US Politics in Trump era Public date: 02.10.2020 20:59:01

14 Feb 2020

Trump takes on Judge Amy Berman Jackson ahead of Roger Stone’s sentencing

First he went after the prosecutors who recommended a multiyear sentence for his friend Roger Stone. Then President Trump turned his Twitter ire to the “witch hunt disgrace” of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation, which led to Stone’s indictment. But perhaps most surprising was Trump’s decision to target U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson — who will determine Stone’s fate when he appears in her courtroom next Thursday.
First he went after the prosecutors who recommended a multiyear sentence for his friend Roger Stone. Then President...

Publisher: NYTimes

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17 Jan 2020

Lev Parnas, Key Player in Ukraine Affair, Completes Break With Trump and Giuliani

Lev Parnas, the Soviet-born businessman who played a central role in the campaign to pressure Ukraine to investigate political rivals of President Trump, completed his break with the White House on Wednesday, asserting for the first time in public that the president was fully aware of the efforts to dig up damaging information on his behalf.
Lev Parnas, the Soviet-born businessman who played a central role in the campaign to pressure Ukraine to investigate...
16 Dec 2019

Senate GOP defends Trump, despite oath to be impartial impeachment jurors

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler accused Senate Republicans of violating their oath to be impartial jurors in an impeachment trial, as GOP senators defended their right to work for President Trump’s acquittal. Senators take an oath to “do impartial justice” at the start of any impeachment trial — but several Republican senators argued that impartiality doesn’t cover politics.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler accused Senate Republicans of violating their oath to be impartial...

Publisher: NYTimes

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12 Dec 2019

Trump ‘Ignored and Injured’ the National Interest, Democrats Charge in Impeachment Articles

House Democratic leaders on Tuesday formally called for President Trump’s removal from office, asserting that he “ignored and injured the interests of the nation” in two articles of impeachment that charged him with abusing his power and obstructing Congress.
House Democratic leaders on Tuesday formally called for President Trump’s removal from office, asserting that he...

Publisher: NYTimes

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4 Dec 2019

Impeachment Report Says Trump Solicited Foreign Election Interference

House Democrats on Tuesday asserted that President Trump abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to help him in the 2020 presidential election, releasing a 300-page impeachment report that found that Mr. Trump “placed his own personal and political interests above the national interests of the United States.”
House Democrats on Tuesday asserted that President Trump abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to help him in the 2020...

Publisher: Newsweek

Author:

1 Nov 2019

Trump Is Committing ‘Felony Bribery’ by Giving Fundraising Cash to GOP Senators Ahead of Impeachment Trial: Ex-Bush Ethics Lawyer

Attorney Richard Painter, who served as the chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, warned on Thursday that President Donald Trump appeared to be committing "felony bribery" by giving Republican senators fundraising cash ahead of an increasingly likely impeachment trial in the Senate.
Attorney Richard Painter, who served as the chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, warned...

Publisher: NYTimes

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27 Sep 2019

Trump Attacks Whistle-Blower’s Sources and Alludes to Punishment for Spies

President Trump told a crowd of staff from the United States Mission to the United Nations on Thursday morning that he wants to know who provided information to a whistle-blower about his phone call with the president of Ukraine, saying that whoever did so was “close to a spy” and that “in the old days,” spies were dealt with differently.
President Trump told a crowd of staff from the United States Mission to the United Nations on Thursday morning that he...
26 Jul 2019

Congress Needs to Pick Up Where Robert Mueller Left Off

Last week, CNN published an explosive story related to the Trump-Russia case that raised important new questions about ties between Julian Assange, WikiLeaks, and Russia. The report said that CNN had obtained hundreds of pages of surveillance reports compiled for the Ecuadorian government by a Spanish security company, which showed that Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, received “in-person deliveries, potentially of hacked materials related to the 2016 U.S. election, during a series of suspicious meetings” while he lived in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
Last week, CNN published an explosive story related to the Trump-Russia case that raised important new questions about...

Publisher: NYTimes

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11 Jun 2019

Justice Dept. Agrees to Turn Over Key Mueller Evidence to House

The Justice Department, after weeks of tense negotiations, has agreed to provide Congress with key evidence collected by Robert S. Mueller III that could shed light on possible obstruction of justice and abuse of power by President Trump, the House Judiciary Committee said on Monday.
The Justice Department, after weeks of tense negotiations, has agreed to provide Congress with key evidence collected by...
30 May 2019

Mueller statement on Russia investigation: Special counsel says accusing Trump of a crime ‘not an option’ under DOJ guidelines – The Washington Post

Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III reiterated Wednesday that his office could not clear President Trump of obstructing justice, asserting in his first public remarks about his investigation that federal prosecutors cannot accuse the commander in chief of a crime, while suggesting Congress still may do so.
Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III reiterated Wednesday that his office could not clear President Trump of...

