The Russian ambassador. A deputy prime minister. A pop star, a weightlifter, a lawyer, a Soviet army veteran with alleged intelligence ties.
Again and again and again, over the course of Donald Trump’s 18-month campaign for the presidency, Russian citizens made contact with his closest family and friends, as well as figures on the periphery of his orbit.
Some offered to help his campaign and his real estate business. Some offered dirt on his Democratic opponent. Repeatedly, Russian nationals suggested Trump should hold a peacemaking sit-down with Vladimir Putin — and offered to broker such a summit.
In all, Russians interacted with at least 14 Trump associates during the campaign and presidential transition, public records and interviews show.
“It is extremely unusual,” said Michael McFaul, who served as ambassador to Russia under President Barack Obama. “Both the number of contacts and the nature of the contacts are extraordinary.”
As special counsel Robert S. Mueller III slowly unveils the evidence that he has gathered since his appointment in May 2017, he has not yet shown that any of the dozens of interactions between people inTrump’s orbit and Russiansresulted in any specific coordination between his presidential campaign and Russia.
But the mounting number ofcommunications that have been revealed occurred against the backdrop of “sustained efforts by the Russian government to interfere with the U.S. presidential election,” as Mueller’s prosecutors wrote in a court filing last week.
The special counsel’s filings have also revealed moments when Russia appeared to be taking cues from Trump. In July 2016, the then-GOP candidate said at a news conference, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” referring to messages Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton had deleted from a private account. That day, the Russians made their first effort to break into servers used by Clinton’s personal office, according to court documents.
As Americans began to grip the reality that a hostile foreign power took active steps to shape the outcome of the race, Trump and his advisers asserted they had no contact with Russia.
Two days after Trump was elected president, a top Kremlin official caused a stir by asserting that Trump’s associates were in contact with the Russian government before the election.
“I don’t say that all of them, but a whole array of them supported contacts with Russian representatives,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Interfax news agency on Nov. 10, 2016.
The claim was met with a hail of denials. Hope Hicks, then Trump’s top spokeswoman, responded, “It never happened. There was no communication between the campaign and any foreign entity during the campaign.”
After Trump took office, in February 2017, he reiterated the denial. “No. Nobody that I know of,” the presidenttold reporters when asked whether anyone who advised his campaign had contact with Russia. “I have nothing to do with Russia. To the best of my knowledge, no person that I deal with does.”
It is now clear that wasn’t true.
Trump’s oldest children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, interacted withRussians who were offering to help the candidate.
Ivanka’s husband, top campaign adviser Jared Kushner, as well as Trump’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort, his personal lawyer Michael Cohen and his longest-serving political adviser, Roger Stone, also had contact with Russian nationals.
Veterans ofpast White House bids said that so much interplay with representatives of a foreign adversary is highly unusual.
“This is different in kind than anything I have ever heard of before,” said Trevor Potter, who served as general counsel to Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign in 2008. McCain, he noted, traveled the globe as a member of the Senate, but his contacts with foreign government officials generally occurred in consultation with the State Department and involved questions of policy — not personal business or his own electoral concerns.
The number of known interactions has grown since last year, when The Washington Post tallied that at least nine Trump associates had contacts with Russians during the campaign or presidential transition.
At the time, then-White House lawyer Ty Cobb said, “I think the American public can fully appreciate that those are isolated, obviously disconnected events, quite small in number for a presidential campaign.”
Trump attorney Jay Sekulow declined to comment on Sunday.
The president has repeatedly denied that people close to him coordinated with Russia, tweeting frequently, “NO COLLUSION!”
New court documents filed by Mueller’s prosecutors in the past two weeks revealed the Russian outreach was more extensive than previously known.
In November 2015, Cohen spoke with a Russian national who claimed to be a “trusted person” in the Russian Federation offering the campaign “political synergy” and “synergy on a government level,” according to a memo filed by the special counsel Friday.
The Russian national repeatedly proposed a meeting between Trump and Putin, prosecutors wrote, saying that a sit-down between the two men could have a “phenomenal” impact because there is “no bigger warranty in any project” than Putin’s backing.
The details of the episode matches descriptions of an interaction Cohen had at the time with Dmitry Klokov, a well-connected Russian athlete, which was first reported by BuzzFeed News.
An Olympic weightlifter turned entrepreneur, Klokov sells training equipment, clothing and fitness programs worldwide from his base in Moscow.
Asked on Saturday via a message to his Instagram account about his reported communications with Cohen, Klokov responded with three laughing-in-tears emoji and the words: “This is someone’s nonsense.”
Klokov’s wife reached out to Ivanka Trump in October 2015, saying she had connections in the Russian government and could help her father build a Trump Tower in Moscow, a project he had long sought, according to a person familiar with the interaction.
Ivanka Trump did not know the woman but forwarded her contact information to Cohen, who later connected with Klokov, the people familiar with the exchanges said.
After an initial conversation, prosecutors said Cohen did not pursue a meeting through the Russian national because he believed he already had connections to the Russian government through a business partner.
That partner, Russian-born developerFelix Sater, said in an interviewthat he had been unaware of Cohen’s contact with Klokov.
Cohen, who had worked for Trump for a decade and urged him to run for president years before the celebrity mogul launched his bid in 2015, was focused on his boss’s relationship with Russia from the campaign’s earliest days.
In September 2015, Cohen told Sean Hannity during an appearance on the Fox News host’s radio program that there was a “better than likely” chance that Trump and Putin would meet while Putin was in New York for the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly then underway.
“People want to meet Donald Trump. They want to know Donald Trump,” Cohen told Hannity.
Last week, prosecutors revealed Cohen admitted he conferred with Trump about the idea “before reaching out to gauge Russia’s interest in such a meeting.”
Mueller said Cohen has corrected past misstatements about “his outreach to the Russian government during the week of the United Nations General Assembly.” Court filings provided no additional details about the outreach.
The special counsel also revealed in recent weeks that Cohen communicated with the Kremlin about efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen spoke by phone with an assistant to Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, after asking Peskov for government help propelling the project.
Prosecutors called the real estate development — pursued even as Trump was campaigning for the Republican nomination — a “lucrative business opportunity” that could have produced hundreds of millions for Trump’s company, noting that it probably would have required Russian government help for completion.
Mueller also indicated that his team hasbeen gathering evidence about Manafort’s interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian army veteran who worked for Manafort in the Kiev office of his political consulting company.
Mueller’s team accused Manafort of lying repeatedly in interviews with investigators about his interactions with Kilimnik, who has been assessed by the FBI to have ties to Russian intelligence and met with Manafort twice during the campaign.
Details about those alleged falsehoods were redacted from the filing.
The Post has previously reported that Manafort asked Kilimnik to extend an offer of “private briefings” about the campaign to Oleg Deripaska, a top Russian businessman who is close to Putin. Deripaska’s spokeswoman has said no such briefings took place.
Some outreach came directly from the Russian government. Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak met several Trump advisers, including then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), at the Republican National Convention. Trump aide Carter Page has said he was greeted by Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich after delivering a speech in Moscow in July 2016.
People close to Trump were twice offered damaging information about Clinton, a particular foe of Putin whom he blamed for fomenting protests against his regime while she was secretary of state.
In June 2016, Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. met with a Russian lawyer, whom he was told would providedirt on Clinton. The meeting was arranged by billionaire Moscow developer Aras Agalarov and his pop star son Emin.
The attendees of the Trump Tower gathering, which also included Manafort and Kushner, saidlawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya offered nothing helpful. But several attendees described to congressional investigatorsTrump Jr.’s eagerness for the Russian’s assistance, according to transcripts of their testimony.
In addition, Russians repeatedly suggested a meeting between Trump and Putin might be a good idea.
Months after the Russian weightlifter broached the idea of such a summit with Cohen, Ivan Timofeev, a director of a Moscow think tank with ties to the Russian foreign ministry, discussed a Trump-Putin meeting with George Papadopoulos, a Trump foreign policy adviser.
A London-based professor also connected Papadopoulos to a Russian woman whom the Trump adviser believed was Putin’s niece.
Some of the interactions between Trump associates and Russians were low-level, speculative discussions.
“The kind of people we are talking about are not the kind of people you talk to about U.S.-Russia relations, the future of the START [Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty] treaty and so on,” McFaul said.
But he said the Russians would have taken note of the willingness of Trump aides to engage.
“I think the Russians would nurture those contacts and see them as a way to establish relationships that could be useful for Putin and his government,” he said.
Anton Troianovski and Amie Ferris-Rotman in Moscow contributed to this report.
NEW: THE PRESIDENT’S WEEK AHEAD: MONDAY: President Donald Trump is having lunch with Vice President Mike Pence. TUESDAY: Trump is having lunch with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. WEDNESDAY: The president will participate in an “Opportunity Zones” event. THURSDAY: Trump will meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and have a discussion with governors-elect.
