Trump Corruption

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 …

Business Insider reports: At least five of President Donald Trump’s top advisers urged him to limit travel from China in late January, despite the president’s repeated claims that he made the decision alone, journalist Bob Woodward reports in a new book. Woodward writes in his White House exposé “Rage” that health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, Health and Human Services …

Politico reports: The White House has blocked trade adviser Peter Navarro from testifying at a House oversight hearing Wednesday about a partially canceled Defense Production Act contract to manufacture ventilators. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), who heads the Oversight Economic and Consumer Policy Subcommittee, issued a staff report in late July that argued the administration vastly overpaid Philips Respironics, agreeing to …

Raw Story reports: On Monday’s edition of CNN’s “The Situation Room,” former National Security Adviser John Bolton agreed with the assessment of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman that the president was a “useful idiot” for Russian President Vladimit Putin, and other foreign strongmen. “I think his behavior, almost across the board in international affairs, betrays lack of analysis, lack of consideration …

Mother Jones reports: Two months after a controversial State Department commission elevated religious freedom at the expense of LGBTQ equality and reproductive rights, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is planning to promote its findings at the United Nations, Mother Jones has learned. During the UN General Assembly, which begins on September 15 in New York, Pompeo is expected to lead …

NBC News reports: The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General has begun investigating the circumstances surrounding the sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone, a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The investigation is focused on events in February, according to the two sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity, when prosecutors …

The Daily Beast reports: A supposed FBI raid of a home of an infamous Republican dirty trickster appears to have been a ruse—one that began falling apart even as its perpetrators managed to dupe a major national newspaper. On Monday, a Virginia man who responded to a Craisglist ad seeking actors to play FBI agents for a television pilot came …

UPDATE: The story reported this morning by the Washington Post has turned out to be a hoax staged by Jacob Wohl. See the latest here. The Washington Post reports: Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the home of lobbyist, conspiracy theorist and right-wing operative Jack Burkman early Monday morning. Burkman confirmed the raid and said he was not …

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports: President Donald Trump told the Review-Journal in an exclusive interview Sunday that he did not believe he was subject to Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s order limiting gatherings to 50 people when he addressed a crowd of thousands at an indoor rally in Henderson. The president blamed the Democratic governor for forcing his campaign to abandon …

Axios reports: In a new clip from an interview with Bob Woodward, President Trump said that his relationships with world leaders are better “the tougher and meaner they are,” naming Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as an example. Trump has often faced criticism for his warm relations and praise for authoritarian leaders like Erdoğan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi …

NBC News reports: A two-decade-old audit of mail equipment transport contracts by the U.S. Postal Service’s inspector general found that a company previously run by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy was awarded multiple noncompetitive contracts by the Postal Service that may have cost consumers as much as $53 million more than if they’d been competitively bid. The 2001 audit found that …

Forbes reports: President Trump said that he plans to “negotiate” to run again in 2024 if he wins reelection in November, his latest in a series of comments that have alarmed critics who say he has little regard for constitutional boundaries. During a rally in Nevada, Trump predicted he would win reelection and carry Nevada, a state he lost narrowly …

Bloomberg News reports: Oracle Corp. edged out rival Microsoft Corp. in negotiations for the U.S. operations of TikTok, people familiar with the talks said, as the Chinese-owned music-video app attempts to avoid getting shut down in a clash between the world’s two superpowers. Oracle has nurtured a relationship with Trump since before his administration began. In 2016, Chief Executive Officer …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Colorado won a temporary restraining order blocking the U.S. Postal Service from sending the state’s households a postcard about voting by mail, after its top election official said the information on the mailer was misleading. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said in a written statement that the mailer included multiple inaccurate statements …

The Business Times reports: It appears President Trump is pretty confident about winning the votes of Cubans in Florida after bragging about being the recipient of the Bay of Pigs award. On Sunday, Bay of Pigs began trending on Twitter after Trump tweeted about the recognition he received for helping the Cuban population. However, the award in question doesn’t exist. …

“I believed at the time in 2016 and I continue to believe that Donald Trump is compromised by the Russians. And when I say that I mean that they hold leverage over him that makes him incapable of placing the national interest, the national security ahead of his own. One of the largest ways that people in foreign governments gain …

NBC News reports: Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel on Sunday defended President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, after book excerpts released last week showed that the president publicly downplayed the threat in the pandemic’s early months. In an interview with “Meet the Press,” McDaniel maintained that “20/20 vision is, in hindsight, perfect,” and insisted that Trump acted “calm …

Raw Story reports: Discussing the recent police killing of a self-described anti-fascist suspected of fatally shooting a far-right activist in Portland, Oregon, President Donald Trump openly endorsed extrajudicial executions in a Fox News interview Saturday, declaring that “there has to be retribution.” “I put out, ‘When are you going to go get him?’ And the U.S. Marshals went in to …

The Daily Beast reports: President Donald Trump’s campaign solicited donations Saturday with a fear-mongering text warning of impending violent attacks by anti-fascist activists under a Joe Biden presidency: “ANTIFA ALERT: They’ll attack your homes if Joe’s elected. Pres Trump needs you to become a Diamond Club Member. Your name is MISSING. Donate.” There is no existing evidence to support the …

From the Colorado Secretary of State: On Thursday my office received notice that the United States Postal Service would be sending out a national pre-election mailer to every household in America that contains incorrect election information for Colorado. The mailer incorrectly asks that voters request a mail ballot 15 days before the election and return their ballots by mail at …