Trump Lies

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 …

The Washington Post reports: Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein told the full Senate he knew that former Director James B. Comey would be fired before he wrote his controversial memo that the White House initially used as justification for President Trump firing the FBI director. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) said that Rosenstein told the senators that he knew on …

The Hill reports: President Trump dropped by a meeting Thursday with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), one day after a report that that lawmaker privately accused Trump of being on Russia’s payroll. Trump and Vice President Pence made an unscheduled appearance at a meeting of White House senior adviser Jared Kushner’s innovation initiative. McCarthy was participating in the Roosevelt …

The Washington Post reports: As Donald Trump has grown increasingly angry and frustrated with his White House staff, the beleaguered targets of his ire have a quietly roiling gripe of their own — their boss, the president himself. For many White House staffers, impromptu support groups of friends, confidants and acquaintances have materialized, calling and texting to check in, inquiring …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday said there was never a special counsel appointed when illegal acts were committed during the administration of former President Obama and Hillary Clinton’s campaign. In another tweet, Trump appeared to refer to the probe into his campaign’s ties to Russia as the “single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history.” With …

And the hits keep coming. Reuters reports: Michael Flynn and other advisers to Donald Trump’s campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race, current and former U.S. officials familiar with the exchanges told Reuters. The previously undisclosed interactions form …

“As I have stated many times, a through investigation will confirm what we already know — that there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity. I look forward to this matter concluding quickly. In the meantime, I will never stop fighting for the people and the issues that matter most to the future of our country.” – …

The Washington Post reports: A month before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, one of his closest allies in Congress — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — made a politically explosive assertion in a private conversation on Capitol Hill with his fellow GOP leaders: that Trump could be the beneficiary of payments from Russian President Vladimir Putin. “There’s two people …

CNBC reports: Odds are that President Donald Trump will survive a growing brew of controversies, but bettors see his chances declining by the minute. Online wagering sites have been busy taking bets on whether the 45th president will make it through the year. As the heat has intensified, more action has been going toward expectations that he will be impeached …

Variety reports: Jimmy Kimmel is taking it upon himself to explain the Trump administration to the kids. On Tuesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! the host introduced an animated video in the style of Schoolhouse Rock!, parodying the famous song “I’m Just a Bill” in order to explain President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and what he called “the new American way.” “We are …

Politico reports: Donald Trump’s approval rating is at a new low — and that’s before claims that he disclosed sensitive information to Russian officials in the Oval Office and tried to shut down an FBI investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. A new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, conducted after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey but before the two …

The Jerusalem Post reports: Israel was the source of the classified intelligence US President Donald trump revealed to Russian officials at a meeting at the White House last week, The New York Times reported on Tuesday evening. According to the Times, “a current and a former American official familiar with how the United States obtained the information” has revealed Israel …

Public Policy Polling reports: For the first time we find more voters (48%) in support of impeaching Trump than there are (41%) opposed to the idea. Only 43% of voters think Trump is actually going to end up serving his full term as President, while 45% think he won’t, and 12% aren’t sure one way or the other. Voters are …