Rahm Emanuel blasts Donald Trump’s use of unsecured cellphone

Ring. Ring.

Is there evil in the Oval?

Is President Donald Trump’s use of a private, unsecured, personal cellphone in the Oval Office at the White House and beyond a national-security nightmare?

Hmmm.

Could it result in a national disaster when the Trumpster calls old pals to snipe, gripe and gossip?

Who better to phone than someone who has been in the Oval Office?

So Sneed rang up Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who was once former President Barack Obama’s chief of staff.

Emanuel: “Believe me, China and Russia play for keeps. Nothing surprises me about this president being loose with national security.

“We were never allowed in the Oval Office or cabinet rooms with our cellphones,” Emanuel told Sneed. “It was a cell-free zone. If you brought it in — it was taken away. There was a coffee table in the Oval Office with a little box on top of it . . . that’s where we were to deposit our cellphones.

“And a yellow sticky note was put on top of it where we were to place our names so we could access them after the meeting.”

Sneed: “So news the Chinese and Russians are eavesdropping on Trump’s private conversations are not far-fetched?”

Emanuel: “Are you kidding? The fact Trump met privately alone in the Oval Office with Russian [Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Sergey Kislyak, then the Russian ambassador to the United States] for several hours was astounding!”

Rahm ‘em . . .

Meanwhile, Emanuel is looking forward to midweek when the City Council is expected to give the Obama Center a green light.

“Wednesday is the day,” the mayor told Sneed. “This vote is not just a milestone for the Obama Center, which it is. It’s a milestone for Chicago.

“This will complete the city’s commitment to developing the Obama Center, and while steps remain in court and at the federal level, years of work have led us to this point and it should be celebrated,” he added

“I’ve been on the phone over the past few days with some old friends, and we’re all looking forward to talking Wednesday afternoon once it passes.”

Hello Barack, Michelle and David Axelrod?

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Hmmm . . .

Sneed is told Carl Lingenfelter, a major executive for Northern Trust Co. bank’s technology platform-serving institutional business lines all over the world, suddenly canceled an appearance before the City Council Finance Committee meeting Monday.

Hmmm.

Would it have anything to do with the fact Ald. Ray Lopez (15th) plans to introduce a measure to the City Council Finance Committee on Monday slamming Northern Trust by requesting it get stricken off the City Council’s list of authorized depositories because of a shocking comment by a Northern Trust executive about the grisly murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi?

Backstory.

The quote caused an international Twitter firestorm when Northern Trust’s Michael Slater referred to the incident as “ just noise to me” while attending the October “Davos in the Desert” international economic forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, shortly after Khashoggi disappeared.

Northern Trust has yet to return Sneed’s phone calls.

Stay tuned.

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Sneedlings . . .

Congrats to Jay and Colleen Doherty on being named recipients of the Sister Rosemary Connelly Service Medallion to be awarded Nov. 16 at the Misericordia Heart of Mercy Ball at the Hilton Chicago. . . . I spy: Mayoral candidate Gery Chico spotted hanging out with Sunda owner Billy Dec on Thursday, but wasting no time in his bid for the mayoral mantle — he also passed out nominating petitions while chatting with those attending Dec’s traditional Filipino Kamayan Feast. . . . South Side native Chance the Rapper spotted at TAO nightclub Oct. 19 . . . Ditto for the “Chicago Fire” actress Yaya Dacosta, who jumped into the DJ booth alongside DJ Jesse Marco. . . . Local singer Tony Ocean dining recently with his mother at Jim & Pete’s Italian Restaurant in Elmwood Park. . . . Saturday’s birthdays: Lonzo Ball, 21; Kelly Osbourne, 34; and Marla Maples, 55. . . . Sunday’s birthdays: Bill Gates, 63; Julia Roberts, 51; Frank Ocean, 31, and a happy early birthday to Rosebud czar Alex Dana, priceless and ageless.