Trump Corruption

Axios reports: Republican Party officials say they’re already looking to Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Nevada as likely battlegrounds for post-election lawsuits if the results are close. The big picture: As pre-election lawsuits draw to a close, and with President Trump running behind Joe Biden in national and many battleground state polls, Republicans are turning their attention to preparations for Election Day …

CREW reports: CREW estimates that special interests seeking to gain favor with the administration have likely spent more than $13 million at President Trump’s businesses since he took office. These groups — many of which spend heavily to lobby the federal government for favorable policies — have learned that holding lavish events at Trump properties is part of the cost …

Mediaite reports: What the commander in chief is flatly saying is that the only way that Joe Biden is “actually elected President,” is if five Supreme Court justice were to help allow that to happen. This statement is the clearest indication that President Trump expects to take the results of next Tuesday’s general election to the courts, regardless of the …

The Associated Press reports: The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is using her Facebook page to amplify unsubstantiated claims of corruption by Joe Biden. Ginni Thomas, a longtime conservative activist, asked her more than 10,000 followers Monday to consider sharing a link focused on alleged corruption by the Democratic nominee for president and his son, Hunter, as well …

Politico reports: The Trump appointee who steered a $300 million taxpayer-funded ad campaign to “defeat despair” about the coronavirus privately pitched a different theme last month: “Helping the President will Help the Country.” That proposal, which came in a meeting between Trump administration officials and campaign contractors, is among documents obtained by the House Oversight Committee that further illustrate how …

“So with testing now, what he’s been saying to us is, don’t fall into the same trap that we fell into the first time. The states have to own the testing, the federal testing. And the federal government should not own the testing, the federal government should not own, kind of, the rules. “It’s got to be up to the …

Foreign Policy reports: A prominent Chinese dissident pulls his children from school and flees his Texas home. A California-based democracy activist faces days of threats and harassment from protesters gathered in his driveway. Both were targets on a hit list of dissidents released last month by the exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, who has claimed without evidence they are spies …

Rolling Stone reports: The disinformation operation was christened “Project Clintonson.” It brought together two notorious figures in Republican political circles, Blackwater founder Erik Prince and Trump adviser Roger Stone. Their objective couldn’t have been more explicit. “We do not need to make major gains among African American voters,” said a 13-page proposal for Project Clintonson that Prince sent to unnamed …

CNN reports: An aircraft entered restricted air space over President Donald Trump’s rally in Bullhead City, Arizona on Wednesday, leading to a fighter jet being scrambled to intercept it. The smaller aircraft was not visible to CNN reporters on the ground in Arizona but the fighter jet could be heard overhead, leading to a reaction from the rally crowd and …

The Hill reports: Vermont’s Secretary of State on Wednesday called for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to correct a claim made in a Monday opinion that Vermont had not made any election rule changes this year, which the justice used as a justification to deny Democrats’ request to extend the deadline for mail-in voting in Wisconsin. In a letter sent …

CNN reports: The anonymous senior Trump administration official who wrote a 2018 New York Times op-ed and a subsequent book critical of President Donald Trump is Miles Taylor, he revealed in a statement to CNN on Thursday. Taylor, who was chief of staff to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, wrote a lengthy statement explaining why he penned the …

CNN reports: President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner boasted in mid-April about how the President had cut out the doctors and scientists advising him on the unfolding coronavirus pandemic, comments that came as more than 40,000 Americans already had died from the virus, which was ravaging New York City. In a taped interview on April 18, Kushner told legendary journalist Bob Woodward …

Politico reports: Even if Trump calmly walks out the door of the White House on the morning of January 20th, a more immediate problem looms: What might Trump do with the final 77 days of his presidency if he loses? There are 1,860 hours between Wednesday, Nov. 4, and noon on Jan. 20, when Trump’s first term expires. And that’s …

The Hill reports: The White House science office listed “ending the COVID-19 pandemic” as the top accomplishment of President Trump’s first term, even as the U.S. has set records for new daily infections and numerous hospitals across the country are stretched to their breaking points. According to a press release intending to highlight the administration’s science accomplishments, the Trump administration …

CNN reports: CNN’s Don Lemon called out the Trump campaign after it put out a deceptive smear on 2020 Democratic challenger Joe Biden, using a short clip from his campaign speech to imply he was spaced out. But in fact, Biden was quoting Pope Francis, who was, ironically, admonishing politicians to think deeply about how they can pursue a more …

Mediaite reports: Rudy Giuliani exploded in a heated interview with Fox Business host Kennedy Tuesday night when she threw out a comparison between his actions and those of the author of the infamous Trump dossier. “You’ve got to be kidding me. I was acting like Christopher Steele?!” he said. “That’s what it sounds like,” Kennedy said. “You better apologize for …

Politico reports: A federal judge on Tuesday night ordered the U.S. Postal Service to reverse limitations on mail collection imposed by Trump-backed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, giving the agency until Wednesday morning to inform workers of the court’s changes as more mail-in ballots continue to flood in. In a highly detailed order, Judge Emmet Sullivan of the District Court for …

Law & Crime reports: Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York filed a testy memo opposing an attempt by non-parties We Build the Wall and its general counsel-cum-advisory board member Kris Kobach to intervene in the criminal fraud case against Steve Bannon and Brian Kolfage. Prosecutors said Tuesday that the We Build the Wall-Kobach request to get involved …

The Associated Press reports: A judge has blocked a sudden ban on the open display of guns near Michigan polling places on Election Day. Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher Murray acted Tuesday, just a few hours after hearing a challenge from a trio of gun-rights groups. They said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, had exceeded her authority …

Bloomberg News reports: Delivery delays during an election can’t be unlawful, because the Constitution doesn’t guarantee states any particular level of service when it comes to mail-in ballots, the U.S. Postal Service told a federal judge. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and President Donald Trump are seeking dismissal of a lawsuit brought by New York and other states that claim disruptive …