Tag: Trump campaign

Sam Clovis’s really bad excuse for greenlighting a Trump campaign meeting with Russians

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website October 31, 2017:

Sam Clovis was one of the anonymous campaign officials cited in George Papadopoulos’s plea deal. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

Sam Clovis was always a pretty suspect pick by President Trump to become the chief science adviser at the Agriculture Department — mostly because he’s not actually a scientist. His chief qualification for the job seems to be that he was national co-chairman of Trump’s 2016 campaign. Democrats have also spotlighted his past comments skeptical of climate change and suggesting that laws protecting LGBT rights could lead to the legalization of pedophilia.

And now we can add another reason his nomination could be a key battle for Democrats — and a dicey proposition for Republicans.

The Washington Post’s Rosalind S. Helderman and Tom Hamburger reported Monday night that Clovis was one of those anonymous campaign officials cited in former Trump aide George Papadopoulos’s plea deal. Clovis was the one named as a “campaign supervisor,” and he both praised Papadopoulos’s efforts to broker a meeting with the Russians as “great work” and later urged Papadopoulos to make the trip rather than Trump. Continue reading “Sam Clovis’s really bad excuse for greenlighting a Trump campaign meeting with Russians”

‘This is a nothing burger’: How conservative media reacted to the Mueller indictments

The following article by Eli Rosenberg was posted on the Washington Post website October 31, 2017:

The revelation Monday of charges against three former Trump campaign officials in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe into possible Russian influence in American politics delivered a sharp jolt to the news cycle.

Anticipation over the arrests had been high for days after news that the first charges in Mueller’s investigation were imminent had seeped out over the weekend. And the documents outlining allegations against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, business partner Rick Gates and former Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, laid out what investigators had found in unvarnished detail. Continue reading “‘This is a nothing burger’: How conservative media reacted to the Mueller indictments”

Trump Campaign Got Early Word Russia Had Democrats’ Emails

The following article was posted on the New York Times website October 30, 2017:

Journalists wait for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at an Election Night event last year in Manhattan. Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The guilty plea of a 30-year-old campaign aide — so green that he listed Model United Nations in his qualifications — shifted the narrative on Monday of the Trump campaign’s interactions with Russia: Court documents revealed that Russian officials alerted the campaign, through an intermediary in April 2016, that they possessed thousands of Democratic emails and other “dirt” on Hillary Clinton.

That was two months before the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee was publicly revealed and the stolen emails began to appear online. The new court filings provided the first clear evidence that Trump campaign aides had early knowledge that Russia had stolen confidential documents on Mrs. Clinton and the committee, a tempting trove in a close presidential contest. Continue reading “Trump Campaign Got Early Word Russia Had Democrats’ Emails”

Mueller’s moves send message to other potential targets: Beware, I’m coming

The following article by Devlin Barrett, Sari Horwitz and Ellen Nakashima was posted on the Washington Post website October 30, 2017:

President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Manafort’s former business associate Rick Gates and Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos have all been charged in the special counsel’s investigation into Russian election interference. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post)

With the guilty plea of one Trump campaign official and a 31-page indictment of two others, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III spoke volumes more about the Russia probe than months of heated public debate. Without uttering a word, Mueller’s message was clear, according to veteran lawyers: He isn’t bluffing, and witnesses are talking.

The double-barreled court filings ratchet up the pressure on everyone under scrutiny in the investigation, lawyers said, in part because they show that a former Trump campaign adviser began cooperating with the FBI three months ago. Continue reading “Mueller’s moves send message to other potential targets: Beware, I’m coming”

Top campaign officials knew of Trump adviser’s outreach to Russia

The following article by Rosalind S. Helderman and Tom Hamburger was posted on the Washington Post website October 30, 2017:

George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty in early October to lying to federal officials about his contacts with Russian nationals. He is one of three former Trump campaign officials facing criminal charges. (Elyse Samuels/The Washington Post)

Several weeks after Donald Trump secured the Republican presidential nomination, his national campaign co-chairman urged a foreign policy adviser to meet with Russian officials to foster ties with that country’s government.

“Make the trip, if it is feasible,” Sam Clovis wrote in an August email to George Papadopoulos.

The email, included in court papers unsealed Monday, shows how an otherwise low-profile adviser has become a focus of the federal probe into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Continue reading “Top campaign officials knew of Trump adviser’s outreach to Russia”

What’s in the Indictment Against Manafort?

