PJ_Soul said:

Yeah, I also wondered about the validity of some of the content so read into it a bit. It seems to me that Wolff is quite qualified as a direct witness in many cases, and also had access to plenty of credible sources. I also personally very much appreciate the tone he used in the book. That is the tone that makes a book interesting as opposed to tedious.

Cliffy6745 said:

This is what NY Mag posted

HOW HE GOT THE STORY

This story is adapted from Michael Wolff’s book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, to be published by Henry Holt & Co. on January 9. Wolff, who chronicles the administration from Election Day to this past October, conducted conversations and interviews over a period of 18 months with the president, most members of his senior staff, and many people to whom they in turn spoke. Shortly after Trump’s inauguration, Wolff says, he was able to take up “something like a semi-permanent seat on a couch in the West Wing” — an idea encouraged by the president himself. Because no one was in a position to either officially approve or formally deny such access, Wolff became “more a constant interloper than an invited guest.” There were no ground rules placed on his access, and he was required to make no promises about how he would report on what he witnessed.

Since then, he conducted more than 200 interviews. In true Trumpian fashion, the administration’s lack of experience and disdain for political norms made for a hodgepodge of journalistic challenges. Information would be provided off-the-record or on deep background, then casually put on the record. Sources would fail to set any parameters on the use of a conversation, or would provide accounts in confidence, only to subsequently share their views widely. And the president’s own views, private as well as public, were constantly shared by others. The adaptation presented here offers a front-row view of Trump’s presidency, from his improvised transition to his first months in the Oval Office.

mrussel1 said:

PJ_Soul said:

Yeah, I also wondered about the validity of some of the content so read into it a bit. It seems to me that Wolff is quite qualified as a direct witness in many cases, and also had access to plenty of credible sources. I also personally very much appreciate the tone he used in the book. That is the tone that makes a book interesting as opposed to tedious.

Did you guys read the preamble about the conflicting information and the "guesses" he was forced to make because...everyone lied. 

Supporters of Islamic political party Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam burn a U.S. flag during an anti-U.S. protest in Quetta, Pakistan, on Jan. 4, 2018. (Taraqai/Epa-Efe/Rex/Shutterstock/Taraqai/Epa-Efe/Rex/Shutterstock)

By Missy Ryan and Carol Morello January 4 at 4:01 PM

The Trump administration will suspend most security assistance to Pakistan, the State Department said on Thursday, expanding its retribution over militant safe havens that U.S. officials blame for ongoing violence in Afghanistan.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, speaking to reporters, said the suspension would allow the administration, which will freeze the aid payments but not allocate the money elsewhere, to reassess in the coming year.

Because the administration had previously said it would suspend $255 million in foreign military funding for Pakistan, the new announcement will have limited practical effect in the short term, as officials wait to see if Pakistan takes new action against militants.

But it sends as a strong signal to an on-again, off-again counterterrorism ally. The Trump administration is seeking to take a harder line against Pakistan as it expands military operations in Afghanistan, more than 16 years after that conflict began.

The State Department said Jan. 4 that the Trump administration will stop giving security assistance to Pakistan.

For years, U.S. officials have complained that Pakistan has allowed the Taliban and other extremists to operate within its borders. Taliban leaders are widely believed to reside in Pakistan, helping to direct insurgent operations in neighboring Afghanistan.

Pakistan denies those allegations and says the United States has failed to acknowledge the efforts it has taken against militant groups.

Also on Thursday, the State Department announced it would put Pakistan on a “watch list” for countries that fail to protect religious freedom.