Trump Corruption

Trump Lawyer “Vehemently” Denies Russian Collusion

The New York Times reports: President Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, has given Congress a point-by-point rebuttal of a dossier alleging that he has deep ties to Russian officials — an effort to clear his name as the Justice Department and congressional committees investigate Russia’s attempts to disrupt last year’s election. Mr. Cohen encouraged lawmakers to investigate those who …

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BOOM: Robert Mueller Teams Up With NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman On Manafort Investigation

Politico reports: Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team is working with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on its investigation into Paul Manafort and his financial transactions, according to several people familiar with the matter. The cooperation is the latest indication that the federal probe into President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman is intensifying. It also could potentially provide Mueller with …

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Two Federal Agencies Probe Lease Of Trump’s DC Hotel

Bloomberg reports: Two federal watchdog agencies are taking an active look at the controversial General Services Administration lease for the Trump International Hotel in Washington, Bloomberg BNA has learned. Both the Government Accountability Office and GSA’s Office of Inspector General have opened probes into the lease, officials with both groups confirmed. The GAO since June has been looking into GSA’s …

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Finnish President: Trump Lied About Selling Us Jets

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump loves to talk about trade deals. It was with fervor that he announced a new deal to supply Finland’s air force with “a large number” of F18 fighter jets from Boeing. The news was a surprise to many, most of all Finland and its President Sauli Niinistö, who was sharing a podium with Trump as …

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Trump Junior Set For Closed Senate Panel Testimony

Politico reports: The Senate Judiciary Committee has reached an agreement and set a date for Donald Trump Jr. to testify behind closed doors to the panel, the committee confirmed on Tuesday. The committee would not divulge the exact date, but another source familiar with the matter said the testimony would likely occur in the “next few weeks.” Trump Jr. is …

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Trump Campaign Sells “Hurricane Hat” For $40

Law Newz reports: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) doesn’t appear to be thrilled with President Donald Trump‘s new hat. Not what’s written on it, which is a simple USA in white print on a red background, with the Trump name on the back, but its marketing. Turns out they’re not alone, as Trump’s own former head of …

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REPORT: Mueller Zeroes In On Trump’s “Knowingly False Statement” About Junior’s Meeting With Russian Agents

NBC News reports: Federal investigators working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller are keenly focused on President Donald Trump’s role in crafting a response to a published article about a meeting between Russians and his son Donald Jr., three sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. The sources told NBC News that prosecutors want to know what Trump knew about …

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REVEALED: During Campaign Trump Signed Letter Of Intent For Licensing Royalties For Trump Tower Moscow

ABC News reports: Four months into his campaign for president of the United States, Donald Trump signed a “letter of intent” to pursue a Trump Tower-style building development in Moscow, according to a statement from the then-Trump Organization Chief Counsel Michael Cohen. The involvement of then-candidate Trump in a proposed Russian development deal contradicts repeated statements Trump made during the …

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REPORT: Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Asked For Putin’s Help On Moscow Trump Tower Deal During Campaign

The Washington Post reports: A top executive from Donald Trump’s real estate company emailed Vladi­mir Putin’s personal spokesman during the U.S. presidential campaign last year to ask for help advancing a stalled Trump Tower development project in Moscow, according to documents submitted to Congress Monday. Michael Cohen, a Trump attorney and executive vice president for the Trump Organization, sent the …

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FLASHBACK: The Time Trump Claimed He Took $17M In Storm Insurance Money But Little Damage Reported

A reminder from Law Newz: As tropical storm Harvey batters its way through Texas, flooding the Gulf Coast at unprecedented levels, it might be interesting to look at President Donald Trump‘s own relationship with hurricanes, or the lack thereof. In October, The Associated Press reported that the then-candidate claimed to have taken $17 million in insurance money for storm damage …

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Trump Sought Moscow Trump Tower During Campaign

The Washington Post reports: While Donald Trump was running for president in late 2015 and early 2016, his company was pursuing a plan to develop a massive Trump Tower in Moscow, according to several people familiar with the proposal and new records reviewed by Trump Organization lawyers. As part of the discussions, a Russian-born real estate developer urged Trump to …

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Trump Campaign Aide Emailed About Putin Meeting

CNN reports: Congressional investigators have unearthed an email from a top Trump aide that referenced a previously unreported effort to arrange a meeting last year between Trump campaign officials and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The aide, Rick Dearborn, who is now President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff, sent a brief …

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MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough: Putin Is Blackmailing Trump

Raw Story reports: MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough suggested President Donald Trump is being blackmailed by Russian president Vladimir Putin. “Donald Trump, at some point in his life, has insulted everybody around him in the harshest of terms, including his own children,” Scarborough said. There is only one exception to Trump’s bullying and belligerence, he said. “The only person that I certainly …

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REPORT: Investigators Learned About Donald Trump Jr’s Meeting With Russian Agents From Paul Manafort

Bloomberg reports: Manafort had alerted authorities to a controversial meeting on June 9, 2016, involving Trump’s son Donald Jr., other campaign representatives and a Russian lawyer promising damaging information on Hillary Clinton, according to people familiar with the matter. The president and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were dragged into the matter in July as details repeatedly emerged that contradicted the …

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Trump Thanks Vladimir Putin For Ejecting American Diplomats: We’ve Been Trying To Cut Down Our Payroll

The Washington Post reports: Addressing for the first time Putin’s decision late last month that the U.S. Embassy and consulates in Russia would have to cut 775 diplomatic and technical staff, Trump told reporters that he sees no reason for them to continue working in Russia. “I want to thank him because we’re trying to cut down our payroll and …

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REPORT: Federal Agents That Raided Paul Manafort’s Home Sought Violations Of Banking Secrecy Act

The New York Times reports: Investigators for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, recently searched the Northern Virginia home of President Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, for tax documents and foreign banking records, a sign that the inquiry into Mr. Manafort has broadened, according to a person briefed on the matter. Until now, it was only known that …

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Trump Campaign Hands Over Thousands Of Pages Of Documents For Senate Committee’s Russia Probe

Bloomberg reports: Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, his son Donald Trump Jr. and former campaign manager Paul Manafort have started turning over documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of the panel’s expanded investigation of Russian election-meddling. The Trump campaign turned over about 20,000 pages of documents on Aug. 2, committee spokesman George Hartmann said Tuesday. Manafort provided about 400 …

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Trump Lawyer: Trump Has Sent Private Messages Of Appreciation To Special Counsel Robert Mueller

USA Today reports: President Trump has publicly called the widening federal investigation into Russia’s election meddling a “witch hunt.” But through his lawyer, Trump has sent private messages of “appreciation” to special counsel Robert Mueller. “He appreciates what Bob Mueller is doing,” Trump’s chief counsel John Dowd told USA TODAY in an interview Tuesday. “He asked me to share that …

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House Democrats Demand Records On Government Payments To Trump Organization Properties

The Associated Press reports: As President Donald Trump spends much of August at his New Jersey golf club, Democratic lawmakers are making a new push for information about how much money the federal government is spending at his for-profit properties. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday asked departments to hand over information about their Trump-related spending by Aug. …

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WORKING VACATION: Trump Fires Out Another Attack Minutes After CNN Panelist Calls Him A “Draft-Dodger”

Late this afternoon CNN’s Jake Tapper reported on Trump’s early morning tweetstorm, which included a three-tweet rant against Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal. And since today’s soggy weather has kept Trump off the golf course, he was obviously watching television and therefore just HAD to fire out another attack on Blumenthal after one of Tapper’s panelists said, “By any objective standard, …

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