5/11/2018

DEMS/JOHN MCCAIN/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A Democratic senator called on President Donald Trump Friday [5-11-18] to repudiate a White House aide’s comment about ‘dying’ Republican Sen. John McCain, who has brain cancer…White House aide Kelly Sadler had responded to McCain’s opposition to Gina Haspel’s nomination for CIA director by attempting to joke Thursday [5-10-18] morning that ‘he’s […]

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5/11/2018

JOHN MCCAIN/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The White House on Friday [5-1–18] refused either to acknowledge or disown a purported barb about Sen. John McCain’s health by a communications staffer. Instead, press secretary Sarah Sanders suggested questions about the incident were meant to sow discord among President Donald Trump’s aides. ‘I’m not going to get into a back […]

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5/11/2018

DHS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen got into a lengthy, heated argument during a Cabinet meeting focused on immigration Wednesday [5-9-18], a source with knowledge of the blowup told CNN. Trump was furious with Nielsen, telling her he didn’t think she was doing enough to secure the border. […]

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5/11/2018

EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday [5-11-18] said that embattled Environmental Protection Agency Director Scott Pruitt still has his confidence. Pruitt has been criticized for a series of potential ethics lapses, including flying first class, excessive spending on security, and the rental of a room in a Washington condominium owned by the […]

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5/10/2018

BORDERS/DHS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary, told colleagues she was close to resigning after President Trump berated her on Wednesday [5-9-18] in front of the entire cabinet for what he said was her failure to adequately secure the nation’s borders, according to several current and former officials familiar with the episode. Ms. Nielsen, […]

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5/10/2018

LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/RUDY GIULIANI/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, abruptly resigned from his law firm after weeks of tensions over his public comments. Mr. Giuliani took a leave of absence last month from the firm, Greenberg Traurig, one of the nation’s largest, to represent Mr. Trump. But the firm announced on Thursday [5-10-18] […]

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5/10/2018

GOP/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/ROBERT MEULLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A pair of top Republican lawmakers met with senior officials at the Justice Department Thursday [5-10-18] in an attempt to resolve a standoff over GOP requests for classified information related to the special counsel’s investigation into Russian election meddling. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R., Calif.) and fellow […]

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5/10/2018

DREAMERS/GOP/IMMIGRATION/PAUL RYAN/TRUMP PEOPLE: “House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.), facing rising discontent within GOP ranks over congressional inaction on immigration policy, is working to tamp down an attempt by a group of centrist Republicans to force votes on the issue. Speaking to reporters Thursday [5-10-18], Mr. Ryan argued that the move to use a ‘discharge […]

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5/10/2018

IRAN/JAMES MATTIS/NUCLEAR/RUDY GIULIANI/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Defense Secretary James Mattis may have come to terms with President Donald Trump’s decision to quit the Iran nuclear deal, but he suggested the administration is still grappling with how to define US policy on countering Tehran following public calls for regime change from national security adviser John Bolton […]

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5/10/2018

NOMINATIONS/SENATE/TREASURY/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Adam Lerrick has withdrawn as President Donald Trump’s nominee for assistant Treasury secretary for international finance, after languishing for more than a year without Senate confirmation. Lerrick, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a former investment banker, has extensive experience in dealing with sovereign debt crises in countries like Greece, […]

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5/10/2018

LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUDY GIULIANI/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN: “Rudy Giuliani, who last month joined the team of lawyers representing President Donald Trump in the Russia investigation, resigned from his law firm on Thursday [5-10-18], citing the ‘pressing demands’ of the special counsel probe. Mr. Giuliani said last month that he would take a ‘temporary leave of absence’ from […]

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5/10/2018

LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/RUDY GIULIANI/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s new attorney, Rudy Giuliani, told CNN on Thursday [5-10-18] that Trump ‘wasn’t aware’ his longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen pitched his access to the President to potential clients following the 2016 election and landed lucrative consulting deals as a result…One Republican strategist described Cohen’s pitch as follows: ‘I […]

