GOP/NAFTA/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s recent moves on trade have turned an issue long considered part of the Republican orthodoxy into a political landmine for his own party. Last week, Trump’s administration announced steep tariffs on steel and aluminum from close allies Canada, Mexico and the European Union. In return, all three […]
Category: A- Trump People
6/4/2018
BORDER/CHILDREN/DHS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The White House was thrown into turmoil after a handful of photographs of school-aged immigrant children, held behind fences in detention centers, ignited on social media. President Donald Trump and top aides including policy adviser Stephen Miller felt deeply frustrated that these images, which dated back to the Obama administration, were […]
6/4/2018
DREAMERS/GOP/IMMIGRATION/PAUL RYAN/TRUMP PEOPLE: “House Republicans are on the brink of an embarrassing showdown over immigration that Speaker Paul Ryan and his leadership team have been desperately trying to avoid. As lawmakers left Washington for the Memorial Day recess in late May, GOP centrists gave immigration hard-liners a choice: Allow a vote on a bill that […]
6/1/2018
OBAMA/PARDONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Dinesh D’Souza, the conservative author and filmmaker pardoned by President Trump, claimed victory on Friday [6-1-2018] over what he characterized as a political prosecution by the administration of President Barack Obama. In terms that evidently resonated with Mr. Trump, who is aggrieved about investigations that he blames on his predecessor, Mr. […]
6/1/2018
DREAMERS/ELECTION/GOP/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP PEOPLE: “In all of his campaigns for the House, Representative Jeff Denham has never seen anything quite like the rolling circus that trails him through his sprawling district in California’s Central Valley — the “Dump Denham” signs, the papier-mâché effigies, the shouting. He says it does not faze him, but there is nothing like […]
6/1/2018
COURTS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/PARDONS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A federal appeals court judge is challenging his colleagues’ decision to appoint a special prosecutor to defend a district court judge’s handling of a pardon President Donald Trump issued last year to former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio on a contempt-of-court charge. An unidentified member of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals objected […]
6/1/2018
BUSINESS/RACISM/TRUMP PEOPLE: “CVS Health said Friday [6-1-18] that it would no longer donate to America First Policies, a nonprofit group that works to promote President Donald Trump’s agenda, after CNN and other outlets reported racist comments made by staffers of the organization. MapLight, a nonpartisan research group that tracks the influence of money in politics, […]
6/1/2018
EPA/ETHICS/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A lawyer tapped to lead a task force at the Environmental Protection Agency overseeing cleanups at the nation’s most polluted places worked until recently for a top chemical and plastics manufacturer with a troubled legacy of creating some of those toxic sites. Steven D. Cook has been named as the new chair […]
6/1/2018
ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/SOCIAL MEDIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A social media expert who worked with influential Donald Trump ally Roger Stone during the 2016 U.S. presidential race testified before a federal grand jury on Friday [6-1-18] after being subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating potential collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia. Jason Sullivan arrived at the federal courthouse in […]
6/1/2018
CIA/MUSLIMS/NATIONAL SECURITY/RACISM/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Jewish and Muslim groups are objecting to the appointment of a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst to a top White House post because of his controversial views of Islam. The Anti-Defamation League, Council on American-Islamic Relations and other groups said Fred Fleitz shouldn’t serve as chief of staff to national security adviser […]
6/1/2018
IMMIGRATION/JOBS/LABOR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Trump administration is examining ways U.S. industries could hire more immigrant workers on a temporary basis, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Friday [6-1-18], as data showed the United States unemployment rate at an 18-year low…Earlier on Friday, Labor Department data showed job growth accelerated in May and […]
6/1/2018
JAMES COMEY/PARDONS/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “There are multiple explanations for President Donald Trump’s latest pardon storm but they are all rooted in a defining character trait — his relish for wielding unchecked power. By expunging the conviction of conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, and by hinting at more controversial pardons to come, Trump is showing […]
5/31/2018
JEFF SESSIONS/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Days after President Donald Trump deemed Jeff Sessions ‘beleaguered’ and threatened to fire him last July, members of the president’s inner circle made a desperate case to save the attorney general’s job. The White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and the president’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, pleaded with Trump […]
5/31/2018
