Archive for the ‘Donald Trump’ Category

The First Attempt to Impeach Donald Trump Just Got Underway – TIME

(WASHINGTON) A California Democrat filed an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump Wednesday in a longshot bid to remove the president from office.

Rep. Brad Sherman accuses Trump of obstructing investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, in part by firing former FBI Director James Comey.

Sherman acknowledges that filing the article is "the first step on a very long road."

"But if the impulsive incompetency continues, then eventually many, many months from now Republicans will join the impeachment effort," Sherman said in a statement.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Sherman's resolution was "utterly and completely ridiculous" and "a political game at its worst."

Sherman's effort has little chance of success in the Republican-led House. Sherman doesn't even have the backing of many fellow Democrats.

Democratic leaders have distanced themselves from the efforts to impeach Trump, believing it serves only to energize the president's supporters. Sherman's resolution has one co-sponsor, fellow Democrat Al Green of Texas.

Sherman filed the article a day after the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., acknowledged that he met with a Russian lawyer during the campaign. An intermediary for the lawyer promised damaging information from the Russian government about Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Trump Jr. said he received no information about Clinton at the meeting.

The president has questioned his own intelligence agencies and whether the Russians actually interfered in the election. However, federal authorities say they have definitive evidence that the Kremlin meddled in the U.S. presidential election.

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The First Attempt to Impeach Donald Trump Just Got Underway - TIME

With Glare on Trump Children, Political Gets Personal for President – New York Times

He was great, Mr. Trump told people about his sons appearance on Sean Hannitys Fox News program the previous evening.

A New York Times investigative reporter takes you through the twists and turns of uncovering the details of a secretive meeting.

By midday Wednesday, the mercurial president was telling friends and advisers that he believed the situation had improved. I think this is getting better, he said to one group of aides, hours before he was set to take off for a trip to France to mark Bastille Day.

The Trump family, friends said, always draws closer under intense pressure. But Mr. Trump bridles at the idea that his children, who have not spent years in the public spotlight like him, are now facing unrelenting scrutiny over what he believes to be a manufactured scandal by the news media.

While Donald Trump Jr. has been on the firing line, the meeting with Ms. Veselnitskaya could arguably be a bigger distraction for Mr. Kushner. As a senior adviser to the president, he is involved in several of the administrations most sensitive foreign-policy issues, from China to the Middle East peace process. His involvement in the meeting led reporters to ask the White House whether he still held his security clearance.

Also under scrutiny is how forthcoming Mr. Kushner was with his father-in-law about the nature of the June meeting. He met with Mr. Trump to discuss the issue, according to advisers to the White House, around the time he updated his federal disclosure form to include Ms. Veselnitskayas name on a list of foreign contacts that Mr. Kushner was required to submit to the F.B.I. to obtain a security clearance.

Mr. Kushner supplemented the list of foreign contacts three times, adding more than 100 names, people close to him said.

Mr. Kushner played down the significance of the meeting and omitted significant details, according to two people who were briefed on the exchange. They said Mr. Kushner informed the president that he had met with a Russian foreign national, and that while he had to report the name, it would not cause a problem for the administration.

Another official said Mr. Kushners assurance to the president was based on the fact that nothing came of the June meeting.

Donald Trump Jr. received an email on June 3, 2016, promising dirt on Hillary Clinton. The information was described as being part of Russia's support for his fathers presidential bid. His reply? I love it.

In an interview with Reuters, Mr. Trump said he had not been told last summer that his son was meeting with a Russian lawyer. No, that I didnt know until a couple of days ago when I heard about this, he said.

Mr. Kushner, colleagues say, has kept up a regular work schedule, meeting on Wednesday with Gary D. Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, to discuss the administrations impending moves on trade. He is also in touch with Jason D. Greenblatt, Mr. Trumps Middle East envoy, who is in Israel for meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. And next week, he plans to take part in a high-level economic dialogue with China.

Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka, are not accompanying Mr. Trump to Paris. Instead they plan to attend the annual media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, sponsored by the investment firm Allen & Company. An official said the couple would pay for their own travel and lodgings.

