Tag: Special Counsel investigation (2017–present)

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From the Russia probe to the national emergency, it’s been a busy week in American politics. On Tuesday, The Times published an examination of President Trump’s actions that found the president had actively tried to undermine multiple investigations surrounding his administration. The rules governing the special counsel give Mr. Barr considerable flexibility in deciding how much information from the report he provides to Congress and the public. Democratic lawmakers want to ensure that every detail is shared. But Mr. Trump’s plan to build his border wall involves more than his invocation of emergency powers to redirect military construction funds. Additional Reading • Trump Claims His Wall Is Being Built. Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent and 2016 Democratic primary runner-up whose populist agenda has helped push the party to the left, announced on Tuesday that he was running again. In recent weeks, some Democratic candidates, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, have embraced race-conscious proposals that even the most left-wing elected officials once shied away from — like reparations for slavery. Additional Reading • Bernie Sanders Stumbled With Black Voters in 2016. • How Amy Klobuchar Treats Her Staff • Menendez and Booker, From Newark and the Senate to a Corruption Trial and 2020 Here’s what else happened this week: • Officials in North Carolina ordered a new election for the House race in the Ninth Congressional District after Mark Harris, the Republican whose apparent win is under investigation for voter fraud, called for a new vote himself.

Washington (CNN)Attorney General Bill Barr is preparing to announce as early as next week the completion of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, with plans for Barr to submit to Congress soon after a summary of Mueller's confidential report, according to people familiar with the plans. Under the special counsel regulations, Mueller must submit a "confidential" report to the attorney general at the conclusion of his work, but the rules don't require it to be shared with Congress, or by extension, the public. Barr would also need to inform Congress if the Justice Department prevented the special counsel team from pursuing any investigative steps. Trump said Wednesday that it's "totally up to Bill Barr" as to whether Mueller's report comes out while he is overseas in Vietnam next week. "That'll be totally up to the new attorney general. NBC News reported recently the probe would be done by mid-February. While the Mueller investigation may soon come to a close, there continue to be court cases that will be handled by other federal prosecutors. In addition, Mueller has referred certain matters that fell outside the scope of the Russia probe to other US Attorneys to pursue. And the grand jury that Mueller's prosecutors used to return indictments of longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and several Russians hasn't apparently convened since January 24 the day it approved the criminal charges against Stone. But also visiting them more often than ever before are the prosecutors from the DC US Attorney's Office and others in the Justice Department who've worked on the Mueller cases.

The FBI has revealed that is has secured funding to build as many as THREE walls for Donald Trump, as well as a set of bars. With Robert Mueller beginning to wrap up his investigation into alleged collusion between Trump and Russia, the FBI has said they will build as many as three walls for the president. Should Trump Build Our Wall - National Opinion Poll Do you think Trump should fulfill his campaign promise to build a wall along our border? conservativebuzz.com ‘They probably won’t be as big as he was hoping though,’ admitted one FBI agent. The walls will stop anyone getting in or out of the secure location, which is exactly what Trump wished for. It’s hoped that the news will cheer up President Trump enough for him to end the government shutdown. ‘President Trump has already purchased over two thousand dollars worth of fast food. Although he refuses to share it with anybody,’ said a White House staffer.

President Donald Trump has bragged that he surrounds himself with only “the best people.” After a year and a half of the Robert Mueller investigation into Russian interference in our 2016 presidential election, “best” has been redefined. The scope of their involvement with and for Russian efforts is astounding and sprawling, like a complex spider’s web with Trump at its center. These “best people” have displayed callous arrogance matched only by their stupidity. There is not sufficient space to detail their involvements and legal jeopardy they face. Google them. To date, seven of his “best people” have been found guilty of either conspiracy, false statements, bank fraud, ID theft, campaign finance violations or some other corruption. Another group, all Americans, currently on Mueller’s radar for meeting with Russians includes Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Jeff Sessions, Michael Flynn and 11 more. Mueller has also indicted 12 GRU (formerly KGB) officers, 13 Russian nationals, and three Russian companies – all variously charged with conspiracy, ID theft and hacking of computer servers. One Russian, Maria Butina, has been arrested, tried, and pleaded guilty to infiltrating U.S. political organizations. She arranged for funds from Russia to be given to the NRA to sway voters.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed a memorandum Tuesday recommending a lenient sentence -- with the possibility of no prison time -- for convicted former national security adviser Michael Flynn, and stating that Flynn has offered "substantial" help to investigators about "several ongoing investigations." The bombshell release comes as additional sentencing memorandums are expected within days in the cases of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen and ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort, amid multiple reports and indications that the long-running Mueller probe into ties between President Trump's team and Russia is winding down. Responding to the documents' release, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani told Fox News that Mueller was "spitting on the sidewalk, with major repercussions for many.” He added that there was nothing in the sentencing memo to suggest collusion between the Trump team and Russia, and denounced the Mueller team as “overzealous media inspired prosecutors" and "sick puppies.” The new documents do not provide specifics about what exactly Mueller has learned from Flynn, but they indicate he provided "documents and communications" about his time working with the Trump administration during the presidential transition period. Mueller's addendum to the memorandum states that Flynn has "assisted with several ongoing investigations," including the Russia probe and an apparently separate "criminal investigation." It continues: "Several senior members of the transition team publicly repeated false information conveyed to them by the defendant about communications between him and the Russian ambassador regarding the sanctions." Flynn was under investigation by the Justice Department for that work when he became national security adviser. The plea deal said Flynn’s cooperation may include answering questions, taking government-administered polygraph examinations, providing sworn statements and participating in “covert law enforcement activities.” Mueller’s team has entered plea agreements with several Trump associates, including former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who the special counsel now alleges breached their plea deal by lying to investigators. Mueller’s team also entered a deal last week with former longtime Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen, after he pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress regarding his description of the Trump Organization’s plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Former senior Justice Department official James Trusty told Fox News that the guilty pleas related to making false statements “do[] not suggest a particularly successful investigation.” “It’s heavy on false statements charges, and that doesn’t suggest that it’s moving in the right direction for the prosecution,” Trusty said. Trump has denied asking Comey to drop the investigation, but that conversation between the fired FBI director and the president is reportedly one under scrutiny by the special counsel’s office as he investigates whether Trump attempted to obstruct the Russia investigation.

