Tag: Trumpgate

Fired US attorney: Watch how Trump reacts to Mueller charges

The following article by Brett Samuels was posted on the Hill website October 29, 2017:

Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Sunday it will be important to see how President Trump reacts to the first charges in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“We know from history in recent months that the president of the United States has strong reactions to public events. Even events that have been caused by his own actions,” Bharara told CNN’s Jake Tapper, explaining he expects Trump could react in two ways to charges potentially against an ally.

Bharara said the public should ask, “Is he sending a message of intimidation in some way through himself or his cohorts suggesting people should not be talking and people should keep their mouth shut?” Continue reading “Fired US attorney: Watch how Trump reacts to Mueller charges”

Scrutiny mounts for Trump digital operation

The following article by Morgan Chalfant was posted on the Hill website October 27, 2017:

Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Scrutiny on the digital side of President Trump’s 2016 campaign is mounting after revelations that the head of Cambridge Analytica, a data mining and analysis firm that worked for the campaign, contacted WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange about Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s emails.

The Daily Beast reported Wednesday that Alexander Nix, Cambridge Analytica’s CEO, told a third party that he reached out to the WikiLeaks founder last year about the emails that Clinton deleted from the server she used while secretary of State.

The Trump campaign paid Cambridge Analytica millions during the 2016 presidential race. In the aftermath of the Assange revelations, aides have raced to distance the campaign from the firm.

Continue reading “Scrutiny mounts for Trump digital operation”

Trump campaign data firm ‘approached WikiLeaks during US election for Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails’

The following article by Jeremy B. White was posted on the Independent website October 25, 2017:

Julian Assange in May at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Mr. Assange confirmed on Twitter that he had been approached before the 2016 election by the chief executive of Cambridge Analytica. Credit Peter Nicholls/Reuters

A political data firm employed by the Trump campaign sought to work with WikiLeaks, publisher Julian Assange has said.

The proposed partnership was first uncovered by the Daily Beast, which reported that Cambridge Analytica approached the anti-secrecy organisation in an effort to locate the 33,000 emails deleted from Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s private email server.

The Trump campaign effectively found an ally in WikiLeaks during the campaign when the organisation published thousands of internal emails from Democratic Party operatives, moving Donald Trump to proclaim “I love WikiLeaks” in response to one disclosure. Continue reading “Trump campaign data firm ‘approached WikiLeaks during US election for Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails’”

Trump’s former lawyer huddles with House investigators in Russia probe

The following article by Karoun Demirjian was posted on the Washington Post website October 24, 2017:

Michael Cohen, a former attorney for President Trump’s business, departs from a House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill on Oct. 24. The committee is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal lawyer and a former lawyer for his business, met with the House Intelligence Committee for almost six hours Tuesday in what one committee Democrat called a “contentious” exchange.

The committee also met for several hours with Trump’s former campaign digital director, Brad Parscale, who said in a CBS interview earlier this month that Trump won the election through use of Facebook advertising.

That meeting comes just one week before House and Senate investigators are expected to speak with Facebook, Twitter and Google executives, in back-to-back public hearings on Nov. 1 to investigate how Russia used social media to try to influence the election. Continue reading “Trump’s former lawyer huddles with House investigators in Russia probe”

Hopes Dim for Congressional Russia Inquiries as Parties Clash

The following article by Nicholas Fandos was posted on the New York Times website October 22, 2017:

Representative Adam B. Schiff, left, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, and Representative K. Michael Conaway, Republican of Texas, have maintained a productive relationship in helping lead the panel, but the committee has been on rocky ground for months. Credit J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press

WASHINGTON — In a secured room in the basement of the Capitol in July, Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, fielded question after question from members of the House Intelligence Committee. Though the allotted time for the grilling had expired, he offered to stick around as long as they wanted.

But Representative Trey Gowdy, who spent nearly three years investigating Hillary Clinton’s culpability in the deadly 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, was growing frustrated after two hours. You are in an unwinnable situation, Mr. Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, counseled Mr. Kushner. If you leave now, Democrats will say you did not answer all the questions. If you stay, they will keep you here all week.

