DEMS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Democratic lawmakers urged President Donald Trump in a letter Wednesday [5-9-18] to drop his nominee to lead the Department of Justice’s criminal division due to his past work for a Russian bank with ties to President Vladimir Putin. The group — spearheaded by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) — called on Trump to ‘withdraw’ Brian Benczkowski’s nomination, arguing that ‘he will not be able to credibly oversee the Division’s involvement in Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation and other sensitive matters such as the criminal investigation of Michael Cohen,’ the president’s longtime personal attorney…Benczkowski, a former Bush administration DOJ official and partner at the Kirkland & Ellis law firm, was nominated by Trump last June. But the process has stalled as he has drawn opposition from Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The lawyer disclosed in a letter to lawmakers last July that he had previously represented Alfa Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in Russia. The revelation prompted some Democrats to call on Benczkowski to recuse himself from the DOJ investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 elections, while others flat-out rejected his nomination.”
-Cristiano Lima, “Dems urge Trump to drop nominee who represented Russian bank,” Politico, May 9, 2018 2:41 pm