Tag: president

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tom Barrack, a billionaire friend of U.S. President Donald Trump, pursued a plan to buy Westinghouse Electric Corp even as he lobbied Trump to become a special envoy to promote the building by the firm of nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia, said a congressional report released on Monday. While Barrack failed in both efforts, the report provides fresh evidence of the ease with which some corporate and foreign interests have gained access to Trump and...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Monday downplayed any possible action by the Federal Reserve before U.S. central bank’s meeting this week, even as its rate-setting panel is expected to lower borrowing costs. “The E.U. and China will further lower interest rates and pump money into their systems, making it much easier for their manufacturers to sell product. In the meantime, and with very low inflation, our Fed does nothing - and probably will do very little by...

Pitkin County, Colorado, Sheriff Joe DiSalvo said it’s “somewhat disappointing” that no one has paid for the $24,000 security bill racked up during Vice President Pence’s trip to Aspen for a fundraiser earlier this week. Earlier this week, The Caribou Club, a gay-owned private club in Aspen, Colorado, hosted a $35,000-per-couple VIP fundraising event for Pence Monday evening. DiSalvo told the Aspen Daily that he is having trouble locating the organizer behind the Republican fundraiser to bill them for the...

BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump, again stoking racial divisions, on Monday renewed his attacks on a black U.S. congressman from Baltimore and slammed black civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton, drawing a rebuke from Maryland’s Republican governor and the black former Republican Party national chairman. The Republican president, in a series of Twitter posts, directly tied his criticism of Representative Elijah Cummings and Sharpton as well as his ongoing attacks on four racial and ethnic minority Democratic congresswomen...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Monday renewed his attacks on a prominent black U.S. lawmaker from Baltimore and slammed black civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton, further fueling racial tensions as he linked his attacks to his 2020 re-election bid. Trump’s weekend remarks disparaging U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, a House of Representatives Democrat and a longtime civil rights champion, drew charges of racism from Democrats, an accusation Trump denied. The Republican president earlier in July attacked four...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would nominate Representative John Ratcliffe, a Texas Republican who strongly defended him at a recent congressional hearing, to replace Dan Coats as the U.S. spy chief. Coats, the current U.S. director of national intelligence who has clashed with Trump over assessments involving Russia, Iran and North Korea, will step down on Aug. 15, the president said as he announced his decision on Twitter. “John will lead and inspire...

President Trump lashed out at probes into his 2016 campaign and Russian election interference on Friday, suggesting that investigators should open a probe into a book deal signed by former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama. “They want to investigate, they want to go fishing and I watched Bob Mueller and they have nothing,” Trump said of Democrats during an Oval Office gathering to announce an agreement with Guatemala. “It’s a disgrace,” he continued. “We want to...

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge will hear arguments on July 29 in President Donald Trump’s lawsuit seeking to block a House of Representatives committee from obtaining his New York state tax returns, according to a court filing issued Sunday. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington scheduled the hearing so he could resolve an “emergency” lawsuit Trump’s personal lawyers filed last week against the Democrat-controlled House Ways and Means Committee In that petition, Trump’s lawyers argued that a...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden defended his civil rights record on Wednesday, reminding a crowd of black leaders of his close relationship with Barack Obama while backing away from his work on the 1994 crime bill. Biden has been under fire in recent weeks from black rivals Kamala Harris and Cory Booker on racial issues. He said Obama, the first black U.S. president, would not have chosen him to be his vice president if he was...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Wednesday defended the integrity of his Russia investigation during a dramatic congressional hearing and reiterated that he had not cleared President Donald Trump of obstruction of justice or, as the president has said, totally exonerated Trump. Mueller appeared for eagerly anticipated testimony at the first of two back-to-back congressional hearings that carry high stakes for Trump and Democrats who are split between impeaching him or moving on to the...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller emphasized on Wednesday he had not exonerated Donald Trump of obstruction of justice, as the president has claimed, but his long-awaited congressional testimony did little to add momentum to any Democratic impeachment ambitions and Trump heartily declared victory. “This was a very big day for the Republican Party. And you could say this was a great day for me, but I don’t even like to say that,” the Republican president said...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A day before Robert Mueller’s eagerly anticipated congressional testimony, a senior Democratic U.S. lawmaker on Tuesday accused President Donald Trump’s Justice Department of arrogance in instructing the former special counsel to limit the scope of his remarks and said it lacked the authority for such a directive. On Wednesday, Mueller is scheduled to appear at back-to-back hearings before the Democratic-led House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and Intelligence Committee to discuss his inquiry into Russia’s role in...

President Trump lashed out at a female reporter Wednesday afternoon after she correctly pointed out that former special counsel Robert Mueller confirmed in testimony to Congress earlier in the day that the president could still be indicted after he leaves office. “Mueller said you could be charged once you leave office,” CBS News correspondent Paula Reid told the president. “You’re fake news and you’re right at the top of the list also!” Trump angrily shouted back. “Let me tell you. Go...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller appeared on Wednesday for eagerly anticipated testimony at the first of two back-to-back congressional hearings that carry high stakes for President Donald Trump and Democrats who are split between impeaching him or moving on to the 2020 election. The former FBI director, who spent 22 months investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and Trump’s conduct, appeared first before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. The committee’s Democratic chairman,...