Trump Corruption

CNBC reports: Special counsel Robert Mueller moved Monday to dismiss more than 20 charges against former Trump campaign official Rick Gates, multiple outlets reported, after Gates pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy and lying. The charges being dropped were brought against Gates in a court in Alexandria, Virginia, in keeping with the terms of his plea deal. “The Office will …

This will likely be on the menu today: Three hours into her scheduled testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, White House Communications Director Hope Hicks appears to be answering some of the committee’s questions, according to multiple members, though Democrats and Republicans on the committee differed on how useful those answers were. Asked how the interview with Hicks was proceeding, …

The Guardian reports: A senior career official in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development has alleged that she was demoted and replaced with a Donald Trump appointee after refusing to break the law by funding an expensive redecoration of Ben Carson’s office. Helen Foster said she was told “$5,000 will not even buy a decent chair” after informing …

Via Mediaite: President Donald Trump’s TiVo was working overtime on Tuesday morning, as it seemed he was catching up on last night’s episode of Martha McCallum’s Fox News show. Former judge Andrew Napolitano was reacting to Trump’s remarks in an interview with Jeanine Pirro from the weekend, in which he called on “you know who” — ostensibly Attorney General Jeff …

Bloomberg reports: White House communications director Hope Hicks is scheduled to be interviewed privately Tuesday by the House Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to two House officials familiar with the matter. Her appearance before the committee is scheduled for 10 a.m., said the officials, who asked for anonymity to discuss the plans. On …

UPI reports: White House press secretary Sarah Sanders is scheduled to give an on-camera press briefing on Monday afternoon. The briefing is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. EST. Sanders likely will face questions about the Supreme Court’s refusal to bypass the usual appeals court process and rule on attempts to block President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Deferred …

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump mangled a quote from a Fox News anchor in an attack on Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. In a tweet late Saturday, Trump claimed to have quoted a Fox News report by Molly Line, who was describing a Democrat memo rebutting GOP claims of surveillance abuses by Justice Department …

Reuters reports: A Florida golf club owned by U.S. President Donald Trump agreed on Friday to pay $5.45 million to settle claims by former members that it wrongfully refused to refund their deposits when they wanted to resign. The payout is more than 94 percent of the $5.77 million that U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra, who must approve the settlement, …

CNBC reports: Soon after the Republican National Committee came under pressure for paying legal bills for President Donald Trump and his eldest son in the special counsel’s Russia probe, it started covering expenses for the president’s re-election campaign. The RNC is using campaign funds to pay Trump’s company more than $37,000 a month in rent, and to pay thousands of …

The New York Times reports: A former top adviser to Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign pleaded guilty on Friday to fraud and lying to investigators in the special counsel inquiry into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and will cooperate with the investigation. The adviser, Rick Gates, is a longtime political consultant who once served as Mr. Trump’s deputy campaign …

The Washington Post reports: New charges were filed Thursday against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his business partner, ratcheting up the legal pressure on them as they prepare for a trial later this year. A new indictment has long been expected in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s prosecution of Manafort and his right-hand man, Rick Gates, on …

The Associated Press reports: Payday lenders got regulators to rethink rules on how closely to vet borrowers. E-cigarette makers got a delay in federal oversight of many vaping products. Candy makers praised a decision to hold off on more stringent labeling standards. And title insurers declared “victory” for getting changes that benefited them in the tax overhaul. What do all …

The Hill reports: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday night argued the Trump administration has “not declared war on the press,” despite concerns from a past press secretary. Mike McCurry, who served as press secretary during the Clinton administration, pressed Sanders over President Trump’s repeated attacks on the media, including his claim that the media is the …

NBC News reports: Federal investigators are probing whether former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort promised a Chicago banker a job in the Trump White House in return for $16 million in home loans, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told NBC News. Manafort received three separate loans in December 2016 and January 2017 from Federal Savings Bank for …

The Washington Post reports: The parents of first lady Melania Trump have become legal permanent residents of the United States and are close to obtaining their citizenship, according to people familiar with their status, but their attorney declined to say how or when the couple gained their green cards. Immigration experts said Viktor and Amalija Knavs very likely relied on …

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump slammed the attorney general on Wednesday, calling on his more than 48 million Twitter followers to “ask Jeff Session” why the Obama administration is not the focus of the special counsel’s Russia probe. Trump has used his Twitter account to attack Sessions before, particularly since Sessions recused himself from investigating matters relating to the 2016 …

The Associated Press reports: Donald Trump Jr. said that any talk of his family profiting from his father’s presidency is “nonsense” as he embarked on a trip to India that has raised ethical concerns about using the name of the American president to promote international business ventures. The eldest son of President Donald Trump, who is in India to meet …

Mediaite reports: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders insisted to reporters today that President Trump has accepted that Russia meddled in the election. The first question of the press briefing, from NBC News’ Kristen Welker, concerned whether President Trump finally accepts that Russia meddled and influenced the 2016 election. “One of the places where you guys seem to get …

The New York Times reports: As accounts of past sexual indiscretions threatened to surface during Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign, the job of stifling potentially damaging stories fell to his longtime lawyer and all-around fixer, Michael D. Cohen. To protect his boss at critical junctures in his improbable political rise, the lawyer relied on intimidation tactics, hush money and the …

The Wrap reports: President Donald Trump was watching “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday, tweeting out his gratitude to the Fox News morning show over a segment focusing on President Obama’s handling of the Russia threat. Trump added an attack on Obama, pulled word for word from the “Fox & Friends” line up. The tweets came after show co-hosts Steve Doocy, …