As investigators close in, the president invokes the support of the military, police and vigilantes. This is a perilous moment
What does a megalomaniacal president of the United States do when he’s cornered? We’ll soon find out.
Related: 'It's a small group of people': Trump again denies white nationalism is rising threat
Continue reading...With the winding down of the ‘Winter White House’ comes another season of controversy and scandal that swirl around the president’s resort
At Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s waterfront winter retreat, an end-of-term air hangs over the expansive verandas and perfectly manicured lawns. In barely a month’s time, following the traditional season-closing Easter Sunday brunch gala, the private members’ club will be scrubbed and shuttered for the summer, its wealthy clientele dispersing to residences in the Hamptons or boarding their mega-yachts to cruise the Mediterranean.
Related: Trump's four 2017 Mar-a-Lago trips cost taxpayers nearly $14m, watchdog says
Continue reading...Washington also threatened economic sanctions if war crimes court goes ahead with inquiry into US troops in Afghanistan
The United States has announced it will revoke or deny visas to members of the International Criminal Court involved in investigating the actions of US troops in Afghanistan or other countries.
The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said Washington was prepared to take further steps, including economic sanctions, if the war crimes court goes ahead with any investigations of US or allied personnel.
Continue reading...Senate Republicans have confirmed 89 Trump-nominated judges to serve at all levels of the federal court system
Many Americans watching the turmoil in US institutions and political norms are yearning for the day when Donald Trump is no longer president. But whether he leaves after 2020 or 2024, Trump has built a legacy in one vital area that can be expected to stand for decades, long after his Twitter feed has fallen silent, analysts across the political spectrum agree.
That legacy comprises the 89 judges, and rapidly counting, that Trump has nominated, and Senate Republicans have confirmed, to serve at all levels of the federal court system. They are taking up posts from the district courts (53 Trump nominees confirmed out of 677 total) to the appellate courts (34 out of 179) to the US supreme court (two out of nine). Put together they form a kind of conservative judicial revolution that could impact all aspects of American life.
Continue reading...Donald Trump will be making a significant request for border wall funds and seeking money to stand up his “Space Force” as a new branch of the military in the White House budget being released next week, an administration official said on Saturday.
Related: SXSW: Warren tells tech audience plan to break up giants is 'like baseball'
Continue reading...Democrats say Trump’s attempts to conceal his conversations with the Russian leader raise questions about his motivations
Since Donald Trump was sworn in as president he has met his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, five times. The details of their conversations remain unknown to the public, and in most cases even to senior administration officials.
Related: Trump inauguration took money from shell companies tied to foreigners
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Donald Trump will host the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, at the White House on 19 March, press secretary Sarah Sanders just announced.
The pair will discuss “how to build a more prosperous, secure and democratic Western Hemisphere,” according to the White House statement, as well as “opportunities for defense cooperation, pro-growth trade policies, combatting transnational crime and restoring democracy in Venezuela”.
"President Donald J. Trump will welcome President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil to the White House on Tuesday, March 19, 2019" pic.twitter.com/YIIwZc4axH
Senator Kamala Harris, a leading Democratic presidential candidate, weighed in on Paul Manafort’s controversial 47 month sentence while campaigning in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina today.
“We are looking at further evidence in America’s judicial system of absolute unfairness,” Harris said in video captured by CNN. “People who commit white collar crimes – they should be prepared to bring their tooth brush and spend as much time behind bars as anybody else.”
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris responds to Manafort sentencing: "Absolute unfairness" in the judicial system https://t.co/nMyXQjVbke pic.twitter.com/f2BpAB4ksz
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Here’s our man! Trump offers a stout defense of his repeated payments to Michael Cohen, made after the latter paid two women “hush” money to not talk about alleged affairs with Trump.
Cohen has already been convicted of violating campaign finance laws by paying off actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
It was not a campaign contribution, and there were no violations of the campaign finance laws by me. Fake News!
So Michael Cohen could have talked himself into trouble with that very definite “no pardon” statement to the House oversight committee last week.
During the hearing Cohen was asked if he had requested a pardon from Donald Trump.
I have never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from Mr Trump.
During that time period, he directed his attorney to explore possibilities of a pardon at one point with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani as well as other lawyers advising President Trump.
Continue reading...House intelligence chief hails ‘productive’ hearing as materials reportedly show edits by Trump’s legal team to Cohen’s past statement
Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer provided the US House intelligence committee with new documents and may hand over more, the panel’s chairman said after a day-long hearing behind closed doors.
The Democratic representative Adam Schiff told reporters that Michael Cohen was cooperative and the eight-hour hearing was “very productive”. He did not say what the new documents related to and declined to comment on the substance of Cohen’s testimony.
Continue reading...Democrats in the House of Representatives are stepping up investigations into Donald Trump’s potentially impeachable acts of corruption, obstruction of justice and abuse of power.
