Trump Corruption

NBC News reports: Just before taking office, President Donald Trump promised to donate all profits earned from foreign governments back to the U.S. Treasury. But MSNBC has learned the Trump Organization is not tracking all possible payments it receives from foreign governments, according to new admissions by Trump representatives. By failing to track foreign payments it receives, the company will …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump congratulated his Filipino counterpart, Rodrigo Duterte, during a phone call last month for doing “an unbelievable job on the drug problem” in the Philippines, where the government has sanctioned the extrajudicial killing of suspects. A transcript of the April 29 conversation published online by The Intercept and reported by multiple media outlets, including The New …

Politico reports: Special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s office is now operating from an office in Washington, beginning its work of probing the impact of Russian influence on the 2016 presidential election, Justice Department officials said Tuesday. “The special counsel’s office is up and running now,” Assistant Attorney General for Administration Lee Lofthus told reporters at an annual briefing on the Justice …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump asked two of the nation’s top intelligence officials in March to help him push back against an FBI investigation into possible coordination between his campaign and the Russian government, according to current and former officials. Trump made separate appeals to the director of national intelligence, Daniel Coats, and to Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the …

NBC News reports: Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn appears to have lied to security clearance investigators by telling them he was paid by “U.S. companies” when he traveled to Russia in December 2015, according to a letter released Monday by the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. “The Oversight Committee has in our possession documents that appear to …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination on Monday and declined to hand over documents sought under subpoena by a Senate panel investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. In a letter to the Senate intelligence committee , Flynn’s attorneys justified the decision by citing an “escalating public …

NBC News reports: Two former associates of President Trump — Paul Manafort and Roger Stone — have turned over documents to the Senate Intelligence Committee in its Russia investigation, a congressional source with direct knowledge told NBC News. Earlier this month, the committee sent document requests to Manafort and Stone, as well as Carter Page and Mike Flynn, officials said …

The Associated Press reports: Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn will invoke his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination on Monday as he notifies the Senate Intelligence committee that he will not comply with a subpoena seeking documents. That’s according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private interactions …

The Hill reports: Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, on Sunday said individuals leaking information to the press should go to jail. “You cannot have that happen,” Chaffetz told ABC’s “This Week,” referencing the information leaking to the press about President Trump and the probe into Russia’s meddling in the presidential election. The New York …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The World Bank plans to announce Sunday at an event with Ivanka Trump, the U.S. president’s daughter and senior White House adviser, that Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have pledged $100 million collectively toward a fund for women who own or want to start businesses, according to people familiar with the announcement. The money …

CNN reports: White House lawyers have begun researching impeachment procedures in an effort to prepare for what officials still believe is a distant possibility that President Donald Trump could have to fend off attempts to remove him from office, two people briefed on the discussions tell CNN. White House officials believe the President has the backing of Republican allies in …

The Independent reports: Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has reportedly been identified as a “person of interest” in the ongoing investigation into possible ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s campaign. The Washington Post said that a senior advisor to Mr Trump had been identified as someone that investigators wanted to speak to. A New York magazine reporter then reported that …

The Washington Post reports: The law enforcement investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign has identified a current White House official as a significant person of interest, showing that the probe is reaching into the highest levels of government, according to people familiar with the matter. The senior White House adviser under scrutiny by investigators is someone …

The Associated Press reports: Donald Trump’s attorneys originally wanted him to submit an updated financial disclosure without certifying the information as true, according to correspondence with the Office of Government Ethics. Attorney Sheri Dillon said she saw no need for Trump to sign his 2016 personal financial disclosure because he is filing voluntarily this year. But OGE director Walter Shaub …

The Washington Post reports: The president of the Czech Republic is eager to have Ivanka Trump visit his country and he believes he has a compelling case to make. By a “happy coincidence” her mother is half Czech and President Miloš Zeman hopes that’s the opening he needs to secure a high-profile visit from the first daughter as he tries …

“I believe it hurts our country terribly, because it shows we’re a divided, mixed-up, not-unified country. And we have very important things to be doing right now, whether it’s trade deals, whether it’s military, whether it’s stopping nuclear — all of the things that we discussed today. And I think this shows a very divided country. It also happens to …

The Hill reports: President Trump dropped by a meeting Thursday with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), one day after a report that that lawmaker privately accused Trump of being on Russia’s payroll. Trump and Vice President Pence made an unscheduled appearance at a meeting of White House senior adviser Jared Kushner’s innovation initiative. McCarthy was participating in the Roosevelt …

Can you blame any of them? The Hill reports: A former Justice Department official has withdrawn her name from consideration to replace former FBI Director James Comey, according to multiple reports. Former Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, has removed herself from the White House’s shortlist. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn was …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday said there was never a special counsel appointed when illegal acts were committed during the administration of former President Obama and Hillary Clinton’s campaign. In another tweet, Trump appeared to refer to the probe into his campaign’s ties to Russia as the “single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history.” With …

And the hits keep coming. Reuters reports: Michael Flynn and other advisers to Donald Trump’s campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race, current and former U.S. officials familiar with the exchanges told Reuters. The previously undisclosed interactions form …