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While Omarosa Shouldn't Have Brought a Phone into the WH Situation Room, Why Was SHE Brought There?

While many in the press are focused on one-time "Apprentice" contestant Omarosa Manigault-Newman and Trump White House aide having recorded her firing by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and having brought the recording device she used into the WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM, the so-far unasked question is why the heck did the firing of a low-level aide occur in the WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM?

If Kelly was going to fire Omarosa, he should have done so in HIS OFFICE. Why on earth, if Kelly believed as he said, that she was being fired for "integrity violations", would you bring such a person into the WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM?

Kelly KNOWS this. The ONLY reason he would have brought her down there to fire her was to bargain with her for a quiet departure no doubt on orders from you-know-who.

Since Kelly was too busy with having just crushed the Iraqi Army at the time, he probably had little spare time to sit down at watch [i]The Apprentice[/i] back in 2004. If he had, instead of listening to the president and his handlers about how to fire Omarosa, he would have done it in a much more matter-of-fact way n HIS OFFICE - and certainly NOT in the WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/omarosa-manigault-newman-releases-purported-recording-of-her-white-house-firing/2018/08/12/004d7cc6-9e46-11e8-93e3-24d1703d2a7a_story.html?

[u]Read more[/u]:
[b]White House exploring legal options against Omarosa Manigault Newman for making secret recording in Situation Room[/b]

[quote]Many within the White House fear Manigault Newman will release their private conversations.

"She's on a different level," a senior White House official said. "She terrified me."

Manigault Newman takes both current and former White House officials to task in her new book, "Unhinged." Now there are concerns that her allegations will have more validity backed up by tapes.

"People now understand that she has a lot," a former White House official said. "It's stopping people from punching back."[/quote]

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-exploring-legal-options-omarosa-manigault-newman/story?id=57146994

EDIT:
Transcript now released

[quote]GEN. JOHN KELLY: Hi.

OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Hi there, how are you?

JOHN KELLY: Who are you?

FEMALE VOICE: Hi.

OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: My assistant.

JOHN KELLY: Could you leave us alone?

FEMALE VOICE: Sure.

OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Hi.

JOHN KELLY: I'm only going to stay for a couple of minutes. These are lawyers. We're going to talk to you about leaving the White House. It's come to my attention, over the last few months, that there's been some pretty, in my opinion, significant integrity issues related to you and use of government vehicles and some other issues. And they'll, they'll, they'll walk you through the legal aspects of this. But there is some, from my view, there's some money issues and other things, but from my view, the integrity issues are very serious. I'm stuck with my past experience and that is, when we hold people accountable in the military, I would, I compare what I see here at the White House and other issues that I've had to deal with and say what would I do to this, in this case if I was in the Pentagon dealing with a Marine or a soldier or something like that? And the issue that you may or may not have a full appreciation for, but I think you do, this would be a pretty high level of accountability, meaning a court-martial. We're not suggesting any legal action here.

OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: That I -- that I did?

JOHN KELLY: Just stay with me, just stay with me. Yep. That it would be a a pretty serious offense. So with that I'm just going to ask you -- these gentlemen will explain it. We'll bring a personnel person in after after they talk to you. But just to understand that I'd like to see this be a a friendly departure. There are pretty significant legal issues that we hope don't develop into something that, that'll make it ugly for you. But I think it's important to understand that if we make this a friendly departure we can all be, you know, you can look at, look at your time here in, in the White House as a year of service to the nation. And then you can go on without any type of difficulty in the future relative to your reputation. But it's very, very important I think that you understand that there are some serious legal issues that have been violated. And you're, you're open to some legal action that we hope, I think, we can control, right? So with that, if you would stay here with these gentlemen they'll lay this thing out –

OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Can I ask you a couple questions? Does the president -- is the president aware of what's going on?

JOHN KELLY: Don't do -- let's not go down the road. This is a non-negotiable discussion.

OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN: I don't want to negotiate. I just, I've never talked -- had a chance to talk to you General Kelly so if this is my departure I'd like to have at least an opportunity –

JOHN KELLY: No.

OMAROSA: --to understand.

JOHN KELLY: We can, we can talk another time. This has to do with some pretty serious violat -- integrity violations. So I'll let it go at that. So the the staff and everyone on the staff works for me, not the president. And so after your departure I'll inform him if he gets interested on, on where you may be. So with that I'll let you go and if gentlemen you could take it.

MALE VOICE: Thanks. Yep. I'm really sorry we're here. [/quote]
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/fb-6052711/LISTEN-Audio-John-Kelly-firing-Omarosa-situation-room-integrity-issues.html
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MarkPaul · 26-30, M
Doesn't make sense... he could just have easily bargained with her anywhere. It was strictly done in the Situation Room for the intimidation effect.
beckyromero · 36-40, F
@MarkPaul [quote]It was strictly done in the Situation Room for the intimidation effect.[/quote]

😂 Why would anyone be intimidated by being the the WH Situation Room? Awed perhaps, but not intimidated.
MarkPaul · 26-30, M
@beckyromero I don't think you understand how negotiation works. Do you think it makes a difference if you take someone into a cubicle office or an elaborate Board Room? Let me answer for you... an elaborate Board Room will make the person being taken in there feel overwhelmed, almost small. It's what we call a [u]negotiation tactic[/u]. It can give one party the upper hand. It doesn't always work, it's not foolproof. But, it's not an uncommon tactic. The Situation Room is almost a celebrity in its own right. It's intimidating to be brought in there.
beckyromero · 36-40, F
[quote]The Situation Room is almost a celebrity in its own right. It's intimidating to be brought in there.[/quote]

What would be so intimidating about it?