BETSY DEVOS/CIVIL RIGHTS/EDUCATION/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Three national civil rights organizations sued the Education Department on Thursday [5-31-18] over new procedures that allow its Office for Civil Rights to dismiss complaints that it determines to be burdensome or a drain on the department’s resources. The National Federation of the Blind, the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, […]
5/31/2018
LEGAL/MEDIA/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Trump said on Thursday [5-31-18] that he planned to issue a pardon to Dinesh D’Souza, a conservative author, commentator and filmmaker, and was strongly considering commuting the sentence of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, a Democrat. Flexing his clemency power as he and his team face multiple criminal […]
5/31/2018
FBI/GOP/ROBERT MUELLER/RUDY GIULIANI/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani dismissed Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy’s defense of the FBI’s use of a confidential source to investigate potential Russian outreach to individuals connected to Trump’s presidential campaign, telling CNN on Thursday, ‘He’s drinking the Kool-Aid.’ Giuliani went on to criticize Gowdy over his handling of a […]
5/31/2018
MEDIA/PARDON/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday [5-31-18] that he is considering pardoning Martha Stewart and commuting former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s sentence. Trump floated the idea of pardoning or commuting the sentences of the two former ‘Apprentice’ series stars hours after he pardoned the conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza. […]
5/31/2018
MEDIA/PARDON/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump said Thursday [5-31-18] he would issue a’full pardon’ to conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza, who was convicted in 2014 for funneling illegal campaign contributions to a Republican Senate candidate. Hours later, Mr. Trump followed up and said he was considering commuting the sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, […]
5/31/2018
ROBERT MUELLER/RUDY GIULIANI/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “He is ridiculed as ridiculous. He is attacked as around the bend. He is maligned as morally bereft in his unwavering defense of his old friend and client, President Donald Trump. Yet Rudy Giuliani may just be crazy like a fox. It turns out that he is doing exactly what the […]
5/31/2018
PARDONS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Will be giving a Full Pardon to Dinesh D’Souza today. He was treated very unfairly by our government!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 31, 2018 8:18 am […]
5/31/2018
PARDON/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump on Thursday [5-31-18] pardoned a conservative commentator and said he was considering pardoning lifestyle maven Martha Stewart and commuting a former Illinois governor’s prison sentence, prompting critics to accuse him of subverting the rule of law. Trump announced his decision to pardon pundit and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, who pleaded guilty […]
5/31/2018
NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “It was a quick but telling exchange. At a House committee hearing earlier this month, Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas was grilling Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the Trump administration’s plans for North Korea…’Will you leave them with a civilian nuclear program?’ Castro asked. After a long pause, […]
5/30/2018
COURTS/MICHAEL COHEN/NEW YORK/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A New York judge set a June 15 deadline Wednesday [5-30-18] for lawyers for President Donald Trump and his personal lawyer to make attorney-client privilege claims over data seized in April raids, saying it was important not to delay the criminal investigation. U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood said a […]
5/30/2018
LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN: “A lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump’s longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, on Wednesday [5-30-18] accused adult film actress Stormy Daniels’ lawyer of leaking Cohen’s bank records to the press, calling it a ‘drive-by shooting of my client’s rights.’ The comments by Cohen lawyer Stephen Ryan regarding Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Avenatti, […]
5/29/2018
CONGRESS/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Special Counsel Robert Mueller may well be in the final stages of wrapping up his principal investigation. Last week, I argued here in Politico that Mueller will want to avoid interfering with the November midterms, and so will try to conclude by July or August. On this one we can […]
5/29/2018
2016 ELECTION/DEMS/DONALD JR/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley on Tuesday [5-29-18] pushed back against a Democrat who has accused Donald Trump Jr. of potentially lying in his testimony to the committee, and suggested a different witness may have lied to the panel instead. Grassley, an Iowa Republican, sent a letter to Sen. Chris Coons […]
5/29/2018
NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE: “National security adviser John Bolton has added two loyalists to the National Security Council, according to a source familiar with the hires. Sarah Tinsley and Garrett Marquis have both joined the Trump administration as senior directors for strategic communications at the National Security Council, the source told CNN. Tinsley has been named […]
5/29/2018
HUMAN RIGHTS/MIKE POMPEO/RELIGION/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will host a gathering of mostly ‘like-minded’ foreign counterparts later this summer to brainstorm ways to advance the cause of religious freedom around the world. The event, slated for July 25-26 in Washington, will likely please evangelical Christians who support President Donald Trump, many of whom […]
