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Trump Says He’s Worried About a ‘Perjury Trap’

August 20, 2018 at 7:46 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump told Reuters he was worried that any statements under oath he provides to special counsel Robert Mueller could be used to bring perjury charges against him as part of the probe into Russia’s electoral interference.

“The president expressed fears that investigators could compare his statements with that of others who have testified in the probe, such as former FBI Director James Comey, and that any discrepancies could be used against him.”

Said Trump: “Even if I am telling the truth, that makes me a liar. That’s no good.”

Also interesting: “Trump also declined to say whether he might strip Mueller of his security clearance.”

McGahn Doesn’t Think He Implicated Trump

August 20, 2018 at 7:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

White House counsel Donald McGahn’s attorney, Bill Burck, told President Trump’s lawyers this weekend that McGahn did not assert that Trump engaged in any wrongdoing when he spoke to Mueller’s investigators in three lengthy interviews since last November, the Washington Post reports.

Said Burck: “He did not incriminate him.”

“Burck has assured Trump’s lawyers that McGahn did not witness Trump engaged in any crime and would have resigned from his White House post if he had.”

GOP Candidate Jokes Russians Will Help Him Win

August 20, 2018 at 6:44 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Scott Wager (R), who is running to unseat Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) joked that the Russian government will help him win in November, in audio obtained by HuffPost.

Said Wager: “By the way, the Russians are going to help me with Tom Wolf. If I have to use Paul Manafort, I will.”

Trump Lashes Out at the Fed

August 20, 2018 at 6:09 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump took another swipe at the Federal Reserve in an interview with Reuters, expressing concern that the central bank is raising interest rates after years of holding borrowing costs near zero.

Said Trump: “I’m not thrilled with his raising of interest rates, no. I’m not thrilled. I should be given some help by the Fed.”

GOP Lawmaker Admits He’s Trailing

August 20, 2018 at 6:04 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. George Holding (R-NC), who has won each of his three terms with more than 56% of the vote, told supporters that he is trailing challenger Linda Coleman (D), McClatchy reports.

In a fundraising email, Holding announced internal poll numbers that he says show him down three points.

Said campaign manager Carter Wrenn: “We want people to understand where we are. We don’t want people to take this election for granted. George has always won by a pretty comfortable margin. This is a completely different election.”

Mulvaney Trying to Protect Home State from Tariffs

August 20, 2018 at 6:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, “is trying to use his influence to help a South Carolina business that could be badly wounded by the White House’s trade policies,” McClatchy reports.

“Mulvaney, a former South Carolina Republican congressman, has been making personal pleas to administration officials to protect the viability of Element Electronics, a television assembly plant in his old district that has said it will halt operations because of tariffs.”

Clinton Steps Back Into the Fundraising Fray

August 20, 2018 at 5:58 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Hillary Clinton is stepping back into the limelight ahead of the November midterm elections, helping to raise money for the Democratic National Committee in a series of fundraisers,” NBC News reports.

“The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee will headline three events — in San Francisco, Chicago and New York — for the DNC this fall to boost the party’s chances to seize control of the U.S. House and Senate.”

Trump Didn’t Know How Long McGahn Spent with Mueller

August 20, 2018 at 4:21 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“White House counsel Don McGahn’s 30 hours of conversations with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has unnerved President Trump, who didn’t know the full extent of McGahn’s discussions,” CNN reports.

“Trump was spending another weekend at his New Jersey golf club when The New York Times first reported McGahn’s cooperation with Mueller’s office… The President was unsettled by the notion that he didn’t know everything McGahn said to the special counsel during their interviews, the sources said. And while he had approved the cooperation, Trump did not know the conversations stretched for 30 hours or that his legal team didn’t conduct a full debriefing with McGahn after the fact.”

Pruitt Called White House Once Using $43K Phone Booth

August 20, 2018 at 3:56 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The $43,000 phone booth that former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt installed in his office may not have been worth all the headaches it caused him,” the Washington Post reports.

“He only placed one phone call to the White House, newly released records from the agency show. It lasted five minutes.”

Newspaper Backs Candidate Who Was ‘Abducted by Aliens’

August 20, 2018 at 3:11 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Miami Herald endorsed Bettina Rodriguez Aguilera (R), who is running for Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s (R-FL) seat in the Republican primary, while calling her “a strong candidate in the race with plausible conservative ideas,” The Hill reports.