SUNDAY BEST … MUELLER FALLOUT EDITION: JAKE TAPPER spoke with REP. JERRY NADLER (D-N.Y.) on CNN’S “STATE OF THE UNION”: TAPPER: “If it is proven that the president directed or coordinated with [Michael] Cohen to commit these felonies, if it’s proven — and I understand it has not yet been — it’s been alleged by the prosecutors, but has not been proven. If it’s proven, is — are those impeachable offenses?”
NADLER: “Well, they would be impeachable offenses. Whether they are important enough to justify an impeachment is a different question. But, certainly, they would be impeachable offenses, because, even though they were committed before the president became president, they were committed in the service of fraudulently obtaining the office. That would be the — that would be an impeachable offense.”
— TAPPER also spoke with SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FLA.): TAPPER: “If it is proven that the president directed an aide to commit felonies to influence the election, what should the repercussions be?” RUBIO: “Well, again, we’re speculating, right, because we don’t know what additional information the Justice Department have. … If someone has violated the law, the — the application of the law should be applied to them, like it would to any other citizen in this country. And, obviously, if you’re in a position of great authority, like the presidency, that would be the case.”
— RUBIO on “FACE THE NATION” with MARGARET BRENNAN: “There’s no reason to not stand by anybody in this moment. There are pleadings there are cases there are evidence, we’re gonna wait for all of it to be out there. And I would caution everyone to wait for all of it to be out there until you make judgment.”
— CHUCK TODD talked with SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY.) on NBC’S “MEET THE PRESS”: TODD: “Why do you think that the story keeps changing in and around the president. If all of these things are as innocent as you’ve said, why does he keep changing his story?” PAUL: “I think we’re trying to make and find a crime. This has been my overall complaint about the process — about having these special prosecutors: is that really, they find a person and they look for a crime. Traditional justice in our country is, someone steals something from the grocery store and you have a crime, you try to find out who did it.
“With a special prosecutor you decide, we’re going after someone, the president, and we’re going to squeeze as many people as we can until we can try to get a person. And that’s why I’m against these special prosecutors. I think they’re a huge mistake. I think they’re a huge abuse of government power.”
— MARTHA RADDATZ spoke with CHRIS CHRISTIE on ABC NEWS’ “THIS WEEK”: RADDATZ: “And Gov. Christie, if you were still a U.S. attorney, would you indict the president?” CHRISTIE: “Well, first off, there’s Justice Department policy which says that you can’t indict a president. So my guess is that I wouldn’t and that I’d follow Justice Department policy. …
“I thought the Michael Cohen situation was much more perilous for the White House then was Bob Mueller. There’s no Russian collusion, there’s been no proof of Russian collusion. And I don’t think there’s going to be. It doesn’t appear to me there will be. This is the stuff that’s much more — should be much more concerning to the White House legal team. And that language is very, very strong and very definitive, so the prosecutors better have corroboration, because if they don’t and they just go by Michael Cohen that’s a problem, but if they do have corroboration that could be a problem for the White House.”
Good Sunday morning. WHAT’S ON THE PRESIDENT’S MIND — @realDonaldTrump at 8:38 a.m.: “On 245 occasions, former FBI Director James Comey told House investigators he didn’t know, didn’t recall, or couldn’t remember things when asked. Opened investigations on 4 Americans (not 2) — didn’t know who signed off and didn’t know Christopher Steele. All lies!”
… at 8:53 a.m.: “Leakin’ James Comey must have set a record for who lied the most to Congress in one day. His Friday testimony was so untruthful! This whole deal is a Rigged Fraud headed up by dishonest people who would do anything so that I could not become President. They are now exposed!”
SPOTTED at the Army-Navy game on Saturday in Philly (Army won 17-10): President Donald Trump (who visited the group for an hour), Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, HR and Katie McMaster, Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), David Solomon, Dave Urban and Kellie Mooney, David McCormick and Dina Powell, Ambassador Jeanne Phillips, Josh Raffel, Virginia Boney, Dan Scavino, Jordan Karem, Tony Sayegh, Vinnie Viola, Ralph Reed, Tommy Hicks, Manus Cooney and Luis Alberto Moreno.
FROM 30,000 FEET — WAPO’S BOB COSTA and PHIL RUCKER: “‘Siege warfare’: Republican anxiety spikes as Trump faces growing legal and political perils”: “A growing number of Republicans fear that a battery of new revelations in the far-reaching Russia investigation has dramatically heightened the legal and political danger to Donald Trump’s presidency — and threatens to consume the rest of the party, as well.
“President Trump added to the tumult Saturday by announcing the abrupt exit of his chief of staff, John F. Kelly, whom he sees as lacking the political judgment and finesse to steer the White House through the treacherous months to come.
“Trump remains headstrong in his belief that he can outsmart adversaries and weather any threats, according to advisers. In the Russia probe, he continues to roar denials, dubiously proclaiming that the latest allegations of wrongdoing by his former associates ‘totally clear’ him. But anxiety is spiking among Republican allies, who complain that Trump and the White House have no real plan for dealing with the Russia crisis while confronting a host of other troubles at home and abroad.” WaPo
— NYT’S PETER BAKER and NICK FANDOS: “Prosecutors’ Narrative Is Clear: Trump Defrauded Voters. But What Does It Mean?”: “The latest revelations by prosecutors investigating President Trump and his team draw a portrait of a candidate who personally directed an illegal scheme to manipulate the 2016 election and whose advisers had more contact with Russia than Mr. Trump has ever acknowledged. In the narrative that the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, and New York prosecutors are building, Mr. Trump continued to secretly seek to do business in Russia deep into his presidential campaign even as Russian agents made more efforts to influence him.
“At the same time, in this account he ordered hush payments to two women to suppress stories of impropriety in violation of campaign finance law. The prosecutors made clear in a sentencing memo filed on Friday that they viewed efforts by Mr. Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, to squelch the stories as nothing less than a perversion of a democratic election — and by extension they effectively accused the president of defrauding voters, questioning the legitimacy of his victory.” NYT
MORE SUNDAY BEST — FOX NEWS SUNDAY: “Kudlow: U.S.-China trade talks ‘on track’,” by Martin Matishak: “White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Sunday insisted that U.S.-China trade talks are moving in a ‘positive’ direction, despite mixed signals from top Trump administration officials and the arrest of the chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei.
“‘We are on track,’ Kudlow said on ‘Fox News Sunday’ when asked about the stock market’s 1,100 point drop over the course of last week, pointing to ‘promising’ statements from Beijing’s commerce department and government agencies. … ‘I don’t think there’s much daylight between Peter and I,’ according to Kudlow. ‘I really think that’s an exaggerated point.’
“He also said that President Donald Trump ‘did not know’ of the plan to arrest Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada when hammering out trade details with his Chinese counterpart at the G-20 summit last week. ‘He learned way later,’ Kudlow said. ‘And he had no reaction afterward.’” POLITICO
2020 WATCH — ELIANA JOHNSON, “Kelly exit helps position Trump for 2020”: “Brian Jack, the deputy White House political director, is expected to replace [Bill] Stepien as White House political director. White House aides predicted that [Nick] Ayers, if tapped despite internal opposition to his selection, would focus the West Wing almost entirely on the president’s reelection effort. ‘You’re going to have a White House that’s all politics all the time,’ said a former White House official, who predicted a transformation of the West Wing into a ‘quasi-campaign operation.’ …
“Among other things, Kelly knocked Kushner for trying to play a sort of ‘boy secretary of state,’ according to a former White House official, and looked down on the first daughter for what he perceived were efforts to burnish her image at the expense of the White House, according to a former White House official.” POLITICO
— NYT’S ANNIE KARNI and MAGGIE HABERMAN: “Mr. Trump has settled on Nick Ayers, a youthful but experienced political operative who serves as chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, as his top choice to replace Mr. Kelly … But Mr. Ayers, 36, who has young children and wants to return home to Georgia with his family, has so far agreed to serve only on an interim basis through the spring. Mr. Trump, who does not want more turnover, is pressing Mr. Ayers to agree to a more permanent stay …
“If the president ultimately turns to another candidate, potential choices include the Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin; his budget director, Mick Mulvaney; and the United States trade representative, Robert Lighthizer. … In the residence on Friday night, the president and Mr. Kelly agreed that the departing chief would break his own news on Monday, announcing his exit to senior White House staff members. But Mr. Trump ultimately broke the news himself on Saturday afternoon.” NYT
WSJ: “Details Emerge in U.S.’s Trade Truce With China,” by Lingling Wei in Beijing and Bob Davis: “A week after President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping struck a trade truce in Buenos Aires, details of the ceasefire are becoming clear—big Chinese purchases, tough negotiations and shifting deadlines to finish a deal.
“Interviews with officials in both countries, briefed on the Trump-Xi talks, give a fuller picture of the agreement the two men reached. The two sides agreed on a negotiating period of about 90 days, during which the U.S. won’t raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25%, as it had planned to do on Jan. 1.