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5/10/2018

DREAMERS/GOP/HOUSE OF REPS/IMMIGRATIOM/PAUL RYAN/TRUMP PEOPLE: “U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday [5-10-18] said he wants a bipartisan immigration bill enacted before November congressional elections by addressing young illegal ‘Dreamer’ immigrants as well as border security issues. ‘I want to fix this problem, so I would like to have an immigration vote before […]

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5/10/2018

LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Michael Cohen served loyally as Donald Trump’s right-hand man for more than a decade, taking care of anything and everything the New York real estate baron needed to get done. On November 8, 2016, Cohen’s stock suddenly soared: He was now the personal attorney to the President-elect of the United States, with […]

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5/9/2018

BETSY DEVOS/EDUCATION/RELIGION/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, a lifelong advocate of Christian education, moved on Wednesday [5-9-18] to loosen federal regulations on religious colleges and universities, after a Supreme Court decision that restricted states from denying some kinds of aid to religious institutions. The measure is part of a sweeping deregulatory agenda for the […]

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5/9/2018

ELECTION/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Republican voters rejected ex-convict Don Blankenship in a West Virginia Senate primary in which he sold himself as ‘Trumpier than Trump’ but was vigorously opposed by Trump himself. GOP voters in Indiana, meanwhile, chose wealthy businessman Mike Braun over two sitting congressmen to lead the party’s charge against a vulnerable Democratic […]

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5/9/2018

ELECTION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump connected by phone on Wednesday [5-9-18] with Don Blankenship, the former coal baron and ex-con whose Senate candidacy he helped sink. Trump and Blankenship spoke briefly, according to three people familiar with the discussion. The conversation was described as straightforward, polite and cordial, with the president calling to […]

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5/9/2018

ASIA/EU/IRAN/MIDDLE EAST/MIKE POMPEO/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/SANCTIONS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Having returned from North Korea on Thursday [5-10-18], Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will embark on talks to persuade allies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia to press Iran to return to negotiations over its nuclear and missile programs, U.S. officials said. The open question is whether the allies, […]

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5/9/2018

MIKE POMPEO/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “North Korea released three U.S. citizens imprisoned for more than a year and allowed them to fly home with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, removing a source of diplomatic friction between Washington and Pyongyang ahead of a summit between the leaders of the two adversaries. The three men— Kim Dong-chul, Tony […]

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5/9/2018

ELECTIONS/GOP/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Don Blankenship, a former coal baron who went to prison for his role in a deadly mine disaster, was soundly defeated in the West Virginia Republican Senate primary on Tuesday [5-8-18], according to The Associated Press, after President Trump and other Republicans urged voters to reject him. The state’s attorney general, Patrick Morrisey, […]

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5/9/2018

MIKE POMPEO/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo extended an olive branch to senior North Korean officials on Wednesday [5-9-18]: ‘All the opportunities your people so richly deserve’ in exchange for the shutting down of the North’s nuclear weapons program…Mr. Pompeo arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday on a mission to smooth any remaining wrinkles […]

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5/9/18

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.) — […]

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5/9/18

LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/RUSSIA/TREASURY/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN: “The Treasury Department’s Inspector General is investigating whether confidential financial information related to President Donald Trump’s longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen might have been leaked, IG spokesman Rich Delmar confirmed Wednesday [5-9-18]. The probe was launched after Michael Avenatti, lawyer to adult film star Stormy Daniels, distributed a document claiming that AT&T, […]

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5/9/2018

CIA/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s pick to be America’s top spy said she wouldn’t allow the Central Intelligence Agency to undertake ‘immoral’ actions even if ordered to do so by the president, and pledged not to restart the agency’s controversial interrogation program. Gina Haspel, addressing the Senate Intelligence Committee that is first considering […]

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5/9/2018

ELECTIONS/GOP/TRUMP PEOPLE: “West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey won his state’s Republican Senate primary Tuesday [5-8-2018], an outcome welcomed by President Donald Trump and GOP leaders who warned that a victory by at least one of his rivals would have hurt their chances of defeating Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. Mr. Morrisey beat Rep. Evan Jenkins […]

