Trump Corruption

CNN reports: Rudy Giuliani just contradicted the White House and the Justice Department on a very sensitive subject: The AT&T-Time Warner deal. All along, the government has said that President Trump was not involved in blocking the $85 billion bid. Lawyers and White House aides have batted away speculation about improper political interference. But on Friday night, Giuliani cast new …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Michael Cohen, who has served as President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, made an overture to provide consulting services to Ford Motor Co. in January 2017, but was quickly rebuffed, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Cohen, touting his proximity to the president, contacted Ford’s office in Washington D.C.—an approach that Special Counsel Robert Mueller …

The New York Times reports: Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, dined last year in Rome with Cardinal George Pell, a prominent climate-science denialist and Vatican leader who was also facing sexual abuse allegations. The E.P.A. later released official descriptions of the dinner that intentionally did not mention the cardinal’s presence, according to three current and former …

Politico reports: Rudy Giuliani is having none of a debate challenge issued by one of his most outspoken critics, Michael Avenatti. “I wouldn’t debate that guy if they paid me $10 million,” Giuliani, a new lawyer for President Donald Trump, told POLITICO in an interview on Friday. “He’s a liar. All he does is put out statements in the press …

Politico reports: Michael Cohen, the embattled longtime personal attorney to President Donald Trump, is no longer playing an active role representing Trump, according to one of the president’s newest lawyers, Rudy Giuliani. “As far as we know, he’s not,” Giuliani told POLITICO in an interview Friday. “And there’d be nothing for him to do right now.” Trump as recently as …

Aunt Lydia’s afternoon of lies is upon us once again: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will hold a briefing today to discuss the administration’s latest plans and administrative agenda. The briefing is scheduled for 2:30PM. It’s highly likely that Sanders will be asked about White House aide Kelly Sadler and her disparaging remarks about John McCain. Sadler has …

Politico reports: Rudy Giuliani says he’s looking for a new Palm Beach home as his two condos are up in the air per the divorce from his third wife, Judith Nathan. ”If you hear of a nice home on a golf course let me know,” Giuliani said. “My boss doesn’t have homes on his golf courses.” He said he likes …

USA Today reports:  The CEO of AT&T described the company’s decision to hire President Trump’s personal attorney as a “big mistake” and a “serious misjudgment” in a message to employees Friday. “Our reputation has been damaged,” Randall Stephenson wrote in the statement. “There is no other way to say it — AT&T hiring Michael Cohen as a political consultant was …

The Washington Post reports: Three days after President Trump was sworn into office, the telecom giant AT&T turned to his personal attorney Michael Cohen for help on a wide portfolio of issues pending before the federal government — including the company’s proposed merger with Time Warner, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. The internal documents reveal for the …

He’s baaaaaack! Raw Story reports: Appearing on MSNBC, a ducking and weaving Sam Nunberg refused to say specifically what he told a grand jury empaneled by special counsel Robert Mueller looking into outside influence in President Donald Trump’s campaign, but admitted he was questioned about Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s finances. Nunberg said that he had no idea what Cohen was …

The New York Times reports: President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, abruptly resigned from his law firm, Greenberg Traurig, the firm announced on Thursday, then promptly undercut his recent statements defending the president. Firm partners had chafed over Mr. Giuliani’s public comments about payments that another of Mr. Trump’s lawyers, Michael D. Cohen, made to secure the silence of …

Politico reports: Rudy Giuliani resigned from his private law firm on Wednesday as he steps up his work as one of President Donald Trump’s personal attorneys in the Russia investigation. The former New York mayor initially took an unpaid leave of absence last month from the New York office of Greenberg Traurig, but in a joint statement issued Thursday the …

The Huffington Post reports: Giuliani said it did not matter legally how Cohen chose to accept his payments. He added that even if Trump’s monthly retainer payments flowed through the same business entity or even the same bank account, there was nothing illegal about it. Moreover, what Cohen did was Cohen’s business, Giuliani said. “There’s not involvement of the president …

The Daily Beast reports: Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team has spoken with Blackwater founder Erik Prince, two sources familiar with the matter tell The Daily Beast. It was not immediately clear what questions Mueller’s team had or what information Prince shared with the special counsel. Prince attended a now-controversial meeting with the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund in the …

For the millionth time we see he’ll lie about anything: President Trump on Wednesday inaccurately claimed numerous times that military personnel had not received a pay raise in 10 years, though the Pentagon has enacted raises every year for the past decade. “We just approved $700 billion for our military so we’re going to be having the best equipment ever …

CBS News provides likely topics: North Korea — Mr. Trump will be welcoming the three U.S. citizens home from North Korea, after two of them have been detained for months, and the third since 2015, well before he was elected president. But questions about the Trump administration’s strategy in negotiating with North Korea ahead of an expected meeting remain. Withdrawing …

STAT News reports: The curious relationship between one of the world’s biggest drug makers and President Trump’s personal lawyer began early last year when Michael Cohen, a longtime fixer for the president, reached out to Novartis’s then-chief executive officer Joe Jimenez, promising help gaining access to Trump and influential officials in the new administration, according to an employee inside Novartis …

CNBC reports: Drug giant Novartis paid President Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen more than $1 million for health-care policy consulting work that he actually ended up being “unable” to do, the company said Wednesday. The company also said it has been questioned by special counsel Robert Mueller’s team about the payments to Cohen. Novartis said it signed a one-year contract …

Via Mediaite: When Avenatti joined ABC’s George Stephanopoulos to talk about the payments [from Russian oligarch Viktor Vekelsberg], he reiterated that “something doesn’t smell right,” and Cohen’s dealings suggest that he might be selling access to Trump. Avenatti said there’s “no question” about the accuracy of his report, but there is something the president or his attorney can do if …

Reuters reports: Novartis has ended a contract with a U.S. firm linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, and has cooperated with a special counsel looking into potential meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, the Swiss drugmaker said. It was responding to remarks by an attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels that Novartis was among companies that made …