Tag: Trump Justice Department

Trump calls on Justice Department to investigate anonymous NYT writer

The following post was posted on the Axios.com website September 7, 2018:

Donald Trump Credit: Mandel Ngan, AFP, Getty Images

President Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he thinks Attorney General Jeff Sessions should investigate who the anonymous writer of the New York Times op-ed is, claiming it is a national security concern, according to the AP.

The big picture: Trump has already tried to claim that not revealing the identity of the op-ed writer poses a national security concern, although he has yet to specify how. He has also said he considers the act treasonous.

View the post here.

Want to Know More About: Trump’s Department of Justice Tweets

John Berman: “The President Is Criticizing Federal Charges Against Two Republican Members Of Congress Because Those Charges Hurt Chances For Republicans To Hold Those Seats.” JOHN BERMAN: “We also have a new update on president Trump’s level of support for an impartial and apolitical justice system. That level apparently approaching zero this morning. The president is criticizing federal charges against two Republican members of congress because those charges hurt chances for Republicans to hold those seats. His unambiguous statement is raising alarm even with members of his own party, one senator saying this is not some banana republic.” [New Day, CNN, 9/4/18; Video]

John Berman: “President Trump Is Slamming His Attorney General Jeff Sessions And More Importantly Making It Clear He Doesn’t Want The Justice Department To Remain Apolitical.” JOHN BERMAN: “Back in Washington, president Trump is slamming his attorney general Jeff Sessions and more importantly making it clear he doesn’t want the justice department to remain apolitical. Last month, New York Congressman Chris Collins was charged with 13 counts of fraud related to an alleged insider trading scheme. California’s Duncan Hunter was indicted by a grand jury after allegedly misusing a quarter million dollars in campaign funds.” [New Day, CNN, 9/4/18; Video] Continue reading “Want to Know More About: Trump’s Department of Justice Tweets”

Donald Trump’s approval rating sinks to lowest of his presidency

The following article by Joanna Walters was posted on the Guardian website August 31, 2018:

New survey shows first time the national displeasure rating has exceeded 50%, and a majority of support for Mueller’s Russia investigation

Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Indiana. Credit: Mandel Ngan, AFP, Getty Images

Donald Trump has slumped to the lowest approval rating of his presidency, with 60% disapproving of his performance as the US president, according to a new national survey.

The figure includes 53% who say they disapprove strongly of his performance in the White House, the first time the national displeasure rating has exceeded 50%, according to a new ABC/Washington Post poll published on Friday morning.

The poll also found that a majority support the special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and think Trump should not fire the attorney general, Jeff Sessions.

View the complete article here.

Trump personally lobbying GOP senators to flip on Sessions

The following article by Eliana Johnson and Elana Schor was posted on the Politico.com website August 29, 2018:

Opposition to the attorney general’s firing, long seen as a red line by lawmakers, has softened in recent days.

The president, who has spent a year and a half fulminating against his attorney general in public, finally got traction on Capitol Hill thanks to the growing frustration of a handful of GOP senators with their former colleague, Jeff Sessions. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The willingness of Republican senators to turn on Attorney General Jeff Sessions is the result of a furious lobbying campaign from President Donald Trump, who for the past 10 days has been venting his anger at Sessions to “any senator who will listen,” as one GOP Senate aide put it.

The president, who has spent a year and a half fulminating against his attorney general in public, finally got traction on Capitol Hill thanks to the growing frustration of a handful of GOP senators with their former colleague – most importantly, Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham, who have been irritated by Sessions’ opposition to a criminal justice reform bill they support, according to interviews with more than a half-dozen congressional GOP aides, Trump advisers, and Republicans close to the White House. Continue reading “Trump personally lobbying GOP senators to flip on Sessions”

Want to Know More About: Attorney General Jeff Sessions

Alisyn Camerota: “The President Has Been Lobbying Senators To Get Them Comfortable It Sounds Like Or To Get Them On His Side If He’s Going To Fire Jeff Sessions, The Attorney General.” ALISYN CAMEROTA: “Somebody else monitoring Twitter to see if he still has a job each morning is attorney general Jeff Sessions. We assume he wakes up as well and checks the Twitter feed. We know from new reporting that the president has been lobbying senators to get them comfortable it sounds like or to get them on his side if he’s going to fire Jeff sessions, the attorney general.” [New Day, CNN, 8/30/18; Video]