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5/9/2018

ELECTION/GOP/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Congratulations to Mike Dewine on his big win in the Great State of Ohio. He will be a great Governor with a heavy focus on HealthCare and Jobs. His Socialist opponent in November should not do well, a big failure in last job!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 9, 2018 7:00 am […]

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5/9/2018

TRUMP PEOPLE: “Candace Owens of Turning Point USA is having a big impact on politics in our Country. She represents an ever expanding group of very smart ‘thinkers,’ and it is wonderful to watch and hear the dialogue going on…so good for our Country!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 9, 2018 6:48 am […]

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5/9/2018

ECONOMY/ELECTION/GOP/TAXES/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Republican Party had a great night. Tremendous voter energy and excitement, and all candidates are those who have a great chance of winning in November. The Economy is sooo strong, and with Nancy Pelosi wanting to end the big Tax Cuts and Raise Taxes, why wouldn’t we win?” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May […]

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5/9/2018

MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators have questioned a Russian oligarch about hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments his company’s US affiliate made to President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, after the election, according to a source familiar with the matter. Viktor Vekselberg, chairman of asset manager Renova Group, is […]

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5/8/2018

LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A company created by Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, received $500,000 in 2017 from an investment fund linked to a Russian oligarch, according to a person familiar with the matter. Separately, AT&T Inc. said it made payments to Mr. Cohen’s company in 2017 for ‘insights’ into the administration at a […]

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5/8/2018

RUDY GIULIANI/TRUMP PEOPLE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “As President Donald Trump and White House aides expressed their discomfort over Rudy Giuliani’s free-wheeling interviews, those who know the former mayor from his native New York City and who’ve seen him at recent events suggest it’s just Rudy being Rudy. They described a man whose once-powerful legal career long […]

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5/8/2018

ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A Dutch attorney now has the dubious distinction of being the first person imprisoned in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Alex van der Zwaan, 33, reported to a low-security Federal Bureau of Prisons facility near Allenwood, Pennsylvania, on Monday to serve […]

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5/8/2018

EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “On a trip to Morocco last year, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and his staff missed a connecting flight and spent more than 24 hours in Paris because his security detail’s weapons and other gear couldn’t be transferred between the planes in time, his former security chief told congressional staffers last […]

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5/8/2018

CIA/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The fate of President Donald Trump’s CIA nominee hinges on how well she fields tough questions Wednesday [5-9-18] from senators who want details of her time running a covert detention site where terror suspects were brutally interrogated after 9/11 and an explanation for why she wanted videos of the sessions destroyed. Gina Haspel, […]

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5/8/2018

MIKE POMPEO/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump revealed on Tuesday [5-8-18] afternoon that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was flying to North Korea, where he will continue preparations for Trump’s planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un…Pompeo’s trip to North Korea is his second in recent months and his first since being confirmed […]

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5/8/2018

STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Another desk is being vacated in the ever-churning White House communications department. Cliff Sims, a special assistant to the president who oversees White House message strategy, is expected to take a position at the State Department as a senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the coming weeks…Sims was officially offered […]

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5/8/2018

CONGRESS/GOP/JEFF SESSIONS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Republicans angry with the Justice Department over not providing documents to Congress are urging President Donald Trump to intervene in the latest dispute between House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, a California Republican, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Nunes threatened on Fox News over the weekend to hold Sessions in contempt after […]

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5/8/2018

CIA/DEMS/NOMINATIONS/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Sen. Jon Tester said Tuesday [5-8-18] he is not voting for Gina Haspel’s nomination to be the next CIA director, the first Democrat from a red state to openly oppose her…The White House has rallied behind Haspel for the position, even though questions over her past in the CIA are likely to come […]

