Trump Corruption

The Washington Post reports: The Biden campaign on Thursday seized on the controversy over Trump’s downplaying of the novel coronavirus in the early days of the pandemic with a new digital ad that contrasts what the president privately told journalist Bob Woodward with what he was saying publicly a few weeks later. The ad draws upon audio from Trump’s interviews …

The Wrap reports: Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen will be releasing a podcast titled “Mea Culpa.” It premieres Sept. 14. Like the book he dropped Tuesday, “Disloyal,” it will review his time spent with President Donald Trump. The weekly podcast seeks to “dismantle the Trump legacy,” according to its Apple Podcast’s landing page. The podcast is being produced in partnership …

Raw Story reports: President Donald Trump explained how much Fox coverage impacts his thinking during a Friday afternoon press conference. “You know, you have people — I watch some of the shows,” Trump said, before listing nine hours of shows on Fox networks that he has watched in the last 24 hours. “I watched Liz MacDonald, she’s fantastic. I watched …

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports: The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state’s election chief lawfully rejected Kanye West’s effort to get on the Ohio ballot. In a 7-0 decision, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that West and his vice-presidential candidate Michell Tidball failed to comply with state law in their effort to make the Ohio ballot. Last month, Ohio …

Trump’s racist postings get more vivid every day: President Donald Trump raised the prospect of a dystopian future in the future if he fails to win reelection – hours after saying he held back warnings about the nature of the coronavirus to avoid sowing ‘panic.’ Trump made the claim as one of a barrage of tweets Thursday as he fended …

The Daily Beast reports: The president’s personal lawyer has been working closely with “an active Russian agent” trying to smear the president’s chief political rival. That’s the conclusion of the U.S. Treasury Department, which sanctioned on Thursday one of Rudy Giuliani’s Ukrainian allies for interference in the upcoming U.S. elections. Andriy Derkach worked closely with Giuliani—and with the Trump-friendly cable …

The Insider reports: President Donald Trump bragged to the veteran journalist Bob Woodward that he protected Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) from congressional scrutiny after the brutal assassination of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Woodward wrote that Trump called him on January 22 shortly after attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. During the conversation, Woodward pressed …

Roll Call reports: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma used millions in federal taxpayer funds to pay for communications consultants with strong Republican ties to polish her own profile, potentially violating federal policies, a new report released Thursday by House and Senate Democratic committees alleges. The new report — released jointly after a 17-month investigation — found …

ABC News reports: The ad, which paints an incomplete picture of the American economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, does so in part by featuring stock footage from countries outside the United States, including a warehouse in Ukraine and publicly available footage of two models — one from Italy and another from Ukraine – but which appear in the ad to …

CNN reports: The fallout has caused internal strife at the White House as aides assign blame for allowing the taped interviews to proceed. Fingers have been thrust at ex-press secretaries, longtime confidants and old friends. But people familiar with the situation say it is Trump himself who ultimately determined at the outset he could talk Woodward into writing a positive …

The Washington Post reports: The U.S. Postal Service’s Board of Governors signaled strong support for Louis DeJoy on Wednesday after convening a closed-door meeting with the embattled postal chief to discuss congressional investigations tied to the agency’s delivery problems and allegations of political fundraising improprieties. Members of the board, dominated 4 to 2 by Republican members appointed by President Trump, …

NBC News reports: A judge denied a bid Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee and the Trump Organization misused nonprofit funds to enrich the president’s family business. The suit, brought by Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine in January, alleges that the president’s inaugural committee was aware that it was being overcharged for services …

From the “Army For Trump” site: As a member of our Election Day Team, you will assist Team Trump and grassroots operations across the country on Election Day 2020. Our Election Day Team primarily focuses on Getting Out the Vote (GOTV) to ensure any voters who did not vote early vote on election day. Depending on the state, volunteers may …

The New York Times reports: Top officials with the Department of Homeland Security directed agency analysts to downplay the threat of violent white supremacy and of Russian election interference, according to a whistle-blower complaint filed by a top intelligence official with the department. Brian Murphy, the former head of the intelligence branch of the Homeland Security Department, said in a …

Politico reports: A Trump administration appointee at the Department of Health and Human Services is trying to prevent Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, from speaking about the risks that coronavirus poses to children. Emails obtained by POLITICO show Paul Alexander — a senior adviser to Michael Caputo, HHS’s assistant secretary for public affairs — instructing press officers …

The Washington Post reports: In the midst of reflecting upon how close the United States had come in 2017 to war with North Korea, Trump revealed: “I have built a nuclear — a weapons system that nobody’s ever had in this country before.” “We have stuff that you haven’t even seen or heard about. We have stuff that Putin and …

The Hill reports: White House senior adviser Jared Kushner told people that the book “Alice in Wonderland” can help them understand the Trump presidency, according to excerpts from Bob Woodward’s new book reported by The Washington Post on Wednesday. In his forthcoming book, titled “Rage,” the Washington Post associate editor writes that Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, advised people that one …

The Associated Press reports: The book documents private grumblings, periods of exasperation and wrestling about whether to quit among the so-called adults of the Trump orbit: James Mattis, Dan Coats and former secretary of state Rex Tillerson. Mattis quietly went to Washington National Cathedral to pray about his concern for the nation’s fate under Trump’s command and, according to Woodward, …

The Arizona Republic reports: The Arizona Supreme Court today rejected Kanye West’s bid to appear on the state’s Nov. 3 ballot as an independent presidential candidate, just hours before eight of the state’s 15 counties faced a deadline for printing ballots. The decision marked the end of the rapper’s attempt to run in Arizona. He had appealed a lower-court decision …

Bloomberg News reports: Deutsche Bank AG, whose global operation is under the microscope of U.S. lawmakers and criminal investigators, has enlisted an old friend of U.S. Attorney General William Barr to help the bank navigate the political waters in Washington. The decision came from Frankfurt, where the bank’s supervisory board led by chairman Paul Achleitner has retained Robert Kimmitt, according …