It's not like she was going to be water-boarded.
MarkPaul · 26-30, M
@beckyromero I guess you have to understand negotiation tactics and strategy to understand why that room would be intimidating. The funny part is, it mostly back-fired since not only doesn't she sound intimidated, but they violated protocol by not insisting she check her cellphone in the cubbyhole before entering the room. Just another sign they, like Baby-trump, are incompetent, foolish, and way over their heads in the swamp they created.
beckyromero · 36-40, F
@MarkPaul [quote] I guess you have to understand negotiation tactics and strategy to understand why that room would be intimidating.[/quote]

Maybe you need to be the type of person who is easily intimidated.

Maybe YOU would be intimidated by being in the White House Situation Room.

I would NOT be.

The only things that would have me concerned about being in the White House Situation Room would be if one of the watch officers said that NORAD had detected a hostile missile launch. Or long-range tracking of a dangerous NEA that is going to hit us. Those sorts of things.

As for Omarosa Manigault-Newman, everything we've seen about her so far is that SHE is not the type of person easily intimated.

Obviously, there's more to all this. But I think General Kelly only brought her down there to negotiate a deal, that is, to keep her quiet, and didn't want to take any chance of being overheard or 😂 recorded.
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
I'm not a fan of this woman and wouldn't trust her unless she had recordings. That she does says a lot. About what really happened, About her character. And about how a person of that calibre repeatedly got brought on board by Trump. But I suppose at that level they are a good fit.
MarkPaul · 26-30, M
@beckyromero That's all a little too neatly scripted. We have to assume if that was his true motive, then he would be vigilant about the whereabouts of her cellphone. I know this all seems like a reality TV show, but relying on that assumption is a bit risky.
beckyromero · 36-40, F
@whowasthatmaskedman [quote]I'm not a fan of this woman and wouldn't trust her unless she had recordings. [/quote]

"You" are why she TAPED conversations. 😉

Because she knows that many people will automatically assume that Trump and his White House are telling the truth instead of her.
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
You got me all wrong.. I automatically assume Trump is lying even when he farts.. But her having the tapes changes the reply from "It didn't happen" to "How dare she record it."@beckyromero
beckyromero · 36-40, F
@MarkPaul [quote]That's all a little too neatly scripted. We have to assume if that was his true motive, then he would be vigilant about the whereabouts of her cellphone. I know this all seems like a reality TV show, but relying on that assumption is a bit risky.[/quote]

Have you heard the portions of the recordings that were released?

It seemed to me that it was Gen. Kelly was trying to offer a deal for her silence.

Not exactly the sort of thing you'd want someone to hear outside his office, hence his decision for the conversation to take place in the Situation Room.

General Kelly is career military. It probably never even occurred to him that someone might bring a cell phone in there.

Or maybe she DID part with a cell phone before entering (but having second one concealed to do record the conversation).

[quote]I know this all seems like a reality TV show[/quote]

😂

You got that right! The whole Trump presidency so far seems like a reality TV show.
beckyromero · 36-40, F
@whowasthatmaskedman [quote]You got me all wrong.. I automatically assume Trump is lying even when he farts.[/quote]

😂

[quote]But her having the tapes changes the reply from "It didn't happen" to "How dare she record it."[/quote]

Yeah, it shows poor character.

But then why did attorney Michael Cohen tape his conversations with Trump?

It seems like Trump brings out the worst in people, causes them to want to cover their butts.
MarkPaul · 26-30, M
@beckyromero The fact that he is career military suggests he would over-the-top paranoid about such things. Instead, he was so focused on being intimidating that he let his training go by the wayside. As for, negotiating a deal to keep her silence, that was probably the least of his concern... UNLESS he wanted to try to prevent her releasing information that he already has planned for his book. In that case, then maybe the need for "top-secret" secrecy makes sense.
beckyromero · 36-40, F
@MarkPaul [quote]The fact that he is career military suggests he would over-the-top paranoid about such things.[/quote]

I reject that premise. And I think that's insulting to the tens of millions of American men and women who either served or are serving in the military to say that they are "over-the-top paranoid."
MarkPaul · 26-30, M
@beckyromero To quote a renown business leader, "only the paranoid survive." You have much to learn about life, military operations, business negotiations, and insults.
beckyromero · 36-40, F
@MarkPaul [quote]You have much to learn about life, military operations, business negotiations, and insults.[/quote]

Well, you certainly seem to have the INSULT part down pat. Did you practice long or did it come naturally?
MarkPaul · 26-30, M
@beckyromero That's not intended to be an insult.
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
Mark is correct. A good strategist always asks. "What is he knows my plan? What can he do to stop me?"@beckyromero
beckyromero · 36-40, F
@whowasthatmaskedman

The "good strategy" would have been not to have hired her in the first place.

I remember the first season of "The Apprentice" and did not like her. She was nothing but a trouble-maker, antagonistic and anything but a team player.
whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M
I absolutely agree , down to the last period. Since when is Captain Twitt famous for his clever decision making?@beckyromero