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5/8/2018

CIA/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Gina Haspel, my highly respected nominee to lead the CIA, is being praised for the fact that she has been, and alway will be, TOUGH ON TERROR! This is a woman who has been a leader wherever she has gone. The CIA wants her to lead them into America’s bright and […]

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5/8/2018

ELECTIONS/GOP/HOUSE OF REP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Bitter Republican U.S. Senate races in West Virginia and Indiana featuring candidates who have fought to prove their loyalty to President Donald Trump will highlight a slate of high-stakes party primaries in four states on Tuesday [5-8-18]. Voters in Ohio and North Carolina also pick candidates on Tuesday for November’s congressional […]

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5/7/2018

CIA/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “When President Trump picked Gina Haspel to run the Central Intelligence Agency, he opted for a seasoned veteran of the nation’s spy apparatus, a career professional removed from the partisan skirmishes of recent years who had the respect of many fellow intelligence officers. But Ms. Haspel’s greatest strength as a […]

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5/7/2018

ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump inserted himself into Tuesday’s [5-8-18] Republican Senate primary in West Virginia, urging voters to reject a scandal-scarred former coal executive whose apparent polling strength is stirring fears that he could cost the party a chance to pick up a seat from Democrats. In a tweet Monday [5-7-18], Mr. Trump said […]

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5/7/2018

MELANIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “When she unveils her official initiative as first lady on Monday [5-7-18], Melania Trump will follow in the footsteps of other modern first ladies who focused on their passions. Laura Bush championed literacy. Michelle Obama was an advocate for fitness. Mrs. Trump will focus on good behavior on social media as part of […]

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5/7/2018

GUNS/JEFF SESSIONS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Bobby Amos stood outside of an Episcopal church in Alabama last spring, begging police to kill him. He had been suicidal earlier and held a gun to his head, his wife said, and she had hidden the weapon at the church, where he had followed her to retrieve it. There was […]

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5/7/2018

BUDGET/CONGRESS/CONSUMER PROTECTION/SPENDING/TRUMP PEOPLE: “In his time in the Trump administration, Mick Mulvaney has produced two budgets that slashed federal spending and were heralded as blueprints for the deconstruction of the administrative state. Even Republicans ignored them, and Congress then added billions to the very programs he targeted in what seemed a personal rebuke. But Mr. […]

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5/7/2018

ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald J. Trump intervened Monday [5-7-18] in the West Virginia Republican Senate primary, pleading with voters a day before the election to oppose the former mine operator Don Blankenship, and suggesting that Mr. Blankenship’s nomination would lead to a replay of the party’s embarrassing loss last year in Alabama. Mr. Trump’s decision […]

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5/7/2018

ELECTION/GOP/PENNSYLVANIA/RACISM/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A Republican congressional candidate in Pennsylvania is trying to distance himself from his friend and former radio co-host Carl Higbie, who resigned from the Trump administration earlier this year after CNN’s KFile uncovered anti-gay, anti-Muslim, racist and sexist remarks he made on his radio program. Guy Reschenthaler was Higbie’s co-host on the radio […]

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5/7/2018

CIA/MIKE POMPEO/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump attempted to bolster support Monday [5-7-18] for his embattled nominee to lead the CIA, Gina Haspel, ahead of her confirmation hearing later this week. ‘My highly respected nominee for CIA Director, Gina Haspel, has come under fire because she was too tough on Terrorists. Think of that, […]

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5/6/2018

LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUDY GIULIANI/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN: “Rudolph W. Giuliani, reeling after a chaotic first week as President Trump’s lawyer, tried again on Sunday [5-6-18] to straighten out his client’s story. But Mr. Giuliani raised new questions about whether Mr. Trump had paid hush money to other women and suggested the president might invoke the Fifth Amendment to […]

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5/6/2018

KELLYANNE CONWAY/TRUMP PEOPLE/TWITTER: “In legal circles, George T. Conway III is perhaps best known as the lawyer who argued a securities case before the Supreme Court and won with an 8-to-0 vote, or for his behind-the-scenes work that ultimately hastened the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. In Washington, Mr. Conway, 54, a corporate litigator, is […]

