Trump Corruption

CBS News reports: A federal judge will sentence Paul Manafort on Thursday afternoon. The penalty may be steep enough to keep the longtime lobbyist and former Trump campaign chairman in prison for the rest of his life. Prosecutors say that Manafort, 69, deserves between 19 and 25 years in prison as well as millions of dollars in fines and restitution …

Newsweek reports: Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman for President Donald Trump who found himself as one of the major players at the epicenter of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, will be sentenced Thursday afternoon at a federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia. In their sentencing memo last month, Mueller’s office recommended a sentence of 19.5 years to 24.5 years in …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday denied he broke the law when he involved himself in a scheme to pay hush money to two women who alleged to have extramarital affairs with him. The comments come one day after The New York Times reported Trump signed checks to reimburse his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, while he was serving …

The Daily Beast reports: Officials and staffers in the U.S. embassy in Riyadh said they were not read in on the details of Jared Kushner’s trip to Saudi Arabia or the meetings he held with members of the country’s Royal Court last week. And that’s causing concern not only in the embassy but also among members of Congress, according to …

ProPublica reports: In late 2017, on one of President Donald Trump’s retreats to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, Florida, he caught up with an old friend: Albert Hazzouri. Shortly after Hazzouri and Trump saw each other in late 2017, Hazzouri followed up with a message, scrawled on Mar-a-Lago stationery. In a telephone interview, Hazzouri said he sent the …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for President Trump, directed his attorney last spring to inquire about the possibility of a presidential pardon, weeks after federal agents raided his properties, Mr. Cohen’s lawyer said Wednesday, apparently contradicting his testimony before a House committee last week. Lanny Davis, a lawyer for Mr. Cohen, said Wednesday that in …

ABC News reports: In the weeks following the federal raids on former Michael Cohen’s law office and residences last April, President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and confidant was contacted by two New York attorneys who claimed to be in close contact with Rudy Giuliani, the current personal attorney to Trump, according to sources with direct knowledge of the discussions. The …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump’s former lawyer is returning to Capitol Hill for a fourth day of testimony as Democrats pursue a flurry of investigations into Trump’s White House, businesses and presidential campaign. Michael Cohen became a key figure in those investigations after turning on his former boss and cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. He was …

The New York Times reports: New York State regulators have issued an expansive subpoena to the Trump Organization’s longtime insurance broker, the first step in an investigation of insurance policies and claims involving President Trump’s family business, according to a person briefed on the matter. The subpoena was served late Monday on the company, Aon, one of the largest insurance …

Axios reports: White House counsel Pat Cipollone sent a letter to House Oversight chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) on Tuesday rejecting the committee’s request for documents explaining the process for granting security clearances to White House personnel, calling their demands “unprecedented and extraordinarily intrusive.” Cipollone’s letter is likely the first of many confrontations to come, as Democrats intent on probing every …

ABC News reports: Ty Cobb, the veteran Washington attorney who represented the White House as special counsel Robert Mueller ramped up his investigation into Russian meddling, said he considers the man leading the probe “an American hero” and does not share President Donald Trump’s view that the Russia inquiry is a politically motivated hoax. “I don’t feel the same way …

CBS News reports: Attorney General William Barr will not be recusing himself from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing Russia probe, citing advisement from “senior career ethics officials,” according to the Department of Justice. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is expected to be leaving his post in the coming weeks, will continue to serve as a “liaison” to the investigation. …

The Wall Street Journal reports: An attorney for Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, raised the possibility of a pardon with attorneys for the president and his company after federal agents raided Mr. Cohen’s properties in April, according to people familiar with the discussions. Conversations among those parties are now being probed by congressional investigators, according to document requests …

Politico reports: Roger Stone is under fire for possible violations of his court-imposed gag order after a weekend social media post suggested he’d been “framed” in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and ahead of the imminent re-release of a book he co-wrote that explores the “myth of Russian collusion.” The longtime Donald Trump associate remains under a Feb. 21 order …

Earlier today House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler filed documents requests with 71 people and entities affiliated with Trump. Here’s some of the people on Nadler’s list: DONALD TRUMP JR. – Trump’s oldest son is a top surrogate for his father in conservative circles and helps run his business. During the 2016 campaign, he set up a meeting with a Kremlin-connected …

Politico reports: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Monday that the White House’s lack of transparency surrounding security clearances for President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, is indefensible. Christie, a frequent defender of Trump on cable TV who came close to being his pick for vice president in 2016, said that last week’s reporting by …

CBS News reports: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler has delivered a slew of document requests as a first step in his investigation into President Trump and his associates, as the White House adjusts to the realities of a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. On Monday Nadler revealed his committee has requested documents from 71 entities and individuals, from the White …

The Hill reports: George Conway, the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, said Monday that it would “unquestionably be grounds for impeachment” if President Trump ordered former White House economic adviser Gary Cohn to pressure the Department of Justice to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger. Conway’s remark comes after The New Yorker reported that Trump gave that directive to …

Axios reports: House Democratic leaders worry impeachment proceedings against President Trump could backfire if they move too fast. They plan to pursue a slow-bleed strategy with lengthy public hearings and scores of witnesses to methodically pick apart Trump’s finances and presidency. In an investigation being coordinated among six to eight House committees, Trump will essentially be on public trial for …

“I think there is direct evidence in the emails from the Russians through their intermediary offering dirt on Hillary Clinton as part of what is described in writing as the Russian government effort to help elect Donald Trump. They offer that dirt. There is an acceptance of that offer in writing form the president’s son, Don Jr., and there is …