Tag Archives: Donald Trump

Gothamist reports: An angry white man insulted and threatened two women for speaking Spanish at a midtown lunch chain on Wednesday, threatening to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement on them because he didn’t want to hear the language in “my country.” “Every person I listen to—he’s speaking it, she’s speaking it. This is America,” the man shouted, while customers waited …

The New York Times reports: President Trump’s financial disclosure, released on Wednesday, revealed for the first time that he paid more than $100,000 to his personal attorney, Michael D. Cohen, as reimbursement for payment to a third-party. The disclosure, released by the Office of Government Ethics, did not specify the purpose of the payment. However, Mr. Cohen has paid $130,000 …

Fox News grudgingly reports: Senate Intelligence Committee leaders on Wednesday backed the 2017 intelligence community report that formally accused Russia of trying to interfere in the U.S. presidential election to boost then-candidate Donald Trump. Their statements followed a final closed-door interview on the matter with top Obama administration officials. The committee, led by Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Vice Chairman …

The Hill reports: Protesters attending a Senate hearing Wednesday on the Environmental Protect Agency’s (EPA) 2019 budget request held signs behind embattled EPA chief Scott Pruitt urging President Trump to “fire him” over recent scandals. During the hearing, Pruitt was lectured by Democrats, including Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.), about his spending habits at the EPA as lawmakers discussed the agency’s …

The Daily Beast reports: According to two sources who have spoken with the president about this issue in recent days, he has expressed his desire for at least one prominent “leaker” to be conclusively identified and “dealt with,” in order to make an example of him or her. Some Trump allies outside the White House are equally, if not more, …

The Hill reports: The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning released the transcripts from a slate of interviews with participants of the now-infamous Trump Tower meeting in June of 2016. Among the transcripts is the panel’s interview of President Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who accepted the meeting with a woman described as a Russian government lawyer offering political …

The New York Post reports: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross offered up himself and President Trump as prime evidence that there’s no reason to be concerned about the safety of US beef. Ross shot down concerns raised by the Chinese in recent trade talks that American beef was tainted with mad cow disease and hailed Trump’s mental health as proof the …

CNN Money reports: The top lawyer at Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis stepped down on Wednesday following revelations that the company made payments to President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen. Novartis (NVS) said its general counsel, Felix Ehrat, had decided to retire from his position in the “context of discussions” surrounding the payments to Cohen. Cohen’s company Essential Consultants had …

The Associated Press reports: Patients with gunshot wounds filled wards and hallways in Gaza’s under-equipped and overwhelmed main hospital Tuesday, with dozens still waiting in line for surgery a day after Israeli soldiers shot and killed 59 Palestinians and wounded hundreds in mass protests on the Gaza border. The high casualty toll triggered a diplomatic backlash against Israel and new …

CNN reports: Federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Tuesday rejected former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s attempt to invalidate the criminal case against him in Washington. Manafort had claimed special counsel Robert Mueller’s appointment order was too broad, and thus his investigation had overstepped its legal authority. But Berman Jackson concluded for several reasons that Mueller’s investigation and prosecution of …

Media Matters reports: In anticipation of its annual gala, the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) has been promoting official room blocks for the event at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., and running a contest in which the prize includes a free stay at the property during the gala. On May 14, during the White House …

Swampity swamp swamp swamp: President Trump on Tuesday announced his nomination of Gordon Hartogensis, brother-in-law of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), to lead a federal pension agency. Hartogensis, who is married to the sister of McConnell’s wife and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, is set to become the director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), which provides federal insurance …

Just in from the White House press office: With the rising of tonight’s moon, I send my greetings and best wishes to all Muslims observing Ramadan in the United States and around the world. During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims commemorate the revelation of the Quran to the prophet Muhammad through fellowship and prayer. Many observe this holy time …

CNN reports: The first lady’s office has declined to offer further details about Melania Trump’s kidney surgery and resulting extended hospital stay and asked for privacy. “I am not going to expand beyond the statement I put out. The First Lady is in good spirits and she is resting. There are HIPAA laws to consider, but she also deserves personal …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump celebrated rising poll numbers Tuesday as a repudiation of two familiar annoyances: the press and special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Though Trump’s approval rating has remained underwater for nearly his entire presidency, his numbers have been ticking upward lately. The White House has oscillated in recent days between slamming stories in the media for …

Reuters reports: US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley praised Israel on Tuesday for showing restraint as Palestinian militant group Hamas “has been inciting violence for years, long before the United States decided to move our embassy” to Jerusalem. Addressing a UN Security Council meeting on recent deadly violence in Gaza, Haley said: “No country in this chamber would …

New York Magazine reports: About 72 hours before Trump developed a friendlier attitude toward Beijing, the Chinese government agreed to pump $500 million into an Indonesian theme park that will benefit the Trump Organization — and thus the president himself, since he refused to divest from his company when he took office. The Chinese government just extended a loan to …

“The president relies on his advisors to be around him, to speak their mind. If the advisors feel like if I say something that that person doesn’t like and they are going to leak it, the president is not getting good advice. So he is owed the sanctity of a private conversation. Nonetheless, there is leaking from the White House …

CNN reports: White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Monday she expects personnel changes as a result of leaks within the White House staff. In an interview with Fox News, Conway said she had “several discussions” with President Donald Trump Monday about White House leaks. Asked if she expects personnel changes as a result, Conway said, “I do, actually. Yes I …

Politico reports: A Ukrainian politician who communicated with Trump associates about a controversial plan to resolve Ukraine’s conflict with Kremlin-backed rebels said Monday that he has been called to testify before a grand jury connected to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Andrii Artemenko said he could not provide details of his upcoming appearance before the grand jury, which he said …