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5/4/2018

MEDIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Great book just out by very successful businessman @AndyPuzder. Always known as somebody who knows how to win, ‘Capitalist Comeback’ will be a big hit!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 4, 2018 7:08 pm […]

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5/4/2018

CHINA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senior Chinese and American officials concluded two days of negotiations late Friday [5-4-18] afternoon with no deal and no date set for further talks, as the United States stepped up its demands for Chinese concessions to avert a potential trade war. The American negotiating team, which included Treasury Secretary Steven […]

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5/4/2018

LEGAL/RUDY GUILIANI/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN: “President Donald Trump publicly undermined his attorney Rudy Giuliani on Friday [5-4-18], saying the former New York City mayor had only a loose grasp of the Stormy Daniels business when he spoke about it earlier this week. A clarifying statement from Giuliani issued four hours later did little to illuminate […]

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5/4/2018

CHINA/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The U.S. and China asked one another to make sweeping concessions in trade talks, failing to bridge sharp divisions and raising the chances that each government will slap tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of the other country’s exports before settling the dispute. Top economic officials on both sides […]

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5/3/2018

EPA/ETHICS/LOBBYING/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Since moving to Washington, Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, has attracted the attention of federal investigators because of his unusual association with lobbyists, including his rental of a condominium last year owned by the wife of a lobbyist with business before the E.P.A. As a state senator in […]

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5/3/2018

LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN: “President Trump on Thursday [5-3-18] directly contradicted his earlier statements that he knew of no payment to Stormy Daniels, the pornographic film actress who says she had an affair with Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump said he paid a monthly retainer to his former lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, and […]

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5/3/2018

EPA/ETHICS/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The top spokeswoman for Environmental Protection Agency is leaving the agency, the third departure this week of an aide close to Administrator Scott Pruitt, who is facing investigations into management and spending practices. Liz Bowman’s announcement follows the exit of two other top EPA officials—Mr. Pruitt’s head of security and the administrator […]

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5/3/2018

MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Give Rudy Giuliani this: He knows how to make an entrance. The former New York City mayor, 2008 presidential candidate and longtime pal of President Donald Trump has been on the job as a legal adviser to the President for exactly two weeks. But, in that fortnight, he has managed […]

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5/3/2018

LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN: “President Donald Trump and his aides are ‘panicking,’ the attorney for porn actress Stormy Daniels said Thursday [5-3-18] afternoon, and are ‘just making it up as they go along’ as they deal with Trump’s mounting legal challenges. Rudy Giuliani, who joined the president’s legal team last month, disclosed Wednesday [5-2-18] […]

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5/3/2018

LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN: “Rudy Giuliani may have added to the legal headaches of his new law client and old friend, President Donald Trump, when he drew a link Thursday [5-3-18] between a hush money payment to a porn actress and the potential fallout if her allegations of a tryst with Trump had gone public […]

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5/3/2018

FBI/JAMES COMEY/LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Former FBI Director James Comey defended the bureau on Thursday [5-3-18] after Rudy Giuliani compared FBI agents to ‘stormtroopers’ over last month’s raid on President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen…The term ‘stormtroopers’ originated during World War I to describe German assault troops, but it’s also been applied to enforcers of […]

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5/3/2018

ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Luke Messer says President Donald Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. Todd Rokita is introducing a resolution to end special counsel Robert Mueller’s ‘witch hunt’ into Trump’s campaign. Mike Braun wants Indiana voters to know he’s a convention-busting businessman — ‘just like President Trump.’ The bloody Republican primary in one of […]

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5/3/2018

ELECTION/GOP/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Republicans are increasingly unnerved by the rift between retiring Sen. Bob Corker and Marsha Blackburn, the GOP congresswoman vying to replace him, saying it could cost them a must-win seat in Tennessee. The duo’s chilly relationship has spilled into the open after Corker praised Blackburn’s Democratic opponent and refused to even utter her […]

