Did President Donald Trump urge former FBI Director James Comey to go easy on former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn? Speaking to reporters in Sochi, the Russian president said that the USA has become engulfed by "political schizophrenia" surrounding Trump's alleged ties to Russia, wrecking efforts to foster a new era of partnership between their two countries.
But there is evident a propensity for President Trump to view one of the nation's premiere adversaries more favorably than deserved.
Although a U.S. president can legally disclose classified information as he deems appropriate, doing so is typically a decision planned out in advance, with consideration of what should and should not be shared, and the benefits and risks in doing so.
Trump himself is helping investigators put all of those pieces together, through interviews, tweets and offhand comments to reporters, said Zeidenberg. Yet U.S. allies and some members of Congress have expressed alarm. He dismissed outrage over Trump's disclosures as United States politicians whipping up "anti-Russian sentiment".
Asked what he thinks of the Trump presidency, Putin said it's up to the American people to judge but his performance can only be rated "only when he's allowed to work at full capacity", implying that someone is hampering Trump's efforts.
Trump left the White House on Wednesday morning to head to CT where he was scheduled to give the commencement address at the US Coast Guard Academy.
President Donald Trump's administration has careened from chaos to free fall after disclosures the president provided classified intelligence to Russian Federation and reportedly asked then-FBI director Jim Comey to shut down the investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. But other legal experts said investigators would consider a series of interactions among the president, the FBI and the Justice Department about the Flynn investigation and a broader counterintelligence probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The Comey memo caused alarm on Capitol Hill and raised questions about whether Trump attempted to interfere with a federal investigation.
In a letter to acting FBI director Andrew McCabe, Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Jason Chaffetz, demanded the bureau turn over "all memoranda, notes, summaries, and recordings referring to or relating to any communications between Comey and the president" by next Wednesday. Former Justice Department prosecutor Beth Wilkinson of Wilkinson Walsh & Eskovitz said the president's previous litigation conduct may discourage defense lawyers from taking his case.
Timberwolves receive pick No. 7 in NBA Draft Lottery
The Celtics obviously have the ability to sweeten any deal that would include this year's No. 1 overall pick. And if the Celtics don't play any better than they did in the first half of the opener, that could be it.
The panel's top Democrat, Elijah Cummings of Maryland, a constant Trump critic, called the allegation of Trump pressure on Comey "explosive" and said "it appears like a textbook case of criminal obstruction of justice". "The Republican control of the House and Senate [would likely] slow down the process". The European officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak publicly.
The White House on Tuesday said the report was "not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between the president and Mr. Comey".
"Typically it's been thought that the White House, as an institution, was a voice of caution not zealousness" on leak investigations, said Pozen.
Reports about the Comey memo followed a week of chaos at the White House after Trump fired Comey.
A Reuters reporter asked White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Wednesday if the president planned to hire his own lawyer.
"This inquiry by the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and the ongoing investigations by other bipartisan committees in Congress, must and will continue", Mitchell said. Then, Comey would need to testify, as the Senate Intelligence Committee has just invited him to do. "Memos, transcripts, tapes - the list keeps getting longer", he said. "I don't know that you could say the same about the president". Congress can then install the vice president in the Oval Office with a two-thirds vote.
For one, he asked Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to leave the room before speaking privately with Comey about Flynn, according to a Comey associate.
The administration spent the first half of Tuesday defending Trump's disclosure of classified information to senior Russian officials.
Comments