Trump Corruption

NBC News reports: Trump painted a doomsday scenario under a Democratic president. “If we don’t win, your farms are going to hell,” he said, claiming that under the Green New Deal supported by some of the 2020 contenders, “they want to kill your cows.” “That means you’re next,” he said. The proposed legislation does not call for killing or banning …

The Associated Press reports: Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee will oppose calling more witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, all but dashing Democratic efforts to hear more testimony and boosting odds the Senate will vote imminently to acquit without new testimony, in a matter of days. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said late Thursday she would vote …

From the editorial board of the Washington Post: Polls show that Americans overwhelmingly want the trial to hear witnesses. There is no precedent for an impeachment trial without live testimony. If it suppresses it, the Senate will ratify a coverup, making any acquittal of Mr. Trump meaningless. Mr. Trump tried to use his office to force Ukraine to intervene in …

ABC News reports: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) says in a new interview that President Trump may target Republican senators who buck party leadership and vote for additional witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial for primary challenges. In an interview with ABC News, Christie said he could “definitely” see the president at least encouraging primary challengers if not …

Politico reports: New video released by the attorney for Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani who worked to drum up an investigation of Joe Biden out of Ukraine, appears to show Parnas and his business partner Igor Fruman mingling with Trump and GOP officials at a donor event in April 2018. The recording …

The Hill reports: The Trump administration told a federal judge on Thursday that Congress cannot sue the executive branch, attempting to fight off a House committee’s subpoena for documents related to aborted efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. James Burnham, an attorney with the Justice Department, argued that Congress cannot use the courts to enforce its …

From an op-ed just published by Anthony Scaramucci: President Trump’s White House has launched another disinformation campaign against a former staffer. This time, John Bolton is the target, thanks to revelations from his unpublished book. Trump said Monday that Bolton’s claim about withholding aid to Ukraine in a quid pro quo “was only to sell a book.” The president later …

The Washington Post reports: Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday declined to read a question submitted by Sen. Rand Paul, in which the Kentucky Republican sought to name a person who conservative media outlets have alleged is the whistleblower whose anonymous complaint launched the impeachment inquiry. “The presiding officer declines to read the question as submitted,” Roberts said …

The Daily Beast reports: New audio obtained by The Daily Beast appears to show former Rudy Giuliani associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman attending an April 2018 fundraising dinner with President Donald Trump along with former Republican Rep. Pete Sessions. The recording marks the second substantial release of audio showing Parnas interacting with the president at a fundraising event. Trump …

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: Several members of President Donald Trump’s impeachment defense team recently gave money to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s 2020 reelection campaign, a Courier Journal analysis of campaign finance data found. Ken Starr, who famously prosecuted former President Bill Clinton in his impeachment trial before joining Trump’s team, gave the maximum individual contribution allowed — $2,800 — …

CBS News reports: Senators on Thursday prepared for a second day of questions for both the Democratic House managers and the defense team in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. Senators asked more than 90 questions Wednesday on everything from executive power to the ability to call witnesses — an issue that has lawmakers sharply divided. Ahead of the vote on …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump’s defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz now says his headline-dominating argument against impeaching the president was ‘distorted.’ In a day-after tweet, the former Harvard Law professor complained Thursday about the portrayal of his testimony at Trump’s Senate Trial that a president, if he believes his re-election is in the “national interest,” is essentially immune from …

The Washington Post reports: An attorney for John Bolton has pushed back against the White House’s assessment that his book manuscript contains classified material and asked for an expedited review of a chapter about Ukraine in case the former national security adviser is called to testify in the Senate impeachment trial. The Jan. 24 email to the White House from …

CBS News reports: Alan Dershowitz argued that a quid pro quo involving a president’s political benefit was fine because all presidents believe their elections are in the public’s interest. Essentially, if Trump withheld nearly $400 million in aid to pressure Ukraine into announcing investigations of Democrats to help his campaign, that’s fine because Trump thinks his election is to the …

Grub Street reports: One of the biggest concerns surrounding the trial has been whether or not witnesses will be allowed to testify before the lawmaking body, and especially former national security adviser John Bolton.  Which is why Brooklyn bakery Butter & Scotch has undertaken the truly entertaining task of sending sheet cakes to 53 Republican senators. The cakes are the …

NBC News reports: Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani who has said he wants to testify in the president’s impeachment trial, showed up at the Senate on Wednesday attempting to gain entry. Parnas, however, can’t enter the Senate gallery because he is wearing an electronic monitoring device on his ankle — and no …

Colorado Politics reports: Sen. Cory Gardner said Wednesday that he thinks the Senate has heard from enough witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, taking off the table a potential Republican vote to subpoena national security adviser John Bolton. “I do not believe we need to hear from an 18th witness,” the Colorado Republican told Colorado Politics in a statement. …

CNN reports: The White House has issued a formal threat to former national security adviser John Bolton to keep him from publishing his book, “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir,” sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. The White House had no comment. Neither Bolton nor a spokesman for the publisher, Simon & Schuster, responded to a …

CNN’s K-File reports: Law professor Alan Dershowitz, who is a member of President Donald Trump’s impeachment defense team, said in 2016 that he believed Trump was more corrupt than Hillary Clinton and more likely to continue being corrupt as president. Dershowitz spoke on the Senate floor Monday in defense of the President. He made the 2016 comments during an appearance …

“Mitt Romney’s call for John Bolton’s testimony comes as no surprise. Romney has been, lets say, wobbly throughout. He’s long had connections with foreign policy RINOs and they with him. Bolton one of them. He served as Romney’s foreign policy adviser during Romney’s failed 2012 presidential run. “Not so complicated, is it? John Bolton himself has been reduced to a …