5/25/2018
EPA/ETHICS/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Security costs for Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt tally up to nearly $3.5 million for the past year, according to figures the agency released Friday [5-25-18]. The documents show the agency spent $2,726,719 on pay for the team of 19 agents who protect Pruitt around the clock. The agency also spent […]
5/25/2018
AGRICULTURE/ENTITLEMENTS/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said the Senate needs to pass a farm bill even if it doesn’t include the tighter work requirements around food stamps that have become a flashpoint in the House. While Mr. McConnell said he personally favored beefing up the work requirements for food-stamp recipients, he made […]
5/25/2018
LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A Russian oligarch who was questioned by special counsel Robert Mueller and recently sanctioned by the US visited President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen in Trump Tower during the presidential transition in January 2017, according to video reviewed by CNN and a person familiar with the matter. The January 9, […]
5/25/2018
LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP PEOPLE: “U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, lost a bid on Friday [5-25-18] to have certain criminal charges filed against him by Special Counsel Robert Mueller dismissed. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is presiding over Manafort’s case in Washington, said in a ruling that she will not […]
5/25/2018
LEGAL/PAUL MANAFORT/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A trial date for U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, for alleged financial crimes been postponed to July 24 in the Eastern District of Virginia District Court, according to a court filing on Friday [5-25-18]. The judge said the cause of the postponement from July 10 was ‘owing to […]
5/25/2018
MICHAEL COHEN/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A Russian oligarch with links to the Kremlin met Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen at the Trump Tower in New York City less than two weeks before Trump’s inauguration as president, a source familiar with the meeting said on Friday [5-25-18]. During a discussion in Cohen’s office, located on the skyscraper’s 26th […]
5/25/2018
GOP/OBAMACARE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A group of Republicans and advocacy groups will soon release a proposal intended to spark another push to repeal the Affordable Care Act, resurrecting a potentially volatile issue in the months before the November midterm elections. The proposal to topple the Obama-era health law and replace it with a plan that would give […]
5/24/2018
JARED KUSHNER/JEFF SESSIONS/PRISONS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “When Jared Kushner hosted a high-profile summit meeting on federal prison reform at the White House last Friday [5-18-18], some in attendance noticed that the man who was ostensibly in charge of the federal prison system, Mark S. Inch, a retired Army major general, was nowhere in sight. Only Mr. Kushner […]
5/24/2018
KELLYANNE CONWAY/TRUMP PEOPLE: “George Conway’s Manhattan law firm sits near the corner of Sixth Avenue and 52nd Street, just three blocks from Trump Tower. During the 2016 election, when he still supported Donald Trump, the corporate litigator would sometimes walk over to the campaign HQ after work, according to former campaign aides. He’d pop in […]
5/24/2018
BANKING/FDIC/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday [5-24-18] to confirm former banker Jelena McWilliams to serve as chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), completing President Donald Trump’s team of key banking regulators. Her appointment nearly 18 months into Trump’s administration will allow financial regulators to accelerate efforts to fulfill his pledge to […]
5/24/2018
2016 ELECTION/DEMS/DEVIN NUNES/FBI/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senior Justice Department and FBI officials are set to brief lawmakers Thursday [5-24-18] afternoon about a confidential informant used in the early stages of an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, scrambling to accommodate Democrats who had complained that the briefing would be a GOP-only affair. Late Wednesday […]
5/24/2018
CONGRESS/ENTITLEMENTS/GOP/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Welfare beneficiaries would have to work or get job training under legislation approved by a U.S. Congress committee on Thursday [5-24-18], part of a broader Republican effort to impose work rules on Americans getting public assistance. The House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee voted along party lines to approve the changes to […]
5/24/2018
ANDREW MCCABE/FBI/JAMES COMEY/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Not surprisingly, the GREAT Men & Women of the FBI are starting to speak out against Comey, McCabe and all of the political corruption and poor leadership found within the top ranks of the FBI. Comey was a terrible and corrupt leader who inflicted great pain on the FBI! #SPYGATE” -Donald […]
5/23/2018
FBI/JARED KUSHNER/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, has been granted his permanent security clearance, a person briefed on the matter said on Wednesday [5-23-18], ending a period of uncertainty that had fueled questions about whether Mr. Kushner was in peril in the special counsel investigation. Mr. Kushner is a senior presidential […]
