Trump Corruption

Heavy reports: Special Counsel Robert Mueller gave his first public statement in the Russia investigation on May 29, 2019, confirming that his office’s conclusion was that there was “insufficient evidence to charge a broader conspiracy” against the Trump campaign in relation to Russian efforts to interfere with the election. He also addressed allegations the president might have committed obstruction of …

The Hill reports: White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Wednesday scoffed at a government office’s findings that she violated a decades-old law barring officials from weighing in on elections in their government capacity as she railed against Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s record. When reporters noted the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) found she violated the Hatch Act with two …

CNN reports: Special Counsel Robert Mueller will be making a statement at 11 a.m. ET on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The statement will be on camera at the Department of Justice. There will be no questions. The White House got a heads up last night that special counsel Robert Mueller would likely deliver a statement …

NBC News reports: Special counsel Robert Mueller will make a public statement at 11 a.m. Wednesday on the Russia investigation, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday. “Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III will make a statement on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election,” the department said. “This will be a statement only, no question and answer …

The Guardian reports: The former White House adviser Steve Bannon has described the Trump Organization as a criminal entity and predicted that investigations into the president’s finances will lead to his political downfall, when he is revealed to be “not the billionaire he said he was, just another scumbag”. The startling remarks are contained in Siege: Trump Under Fire, the …

Reuters reports: The former British spy who produced a dossier describing alleged links between Donald Trump and Russia will not cooperate with a prosecutor assigned by U.S. Attorney General William Barr to review how the investigations of Trump and his 2016 election campaign began, a source with knowledge of the situation said. Christopher Steele, a former Russia expert for the …

The Guardian reports: A new book from Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff says special counsel Robert Mueller drew up a three-count obstruction of justice indictment against Donald Trump before deciding to shelve it – an explosive claim which a spokesman for Mueller flatly denied. The stunning revelation is contained in Siege: Trump Under Fire, which will be published a …

The Hill reports: GOP senators say that if the House passes articles of impeachment against President Trump they will quickly quash them in the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has broad authority to set the parameters of a trial. While McConnell is required to act on articles of impeachment, which require 67 votes — or a two-thirds majority …

The Huffington Post reports: The U.S. government has formally moved to seize control of the Trump Tower apartment of Paul Manafort, a convicted felon and former Trump campaign chairman, according to court filings on Friday obtained by HuffPost. As part of a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller, Manafort was forced to forfeit five of his New York properties …

The Daily Beast reports: Just hours after having multiple senior aides vouch for his calm state of mind after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused him of a temper tantrum, President Trump took to Twitter late Thursday to push an edited video of the top Democrat supposedly “stammering” through a news conference, jumping on a conspiracy-theory bandwagon that had been raging …

The Hill reports: President Trump has ordered U.S. intelligence officials to cooperate with Attorney General William Barr’s investigation into surveillance of members of his 2016 campaign, the White House said Thursday. Trump also gave Barr “full and complete authority” to declassify information related to the investigation, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. The notice comes as …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration is preparing to circumvent Congress to allow the export to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates of billions of dollars worth of munitions that are now on hold, according to current and former American officials and legislators familiar with the plan. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other senior aides are …

Bloomberg reports: Shortly after Donald Trump’s 2016 election, his onetime campaign chief Paul Manafort wrote to Jared Kushner to ask the incoming administration to consider giving a “major appointment” to Manafort’s banker. “On it!” Kushner replied to Manafort on Nov. 30, 2016. That email exchange, which was admitted as evidence during Manafort’s tax-fraud trial last year, gained new significance Thursday …

A top Chicago banker was arrested this morning on charges in made loans to Paul Manafort in return for a high-ranking position in the Trump administration. The Associated Press reports: Stephen M. Calk, 54, was scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court in the afternoon. Authorities said Calk committed the crime while serving as CEO of The Federal Savings Bank …

Talking Points Memo reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) complained on Wednesday night that the Russia probe had subjected President Donald Trump to “two years of a political rectal exam.” “You can say it anyway you like, but here’s the bottom line: After two years of a political rectal exam, nobody has been looked at more than Trump,” Graham said during …

Politico reports: Donald Trump Jr. has signed a book deal with Center Street Books, an imprint of the Hachette Book Group, for a book “that will focus on politics, current events and the future of the MAGA movement,” according to a source close to him. Publisher Rolf Zettersten and Center Street editorial director Kate Hartson negotiated the deal with attorney …

The Washington Post reports: A confidential Internal Revenue Service legal memo says tax returns must be given to Congress unless the president takes the rare step of asserting executive privilege, according to a copy of the memo obtained by The Washington Post. The memo contradicts the Trump administration’s justification for denying lawmakers’ request for President Trump’s tax returns, exposing fissures …

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump on Tuesday appealed a decision from a federal judge upholding a subpoena issued by a congressional committee seeking information about Trump’s finances. The move, which was expected, has set up an early legal test of the president’s strategy of fighting off congressional oversight by rejecting the legitimacy of subpoenas he argues are motivated by politics. …

USA Today reports: President Donald Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, told Congress it was Trump’s personal attorney, Jay Sekulow, who suggested he tell lawmakers that the negotiations for Trump Tower Moscow ended in January 2016, even though they continued for months after that. The House Intelligence Committee on Monday released two transcripts of closed-door interviews with Cohen from earlier this …

Fortune reports: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has rejected House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal’s subpoena for six years of President Donald Trump’s personal and business tax returns. Now, Neal will likely turn to the courts, embarking on a lengthy battle that could help define Congress’ powers to oversee the executive branch. In a letter denying Neal’s subpoena, Mnuchin on …