Trump Corruption

The Washington Post reports: In May 2017, then Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Trump that Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein had just appointed Mueller as special counsel. Trump slumped back in his chair, according to notes from Jody Hunt, Sessions’s chief of staff. “Oh my God, this is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I’m f—ed,” Trump …

CNN is posting excerpts from the Mueller report. “With respect to whether the President can be found to have obstructed justice by exercising his powers under Article II of the Constitution, we concluded that Congress has the authority to prohibit a President’s corrupt use of his authority in order to protect the integrity of the administration of justice.” “The Russian …

The Week reports: House Judiciary Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) is already unsatisfied. Attorney General William Barr delivered a press conference Thursday ahead of releasing a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report. He finished about an hour before Congress was expected to receive the report, yet Nadler still sent a letter to Mueller right as Barr wrapped, asking the …

Talking Points Memo reports: President Trump took a “Game of Thrones”-themed victory lap after Attorney General William Barr’s press conference on special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on his Russia investigation. Trump posted an image on Twitter inspired by the hit HBO series after Barr reiterated the investigation found there was no collusion with Russia’s election interference in 2016 and there …

Axios reports: Attorney General Bill Barr said at a press conference Thursday that special counsel Robert Mueller found 10 episodes of President Trump potentially obstructing justice. Mueller did not make a ruling on obstruction of justice, and instead chose to set out evidence on both sides of the question. Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein concluded the evidence was …

The New York Times reports: Robert S. Mueller III’s findings will be public on Thursday, but some of them will not be news to President Trump. Justice Department officials have had numerous conversations with White House lawyers about the conclusions made by Mr. Mueller, the special counsel, in recent days, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. The talks …

The Washington Post reports: The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday opened a probe into reports that President Donald Trump told one of his acting Cabinet heads to break immigration law and vowed to pardon him if he faced legal consequences for doing so. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., chairman of the panel, and Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., the chairman for the …

The Associated Press reports: Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has a new job: a more than $100,000-a-year post with a gold-mining firm that’s pursuing project approvals involving the federal agency that Zinke left fewer than four months ago. Zinke told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his work for Nevada-based U.S. Gold Corp., which focuses on mining exploration and development, …

NBC News reports: Special counsel Robert Mueller’s redacted report on the Russia investigation and President Donald Trump will be made public on Thursday morning, the Justice Department said Monday. Washington has been waiting for the release of the report, which has put Attorney General William Barr at loggerheads with congressional Democrats who have demanded the entire, unredacted document since Mueller …

The Hill reports: The Trump campaign on Friday sent a fundraising email and several text messages to supporters misquoting Attorney General William Barr, claiming that he had confirmed the existence of “unlawful” spying on President Trump’s campaign during the 2016 election. In the email sent Friday afternoon, the Trump campaign claimed falsely that “Attorney General William Barr said what the …

Politico reports: Roger Stone, the longtime political ally and confidant of President Donald Trump, issued a series of Hail Mary legal arguments late Friday to dismiss the indictment against him from special counsel Robert Mueller that is pending before a federal judge in Washington D.C. The longshot arguments, some of which have already been considered and rejected by judges in …

The New York Times reports: President Trump’s older sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, has retired as a federal appellate judge, ending an investigation into whether she violated judicial conduct rules by participating in fraudulent tax schemes with her siblings. The court inquiry stemmed from complaints filed last October, after an investigation by The New York Times found that the Trumps had …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is offering House Democrats new information in a bid to stay out of jail while he cooperates with Congress. Cohen’s attorneys Lanny Davis and Michael Monico told lawmakers in a letter Thursday that Cohen has discovered substantial files on a hard drive that might be helpful to investigators. Cohen …

Axios reports: Sen. Rand Paul on Thursday blocked a resolution calling for special counsel Robert Mueller’s report to be released to Congress and the public. This is the 5th time that Republicans — led by Paul and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — have blocked the resolution, which passed unanimously in the House last month. Paul has argued in favor …

The Washington Post reports: Members of Mueller’s team have complained to close associates that the evidence they gathered on obstruction was alarming and significant. “It was much more acute than Barr suggested,” said one person, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the subject’s sensitivity. The New York Times first reported that some special counsel investigators …

NBC News reports: For ambassador to the United Arab Emirates — a job so sensitive in the tense Middle East that every previous president gave it to a career diplomat — Trump picked a wealthy real estate developer with no diplomatic experience. The ambassador to Morocco? A well-heeled car dealer. The nominee for Iceland? While well-traveled, he had never been …

CNN reports: The House Oversight Committee voted Tuesday to authorize a subpoena to the former personnel security director at the Trump White House. The committee voted to authorize subpoenas related to two issues — White House security clearances and the US Census — on Tuesday afternoon, escalating Democrats’ fight against administrative stonewalling. The security clearance vote passed along party lines, …

The New York Post reports: President Trump’s spokeswoman on Tuesday ripped ObamaCare and Congressional Democrats for not supporting the president’s agenda and for demanding the release of the special counsel’s full report on Russia. “We know by the actions that we have seen from Nadler and other Democrats in Congress is that the president’s right. They will never be satisfied. …

Business Insider reports: In an interview broadcast Monday night, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, shrugged off questions over his White House security clearance, granting a glimpse of a political playbook that could loom large in the months to come. Speaking with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, Kushner used the central finding of the special counsel Robert Mueller’s report …

The Washington Post reports: A White House whistleblower told lawmakers that more than two dozen denials for security clearances have been overturned during the Trump administration, calling Congress her “last hope” for addressing what she considers improper conduct that has left the nation’s secrets exposed. Tricia Newbold, a longtime White House security adviser, told the House Oversight and Reform Committee …