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5/3/2018

MIKE POMPEO/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/SOUTH KOREA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani said the administration has reached an agreement with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un to release three detained U.S. citizens, including a 62-year-old Virginian who has been held for two years…The White House declined to provide any additional details. Mr. Trump signaled on Twitter […]

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5/3/2018

LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN: “President Donald Trump on Thursday [5-3-18] said his longtime lawyer was reimbursed for a payment he made to a former adult film star to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Mr. Trump. The president said the agreement with Stephanie Clifford, known professionally as Stormy Daniels, was made […]

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5/3/2018

FBI/MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Federal investigators wiretapped the phone lines of U.S. President Donald Trump’s longtime lawyer Michael Cohen before the FBI seized records and documents in a raid last month on his offices, hotel room and home, NBC News reported on Thursday [5-3-18]. NBC, citing sources familiar with legal proceedings involving Cohen, […]

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5/3/2018

CHINA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Trade negotiators from the U.S. and China are digging in for the first round of what they expect to be recurring, difficult talks that don’t produce an immediate settlement. Beijing is bracing for lengthy sparring with Washington, though Chinese officials said that in recent weeks they had tried to get […]

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5/3/2018

FOREIGN POLICY/MIKE PENCE/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH AMERICA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is postponing his plans to travel to Brazil this month in order to ensure foreign policy resources are focused on President Donald Trump’s coming talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Pence’s spokeswoman said on Thursday [5-3-18]…No exact date or location has been […]

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5/3/2018

LEGAL/MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN: “Rudy Giuliani’s cable rollout as a member of President Donald Trump’s legal team, and the torrent of statements he made Wednesday [5-2-18] night, caught many in the White House offguard and flat-footed, highlighting the continued chaotic nature of the President’s communications strategy. Giuliani told CNN Thursday [5-3-18] he and Trump are […]

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5/2/2018

DEMS/ELECTION/GOP/HOUSE OF REPS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A soaring number of Democratic House candidates has also translated into a surge in fund-raising — particularly from small donors — which is similar to the energy that drove the Tea Party uprising against President Barack Obama in 2010…Most of the small donors — those giving less than $200 to a […]

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5/2/2018

JOHN KELLY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “When President Trump learned this week that his chief of staff, John F. Kelly, reportedly called him ‘an idiot’ on several occasions, he expressed little in the way of frustration or anger, an uncharacteristically low-key response from someone with little tolerance for slights. Attending a fund-raising dinner on Monday [4-30-18], […]

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5/2/2018

LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN: “President Trump reimbursed Michael D. Cohen, his longtime personal lawyer, for a $130,000 payment that Mr. Cohen has said he made to keep a pornographic film actress from going public before the 2016 election with her story about an affair with Mr. Trump, according to Rudolph W. Giuliani, one of […]

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5/2/2018

DEMS/ELECTION/GOP/OBAMACARE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A year ago Friday [5-4-18], Representative Claudia Tenney of New York stood among dozens of enthusiastic colleagues in the Rose Garden to celebrate passage of a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. When President Trump made his way on stage, Ms. Tenney clapped and smiled. On this not-so-happy […]

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5/2/2018

LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Trump plans to hire Emmet T. Flood, the veteran Washington lawyer who represented Bill Clinton during his impeachment, to replace Ty Cobb, the White House lawyer who has taken the lead in dealing with the special counsel investigation, who is retiring, according to two people briefed on the matter. In […]

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5/2/2018

2016 ELECTION/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Ty Cobb, the top White House lawyer representing President Donald Trump in the Russia investigation, is leaving his role at the end of the month, the White House said Wednesday [5-2-18]. Mr. Cobb will be replaced on the legal team by Emmet Flood, according to a person familiar with the […]

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5/2/2018

CIA/MIKE POMPEO/NORTH KOREA/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump hailed newly minted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as a ‘true American hero’ while alluding to a boost of energy at the State Department during a ceremony marking the agency leader’s swearing-in on Wednesday [5-2-18]. In his first remarks at the State Department since becoming president, Trump praised […]

