Category Archives: Trump administration

Trump and Putin discussed Mueller report during phone conversation, says White House – as it happened

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Sarah Sanders says pair had ‘very good’ talk on Friday morning in which Venezuela was also discussed

Here’s an updated recap of today’s political news as we close out the Friday night live politics blog:

The president elaborated his complaints about conservative “censorship” on social media, highlighting his concerns about the treatment of Diamond and Silk, two online commenters who have been championed by Republicans for being black women who support Trump, James Woods, and Paul Watson, a British editor of Infowars, Alex Jones’ conspiracy site.

Trump appeared on Infowars, which has promoted multiple conspiracy theories, including the conspiracy that the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting was a hoax, in 2015, and told host Alex Jones “Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down.”

The wonderful Diamond and Silk have been treated so horribly by Facebook. They work so hard and what has been done to them is very sad - and we’re looking into. It’s getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!

So surprised to see Conservative thinkers like James Woods banned from Twitter, and Paul Watson banned from Facebook! https://t.co/eHX3Z5CMXb

He is very very very very very very very very very very very obviously an extremist. https://t.co/4pK2klhbqi

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Pelosi says Barr lied to Congress: ‘That’s a crime’ – live

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House speaker criticized attorney general’s failure to show up for House hearing during her weekly press conference

President Trump is now touting a number of issues important to evangelical Christians, including ending the Johnson Amendment and saying “Merry Christmas.”

The Johnson Amendment prevented houses of worship with tax exempt status from endorsing political candidates. The Trump administration ended enforcement of that provision.

President Donald Trump is now speaking at the Rose Garden for the National Day of Prayer. Watch live here.

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Barr reportedly to skip House testimony after Senate grilling – live

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Trump’s attorney general testified before the Senate Wednesday after Mueller criticized his summary of the Trump-Russia investigation report

Here’s the full statement from House judiciary chair Jerry Nadler:

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler says if Attorney General William Barr doesn't provide the unredacted Mueller report to Congress in the next day or two, "the next step is seeking a contempt citation against the attorney general." https://t.co/muIkjgd0aT pic.twitter.com/s0q6kBctHw

Here’s attorney general William Barr’s full statement for why he won’t be testifying tomorrow before the House judiciary committee:

Barr’s statement makes clear that the sole basis for his refusal to testify before House Judiciary is that they intended to have a staff attorney ask questions.

Apparently Barr doesn’t want to face 30 minutes of well-crafted questions. pic.twitter.com/4pWMoFzKHp

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Mueller criticized attorney general’s memo on Russia findings

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In letter to Barr, special counsel said attorney general ‘did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance’ of investigation

The special counsel Robert Mueller wrote a letter to US attorney general William Barr expressing frustration with how the attorney general characterized the conclusions of Mueller’s investigation into potential ties between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia, according to multiple reports.

The Washington Post, the New York Times and NBC reported on Tuesday that Mueller penned the letter in late March, after Barr wrote a four-page summary of the special counsel’s work that largely cleared Trump on potential obstruction of justice.

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Trump’s record on white nationalism under new scrutiny after synagogue shooting

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Kellyanne Conway, the president’s counselor, sought to defend Trump’s record during CNN interview: ‘He does think it’s a threat’

The Trump administration faced fresh scrutiny on Sunday over the president’s fraught record on white nationalism in the wake of a suspected hate crime at a synagogue in California on Saturday, which left one woman dead and three injured.

Trump unequivocally condemned the shooting, telling a rally on Saturday evening in Wisconsin: “Our entire nation mourns the loss of life, prays for the wounded, and stands in solidarity with the Jewish community. We forcefully condemn the evil of anti-Semitism and hate, which must be defeated.”

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Barr threatens to skip House hearing on Mueller report over format dispute

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Attorney general has expressed objections to House judiciary committee’s questioning format, according to Democratic aide

The Department of Justice (DoJ) has informed the powerful House of Representatives judiciary committee that attorney general William Barr may not attend a Thursday hearing to review special counsel Robert Mueller’s report of the Trump-Russia investigation.

Barr has expressed objections over the panel’s questioning format, according to a senior Democratic committee aide.

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Trump one chapter of bad fiction in America’s true history, White House correspondents’ dinner told

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‘When you chip away at the press, you chip away at our democracy’, Pultitzer-winning historian Ron Chernow tells Trump-free event

As Donald Trump flailed his arms and railed against the media at a raucous campaign rally on Saturday night, a Pulitzer prize-winning historian delivered an elegantly scathing rebuke at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) annual dinner.

America the split screen nation – so evident in polarised reactions to special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian election interference – was on vivid display again in two speeches.