“Beijing and Washington also agreed that China will purchase large amounts of goods and services, with China pledging to announce soybean and natural-gas purchases in the coming weeks, said officials in both nations. Beijing is also considering reducing tariffs on U.S. automobiles.” WSJ
SCOOP — “Trump first wanted his attorney general pick William Barr for another job: Defense lawyer,” by Yahoo’s Mike Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman: “In late spring 2017, President Trump was having a hard time finding a topflight lawyer to spearhead his defense in the sprawling Russian investigation conducted by the new special counsel Robert Mueller. Some of the most prominent litigators in Washington had turned aside overtures to represent the president in the case, expressing concerns that he would not listen to their advice anyway. Around that time, sources tell Yahoo News, White House officials reached out to a man they thought would be an ideal candidate: William P. Barr, the attorney general under President George H.W. Bush.
“An outspoken conservative, Barr had gotten on Trump’s radar screen that spring after he had written a newspaper op-ed vigorously defending the president’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey. At one point, Barr was ushered into a brief White House meeting with Trump, who asked him if he was interested in the job, according to a source who was present for the meeting. Barr demurred. He had other obligations, he said. He would have to think about it.” Yahoo
2020 WATCH – “Beto O’Rourke Emerges as the Wild Card of the 2020 Campaign-in-Waiting,” by NYT’s Matt Flegenheimer and Jonathan Martin: “Representative Beto O’Rourke of Texas has emerged as the wild card of the presidential campaign-in-waiting for a Democratic Party that lacks a clear 2020 front-runner.
“After a star-making turn in his close race against Senator Ted Cruz, Mr. O’Rourke is increasingly serious about a 2020 run — a development that is rousing activists in early-voting states, leading veterans of former President Barack Obama’s political operation (and Mr. Obama himself) to offer their counsel and hampering would-be rivals who are scrambling to lock down influential supporters and strategists as future campaign staff.” NYT
SNL LAST NIGHT – “Trump Brothers Bedtime Cold Open”: “Donald Trump Jr. (Mikey Day) puts Eric Trump (Alex Moffat) to bed when an unexpected visitor, Robert Mueller (Robert De Niro), stops by to chat.” 5-min. video
PLAYBOOK READS
DOWN IN NORTH CAROLINA … — “North Carolina’s ‘Guru of Elections’: Can-Do Operator Who May Have Done Too Much,” by NYT’s Richard Fausset, Alan Blinder, Sydney Ember and Timothy Williams in Bladenboro, N.C. and Serge F. Kovaleski in N.Y.: “In this rural region near the state’s southern border, where candidates are often intimately known as neighbors, friends or enemies, [L. McRae] Dowless ran a do-it-all vote facilitating business that was part of the community fabric. … Dozens of interviews and an examination of thousands of pages of documents portray Dowless, a former car salesman, as a local political opportunist who was quick to seek ballots, collect them or offer rides to the polls.
“He employed a network of part-time helpers, some of them his own relatives, who, lured by promises of swift cash payments, would fan out across southeastern North Carolina in get-out-the-vote efforts for whichever candidate happened to be footing that year’s bill.” NYT
DAVID SIDERS in Manhattan Beach, Calif.: “Progressives rail against bandwagon Democrats”: “Progressive Democrats are beginning to confront an unintended consequence of their own success: Dilution of the brand.
“So many Democratic presidential prospects are now claiming the progressive mantle in advance of the 2020 primaries that liberal leaders are trying to institute a measure of ideological quality control, designed to ensure the party ends up with a nominee who meets their exacting standards.
“Leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus are discussing policy platforms that could serve as a litmus test for presidential contenders. Progressive donors, meanwhile, are plotting steps — ranging from closer engagement with campaigns to ultimatums tied to fundraising — to ensure that Medicare for All, debt-free college and a non-militaristic foreign policy, among other causes, remain at the center of the upcoming campaign. In an effort to winnow the burgeoning field, progressive advocacy groups are beginning to poll supporters in the hopes of elevating candidates who gain the imprimatur of the left.” POLITICO
GREAT READ — “The Wooing of Jared Kushner: How the Saudis Got a Friend in the White House,” by NYT’s David D. Kirkpatrick, Ben Hubbard, Mark Landler and Mark Mazzetti: “Senior American officials were worried. Since the early months of the Trump administration, Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser, had been having private, informal conversations with Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the favorite son of Saudi Arabia’s king.Given Mr. Kushner’s political inexperience, the private exchanges could make him susceptible to Saudi manipulation, said three former senior American officials.
“In an effort to tighten practices at the White House, a new chief of staff tried to reimpose long-standing procedures stipulating that National Security Council staff members should participate in all calls with foreign leaders. But even with the restrictions in place, Mr. Kushner, 37, and Prince Mohammed, 33, kept chatting, according to three former White House officials and two others briefed by the Saudi royal court.
“In fact, they said, the two men were on a first-name basis, calling each other Jared and Mohammed in text messages and phone calls. The exchanges continued even after the Oct. 2 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist who was ambushed and dismembered by Saudi agents, according to two former senior American officials and the two people briefed by the Saudis.” NYT
FOR YOUR RADAR — “Millions Of Comments About The FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules Were Fake. Now The Feds Are Investigating,” by BuzzFeed’s Kevin Collier and Jeremy Singer-Vine: “The Justice Department is investigating whether crimes were committed when potentially millions of people’s identities were posted to the FCC’s website without their permission, falsely attributing to them opinions about net neutrality rules, BuzzFeed News has learned. Two organizations told BuzzFeed News, each on condition that they not be named, that the FBI delivered subpoenas to them related to the comments.” BuzzFeed
BONUS GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman:
— “‘Everyone’s for Sale’: A Generation of Digital-Media Darlings Prepares for a Frigid Winter,” by Vanity Fair’s Joe Pompeo: “Vice, Vox, and BuzzFeed, among other companies that once heralded the dawn of a new media age, are now grappling with decidedly old-media problems.” VF
— “Documents Point to Illegal Campaign Coordination Between Trump and NRA,” by Mike Spies in The Trace and Mother Jones: “Trump and the gun group used the same consultants to spearhead their TV ad blitzes at the height of the 2016 election, likely in violation of federal law.” The Trace
— “On to Mars,” by Charles Krauthammer in the Weekly Standard in Jan. 2000: “It took 100,000 years for humans to get inches off the ground. Then, astonishingly, it took only 66 to get from Kitty Hawk to the moon. And then, still more astonishingly, we lost interest, spending the remaining 30 years of the 20th century going around in circles in low earth orbit, i.e., going nowhere.” TWS
— “Why We Sleep, and Why We Often Can’t,” by Zoë Heller in the New Yorker: “Does our contemporary obsession with sleep obscure what makes it special in the first place?” New Yorker
— “How a Real-Estate Scuffle Turned into a True Tale of Miami Vice,” by Mark Seal in Vanity Fair’s Holiday issue: “They’re known as the Jills. They’re two of America’s top realtors, selling the glitziest mansions in Miami. Then a place went missing—and everyday greed blossomed into full-blown extortion.” VF
— “Four Days Trapped at Sea With Crypto’s Nouveau Riche,” by Laurie Penny in Breaker Mag: “There are people of all genders and political persuasions looking to walk the plank of the good ship Reality before they’re pushed, but I’ve never met so many so transparently trying to con as many fellow travelers on their way down.” Breaker Mag (h/t Longform.org)
— “The Empress of Facebook: My Befuddling Dinner with Sheryl Sandberg,” by Virginia Heffernan in Wired: “In person Sandberg is dazzling. She looks like the actor Carla Gugino—old-fashioned, with rosy lineless skin and 91 percent cacao-content hair. … I don’t think I’ve ever met a better host. At a table of decidedly anti-corporate women, Sandberg engaged, and seemed to win over, everyone.” Wired
— “The Friendship That Made Google Huge,” by James Somers in the New Yorker: “Coding together at the same computer, Jeff Dean and Sanjay Ghemawat changed the course of the company—and the Internet.” New Yorker
— “Syria’s Last Bastion of Freedom,” by Anand Gopal in the New Yorker: “Amid the brutal civil war, a town fought off the regime and the fundamentalists—and dared to hold an election. Can its experiment in democracy survive?” New Yorker
— “Why We Miss the WASPs,” by NYT’s Ross Douthat: “Their more meritocratic, diverse and secular successors rule us neither as wisely nor as well.” NYT … “The Death of the WASP,” by Ben Schreckinger in POLITICO Magazine in April 2014
— “Special Report: How Iran spreads disinformation around the world,” by Reuters’ Jack Stubbs and Christopher Bing: “A Tehran-based agency has quietly fed propaganda through at least 70 websites to countries from Afghanistan to Russia. And American firms have helped.” Reuters
PLAYBOOKERS
SPOTTED: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) hanging out in the cafe car of the 3 p.m. Acela from NY Penn Station to DC.
SPOTTED at a holiday party last night held by David Frum and Danielle Crittenden: Susan Rice and Ian Cameron, Al Franken, Marty Baron, Elizabeth Drew, Susan Eisenhower, Charles Lane, Andrew Sullivan, Kevin Chaffee, Jeff Goldberg, Francesca Chambers, Mona Charan, Juleanna Glover and Christopher Reiter, Katherine Bradley, David Corn, Jamie Kirchick, Ken Weinstein, Amy Nathan and British Ambassador Kim and Lady Darroch.