5/23/2018
JARED KUSHNER/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, had his White House security clearance restored Wednesday [5-23-18], a person familiar with the matter said, after months of uncertainty stemming in part from his role in the ongoing investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. Kushner was stripped of his interim clearance […]
5/23/2018
FBI/PAUL MANAFORT/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A federal judge expressed skepticism on Wednesday [5-23-18] toward a request by lawyers for President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort to suppress evidence seized by FBI agents working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The hearing before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson gave Manafort another opportunity to hinder the […]
5/23/2018
MIKE POMPEO/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday [5-23-18] that the denuclearization of North Korea is the top U.S. national security priority and that economic prosperity was a clear incentive for Pyongyang to give up its weapons. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was candid about his […]
5/23/2018
BANKRUPTCY/COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A US bankruptcy court judge on Tuesday [5-22-18] ordered the law firm of Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti to pay a $10 million judgment to an attorney who once worked for the firm, according to court documents. The judgment comes after Avenatti’s firm, Eagan Avenatti LLP, failed to make the first payment on […]
5/23/2018
MEDIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Everybody is with Tomi Lahren, a truly outstanding and respected young woman! @foxandfriends” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 23, 2018 6:22 am […]
5/22/2018
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/MEDIA/PAUL MANAFORT/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s defense is going after one of special counsel Robert Mueller’s top deputies in a bid to persuade a federal judge to order a hearing into leaks to the media. In a court filing Monday [5-21-18] night, Manafort’s attorneys singled out prosecutor Andrew Weissmann over […]
5/22/2018
LEAKS/MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump has demanded changes to his communications team — long seen as one of the most internally divided offices in his White House — in an effort to crack down on the leaks that have plagued his presidency since Day One. White House chief of staff John Kelly signed […]
5/22/2018
ROBERT MUELLER/RUDY GIULIANI/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Lawyers for President Donald Trump are increasingly skeptical of letting him give an interview with prosecutors running the Russia investigation, but are thinking through how to prepare him for the possible high-stakes session nonetheless. Rudy Giuliani, one of the president’s outside lawyers, said in an interview Tuesday [5-22-18] that […]
5/22/2018
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A New York taxi kingpin and business partner of President Donald Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen has agreed to cooperate with the government, The New York Times reported Tuesday [5-22-18]. The Times said the agreement for Evegny ‘Gene’ Freidman would allow him to avoid jail time and would have him work with […]
5/22/2018
DREAMERS/GOP/HOUSE OF REPS/IMMIGRATION/PAUL RYAN/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Paul Ryan is struggling to stop an immigration showdown in the House, as his Republican Conference degenerates into an all-out war that could put his speakership on the line. The Wisconsin Republican pleaded with his conference Tuesday [5-22-18] to come together after a tumultuous few days of infighting. The only […]
5/22/2018
LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUDY GIULIANI/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Special counsel Robert Mueller has no-commented his way through more than a year of the Russia probe. But he’s recently picked up an unwelcome spokesman of sorts: Rudy Giuliani. For better or worse, Donald Trump’s newest personal lawyer has in his first month on the job claimed to relay […]
5/21/2018
2016 ELECTION/CIA/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Trump hailed Gina Haspel on Monday [5-21-18] as he swore her in to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, honoring the ‘most elite intelligence professionals on the planet’ even as he accuses the C.I.A. of having orchestrated a conspiracy against him during the 2016 presidential campaign…Mr. Trump’s brief remarks were strikingly different […]
5/21/2018
CIA/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP AS PEOPLE: “Gina Haspel was sworn in Monday [5-21-18] as the first female director of the Central Intelligence Agency and said she wanted to improve the agency’s foreign language proficiency and station more officers overseas. President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Ms. Haspel’s predecessor, attended […]
5/21/2018
ELECTION/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Don Blankenship, the former coal magnate who served a year in prison for a mine-safety conviction, said Monday [5-21-18] that he planned to continue his bid for a U.S. Senate seat, now as a third-party candidate after losing the Republican primary in West Virginia earlier this month. Mr. Blankenship’s decision to […]
5/21/2018
DEVIN NUNES/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump on Monday [5-21-18] praised Rep. Devin Nunes — who is aggressively pushing the Justice Department for sensitive documents related to the Russia probe — as a ‘very courageous man.’ In remarks delivered before swearing in CIA Director Gina Haspel, Trump diverted from the focus of […]