The exchange, described by three people with knowledge of it, typified the political morass that is crippling the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election — and whether the Trump campaign colluded in any way. Continue reading “Hopes Dim for Congressional Russia Inquiries as Parties Clash”

Trump pledges at least $430,000 of his own money to help cover aides’ legal costs related to Russia probes

The following article by John Wagner was posted on the Washington Post website October 21, 2017:

President Trump says the “real” Russia story involves a deal on U.S. uranium mines under the Obama administration struck when Hillary Clinton ran the State Department and not the “hoax” collusion story. (Reuters)

President Trump plans to spend at least $430,000 of his personal funds to help cover the mounting legal costs incurred by White House staff and campaign aides related to the ongoing investigations of Russian meddling in last year’s election, a White House official said.

The Washington Post reported last month that the Republican National Committee had spent roughly that amount to pay lawyers representing Trump and his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., in the multiple investigations. Continue reading “Trump pledges at least $430,000 of his own money to help cover aides’ legal costs related to Russia probes”

Mueller’s team interviewed Priebus on Friday

The following article by Josh Dawsey and Annie Karni was posted on the politico.com website October 13, 2017:

‘He was happy to answer all of their questions,’ the former White House chief of staff’s lawyer said.

Former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus had been preparing for several weeks, according to people who spoke with him. | Alex Brandon/AP

Former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus was interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller’s team on Friday, according to his lawyer, William Burck.

“Mr. Priebus was voluntarily interviewed by Special Counsel Mueller’s team today. He was happy to answer all of their questions,” Burck said.

The interview, which took place at the special counsel’s office, was expected as part of Mueller’s sprawling Russia-related investigation. Priebus had been preparing for several weeks, according to people who spoke with him.

Priebus didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon. Continue reading “Mueller’s team interviewed Priebus on Friday”

Manafort Had $60 Million Relationship With a Russian Oligarch

The following article by Aggelos Petropoulos and Richard Engel was posted on the NNBC News website October 13, 2017:

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaks with Oleg Deripaska, head of “The base element” company at the International Investment Forum in Sochi on Sept. 19, 2008. ILIA PITALEV / AFP-Getty Images file

LONDON — Paul Manafort, a former campaign manager for President Donald Trump, has much stronger financial ties to a Russian oligarch than have been previously reported.

An NBC News investigation reveals that $26 million changed hands in the form of a loan between a company linked to Manafort and the oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, a billionaire with close ties to the Kremlin.

The loan brings the total of their known business dealings to around $60 million over the past decade, according to financial documents filed in Cyprus and the Cayman Islands.

Manafort was forced to resign from the Trump campaign in August 2016, following allegations of improper financial dealings, charges he has strenuously denied. He is now a central figure in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Investigators have said they are looking into Manafort’s financial ties to prominent figures in Russia. Continue reading “Manafort Had $60 Million Relationship With a Russian Oligarch”

How Russia Harvested American Rage to Reshape U.S. Politics

The following article by Nicholas Confessore and Daisuke Wakabayashi was posted on the New York Times website October 9, 2017:

Credit: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

YouTube videos of police beatings on American streets. A widely circulated internet hoax about Muslim men in Michigan collecting welfare for multiple wives. A local news story about two veterans brutally mugged on a freezing winter night.

All of these were recorded, posted or written by Americans. Yet all ended up becoming grist for a network of Facebook pages linked to a shadowy Russian company that has carried out propaganda campaigns for the Kremlin, and which is now believed to be at the center of a far-reaching Russian program to influence the 2016 presidential election.

A New York Times examination of hundreds of those posts shows that one of the most powerful weapons that Russian agents used to reshape American politics was the anger, passion and misinformation that real Americans were broadcasting across social media platforms. Continue reading “How Russia Harvested American Rage to Reshape U.S. Politics”

Google uncovers Russian-bought ads on YouTube, Gmail and other platforms

The following article by Elizabeth Dwoskin, Adam Entous and Craig Timberg was posted on the Wasington Post website October 9, 2017:

Google found tens of thousands of dollars were spent on ads by Russian agents who aimed to spread disinformation across Google’s platforms. (Elyse Samuels/The Washington Post)

SAN FRANCISCO — Google for the first time has uncovered evidence that Russian operatives exploited the company’s platforms in an attempt to interfere in the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the company’s investigation.

The Silicon Valley giant has found that tens of thousands of dollars were spent on ads by Russian agents who aimed to spread disinformation across Google’s many products, which include YouTube, as well as advertising associated with Google search, Gmail, and the company’s DoubleClick ad network, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters that have not been made public. Google runs the world’s largest online advertising business, and YouTube is the world’s largest online video site. Continue reading “Google uncovers Russian-bought ads on YouTube, Gmail and other platforms”