Trump Corruption

The Hill reports: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blocked a resolution Wednesday reaffirming the Senate’s support for whistleblower protections and accused Democrats of “fake outrage.” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) had asked for unanimous consent to pass the resolution, which “acknowledges the contributions of whistleblowers,” and throws the chamber’s support behind protecting whistleblowers from retaliation. …

The Week reports: Well, it wasn’t the most flattering defense. While Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) has said it’s actually becoming easier to defend President Trump amid the congressional impeachment inquiry, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had to dig deep to do so on Wednesday. Graham seems fed up with the whole thing, saying on Wednesday that he won’t read any of …

The Daily Beast reports: President Trump is reportedly hiring former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and an ex-Treasury Department spokesman as temporary aides to help on impeachment-related matters, The Wall Street Journal reports. Bondi and former spokesman Tony Sayegh were reportedly offered jobs this week to join the West Wing and assist on communications, strategy, and other special projects. Details …

Agence France-Presse reports: President Donald Trump’s son published on Wednesday the name of the alleged anonymous whistleblower whose complaint fired the impeachment inquiry against Trump, breaking strict conventions for protecting officials who reveal wrongdoing in government. Amid calls by the president himself to expose the whistleblower, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted the name of a CIA analyst which has circulated online …

ProPublica reports: Decisions about U.S. aid are often no longer being governed by career professionals applying a rigorous review of applicants and their capabilities. Over the last two years, political pressure, particularly from the office of Vice President Mike Pence, had seeped into aid deliberations and convinced key decision-makers that unless they fell in line, their jobs could be at …

The Associated Press reports: The State Department’s third-ranking official is expected to tell Congress that political considerations were behind the agency’s refusal to deliver a robust defense of the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. People familiar with the matter say the highest-ranking career diplomat in the foreign service, David Hale, plans to tell congressional impeachment investigators on Wednesday that Secretary …

The Hill reports: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said on Tuesday night that he might disclose the name of a whistleblower whose complaint about President Trump’s actions toward Ukraine spurred the House impeachment inquiry. Asked why he hasn’t disclosed the name of the unknown individual, Paul told reporters that he “probably will.” “I’m more than willing to, and I probably will …

NBC News reports: Jury selection in the trial of Roger Stone, the longtime confidant and adviser to President Donald Trump, got off to a bizarre start on Tuesday as Stone left the proceedings due to what he said was food poisoning shortly after an observer was taken out of the courtroom on a stretcher after appearing to have a seizure. …

Law & Crime reports: Before federal authorities arrested Rudy Giuliani’s business partners Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman at Dulles Airport with one-way tickets out of the country, the two Floridian-Ukrainian businessmen received President Donald Trump’s blessing on the hiring of attorney John Dowd. Dowd formerly represented the president during the Mueller investigation. In the wake of their arrest for allegedly …

Just in from Monmouth University: More than 60 percent of respondents who support President Trump say they support him no matter what, according to a new survey. The Monmouth University poll released Tuesday found that 62 percent of Trump supporters said they could not think of “anything that Trump could do, or fail to do, in his term as president …

USA Today reports: House Democrats have requested that acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney give a deposition in the impeachment probe, according to a letter released Tuesday. In the letter, the three chairmen of the House committees conducting the probe wrote, “Based on evidence gathered in the impeachment inquiry and public reporting, we believe that you possess substantial …

The New York Times reports: A critical witness in the impeachment inquiry offered Congress substantial new testimony this week, revealing that he told a top Ukrainian official that the country likely would not receive American military aid unless it publicly committed to investigations President Trump wanted. The disclosure from Gordon D. Sondland, the United States ambassador to the European Union, …

“This is kangaroo court stuff, this is Soviet-era tactics And it’s being pushed out there by the quote unquote ‘party of tolerance,’ they’re not so tolerant when you don’t agree with them, they’re far from it, frankly, there’s nothing less tolerant than a leftist who’s preaching tolerance. And we’ve seen all of that, so the whole thing is crazy and …

Reuters reports: Lev Parnas, an indicted Ukrainian-American businessman who has ties to President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is now prepared to comply with requests for records and testimony from congressional impeachment investigators, his lawyer told Reuters on Monday. Parnas, who helped Giuliani look for dirt on Trump’s political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, is a key figure …

Politico reports: In 2006, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump traveled to Ukraine to meet with government officials about building a multimillion dollar hotel and golf course in the country. Two years later, Trump Jr. was back to meet with developers. The Trumps were looking to erect luxury resorts across the former Soviet republics, and Ukraine seemed like a promising …

The Daily Beast reports: Facing a concerted campaign from Rudy Giuliani and his allies to oust her, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovich struggled in vain to get cover from U.S. diplomats, including her boss: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. At one point, according to a transcript of her Oct. 11 deposition in front of congressional impeachment investigators, she …

CNN reports: Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch told House lawmakers last month that the State Department leaders did not speak up for her because they had concerns that President Donald Trump would undermine it, possibly using Twitter. “What I was told is that there was concern that the rug would be pulled out from underneath the State Department …

CBS News reports: The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has concluded that high-level presidential advisers have “absolute immunity” from congressional subpoenas for their testimony, according to a letter sent Sunday. In the letter to White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel said John Eisenberg, a White House attorney who was scheduled to be deposed Monday morning, …

Politico reports: The final year of President Donald Trump’s first term will be loaded with legal landmines — and it’s not just the impeachment cases. Trump could face court rulings that say he is illegally profiting from foreign governments, that he must hand over his tax returns and that lawmakers should see more of Robert Mueller’s Russia probe evidence. He …

Popular Information reports: The Trump campaign has held at least 15 contests since 2018 offering the chance to win breakfast, lunch, or dinner with President Trump. Supporters are enticed to donate to Trump’s campaign with promises of free travel, accommodations, and an “epic” meal with Trump at various locations across the country. An investigation by Popular Information, however, did not …