5/21/2018
2016 ELECTION/DONALD JR/MIDDLE EAST/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Donald Trump Jr., the U.S. president’s eldest son, met in August 2016 with an envoy representing the crown princes of United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The meeting was first reported by the New York Times on Saturday and confirmed by an attorney representing Trump Jr. The meeting was a […]
5/21/2018
DEFENSE/IRAN/MIKE POMPEO/MILITARY/NUCLEAR/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The US will aim to ‘crush’ Iran with economic and military pressure unless it changes its behavior in the Middle East, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday [5-21-18]. Pompeo, unveiling the Trump administration’s new policy on Iran just weeks after President Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, said […]
5/20/2018
ELECTIONS/MIKE PENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump is amassing an army of political insiders for 2020 — all without leaving the White House. The Trump administration has hosted 14 ‘state days’ over the past few months, inviting county commissioners of both parties to come through for tours and meet senior administration officials, including Vice […]
5/18/2018
NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/VA: “President Trump announced on Friday [5-18-18] that he intended to nominate Robert Wilkie, the acting secretary of veterans affairs, to take over the sprawling agency, a move that the president said would surprise Mr. Wilkie because he was learning about it only as it was being revealed. The president made the […]
5/18/2018
AGRICULTURE/GOP/HOUSE OF REPS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The U.S. House of Representatives rejected a sweeping $867 billion farm bill on Friday [5-18-18] after Republican leaders failed to appease conservative lawmakers who had asked them not to hold the vote until they were given the chance to consider a bill to clamp down on immigration. The next […]
5/17/2018
COURTS/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “In 2011, Michael B. Brennan, then a lawyer in Milwaukee, vigorously defended the right of Wisconsin’s Republican senator to single-handedly block an Obama administration nominee for a federal bench seat in the state. Last week, Mr. Brennan was confirmed as a Trump administration nominee to that very same seat despite vigorous […]
5/17/2018
ANOTHONY SCARAMUCCI/MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A television show featuring Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who is suing President Trump on behalf of a pornographic film actress, and the former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci was pitched to two cable networks in recent weeks, people briefed on the matter said on Thursday [5-7-18]. The prominent television […]
5/17/2018
DREAMERS/GOP/IMMIGRATION/PAUL RYAN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Paul Ryan and his longtime No. 2, Kevin McCarthy, have maintained a unified public front on immigration — but behind the scenes, the interests of the outgoing speaker and his potential successor are colliding over controversial Dreamers legislation. Both have vehemently opposed an effort by centrist Republicans to force votes […]
5/17/2018
JOHN MCCAIN/LEAKS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The leak of a White House press aide’s flippant comment about John McCain’s brain cancer has uncorked long-simmering tensions in the communications and press offices, with staffers anticipating potential personnel changes to come as soon as Friday [5-18-18]. The furor over White House aide Kelly Sadler’s remark set off jockeying […]
5/17/2018
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/PAUL MANAFORT/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The former son-in-law of Paul Manafort, the one-time chairman of President Donald Trump’s campaign, has cut a plea deal with the Justice Department that requires him to cooperate with other criminal probes, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The guilty plea agreement, which is under seal […]
5/17/2018
CIA/NOMINATIONS/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The U.S. Senate confirmed Gina Haspel on Thursday [5-17-18] to be director of the CIA, ending a bruising confirmation fight centered on her ties to the spy agency’s past use of waterboarding and other brutal interrogation techniques. Haspel, who will be the first woman to lead the CIA, is a 33-year veteran at […]
5/17/2018
CIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Congratulations to our new CIA Director, Gina Haspel! https://t.co/n1xj9LSV9D“ -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 17, 2018 4:00 pm […]
5/16/2018
DREAMERS/GOP/HOUSE OF REPS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Support grew in the House for an effort to force a vote on several immigration proposals, sparking some conservatives to consider using a coming vote on the farm bill as leverage to try to block them. GOP Reps. John Katko of New York and David Trott of Michigan on Wednesday [5-16-18] […]
5/16/2018
HILLARY CLINTON/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Thousands of pages of interview transcripts with the participants of the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting shed new light on how eager Donald Trump Jr. and senior members of the Trump campaign were to obtain damaging information on Hillary Clinton — and how frustrated and angry they were that […]
5/16/2018
