Trump Corruption

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 …

The Daily Beast reports: Despite aggressive efforts by Donald Trump and allies to make corruption allegations against Joe Biden and his son a centerpiece of the president’s closing 2020 argument, some Trump advisers are regretting the decision to try to put Hunter Biden and his emails front and center. Though the president has repeatedly mentioned the allegations in rallies, on …

The Guardian reports: Fox News carried Barack Obama’s speech in Orlando live, and one of its viewers, the president, is not happy about it. Repeating an odd claim he made during the final presidential debate, Trump claim, “Also, I PREPAID many Millions of Dollars in Taxes.” The New York Times found that Trump paid only $750 in federal income taxes …

The Hill reports: Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Tuesday was asked to recuse herself from participating in a dispute over a mail-ballot extension in Pennsylvania, with the newly confirmed justice facing immediate political pressure on her first day on the job. The recusal motion was filed by the Luzerne County Board of Elections, one of the parties that has asked …

NBC News reports: A senior U.S. official appointed by President Donald Trump has scrapped a federal regulation designed to protect the editorial independence of Voice of America and other U.S.-funded media outlets, amid accusations he is undermining the journalistic credibility of the broadcasters. Michael Pack, CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media who rescinded the editorial “firewall” regulation late …

The New York Times reports: A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that President Trump can be personally sued for defamation in connection with his denial while in office of a decades-old rape allegation. The judge, Lewis A. Kaplan of Federal District Court in Manhattan, rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to step into the case and defend the president, and his …

The Washington Post reports: Trump on Tuesday urged those who have already cast ballots for Biden to change their votes, something not allowed in most states. His exhortation came in a tweet shortly after a Fox News segment aired about searches for “Can I change my vote” trending on Google. While a handful of states allow voters to make such …