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Oligrach Set Up U.S. Firm Before Trump Tower Meeting

October 18, 2018 at 8:26 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A Russian billionaire who orchestrated the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting formed a new American shell company a month beforehand with an accountant who has had clients accused of money laundering and embezzlement,” the Guardian reports.

“The billionaire, Aras Agalarov, created the US company anonymously while preparing to move almost $20m into the country during the time of the presidential election campaign… Agalarov’s previously unreported shell company is another example of intriguing financial activity around the time of the Trump Tower meeting.”

Is Fraud the Trump Organization’s Business Model?

October 18, 2018 at 7:24 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Adam Davidson: “It is becoming increasingly clear that, in the language of business schools, the Trump Organization’s core competency is in profiting from misrepresentation and deceit and, potentially, fraud.”

“This month, two incredible investigative stories have given us an opportunity to lift the hood of the Trump Organization, look inside, and begin to understand what the business of this unusual company actually is. It is not a happy picture. The Times published a remarkable report, on October 2nd, that showed that much of the profit the Trump Organization made came not from successful real-estate investment but from defrauding state and federal governments through tax fraud. This week, ProPublica and WNYC co-published a stunning story and a ‘Trump, Inc.’ podcast that can be seen as the international companion to the Times piece. They show that many of the Trump Organization’s international deals also bore the hallmarks of financial fraud, including money laundering, deceptive borrowing, outright lying to investors, and other potential crimes.”

A Media Blitz of Historic Proportions

October 18, 2018 at 7:17 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

ABC News: “Forget all that ‘the enemy of the people’ talk, Donald Trump has been spending a remarkable amount of time with reporters lately. In fact, ABC News can find no comparable time period when a president of the United States has taken more questions from the news media than Donald Trump has over the past 11 days.”

“Since Oct. 6, the president has done (at least) five interviews with print publications and eight television interviews. During the same time period, he has held six impromptu press conferences with the White House press on the South Lawn and at 18 separate White House events (alas only one with Kanye West), the president has taken questions from White House reporters.”

“ABC News estimates the president has taken nearly 300 questions from reporters in the past 11-day span alone.”

Romney Makes His Move

October 18, 2018 at 7:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A sleepy Utah Senate race was always a small playing field for a former presidential nominee. Now, Mitt Romney is going national again,” Politico reports.

“After spending most of the past year quietly tending to his own race, Romney is using his formidable national profile and expansive political network to elect embattled Republicans across the country. Weeks before his virtually assured election to the Senate, the 2012 Republican standard bearer is issuing endorsements, appearing in TV ads, and fundraising for hopefuls up and down the ballot.”

Trump Builds a War Chest as Other Republicans Struggle

October 18, 2018 at 7:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Reports filed this week show that President Trump sits atop a sophisticated data-driven fund-raising machine that has already brought in more than $106 million — a majority of which came from small donors, with none coming from Mr. Trump’s own pocket — and has spent more on his ‘Make America Great Again’ hats, $2 million, than his 2016 effort had spent on the entire campaign in its first report.”

“Even after the costly investments in digital advertising, data analytics and other tools of modern campaigning, the three committees that make up Mr. Trump’s campaign apparatus entered this month with a remarkable $47 million in the bank.”

“But the stockpiling has prompted grumbling among some Republican strategists, who contend — mostly in private — that the cash would be better allocated to the party’s at-risk congressional candidates, many of whom are being drastically outraised by their Democratic opponents.”

GOP Senators Push Through More Judges

October 18, 2018 at 7:05 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A handful of Republican senators did something unusual on Wednesday: With the Senate not even in session, and no Democrats in sight, they convened the Judiciary Committee to advance a half-dozen of Donald Trump’s judicial nominees,” Politico reports.

“For Republicans, there’s nothing that matters more. They aren’t pitching a big visionary agenda to persuade voters to return them to power next year — there’s only passing mention in the midterms of repealing Obamacare, and little talk of making Trump’s border wall a reality. It’s all about the judiciary. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has given every indication that his primary focus — through Election Day and, assuming Republicans still control the Senate, in the two years to follow, will be the ongoing reshaping of the courts.”

Shalala Walks Into Anti-Castro Buzzsaw

October 18, 2018 at 7:03 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “There’s a simple rule in running for Congress in Miami: don’t campaign with someone who praised Fidel Castro and fought sanctions against Venezuela’s dictatorial regime. But Donna Shalala didn’t figure it out until it was too late.”

“In a district filled with Castro-hating Cuban-Americans and Venezuelan exiles, Shalala’s campaign committed an egregious gaffe — and set off a round of Democratic finger-pointing — by posting an announcement that she would hold a campaign event Wednesday with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Californian, Rep. Barbara Lee.”

Nevada GOP Plans Campaign for Dead Candidate

October 17, 2018 at 10:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Nevada Republicans are planning a campaign to persuade voters to cast ballots for former Assembly candidate and brothel owner Dennis Hof, who died suddenly on Tuesday,” the Nevada Independent reports.

