Trump Corruption

The Wall Street Journal reports: A major donor to President Trump agreed to pay $10 million to the president’s then-personal attorney if he successfully helped obtain funding for a nuclear-power project, including a $5 billion loan from the U.S. government, according to people familiar with the matter. The donor, Franklin L. Haney, gave the contract to Trump attorney Michael Cohen …

The Washington Post reports: Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III indicated this week that he is willing to reduce the number of questions his investigators would pose to President Trump in an interview, renewing negotiations with Trump’s lawyers about a presidential sit-down after an extended standoff, according to two people briefed on the negotiations. The latest proposal by the special …

ABC News reports: Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office wants to ask President Donald Trump about obstruction of justice, sources close to the White House tell ABC News. According to sources, the president learned within the last day that the special counsel will limit the scope of questioning and would like to ask questions both orally and written for the President …

The Hill reports: President Trump suggested on Wednesday that his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been treated worse than notorious gangster Al Capone. Manafort, a longtime Republican operative, is currently on trial for charges of tax and bank fraud in Alexandria, Va. Manafort’s lawyers have said that their client had been kept in solitary confinement in a Virginia jail …

Glorious Leader is clearly increasingly anxious as Paul Manafort’s federal trial enters its second day in Virginia. Former senior FBI official Chuck Rosenberg says there is enough information on public record to suspect that President Trump or those close to him will inevitably be charged with conspiring to work together with Russia. Rosenberg’s comments came last night as he spoke …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump on Tuesday embraced a line of defense offered by his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, that “collusion is not a crime,” even though he continued to deny any alleged ties between his campaign and Moscow during the 2016 election. Speaking to CNN’s “New Day” on Monday, Giuliani said he wasn’t sure if collusion was a crime. Legal …

Newsweek reports: Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani went on a media blitz Monday morning, during which he claimed “collusion” was not a crime and branded the president’s former lawyer Michael Cohen a “scumbag.” The former New York City mayor began the day on the president’s favorite morning show, Fox & Friends, where he suggested Trump could not be guilty …

Jonathan Swan reports at Axios: Rudy Giuliani told me that President Trump is fed up with Robert Mueller and wants him to “put up or shut up.” What he’s saying: “Why don’t you write a report and show us what you have, because they don’t have a goddamn thing. It’s like a guy playing poker. He’s bluffing and he’s only …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Sunday renewed his accusations that special counsel Robert Mueller has “conflicts of interest” in his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, citing a previous business dispute between the two men. In a sequence of tweets attacking the special counsel’s credibility, Trump noted that he and Mueller had “a very nasty & contentious …

The Hill reports: A California Republican lawmaker said Saturday that no one in Washington will not be “surprised” if it turns out there is evidence proving President Trump knew in advance about his son’s meeting with a Russian lawyer for dirt on Hillary Clinton. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) was pressed by Fox News’ Neil Cavuto on Saturday whether Trump could …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, substantially weakened his case against Michael Cohen by going back and forth as to whether Cohen could tell federal prosecutors the truth, said Jay Goldberg, President Donald Trump’s friend and former lawyer. Giuliani called Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer, “honorable” and truthful on several occasions before an audio recording of a discussion …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump has sought repeatedly to punish journalists for the way they ask him questions, directing White House staff to ban those reporters from covering official events or to revoke their press credentials, according to several current and former administration officials. At various moments throughout his presidency, Trump has vented angrily to aides about what he …

The Hill reports: MSNBC’s Donny Deutsch said President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen told him several months ago that Trump knew “everything” going on during his 2016 campaign, including about his son’s meeting with Russians inside Trump Tower. A panel on Friday’s “Morning Joe” was discussing a new report that Cohen says Trump had prior knowledge of the June 2016 …

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump launched into a Twitter tirade early Friday morning taking shots at his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, suggesting he is “is trying to make up stories” to “get himself out of an unrelated jam.” The tweetstorm started off on the topic of a New York Times report that Robert Mueller‘s Russia probe is looking at Trump’s …

Newsweek reports: Rudy Giuliani accused Michael Cohen of being a “pathological liar” after reports emerged that he would tell special counsel Robert Mueller that Donald Trump knew about the infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting before it happened, contradicting the president’s claim of ignorance. “I expected something like this from Cohen, he’s been lying all week. He’s been lying for years,” …

Politico reports: Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s longtime personal attorney, is prepared to tell special counsel Robert Mueller that then-candidate Trump knew about and approved the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between his campaign officials and a Russian lawyer who promised dirt on Hillary Clinton, according to a source with knowledge of Cohen’s account, who confirmed a CNN report from …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday urged people to buy and read Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz’s new book arguing against his possible impeachment. Dershowitz, who supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, has emerged as a regular voice in the media defending Trump on legal issues, including special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election interference. The Harvard …

The Associated Press reports: The Moscow lawyer said to have promised Donald Trump’s presidential campaign dirt on his Democratic opponent worked more closely with senior Russian government officials than she previously let on, according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press. Scores of emails, transcripts and legal documents paint a portrait of Natalia Veselnitskaya as a well-connected attorney who served …

Raw Story reports: Federal officials have issued a subpoena to longtime Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg in their criminal probe of former Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen. The Wall Street Journal reports that Weisselberg is “considered a witness” in the investigation of Cohen, whose office was raided by the FBI this past April. “For decades, Mr. Weisselberg has served …

The New York Times reports: For years, President Trump has used Twitter as his go-to public relations weapon, mounting a barrage of attacks on celebrities and then political rivals even after advisers warned he could be creating legal problems for himself. Those concerns now turn out to be well founded. The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, is scrutinizing tweets …