Trump Continues To Tweet Against Probe

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

New York Times headline reads “Newly Emboldened, Trump Says What He Really Feels”.  Fact check: True. For months, President Trump’s legal advisers implored him to avoid so much as mentioning the name of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, in his tweets, and to do nothing to provoke him or suggest his investigation is not proper. Ignoring that advice … Read More

Stormy Isn’t The Only One

Ken AshfordStormy Daniels & Karen McDougal Affairs, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

The Hill: Stormy Daniels’s lawyer said on Thursday that he has been approached by six other women with stories about President Trump similar to that of the adult-film actress. Michael Avenatti cautioned in an appearance on CNN that he had not yet vetted the cases “to any great degree,” but said that at least two of the women have nondisclosure agreements. Daniels, … Read More

Who’s Next?

Ken AshfordTrump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

AP: President Donald Trump consumed Thursday morning’s TV headlines with amusement. Reports of tumult in the administration were at a feverish pitch — even on his beloved Fox News — as the president reflected on the latest staff departures during an Oval Office conversation with Vice President Mike Pence and Chief of Staff John Kelly. With a laugh, Trump said: … Read More

Breaking: Mueller Subpoenas Trump Organization for Russia Documents

Ken AshfordBreaking News, L'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

From The New York Times reporting: WASHINGTON — The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has subpoenaed the Trump Organization to turn over documents, including some related to Russia, according to two people briefed on the matter. The order is the first known time that the special counsel demanded documents directly related to President Trump’s businesses, bringing the investigation closer to the … Read More

Trump Organization Lawyer Was Involved In Effort To Silence Stormy Daniels

Ken AshfordStormy Daniels & Karen McDougal Affairs, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

An attorney tied to the Trump Organization has been listed on recent documents in arbitration proceedings preventing porn star Stormy Daniels from speaking publicly about her alleged 2006 affair with Donald Trump. The Wall Street Journal’s Michael Rothfeld and Joe Palazzolo report that Jill Martin, a Trump Organization lawyer, is listed on confidential arbitration documents as representing Essential Consultants, LLC, which is the Delaware-based limited liability … Read More

Trump Administration (Finally) Imposes Sanctions On Russia

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Russia, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

… although the President himself remains mute. The Trump administration announced today it is enacting new sanctions on Russia, including individuals indicted last month by special counsel Robert Mueller, in a sweeping new effort to punish Moscow for its attempts to interfere in the 2016 US election. The measures come a month-and-a-half after the administration missed a congressionally mandated deadline to … Read More

Trump Admits (In Private Fundraising Event To Donors) That He Makes Up Facts

Ken AshfordTrump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Trump’s modus operandi is revealed. I love this: President Trump boasted in a fundraising speech Wednesday that he made up information in a meeting with the leader of a top U.S. ally, saying he insisted to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the United States runs a trade deficit with its neighbor to the north without knowing whether that was true. … Read More

The House Intelligence Committee Has, After A 14 Month Long In-Depth Investigation, Found No Evidence Of Collusion Or Coordination Between The Trump Campaign And Russia To Influence The 2016 Presidential Election

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Or, as Trump would put it… Yup. And except for the word “in-depth”, I guess what he tweets is true. (Well, also, the committee only worked six months out of the “14 month long” investigation) While special counsel Robert Mueller’s work may seem to be reaching a boiling point, the House Intelligence Committee as thrown in the towel, as far … Read More

Rexit (and Pompin)

Ken AshfordForeign Affairs, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

And now, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is out. To show you how ineffective this White House is, there isn’t a straight story about when/how this occurred. The news reported Tillerson found out due to a tweet, according to Steve Goldstein, undersecretary for public diplomacy: Rex Tillerson found out he was fired by President Trump’s tweet on Tuesday morning, according … Read More

Moments From Sec of Education Betsy Devos’ Crash-And-Burn Interview On 60 Minutes

Ken AshfordEducation, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Sec. of Education Betsy DeVos struggles to answer fairly basic questions on school performance on 60 Minutes pic.twitter.com/lFVq3USwUW — Axios (@axios) March 12, 2018 Will Secretary DeVos scrap Obama-era “guidance on how to identify, avoid, and remedy discriminatory discipline”? “We’re studying it carefully,” the secretary tells 60 Minutes. pic.twitter.com/RiQKyenMQB — 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) March 11, 2018 Reactions: MAGA people are … Read More

Stormy Daniels Offers to Return Payment to End Deal for Her Silence

Ken AshfordStormy Daniels & Karen McDougal Affairs, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

This is cute and clever. Stormy Daniels, the porn star who says she had an affair with President Trump, offered to return $130,000 she received from Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer in 2016 for agreeing not to discuss the alleged relationship. In exchange, the actress (aka Stephanie Clifford) seeks an end to her deal to keep quiet about what she says was … Read More

Trump’s Lawyer Used Trump.Org Emails To Negotiate Payment To Porn Star

Ken AshfordL'Affaire Russe, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

NBC: President Donald Trump’s personal attorney used his Trump Organization email while arranging to transfer money into an account at a Manhattan bank before he wired $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence. The lawyer, Michael Cohen, also regularly used the same email account during 2016 negotiations with the actress — whose legal name is Stephanie … Read More

Trump To Meet With N. Korean Dictator Kim Jong-un

Ken AshfordBreaking News, North Korea, Trump & AdministrationLeave a Comment

Flashback: I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man… — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 1, 2017 Flashforward to present The White House didn’t make the announcement. It was made by the South Korean envoys on the White House driveway (this Administration really can’t do PR … Read More