Trump Corruption

CNBC reports: Roger Stone, a self-described political trickster, was convicted of all seven criminal counts that he faced at his trial in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.: obstruction of proceedings, five counts of false statements, and one count of witness tampering. Trump blasted the verdict, suggesting it was a “double standard like never before seen in the history of …

The Guardian reports: Trump has sent off a two-part tweet questioning the professional reputation of Maria Yovanovitch as the former US ambassador to Ukraine publicly testifies in the impeachment inquiry. Yovanovitch, a longtime diplomat, has served in several “hardship posts,” including Somalia as the country was suffering a civil war. In reality, Yovanovitch has been widely lauded by her fellow …

The Washington Post reports: The Republican National Committee will hold its winter meetings at President Trump’s Doral golf course in Florida next year — awarding another of the party’s most lucrative events to the president’s private business, a party spokesman said Thursday. The multiday event will be held in January at the Trump National Doral. Last month, Trump briefly chose …

Junior is bragging about his book Triggered hitting #1 on the New York Times bestsellers list, but there’s an important caveat next to his entry. “Sales are defined as completed transactions by vendors and individual end users during the period on or after the official publication date of a title. Institutional, special interest, group or bulk purchases, if and when …

The New York Times reports: President Trump asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to bar his accounting firm from turning over eight years of his tax returns to Manhattan prosecutors. The case, the first concerning Mr. Trump’s personal conduct and business dealings to reach the court, could yield a major ruling on the scope of presidential immunity from criminal investigations. …

The Guardian reports: Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, has said he is confident the president will remain loyal to him as an impeachment inquiry unfolds in which the former New York mayor has become a central figure. But Giuliani joked that he had good “insurance” in case Trump did turn on him, amid speculation Republicans will seek to frame …

Politico reports: Sen. Rand Paul could force a vote on the Senate floor that would bring Hunter Biden or other White House-favored impeachment witnesses to an impeachment trial. Paul said on Thursday he’s considering forcing votes on motions in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial allowing Trump to bring his own witnesses. The Kentucky senator and close Trump ally has urged …

The Hill reports: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Thursday his views on impeachment will remain unchanged even if testimony from a U.S. diplomat that President Trump inquired about investigating the Bidens during a call with U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland is confirmed. William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, on Wednesday said that one of his staffers had …

ProPublica reports: The Rybovich superyacht marina lies on the West Palm Beach, Florida, waterfront, a short drive north from Mar-a-Lago. Superyachts, floating mansions that can stretch more than 300 feet and cost over $100 million, are serviced at the marina, and their owners enjoy Rybovich’s luxury resort amenities. Its Instagram account offers a glimpse into the rarefied world of the …

The Hill reports: White House counselor Kellyanne Conway confronted CNN’s Wolf Blitzer after the anchor during a morning interview introduced a clip of Conway’s husband making critical comments of President Trump as part of MSNBC’s coverage of Wednesday’s impeachment hearing. Conway accused CNN of embarrassing itself by playing the remarks from frequent Trump critic George Conway, suggesting it was only …

Courthouse News reports: Truth still matters” was the resounding close from the Justice Department in the final moments of Trump confidant Roger Stone’s trial in Washington. Federal prosecutors urged the jury set to begin deliberations Thursday morning to convict Stone on charges he lied to Congress about a back channel to WikiLeaks head Julian Assange during the 2016 election. The …

CNN reports: In its effort to sell off the lease to the Trump International Hotel in Washington, the Trump Organization has put together a glossy investor brochure complete with pictures showcasing the hotel’s grandiose architecture, its central location and its spa’s Himalayan salt chamber. The hotel’s biggest selling point though, according to a copy of the brochure seen by CNN, …

The New York Times reports: A full federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to take up President Trump’s appeal of an earlier ruling that his accounting firm must comply with a House committee’s demands and turn over eight years of his financial records. In the latest of a string of court losses for Mr. Trump over his uncompromising vow to …

“The whole premise of this falls apart very quickly here, because what you’re really watching are these nerdy guys that don’t know President Trump, never met with President Trump, that speak to the European Union ambassador, make interpretations out of his conversations that actually contradict his testimony, and obviously they — they have a level of self-importance that is just …

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump has been busy offering counter-programming on Wednesday during the first public impeachment hearings. He’s tweeted 13 times since the start of testimonies, and also dropped this wild video attacking Democrats. “What’s going on now is the single greatest scam in the history of American politics,” Trump says in the video. “The Democrats want to take …

ABC News reports: United States Attorney General William Barr says he does not recall a request by the White House to publicly defend President Trump over the July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which has become a central focus of the U.S House impeachment inquiry. Barr was visiting Memphis Wednesday to announce an initiative to reduce gun violence. …

The New York Times reports: William B. Taylor Jr., the top United States diplomat in Ukraine, offered dramatic new testimony Wednesday about how President Trump’s preoccupation with investigating former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was affecting his actions toward Ukraine. Mr. Taylor said that a member of his staff overheard a telephone conversation in which the president mentioned “the …

CBS News reports: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon praised House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday, saying her handling of the impeachment inquiry is “actually quite brilliant.” “I disagree with her ideologically, but I think Nancy Pelosi is a master at political warfare. I think, strategically, what she has done from their perspective is actually quite brilliant,” Bannon said …

NPR reports: With the House set to begin public impeachment inquiry hearings against President Trump on Wednesday, the man tasked with leading the Democrats’ investigation says he already sees several potential impeachable offenses Trump has committed, including bribery. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said on Tuesday that he thinks there’s a clear argument to be made that Trump …

The Washington Post reports: Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) predicted a Senate impeachment trial would last six to eight weeks, although the top Republican in the chamber, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), has yet to weigh in. Burr made the comment Monday at an event at Wake Forest University with Sen. Mark R. Warner (Va.), the top …