Trump Corruption

CNN reports: The FBI has information that indicates associates of President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the release of information damaging to Hillary Clinton’s campaign, US officials told CNN. This is partly what FBI Director James Comey was referring to when he made a bombshell announcement Monday before Congress that the FBI is investigating the …

The Hill reports: The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday that there is “more than circumstantial” evidence pointing to collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. In an interview with “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said evidence suggesting that members of President Trump’s campaign conspired with the Kremlin to influence the presidential …

The Washington Post reports: The U.S. Secret Service requested $60 million in additional funding for the next year, offering the most precise estimate yet of the escalating costs for travel and protection resulting from the unusually complicated lifestyle of the Trump family, according to internal agency documents reviewed by The Washington Post. Nearly half of the additional money, $26.8 million, …

Law Newz reports: A lawsuit against Ivanka Trump’s business was just filed in California state court by family-owned boutique Modern Appealing Clothing (MAC). And it’s not just any lawsuit – it’s a class action lawsuit, brought on behalf of a whole group of women’s clothing and accessory companies. The lawsuit alleges that Ivanka’s business got a sweet deal when President …

The Daily Beast reports: The White House’s former top national security official did not sign an ethics pledge ostensibly required of all Trump administration appointees barring them from ethically questionable lobbying activities, The Daily Beast has learned. A spokesman for former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn confirmed on Tuesday that Flynn did not sign the pledge during his brief tenure. …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, secretly worked for a Russian billionaire to advance the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin a decade ago and proposed an ambitious political strategy to undermine anti-Russian opposition across former Soviet republics, The Associated Press has learned. The work appears to contradict assertions by the Trump administration and …

FAKE NEWS: Ivanka Trump’s new office in the White House was cleared by White House lawyers and the federal government’s ethics watchdog, press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday. News came out Monday that the president’s daughter would be getting an office and a security clearance at the White House, even though she has not taken a formal job in the …

CNN reports: Ivanka Trump will work out of an office in the West Wing, a White House official told CNN on Tuesday. The official also confirmed Trump will seek a security clearance and government-provided communication devices, although she will not be a government employee. The move places President Donald Trump’s eldest daughter — long one of his closest advisers — …

The New York Times reports: The F.B.I. is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government — and whether there was any coordination, Mr. Comey said. Mr. Comey said that it was unusual for the F.B.I. to confirm or deny the existence of any investigations, but that in unusual circumstances …

Hair Furor joined Twitter eight years ago today and to mark the occasion CNN this morning counted down what they believe to be his most outrageous lying tweets. Some of you likely have other candidates for the list. Watch below.

Reuters reports: During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump downplayed his business ties with Russia. And since taking office as president, he has been even more emphatic. “I can tell you, speaking for myself, I own nothing in Russia,” President Trump said at a news conference last month. “I have no loans in Russia. I don’t have any deals …

The Guardian reports: The White House preemptively criticized the Maddow show before it aired, releasing a statement claiming Trump paid $38m in taxes on an income of more than $150m. The statement said he also paid “tens of millions of dollars in other taxes such as sales and excise taxes and employment taxes”. Here’s the full statement from a Trump …

Rachel Maddow blew up Twitter tonight with the report that her team has “Trump tax returns.” Which returns, which years, and even which Trump have not been disclosed. Sooooo, let’s all watch Rachel together tonight and use this post as an open thread. I’ve embedded a bootleg live stream below.

Talking Points Memo reports: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson used an email alias to discuss issues related to climate change while he was an executive at ExxonMobil, according to the New York attorney general. Attorney General Eric Scheiderman made the claim in a letter Monday asking a New York state judge to enforce a subpoena for documents in the state’s …

Politico reports: The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is accusing a top White House official of potentially violating criminal conflict of interest laws by playing a role in meetings with major companies in which he also appeared to have held millions of dollars in stock. The group filed its complaint Tuesday against Christopher Liddell, a former …

Raw Story reports: Fox News reporter Chris Wallace on Friday said it was “inconceivable” that Donald Trump was unaware of former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s lobbying work with a company connected to the Turkish government while serving as an adviser on his campaign. Reporters, including Fox’s John Roberts, grilled White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer over reports that a …

NBC News reports: The White House has confirmed the president’s transition team was informed before Inauguration Day that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn might need to register as a foreign agent with the Justice Department. That’s according to a White House official and a person with direct knowledge of discussions between transition lawyers and Flynn representatives. The White House …

Mediaite reports: Press Secretary Sean Spicer had a flummoxed moment on Thursday when he was asked about today’s news that Trump ally Nigel Farage went to the embassy where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange lives. “I have my own concerns here keeping track of what everyone is doing. I generally don’t worry about what’s going on across the pond,” Spicer said. …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn wrote an op-ed on Election Day calling for the U.S. to kick out an anti-government Turkish cleric without disclosing he was being paid by a firm linked to the Turkish government, according to documents newly filed with the Justice Department. POLITICO reported in November that Flynn’s consulting firm, Flynn …

Just in from Quinnipiac Polling: American voters say 52 – 40 percent that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied under oath during his confirmation hearings and say 51 – 42 percent that he should resign, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. Voters disapprove 54 – 32 percent of the way President Donald Trump is handling U.S. policy …