Trump Corruption

The Associated Press reports: Lawyers for President Donald Trump argued on Tuesday that a defamation lawsuit filed by a former contestant on his reality TV show “The Apprentice” who accused him of unwanted sexual contact should at least be blocked while he’s in office because he’s too busy and important. Summer Zervos was a contestant on the show in 2006 …

The Hill reports: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) is urging the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. to testify publicly before the panel. The Democratic senator, a member of the committee, sent a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Tuesday asking him to “immediately issue a subpoena for public testimony and documents from Donald Trump, …

Bloomberg reports: Special prosecutor Robert Mueller zeroed in on President Donald Trump’s business dealings with Deutsche Bank AG as his investigation into alleged Russian meddling in U.S. elections widens. Mueller issued a subpoena to Germany’s largest lender several weeks ago, forcing the bank to submit documents on its relationship with Trump and his family, according to a person briefed on …

The Associated Press reports: While facing several felony charges, Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been working on an op-ed essay with a longtime colleague “assessed to have ties” to a Russian intelligence service, according to court papers filed Monday by prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller. In the court filing, prosecutors say Manafort and the colleague …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Monday defended former national security adviser Michael Flynn, saying it’s “very unfair” he was charged with a crime and Hillary Clinton was not. “Well, I feel badly for Gen. Flynn,” Trump told reporters. “I feel very badly. He’d led a very strong life.” “I will say this, Hillary Clinton lied many times to the …

Axios reports: John Dowd, President Trump’s outside lawyer, outlined to me a new and highly controversial defense/theory in the Russia probe: A president cannot be guilty of obstruction of justice. The “President cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer under [the Constitution’s Article II] and has every right to express his view of any case,” Dowd …

Newsweek reports: Jared Kushner failed to disclose his role as a co-director of the Charles and Seryl Kushner Foundation from 2006 to 2015, a time when the group funded an Israeli settlement considered to be illegal under international law, on financial records he filed with the Office of Government Ethics earlier this year. The latest development follows reports on Friday …

NBC News reports: A Senate investigation into President Donald Trump’s possible connections to Russia has revealed a possible obstruction of justice case against the president, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein said on “Meet The Press” Sunday. “The [Senate] Judiciary Committee has an investigation going as well and it involves obstruction of justice and I think what we’re beginning to see is …

The New York Times reports: A conservative operative trumpeting his close ties to the National Rifle Association and Russia told a Trump campaign adviser last year that he could arrange a back-channel meeting between Donald J. Trump and Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian president, according to an email sent to the Trump campaign. A May 2016 email to the campaign …

The Washington Examiner reports: President Trump suggested investors who lost money when the stock market fell following ABC’s erroneous report alleging Trump told Mike Flynn to make contact with the Russians as a candidate sue the reporter who made the error. Ross’ report — later corrected to state Trump asked Flynn to make contact with the Russians when he was …

The New York Times reports: When President Trump fired his national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, in February, White House officials portrayed him as a renegade who had acted independently in his discussions with a Russian official during the presidential transition and then lied to his colleagues about the interactions. But emails among top transition officials, provided or described to …

CBS News reports: President Trump spoke publicly Saturday morning for the first time since his former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI on Friday. “What has been shown is no collusion, no collusion,” Mr. Trump said, responding to a reporter’s question about whether the Flynn plea worries him before pivoting to a major tax …

More of this please: President Trump’s motorcade was greeted in New York City on Saturday by a large group of protestors chanting “lock him up” and “traitor.” Video posted to Twitter shows the crowd of protestors as Trump’s motorcade passes by in Manhattan. The protestors also chanted “hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go” and booed Trump’s …

The New Yorker reports: For now, Jay Sekulow and Ty Cobb are sticking to their original strategy. They have advertised their willingness to coöperate with Mueller as a sign that Trump has nothing to hide, and their reaction to Flynn’s guilty plea reflects this view. “Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn,” Cobb …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Saturday addressed for the first time his former national security adviser’s admission that he lied to FBI investigators about his contact with Russian officials. “No, I’m not” worried about what Michael Flynn will tell investigators, Trump told reporters. “What has been shown is no collusion,” he said. “There’s been absolutely no collusion so we’re …

“It’s impossible to overstate what a big deal this is. Once again today, this moves closer to the Oval Office. And we see the unraveling of all the lies. The president’s lies, the vice president’s lies, the attorney general’s lies, and we see an administration that has a nonstop proclivity to lying, now we’re seeing the criminal consequences of it.” …

Via Mediaite: Fox News’ Shep Smith today, in reacting to the Michael Flynn plea agreement, said, “The list of people who lied is getting longer and longer.” Smith spoke with Wall Street Journal associate editor John Bussey, who agreed with Smith that there are important lingering questions about Flynn and why he lied and why President Trump gives Russia “a …

“This is probably the tip of a prosecutorial iceberg, so to speak. It’s a nightmare for Donald Trump, because General Flynn was his constant companion on foreign policy and national security matters from June of 2015 to the time the President fired him. “Another downside for the president is this keeps the Russia story front and center at a time …

But nothing about Michael Flynn so far. The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump says media speculation that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will leave his job soon is “fake news.” Trump is responding on Twitter to widespread reports attributed to White House officials describing a plan to oust Tillerson and replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Trump says …

Tickity tock: Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of President Trump, will meet with Senate Intelligence Committee staff this month as part of the panel’s investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the committee’s chairman, confirmed to NBC News on Friday that Trump Jr. would speak to staff. CNN previously reported that Trump Jr. …