Trump Lies

Reuters reports: Once U.S. President Donald Trump returns from his overseas trip, the White House plans to launch its most aggressive effort yet to push back against allegations involving Russia and his presidential campaign, tackling head-on a scandal that has threatened to consume his young presidency. Trump’s aides are preparing to establish a “war room” to combat mounting questions about …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is willing to cooperate with federal investigators looking into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, his attorney said. The statement from attorney Jamie Gorelick was issued Thursday amid reports that the FBI was investigating meetings Kushner had in December with Russian officials. “Mr. Kushner previously volunteered to share with …

As usual, nobody has any idea what he’s talking about: President Trump on Friday morning said his first foreign trip has “made and saved” the U.S. “billions of dollars and millions of jobs” as he arrived at his final stop before returning home. Trump has landed in Sicily, Italy, for a G-7 summit after earlier visits to Saudi Arabia, Israel, …

The Washington Post reports: Investigators are focusing on a series of meetings held by Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and an influential White House adviser, as part of their probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and related matters, according to people familiar with the investigation. Kushner, who held meetings in December with the Russian ambassador and a banker …

Raw Story reports: President Donald Trump is ready to fight Germany in an auto battle according to Germany’s Der Spiegel. Trump got a chilly reception at the NATO summit in Belgium after attacking fellow members. But he was caught pledging a battle with German automakers as part of his anger with “back dues” he feels the country owes to NATO. …

Politico Europe reports: U.S President Donald Trump congratulated newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron for his “tremendous victory” and “incredible campaign” as they met for the first time over lunch in Brussels on Thursday. Speaking alongside Macron at the U.S. embassy, Trump said: “It is my great honor to be with the newly elected president of France, who ran an …

NBC News reports: Just before taking office, President Donald Trump promised to donate all profits earned from foreign governments back to the U.S. Treasury. But MSNBC has learned the Trump Organization is not tracking all possible payments it receives from foreign governments, according to new admissions by Trump representatives. By failing to track foreign payments it receives, the company will …

Politico reports: Special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s office is now operating from an office in Washington, beginning its work of probing the impact of Russian influence on the 2016 presidential election, Justice Department officials said Tuesday. “The special counsel’s office is up and running now,” Assistant Attorney General for Administration Lee Lofthus told reporters at an annual briefing on the Justice …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump asked two of the nation’s top intelligence officials in March to help him push back against an FBI investigation into possible coordination between his campaign and the Russian government, according to current and former officials. Trump made separate appeals to the director of national intelligence, Daniel Coats, and to Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the …

NBC News reports: Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn appears to have lied to security clearance investigators by telling them he was paid by “U.S. companies” when he traveled to Russia in December 2015, according to a letter released Monday by the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. “The Oversight Committee has in our possession documents that appear to …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination on Monday and declined to hand over documents sought under subpoena by a Senate panel investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. In a letter to the Senate intelligence committee , Flynn’s attorneys justified the decision by citing an “escalating public …

NBC News reports: Two former associates of President Trump — Paul Manafort and Roger Stone — have turned over documents to the Senate Intelligence Committee in its Russia investigation, a congressional source with direct knowledge told NBC News. Earlier this month, the committee sent document requests to Manafort and Stone, as well as Carter Page and Mike Flynn, officials said …

The Associated Press reports: Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn will invoke his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination on Monday as he notifies the Senate Intelligence committee that he will not comply with a subpoena seeking documents. That’s according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private interactions …

The Hill reports: Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, on Sunday said individuals leaking information to the press should go to jail. “You cannot have that happen,” Chaffetz told ABC’s “This Week,” referencing the information leaking to the press about President Trump and the probe into Russia’s meddling in the presidential election. The New York …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The World Bank plans to announce Sunday at an event with Ivanka Trump, the U.S. president’s daughter and senior White House adviser, that Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have pledged $100 million collectively toward a fund for women who own or want to start businesses, according to people familiar with the announcement. The money …

John Aravosis reports at AmericaBlog: Conservative media is crowing that unlike President Obama, Donald Trump did not “bow” to the Saudi King. And they’re right. He curtsied. Mind you, Trump’s odd genuflect to the Saudi king comes after a campaign in which Trump regularly savaged the Saudis as sexist homophobes. Trump did this in an attempt to suggest that Hillary …

CNN reports: Russian officials bragged in conversations during the presidential campaign that they had cultivated a strong relationship with former Trump adviser retired Gen. Michael Flynn and believed they could use him to influence Donald Trump and his team, sources told CNN. The conversations deeply concerned US intelligence officials, some of whom acted on their own to limit how much …

CNN reports: White House lawyers have begun researching impeachment procedures in an effort to prepare for what officials still believe is a distant possibility that President Donald Trump could have to fend off attempts to remove him from office, two people briefed on the discussions tell CNN. White House officials believe the President has the backing of Republican allies in …

The Associated Press reports: Donald Trump’s attorneys originally wanted him to submit an updated financial disclosure without certifying the information as true, according to correspondence with the Office of Government Ethics. Attorney Sheri Dillon said she saw no need for Trump to sign his 2016 personal financial disclosure because he is filing voluntarily this year. But OGE director Walter Shaub …

The New York Times reports: Several White House advisers and personal associates of President Trump have urged him to hire an experienced outside lawyer to help him deal with issues arising from a surging controversy over whether his campaign had ties to Russia, according to several people briefed on the conversations. The recommendations came even before a special counsel was …