Tag Archives: Russia

ABC News reports: Nearly a year before Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired senior FBI official Andrew McCabe for what Sessions called a “lack of candor,” McCabe oversaw a federal criminal investigation into whether Sessions lacked candor when testifying before Congress about contacts with Russian operatives, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly accused Sessions of …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized his three predecessors in defending his recent congratulatory call to President Vladimir Putin of Russia — a move that’s been widely criticized in the wake of news that Trump was specifically instructed not to congratulate Putin on his reelection. Reports emerged on Tuesday night that briefing materials prepared for Trump’s call specifically …

USA Today reports: Facing growing criticism of his leadership of the social media giant he co-founded, CEO Mark Zuckerberg finally broke his silence on the escalating crisis over how Facebook handles people’s private information. Zuckerberg took responsibility for what he called “a breach of trust between Facebook and the people who share their data with us and expect us to …

Bloomberg reports: President Donald Trump returned to criticisms of the special counsel investigating Russian election meddling Wednesday, this time quoting Alan Dershowitz on Fox News mounting a vigorous attack on Robert Mueller, saying he never should have been appointed and that there was no evidence of a crime. The tweets come as even Republicans in Washington have become concerned that …

The Washington Post reports: Sen. Jeff Flake, one of President Trump’s most prominent Senate critics, told The Washington Post in an interview Tuesday that he would support impeachment proceedings against Trump if the president ends special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election “without cause.” “We’re begging him: ‘Don’t go down this road. …

The Associated Press reports: The White House will hold a press briefing Monday afternoon with press secretary Sarah Sanders. More Republicans are telling President Donald Trump in ever blunter terms to lay off his escalating criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller and the Russia probe. But party leaders are taking no action to protect Mueller, embracing a familiar strategy with …

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin over the phone Tuesday morning, after the Russian leader’s overwhelming re-election victory, NBC News reported, citing a White House official. The win keeps Putin in office as Russia’s president for another six years. His closest rival in the election, which was held Sunday, scored nearly 12 percent of the vote, while …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump’s attorneys have provided the special counsel’s office with written descriptions that chronicle key moments under investigation in hopes of curtailing the scope of a presidential interview, according to two people familiar with the situation. Trump’s legal team recently shared the documents in an effort to limit any session between the president and special counsel …

The New York Times reports: President Trump hired the longtime Washington lawyer Joseph E. diGenova on Monday, adding an aggressive voice to his legal team who has pushed the theory on television that the F.B.I. and Justice Department framed Mr. Trump. Mr. diGenova, a former United States attorney, is not expected to take a lead role. But he will serve …

Reuters reports: U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ testimony that he opposed a proposal for President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign team to meet with Russians has been contradicted by three people who told Reuters they have spoken about the matter to investigators with Special Counsel Robert Mueller or congressional committees. Sessions testified before Congress in November 2017 that he “pushed back” …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump is “engaged in desperate and reckless conduct” against the law enforcement entities investigating his 2016 campaign, Senate minority Whip Dick Durbin said Sunday morning, actions that should push Congress to take steps to protect the office of special counsel Robert Mueller. Trump lashed out earlier Sunday against Mueller, accusing the lifelong Republican of filling his …

The Guardian reports: Donald Trump went on the offensive against fired FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe on Sunday, responding to reports McCabe kept memos of his conversations with Trump – and has turned them over to special counsel Robert Mueller – by claiming McCabe never took notes in meetings with the president. The post came moments after Trump targeted Comey, …

The Associated Press reports: Andrew McCabe — the former FBI deputy director just fired by the attorney general — kept personal memos regarding President Donald Trump. That’s according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation who wasn’t authorized to discuss the memos publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. This person says the memos are similar to the …

Politico reports: The Federal Election Commission has launched a preliminary investigation into whether Russian entities gave illegal contributions to the National Rifle Association that were intended to benefit the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election, according to people who were notified of the probe. The inquiry stems in part from a complaint from a liberal advocacy group, the American …

Betsy Woodruff reports at the Daily Beast: President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, John Dowd, told The Daily Beast on Saturday morning that he hopes Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will shut down Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia’s election interference. Reached for comment by email about the firing of former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, Dowd sent The Daily …

The Hill reports: President Trump celebrated the firing of former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe late Friday on Twitter, calling it a “great day for Democracy.” Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe, who was set to retire on Sunday, for not being forthcoming with investigators during an inspector general review. Trump had repeatedly attacked McCabe, claiming that the former FBI …

CNN reports: Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe late Friday, less than two days shy of his retirement, ending the career of an official who rose to serve as second-in-command at the bureau. McCabe had more recently been regularly taunted by President Donald Trump and besieged by accusations that he misled internal investigators at the …

McClatchy reports: Congressional investigators have learned that a longtime attorney for the National Rifle Association expressed concerns about the group’s ties to Russia and possible involvement in channeling Russian money into the 2016 elections to help Donald Trump, two sources familiar with the matter say. Cleta Mitchell, a former NRA board member who has done legal work for the organization, …

The New York Times reports: The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has subpoenaed the Trump Organization to turn over documents, including some related to Russia, according to two people briefed on the matter. The order is the first known time that the special counsel demanded documents directly related to President Trump’s businesses, bringing the investigation closer to the president. …

Last week it was reported that former Trump associate George Nader had been indicted by US authorities but never convicted during the 1980s for possession of child porn. Today there’s an update. On Wednesday, an official in the Czech Republic told The Associated Press that Nader is a convicted pedophile and served time in a Prague prison around that time. …