“Although details are sparse, the effort is a clear indication of Republican efforts to ensure they hold a reliably Republican-leaning Assembly District despite the untimely death of the candidate.”

McGahn Out as White House Counsel

October 17, 2018 at 10:27 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“White House counsel Don McGahn’s final day at the White House was Wednesday,” CNN reports.

“McGahn has been planning to leave the White House, but a source told CNN his departure was expedited after President Trump said Tuesday he had selected Patrick Cipolloneas his successor.”

Intelligence Officials See Saudis Behind Killing

October 17, 2018 at 9:04 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“American intelligence officials are increasingly convinced that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia is culpable in the killing of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an appraisal that poses challenges to a White House intent on maintaining a close relationship with the kingdom,” the New York Times reports.

“Intelligence agencies have not yet been able to collect direct evidence of the prince’s involvement, American and European officials said.”

“But intelligence agencies have growing circumstantial evidence of the prince’s involvement — including the presence of members of his security detail and intercepts of Saudi officials discussing a possible plan to detain Mr. Khashoggi.”

Collins Raised Just $80 After Indictment

October 17, 2018 at 7:29 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) received a total of $80 in contributions from donors within his district after he was indicted on insider trading charges, WGRZ reports.

Another Trump Building Takes Down His Name

October 17, 2018 at 7:07 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The residents of a Manhattan condominium called “Trump Place” have voted to remove the president’s name from the tower’s facade, the latest in a string of properties that have distanced themselves from the Trump brand since Election Day 2016, the Washington Post reports.

Mueller’s Quiet Period Hasn’t Been Very Quiet

October 17, 2018 at 7:04 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

CNN: “September and October at first glance appear to be quiet periods for the investigation, under the Justice Department’s guidelines to avoid public political acts before the midterm elections. But the quiet period has seen a persistent murmur of activity, based on near-daily sightings of Mueller’s prosecutors and sources involved in the investigation.”

“In addition to Manafort, Mueller’s team has kept interviewing witnesses, gathered a grand jury weekly to meet in Washington on most Fridays, and kicked up other still-secret court action. Plus, the discussions between the President’s legal team and the special counsel’s office have intensified in recent weeks, including after the special counsel sent questions about possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government. The President’s attorneys are expected to reply to the questions in writing.”

“People around Trump and other witnesses believe more criminal indictments will come from Mueller.”

ABC News reports Mueller’s team has been asking cooperating witness Paul Manafort many questions about former Trump adviser Roger Stone.

Biden Says Trump Coddles Dictators

October 17, 2018 at 7:02 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Vice President Joe Biden told CBS News that President Trump “seems to have a love affair with autocrats.”

He added: “I just don’t know why this administration seems to feel the need to coddle autocrats and dictators from Putin to Kim Jong Un to you know Duterte. I don’t understand it.”

When asked to explain Trump’s behavior, Biden responded: “I don’t want to speculate on my worst fears. But, either he doesn’t know what he is doing or he has an absolutely convoluted notion of what allows America to lead the world.”

Democratic Candidates Have Raised Over $1 Billion

October 17, 2018 at 7:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Democratic candidates running for Congress this year collectively raised more than $1 billion for their campaigns — a record-shattering sum that highlights the party’s zeal to retake the House and Senate and underscores the enormous amount of money flowing into the midterm races,” the Washington Post reports.

“The $1.06 billion raised through the end of September surpasses the nearly $900 million collected by Republican candidates for Congress in 2012 — previously the largest haul registered by a single party by this point in the election cycle.”

Pompeo Learned Little From Quick Trip to Saudi Arabia

October 17, 2018 at 6:16 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has cast himself as a tough, straight-talking former Army tank commander with the moral clarity necessary to confront the world’s bad guys. But on his quick trip to Saudi Arabia, where he sat smiling with royal leaders suspected of involvement in the disappearance of a dissident Saudi journalist, he hardly seemed the image of principled diplomacy,” the New York Times reports.

“As he was leaving Riyadh, the Saudi capital, on Wednesday, Mr. Pompeo was asked if Saudi officials had told him whether the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was alive or dead.”

Said Pompeo: “I don’t want to talk about any of the facts. They didn’t want to either.”

Politico: “Pompeo’s performance can be chalked up to any number of factors, including the inevitable trade-offs most U.S. administrations find they must make in dealing with unsavory allies who happen to be key to American interests. But it was also an example of Pompeo — a former Army tank commander who loves tough talk — toeing the Trump line, even if it risks tarnishing his image.”

Cohen Meets with Prosecutors Investigating Trump

October 17, 2018 at 4:41 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Michael Cohen and his attorney met Wednesday with a group of state and federal law enforcement officials investigating various aspects of President Trump’s family business and charitable organization,” CNN reports.

“The group, which included the federal prosecutors from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York who charged Cohen in August and officials from the New York Attorney General’s office, met at the Midtown New York City office of Cohen’s attorney, Guy Petrillo.”

Forecasting the Races for Governor

October 17, 2018 at 3:59 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

FiveThirtyEight released a new forecast for the various governor’s races around the country.