US Congress to vote on Russian Federation sanctions, tying Trump’s hands

In response to reporting from The New York Times, Trump Jr. posted emails on Twitter earlier this month showing him setting up a meeting with a Russian attorney past year through an acquaintance in hopes of potentially receiving damaging information on Hillary Clinton. “In each instance, Trump and entities he controlled also erected numerous hurdles that made lawsuits drag on for years, forcing courtroom opponents to spend huge sums of money in legal fees as they struggled – sometimes in vain – to obtain records”. Thus, in Trump’s view, it was “very unfair to the president” – actually, “extremely unfair, and that’s a mild word” – for Sessions to have recused himself from overseeing the department’s probe into Russian meddling into the election and the possible role of the Trump campaign. “And if an investigation were to arise and we thought that the conflict was relevant, we would raise it without question”. “But the attorney general stands by his testimony from just last month before the Senate Intelligence Committee, when he specifically addressed this and said that he ‘never met with or had any conversations with any Russians or any foreign officials concerning any type of interference with any campaign or election'”. Theoretically, those pardons could undermine investigations and thwart prosecutions.

President Trump in Virginia on Saturday. Instead of testifying at a public hearing on Wednesday, they will be privately interviewed and provide any records the committee requests. “From a constitutional, legal perspective you can’t dismiss it one way or the other”. What Trump perceives as betrayal is Ethics 101.

The President then provided the New York Times with a rambling interview during which he strongly criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, while indirectly threatening Robert Mueller not to look into his family finances. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russian Federation investigation after acknowledging two previously undisclosed contacts with Kislyak. How could this not be true of the Russian Federation matter? There’s also the matter as to whether pardoning himself sets up the president for impeachment.

Mr Trump has had a complicated relationship with the Republican Party, but its politicians have continued to be generally supportive of the president, even as his approval ratings slip.

The Bharara investigation was consolidated into Mueller’s inquiry, showing that the special counsel is taking an overarching approach. He pardoned former President Richard Nixon after he was forced to resign in the face of the Watergate scandal.

Sen. Collins said she does not support a vote by Senate Republicans to replace and reform the Affordable Care Act, which appears headed for another vote on Tuesday.

But while Scaramucci said he spoke with Trump about pardons in the Oval Office last week, Sekulow repeatedly said there was no talk of pardons among the legal team.

A person with knowledge of the process says those efforts include the political affiliations of Mueller’s investigators and their past work history.