” … Trump’s working class supporters have gotten little economic help from his policies, and are unlikely to receive it in the future. Trump’s health care bill, far from protecting everyone (as he promised), will cause 23 million Americans to become uninsured. It will raise premiums for the oldest and sickest Americans, which include many of his most fervent working-class supporters. Although Trump promised during the campaign that he would not touch Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, his proposed budget cuts both Social Security and Medicaid. Although he promised to help people who are out of work find jobs, his proposed budget slashes job training programs, and so on and so on.” More …
Executive Branch
The executive branch personnel (White House) including the president, the cabinet and advisors.
Trump’s White House Orders Agencies to Ignore Democrats’ Oversight Requests
“The White House is telling federal agencies to blow off Democratic lawmakers’ oversight requests, as Republicans fear the information could be weaponized against President Donald Trump. At meetings with top officials for various government departments this spring, Uttam Dhillon, a White House lawyer, told agencies not to cooperate with such requests from Democrats, according to Republican sources inside and outside the administration.” More …
Trump Failing to Track Foreign Cash at His Hotels
“The Trump Organization does not ‘attempt to identify individual travelers who have not specifically identified themselves as being a representative of a foreign government entity,’ according to a new company pamphlet. The policy suggests that it is up to foreign governments, not Trump hotels, to determine whether they self-report their business.” More …
Money Laundering a Concern at Trump Property
“The net is closing around a duo of fugitive oligarchs and their kin accused of laundering Kazakh money in posh U.S. real estate — including Trump Organization properties.” More …
Special Counsel’s Trump investigation Includes Manafort Case
“The special counsel investigating possible ties between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia’s government has taken over a separate criminal probe involving former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and may expand his inquiry to investigate the roles of the attorney general and deputy attorney general in the firing of FBI Director James Comey, The Associated Press has learned.” More …
How the Trump Administration’s Secret Efforts to Ease Russia Sanctions Fell Short
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Unknown to the public at the time, top Trump administration officials, almost as soon as they took office, tasked State Department staffers with developing proposals for the lifting of economic sanctions, the return of diplomatic compounds and other steps to relieve tensions with Moscow. These efforts to relax or remove punitive measures imposed by President Obama in retaliation for Russia’s intervention in Ukraine and meddling in the 2016 election alarmed some State Department officials, who immediately began lobbying congressional leaders to quickly pass legislation to block the move, the sources said.” More …
Hacker, Banker, Soldier, Spy: A Guide to the Key Players in the Trump-Russia Scandal
“Keeping track of the relentless news on the widening Trump-Russia investigation—from revelations about the president’s inner circle to the role of Russian oligarchs and other assorted players—isn’t easy. As part of our project to cover this scandal, we’ve assembled dossiers on the sprawling cast of characters who populate this stranger-than-fiction controversy threatening to engulf the presidency. Will be updated as needed. ” More …
Robert Mueller Knows the Russia-Trump Investigation Is All About the Money
“Robert Mueller is not fooling around and, for all the bizarre behavior concerning secure comms and Russian ambassadors, he seems to have homed in already on the key to the whole sorry mess. Somewhere, at the heart of it, there’s nothing more or less banal than the classic American hunger for a quick and easy buck. That’s where this whole thing is headed.” More …
Why FBI and Robert Mueller Are Looking at Jared Kushner
“Federal investigators homing in on Jared Kushner’s connections to powerful Russians and his multiple roles in last year’s presidential campaign have identified at least three lines of inquiry into Donald Trump’s son-in-law. From a meeting with a former Russian intelligence official-turned-banker allied with Vladimir Putin and Kushner’s failure to report it, to his push to have the president fire James Comey at the FBI, investigators see the 36-year-old’s fingerprints on several questionable actions.” More …
Hotline Bling: Trump’s Use of Private Cellphone Raises Security Concerns
“President Donald Trump has been handing out his cellphone number to world leaders and urging them to call him directly, an unusual invitation that breaks diplomatic protocol and is raising concerns about the security and secrecy of the U.S. commander in chief’s communications.” More …