Trump Corruption

The Hill reports: President Trump in an interview late Wednesday appeared to blame his own staff for losing the coronavirus “public relations” battle while again attacking China’s government over its handling of the virus. Speaking with Greta Van Susteren on Gray TV’s “Full Court Press: Election Countdown,” Trump discounted the idea that his administration could have done more to prevent …

The Washington Post reports: Hours before law enforcement forcibly cleared protesters from Lafayette Square in early June amid protests over the police killing of George Floyd, federal officials began to stockpile ammunition and seek devices that could emit deafening sounds and make anyone within range feel like their skin is on fire. The technology, also called a “heat ray,” was …

Mediaite reports: “If you look at what we have done and all of the lives we saved,” Trump said, before showing an initial fatality projection of more than two million deaths if no mitigation measures would be taken. “We are below that. That was if we did a good job. If not so good, 1.5 million and two million. That’s …

CNBC reports: CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield told lawmakers at a Senate hearing he expects vaccinations to begin in November or December, but in limited quantities with those most in need getting the first doses, such as health-care workers. He said it will take about “six to nine months” to get the entire American public vaccinated. Trump said Redfield was …

Salon reports: A payroll company owned by Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney, took between $150,000 and $350,000 in taxpayer-backed emergency small business loans this spring. It’s unclear what Giuliani did with the money. The loan reveals a previously unreported, 18-year-old company owned by Giuliani. Giuliani initially told Salon he was ignorant of the purpose of this company, which has …

Because nothing matters anymore: As the coronavirus began spreading across the country in March, a white-and-blue postcard from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention arrived in every mailbox in the United States. It communicated basic public health do’s and don’ts — wash your hands, avoid crowds, stay home if you feel sick—which were billed as “President Trump’s Coronavirus Guidelines …

NBC News reports: The top spokesman for the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services is taking a leave of absence, the agency announced Wednesday, days after he promoted dangerous conspiracy theories during a Facebook Live video. In the video, Caputo, who is HHS’ assistant secretary for public affairs, charged that scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention …

Here we go again with Trump and fake videos: President Trump shared a fake video Wednesday morning that made it seem Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was playing the NWA song “F— tha Police.” It’s the latest example of Trump retweeting a fake, doctored or manipulated image or message from his Twitter account. It comes as the president is leaning …

Forbes reports: During an ABC News town hall in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump once again insisted to host George Stephanopoulos that the Covid-19 coronavirus would just “disappear” even without a vaccine. This time he added a reason why this would occur. “You’ll develop, you’ll develop herd, like a herd mentality,” explained Trump. “It’s going to be, it’s …

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump participated in a town hall event held in Philadelphia Tuesday night, hosted by ABC News’ anchor George Stephanopoulos. Trump noted that he had worn a mask when in hospitals or other places, but immediately blamed the Democrats for not instituting a mask-mandate. “They said at the Democrat Convention…they’re going to do a national mandate, they …

CNN reports: A group of tenants filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing Kushner Companies of illegally collecting rent and creating dangerous living conditions by failing to maintain working fire sprinkler systems in four New York City apartment buildings. The tenants in “Kushner Village” in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan want a state judge to block Kushner Companies from collecting rent …

Salon reports: President Donald Trump, in a 2000 New York Times op-ed, cited the benefits of voting by mail and email as the principal reason why he had briefly run for president as a Reform Party candidate. “The Reform Party was my chosen vehicle because its nomination process does not involve a long string of early primaries, but instead culminates …

Politico reports: Top HHS spokesperson Michael Caputo called an emergency staff meeting on Tuesday to apologize for leveling a series of false accusations on Facebook Live over the weekend, according to three people with knowledge of the meeting. Caputo told staffers that his remarks — which included unfounded allegations the Centers for Disease Control was harboring a “resistance unit” — …

The New York Times reports: The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into whether President Trump’s former national security adviser John R. Bolton unlawfully disclosed classified information when he published a memoir this summer, a case that the department opened after it failed to stop the book’s publication this summer. The department has convened a grand jury, which issued …

The Daily Beast reports: Back in 2018, when Bob Woodward first reported that President Donald Trump had ordered the assassination of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Trump baulked at the mere suggestion. “No, that was never even contemplated, nor would it be contemplated and it should not have been written about in the book,” he said at the time. Well, on …

CBS News reports: Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) on Tuesday called on Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar to resign, arguing he has failed to stand up to President Trump in the response to coronavirus. The call from Schumer comes amid a series of controversies at HHS. On Monday, the New York Times reported that a top …

Bloomberg News reports: Bill Gates used to think of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as the world’s premier public-health authority. Not anymore. And he doesn’t trust the Centers for Disease Control and Protection either. Both, in his view, are casualties of a presidency that has downplayed or dismissed science and medicine in the pursuit of political gain. “We saw …

Fox News reports: The top spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services deleted his Twitter in the aftermath of a late-night rant in which he suggested tear gassing journalists and battled with other users on the social media platform. Michael Caputo, who was using his verified Twitter account, commented “gas all of them” in response to a post …

The Guardian reports: Donald Trump has been on Fox & Friends this morning. Among the tidbits are that he said he had read Bob Woodward’s book Rage last night, and that it was “boring”. The book runs to some 400 pages. The president promised there will be a coronavirus vaccine within “weeks”. “I’m not doing it for political reasons. I …

Mediaite reports: The audio starts with President Trump admitting to Woodward, “And Bob, it’s so easily transmissible, you wouldn’t believe it,” to which the author replied, “I know.” Trump then proceeded to tell a story about an Oval Office meeting with ten people in which someone “innocently” sneezed. According to the commander-in-chief, “the entire room bailed out, including me.” After …