The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website October 30, 2017:

Trump, on the floor of the Republican National Convention in July in Cleveland. He was indicted for unrelated work on Monday. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Trump breaks silence, says probe should focus on Hillary Clinton

The federal government’s case against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and a longtime business associate is, for now, focused solely on their activities before going to work for Donald Trump.

The counts include conspiracy against the United States, money laundering and other ones related to their private business dealings. They are the first individuals charged in the Justice Department’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

But those expecting special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, a former FBI director, to file initial charges alleging Manafort and right-hand man Rick Gates colluded with the Kremlin during the 2016 campaign will find nothing of the sort in the indictment that was unsealed and released as Manafort was turning himself in at a FBI office in Washington. Continue reading “What’s in the Indictment Against Manafort?”

With money laundering charges against Paul Manafort, Trump’s ‘fake news’ claim is harder to defend

The following article by Amber Phillips was posted on the Washington Post website October 30, 2017:

President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Manafort’s former business associate Rick Gates and Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos have all been charged in the special counsel’s investigation into Russian election interference. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post)

This post has been updated. 

The independent investigation into Trump-Russia collusion just made its most serious move since it began in May. Three former campaign officials have been charged with crimes; one has pleaded guilty. President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his former business partner Rick Gates have been charged with 12 counts of financial crimes related to their work in Ukraine over the past decade.

And the special counsel announced that Trump’s foreign policy adviser, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty earlier this month to giving false statements to the FBI about his ties to a Russian-connected professor who promised “dirt” on Hillary Clinton.

Nothing to see here, Trump said of the news: Continue reading “With money laundering charges against Paul Manafort, Trump’s ‘fake news’ claim is harder to defend”

Three former Trump campaign officials charged by special counsel

The following article by Matt Zapotosky, Rosalind S. Helderman, Carol D Leonnig and Spencer S. HSu was posted on the Washington Post website October 30, 2017:

President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Manafort’s former business associate Rick Gates and Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos have all been charged in the special counsel’s investigation into Russian election interference. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post)

Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III on Monday revealed charges against three former Trump campaign officials — including onetime campaign chairman Paul Manafort — marking the first criminal allegations to come from probes into possible Russian influence in U.S. political affairs.

The charges are striking for their breadth, touching all levels of the Trump campaign and exploring the possible personal, financial wrongdoing of those involved, as well as what appeared to be a concerted effort by one campaign official to arrange a meeting with Russian officials. Continue reading “Three former Trump campaign officials charged by special counsel”

Analysis: An Odd Sequence of Russia-Related Events

The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website October 30, 2017:

There were signs aplenty that something was coming in the Russia inquiry

Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

The puzzle pieces were strewn about the board late last week, several small fragments waiting to be put together. There were signs aplenty something was coming in the congressional and federal probes into Russia’s 2016 election meddling, but in isolation, each piece failed to reveal much.

A relatively quiet day at the White House was upended Friday evening by a CNN report that Justice Department special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is poised to reveal formal charges against individuals who once had ties to or remain close to President Donald Trump. Other major media outlets matched the report, which came after several brow-furrowing developments that suggested increased activity in the federal inquiry.

The signs began to emerge Thursday afternoon. Richard M. Burr, the North Carolina Republican leading the Senate’s Russia probe, had a light but noteworthy encounter with reporters. Continue reading “Analysis: An Odd Sequence of Russia-Related Events”

Trump Tries to Shift Focus as First Charges Reportedly Loom in Russia Case

The following article by Julie Herschfeld Davis was posted on the New York Times website October 29, 2017:

President Trump, in a series of Sunday morning tweets, attacked Hillary Clinton, saying Republicans were pushing back against the Russia allegations by looking into her. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Pushing back against the accelerating criminal investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia, President Trump argued on Sunday that its focus should instead be on his 2016 rival, Hillary Clinton, even as the special counsel’s inquiry was reportedly poised to produce its first indictment.

In a series of tweets, Mr. Trump said Republicans were now fighting the Russia allegations by looking into Mrs. Clinton, apparently referring to new House investigations into her email practices and an Obama-era uranium deal with Russia. But the president made it clear he believed that Mrs. Clinton should be pursued more forcefully, writing, “DO SOMETHING!”

He did not say who should take action or what it should be, though critics have accused him of trying to sway the congressional and special counsel inquiries into Russian ties. Still, the outburst suggested that Mr. Trump, increasingly angry and frustrated about the investigations, is waging a concerted campaign to shift the focus to Mrs. Clinton and other Democrats. Continue reading “Trump Tries to Shift Focus as First Charges Reportedly Loom in Russia Case”