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5/2/2018

GOP/HOUSE OF REPS/JEFF SESSIONS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The House Republican duo targeting senior leaders at the Justice Department have a new demand for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein: They want to see an unredacted copy of the memo he sent to whom detailing the scope of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. The same lawmakers are […]

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5/2/2018

HHS/MUSLIMS/RACISM/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A political appointee at the Department of Health and Human Services has apologized and is now back at work at the department after it came to light that she spread conspiracy theories and shared an image that said ‘our forefathers would have hung’ Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for treason on social media. […]

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5/2/2018

ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Rudy Giuliani, U.S. President Donald Trump’s lawyer, said on Wednesday [5-2-18] that any interview of Trump by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller for a probe into alleged meddling by Russia in the 2016 election and possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign would be limited in scope and length. ‘Some people […]

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5/2/2018

LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Lawyer Emmet Flood, who advised President Bill Clinton in impeachment proceedings, will assist President Donald Trump with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election, replacing Ty Cobb, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Wednesday [5-2-18]. The latest lawyer shuffle comes as the question of whether Trump […]

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5/2/2018

TRUMP PEOPLE/VA: “President Donald Trump is considering the former chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Veterans Affairs Committee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs after his previous pick withdrew under fire, a White House official said on Wednesday [5-2-18]. Trump will interview Jeff Miller, a fellow Republican from Florida who served in Congress […]

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5/2/2018

DEFENSE/GUANTANAMO/ISIS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Pentagon has missed a deadline for coming up with new policies regarding detainees captured on the battlefield and the transfer of those individuals to Guantanamo Bay, a deadline set by a January 30 executive order signed by President Donald Trump…Trump’s executive order said Secretary of Defense James Mattis should ‘recommend […]

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5/1/2018

ETHICS/MIKE PENCE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “As embattled Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens’ legal and political woes deepen, some White House officials are inquiring whether the controversy could also envelop the governor’s former top campaign adviser, Nick Ayers, who is now Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff. Multiple officials in President Donald Trump’s administration have privately put out […]

Read More… from 5/1/2018

5/1/2018

IVANKA/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP PEOPLE: “She was in Bedminster, New Jersey, with President Donald Trump the rainy May 2017 weekend when he decided to fire FBI Director James Comey. She was a passenger on the plane flying home from the G-20 conference in Germany the next month, strategizing about how to manage the fallout of her brother […]

Read More… from 5/1/2018

5/1/2018

GOP/HOUSE OF REPS/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “After months of conceding to demands from a small group of House Republicans for more visibility into continuing investigations, the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, pushed back on Tuesday, declaring that the Justice Department ‘is not going to be extorted.’ His comment came the day after revelations that […]

Read More… from 5/1/2018

5/1/2018

CIA/CONGRESS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “In a long career with the Central Intelligence Agency, Gina Haspel has held senior positions around the world supervising covert action, managing U.S. spies’ collection of human intelligence and working on counterterrorism efforts, according to biographical summary of her career declassified by the agency on Tuesday [5-1-18]. Ms. Haspel, who is President Donald […]

Read More… from 5/1/2018

5/1/2018

BETSY DEVOS/EDUCATION/PUERTO RICO/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Since Hurricane Maria’s deadly rampage last September, the Education Department has doled out tens of millions of taxpayer dollars in disaster relief to colleges and universities supposedly affected by last year’s hurricanes. Only a fraction has gone to institutions where the storm had its most profound impact: Puerto Rico. Instead, elite […]

Read More… from 5/1/2018

5/1/2018

IRAN/MIKE POMPEO/NUCLEAR/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Incoming U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo promised to restore the State Department’s ‘swagger’ in his first address to employees on Monday [4-30-18] after a whirlwind tour of Israel, Saudi Arabia and Jordan over the weekend. Mr. Pompeo was greeted in the State Department’s packed lobby with lengthy applause and cries of […]

