Politifact is tracking the status of Trump’s campaign promises as of the 100 Day mark. More.
Trump’s Dangerous Expansion of Executive War Powers
“For decades, Congress has relinquished its constitutional role in declaring war. But Trump is taking it to new extremes.” More.
Manafort Firm Received Ukraine Ledger Payout
“Last August, a handwritten ledger surfaced in Ukraine with dollar amounts and dates next to the name of Paul Manafort, who was then Donald Trump’s campaign chairman. Ukrainian investigators called it evidence of off-the-books payments from a pro-Russian political party — and part of a larger pattern of corruption under the country’s former president. Manafort, who worked for the party as an international political consultant, has publicly questioned the ledger’s authenticity.” More.
Playing the Long Game: Before Trump Job, Manafort Worked to Aid Putin
“Before signing up with Donald Trump, former campaign manager Paul Manafort secretly worked for a Russian billionaire with a plan to “greatly benefit the Putin Government,” The Associated Press has learned. The White House attempted to brush the report aside Wednesday, but it quickly raised fresh alarms in Congress about Russian links to Trump associates. Manafort proposed in a confidential strategy plan as early as June 2005 that he would influence politics, business dealings and news coverage inside the United States, Europe and former Soviet republics to benefit President Vladimir Putin’s government, even as U.S.-Russia relations under Republican President George W. Bush grew worse.” More.
Putin-Linked Think Tank Drew Up Plan to Sway 2016 US Election – Documents
“A Russian government think tank controlled by Vladimir Putin developed a plan to swing the 2016 U.S. presidential election to Donald Trump and undermine voters’ faith in the American electoral system, three current and four former U.S. officials told Reuters.” More.
British Spies Were First to Spot Trump Team’s Links with Russia
“GCHQ is said to have alerted US agencies after becoming aware of contacts in 2015.” More.
Classified Docs Contradict Nunes Surveillance Claims, GOP and Dem Sources Say
“After a review of the same intelligence reports brought to light by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers and aides have so far found no evidence that Obama administration officials did anything unusual or illegal, multiple sources in both parties tell CNN.” More.
Sources: Russia Tried to Use Trump Advisers to Infiltrate Campaign
“The FBI gathered intelligence last summer that suggests Russian operatives tried to use Trump advisers, including Carter Page, to infiltrate the Trump campaign, according to US officials. The new information adds to the emerging picture of how the Russians tried to influence the 2016 election, not only through email hacks and propaganda but also by trying to infiltrate the Trump orbit. The intelligence led to an investigation into the coordination of Trump’s campaign associates and the Russians.” More.
GOP Slow Walk: Senate Trump-Russia Probe Has No Full-Time Staff, No Key Witnesses
“There are just seven part-time staffers working on the Senate inquiry. Not one of them is a trained investigator. And they haven’t interviewed a single player in Trump’s orbit.” More.
Trump Adding Former Lobbyists to Swamp, Giving Them Ethics Waivers
“As a candidate, Trump regularly railed against lobbyists and led crowds in chants of “Drain the swamp!” But as president, Trump last month signed an executive order that weakened significant aspects of the Obama ethics policy, including scrapping a ban on lobbyists joining agencies they had recently lobbied.” More.