WEEKEND WEDDINGS — Ryan Jackson, chief of staff at the EPA and a Jim Inhofe and EPW alum, married Ashley Winfree, who works in banking, in a ceremony at the White-Meyer House with a reception at the Meridian House. EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler attended and made remarks. Pic
– “Hannah Levinson, Jonathan Cross” – N.Y. Times: “Mrs. Cross, 30, is a health care law associate in the Washington office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, a law firm. … Mr. Cross, 31, is a managing director of the Quincy Group, a government relations and strategic advisory firm in Washington that focuses on the Middle East.” With a pic.NYT
— “Nora Kelly, Douglas Lee” – N.Y. Times: “Ms. Kelly, 29, is a senior associate editor at The Atlantic in Washington. … Mr. Lee, also 29, works in Washington as the legislative director for Representative Mike Quigley, Democrat of Illinois.” With a pic.NYT
BIRTHDAYS: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is 52 … Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin is 64 … Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is 64 … Samantha Tubman, manager of special projects at the Obama Foundation (hat tip: Meredith Carden) … Neal Wolin, CEO of Brunswick Group, is 57 (h/ts Tim Griffin and George Little) … former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) is 71 … Nathan Daschle, president and COO of the Daschle Group … Terry Moran, chief foreign correspondent for ABC News … Jonathan Wald, SVP at MSNBC (h/t Kurt Bardella) … James Pindell, Boston Globe political reporter … Jeff Smith is 45 … Cris Turner, head of gov’t affairs for the Americas at Dell … Aniela Butler (h/t Meghan Mitchum) … Treasury alum John E. Smith (h/t Peter Baker) … Scott Schloegel … Emily Kopp … Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) is 56 … former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) is 72 … Andrew Ricci, principal at Riccon Strategic Communications … Laena Fallon … Brian McGuire, policy director at Brownstein Hyatt …
… Alexandra DeSanctis, National Review staff writer … Kathryn Cameron Porter … Kyle Roberts, president of Smart Media Group … Kelsey Gorma of Miller Strategies … Fernando Lujan (h/t Susanna Quinn) … Ryan King … Richard Allen Smith … Graham Wilson … Veronique Rodman … Josh Katcher … Hammad Ul Hassan … Ryan Whalen of the Rockefeller Foundation … Alli Blakely Sydnor (h/t Ed Cash) … Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy (h/t Blair Latoff Holmes) … Megan Devlin (h/t Ben Chang) … Shoshana Weissmann … Eric Garcia … Dottie Suggs … Tricia Enright, comms director for Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) (h/ts Jon Haber) … Derrick Johnson … Anne Dudro … Richard Wachtel is 36 … Rhett Dawson … Rick Horten is 5-0 … Dawn Wilson … Diane Kopp … Robert Kraig (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)
A growing number of Republicans fear that a battery of new revelations in the far-reaching Russia investigation has dramatically heightened the legal and political danger to Donald Trump’s presidency — and threatens to consume the rest of the party, as well.
President Trump added to the tumult Saturday by announcing the abrupt exit of his chief of staff, John F. Kelly, whom he sees as lacking the political judgment and finesse to steer the White House through the treacherous months to come.
Trump remains headstrong in his belief that he can outsmart adversaries and weather any threats, according to advisers. In the Russia probe, he continues to roar denials, dubiously proclaiming that the latest allegations of wrongdoing by his former associates “totally clear” him.
But anxiety is spiking among Republican allies, who complain that Trump and the White House have no real plan for dealing with the Russia crisis while confronting a host of other troubles at home and abroad.
Facing the dawn of his third year in office and his bid for reelection, Trump is stepping into a political hailstorm. Democrats are preparing to seize control of the House in January with subpoena power to investigate corruption. Global markets are reeling from his trade war. The United States is isolated from its traditional partners. The investigation by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russian interference is intensifying. And court filings Friday in a separate federal case implicated Trump in a felony.
The White House is adopting what one official termed a “shrugged shoulders” strategy for the Mueller findings, calculating that most GOP base voters will believe whatever the president tells them to believe.
But some allies fret that the president’s coalition could crack apart under the growing pressure. Stephen K. Bannon, the former Trump strategist who helped him navigate the most arduous phase of his 2016 campaign, predicted 2019 would be a year of “siege warfare” and cast the president’s inner circle as naively optimistic and unsophisticated.
“The Democrats are going to weaponize the Mueller report and the president needs a team that can go to the mattresses,” Bannon said. “The president can’t trust the GOP to be there when it counts . . . They don’t feel any sense of duty or responsibility to stand with Trump.”
This portrait of the Trump White House at a precarious juncture is based on interviews with 14 administration officials, presidential confidants and allies, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss private exchanges.
Rather than building a war room to manage the intersecting crises as past administrations have done, the Trump White House is understaffed, stuck in a bunker mentality and largely resigned to a plan to wing it. Political and communications operatives are mostly taking their cues from the president and letting him drive the message with his spontaneous broadsides.
“A war room? You serious?” one former White House official said when asked about internal preparations. “They’ve never had one, will never have one. They don’t know how to do one.”
Trump’s decision to change his chief of staff, however, appears to be a recognition that he needs a strong political team in place for the remainder of his first term. The leading candidate for the job is Nick Ayers, Vice President Pence’s chief of staff and an experienced campaign operative known for his political acumen and deep network in the party.
Throughout the 18-month special counsel investigation, Trump has single-handedly spun his own deceptive reality, seeking to sully the reputations of Mueller’s operation and federal law enforcement in an attempt to preemptively discredit their eventual conclusions.
The president has been telling friends that he believes the special counsel is flailing and has found nothing meaningful. “It’s all games and trying to connect dots that don’t really make sense,” one friend said in describing Trump’s view of Mueller’s progress. “Trump is angry, but he’s not really worried.”
But Mueller’s latest court filings offer new evidence of Russian efforts to forge a political alliance with Trump before he became president and detail the extent to which his former aides are cooperating with prosecutors.
Some GOP senators were particularly shaken by this week’s revelation that former national security adviser Michael Flynn had met with Mueller’s team 19 separate times — a distressing signal to them that the probe may be more serious than they had been led to assume, according to senior Republican officials.
Even in the friendliest quarters, there are fresh hints of trouble. Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson, a reliable prime-time booster of the president, faulted Trump in an interview this week for failing to keep his main campaign promises, understand the legislative process and learn how to govern effectively.
For now, Republicans on Capitol Hill are still inclined to stand by Trump and give the president the benefit of the doubt. But one pro-Trump senator said privately that a breaking point would be if Mueller documents conspiracy with Russians.
“Then they’ve lost me,” said the senator, noting that several Republican lawmakers have been willing to publicly break with Trump when they believe it is in their interests — as many did over Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s role in the brutal killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), an outspoken Trump critic and a frequent subject of his ire, said, “The president’s situation is fraught with mounting peril, and that’s apparent to everyone who’s paying any attention, which is all of my Republican colleagues.”
Another possible breaking point could come if Trump pardons his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who has elicited the president’s sympathy as he sits in solitary confinement in a Virginia prison following the collapse of his plea agreement with Mueller’s team, White House aides and Republican lawmakers said. Trump advisers said they understand that a pardon of Manafort could be difficult to defend and could prompt rebukes from Republican allies.
The special counsel on Friday accused Manafort of telling “multiple discernible lies” during interviews with prosecutors. Manafort was convicted of tax and bank fraud and has pleaded guilty to additional charges, including conspiring to defraud the United States by hiding years of income and failing to disclose lobbying work for a pro-Russian political party and politician in Ukraine.
Trump’s legal team, meanwhile, is bracing not only for new Mueller developments but also for an onslaught of congressional requests. New White House counsel Pat Cipollone and his associate, Emmet T. Flood, are the leaders inside, although both have taken pains to stay out of the spotlight.
Cipollone has been scouring the résumés of congressional Republican staffers with experience handling investigations and trying to recruit them to the White House, officials said. Meanwhile, Flood, who advised former president Bill Clinton during his impeachment, has been prepping for months to forcefully exert executive privilege once House Democrats assume the majority.
President Trump attends a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House on Dec. 6, 2018. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Yet hiring remains difficult as potential staffers worry about whether they will need to hire a personal lawyer if they join and express uncertainty about the constant turmoil within the White House hierarchy, as illustrated by Kelly’s announced departure Saturday.
Bannon said he and others were urging contacts in the White House to enlist David N. Bossie, Trump’s former deputy campaign manager and a former congressional investigator who was known for his hard-edge tactics.
Trump’s lead outside attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, said he and his team are busy writing a defiant “counter report” to Mueller, which the president boasted this week was 87 pages long. Giuliani described the effort as a collaboration in which he, Jay Sekulow, Jane Raskin and other lawyers draft different sections and then trade them among the group, debating how to frame various passages on the president’s conduct and Russian interference.