Mr. Kushner is expected to cooperate in the next several weeks with the Senate and House Intelligence Committees that are looking into Russias intervention in the American election and any possible collusion with the Trump campaign. He will have to devote some time to preparing for those appearances with his team of lawyers.

Colleagues of Mr. Kushner said he had remained focused and upbeat despite the drumbeat of negative headlines a trait they ascribe to his experience dealing with the legal troubles of his father, Charles Kushner, who was convicted of tax evasion and witness tampering.

But even as the White House labors to present a business-as-usual facade, there is evidence that Mr. Trumps family will be drawn deeper into the investigation. Two officials familiar with the Senate Intelligence Committees investigation said the panel was now planning to expand its inquiry to include Donald Trump Jr.

The officials said Mr. Trumps shifting reasons for the meeting and his acknowledgment that he was lured by the promise of Russian dirt on Hillary Clinton had forced the Senate panel to begin examining his role in the campaign, and any contacts he may have had with Russians.

The first step, officials said, would be for Senate investigators to sit down with Mr. Trump. The Senate panel might also request that he turn over emails and financial records from any dealings with Russia, which they have done with other subjects of their investigation.

At the same time, Mr. Kushner now looms larger in the Senate investigation, the officials said. Its investigators concluded as early as March that his meetings during the transition with the Russian ambassador and a Russian banker tied to the Kremlin warranted further scrutiny.

For the president, friends said, the pain of seeing his son ensnared in the Russia scandal was real. In part, that is because, of all his children, he has had the most complicated relationship with Donald Jr., who was a teenager when his parents divorced and did not speak to his father for a year.

Friends who have known the Trump family for many years said they believed Donald Trump Jr., in setting up the meeting, was only focused on trying to help and even impress his father with information that could help his campaign.

President Trump has been equally protective of his other children. After Ivanka came under criticism for taking her fathers seat in Germany, he defended her in a tweet and cited Angela Merkel, the German chancellor. When I left Conference Room for short meetings with Japan and other countries, he said, I asked Ivanka to hold seat. Very standard. Angela M agrees!

Nobody offered a more passionate defense of Ivanka than Donald Trump Jr.

Look at the attacks on Ivanka, he told Mr. Hannity on Tuesday night. If she was anyone elses daughter, shed be a feminist icon this incredible, brilliant, well-spoken woman. And they try to belittle her at every chance. Its really sad.

For me as a family member, as her brother, as her older brother, you know you do take it personally and it does make you want to fight back, he added. What we are is we are fighters and they dont take well to that, either, because most people dont like being called on their stuff.

Peter Baker and Matthew Rosenberg contributed reporting from Washington, and Jo Becker from New York.

A version of this article appears in print on July 13, 2017, on Page A14 of the New York edition with the headline: Glare on Trump Family Turns Political Personal.

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With Glare on Trump Children, Political Gets Personal for President - New York Times

Antarctica, Donald Trump, Wimbledon: Your Thursday Briefing – New York Times

We took a closer look at Rob Goldstone, a British publicist who brokered the meeting, and his client Emin Agalarov, a Russian pop star. Our reporter discussed unearthing Mr. Goldstones emails on our podcast The Daily.

The email leaks show how we have dangerously overcommitted to this form of communication, our tech columnist writes.

Christopher Wray, Mr. Trumps nominee for F.B.I. director, pledged to resist pressure from the White House during his confirmation hearing. Meanwhile, Democrats are going to try to block the Republican health care bill by exploiting procedural rules.

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Mr. Trump arrived in Paris earlier this morning. Alongside President Emmanuel Macron, he will watch as American troops participate in the Bastille Day parade tomorrow.

The visit could help secure Mr. Macrons position as Mr. Trumps primary contact in Western Europe. Before Mr. Trumps arrival, Mr. Macron will host Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany for talks.

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Kurdish fighters in Syria this week announced the deaths of foreign combatants on the outskirts of Raqqa, the Islamic State stronghold.

We traced the journey of one of them, Robert Grodt, above, from the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York to Syrias civil war.

