before withdrawing the nomination of the former D.C. U.S. attorney for a top Treasury role, the president reviewed a memo on Liu's alleged misdeeds, according to a source with direct knowledge.
Ledeen wrote the memo, and its findings left a striking impression on Trump, per sources with direct knowledge. Ledeen declined to comment.
A source with direct knowledge of the memo's contents said it contained 14 sections building a case for why Liu was unfit for the job for which Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin selected her, including:
Not acting on criminal referrals of some of Justice Brett Kavanaugh's accusers.
Signing "the sentencing filing asking for jail time" for Gen. Michael Flynn (a friend of Ledeen's).
Holding a leadership role in a women's lawyers networking group that Ledeen criticized as "pro-choice and anti-Alito."
Not indicting former deputy director of the FBI Andrew McCabe.
Dismissing charges against "violent inauguration protesters who plotted to disrupt the inauguration."
Neither Liu nor the White House responded to requests for comment.
The Liu memo is not the first such memo to reach the president's desk — and there's a common thread in Groundswell, a conservative activist network that's headed by Thomas and whose members include Ledeen.
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So who should Trump hire instead???
From Axios:
Potential hires [Ginny Thomas] offered to Trump, per sources with direct knowledge:
Sheriff David Clarke for a senior Homeland Security role.
Fox News regular and former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino for a Homeland Security or counterterrorism adviser role.
Devin Nunes aide Derek Harvey for the National Security Council (where he served before McMaster pushed him out).
Radio talk show host Chris Plante for press secretary.
Federalist contributor Ben Weingarten for the National Security Council.
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The bottom line: As the New York Times' Peter Baker wrote on Saturday, "in some of the most critical corners of the Trump administration, officials show up for work now never entirely sure who will be there by the end of the evening — themselves included."
Groundswell is an influential driver of that uncertainty. Its members have been working toward this moment for three years. They have lists. They have memos. And they have the president's ear.