Related: Democratic oversight is 'bullshit': Trump goes off-script at CPAC
Continue reading...Donald Trump sought to regain his footing after a torrid week with a fiery speech using two of his favourite tactics: going off script and hurling insults at opponents.
Related: Democrats: Cohen's testimony will be a map to key witnesses and investigations
Continue reading...The US president boasts of being a deal maker. But his summit with Kim Jong-un in Hanoi has ended in failure and recrimination
Only a year ago, many feared that Donald Trump’s dealings with Kim Jong-un might end with a bang. Then came the Singapore summit. Mr Trump boasted that they “fell in love” and that North Korea was no longer a nuclear threat. The bromance did not look sustainable. Now a follow-up in Hanoi has ended in a whimper, collapsing without the heralded signing of at least a limited deal.
North Korea needs an easing of sanctions and wants to pursue economic development; Mr Trump wants a diplomatic triumph with his name emblazoned on it. But these powerful drivers are not enough to bridge the gulf between the sides. While North Korea speaks of denuclearisation on the peninsula, it has no intention of unilateral disarmament – as US intelligence officials note. Gestures such as halting missile tests have some value, in real terms as well as in building the relationship, and disabling the Yongbyon nuclear plant would have more; the question is how much they are worth. Many had feared Mr Trump might pay too highly, as he did in Singapore.
Continue reading...In dramatic testimony, Cohen claims Trump committed crimes to cover up affair and had prior knowledge of Wikileaks release
Donald Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen accused the president in explosive public testimony before Congress of knowing in advance about key events under investigation in the Russia inquiry and of committing criminal conspiracy in the coverup of an extramarital affair.
In a day of high drama before the House oversight committee, Cohen delivered a string of bombshells that could spawn fresh investigations by Congress and the FBI. Testifying on Wednesday, he labelled the US president a “racist” and “conman”, produced signed checks that he said were proof of a fraudulently disguised conspiracy to silence a former adult film actor, and gave what he claimed were eyewitness accounts that implied Trump had prior knowledge of crucial Russia links.
Continue reading...Trump’s ex-fixer hints Mueller may have proof of coordination with Russia and again alleges campaign finance violations
Michael Cohen on Wednesday delivered a sharp warning to Donald Trump and the Republican party that the president faces legal and political peril on at least two fronts.
First, the Trump-Russia investigation.
Continue reading...President’s former lawyer expected to say Trump knew of Roger Stone’s contact with WikiLeaks during 2016 campaign
Michael Cohen is to accuse Donald Trump of being a “conman” and a “cheat” who had advanced knowledge that a longtime adviser was communicating with WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign, according to opening testimony he will deliver to Congress on Wednesday.
Cohen’s prepared remarks, confirmed by the Guardian, include a series of explosive allegations about the presidential campaign.
Continue reading...Trump says he would be happy if rogue state continues with nuclear testing ban, handing diplomatic initiative to Kim Jong-un
Donald Trump has said the US will be “happy” if North Korea simply agrees to continue its moratorium on nuclear and missile testing at this week’s summit in Hanoi.
The US president’s remarks on Sunday night represented a lowering of already modest expectations for his second meeting with Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, due to begin on Wednesday.
Continue reading...A top Democrat threatened on Sunday to call special counsel Robert Mueller to testify on Capitol Hill, subpoena documents and take the Trump administration to court if necessary, if the full report on the Russia investigation is not made public.
Related: Trump faces a legal reckoning – but are his worst troubles yet to come?
Continue reading...Special counsel’s team say Trump campaign chairman deserves second prison sentence which could total 10 years
Paul Manafort is a hardened criminal who “repeatedly and brazenly” broke the law even while serving as Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, special counsel Robert Mueller has said.
Related: 'Even Nixon wasn’t like him': Trump's bid to upend Russia inquiry unprecedented, experts say
Continue reading...The idea that the US might sell state-of-the-art nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, potentially enabling Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reckless regime to build nuclear weapons, sounds so far-fetched as to be almost grotesque.
After all the near-hysterical American and Israeli warnings about the risk of Iran, the Saudis’ arch-rival, acquiring the bomb, surely even Donald Trump would balk at such breathtaking – and dangerous – hypocrisy?
Continue reading...Ahmed Ali Muthana files suit after officials said New Jersey-born daughter was not a US citizen and would not be allowed home
The father of an Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State group in Syria is suing to bring her home after the Trump administration took the extraordinary step of declaring that she was not a US citizen.
Hoda Muthana, 24, told the Guardian this week that she regretted leaving the US to join the terrorist group and wants to return from Syria with her 18-month-old son. She has said she is willing to face prosecution in the United States over her incendiary propaganda on behalf of the ruthless but dwindling group.
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