White House ices Russia war room idea

Source: Politico



Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie won’t join the administration to handle crisis response for the time being, and inquiries will be directed to Trump’s attorney in New York.

By TARA PALMERI , JOSH DAWSEY and ELIANA JOHNSON 06/05/2017 10:41 PM EDT

The White House’s Russia investigation “war room” may have been killed before the battle.

Just days before former FBI director James Comey’s Senate testimony about his firing, President Donald Trump decided that all inquiries related to the scandals engulfing his administration should be handled by his outside lawyer in New York instead of by a team based inside the White House, according to four advisors close to Trump. The so-called “war room,” similar to a Clinton administration crisis operation created to deal with Monica Lewinsky-related inquiries, was taking shape as of last week, with plans for two former campaign aides to take over rapid response on Russia questions, according to a person with knowledge of the conversations.

Former deputy campaign manager David Bossie was being considered to join the West Wing in a senior position. Corey Lewandowski, a former campaign manager who was fired in June 2016, was scouting office space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building last week for a White House team.

The president decided that Bossie and Lewandowski would be “more valuable on the outside than on the inside fighting back against the Russia narrative specifically,” said a person with knowledge of the conversations.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/05/trump-russia-war-room-239170