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@RudyGiuliani : A meeting is coming out in 1-2 days in State Dept. in which Hunter snuck in the back door ... That meeting took place with Tony Blinken."

President Joe Biden has “legalized corruption” by placing more than 15 former WestExec members in key places within his administration, the Intercept revealed Wednesday. “It’s a remarkable march through the revolving door” for the more than 15 former WestExec members to be selected for such powerful positions, “especially for a firm that only launched in 2017” according to the report. “WestExec’s consultants are so connected and pedigreed that they often hold down multiple jobs, appointments, and titles,” the Intercept wrote. *** The notable individuals who previously worked at WestExec are as follows: Jen Psaki, White House press secretary Tony Blinken,...

The website for WestExec Advisors includes a map depicting West Executive Avenue, the secure road on the White House grounds between the West Wing and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, as a way to show what the consulting firm can do for its clients... ...The firm, which now looks like a government-in-waiting for the next administration, was founded in 2017 by Tony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for secretary of State, and Michèle Flournoy, a top contender for secretary of Defense. And one of its former principals, Avril Haines, is Biden’s pick for director of national intelligence.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is naming Lorraine Voles as her new chief of staff, replacing Tina Flournoy who is leaving the administration, in the latest shakeup in her office, the White House said. Voles was brought into Harris’ office by Flournoy last summer, as the vice president faced a flurry of negative headlines and staff departures. She was Vice President Al Gore’s communications director and an adviser to then-Sen. Hillary Clinton in 2008. Harris’ deputy chief of staff, Michael Fuchs, is also leaving the White House in the coming weeks. Harris’ national security adviser, Nancy McEldowney, stepped...

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Joe Biden is facing escalating pressure from competing factions within his own party as he finalizes his choice for secretary of defense. Black leaders have encouraged the incoming president to select an African American to diversify what has so far been a largely white prospective Cabinet, while others are pushing him to appoint a woman to lead the Department of Defense...At the same time, a growing collection of progressive groups is opposing the leading female contender, Michèle Flournoy... A coalition of at least seven progressive groups warned Biden to avoid Flournoy in an open letter to Biden......

Michèle Flournoy, a former Pentagon official who was viewed as a front-runner to replace outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, has taken herself out of contention for the Cabinet post. Flournoy on Tuesday sent a letter to the board of directors for the Center for a New American Security saying she plans to remain in her position as the think tank’s chief executive officer,Foreign Policy reported. Flournoy had previously served as undersecretary of Defense for policy from 2009 to 2012, working under both Robert Gates and Leon Panetta. She was viewed as a possible replacement for Panetta when he announced his...

Former Defense Department official Michele Flournoy, who is considered to be on a short list to replace outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, attacked Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential campaign for recognizing that the decision to withdraw troops from Iraq in 2011 was a “tragic” mistake. “Governor Romney called the ending of the Iraq War and the bringing of our troops home ‘tragic,’ which is really hard to understand,” Flournoy recited for an Obama campaign video in October 2012. “He wanted to keep our troops there longer, tens of thousands of them.”

WASHINGTON — It's a long way from playing volleyball at Beverly Hills High School to being the most powerful woman in Washington, but Michele Flournoy could cap such a remarkable journey if President Obama selects her as Defense secretary. Flournoy, little known outside the world of military policy, is on the shortlist to lead the Pentagon in Obama's second term. She would be the first woman in that role. An inveterate policy wonk who first worked in the Pentagon under President Clinton and later co-founded a respected think tank, Flournoy, 52, has spent two decades climbing to the top of...

White House Wavers on Hagel, Considers Others for Defense By Michael Hirsh | National Journal – 5 hrs ago Besieged by criticism from right and left, and considerable skepticism from his former Senate colleagues, Chuck Hagel appears to be following the path of Susan Rice as a trial-balloon nominee who finds himself quickly losing altitude in Washington. And as happened with Rice, the White House is now signaling that it may soon puncture Hagel's hopes. Just as occurred with Rice, the U.N. ambassador whose prospective nomination as secretary of State—leaked to the media—flamed out in the face of widespread criticism...

Rosa Brooks serves as Counselor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Michele Flournoy. In May 2010 she also became Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and then Special Coordinator for Rule of Law and Humanitarian Policy. She is running a new Pentagon office dedicated to those issues. She is on leave from her job as a law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. Brooks is known as a columnist (most recently with the LA Times) and at the Pentagon her portfolio has included both human rights issues and global engagement and strategic communication. Her mother, Barbara Ehrenreich, is...

Michèle Flournoy, former U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, spoke on Tuesday at the annual conference of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv. Video ..... Finally, Flournoy addressed the Iranian nuclear issue and, while she stressed that President Obama will take no options off the table, she added, “Any military strike will only delay, not destroy, Iran’s nuclear program. American estimates suggest a delay of one to three years for an Israeli strike.” “It is something that would buy us time, but it would not by itself solve the problem in any enduring way,” said...

Note: The following text is a quote: Obama to Nominate Deputy Secretary, Three Other Top Defense Officials By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2009 – President-elect Barack Obama today announced his choices for four key Defense Department positions: deputy defense secretary, two undersecretary positions and general counsel. William J. Lynn III was named as Obama’s nominee for deputy defense secretary. The president-elect also announced his intention to nominate: -- Robert F. Hale as undersecretary of defense (comptroller); -- Michèle Flournoy as undersecretary of defense for policy; and -- Jeh Charles Johnson as general counsel. “I am...