Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
The Republican-led Senate judiciary committee now plans to take the first steps on legislation that would make it harder for President Donald Trump to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the latest sign that Trump could face a backlash from Capitol Hill if he sought to dismiss the special counsel. At the same time, the Senate panel is weighing whether to compel the appearance of Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, along with two senior FBI officials, all of whom have yet to agree to be interviewed despite the demands of committee leaders.
A web of President Donald Trump's family and associates will be back in the crosshairs of congressional committees investigating whether his campaign colluded with Russia, as well as of the high-wattage legal team assembled by special counsel Robert Mueller. As Congress returns from a summer recess, some of the attention will be focused squarely on the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who will meet privately in the coming weeks with staffers on the Senate judiciary and intelligence committees.
The Justice Department has reportedly given special counsel Robert Mueller the original letter that President Trump wanted to use as grounds for firing FBI Director James Comey, as part of Mueller's investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 White House race. The letter was written in the days before the May 9 firing of Comey but was never sent after objections from the president's lawyer and others, The Associated Press reported, citing two people familiar with the process but not authorized to discuss it publicly and who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The special counsel investigating potential ties between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia is reviewing a letter drafted by the President and a top aide in the days before the firing of FBI Director James Comey that lays out in detail why he wanted to get rid of him, according to people familiar with the Mueller probe. The Justice Department turned over a copy of the letter, which was drafted by Trump and top aide Stephen Miller, to special counsel Robert Mueller in recent weeks, the New York Times first reported Friday, citing interviews with a dozen administration officials and others briefed on the matter.
In this June 21, 2017, file photo, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, the special counsel probing Russian interference in the 2016 election, departs Capitol Hill following a closed door meeting in Washington. A grand jury used by Mueller has heard secret testimony from a Russian-American lobbyist who attended a June 2016 meeting with President Donald Trump's eldest son, The Associated Press has learned.
Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators are looking into whether former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn took part in efforts to obtain emails deleted from Hillary Clinton's private email server from Russian hackers, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. That 2016 effort was spearheaded by GOP donor and opposition researcher Peter Smith, who told the Journal in May that he lobbied several groups of hackers - two of which that may have included Russian operatives - in search of the roughly 33,000 emails.
President Donald J. Trump listens as the crowd cheers at a campaign rally at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena on August 3, 2017 in Huntington, West Virginia. One of President Donald Trump's lawyers in the Russia investigation has been sending messages of "appreciation" to FBI special counsel Robert Mueller's office on Trump's behalf, according to USA Today.
Trump, who has grown increasingly angry over the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller of Russian interference in last year's election, is using his Twitter account to argue that the probe is unwarranted and should be terminated. Mueller, a former FBI director, is looking into potential links between Russia and the Trump campaign in the presidential election.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is using a grand jury in Washington as part of an investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, a person familiar with the probe said Thursday. The use of a grand jury, a standard prosecution tool in criminal investigations, suggests that Mueller and his team of investigators are likely to hear from witnesses and demand documents in the coming weeks and months.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after briefing members of the U.S. Senate on his investigation into potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign on Capitol Hill on June 21, 2017. Special Counsel Robert Mueller began using a grand jury in federal court in Washington several weeks ago as part of his probe into possible coordination between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign, according to two people familiar with the investigation.
Two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are moving to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller's job, putting forth new legislation that aims to ensure the integrity of current and future independent investigations. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware plan to introduce the legislation Thursday.
The development is a sign that investigators continue to aggressively gather evidence in the case, and that Mueller is taking full control of a probe that predated him. The grand jury has issued subpoenas for documents related to the dealings of Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, the New York Times reported.
Two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are moving to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller's job, putting forth new legislation that aims to ensure the integrity of current and future independent investigations. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware plan to introduce the legislation Thursday.
In this June 21, 2017, file photo, Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after a closed-door meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee about Russian meddling in the election at the Capitol in Washington. In this June 21, 2017, file photo, Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after a closed-door meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee about Russian meddling in the election at the Capitol in Washington.
U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., is calling for the resignation of special counsel Robert Mueller, The Hill is reporting. Mueller is directing the Department of Justice's Russia probe and Franks claimed he is violating a law prohibiting him from serving if he has a "conflict of interest," according to the website.
House Republicans are intensifying their effort to have the Justice Department investigate Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, as they're seeking the same sort of special counsel probe President Donald Trump's campaign is now enduring. House Judiciary Committee Republicans detailed in a seven page letter to Justice a request for a special counsel to investigate "actions taken" by Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Top Republican lawmakers rallied to the defense of Jeff Sessions on Tuesday as allies of the attorney general said President Donald Trump appeared to be trying to pressure him to quit by repeatedly criticizing him on Twitter and in interviews. Trump said again he was frustrated that Sessions had recused himself from the federal investigation into possible collusion between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia and said he would not have appointed him had he known he would do so.
President Trump lashed out at the media in a Saturday morning tweetstorm, insisting his authority to issue pardons is "complete" and expressing frustration over stories that revealed Attorney General Jeff Sessions may have lied about his contacts with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign. "A new INTELLIGENCE LEAK from the Amazon Washington Post, this time against A.G. Jeff Sessions.
Rep. Adam Schiff, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, shot back at President Trump for suggesting Wednesday that he would be resistant to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigating his personal finances as part of the Russia probe. "Mueller has authority to investigate any ties Trump family has to Russia, including financial, and anything that arises," Schiff, D-Calif., tweeted.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, in an exclusive interview with Fox News that aired Wednesday night, stood by his recommendation that President Trump fire then-FBI Director James Comey and his hiring of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special counsel to oversee the Bureau's investigation into Russian activities during last year's election. "I've testified several times about this and yes, I do," Rosenstein told "The Story with Martha MacCallum" when asked if he stood by his now-famous memo recommending Comey's dismissal.