Trump Corruption

The Guardian reports: US congressional investigators want the head of data firm Cambridge Analytica to testify again before their committee, under subpoena if necessary, after a whistleblower claimed the company exploited Facebook and received millions of people’s profiles that were taken without authorisation. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, called for the company to be “thoroughly …

The Guardian reports: Donald Trump went on the offensive against fired FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe on Sunday, responding to reports McCabe kept memos of his conversations with Trump – and has turned them over to special counsel Robert Mueller – by claiming McCabe never took notes in meetings with the president. The post came moments after Trump targeted Comey, …

The Associated Press reports: Andrew McCabe — the former FBI deputy director just fired by the attorney general — kept personal memos regarding President Donald Trump. That’s according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation who wasn’t authorized to discuss the memos publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. This person says the memos are similar to the …

Politico reports: The Federal Election Commission has launched a preliminary investigation into whether Russian entities gave illegal contributions to the National Rifle Association that were intended to benefit the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election, according to people who were notified of the probe. The inquiry stems in part from a complaint from a liberal advocacy group, the American …

The New York Times reports: As the upstart voter-profiling company Cambridge Analytica prepared to wade into the 2014 American midterm elections, it had a problem. The firm had secured a $15 million investment from Robert Mercer, the wealthy Republican donor, and wooed his political adviser, Stephen K. Bannon, with the promise of tools that could identify the personalities of American …

Betsy Woodruff reports at the Daily Beast: President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, John Dowd, told The Daily Beast on Saturday morning that he hopes Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will shut down Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia’s election interference. Reached for comment by email about the firing of former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, Dowd sent The Daily …

The Washington Post reports: Facebook is suspending the Trump-affiliated data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica, after learning that it failed to delete data that it had taken inappropriately from users of the social network, Facebook said late Friday. Facebook said it was suspending the accounts of Strategic Communication Laboratories, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica, as well as the accounts of …

The Hill reports: President Trump celebrated the firing of former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe late Friday on Twitter, calling it a “great day for Democracy.” Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe, who was set to retire on Sunday, for not being forthcoming with investigators during an inspector general review. Trump had repeatedly attacked McCabe, claiming that the former FBI …

The Associated Press reports: Lawyers for President Donald Trump’s family hotel business threatened a Panamanian judicial official handling a dispute related to Trump Hotels’ management of a 70-story luxury hotel, according to a complaint filed with the anti-corruption division of Panama’s chief prosecutor. The complaint reviewed by The Associated Press said lawyers from the firm representing Trump’s hotel management business …

Politico reports: Vice President Mike Pence is headlining a Wednesday evening fundraiser for a 2018 candidate he knows well — his brother, Greg. The vice president will host a donor event for Greg Pence at the Trump International Hotel in Washington. Greg Pence, a businessman and Marine veteran, is running for Indiana 6th Congressional District, which Mike Pence held prior …

CNN reports: Newly released emails cast doubt on claims by Secretary Ben Carson and his spokesman that he had little or no involvement in the purchase of a $31,000 furniture set for his Department of Housing and Urban Development dining room. Emails show Carson and his wife selected the furniture themselves. An August email from a career administration staffer, with …

Politico reports: Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, runs a significant risk of spending the rest of his life in prison and the evidence against him by special counsel Robert Mueller’s office seems strong, a federal judge declared in an order made public on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, who is based in Alexandria, Virginia, and is …

ABC News reports: The bombshell firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson comes amid another shakeup in the West Wing involving President Donald Trump’s personal aide (his body man) John McEntee, who was escorted from the White House Monday, sources told ABC News. There were issues with his background clearance, according to the sources. McEntee is the latest original Trump …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Monday touted the Republican-majority House Intelligence Committee’s conclusions on its probe into Russian election meddling after the panel said it found no evidence of collusion with the Trump campaign. Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), who is overseeing the Moscow hacking probe, announced on Monday the committee would stop interviewing witnesses and was in the process …

The New York Times reports: Even as the special counsel expands his inquiry and pursues criminal charges against at least four Trump associates, House Intelligence Committee Republicans said Monday they have found no evidence of collusion between Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia to sway the 2016 election. Representative K. Michael Conaway of Texas [photo], who is leading the …

McClatchy reports: Donald Trump isn’t the only Trump with potential conflicts of interest in the White House. Ivanka Trump — a senior White House adviser who is doing everything from lobbying the Senate on tax policy to representing her father at a G20 summit of world leaders — will pull in more than $1 million a year from the family …

The Associated Press reports: Donald Trump Jr. has a previously undisclosed business relationship with a longtime hunting buddy who helped raise millions of dollars for his father’s 2016 presidential campaign and has had special access to top government officials since the election, records obtained by The Associated Press show. The president’s eldest son and Texas hedge fund manager Gentry Beach …

Bloomberg reports: Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice is said to be close to completion, but he may set it aside while he finishes other key parts of his probe, such as possible collusion and the hacking of Democrats, according to current and former U.S. officials. That’s because Mueller may calculate that if he …

Axios fact-checks the bullshit: RealClearPolitics’ polling average places Trump’s approval at 40.9%, significantly lower than Obama’s approval (48.5%) at the same time during his presidency. Rasmussen Reports’ latest numbers, from Friday, put Trump’s approval rating at 44% — not “around 50%.” Rasmussen, whose “likely voter” model tends to favor Republicans, also had Obama at 44% on the same day in …

Buzzfeed News reports: Lawyers associated with President Donald Trump are considering legal action to stop “60 Minutes” from airing an interview with Stephanie Clifford, the adult film performer and director who goes by Stormy Daniels, BuzzFeed News has learned. “We understand from well placed sources they are preparing to file for a legal injunction to prevent it from airing,” a …