Drone video from Mosul shows that the battle to seize Iraqs second-largest city isnt over. In a separate video, we look at what is known about Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Islamic States leader, who is said to have been killed.

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At Wimbledon, Venus Williams, above, will take on Johanna Konta in the semifinals, and Garbie Muguruza will face Magdalena Rybarikova.

Among the men, Roger Federer is the only member of the so-called Big Four still playing, after the elimination of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic.

In the Tour de France, Marcel Kittel of Germany won his fifth stage. And in soccer news, Dani Alves is moving to Paris St.-Germain.

Theres a new breed of employers: They build a team, do the job and say goodbye.

A court in Paris rejected a French 1.12-billion-euro tax bill for Google, arguing that its Irish European headquarters could not be taxed in France.

In the U.S., tech companies united to protest the governments plan to scrap net neutrality rules.

Moon Express hopes to launch a soda-can-shaped lander to the moon this year, a prelude to its regular delivery service to space.

Heres a snapshot of global markets.

Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, the enormously influential Brazilian ex-president, was convicted of corruption and sentenced to nearly 10 years. [The New York Times]

In Poland, lawmakers voted for a bill that would give them greater say in the appointment of judges, a move that critics say infringes on judicial independence. [Reuters]

In Britain, Prime Minister Theresa Mays plan to withdraw from Euratom, the European treaty governing nuclear energy, is facing stiff opposition. [The New York Times]

Ms. Mays government is expected today to release its Repeal Bill, with which it seeks to achieve a smooth departure from the European Union. [Reuters]

In a medical milestone, a gene-altering leukemia therapy got an unanimous vote of confidence from a U.S. regulatory panel. [The New York Times]

Lawmakers in Malta voted 66 to 1 to legalize same-sex marriage. [The New York Times]

The chief executive of Swedens biggest security firm was falsely declared bankrupt after his identity was stolen by hackers, who applied for a loan in his name. [Bloomberg]

Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.

A few minutes of meditation a day can help athletes, and everyone else, withstand stress.

Does your phone run out of power midday? Choose your charger wisely.

For something light, go with an herb and radish salad with feta and walnuts.

True bilingualism is a relatively rare and beautiful thing. Its worth it, but its a lot of work, a psychologist said.

A dad look has suddenly become stylish: the tucked-in T-shirt.

10000 Gestures, a French choreographers ambitious new piece, debuts at the Manchester International Festival today.

Finally, a writer reflects on his discovery of the Greek island of Sifnos, and why its best to avoid tourist hot spots.

Recent reports that the Pentagon spent millions to license a camouflage pattern that replicates lush forests to be worn in largely arid Afghanistan got us thinking about the famous design.

As it turns out, the word camouflage appeared in The Times for the first time 100 years ago.

The concept of disguising matriel and soldiers to blend in with their surroundings originated in the 1800s and was further developed during World War I.

In May 1917, a New York lawyer who visited the French battlefront wrote about it for The Timess Magazine section.

The French were among the first to use camouflage on a wide scale, with a unit made up of artists known as camoufleurs. In August 1917, the U.S. Army issued its own call for enlistment in a camouflage force, seeking young men who are looking for special entertainment in the way of fooling Germans.

Camouflage later became common in art and fashion. A 2007 exhibit at Londons Imperial War Museum noted its links to Cubism. (Picasso exclaimed upon seeing a camouflaged cannon in Paris: It was us who created that.)

The artist Andy Warhol also used it, substituting bright colors for earth tones, which removed the military symbolism but retained the notion of hiding.

Karen Zraick contributed reporting.

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This briefing was prepared for the European morning. We also have briefings timed for the Australian, Asian and American mornings. You can sign up for these and other Times newsletters here.

Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online.

What would you like to see here? Contact us at europebriefing@nytimes.com.

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Antarctica, Donald Trump, Wimbledon: Your Thursday Briefing - New York Times

Why Donald Trump’s Russia Denials Can No Longer Be Believed – The Atlantic

The most important question that Donald Trump was ever asked in a press conference is suddenly easy to identify: Can you say whether you are aware that anyone who advised your campaign had contacts with Russia during the course of the election?

