Trump Corruption

Nothing is surprising anymore. Nothing. Via Mediaite: Back on October 11th of last year, exactly four weeks before his father’s victory in the presidential election, Donald Trump, Jr. spoke at an event in Paris held by the Center of Political and Foreign Affairs (CPFA), a French think tank. On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal published a report further scrutinizing the …

The Hill reports: The White House is dismissing calls for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. “There’s nothing to recuse himself,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said in an interview with Fox News that aired late Thursday morning. “He was 100 percent straight with the committee, and …

The Associated Press reports: The intense attention being given to the new U.S. attorney general’s meetings with Russia’s ambassador could obstruct improved Washington-Moscow relations, the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday. The spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters he did not know about the meetings last year between Ambassador Sergei Kislyak and Jeff Sessions, who at that time was …

Mediaite reports: NBC caught up with Attorney General Jeff Sessions this morning, just hours after a Washington Post report said that Sessions did not disclose contact he had with the Russian ambassador during the campaign when he was going through his Senate Judiciary hearing to become the nation’s top prosecutor. “Well I have not met with any Russians at any …

The Hill reports: President Trump’s transition team called off a plan for an ethics, leadership and management course for his senior White House staff and appointees, including Cabinet members, according to a new report. According to documents obtained by Politico, the Trump team opted not to have staffers go through the program, which would have covered confirmation hearings, complying with …

Politico reports: Top congressional Democrats called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign Wednesday after revelations that he had met with the Russian ambassador in the months before the election — meetings that Sessions did not disclose during his confirmation hearings. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) led the effort late on Wednesday night, accusing Sessions of “lying under oath” …

Reuters reports: The White House told a government watchdog agency that Kellyanne Conway, a senior aide to President Donald Trump, acted “inadvertently” when she publicly endorsed the clothing and jewelry line of Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, according to a letter the administration released on Wednesday. Conway came under criticism last month when she said on television that Americans should “go buy …

Multiple news outlets are reporting on Twitter that the White House has blocked them from entering today’s press gaggle with Sean Spicer. Among those reportedly locked out are CNN, the New York Times, Politico, Buzzfeed, and others. Earlier today Trump doubled down on his attack on the “fake news” media during his CPAC speech, again calling them “the enemy of …

Bloomberg reports: President Donald Trump signed an executive order to impose additional oversight on government regulations, designating officials within government agencies who will monitor rule-making and identify needed policy changes, he said. “Excessive regulation is killing jobs,” Trump said at an Oval Office signing ceremony Friday. “Every regulation should have to pass a simple test: Does it make life better …

The Associated Press reports: Attorney General Jeff Sessions has signaled his support for the federal government’s use of private prisons, rescinding a memo meant to phase out their use. Sessions issued a new memo Thursday replacing one issued last August by Sally Yates, the deputy attorney general at the time. That memo told the Bureau of Prisons to begin reducing …

Whoa. Via Politico: A purported cyber hack of the daughter of political consultant Paul Manafort suggests that he was the victim of a blackmail attempt while he was serving as Donald Trump’s presidential campaign chairman last summer. The undated communications, which are allegedly from the iPhone of Manafort’s daughter, include a text that appears to come from a Ukrainian parliamentarian …

Politico reports: House Republicans next week plan to derail a Democratic resolution that would have forced disclosure of President Donald Trump’s potential ties with Russia and any possible business conflicts of interest, according to multiple House sources. Seeking to avoid a full House vote on the so-called “resolution of inquiry” — a roll call that would be particularly embarrassing and …

The Hill reports: The Office of Government Ethic’s website has been down for several hours on Thursday after it reported a surge in contacts from members of the public. The office tweeted that the “website, phone system and email system are receiving an extraordinary volume of contacts from citizens about recent events.” While the office didn’t offer a reason for …

CNN reports: Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to President Donald Trump, was “counseled” after promoting Ivanka Trump’s clothing and accessory brand during an interview from the White House Thursday morning. “Kellyanne has been counseled,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said during his daily briefing. “She’s been counseled on that subject.” Conway, in a Fox News interview from the White …

Raw Story reports: Norm Eisen, former White House ethics and transparency czar, asserted on Thursday that Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway had broken federal regulations by promoting Ivanka Trump’s brand on the air.  Eisen accused Conway of breaking §2635.702, which forbids “use of public office for private gain.” “By doing this ad — I have never seen anything like it — …

Raw Story reports: Norm Eisen, co-founder of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, has offered to help Nordstrom and other companies sue President Donald Trump for improperly using his executive position to hurt their businesses. In a tweet on Wednesday, Trump blasted Nordstrom for dropping his daughter Ivanka’s line of products. “My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly …

Business Insider reports: President Donald Trump lashed out at Nordstrom on Wednesday for dropping his daughter’s fashion line. “My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by Nordstrom,” Trump tweeted. “She is a great person — always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!” Nordstrom said last week that the brand’s declining sales led to its decision. “Each year …

Politico reports: A federal judge has ordered a golf club owned by President Donald Trump to refund nearly $6 million to members who said Trump’s team essentially confiscated refundable deposits after taking over the country club in 2012 U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth A. Marra ruled that the Trump National Jupiter Golf Club violated the contracts with members by retaining …

Politico reports: An electrical contractor is suing President Donald Trump’s Washington hotel for $2 million over what the contractor contends are unpaid bills for “nonstop” work performed to open the luxury lodging at the Old Post Office Building last year. The suit filed in D.C. Superior Court by Laurel, Maryland-based AES Electrical, also known as Freestate Electrical, contends that the …

CNN Money reports: President Donald Trump says he has resigned from positions in hundreds of business entities, according to a document provided to CNN by the Trump Organization. The text of the 19-page letter reads: “I, Donald J. Trump, hereby resign from each and every office and position I hold” in more than 400 entities listed on the following pages. …