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Trump says he ‘will never ratify the UN arms treaty’ as he pulls US out – video

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Donald Trump has announced that the US will withdraw its support for a United Nations treaty regulating the global arms trade. Addressing the National Rifle Association in Indianapolis, the president said he would revoke the US’s status as a signatory of the arms trade treaty regulating conventional weapons including small arms, battle tanks, combat aircraft and warships. The NRA has long claimed the treaty poses a threat to the second amendment. NRA members stood, applauded and chanted ‘USA! USA!’ as Trump signed a letter to Congress halting the ratification process, then tossed his pen into the crowd.


Trump withdraws from UN arms treaty as NRA crowd cheers in delight

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Trump tells NRA second amendment rights ‘under assault’ – live

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Trump speaks at gun group’s conference in Indianapolis on same day Maria Butina given 18 months for conspiring to infiltrate NRA

•Joe Biden stopped short of apologizing to Anita Hill, in his first interview since announcing his presidential campaign. Told he had an opportunity to “apologize, say you’re sorry” for the way he handled Hill’s testimony during Clarence Thomas’ supreme court confirmation hearing, Biden equivocated. “I’m sorry she was treated the way she was treated. I wish we could have figured out a better way [to handle her testimony],” Biden said.

•Donald Trump claimed the second amendment was “under assault” in a typically free form speech to the National Rifle Association. The president also suggested he was “draining the [DC} swamp”, despite having appointed more than 350 lobbyists to government positions. Trump addressed the NRA at a time when the organization is seriously ailing. Tax filings for the right-wing gun-lobbying organization show it lost nearly $64m in 2016 and 2017.

It seems someone lobbed a phone at/in the general direction of Donald Trump as he came out to address the NRA. The president was unharmed.

whoever threw that phone has terrible aim if he/she was aiming for Trump https://t.co/CsO0IjJJ2B

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Trump claims ‘I did nothing wrong’ as Democrats talk impeachment – live

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The president has already been tweeting about the Mueller report this morning, ahead of two Democratic town halls today

This is also not true.

“Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson accuses United Kingdom Intelligence of helping Obama Administration Spy on the 2016 Trump Presidential Campaign.” @OANN WOW! It is now just a question of time before the truth comes out, and when it does, it will be a beauty!

GCHQ on Trump tweet: "As we have previously stated, the allegations that GCHQ was asked to conduct 'wire tapping' against the then President Elect are nonsense. They are utterly ridiculous and should be ignored."

While railing against the Mueller report this morning on Twitter, Trump said the 448-page document was crafted by “angry Democrats” and had unlimited money/$35m behind it - one lie and one maybe truth.

Not to mention, his suggestion that the Supreme Court could intervene in impeachment is something the Supreme Court ruled it wouldn’t do in 1993.

The Mueller Report, despite being written by Angry Democrats and Trump Haters, and with unlimited money behind it ($35,000,000), didn’t lay a glove on me. I DID NOTHING WRONG. If the partisan Dems ever tried to Impeach, I would first head to the U.S. Supreme Court. Not only......

.....are there no “High Crimes and Misdemeanors,” there are no Crimes by me at all. All of the Crimes were committed by Crooked Hillary, the Dems, the DNC and Dirty Cops - and we caught them in the act! We waited for Mueller and WON, so now the Dems look to Congress as last hope!

Related: Trump says aides need not testify to Congress amid growing power struggle

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Jared Kushner dubs Trump-Russia investigation ‘a big distraction’

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President’s son-in-law and senior adviser dismissed concerns about Russian spying operations at Time 100 summit

Jared Kushner has played down Russian interference in the 2016 US election, describing Moscow’s attack as “a bunch of Facebook ads” and calling Robert Mueller’s two-year special counsel investigation “a big distraction”.

Speaking at the Time 100 summit in New York City on Tuesday, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser dismissed concerns about Russian spying operations laid out in alarming detail over 199 pages of the Mueller report released last week.

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Don McGahn, ex-White House counsel, subpoenaed over Mueller report

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House judiciary committee chair demands McGahn testify before Congress as Democrats escalate investigation of Trump

The Democratic chairman of the House judiciary committee has issued a subpoena ordering that the former White House counsel Don McGahn testify before Congress. The move came as the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, vowed to hold Donald Trump to account following the release of Robert Mueller’s report on Russian influence on the 2016 US election.

Related: Giuliani rails against Mueller report as Democrats mull Trump impeachment

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Trump’s EPA wants to put a toxic mine in pristine Alaska. What could go wrong? | Kim Heacox

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Pebble Mine is just the latest story of greedy men exploiting nature for profit, and leaving us with the nasty side-effects

Back in my youth, while in Montana, I came across Berkeley Pit, called “the richest hill on earth.” There, churches and historic neighborhoods were bulldozed to expand the pit so greedy men could make their fortunes mining copper, silver and gold. After the riches were extracted, and problems arose, those men absolved themselves of any wrongdoing, and left. Over time, the mine closed and the pit began to fill with an acidic brew so toxic that when snow geese landed there, they died. As it threatened Montana’s groundwater, the pit became an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) superfund site that would cost American taxpayers billions of dollars for generations.

