Trump Corruption

From the Washington Examiner: White House press secretary Sean Spicer declined on Friday to say whether President Trump believes ousted national security advisor Mike Flynn is guilty of a crime, even though Trump said on Twitter that Flynn should seek immunity from the Senate Intelligence Committee before he testifies about Russia. Spicer was asked if Trump’s tweet means that Flynn …

Politico reports: A federal judge has approved a $25 million settlement President Donald Trump agreed to late last year in a bid to head off a civil fraud trial over his Trump University real estate seminar program. U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel issued a 31-page ruling Friday deeming the deal fair and overruling claims from some former Trump University …

The Washington Post reports: For the eighth weekend in a row, President Trump has visited a property that bears his name. He has done so on 21 of the 66 days he has been in office, meaning that for the equivalent of three full weeks of his just-over-nine weeks as commander in chief, he has spent all or part of …

Raw Story reports: At the so-called “Winter White House,” President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, the former reality TV star hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and would soon welcome Chinese president Xi Jinping. But some of the hotel’s visitors, like Republican campaign funding juggernaut David Koch, have been a bit less visible to the public. Democrats …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, has offered to testify before the House Intelligence Committee in its investigation of Russian meddling in the US election, committee chairman Devin Nunes announced Friday. Nunes said House investigators are still negotiating when Manafort will testify and whether he will testify in an open hearing or in a closed briefing. …

This is normal. Everything is fine. The Washington Post reports: Government officials overseeing the Trump International Hotel’s lease with the federal government have determined the deal is in “full compliance” despite a clause in the agreement barring any “elected official of the Government of the United States” from deriving “any benefit.” In a Thursday letter to Eric Trump, the president’s …

CNN reports: The FBI has information that indicates associates of President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the release of information damaging to Hillary Clinton’s campaign, US officials told CNN. This is partly what FBI Director James Comey was referring to when he made a bombshell announcement Monday before Congress that the FBI is investigating the …

The Hill reports: The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday that there is “more than circumstantial” evidence pointing to collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. In an interview with “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said evidence suggesting that members of President Trump’s campaign conspired with the Kremlin to influence the presidential …

The Washington Post reports: The U.S. Secret Service requested $60 million in additional funding for the next year, offering the most precise estimate yet of the escalating costs for travel and protection resulting from the unusually complicated lifestyle of the Trump family, according to internal agency documents reviewed by The Washington Post. Nearly half of the additional money, $26.8 million, …

Law Newz reports: A lawsuit against Ivanka Trump’s business was just filed in California state court by family-owned boutique Modern Appealing Clothing (MAC). And it’s not just any lawsuit – it’s a class action lawsuit, brought on behalf of a whole group of women’s clothing and accessory companies. The lawsuit alleges that Ivanka’s business got a sweet deal when President …

The Daily Beast reports: The White House’s former top national security official did not sign an ethics pledge ostensibly required of all Trump administration appointees barring them from ethically questionable lobbying activities, The Daily Beast has learned. A spokesman for former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn confirmed on Tuesday that Flynn did not sign the pledge during his brief tenure. …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, secretly worked for a Russian billionaire to advance the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin a decade ago and proposed an ambitious political strategy to undermine anti-Russian opposition across former Soviet republics, The Associated Press has learned. The work appears to contradict assertions by the Trump administration and …

FAKE NEWS: Ivanka Trump’s new office in the White House was cleared by White House lawyers and the federal government’s ethics watchdog, press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday. News came out Monday that the president’s daughter would be getting an office and a security clearance at the White House, even though she has not taken a formal job in the …

CNN reports: Ivanka Trump will work out of an office in the West Wing, a White House official told CNN on Tuesday. The official also confirmed Trump will seek a security clearance and government-provided communication devices, although she will not be a government employee. The move places President Donald Trump’s eldest daughter — long one of his closest advisers — …

The New York Times reports: The F.B.I. is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government — and whether there was any coordination, Mr. Comey said. Mr. Comey said that it was unusual for the F.B.I. to confirm or deny the existence of any investigations, but that in unusual circumstances …

Hair Furor joined Twitter eight years ago today and to mark the occasion CNN this morning counted down what they believe to be his most outrageous lying tweets. Some of you likely have other candidates for the list. Watch below.

Reuters reports: During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump downplayed his business ties with Russia. And since taking office as president, he has been even more emphatic. “I can tell you, speaking for myself, I own nothing in Russia,” President Trump said at a news conference last month. “I have no loans in Russia. I don’t have any deals …

The Guardian reports: The White House preemptively criticized the Maddow show before it aired, releasing a statement claiming Trump paid $38m in taxes on an income of more than $150m. The statement said he also paid “tens of millions of dollars in other taxes such as sales and excise taxes and employment taxes”. Here’s the full statement from a Trump …

Rachel Maddow blew up Twitter tonight with the report that her team has “Trump tax returns.” Which returns, which years, and even which Trump have not been disclosed. Sooooo, let’s all watch Rachel together tonight and use this post as an open thread. I’ve embedded a bootleg live stream below.

Talking Points Memo reports: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson used an email alias to discuss issues related to climate change while he was an executive at ExxonMobil, according to the New York attorney general. Attorney General Eric Scheiderman made the claim in a letter Monday asking a New York state judge to enforce a subpoena for documents in the state’s …