Trump Corruption

Politico reports: Former Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday he believed Robert Mueller legally could prosecute President Donald Trump on obstruction of justice charges — but that the special counsel would need to build a strong case. “Is there a technical case there now?” Holder said in response to questions from POLITICO after a Christian Science Monitor breakfast Wednesday. “I …

Politico reports: Carter Page, the former foreign policy adviser to President Donald Trump’s campaign now at the center of the ongoing Russia investigation, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Tuesday that he has never in his life communicated with the president. “I never spoke with him since. I never spoke with him any time in my life,” Page said when …

The New York Times reports: Lawyers for President Trump have advised him against sitting down for a wide-ranging interview with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to four people briefed on the matter, raising the specter of a monthslong court battle over whether the president must answer questions under oath. His lawyers are concerned that the president, who …

The New York Times reports: The House Intelligence Committee voted on Monday to make public a classified Democratic memorandum rebutting Republican claims that the F.B.I. and the Justice Department had abused their powers to wiretap a former Trump campaign official, setting up a possible clash with President Trump. The vote gives Mr. Trump five days to review the Democratic memo …

Vox reports: Rep. Devin Nunes is the author of a newly declassified document falsely insinuating the FBI misused US surveillance law to go after President Trump under the pretext of investigating Russia. On Monday morning, Nunes went on Fox & Friends, the president’s favorite TV show, to discuss Trump’s alleged persecution — and told a lie so brazen that there’s …

Raw Story reports: President Donald Trump on Monday praised Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) as a “Great American Hero” for his role in releasing a controversial memo that critics have assailed for providing a misleading picture of the FBI’s actions in 2016. Nunes on Friday released a memo that aimed to undercut the FBI’s role in investigating President Donald Trump’s presidential …

Reuters reports: U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday accused U.S. Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee that is investigating alleged Russia meddling in the 2016 presidential election, of leaking “confidential” information. Trump is now recycling his juvenile nicknames, having already attacked “Little” Marco Rubio on many occasions. This morning’s tweet-spasm was spawned, as usual, by …

“First, I would like to say that the elections in 2018 is perhaps the most consequential in our history because we have to stop and impending dictatorship by this white supremacist, right-wing traitor. And Donald Trump, make no mistake, is a traitor, along with everyone in his orbit. We have to look at this relationship with the Russians. Donald trump …

Mediaite reports: Shortly after suggesting Democrat claims of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia is akin to “McCarthyism” — a reference to irrational, unfounded accusations of communist-ties made by late Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s — Donald Trump Jr. said the Democrat Party are “left of commies.” Donald Jr., who made the comments during an appearance on Fox …

TIME Magazine reports: Former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page bragged that he was an adviser to the Kremlin in a letter obtained by TIME that raises new questions about the extent of Page’s contacts with the Russian government over the years. The letter, dated Aug. 25, 2013, was sent by Page to an academic press during a dispute over edits …

ABC News reports: Lawyers are laying the groundwork for a new legal defense fund to aid those who have at one point served candidate and now President Donald Trump and who have been pulled into the ongoing Russia probe. The fund, called the “Patriot Legal Expense Fund,” is being looked to as a way to provide financial support for any …

Politico reports: Special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation has gathered enough steam that some lawyers representing key Donald Trump associates are considering the possibility of a historic first: an indictment against a sitting president. While many legal experts contend that Mueller lacks the standing to bring criminal charges against Trump, at least two attorneys working with clients swept up in …

Politico reports: Three attorneys representing Rick Gates told a federal court Thursday they are immediately withdrawing as counsel for the former Donald Trump campaign aide, who is fighting special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of him on money laundering and other charges. Lawyers Shanlon Wu, Walter Mack and Annemarie McAvoy said in a two-page motion that they would explain the reasons …

CNN reports: Top White House aides are worried FBI Director Christopher Wray could quit if the highly controversial Republican memo alleging the FBI abused its surveillance tools is released, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation tell CNN. Wray has made clear he is frustrated that President Donald Trump picked him to lead the FBI after he fired FBI Director …

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration has stripped enforcement powers away from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau office that specializes in pursuing cases against financial firms for breaking discrimination laws, according to two people familiar with the matter and emails reviewed by The Washington Post. The move comes about two months after President Trump installed his budget chief Mick Mulvaney …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump is expected to approve the release of a controversial congressional memo alleging surveillance abuses by the FBI, after the White House agreed to some redactions at the bureau’s request, according to senior administration officials. The redactions were the result of a review of the memo’s classified contents by White House and intelligence community officials, …

The Hill reports: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) compared House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes’s (R-Calif.) move to make a memo on surveillance at the Department of Justice (DOJ) public to former Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s (R-Wis.) aggressive probe of suspected communists in the 1950s. “The release of this memo is really reminiscent of the darkest days of the McCarthy era, with …

The Daily Beast reports: Mark Corallo, the former spokesman for President Donald Trump’s legal team, will reportedly tell special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators that White House Communications Director Hope Hicks said Donald Trump Jr.’s emails about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians “will never get out.” According to The New York Times, Corallo was concerned that Hicks “could …

The Miami Herald reports: Miami Gardens Congresswoman Frederica Wilson criticized Donald Trump’s handling of congressionally ordered Russia sanctions Tuesday night during a boycott of his state of the union speech, suggesting the president has taken it easy on Russia because “they have something on him.” “The House and Senate voted on all kinds of sanctions against Russia. Now, the president …

Talking Points Memo reports: In a rare public statement, the FBI on Wednesday expressed “grave concerns” about the accuracy of a congressional Republican memo that purports to show anti-Trump prejudice among senior FBI and Justice Department officials. It’s extremely unlikely that the highly critical comment would be sent out without the approval of top Trump appointees at the FBI and …