Read More… from 5/1/2018

4/30/2018

JOHN KELLY/TRUMP PEOPLE/VA: “The search for a new Veterans Affairs chief is wide open, with President Donald Trump considering as potential nominees a former Republican congressman, a hospital executive and his White House chief of staff, John Kelly, people familiar with the matter said. Dr. Ronny Jackson, the president’s doctor, pulled out of the running […]

Read More… from 4/30/2018

4/30/2018

MIKE PENCE/TRUMP PEOPLE/VA: “Vice President Mike Pence’s physician privately raised alarms within the White House last fall that President Donald Trump’s doctor may have violated federal privacy protections for a key patient — Pence’s wife, Karen — and intimidated the vice president’s doctor during angry confrontations over the episode. The previously unreported incident is the […]

Read More… from 4/30/2018

4/30/2018

ISRAEL/MIKE POMPEO/PALESTINE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Monday [4-30-18] said Israel has the right to defend itself after a month of deadly clashes at the fence dividing the country and the Gaza Strip, calling on both sides to resume political engagement. President Donald Trump’s chief diplomat was concluding his first-ever international trip after […]

Read More… from 4/30/2018

4/29/2018

NOMINATIONS/TRUMP PEOPLE/VA: “Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, who withdrew from consideration for secretary of veterans affairs last week amid allegations related to his professional conduct, is unlikely to return to his role as the president’s doctor, according to a person familiar with the matter. It was unclear if Dr. Jackson, a Navy rear admiral, would remain […]

Read More… from 4/29/2018

4/28/2018

DEMS/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/VA:: “Secret Service has just informed me that Senator Jon Tester’s statements on Admiral Jackson are not true. There were no such findings. A horrible thing that we in D.C. must live with, just like phony Russian Collusion. Tester should lose race in Montana. Very dishonest and sick!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, April 28, 2018 […]

Read More… from 4/28/2018

4/28/2018

DEMS/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP PEOPLE/VA: “Allegations made by Senator Jon Tester against Admiral/Doctor Ron Jackson are proving false. The Secret Service is unable to confirm (in fact they deny) any of the phony Democrat charges which have absolutely devastated the wonderful Jackson family. Tester should resign. The…..” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, April 28, 2018 7:07 am […]

Read More… from 4/28/2018

4/27/2018

TRUMP PEOPLE/VA: “President Donald Trump is calling White House doctor Ronny Jackson an ‘American hero’ a day after Jackson withdrew from consideration for Veterans Affairs secretary in the wake of allegations about his conduct. Trump says during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Jackson is ‘a great doctor’ and ‘a great […]

Read More… from 4/27/2018

4/27/2018

EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Scott Pruitt has something to boast about when it comes to the Environmental Protection Agency’s record on cleaning up toxic sites since he took over the agency. But it’s a boast only made possible by achievements of the Obama administration…The EPA declared seven cleanups complete from its Superfund priority list last year, […]

Read More… from 4/27/2018

4/27/2018

MIKE POMPEO/NATO/SECRETARY OF STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A day after he was sworn in as secretary of state, Mike Pompeo arrived at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Friday morning with some words his hosts eagerly wanted to hear as he started a four-day, four-nation trip that will include talks with top allies about Russian aggression and the […]

Read More… from 4/27/2018

4/27/2018

ELECTION/GOP/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Rep. Claudia Tenney learned last week that she’d been outraised by her Democratic opponent for the third quarter in a row, a sign that her hold on a moderate upstate New York district is in peril. But if GOP leaders thought that would be a five-alarm reminder for the vulnerable freshman to pursue […]

Read More… from 4/27/2018

4/27/2018

FOREIGN POLICY/MIKE POMPEO/SECRETARY OF STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The confirmation of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday [4-26-18] installed the final piece of President Donald Trump’s revamped foreign policy team, transforming his inner circle from a disparate group of strangers to a band of Washington insiders who have accrued more than 115 years of government service. […]

Read More… from 4/27/2018