“We’re writing out a lot and will pick and choose what to include. We’re trying to think through every possibility,” Giuliani said. “I’m sure we’ll take the lead in defending [Trump] publicly, if he needs defense, like we always do.”
Some of Trump’s allies have been encouraging him to bolster his legal team. One confidant recalled telling the president, “You need to get you an army of lawyers who know what the hell they’re doing.”
So far, Trump’s public relations strategy mostly has been to attack Mueller, as opposed to countering the facts of his investigation. But Lanny Davis, a former Clinton lawyer, said that approach has limits.
“No matter what your client says, if you’re not ready with factual messages to rebut charges, you’ll fail,” said Davis, who now advises former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who faces possible prison time for crimes including lying to Congress about his Russia contacts. “Even if you think the Trump strategy of attacking the messenger can continue to work, it will not work once the Mueller report is done.”
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich said Clinton’s experience in 1998, when the embattled president questioned the special prosecutor and warned of GOP overreach, is instructive for Trump and Republicans, showing them how to be both combative and confident amid chaos.
“You can’t have that many smart lawyers, with the full power of the government, and not have something bad come out,” Gingrich said of the special counsel’s team. “Mueller has to find something, like Trump jaywalked 11 times. The media will go crazy for three days, screaming, ‘Oh, my God! Oh, my God!’ ”
But, Gingrich said, “This isn’t a crisis moment for Trump or the party. Remember, we thought we had Clinton on the ropes, but Clinton kept smiling and his popularity went up.”
Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), left, and Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) speak outside a reception at the British ambassador’s residence in Washington on May 19, 2018. (Erin Schaff/For The Washington Post)
The White House is looking to its hard-right supporters on Capitol Hill to serve as its political flank, in particular House Republicans such as Mark Meadows (N.C.), Jim Jordan (Ohio), and Devin Nunes (Calif.), who are frequent guests on Fox News Channel. In January, Jordan and Nunes will be the top-ranking Republicans on the House Oversight Committee and the House Select Committee on Intelligence, respectively, positioning them as public faces of the Trump defense and antagonists of the Justice Department’s leadership.
Republicans close to incoming House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) said there is an implicit understanding that Jordan, Meadows and others in their orbit will be most vocal, but many rank-and-file Republicans, looking to hold on to their seats, will attempt to avoid becoming swept up in the standoff over the probe, as they have for over a year.
“Among most House Republicans, the feeling is, ‘We’re ready for this to be over with. We’re not nervous, but we’re having Mueller fatigue,’ ” Meadows said.
But Democrats say they are determined not to let the investigation end prematurely. Rep. Eric Swalwell (Calif.), who sits on the intelligence committee as well as the House Judiciary Committee, said, “Our job is to protect the investigation from the president — whether it’s firing Mueller, intimidating witnesses or obstructing the investigation.”
Trump critics, like retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz) — who has sponsored legislation that would protect Mueller but has been largely ignored by his colleagues — warned that the drumbeat of Trump loyalists in Congress, along with the president’s relentless clashes with Mueller, have lulled Republicans into a dangerous place.
“It’s like the party is a frog slowly boiling in water, being conditioned to not be worried, to not think too hard about what’s happening around them,” Flake said. “They feel at a loss about what to do because it’s the president’s party, without any doubt. So, there’s a lot of whistling by the graveyard these days.”
Giuliani dismissed Flake’s criticism in much the same way he and the president have taken on Mueller — with a barbed character attack rather than a measured rebuttal.
“He’s a bitter, bitter man,” Giuliani said of Flake. “It’s sick. Nobody likes him and they would like him gone.”
Mr. Trump agreed in Buenos Aires to defer plans to raise tariffs on $200 billion a year in Chinese goods on Jan. 1.
China’s leaders are coincidentally preparing to observe this month the 40th anniversary of the country’s post-Mao economic overhaul by calling for a series of moves to open up the economy to more trade and foreign investment, people familiar with Chinese economic policymaking said.
The anniversary, heavily promoted in official propaganda and the subject of Sunday’s conference at Tsinghua University, offers Mr. Xi a chance to take market-opening measures sought by the United States without seeming to give in to American pressure.
The final list of moves is still the subject of considerable discussion within the Chinese bureaucracy. But some options under serious consideration include further reducing tariffs on imports from all over the world and encouraging broader foreign investment in the slowing Chinese economy.
China made some moves in these directions this year, however, and it is unclear how much further the Beijing leadership is willing to go. By Beijing’s calculation, China’s average tariffs have already fallen to 7.5 percent from 9.8 percent at the start of this year. By comparison, average tariffs in the United States are 3.5 percent, while the European Union’s are 5 percent.
Ms. Meng’s detention has considerably complicated China’s economic relations with the United States. It has ignited anger and astonishment in China, where Huawei, one of the country’s largest and most internationally successful private companies, is a source of national pride.
On Saturday, China’s vice foreign minister, Le Yucheng, summoned the Canadian ambassador to Beijing, John McCallum, to register his protest, according to Xinhua, the state-run news agency. The Canadian Embassy declined to comment on Sunday.
The likely next chairman of the House Judiciary Committee believes President Trump committed an impeachable offense if he directed Michael Cohen, his former fixer, to pay hush money during the 2016 campaign to women claiming to have had extramarital affairs with him years ago.
“They would be impeachable offenses, whether they are important enough to justify an impeachment is a different question, but certainly they’d [be] impeachable offenses because even though they were committed before the president became president, they were committed in the service of fraudulently obtaining the office,” Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., told CNN.
“The new Congress will not try to shield the president,” he added. “We will try to get to the bottom of this in order to serve the American people and to stop this massive fraud on the American people.”
Nadler, however, stopped short of saying those offenses would automatically lead to impeachment proceedings.
“An impeachment is an attempt to, in effect, overturn or change the result of the last election, and you should do it only in very serious situations, so that’s always the question,” he said.
Nadler’s comments come after federal prosecutors in New York filed a sentencing memo Friday recommending that Cohen spend a “substantial” amount of time in prison. In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to a range of charges, including two related to efforts ahead of the 2016 election to silence women like porn star Stormy Daniels from going public about their alleged affairs with Trump.
Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York on Friday also said Cohen told them he had committed some of the crimes “in coordination with and at the direction of individual one,” who is widely believed to be Trump.
Saudi Arabia’s controversial Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman was little known to the outside world before becoming its attention-grabbing de facto leader. Here, BBC Arabic’s Rachid Sekkai, who taught Mohammed Bin Salman English as a child, gives a rare glimpse of life in the royal court.
I was teaching in the prestigious Al-Anjal school in Jeddah when I got the call in early 1996. The governor of Riyadh, Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, had temporarily moved with his family to the Red Sea port city, and needed an English teacher for his children.
The man who would later become king contacted the school and I was swiftly whisked off to the royal palace to become a private tutor to some of the children from his first marriage: Prince Turki, Prince Nayef, Prince Khalid, and of course, Prince Mohammed.
I lived in a flat in an up and coming area of the city. A chauffeur would pick me up at 07:00 to take me to Al-Anjal school and once lessons were over in the mid-afternoon, the driver would take me to the palace.
Image caption
Rachid Sekkai pictured at Al-Anjal school in Jeddah
Once through the heavily guarded gates, the car would wind past a series of jaw-dropping villas with immaculate gardens maintained by workers in white uniforms. There was a car park filled with a fleet of exclusive luxury cars. It was the first time I saw what looked like a pink Cadillac.
On arrival at the royal fortress, I would be ushered in by the palace director, Mansoor El-Shahry – a middle-aged man whom the 11-year-old Prince Mohammed was close to and fond of.
Walkie-talkie
Mohammed also seemed more interested in spending time with palace guards instead of following my lessons. As the oldest of his siblings, he seemed to be allowed to do as he pleased.
My ability to command the younger princes’ attention would only last until Mohammed would turn up.
I still have a memory of him using a walkie-talkie in our classes, borrowed from one of the guards. He would use it to make cheeky remarks about me and crack jokes between his brothers and the guards on the other end.
Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption
MBS’s father, the current King Salman, was the governor of Riyadh when Rachid taught his sons
Today, the 33-year-old prince is the minister of defence and heir to the Saudi throne.
Since becoming Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader last year, MBS has tried to position himself as the kingdom’s moderniser. In the face of opposition from conservative clerics, he spearheaded much-needed economic reforms and embarked on a programme of liberalisation in the staunchly conservative country.
Praised for some of his measures, he has also been criticised over Saudi Arabia’s record on human rights, its seemingly endless war in Yemen and the recent murder of Saudi journalist and critic Jamaal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s consulate in Turkey in October.
Image copyright EPA
Image caption
Mohammed Bin Salman has faced sharp criticism abroad over Saudi Arabia’s activities
Saudi Arabia has charged 11 people with the murder and denies the crown prince had any involvement.
On one occasion, I was taken aback when Mohammed told me that his mother, the princess, had said I seemed like “a true gentleman”. I had no recollection of meeting her – Saudi women royalty don’t appear in front of strangers – and the only female I came across was a nanny from the Philippines.
