Trump Corruption

Politico reports: The U.S. Office of Government Ethics has quietly reversed its own internal policy prohibiting anonymous donations from lobbyists to White House staffers who have legal defense funds. The little-noticed change could help President Donald Trump’s aides raise the money they need to pay attorneys as the Russia probe expands — but raises the potential for hidden conflicts of …

NBC News reports: Michael G. Flynn, the son of President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, is a subject of the federal investigation into Russian meddling in the presidential election and possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign, according to four current and former government officials. The inquiry into Flynn is focused at least in part on his work …

The Daily Beast reports: The Trump campaign has begun handing over documents to Bob Mueller as his investigators probe potential interference by Russia in the 2016 election. A team of attorneys at Jones Day, the firm representing the Trump campaign, is finding the documents that relate to Mueller’s queries of the campaign, sources have told The Daily Beast. And John …

The New York Daily News reports: Members of President Trump’s legal team recommended in June that Jared Kushner step down as a senior White House adviser because of his implication in the Russian probe — but Kushner’s doting father-in-law disagreed, according to a report. The President believed that Kushner, his trusted confidant and husband to his daughter Ivanka Trump, had …

The Washington Post reports: Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has alerted the White House that his team will probably seek to interview six top current and former advisers to President Trump who were witnesses to several episodes relevant to the investigation of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the request. Mueller’s interest in the …

SNAP: Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) emailed the U.S. statute outlining punishments for lying or withholding information from Congress on Thursday just hours after Donald Trump Jr. testified before the committee. “Below is a statue to keep in mind in regards to Donald Trump Jr.’s testimony today,” Coons wrote in the email before sharing the rules of …

The New York Times reports: Donald Trump Jr. told Senate investigators on Thursday that he set up a June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer because he was intrigued that she might have damaging information about Hillary Clinton, saying it was important to learn about Mrs. Clinton’s “fitness” to be president. But nothing came of the Trump Tower meeting, he …

The Associated Press reports: The oldest son of President Donald Trump arrived on Capitol Hill Thursday morning for a private interview with congressional staff about a meeting he had with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 presidential campaign. Donald Trump Jr. made an opening statement of about 15 to 20 minutes before taking questions behind closed doors from staff members …

The Hill reports: Republican leaders on the Hill were “visibly annoyed” that Ivanka Trump joined an Oval Office meeting to “say hello” during their Wednesday meeting with President Trump on a must-pass spending bill, according to reporters who spoke with an aide. Democrat and Republican Congressional leaders met with Trump on Wednesday to discuss a plan to increase the debt …

The Independent reports: A Russian politician has threatened to “hit Donald Trump with our Kompromat” on state TV. Speaking on Russia-24, Nikita Isaev, leader of the far-right New Russia Movement, said the compromising material should be released in retaliation over the closure of several Russian diplomatic compounds across the US. When asked whether Russia has such material, Mr Isaev, who …

The Week reports: President Trump is traveling to North Dakota on Wednesday, where he will visit an Andeavor oil refinery to discuss tax reform. “We are the highest taxed nation in the world,” Trump added to this announcement on Twitter, an entirely false statement that he has made at least three times. “By all metrics we looked at, the United …

The Daily Beast reports: During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump attacked Hillary Clinton for accepting money from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, complaining during one of the debates, “These are people that kill women and treat women horribly and yet you take their money.” That was, of course, before he made his first foreign visit as president to Saudi Arabia—and …

The Hill reports: The Justice Department confirmed in a court briefing filed late Friday that neither it nor the FBI has evidence that Trump Tower was the target of surveillance efforts by the Obama administration during the 2016 presidential election. The Motion for Summary Judgement was filed in D.C. district court in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit …

The Washington Post reports: Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is reviewing a letter drafted by President Trump and a top aide in the days before the firing of FBI Director James B. Comey laying out in detail why the president wanted to get rid of the country’s top law enforcement official, according to people familiar with the Mueller probe. …

The Daily Beast reports: Special counsel Bob Mueller has teamed up with the IRS. According to sources familiar with his investigation into alleged Russian election interference, his probe has enlisted the help of agents from the IRS’ Criminal Investigations unit. This unit—known as CI—is one of the federal government’s most tight-knit, specialized, and secretive investigative entities. Its 2,500 agents focus …

Raw Story reports: A co-host on President Donald Trump’s favorite morning news show said on Thursday morning that it’s time to wind down special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade declared on Thursday that “six months is enough” time for Mueller to fully investigate the complex web of …

The Daily Beast reports: Documents disclosed this week show just how far former Trump Organization adviser and convicted felon Felix Sater will go to help his one-time business associate President Donald Trump. In emails released by The New York Times on Monday, Sater bragged to the president’s lawyer in 2015 that, with Kremlin help, “our boy can become president of …

The New York Times reports: President Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, has given Congress a point-by-point rebuttal of a dossier alleging that he has deep ties to Russian officials — an effort to clear his name as the Justice Department and congressional committees investigate Russia’s attempts to disrupt last year’s election. Mr. Cohen encouraged lawmakers to investigate those who …

Politico reports: Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team is working with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on its investigation into Paul Manafort and his financial transactions, according to several people familiar with the matter. The cooperation is the latest indication that the federal probe into President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman is intensifying. It also could potentially provide Mueller with …

Bloomberg reports: Two federal watchdog agencies are taking an active look at the controversial General Services Administration lease for the Trump International Hotel in Washington, Bloomberg BNA has learned. Both the Government Accountability Office and GSA’s Office of Inspector General have opened probes into the lease, officials with both groups confirmed. The GAO since June has been looking into GSA’s …