TheUS Justice Department‘s investigation into the origins ofFBIspecial counselRobert Mueller‘s probe into Russian election hacking in 2016, instigated byDonald Trump‘s attorney generalWilliam Barrand widely seen as a retaliatory measure to explore “deep state” liberal bias, is now “a criminal inquiry”, according to reports.
The president meanwhile finds himself under renewed pressure as lawyers forSummer Zervos, a former candidate on his reality showThe Apprenticewho has accused Mr Trump ofsexual assault, say their client has evidence to corroborate her claim that he attacked her in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2007.
White House counselorKellyanne Conwayis also in trouble after threatening aWashington Examinerreporter who asked her about her husband, a frequent critic of President Trump, prompting the journalist in question to publish a transcript of their phone call.
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In the ongoing court struggle for Trump’s tax returns, his attorneys said on Thursday they intend to take their fight with the House Oversight Committee to the Supreme Court.
Trump’s legal team asked the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to revisit a three-judge panel’s decision earlier this month upholding the Oversight Committee’s demand for the president’s finances from his long-time accountantsMazars.
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They also filed a separate motion saying they intend to “ask the Supreme Court to review whether the Mazars subpoena exceeds the Committee’s constitutional and statutory authority. ” The president’s lawyers believe there’s a chance the Supreme Court will take up their petition so argued the appeals court should refrain from expediting last week’s order.
The court filings follow a separate case being fought this before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York to stop Manhattan district attorneyCyrus Vancefrom getting hold of Trump papers from Mazars.
The two sides in that dispute reached an agreement to fast -track questions over the president’s legal immunity to the Supreme Court, Trump lawyerWilliam Consovoyhaving argued thateven if the president had shot someone in the street, he would still have to be impeached and removed from office before he could face criminal charges.
The DC Circuit judges ruled earlier this month ruled two to one in favor of the House Oversight Committee, upholding a district judge ruling allowing its subpoena to go into force, only for the president’s team to appeal .
The House committee has recently aruged that the launching of the impeachment inquiry meant its case had grown added urgency.
“The committee is engaged in oversight activity to examine whether federal officials – including the president – are making decisions in the country best interest and not for their own financial gain, “its lawyers wrote in a motion.
“Further, the House is now engaged in an impeachment investigation against President Trump, which is advancing on an expedited basis, and information received in response to the Mazars subpoena could be highly relevant to that inquiry as well. “
On the subject of vengeful Republicans making life difficult, influential South Carolina senatorLindsey Graham(memorablly described as “a piece of s ***” by Obama national security adviserSusan Ricethis week, to his fury) yesterday introduced a Senate resolution denouncing the impeachment inquiry after a House equivalent tabled by minority leaderKevin McCarthywas swiftly shot down.
Would-be Trump GOP challengerJoe Walshinvoked the memory of Graham’s late friend and Arizona senatorJohn McCainwhen he responded yesterday, saying if McCain were still alive “he’d be slapping Lindsey Graham upside the head”.
Here’s Clark Mindock’s report.
The House of Representatives voted 227 – 181 in favor of the Stopping Harmful Interference in Elections for a Lasting Democracy (or SHIELD) Act, a measure that would require candidates to notify the FBI if they are approached by foreign powers offering dirt on campaign opponents or other meddling initiatives.
It also restricts political donations from foreign nationals and requires greater transparency from Facebook advertising.
“Most Americans know that foreign governments have no business interfering in our elections, “saysZoe Lofgren, who chairs the House Administration Committee and was the bill’s chief sponsor.
Incredibly – or not-so-incredibly with this administration – the White House has objected and threatened to veto it should it pass the Senate and reach Trump’s desk.
The bill’s “expansive definitions seem designed to instill a persistent fear among Americans engaged in political activity that any interactions they may have with a foreign national could put them in legal jeopardy,” it said
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House speakerNancy Pelosihas already vented her frustration about Republican opposition on Twitter after the likes of Illinois congressmanRodney Davismoaned it was not about making ” real, legislative progress on preventing foreign interference in our elections “but about pusing” partisan politics for the Democratic agenda “.