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser provided so much information to the special counsel’s Russia investigation that prosecutors say he shouldn’t do any prison time, according to a court filing Tuesday that describes Michael Flynn’s cooperation as “substantial.” The filing by special counsel Robert Mueller provides the first details of Flynn’s assistance in the Russia investigation, including that he participated in 19 interviews with prosecutors. This week, Trump lashed out at his former legal fixer, Michael Cohen, saying he is making up “stories” to get a reduced prison sentence after his latest guilty plea to lying to Congress. That episode is among those under scrutiny by Mueller as he probes whether Trump attempted to obstruct the Russia investigation. Most notably, Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, aggressively fought the investigation and is now facing the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence after his cooperation agreement recently fell apart over allegations that he had lied to investigators. Stone has also waged a public campaign against Mueller. Flynn’s false statements stemmed from a Jan. 24, 2017, interview with the FBI about his and others’ interactions with Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s then-ambassador to the U.S., as the Obama administration was levying sanctions on the Kremlin in response to election interference. As part of his plea deal, Flynn said members of Trump’s inner circle, including his son-in-law and White House aide Jared Kushner, were involved in — and at times directing — his actions in the weeks before Trump took office. During those conversations with Kislyak, Flynn asked Russia to delay or vote against the resolution, a request the Kremlin ultimately rejected. Flynn was forced to resign his post on Feb. 13, 2017, after news reports revealed that Obama administration officials had warned the Trump White House about Flynn’s false statements. Flynn was under investigation by the Justice Department for the work when he became national security adviser.

Good Thursday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. • James A. Baker, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s former top lawyer, told congressional officials that he had taken seriously a suggestion by the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, to secretly tape conversations with President Trump, but that the idea was dismissed within days. Read the story. • The Justice Department said that a Chinese intelligence officer was arrested in Belgium and brought to the United States to face espionage charges, a first. Read the story. It could be a sign that the Mueller investigation is coming to a close. Read the story. Read the story. But a financial disaster may be coming, and just in time for a new governor.

Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. • Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee, and the woman who accused him of sexual assault are set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week. [Read the story] • Mr. Trump said the United States would impose tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and was prepared to tax all imports. [Read the story] • The special counsel asked a federal judge to schedule sentencing this fall for Michael Flynn, Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser. [Read the story] • The House Oversight Committee will investigate the potential misuse of government vehicles by FEMA’s chief, Brock Long. [Read the story] • Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, may run for president as a Democrat in 2020, despite his views on stop-and-frisk police tactics and the #MeToo movement. [Read the story] • Hillary Clinton, in an essay posted by The Atlantic, accused Mr. Trump of ignoring the law, dividing the country and serving himself above all. [Read the story] A spotlight on the people reshaping our politics. A conversation with voters across the country. • President Moon Jae-in of South Korea arrived for a meeting with Kim Jong-un to work toward declaring the end of the Korean War.

Paul Manafort: Trump's ex-campaign chair agrees to cooperate with Mueller Read more “I think these people know everything already,” said Credico, who was there to answer questions about his old friend Roger Stone, a sometime adviser to Donald Trump. “They have all the information.” “All the information” grew significantly on Friday, as Mueller announced that the former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort had entered into a cooperation agreement with prosecutors requiring him to testify indefinitely about any matter of interest to investigators, potentially including the inner workings of the campaign, its contacts with Russia, Trump family business dealings in Russia or his own contacts with Russia. His central mission is to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election and alleged cooperation by the Trump presidential campaign. Will Roger Stone be indicted? Roger Stone says he may soon be indicted in Trump-Russia investigation Read more Following the money Federal prosecutors are investigating suspect money flows during and after the election, although it is unclear how much of that investigation is in Mueller’s purview versus how much is being run, for example, out of the US attorney’s office for the southern district of New York. Prosecutors are investigating large overseas money flows following the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between campaign officials and Russian operatives, and also following the November 2016 election, BuzzFeed reported on Wednesday. Money flows originally tipped prosecutors off to the crimes of the former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty last month to fraud charges and campaign finance violations in a prosecution referred by Mueller. Trump and obstruction of justice Mueller is also believed to be investigating Trump, who denies all wrongdoing, for alleged obstruction of justice. The president’s legal team, led by Rudy Giuliani, appears to be in negotiations with Mueller. He has contradicted himself, saying last week that Trump would refuse to answer any questions about obstruction of justice, and then saying “we’re not closing it off 100%”.