Trump Corruption

The Rising reports: Rudy Giuliani has an unmistakable New Year’s message for special counsel Robert Mueller: It is time for the chief investigator in the Russia case to be investigated in 2019. “Mueller should be investigated for destruction of evidence for allowing those text messages from Strzok to be erased, messages that would show the state of mind and tactics …

McClatchy reports: A mobile phone traced to President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen briefly sent signals ricocheting off cell towers in the Prague area in late summer 2016, at the height of the presidential campaign, leaving an electronic record to support claims that Cohen met secretly there with Russian officials, four people with knowledge of the matter …

NBC News reports: The Trump Foundation and the Trump Organization shared much more than President Donald Trump’s last name. And that’s why, experts said, the New York state investigations into the charity could envelop the president’s namesake business. “Nothing but overlap here. It all was held so tightly by he and his family members,” NBC News/MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner, …

Talking Points Memo reports: The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals froze a lawsuit accusing Trump of violating the constitution’s emoluments clause, after DOJ attorneys asked for a halt to their appeal, saying that the ongoing government shutdown will prevent them from doing their work. “The Department does not know when funding will be restored by Congress,” DOJ attorneys representing Trump …

“There doesn’t seem to be any strategic rationale for the decision. And if there’s no strategic rationale for the decision then you have to ask, why was the decision made? People around the world are asking this and some of our friends and our allies in the Middle East are asking, did Erdogan blackmail the president? Was there a payoff …

Time Magazine reports: Outgoing Sen. Bob Corker criticized Donald Trump on Twitter Sunday after the President lashed out at the Tennessee Republican. In a series of tweets, Trump claimed that Corker abandoned a plan to run for a third Senate term because the President would not endorse him. The President then falsely stated that the senator was responsible for the …

The Hill reports: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, says Democrats will subpoena special counsel Robert Mueller’s report if President Trump tries to invoke executive privilege to keep it secret. “I’m prepared to make sure we do everything possible so that the public has the advantage of as much of the information as it …

The Observer reports: In his latest get-rich scheme, Roger Stone is now selling rocks emblazoned with his autograph to defray his Russia-related legal bills. Unfortunately for the political operative, sellers of political memorabilia appraised his signature as worthless, and unlikely to collect any real value in the future. “In historical terms, I suspect he will wind up as a minor …

The New York Daily News reports: The House Intelligence Committee voted Thursday to give Robert Mueller the official transcript of an interview it conducted with Roger Stone, marking the most decisive step yet that the special counsel is prepping to indict the mercurial Trump loyalist. Mueller, who is investigating possible collusion between Russians and the Trump campaign ahead of the …

CNN reports: Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker has consulted with ethics officials at the Justice Department and they have advised him he does not need to recuse himself from overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, a source familiar with the process told CNN Thursday. The source added Whitaker has been in ongoing discussions with ethics officials since taking the …

CNN reports: Former Attorney General William “Bill” Barr, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, reached a decisive and controversial conclusion that Trump’s interactions with ex-FBI Director James Comey would not constitute obstruction of justice, according to a copy of a newly released June 2018 memo to senior Justice officials. The fact that Barr weighed in on such …

The Associated Press reports: A New York judge has signed off on a deal to close President Donald Trump’s embattled charity and give about $1.7 million in remaining funds to other nonprofits. Justice Saliann Scarpulla approved the deal late Wednesday, triggering the start of a court-supervised process for putting the Trump Foundation out of business. New York’s attorney general and …

The Washington Post reports: Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), the incoming chairman of the House Oversight Committee, fired off more than 50 letters Wednesday seeking documents on a wide array of issues, including Ivanka Trump’s email practices, the Trump administration’s policy of family separations at the border, and its handling of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. The move underscored plans …

Bloomberg reports: President Donald Trump defended his embattled personal foundation after it agreed to shut down amid allegations the nonprofit misused funds on political and business purposes. The charity’s dissolution doesn’t end the pending lawsuit against the president and Ivanka, Eric and Donald Trump Jr., who could be barred from serving as directors of any New York nonprofit for a …

The New York Daily News reports: President Trump signed a “bulls–t” letter of intent to build a Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 campaign, Rudy Giuliani conceded Tuesday – just two days after the former New York mayor claimed the missive had not been signed. Giuliani refused to acknowledge he told CNN’s Dana Bash on camera Sunday that Trump …

CNN reports: A newly obtained document shows President Donald Trump signed a letter of intent to move forward with negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Russia, despite his attorney Rudy Giuliani claiming on Sunday the document was never signed. CNN’s Chris Cuomo obtained a copy of the signed letter of intent that set the stage for negotiations for Trump …

The Hill reports: Roger Stone, a former adviser to President Trump, is now fundraising off a promise not to testify against him in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump in recent days has lashed out at witnesses cooperating with the Justice Department’s probe, such as his former attorney Michael Cohen, whom he’s called …

Moments ago lawyers for former Trump advisor Michael Flynn accepted a federal judge’s suggestion to delay sentencing after the judge appeared likely to disregard Mueller’s recommendation of no jail time. Flynn reportedly told the court this morning that he was indeed told that lying to the FBI is a crime. Updates to follow shortly…. UPDATE: From the New York Times. …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump has agreed to shut down his embattled personal charity and give away its remaining funds amid allegations that he used it for his personal and political benefit, the New York attorney general announced Tuesday. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced that the Donald J. Trump Foundation is dissolving as her office pursues its …

Talking Points Memo reports: Former National Enquirer senior editor Jerry George said Monday night that he knew of stories killed by his old magazine and it’s Trump-sympathetic publisher that implicated Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump in “criminal activity.” George added that he believes the magazine acted together with the Trump campaign to break the law, and that there is still …