Exclusive: McConnell-linked groups, flush with cash, plan $16 million advertising blitz in August

WASHINGTON Political groups aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell started July with nearly $44 million in available cash and will unleash a major advertising onslaught next month, according to figures figured provided first to USA TODAY. One Nation, the best-financed group in the McConnell orbit, plans to spend $16 million in August in five Senate contests crucial to Republicans.

Lawmakers condemn White House suggestion that Kremlin could interrogate former US ambassador

Lawmakers and former intelligence officials are expressing outrage over the White House suggesting it is considering a proposal from the Kremlin to potentially interrogate a group of Americans including a former U.S. ambassador. In an exchange during the White House briefing Wednesday, press secretary Sarah Sanders would not rule out the possibility that the U.S. could provide Russia access to a group of Americans they have accused of being involved in a criminal plot.

White House: Trump reverses course and now ‘disagrees’ with …

President Trump initially praised idea floated by Russian leader Vladimir Putin to allow special counsel Robert Mueller's team to interview Russians indicted over election meddling, in exchange for Kremlin questioning of Americans. The White House on Thursday walked back President Trump's exuberant endorsement of a bizarre proposal made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Thiessen: Trump remarks were an embarrassment, not a disaster Posted at

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting to get a different result, which is one of the many reasons President Trump's news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed so insane. Trump is trying to do something that both of his immediate predecessors tried to do: turn over a new leaf with Russia.

Democratic Voters Want Fresh Face In 2020, Poll Reveals

While Chappaqua's Hillary Clinton, Vermont's Bernie Sanders and Delaware's Joe Biden are considered presidential contenders in 2020, three-out-of-four Democratic voters think their party needs to back someone new. However, a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 73 percent of likely Democratic voters believe their party should seek a fresh face to run for president in 2020.

Ex-DNI chief confirms Trump was briefed on Putina s involvement in 2016 election

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper confirmed Thursday that Donald Trump was briefed on US intelligence findings that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered cyberattacks to attempt to sway the 2016 presidential election. Clapper told CNN's "New Day" that he and other intelligence officers briefed Trump, who was President-elect at the time, and his team on January 6, 2017.

Letter: Strzok, FBI unapologetic but Trump’s doubts about US intelligence are criticized?

JULY 12: Deputy Assistant FBI Director Peter Strzok speaks during a joint committee hearing of the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill July 12, 2018 in Washington, DC. While involved in the probe into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server in 2016, Strzok exchanged text messages with FBI attorney Lisa Page that were critical of Trump.

.com | WATCH: Trump says he told Putin ‘we can’t have meddling’ in US vote

Under fire as siding with the Kremlin, US President Donald Trump insisted on Wednesday that he told Russian leader Vladimir Putin firmly during their summit in Helsinki that the United States would not tolerate meddling in its elections. "I let him know we can't have this, we're not going to have it, and that's the way it's going to be," Trump said in an interview with CBS.

White House struggles to contain fallout from Trump-Putin summit

Trump, facing a political uproar over his failure to confront Putin during their Helsinki summit on Monday over Russia's 2016 U.S. election meddling, adopted his usual defiant posture, calling his critics deranged. Asked by reporters before a morning Cabinet meeting at the White House whether Russia was still targeting the United States, Trump shook his head and said, "No."

The Latest: Schumer wants hearings on what Trump told Putin

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticizes President Donald Trump's performance during his side-by-side news conference with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, as he speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, July 16, 2018.

Editorial: Details of indictment rebut denials of Russian interference

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin pose for a photograph at the beginning of a one-on-one meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, Monday. In a news conference following their meeting in Helsinki Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin both addressed questions about the indictment of 12 Russians amid allegations that Russia attempted to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Trump returns from summit with Putin to forceful criticism

In an extraordinary embrace of a longtime U.S. enemy, President Donald Trump openly questioned his own intelligence agencies' firm finding that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. election to his benefit, seeming to accept Russian President Vladimir Putin's insistence that Moscow's hands were clean. The reaction back home was immediate and visceral, among fellow Republicans as well as usual Trump critics.

Trump labelled – weak’ after questioning US intelligence on election meddling

US president Donald Trump openly questioned his own intelligence agencies' finding that Russia meddled in the 2016 US election, seeming to accept Vladimir Putin's insistence that Moscow's hands were clean. "Shameful," "disgraceful," and "weak" were a few of the comments, while senator Bob Corker said it makes the US "look like a pushover".

President Trump Doubts Meddling Reports

In an extraordinary embrace of a longtime U.S. enemy, President Donald Trump on Monday openly questioned his own intelligence agencies' firm finding that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. election to his benefit, seeming to accept Russian President Vladimir Putin's insistence that Moscow's hands were clean. Trump's meeting with Putin in Helsinki was his first time sharing the international stage with a man he has described as an important U.S. competitor - but whom he has also praised a strong, effective leader.

CNN’s Cooper calls Trump’s summit performance ‘disgraceful’

NEW YORK - Seconds after President Donald Trump's news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin ended Monday, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper called the American leader's performance "disgraceful." It was the most startling of several strong media reactions to the session, televised live by the largest American broadcasters and cable news networks, primarily because of Cooper's role.