I was oblivious to the fact that I was being watched, until the future heir to the throne pointed to some CCTV cameras on the wall. From that point onwards I would always feel self-conscious in my lessons.
Within a short time, I become fond of Mohammed and his younger siblings. Though I was teaching princes in a world of privilege, my palace pupils were, very much like my school students, curious to learn but keen to play around.
Faux pas
One day, the palace director Mansoor El-Shahry asked me to meet the future king, who wanted to find out about his children’s academic progress. I thought this might be a good opportunity to address Prince Mohammed’s mischief.
I waited outside Prince Salman’s office, next to the princes’ other tutors who seemed familiar with royal court protocol.
When he appeared before us, the teachers instinctively rose up and I watched in awe as they approached the Riyadh governor one by one, bowed, kissed his hand, hastily conferred about the children and moved on.
Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption
Rachid also taught Prince Khalid Bin Salman, who is currently the Saudi ambassador to the US
When my turn came, I couldn’t, for the life of me bend like they did. I had never done it before. And before I froze completely, I reached out to take the future king’s hand and I shook it firmly.
I remember a faint grin of amazement on his face; however, he made no fuss about my faux pas.
I didn’t mention what Prince Mohammed had been up to in my lessons because by then I had decided to give it all up and return to the UK.
Soon after, Mr El-Shahry gave me a scathing telling off for failing to follow royal etiquette.
Apart from Prince Khaled, who went on to become Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US, the other royal siblings I taught have mainly chosen to stay away from the public eye.
Now I look back at my brief tenure as a remarkable episode in my life and watch my former young charge as he bestrides the world stage.
London, United Kingdom –Exiting the European Union, Theresa May suggested after the referendum two years ago, was a simple process.
“Brexit means Brexit,” she said in the wake of the United Kingdom‘s vote to quit the EU, following former Prime Minister David Cameron‘s decision to resign over the result.
Almost two and a half years after she succeeded Cameron, however, May now finds herself mired in the complexity of trying to manage the divorce.
On Tuesday, she faces a parliamentary showdown over her proposed withdrawal agreement, brokered during months of fractious negotiations with counterparts in Brussels.
The deal has little support across the political spectrum and is widely expected to be rejected by the House of Commons.
Analysts have said that this could trigger a leadership challenge, general election or even a second referendum – all of which threaten to end the 62-year-old’s time in office.
But they also recognise that talk of her possible demise could be premature.
“The numbers matter,” said Anand Menon, professor of European politics and foreign affairs at King’s College London. “This is no longer a question of whether she can win the vote, it’s a matter of how many she manages to lose by. Expectations will emerge around a ballpark figure.”
There are 650 MPs in the House of Commons, and the vote will be decided by a simple majority, meaning May needs at least 320 supporters. The actual number needed will depend on the day – some MPs may abstain, others could be absent.
“If Number 10 [the prime minister’s residence and office], in this crazy world we live in, can sell a parliamentary defeat as a victory of sorts then she can go to Brussels on Thursday and try to get some further compromises,” Menon adds, in reference to the upcoming EU Council summit.
“I don’t think you can write her premiership off yet.”
A political survivor
May appears to be something of a survivor in the cut-and-thrust world of British politics.
Since assuming leadership of the ruling Conservative Party and the country in July 2016, she has overcome several major political defeats and body blows to her leadership amid the turmoil unleashed by the Brexit vote.
In part, Menon says, such difficulties have been inevitable.
“Any prime minister doing Brexit would have had their time in premiership defined by it … she’s in a very difficult situation,” he adds.
“[But] it is also partly of her own making.”
May’s ill-judged call for a general election in June 2017, 11 months after she succeeded Cameron, cost the Conservatives their majority in parliament.
They have since had to rely on an often uneasy partnership with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to govern.
May has overseen months of Brexit negotiations with European leaders [File: Olivier Hoslet/Reuters]
An already fragile administration has been further tested, meanwhile, by a string of ministerial resignations triggered by May’s approach to Brexit.
Critics from within her party, which is deeply divided on membership of the EU, argue her deal would see Britain enter a sort of no man’s land in relation to Brussels.
Opposition has come from other quarters too.
The leader of the main opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has described the plan as “half-baked” and not “in the interests of the whole country”.
The DUP, meanwhile, has pledged to reject it over concerns its so-called “backstop” clause – a safety net proposal to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland – could result in Northern Ireland remaining in the EU’s customs union after the rest of the UK has exited.
And earlier this week, a coalition of six parties – including the DUP and Labour – orchestrated a landmark vote to declare the government in contempt of parliament for failing to disclose legal advice relating to the deal.
But while attracting condemnation, May has also won domestic and regional approval from some for her determination to deliver on the mandate provided by the EU referendum.
“I think there is this kind of empathy for Theresa May,” said Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform. “There is this understanding that she has had this very difficult job, being pressed from both within her party and across the political spectrum.
“Some European leaders have recognised her efforts to bring the deal home.”
Defined by Brexit
A vicar’s daughter with a self-proclaimed dedication to public service and a guarded private life, May is only one of two women to have reached the summit of British politics.
The other, Margaret Thatcher, also had a tumultuous relationship with Europe.
Like Thatcher, May’s views on Europe appear to have evolved over time.
While serving as the home secretary prior to the 2016 referendum, she spoke in favour of the UK remaining in the EU.
Since then, she has refused to say whether she would vote leave or remain in the event of a replayed vote, however.
Instead, she’s pressed ahead with pursuing a divorce deal and rejected any possibility of a second vote taking place.
Almost, analysts say, at the expense of everything else.
“Her record of achievement isn’t great and that’s partly because she’s in a weak position and partly too because Brexit has taken up so much of her time so nothing else got on to the government’s agenda,” said Menon. “But it is worth saying that whoever the prime minister was and whatever the size of their majority was, this would have been a nightmare.”
The promises of social reform and pledges to run a government not solely consumed by Brexit, which earmarked the early days of May’s leadership, seem distant.
The best she can hope for now is to survive the week ahead.
PARIS (Reuters) – Workers in Paris swept up broken glass and towed away burnt-out cars on Sunday after the latest “yellow vest” riots, while the government warned of slower economic growth and said that President Emmanuel Macron would address the nation this week.
On Saturday, anti-government protesters wrecked havoc in the city for the fourth weekend in a row, throwing stones, torching cars and vandalizing shops and restaurants.
Across the city, bank branch offices, toy shops, opticians and other retail outlets had boarded up storefronts smashed by protesters, and walls were covered in anti-Macron slogans.
“You won’t make it past Christmas, Emmanuel,” read the graffiti on a boarded-up shop near the Champs Elysees boulevard.
Macron, elected in May 2017, is facing mounting criticism for not speaking in public in more than a week as violence worsened.
The upheaval in the Christmas shopping season has dealt a heavy blow to retailing, the tourist industry and the manufacturing sector as road blocks disrupt supply chains.
On Saturday, the Eiffel Tower and several museums closed their doors for security reasons, as did top Paris department stores on what should have been a prime shopping weekend.
The protest movement will have “a severe impact” on the French economy, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Reuters on Sunday as he toured an upmarket central Paris neighborhood that had seen heavy looting Saturday night.
“We must expect a new slowdown of economic growth at year-end due to the “yellow vest” protests,” Le Maire said.
In the middle of last month, before the protests, the central bank forecast 0.4 percent fourth-quarter growth. Economists said then that the economy would need to grow at 0.8 percent in the final three months to hit the government’s 1.7 percent annual growth forecast.
“EVERYTHING IS BROKEN”
Gregory Caray, owner of two furniture shops in the heart of Paris, said he was relieved to see that his shop had not been vandalized, but the protective wooden boards over its windows were plastered with graffiti.
“You can understand the yellow vests movement. But this is completely unacceptable. It has been three weekends in a row now. Look around you, everything is broken, damaged. All the shops had to close and spend money to shut everything up, and it happens every week,” he told Reuters.
Named after the fluorescent safety vests that French motorists must carry, the “yellow vest” protests erupted on Nov. 17, when nearly 300,000 demonstrators nationwide took to the streets to denounce high living costs and Macron’s liberal economic reforms.
The government canceled a planned rise in fuel taxes last Tuesday to try to defuse the situation but the protests have morphed into a broader anti-Macron rebellion.
“I don’t know if Macron’s resignation is necessary, but he must completely change course,” said Bertrand Cruzatier as he watched cleaners scrub out anti-Macron graffiti at Place de la Republique.
A banner hanging from the statue of Marianne, symbol of the French republic, read: “Give back the money”.
Macron’s last major televised address was on Nov 27, when he said he would not be bounced into changing policy by “thugs”.
“FIGHT UNTIL EASTER”
Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said Macron would make “important announcements” early in the coming week.
“However, not all the problems of the ‘yellow vest’ protesters will be solved by waving a magic wand,” he said.