Trump continues to lash out at the CIA whistleblower whose complaint about his quid pro quo call with Ukrainian presidentVolodymyr Zelenskyof 25 July sparked the House impeachment inquiry, demanding to know where he or she is and labeling the matter: “A giant scam!”
But Democrats investigating the matter say the complainant’s testimony is no longer required, so juicy have the depostions been the panel has heard from diplomatic officals in its series of beind-closed-door interviews,according toThe Washington Post.
Virginia Democratic congressmanGerry Connolly, who sits on the Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees, tellsThe Pos t:
I think it’s quite clear we have a surfeit of evidence that corroborates in full every aspect of what happened and the policy they were pursuing.
Trump and his fellow Republicans decrying the process have insisted on knowing the whistleblower’s identity, potentially imperilling their personal safety, but their lawyer,Mark Zaid, tells the newspaper who they are “is completely irrelevant as the complaint is now public and the primary actors at senior levels are being interviewed by members of the House from both political parties “.
A shame the White HouseNo longer subscribes (to either) *********** (The Post) ************* (or (The NYT) as you might think it would be worth their while to read this stuff.
White House CounselorKellyanne Conwayis also in trouble after threateningWashington ExaminerreporterCaitlin Yilekwho asked her about her husband – DC lawyerGeorge Conway, a frequent critic of President Trump who earlier this month wrote acomprehensive long-readforThe Atlanticarguing he was unfit for office – prompting Yilek to publish a transcript of their phone call andThe Examinerto run the audio.
Yilek had been attempting to follow upBloomberg‘sstoryearlier this weekabout Trump considering making the aide his new acting chief of staff in place o f thehaplessMick Mulvaneyand asked about Mr Conway in passing, prompting this angry response:
So, listen, if you’re going to cover my personal life, if you’re going to cover my personal life, then we’re welcome to do the same around here. If it has nothing to do with my job, which it doesn’t, that’s obvious, then we’re either going to expect you to cover everybody’s personal life or we’re going to start covering them over here.
She continued:
You’re really going places. Let me tell you something, from a powerful woman. Don’t pull the crap where you’re trying to undercut another woman based on who she’s married to. He gets his power through me, if you haven’t noticed. Not the other way around. And if these are the, quote, standards, unquote, at The Washington Examiner, then, yes, I’d be happy to talk to your editor. But I’ve known your editor since before you were born.
Scary stuff from the woman who coined the Orwellian phrase “alternative facts”.
This was the response from (Hugo Gurdon, the paper’s editor-in-chief:
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The president meanwhile finds himself under renewed pressure as lawyers forSummer Zervos, a former candidate on Trump’s reality showThe Apprenticewho has accused him of sexual assault, say their client has evidence to corroborate her claim the he attacked her in a hotel room in Los Angeles in 2007.
Zervos is just one ofa string of womento accuse Trump of sexually inappropriate behavior, this of course being the same man who boasted of “grabbing women by the p ****” in anAccess Hollywoodtape widely shared a month before his election win in 2016.
Earlier this mo nth,a new bookentitledAll the President’s Women: Donald Trump and the Making of a Predator, by Barry Levine and Monique El-Faizy, promised 23 new allegations against him, its publication following on the heels of theharrowing storyE Jean Carroll
Trump has vociferously denied all of the assault allegations, including saying Carroll was “not his type”. Zervos sued Trump following his denial of her claims and, in March, an appellate court ruled that he could not prevent the suit from moving forward despite his lawyer’s argument that Trump’s current office put him above the law.
Alex Woodward has this report.
The US Justice Department’s investigation into the origins of FBI special counselRobert Mueller‘s probe into Russian election hacking in 2016, instigated byDonald Trump‘s attorney generalWilliam Barrand widely seen as a retaliatory measure to explore “deep state” liberal bias, is now “a criminal inquiry”,according toThe New York Times.
The change of status, upgrading the matter from an administrative review, empowers Connecticut state attorneyJohn Durhamto subpoena witnesses and documents and impanel a grand jury.
Durham has been examining whether the government intelligence collection efforts related to Trump associates were lawful and appropriate , essentially seeing the Justice Department investigate itself.
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