GOP Congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California is a little frustrated that he can't get through to speak with Donald Trump about some pressing business. The lawmaker, once tagged by a Republican colleague as one of two people "Putin pays" (Trump being the other), wants Trump to pardon WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and clear the Russian government of any wrongdoing in 2016. But White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is blocking Rohrabacher from making contact. Business Insider writes:
Rohrabacher told Business Insider on Tuesday that Kelly and "a coalition of people in the White House" are preventing him from having a conversation with Trump that would entail clearing Assange and the Russian government from allegations they meddled in the 2016 presidential election. [...]
Last month during a phone call with Kelly, Rohrabacher requested a pardon of Assange in exchange for evidence that would clear the fugitive's name. [...]
"The White House staff and other top people in the administration are trying to protect the president from himself," Rohrabacher said. "That's what they think and in fact they are usurping his authority to make decisions — the important decisions — himself."
Wow, can't imagine what could go wrong right now for Trump by having one little conversation with a Russia-loving lawmaker who's trying to exonerate both a country and the founder of an organization that helped tip the balance of the 2016 election toward Trump.