HILLARY CLINTON/RUSSIA/SANCTIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Documents released Wednesday [5-16-18] shed new light on how a group of Russians promised associates of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign incriminating information on Hillary Clinton but instead presented their case for rolling back a U.S. sanctions law targeting Russian human-rights abusers. Testimony by those who attended a June 9, 2016 […]
5/16/2018
ETHICS/REX TILLERSON/STATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday [5-16-18] appeared to offer an implicit rebuke of his old boss, as he warned of a ‘growing crisis in ethics and integrity’ during a commencement address at the Virginia Military Institute…The ex-diplomat — who did not mention President Donald Trump by name […]
5/16/2018
LIBYA/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The White House on Wednesday [5-16-18] downplayed comments by national security adviser John Bolton, who recently invoked Libya’s decision to denuclearize during the Bush administration as a model for US policy on North Korea, potentially placing a planned US-North Korea summit in jeopardy. Hours earlier, a North Korean official said […]
5/16/2018
JOHN MCCAIN/LEAKS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The dustup over a White House aide’s crass remark about Sen. John McCain’s health has once again inflamed the White House’s frustration with staffers who reveal the inner workings of the West Wing to reporters outside the building. Despite active efforts to flush out administration leakers — including machines used […]
5/16/2018
CIA/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee voted on Wednesday [5-16-18] to approve President Donald Trump’s nominee to be CIA director, Gina Haspel, and she is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate as soon as next week. The panel voted 10-5 behind closed doors to approve the nomination, which was expected after two […]
5/15/2018
HILLARY CLINTON/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The White House official had a startling assertion: He thought he had received an email in the first half of 2016 alerting the Trump campaign that Russia had damaging information about Hillary Clinton. Testifying behind closed doors on Capitol Hill in late March, the official, John K. Mashburn, said he remembered […]
5/15/2018
GOP/JOHN MCCAIN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A White House aide who made a rude joke about Sen. John McCain’s health last week should apologize, but Republican senators didn’t raise the issue with President Donald Trump at a lunch meeting, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday [5-15-18]. White House communications aide Kelly Sadler said in a […]
5/15/2018
MIKE POMPEO/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday [5-15-18] lifted a hiring freeze at the department, reversing an unpopular policy introduced by his predecessor, Rex Tillerson. A State Department official said the move applied to both foreign-service and civil-service job classifications and would allow hiring to resume at current funding levels…Under Mr. Tillerson, […]
5/15/2018
CIA/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The nominee to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, looking to shore up support before a confirmation vote this week, asserted that her agency shouldn’t have undertaken a program of detention and interrogation that many critics say amounted to torture. Gina Haspel wrote in a letter released Tuesday [5-15-18] that the post-9/11 program aimed […]
5/15/2018
ELECTION/GOP/POLLS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “PM Nebraska – make sure you get out to the polls and VOTE for Deb Fischer today! https://t.co/bDHVaGv2FS“ –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 15, 2018 12:30 pm […]
5/15/2018
AMBASSADOR/ISRAEL/PALESTINE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said [5-15-18] Tuesday that the relocation of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was not to blame for deadly violence that erupted along the Gaza border, casting blame instead on Hamas and its backers in the Iranian government. Addressing the U.N. […]
5/15/2018
MIKE PENCE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Mike Pence’s official role is vice president of the United States. But, unofficially, he’s the president of a very important group within the White House: Donald Trump’s fan club. Trump likes to surround himself with people who adore him — and don’t mind speaking, sometimes at length, of their admiration and respect […]
5/15/2018
LEAKS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The dustup over a White House aide’s crass remark about Sen. John McCain’s health has once again inflamed the White House’s frustration with staffers who reveal the inner workings of the West Wing to reporters outside the building. Despite active efforts to flush out administration leakers — including machines used to […]
5/15/2018
CIA/NOMINATIONS/TORTURE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s nominee to be CIA director, Gina Haspel, said the agency should not have undertaken a past harsh interrogation program, while asserting that the program yielded ‘valuable intelligence.’ The Senate Intelligence Committee is due to vote on Wednesday [5-116-18] on whether to approve Haspel. Despite criticism of her nomination because of […]
5/15/2018
ENERGY [ALTERNATIVE]/EPA/GOP/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Republican Senator Chuck Grassley on Tuesday [5-15-18] said Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt must scale back the use of biofuels waivers for small refineries, or else he will join other lawmakers calling for Pruitt’s resignation. The demand ramps up pressure on the embattled EPA administrator, who is already under pressure […]