I fear the same awaits Alaska’s Pebble Mine, a nightmare proposed by the Canadian mining company, Northern Dynasty. Don’t be fooled by the name. For many Alaskans, Pebble is a boulder on their heart. If built, it would be a massive pit one mile in diameter and 600ft deep. It would obliterate 3,500 acres of wetlands and 80-plus miles of salmon streams, and produce an estimated 10 billion tons of waste. Earthen dams would hold back toxic mine tailings, all in earthquake country, in the headwaters of Bristol Bay, the richest sockeye salmon run in the world. What could go wrong?

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Giuliani rails against Mueller report as Democrats mull Trump impeachment

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As the White House mounted a furious assault on the Mueller report and critics of a president not found to have conspired with Russia but not cleared of obstruction of justice, the chair of the House judiciary committee said obstruction, if proven, “would be [an] impeachable” offence.

Related: Trump and impeachment: where Democrats stand after Mueller

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All the president’s men and women: how disobedient aides saved Trump

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Mueller report reveals how staff told to do illegal things did not but some say that doesn’t mean Trump is not guilty of a crime

The myth of Donald Trump presents him as a man of authority, a leader loved and feared, a boss who demands loyalty – and gets it.

Related: The 14 current Republican senators who voted to impeach or convict Bill Clinton

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Mueller report contains nearly 1,000 redactions – live updates

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Analysis counts up attorney general William Barr’s redactions, as House issues subpoena for version of the report without anything removed

Another former federal prosecutor weighs in on CNN:

If this was any person other than the president of the United States, I can say as a former prosecutor, this would be a knock-down case for obstruction,” said CNN legal analyst Elie Honig. “I’ve charged and convicted on obstruction of justice based on a fraction of this evidence.

- Elie Honig

"If this was any person other than the President of the United States...this would be a knock down case for obstruction of justice," says former federal prosecutor @eliehonig as he lays out his biggest takeaways from the Mueller report. https://t.co/QtOw6uvA9r pic.twitter.com/ydPr42khbg

In an opinion column for Politico, a former federal prosecutor describes the Mueller report as “case meticulously laid out by a prosecutor who knew he was not allowed to bring it.”

The case is so detailed that it is hard to escape the conclusion that Mueller could have indicted and convicted Trump for obstruction of justice—if he were permitted to do so. And the reason he is not permitted to do so is very clear: Department of Justice policy prohibits the indictment of a sitting president.”

"...if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgment." -Mueller report pic.twitter.com/PvYaWVAjb3

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Mueller’s report would have signaled the end for anyone other than Trump

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Analysis: activity discovered by Mueller was not, as Trump and his allies falsely insist, standard stuff for a political campaign

For all his bluster about being a master builder, Donald Trump really made his millions through branding. From chewy steaks to failing casinos, Trump has spent decades putting lucrative lipstick on pigs.

So when faced with a sprawling criminal investigation into how Russia worked to get him elected – and how he then repeatedly tried to obstruct the inquiry – the president devised a brutally effective public relations campaign.

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Mueller report: the key takeaways from the Trump-Russia investigation

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The special counsel found 11 instances in which Trump and his campaign’s actions may have amounted to obstruction of justice

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s highly-anticipated report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was made public on Thursday, examining potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Moscow and whether Donald Trump obstructed justice.

The special counsel found 11 “episodes” in which Trump’s actions may have amounted to obstruction of justice, detailing several instances in which the president’s demands to interfere with the investigation were blocked by his aides.

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Five key things to look for in the Mueller report

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Barr has said the report has two parts: one on Russian tampering efforts and one on alleged obstruction of justice by Trump

On Thursday, the US justice department is expected to release a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s long-awaited report on Russian election tampering and the Donald Trump campaign to the public. The attorney general, William Barr, has announced a press conference at the justice department at 9.30am to discuss it.

Related: Mueller report: redacted Trump-Russia findings to be released today – live

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Justice department discussed Mueller’s findings with White House, report says – as it happened

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Democrats condemn Barr’s handling of report’s release following news it will not come until after press conference

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that House Democrats, looking into President Trump’s financial interests, have subpoenaed JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America, Capital One Financial Corp., Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto Dominion Bank.

Investigators on the House Financial Services Committee and House Intelligence Committee have focused their early efforts on Deutsche Bank, which has said it in engaged “in a productive dialogue” with the committees.

Deutsche Bank’s relationship with Mr. Trump goes back decades. Since 1998, the bank has led or participated in loans of at least $2.5 billion to companies affiliated with Mr. Trump, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

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