Trump is 'running his own shadow government’: Experts shocked After ex-president reveals he has 'envoy ambassador' overseas
Experts are weighing in after Donald Trump, the twice-impeached one term former president, declared in a statement released Thursday morning he has an "Envoy Ambassador" who traveled to the Kosovo-Serbia border to "highlight … the agreements my administration brokered."
That "ambassador" is Richard Grenell (photo), Trump's former and highly-controversial ambassador to Germany who later became his Acting Director of National Intelligence, some say in violation of the law. One month before losing the 2020 election Trump named Grenell "Special Presidential Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo Peace Negotiations."
Journalist David Freedlander posted Trump's statement and added: "The former president has an envoy ambassador and is conducting foreign policy."
The former president has an envoy ambassador and is conducting foreign policypic.twitter.com/m60Wkl9gU1— David Freedlander (@David Freedlander) 1636644769
"Trump and Grenell appear to be violating the Logan Act. Also, Trump is running his own shadow government," says Political commentator and Salon contributor Bob Cesca.
"It's like he wants to actually test the Logan Act's constitutionality," noted national security attorney Bradley Moss wrote.
HuffPost White House correspondent S.V. Dáte adds:
Grenell helped spread Trump\u2019s election lies after he lost which directly led to Jan 6. \n\nAs a former State Department employee, he knew better but did it anyway.https://twitter.com/samstein/status/1458820570997571591\u00a0\u2026— S.V. D\u00e1te (@S.V. D\u00e1te) 1636647128
The Washington Post's David Weigel mocked Trump, tweeting: "Lots of people skipping to the 'but norms!' discussion and ignoring that 'envoy ambassador' is a hilarious nonsense phrase, like 'police cop' or 'music singer.'"
U.S. Naval War College professor specializing in Russia, nuclear weapons, and national security, Tom Nichols, like Weigel, picked up on the ludicrous "title," but also noted Trump's disturbing action:
"Envoy Ambassador is just above Platinum Tier member," Nichols wrote. "But, yes, a former president is dispatching former appointees to foreign countries to engage in foreign policy."
Politico National Political Correspondent Meridith McGraw offers details on Grenell's press conference:
Last year Serbia & Kosovo signed a normalization agreement & Grenell, who served as Trump\u2019s special envoy, has been critical of Biden on the Balkans\n\nGrenell - who is no longer in gov but Trump called his \u201cEnvoy Amb\u201d- said at a presser this AM \u201cI come because we are frustrated\u201dpic.twitter.com/cxHJXHC5ST— Meridith McGraw (@Meridith McGraw) 1636646638
Loïc Tregoures, political science professor at France's Catholic University of Lille, warns, "The GOP is doing everything so to steal the next election. If they manage to do so, Balkans will witness the Grenell diplomacy once again. On steroïds. Adjust accordingly."
While some are suggesting Grenell and Trump are violating the Logan Act several other journalists are noting Grenell appears to previously have violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act:
Here\u2019s a good dive into all the FARA violations Ric Grenell appears to have committed: https://www.propublica.org/article/trumps-new-spy-chief-used-to-work-for-a-foreign-politician-the-us-accused-of-corruption\u00a0\u2026https://twitter.com/freedlander/status/1458820015394861060\u00a0\u2026— Casey Michel \ud83c\uddf0\ud83c\uddff (@Casey Michel \ud83c\uddf0\ud83c\uddff) 1636647969
Some weird FARA vibes here, particularly given Grenell's past FARA challenges.https://twitter.com/freedlander/status/1458820015394861060\u00a0\u2026— emptywheel (@emptywheel) 1636646235
