Senior Trump official embellished résumé, had face on fake Time cover

State Dept. official Mina Chang claimed to be a Harvard Business School "alumna" who ran a nonprofit that worked in 40 countries.

www.nbcnews.com

A senior Trump administration official has embellished her résumé with misleading claims about her professional background — even creating a fake Time magazine cover with her face on it — raising questions about her qualifications to hold a top position at the State Department.

An NBC News investigation found that Mina Chang, the deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's Bureau of Conflict and Stability Operations, has inflated her educational achievements and exaggerated the scope of her nonprofit's work.

Whatever her qualifications, Chang had a key connection in the Trump administration. Brian Bulatao, a top figure in the State Department and longtime friend of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, attended a fundraiser for her nonprofit in Dallas and once donated $5,500 to her charity, according to a former colleague of Chang's.

Chang says in her official biography that she is as an "alumna" of Harvard Business School. According to the university, Chang attended a seven-week course in 2016, and does not hold a degree from the institution.

Chang, who assumed her post in April, also invented a role on a U.N. panel, claimed she had addressed both the Democratic and Republican national conventions, and implied she had testified before Congress. 

She was being considered for an even bigger government job, one with a budget of more than $1 billion, until Congress started asking questions about her résumé.

She earns a six-figure salary in a bureau with a $6 million budget

Donald Trump loves a Sharpie. We know it, you know it, the whole world knows it. 

He appeared to prove this love by parading an altered map of Hurricane Dorian to back his claim that it may hit Alabama.

But Alabama was never in harm’s way and instead of Trump admitting his mistake, he doubled down on his theory that it was under threat.

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“Pandemonium” reigns as Trump cancels meetings, a top aide bemoans “Judas” colleagues, Jared and Ivanka try to talk sense into the president, and Gary Cohn wonders how he came off.

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Trump blames the White House communications staff and Kellyanne Conway for not bringing Woodward’s interview requests to him.

“I’m just hearing about it. So we’re going to have a very inaccurate book,” Trump told Woodward in a phone call

Why shouldn’t all presidential candidates have to take the Wonderlic or a similar test and have the results published? This should be required in 2020 for all (inc Mr. Trump). We deserve to know the intelligence level of the person who wants to be our president (a big factor)!

— Michael Avenatti‏  @MichaelAvenatti -  July 28, 2018

The Wonderlic is an intelligence test often used in hiring. According to the test’s website, “Organizations large and small trust our scientifically validated tests to make informed selection decisions.”

— Mediaite 

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) quizzed Matthew Petersen, whom Trump nominated to serve as a federal judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia, on his experience with and knowledge of courtroom procedure — and Petersen appeared not to have very much of either. The clip, posted by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), is positively painful to watch.