5/15/2018
ISRAEL/JARED KUSHNER/PALESTINE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Jared Kushner, the conspicuously quiet-in-public son-in-law and senior adviser to President Donald Trump, stepped up on Monday [5-14-18] to become the face of the administration’s decision to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the country’s contested capital, Jerusalem…In his remarks, Kushner blamed the deadly violence on demonstrators the […]
5/14/2018
MELANIA: “Melania Trump underwent a procedure Monday [5-14-18] morning to treat a benign kidney condition and will likely be hospitalized for the rest of the week, the White House said. President Donald Trump was expected to visit his wife at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center just outside Washington later Monday, according to a White […]
5/14/2018
MEDIA/RELIGION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “It was the morning after another breathtaking revelation about President Trump and a $130,000 payment to a pornographic film actress, and dozens of reporters crowded into the White House Rose Garden, seeking answers. When one of them shouted a question about the payment, the president simply walked away. Standing nearby, on […]
5/14/2018
GOP/MIKE PENCE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Representative Jeb Hensarling of Texas needed a favor: Before retiring at the end of his term, Mr. Hensarling, a powerful conservative, wanted to anoint an activist named Bunni Pounds as his successor. He reached out to President Trump for help, but Mr. Trump and his aides hesitated to meddle in a House […]
5/14/2018
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Scott Pruitt’s unprecedented 24/7 security detail began at his own request and on his first day as Environmental Protection Agency administrator, according to a letter from the agency’s inspector general, contradicting his claim the around-the-clock protection was a response to an assessment of death threats against him. Pruitt ‘requested 24/7 protection once […]
5/14/2018
CIA/NOMINATIONS/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee will vote on Wednesday [5-16-18] morning on President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the new director of the CIA, Gina Haspel, a committee aide said on Monday [5-14-18]. The vote will take place behind closed doors, as is customary for the intelligence panel. Haspel was grilled by lawmakers […]
5/14/2018
BUSINESS/RUSSIA/SANCTIONS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A former senior campaign and transition aide to President Donald Trump recently inked a deal to help a Russian oligarch’s conglomerate shed sanctions the Trump administration slapped on them last month. Bryan Lanza, who is in regular contact with White House officials, is lobbying on behalf of the chairman of EN+ Group, an […]
5/13/2018
EU/IRAN/MIKE POMPEO/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “John R. Bolton, the national security adviser, said on Sunday [5-13-18] that European officials should have known that President Trump would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, despite months of negotiations to salvage the accord that they believed had brought them close to satisfying the president’s demands…Mr. Bolton’s remarks could […]
5/13/2018
ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: There was not an overabundance of enthusiasm for Senator Dean Heller when the Nevada Republican Men’s Club gathered for its monthly luncheon at the Bali Hai Golf Club here. Karl Johnson, a precinct director for the Clark County Republican Party, wrinkled his nose and raised his eyebrows when asked about Mr. Heller’s prospects […]
5/13/2018
IRAN/NUCLEAR/TRUMP PEOPLE: “While many hands gripped the sword that undercut the Iran nuclear deal, no one outside the Trump administration was a more persistent or effective critic than Mark Dubowitz, the chief executive of a hawkish Washington think tank. But rather than publicly celebrate President Trump’s decision Tuesday [5-8-18] to jettison the accord, he is […]
5/13/2018
BUSINESS/LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP PEOPLE: “When Michael Cohen came knocking after the 2016 election, touting himself as the president’s lawyer, a man who could decipher the new administration, Ford Motor Co. said no. So did Uber Technologies Inc. He managed to notch AT&T Inc. and Novartis AG . And Squire Patton Boggs, a law and lobbying […]
5/13/2018
GOP/JOHN MCCAIN/TRUMP PEOPLE: “White House aide Kelly Sadler promised Meghan McCain she would apologize publicly for mocking her father’s health, a source familiar with the conversation has told CNN, but Sadler has yet to do so. Sadler, a special assistant for surrogate communications, made the promise in an apologetic phone call to McCain after it […]
5/11/2018
ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “After days of high-stakes negotiations with foreign governments, President Trump traveled to a rally here Thursday [5-10-18] night, briefly swapping his role as grim-faced statesman for one that comes more naturally to him: campaign trail firebrand. In a visit meant to bolster Mike Braun, a wealthy former state legislator who won […]
5/11/2018
BUSINESS/LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN: “Randall L. Stephenson, AT&T’s chief executive, said on Friday [5-11-18] that the company had made a ‘big mistake’ by hiring President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, to advise on the telecommunications giant’s deal to buy Time Warner. ‘Our company has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons these last […]