Yellow vest protesters demand lower taxes, higher minimum wages and better pension benefits. But, mindful of France’s deficit and not wanting to flout EU rules, Macron has scant wriggle room for more concessions.
Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian said the yellow vest movement expressed a deep sense of inequality among French people.
“We need a new social contract for the 21st century,” he told LCI televison.
Slideshow (8 Images)
Yellow vest protesters were unimpressed with the government’s overtures, continuing their blockade of traffic roundabouts nationwide and vowing to fight on.
“We want our share of the pie, like everyone. I will stay here until Easter, if necessary,” a protester called Didier told BFM television in Frejus, southern France.
Rerporting by Geert De Clercq, Elena Gyldenkerne Massa, Ardee Napolitano and Emmanuel Jarry; Writing by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky/Keith Weir
Six people are dead and dozens more are injured after being trampled by a panicked crowd running out of an Italian disco.
The stampede occurred at the Lanterna Azzurra in Madonna del Piano di Corinaldo, near Ancona — a city on the Adriatic coast, east of Florence — during a concert for Italian rapper Sfera Ebbasta.
Witnesses said that panic ensued when an acrid smell started permeating the disco between midnight and 1 a.m. local time, according to Italian news agencies. Some compared it to mace or pepper spray, though police officials said they were not ready to confirm those details.
By Saturday evening, there were conflicting reports about the number of injured. The Associated Press reported that more than 50 people were injured, while Italian media outlets were reporting that more than 100 were injured in the stampede.
Bobo Antic/AP
A girl cries as bodies lie on the ground outside the disco Lanterna Azzurra in Corinaldo, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018.
The six people who died included five minors and an adult. The adult, identified only as Eleonora, had gone to the concert with her daughter, who survived, according to Italian news agency Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA), the nation’s largest wire service.
All six who died were crushed by others who had fallen five feet off a walkway outside of one of the disco’s emergency exits, Ancona Police Chief Oreste Capocasa told ABC News.
Capocasa said that the railings on the walkway collapsed, causing concertgoers to fall.
Capocasa said that firefighters and magistrates were investigating whether there was overcrowding. The disco could only fit 870 people but 1,400 tickets to the concert were sold, he said.
Bobo Antic/AP
Relatives and friends comfort each others outside the morgue in Corinaldo, Italy, Dec. 8, 2018.
He said that authorities are still trying to piece together the sequence of events, and whether the spraying of some sort of substance sparked the panic.
“We could not because after such a tragic event, witnesses weren’t in a fit state to remember well what happened,” he said. “They have not confirmed that this happened but many have confirmed that something like that happened.”
Those who were injured were taken to one of three hospitals in the area. Of the 120 injured, 12 remain in serious condition and seven are fighting for their lives, ANSA reported.
Bobo Antic/AP
Rescuers assist injured people outside the disco Lanterna Azzurra in Corinaldo, Italy, Dec. 8, 2018.
Italian Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini called the incident a “mix of irresponsibility and avidity.”
Two investigations have now been opened: one to determine who sprayed the pepper-like substance and another for overcapacity at the disco.
President Trump on Sunday accused former FBI Director James Comey of lying to Congress during Mr. Comey’s closed-door appearance with lawmakers on Friday.
“Leakin’ James Comey must have set a record for who lied the most to Congress in one day. His Friday testimony was so untruthful!” the president said on Twitter.
“This whole deal is a Rigged Fraud headed up by dishonest people who would do anything so that I could not become President. They are now exposed!” Mr. Trump tweeted.
SEE ALSO: Comey told lawmakers Russian probe started with four Americans, not Trump
GOP lawmakers called Mr. Comey to testify Friday about the FBI’s decisions during the 2016 campaign.
Mr. Comey said that an FBI counterintelligence investigation initially started as a probe into four Americans and whether or not they were a part of the Russian effort to interfere in the 2016 election – not into Mr. Trump or his campaign.
Mr. Trump also asserted that on 245 occasions, Mr. Comey told House investigators that he “didn’t know, didn’t recall, or couldn’t remember things when asked.”
“Opened investigations on 4 Americans (not 2) – didn’t know who signed off and didn’t know Christopher Steele,” the president tweeted, referring to the author of a dossier that contained allegations of ties between Mr. Trump and Russia. “All lies!”
Mr. Comey on Friday said that lawmakers “came up empty” in their “desperate attempt to find anything that can be used to attack the institutions of justice investigating this president.”
Mr. Comey, who Mr. Trump ousted from his post as FBI director in May 2017, is supposed to return to Capitol Hill to testify again soon.
“In the long run, it’ll make no difference because facts are stubborn things,” Mr. Comey said on Twitter.
Former FBI Director James Comey, with his attorney, David Kelley, right, speaks to reporters after a day of testimony before the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 7, 2018. (Associated Press)
An FBI counterintelligence probe into Russia meddling in the 2016 presidential election initially targeted “four Americans,” but not Republican nominee Donald Trump nor his campaign, according to former FBI Director James Comey.
The news was revealed Saturday in a 235-page transcript published by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., after hours of closed-door testimony by Comey on Friday.
Comey said “at least some” of the people targeted were affiliated with the Trump campaign in some form, but Trump himself was not under investigation into whether the four individuals colluded with Russia to tip the election in Trump’s favor.
“We opened investigations on four Americans to see if there was any connection between those four Americans and the Russian interference effort,” Comey told Gowdy. “And those four Americans did not include the candidate. At least some of them were. The FBI and the Department of Justice have not confirmed the names of those folks publicly, which is why I’m not going into the specifics.”
Comey told Rep. John Ratcliffe, a Texas Republican, that the FBI suspected the four individuals may have helped Russia interfere in the election.
“[A]t the time a defensive briefing was done for candidate Trump, do you know if the FBI had any evidence that anyone associated with the Trump campaign had colluded or conspired or coordinated with Russia in any way?” Ratcliffe asked.
“I don’t know the dates. … I don’t know whether it was before late July when we opened the four counterintelligence files, or not,” Comey replied. “And so, if it was after July 29th, then the answer would be, yes, we had some reason to suspect that there were Americans who might have assisted the Russians.”
Though the four individuals have not been named publically, ex-Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos was prosecuted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and was released from prison Friday after serving 12 days. Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty to making false statements to FBI agents.
Other Trump associates, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, have pleaded guilty to lying about their interactions with Russians during the campaign and presidential transition period.
During questioning, Comey also defended Peter Strzok, the former FBI agent who helped lead the bureau’s investigation. He revealed that Strzok edited a letter sent to Congress days before the election disclosing that an investigation into Hillary Clinton had been reopened.
Clinton and many Democrats have blamed the letter for her election loss to Trump.
Comey said he never saw any bias from Strzok after questioning from U.S. Rep. Steven Cohen, D-Tenn. Strzok was fired after anti-Trump texts sent by him had surfaced. Trump has seized on the messages as evidence of a conspiracy to dismantle his presidency.
“So it’s hard for me to see how he was on Team Clinton secretly at that point in time,” Comey said. “If you’re going to have a conspiracy theory, you’ve got to explain all the facts. And it’s hard to reconcile his not leaking that Trump associates were under investigation and his drafting of a letter to Congress on October 28th that Secretary Clinton believed hurt her chances of being elected.”
When asked if former President Barack Obama obstructed justice when he commented that Clinton’s use of a private email server lacked criminal intent, Comey said he didn’t see it that way, but it did concern him.
“So, if it doesn’t rise to the level of obstruction, how would you characterize the Chief Executive saying that the target of an investigation that was ongoing simply made a mistake and lacked the requisite criminal intent?” Gowdy asked.
“It concerns me whenever the Chief Executive comments on pending criminal investigations, something we see a lot today, which is why it concerned me when President Obama did it,” Comey replied.
Asked if the FBI had any evidence that anyone in the Trump campaign conspired to hack the DNC server, Comey referred to Mueller’s investigation as to why he couldn’t answer.
“Did we have evidence in July of (2016) that anyone in the Trump campaign conspired to hack the DNC server?” Comey asked rhetorically. “I don’t think that the FBI and special counsel want me answering questions that may relate to their investigation of Russian interference during 2016. And I worry that that would cross that line.”
He noted that anything related to Mueller’s investigation was “off-limits,” because it is an ongoing investigation.
When asked how confident was he that Mueller would conduct his investigation thoroughly, Comey replied, “There are not many things I would bet my life on. I would bet my life that Bob Mueller will do things the right way, the way we would all want, whether we’re Republicans or Democrats, the way Americans should want.”
As John Kelly leaves his position as White House chief of staff, it’s worth considering just how much this good man has given to the nation.
Because it’s just about everything.
A Marine who chose to enlist during the Vietnam War, Kelly then went onto college to complete his education. After graduating, Kelly took a commission as an infantry officer. He would wear the uniform of the Corps for the next 41 years, commanding forces in Iraq and rising to the rank four-star general. His sons would follow their father’s tradition of military service, with one, Robert F. Kelly, giving everything for the nation in Afghanistan in 2011.