Publisher: NYTimes

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21 May 2019

McGahn Skips Hearing, Defying Subpoena, and Democrats’ Anger Swells

Donald F. McGahn II, the former White House counsel, defied a House subpoena on Tuesday under order of the White House, stoking outraged Democrats to contemplate anew punitive measures, including opening an impeachment inquiry, to try to enforce Congress’s oversight powers.
Donald F. McGahn II, the former White House counsel, defied a House subpoena on Tuesday under order of the White House,...
8 May 2019

Did Donald Trump’s Grip on the Justice Department Sabotage Robert Mueller’s Investigation?

Through his unrelenting efforts to obstruct the Trump-Russia investigation since its inception, President Donald Trump has inflicted a slow-motion Saturday Night Massacre on the American people, a constitutional nightmare that has lasted two years instead of one night.
Through his unrelenting efforts to obstruct the Trump-Russia investigation since its inception, President Donald Trump...

Publisher: NYTimes

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8 May 2019

Trump Asserts Executive Privilege Over Full Mueller Report

President Trump asserted executive privilege on Wednesday in an effort to shield hidden portions of Robert S. Mueller III’s unredacted report and the evidence he collected from Congress. The assertion, Mr. Trump’s first use of the secrecy powers as president, came as the House Judiciary Committee is expected to vote Wednesday morning to recommend the House of Representatives hold Attorney General William P. Barr in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena for the same material.
President Trump asserted executive privilege on Wednesday in an effort to shield hidden portions of Robert S. Mueller...
2 May 2019

Barr’s Most Absurd Defenses Of Trump’s Obstructive Conduct

By now, it’s pretty clear that Attorney General Bill Barr thinks there was nothing unusual — let alone potentially criminal — about President Trump’s intervention in the federal Russia investigation. Not the repeated pushes to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, not the public fuming about being the innocent victim of a federal “witch hunt,” not the tweeted threats to the family of his former personal attorney.
By now, it’s pretty clear that Attorney General Bill Barr thinks there was nothing unusual — let alone potentially...
20 Apr 2019

Guide to the Mueller Report’s Findings on “Collusion”

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report focuses only on whether crimes were committed. It addresses two Russian conspiracies to interfere in the 2016 election—one involving a social media influence campaign and the other involving the hacking and dissemination of stolen emails. The Report then addresses whether Trump Campaign associates knowingly entered an agreement with the Russian government to assist those conspiracies.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report focuses only on whether crimes were committed. It addresses two Russian...

Publisher: NYTimes

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19 Apr 2019

Mueller Reveals Trump’s Efforts to Thwart Russian Inquiry in Highly Anticipated Report

Robert S. Mueller III revealed a frantic, monthslong effort by President Trump to thwart the investigation into Russia’s 2016 election interference, cataloging in a report released on Thursday the attempts by Mr. Trump to escape an inquiry that imperiled his presidency from the start.
Robert S. Mueller III revealed a frantic, monthslong effort by President Trump to thwart the investigation into...

Publisher: NYTimes

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25 Mar 2019

Mueller Finds No Trump-Russia Conspiracy but Stops Short of Exonerating President on Obstruction of Justice

The investigation led by Robert S. Mueller III found that neither President Trump nor any of his aides conspired or coordinated with the Russian government’s 2016 election interference, according to a summary of the special counsel’s findings made public on Sunday by Attorney General William P. Barr.Mr. Barr also said that Mr. Mueller’s team drew no conclusions about whether Mr. Trump illegally obstructed justice.
The investigation led by Robert S. Mueller III found that neither President Trump nor any of his aides conspired or...

Publisher: NYTimes

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20 Feb 2019

Intimidation, Pressure and Humiliation: Inside Trump’s Two-Year War on the Investigations Encircling Him

As federal prosecutors in Manhattan gathered evidence late last year about President Trump’s role in silencing women with hush payments during the 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump called Matthew G. Whitaker, his newly installed attorney general, with a question. He asked whether Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York and a Trump ally, could be put in charge of the widening investigation, according to several American officials with direct knowledge of the call.
As federal prosecutors in Manhattan gathered evidence late last year about President Trump’s role in silencing women...
26 Sep 2018

A Supreme Court Case Could Liberate Trump to Pardon His Associates

The Utah lawmaker Orrin Hatch, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, filed a 44-page amicus brief earlier this month in Gamble v. United States, a case that will consider whether the dual-sovereignty doctrine should be put to rest. The 150-year-old exception to the Fifth Amendment’s double-jeopardy clause allows state and federal courts to prosecute the same person for the same criminal offense.
The Utah lawmaker Orrin Hatch, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, filed a 44-page amicus brief earlier this...