Jeffery Toobin: “This Has Enormous Significance Because If Jeff Sessions Is Replaced By Someone Who Won’t Have A Conflict Of Interest Regarding The Mueller Investigation, This Person Will Take Over From Rod Rosenstein As The Supervisor And Potential Firer Of Robert Muller.” JEFFERY TOOBIN: “Of course, this has enormous significance because if Jeff Sessions is replaced by someone who won’t have a conflict of interest regarding the Mueller investigation, this person will take over from Rod Rosenstein as the supervisor and potential firer of Robert Muller.” [New Day, CNN, 8/30/18; Video]

Trump privately revived the idea of firing Sessions this month, according to people familiar with the discussions

The following article by Carol D. Leonnig, Josh Dawsey and Gabriel Pogrund was posted on the Washington Post website August 28, 2018:

President Trump once again attacked Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Sessions hit back by saying the Justice Department will not be politically influenced. (Reuters)

President Trump, who levied extraordinary public attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions in recent weeks, has privately revived the idea of firing him in conversations with his aides and personal lawyers this month, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

His attorneys concluded that they have persuaded him — for now — not to make such a move while the special-counsel investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign is ongoing, the people said.

But there is growing evidence that Senate Republicans, who have long cautioned Trump against firing Sessions, are now resigned to the prospect that he may do so after the November midterm elections — a sign that one of the last remaining walls of opposition to such a move is crumbling.

View the complete article here.

Republicans ready to grill Bruce Ohr as Trump-DOJ feud escalates

The following article by Olivia Beaver was posted on the Hill website August 28, 2018:

Rep. Mark Meadows

House Republicans are sharpening their knives for an upcoming closed-door interview with Bruce Ohr, a Department of Justice (DOJ) official who has faced increasing attacks from President Trump and his allies over ties to the controversial “Steele dossier.”

Ohr, who has agreed to a voluntary interview with House investigators on Tuesday, is the latest target among Republicans who claim there is ample evidence of bias against Trump among the top brass at the DOJ and FBI during the 2016 presidential race.

Ohr has increasingly come under GOP scrutiny for his contacts with an opposition research firm and former British spy Christopher Steele, the driving forces behind the dossier containing a series of salacious allegations about Trump’s ties to Russia. Glenn Simpson, co-founder of opposition research firm Fusion GPS, hired Steele to help compile the dossier — which was bankrolled in part by Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

View the complete article here.

Critics fear Trump’s attacks are doing lasting damage to the justice system

The following article by Felicia Sonmez, Josh Dawsey and Ann E. Marimow was posted on the Washington Post website August 23, 2018:

President Trump once again attacked Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Sessions hit back by saying the Justice Department will not be politically influenced. (Reuters)

President Trump took his criticism of the criminal justice system to new heights Thursday, prompting alarm from national security and law enforcement officials who fear the president is seeking to protect himself from encroaching investigations at the expense of lasting damage to ­institutions.

In a “Fox & Friends” interview aired Thursday, Trump argued it “almost ought to be illegal” for “flippers” to get plea deals in exchange for testimony — a reference to his former attorney, Michael Cohen, who implicated Trump this week in a scheme to cover up alleged affairs before the 2016 election. The president also lashed out at Attorney General Jeff Sessions for not “taking over” the Justice Department and praised his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who was convicted of eight felonies by a federal jury in Alexandria, Va., this week.

The sense of crisis was amplified by Trump’s personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, who said in a Thursday interview with The Washington Post that the president had asked his legal team weeks ago for advice on pardoning Manafort and others facing investigation.

View the complete article here.

Sessions fires back at Trump

The following article by Morgan Chalfant was posted on the Hill website August 23, 2018:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a rare statement Thursday said that the Justice Department “will not be improperly influenced by political considerations.”

In one of his toughest statements following criticism from President Trump, Sessions defended his leadership of the Justice Department, which has come under increasing attack from the president and his allies.

“While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations. I demand the highest standards, and where they are not met, I take action,” Sessions said in a direct response to Trump’s interview on Fox.

View the complete article here.

Trump says DOJ official should be fired over role in Russia probe

The following article by Jordan Fabian was posted on the Hill website August 20, 2018:

President Trump on Monday said Justice Department official Bruce Ohr should be fired for his involvement in the Russia investigation.

In a tweet calling for Ohr’s firing, Trump also took a swipe at Attorney General Jeff Sessions, suggesting he does not have the resolve to ax Ohr. Sessions has recused himself from the Russia probe.

“Will Bruce Ohr, whose family received big money for helping to create the phony, dirty and discredited Dossier, ever be fired from the Jeff Sessions  ‘Justice’ Department? A total joke!” Trump tweeted.

View the complete article here.