Many might have decided to enjoy the peace of retirement following such long service and striking loss. But not Kelly. Following his military retirement, Kelly rejoined government as secretary of Homeland Security. While some in the media have derided Kelly’s time in this role, he was greatly respected by those under his command and he cut through the often lethargic bureaucracy governing deportations.
That said, it is Kelly’s concluding tenure as White House chief of staff that perhaps best encapsulates his relentless love of country. After all, how many of us would have wanted to take up the position Kelly did on July 28, 2017? It was obviously going to be an almost impossible responsibility: ensuring the effective administration of the president’s inner team, managing the president’s time and priorities, and ensuring that cabinet officers were working effectively. And how must Kelly have felt about the backbiting and leaks from White House staffers? These characteristics bear little in common with military ethos. Yet as defines him, Kelly chose to keep serving.
Let us hope that he can now enjoy many years of relaxation with his family.
Special counsel Robert Mueller filed papers in court over the past week that show he’s getting significant cooperation from former national security adviser Michael Flynn and President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen.
But while some think that bodes poorly for Trump, Mueller also indicated that former campaign chairman Paul Manafort is going against his agreement to help Mueller, and instead appears to be working against him.
Here’s a look at just how much Trump’s former senior staff members are helping Mueller, or not:
Paul Manafort
At first, the former chairman of Trump’s campaign was a cooperator, but Paul Manafort has since slipped up.
In filing Friday night, Mueller’s team said it can pinpoint five things Manafort lied about — even after he accepted a plea agreement in September in Washington to work with authorities.
In the plea deal in September, Manafort pleaded guilty to two felony charges — one count of conspiracy against the United States and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice for tampering with witnesses.
The plea agreement also required him to “fully, truthfully, completely, and forthrightly” cooperate with the special counsel’s investigation and any other matters in which the government deems his cooperation relevant. That included interviews, handing over documents and testifying before the grand jury in Washington and in any other trials.
But on Friday, Manafort is accused of lying throughout 12 meetings with the special counsel’s office.
Those alleged lies were about things like his contacts with the Trump administration in 2018 and his communications with reputed Russian intelligence agent Konstantin Kilimnik.
“Manafort told multiple discernible lies — these were not instances of mere memory lapses,” the prosecutors wrote in the memo to U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington.
Though he had told prosecutors when he reached his plea deal that he had “no direct or indirect communications” with any Trump administration official while they were in government, Manafort had in fact kept in touch with a senior official through February 2018, prosecutors said. And in May 2018, he authorized someone else to speak with a Trump appointee on his behalf, they alleged.
Mueller’s team has left open the possibility that it could file new charges against Manafort, who has been jailed since June after allegations that he tampered with witnesses.
Manafort has already been convicted on eight charges of bank and tax fraud in Virginia as part of Mueller’s probe.
Michael Flynn
The first court filing on Tuesday dealt with Michael Flynn, who had a short stint as Trump’s national security adviser. Flynn also served Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign and during his presidential transition.
The 13-page document is mostly redacted, but it makes clear that Flynn has been cooperating with the Mueller investigation and has provided “substantial” help. It said Flynn gave 19 interviews that federal prosecutors called “particularly valuable,” and also provided “documents and communications.”
Flynn provided Mueller with “substantial assistance in a criminal investigation” in addition to the special counsel’s probe of “any links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald J. Trump.”
“While this [document] seeks to provide a comprehensive description of the benefit the government has thus far obtained from the defendant’s substantial assistance, some of that benefit may not be fully realized at this time because the investigations in which he has provided assistance are ongoing,” Mueller’s office said.
Flynn pleaded guilty to a single felony count of making false statements to the FBI in December 2017. The former U.S. Army Lieutenant General lied about the conversations he had with Russia’s ambassador in December 2016 about sanctions the U.S. was imposing.
According to a statement of offense filed in court, Flynn conducted had three calls with senior officials on the Trump transition team about his discussions with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak related to sanctions.
Those senior officials are widely believed to be Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and KT McFarland.
“[I]t seems like Michael Flynn has been providing quite a volume of information. And, you know, in his position as national security adviser, someone involved in the campaign and the transition, it does suggest that he is someone who had potentially quite a bit of information and that he has come through in sharing that information in ways that Mueller and his team have found productive,” former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade told NPR on Wednesday.
Michael Cohen
On Friday, prosecutors for Mueller’s team indicated that Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, is also cooperating.
In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, including violating campaign finance laws in a case being investigated by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. Last week, he pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in a separate case brought by the special counsel.
Federal prosecutors in New York said Cohen has not cooperated in their investigation and argued he should receive a “substantial” prison sentence of roughly 42 months. But Mueller’s office was more lenient and detailed how Cohen has has helped, noting he has meet with investigators on seven occasions, giving “lengthy” interviews.
And though Cohen lied during their first interview in August, he has since been forthcoming and even corrected former untruthful statements.
“In recent months, however, the defendant has taken significant steps to mitigate his criminal conduct. He chose to accept responsibility for his false statements and admit to his conduct in open court. He also has gone to significant lengths to assist the Special Counsel’s investigation. He has met with the SCO on seven occasions, voluntarily provided the SCO with information about his own conduct and that of others on core topics under investigation by the SCO, and committed to continuing to assist the SCO’s investigation,” wrote Mueller’s team.
Cohen appears to be cooperating specifically on the question of whether Trump pushed Cohen to violate campaign finance laws in 2016.
“With respect to both payments, Cohen acted with the intent to influence the 2016 presidential election,” the New York filing said. “Cohen coordinated his actions with one or more members of the campaign, including through meetings and phone calls, about the fact, nature, and timing of the payments. In particular, and as Cohen himself has now admitted, with respect to both payments, he acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1,” or President Trump.
The document said Cohen recorded conversations with Trump in which the payments Cohen made to Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels were discussed. It said those payments, which were aimed at keeping the women quiet about their alleged affairs with Trump, were effectively campaign contributions in excess of federal limits.
Trump’s former lawyer also seems to be cooperating by providing information about the Trump campaign’s links to Russia. Cohen told Mueller’s office that he’d spoken with a Russian national who claimed to be a “trusted person” in the Russia Federation and could offer Trump’s campaign “political synergy.”
Mueller’s office said Cohen provided certain Russian-related information that got to the “core” of the special counsel investigation, and that he gave “relevant and useful” information about his contacts with those “connected to the White House” from 2017 to 2018.
For the fourth weekend in a row, yellow vest protesters took to the streets across France to demonstrate against President Emmanuel Macron, high taxes, and economic inequality.
The weekly protests have steadily grown more violent, and French officials said by the end of Saturday, dozens were injured and hundreds arrested.
Thousands of police officers were deployed to control the riots, eventually firing tear gas and rubber bullets, and repelling demonstrators with water cannons.
A key figure in the Watergate scandal has told CNN that the allegations against President Donald Trump contained in a court filing are sufficient for Congress to start impeachment proceedings.
John Dean was reacting to the memo released by federal prosecutors into the case involving Trump’s ex-attorney Michael Cohen.
As well as recommending jail time, the filing says that Cohen had claimed Trump instructed him to approve payments that violated campaign finance law.
John Dean, former White House counsel to President Nixon, in the Hart Senate Office Building on September 7, 2018 in Washington, DC. He told CNN that there is enough to start impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump . Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Dean, who was Nixon’s former White House counsel, said on Erin Burnett OutFront that Cohen had “implicated Trump directly.”
“I don’t know that this will forever disappear into some dark hole of unprosecutable presidents,” Dean said.
“I think it will resurface in the Congress. I think what this totality of today’s filings show that the House is going to have little choice the way this is going other than to start impeachment proceedings,” he added.
Since the Democrats took control of the House after the midterm elections, the push for impeachment, while unlikely, has become more of a possibility than at any other time of Trump’s presidency, The Hill reported.
Democrats will have new subpoena powers when they take control the House from January.
However White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the memo had revealed “nothing of value that wasn’t already known.”
“The government’s filings in Mr. Cohen’s case tell us nothing of value that wasn’t already known. Mr. Cohen has repeatedly lied and as the prosecution has pointed out to the court, Mr. Cohen is no hero,” she said.
The filing does not name Trump, but refers to an “Individual 1” that it says Cohen “acted in coordination with and at the direction of” in giving payments to silence adult film actor Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, who claimed they had affairs with Trump before the 2016 election.
The document notes that Cohen worked for “Individual 1” as a personal attorney after the person “had become the President of the United States”.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) from the House Judiciary Committee said that the filing had meant that Trump allegedly committed two felonies.
Lieu, a Trump critic, told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on Hardball that “we have a sitting president of the United States who committed two felonies while running for president.”
“When you look at what the prosecutors did in the Southern District of New York they allege that Donald Trump directed two campaign finance violations. These are felonies and you can infer intent by looking at a defendant’s statements,” Lieu said.
CNN’s SE Cupp sifts through the trio of court filings, two from the special counsel’s office and one from the Southern District of New York, which suggest special counsel Robert Mueller has substantial evidence to back up his accusations. #CNN#News
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