Publisher: NYTimes

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6 Aug 2018

President Admits Focus of Trump Tower Meeting Was Getting Dirt on Clinton

President Trump said on Sunday that a Trump Tower meeting between top campaign aides and a Kremlin-connected lawyer was designed to “get information on an opponent” — the starkest acknowledgment yet that a statement he dictated last year about the encounter was misleading.
President Trump said on Sunday that a Trump Tower meeting between top campaign aides and a Kremlin-connected lawyer was...

Publisher: NYTimes

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2 Aug 2018

Trump Tells Sessions to ‘Stop This Rigged Witch Hunt Right Now’

President Trump called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday to end the special counsel investigation, an extraordinary appeal to the nation’s top law enforcement official to halt an inquiry directly into the president. The order to the attorney general on Twitter immediately raised questions from some lawyers about whether it was an attempt to obstruct justice in the special counsel’s Russia inquiry..
President Trump called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday to end the special counsel investigation, an...
16 Jun 2018

Judge Orders Paul Manafort Jailed Before Trial, Citing New Obstruction Charges

A federal judge revoked Paul Manafort’s bail and sent him to jail on Friday to await trial, citing new charges that Mr. Manafort had tried to influence the testimony of two of the government’s witnesses after he had been granted bail. Mr. Trump, in a tweet on Friday, defended Mr. Manafort and criticized Judge Jackson’s action against him, though he seemed to misunderstand what the judge had done.
A federal judge revoked Paul Manafort’s bail and sent him to jail on Friday to await trial, citing new...

Publisher: NYTimes

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31 May 2018

F.B.I. Official Wrote Secret Memo Fearing Trump Got a Cover Story for Comey Firing

Mr. McCabe’s memo, one of several that he wrote, highlights the conflicting roles that Mr. Rosenstein plays in the case. He supervises the special counsel investigation and has told colleagues that protecting it is among his highest priorities. But many current and former law enforcement officials are suspicious of some of his other actions, including allowing some of Mr. Trump’s congressional allies to view crucial documents from the investigation.
Mr. McCabe’s memo, one of several that he wrote, highlights the conflicting roles that Mr. Rosenstein plays...

Publisher: NYTimes

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22 May 2018

By Demanding an Investigation, Trump Challenged a Constraint on His Power

When President Trump publicly demanded that the Justice Department open an investigation into the F.B.I.’s scrutiny of his campaign contacts  with Russia, he inched further toward breaching an established  constraint on executive power: The White House does not make decisions about individual law enforcement investigations.
When President Trump publicly demanded that the Justice Department open an investigation into the F.B.I.’s...
29 Mar 2018

Trump’s Lawyer Raised Prospect of Pardons for Flynn and Manafort as Special Counsel Closed In

A lawyer for President Trump broached the idea of Mr. Trump pardoning  two of his former top advisers, Michael T. Flynn and Paul Manafort, with their lawyers last year, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions.
A lawyer for President Trump broached the idea of Mr. Trump pardoning  two of...

Publisher: ThinkProgress

Author:

26 Jan 2018

Watch Trump insist he never gave ‘any thought’ to firing Mueller

On Thursday night, the New York Times reported that President Trump tried to fire special counsel Robert Mueller last June. Trump ordered White House counsel Donald F. McGahn to oust Mueller, but backed down when McGahn threatened to resign. Trump, however, has publicly denied even considering firing Mueller.
On Thursday night, the New York Times reported that President Trump tried to fire special counsel Robert Mueller last...
24 Jan 2018

It’s looking more and more like Jeff Sessions is doing Trump’s political dirty work

The defining moment of Jeff Sessions's time as attorney general has been when he recused himself from oversight of the Russia investigation. That quickly led to the appointment of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who is now extensively probing President Trump. And by all accounts, it seriously strained Sessions's relationship with Trump, who thinks Sessions should  be protecting him and doing his bidding.
The defining moment of Jeff Sessions's time as attorney general has been when he recused himself from...

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