Trump Corruption

Mediaite reports: During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump mocked Hillary Clinton for telling the FBI that she didn’t “recall” something 39 times during a three hour-plus interview, but Trump himself responded the same way to Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s written question 37 times. About 10 times during the presidential campaign, Trump trashed Clinton over reports that there were 39 …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday surprised reporters in Washington by failing to speak at length about special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, a document he has framed as a clear vindication. One day before the report’s release, Trump teased the possibility of staging his own press conference about the Russia probe after Attorney General William Barr’s, telling WMAL Radio …

Rolling Stone reports: Buried in a footnote in Section II B of Volume II of the redacted Mueller report is a single reference to supposed kompromat the Russian government was rumored to have on the president — the infamous “pee tape.” The report confirms that then-FBI director James Comey briefed President-elect Trump about the report in January 2017, but it …

Law & Crime reports: British publicist Rob Goldstone had reached out to Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, to set up the meeting during the 2016 campaign. Goldstone wrote in emails that Russia had “official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to [Trump Jr.’s] father,” as “part of …

One of the least surprising revelations: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders acknowledged to investigators with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team that she misled reporters when she insisted in May 2017 that “countless” FBI agents had lost confidence in former Director James Comey leading up to his dismissal. The special counsel’s report, released Thursday, cited Sanders’s multiple false statements …

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 …