Rodriguez Aguilera said in a 2009 television interview that she boarded a spaceship occupied by aliens when she was 7 years old.

Prosecutors Preparing Charges Against Cohen

August 20, 2018 at 2:19 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, could be charged before the end of the month with bank fraud in his dealings with the taxi industry and with committing other financial crimes, the AP reports.

“Absent a quick resolution, it’s believed that prosecutors would put off a decision on how to go forward with the case until after the election in compliance with an informal Justice Department policy of avoiding bringing prosecutions that could be seen as political and influence voters.”

Scott Raising Big Money from His Appointees

August 20, 2018 at 2:14 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Locked in one of the nation’s costliest elections, Gov. Rick Scott (R) is pulling campaign money not only from his own pocket and from major GOP national donors but also from another rich vein of cash,” the Ocala Star Banner reports.

“Well-heeled Floridians appointed by Scott to a number of state boards during his two terms as governor are ponying up to help him unseat three-term Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL).”

“Scott has collected close to $1.4 million from 127 appointees, their spouses and children, who have given either to his Senate campaign or the New Republican PAC supporting his bid.”

Few Think Trump Hires the ‘Best People’

August 20, 2018 at 1:26 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Monmouth poll finds that just 30% say President Trump hires the “best people,” while a clear majority of 58% say he does not. Another 7% volunteer that the quality of his hiring choices have been mixed.

While 67% of Republicans say that Trump does hire the best people, a sizable minority of his fellow partisans either disagree (18%) or give a mixed response (11%). On the other hand, 93% of Democrats say that Trump does not hire the best people.

Meanwhile, Trump’s overall job rating stands at 43% approve and 50% disapprove.

Some Trump Advisers Wanted to Strip Obama Clearance

August 20, 2018 at 12:56 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Adam Entous: “As Trump stepped up his public and private attacks on Obama, some of the new president’s advisers thought that he should take the extraordinary step of denying Obama himself access to intelligence briefings that were made available to all of his living predecessors. Trump was told about the importance of keeping former Presidents, who frequently met with foreign leaders, informed.”

“In the end, Trump decided not to exclude Obama at the urging of H.R. McMaster.”

Swalwell Says He’ll Consider White House Bid

August 20, 2018 at 12:35 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) told CNN that he would consider a 2020 presidential run after the midterm elections in November.

Said Swalwell: “I’m going to do all I can first to win my way back to Congress. And then after the midterms I’m going to consider it.”

Trump Complains About His Fed Chair Pick

August 20, 2018 at 12:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump “said he expected Jerome Powell to be a cheap-money Fed chairman and lamented to wealthy Republican donors at a Hamptons fundraiser that his nominee instead raised interest rates,” Bloomberg reports.

“The Federal Reserve has raised rates five times since Trump took office, including twice this year under Powell. The president nominates the Fed’s chairman and other governors in Washington, but the agency is independent and historically frustrated presidents by raising interest rates without regard for politics.”

Kavanaugh Proposed Graphic Questions for Bill Clinton

August 20, 2018 at 11:25 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A memo just released by the National Archives reveals that Brett Kavanaugh laid out in explicit language the questions President Clinton should have been asked about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, the Washington Post reports.

Among the questions: “If Monica Lewinsky says that you inserted a cigar into her vagina while you were in the Oval Office area, would she be lying?”

The memo to independent counsel Kenneth Starr also included this: “After reflecting this evening, I am strongly opposed to giving the President any ‘break’ in the questioning regarding the details of the Lewinsky relationship unless he resigns or confesses perjury. He has required the urgent attention of the courts and the Supreme Court for frivolous privilege claims — all to cover up his oral sex from an intern. He has lied to his aides. He has lied to the American people. He has tried to disgrace you and the Office with a sustained propaganda campaign that would make Nixon blush.”

Chelsea Clinton Won’t Rule Out Future Run

August 20, 2018 at 10:37 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Chelsea Clinton has said she has not ruled out running for office one day, describing a move into politics as a “definite no now” but a “definite maybe” in the future, The Guardian reports.

Said Clinton: “While I disagree with the president … I think my family … is being really well represented. But if that were to change, if my city Councillor were to retire, if my congresswoman were to retire, my senators, and I thought that I could make a positive impact, then I think I would really have to ask my answer to that question of whether to run for office.”