President Trumps answer last spring was dubious.

He replied that aside from Mike Flynn (who ostensibly resigned as national-security adviser for misleading Vice President Pence about a meeting with Russias ambassador) he was not aware of any of his campaign advisers having had contacts with Russia.

Then Trump went much farther:

Russia is a ruse. I have nothing to do with Russia. Haven't made a phone call to Russia in years. Don't speak to people from Russia. Not that I wouldn't. I just have nobody to speak to. I spoke to Putin twice. He called me on the election. I told you this. And he called me a few days ago. We had a very good talk, especially the second one ... I have nothing to do with Russia. To the best of my knowledge no person that I deal with does. Now, Manafort has totally denied it. He denied it. Now people knew that he was a consultant over in that part of the world for a while, but not for Russia. I think he represented Ukraine or people having to do with Ukraine.

Months ago, in The Presidents Untruths Are Piling Up, I summarized the many ways in which people Trump deals with have a lot to do with Russia and its power brokers.

But back then, a truth about Trumps inner-circle had yet to out.

Today, thanks to reporting by The New York Times, the public knows that Donald Trump Jr. arranged a June 9, 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower, having been told that she was flying in from Moscow to pass along documents that would incriminate Hillary Clinton as part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump.

Trump Jr. invited his fathers campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and his brother-in-law, Jared Kushner, to the meeting, forwarding them an email with the subject, Russia - Clinton - Private and Confidential. Both Manafort and Kushner attended.

Perhaps Donald Trump knew that all this was going on, which would make his statement at the press conference last spring a particularly shameless lie, even by his standards. Only a fool would ever again trust a politician who they caught in a lie like that.

Then again, maybe Trump was oblivious to the meeting that took place in Trump Tower. But if its the latter, that means that Trump was so ignorant about what happened inside his own campaign that he didnt even know about a meeting his own son scheduled for the purpose of colluding with the Russian government, even though both his campaign manager and his son-in-law were also in attendance. That would mean his closest advisers were actively keeping him in the dark.

Both possibilities, though, point to the same conclusion: The president cannot be believed. Either Trumps denials about campaign collusion with Russia cannot be believed because he is a shameless liar; or Trumps denials about campaign collusion with Russia cannot be believed because he was utterly clueless about at least one major effort to collude, and thus cannot credibly attest that there were not other efforts to which he wasnt privy.

Dont read more into those assertions than is there.

There is still no evidence that Donald Trump or his campaign successfully colluded with the Russian government (despite Trump Jr.s intent to do so); no evidence that Trump coordinated with Russia to hack the Democratic National Committees emails or funnel them to Wikileaks; no evidence that Trump is a puppet of Vladimir Putin; and no proof that the Kremlin possesses kompromat on the president. But one matter should be beyond dispute, even by Americans who think favorably of the president and his agenda: Trumps denials about campaign collusion with Russia cannot be believed. Only independent investigators can clear him of suspicion. The benefits of all doubts are lost once a man tells so many untruths.

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Why Donald Trump's Russia Denials Can No Longer Be Believed - The Atlantic

Donald Trump’s Oval Office Prayer Circle, Explained – Vanity Fair

Trump attends Sunday service at the International Church of Las Vegas in hopes of gaining religious support on October 30, 2016.

By Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

On Tuesday, an indelible image began circulating on Twitter: a prayer circle in the Oval Office, with a tight close-up on the presidents shoulders (and unmistakable helmet of hair), ringed by religious leaders laying hands on his back. Vice President Mike Pence, whose evangelical roots are well-known, is just about the only person recognizable in the image. But how did Donald Trump, who once referred to communion as my little wine and my little cracker, wind up here?

This isnt the first time Trump has participated in public prayer as presidentafter he announced the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court on January 31, he tweeted a photo of a prayer with Mike and Karen Pence, his sons, and other leaders, including the late Justice Antonin Scalias wife and son.

The latest image wasnt shared by the president, but by Evangelical pastor Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne, who wrote that he and his wife, Dr. Adonica Howard-Browne, were asked to the White House to pray over the president.

Yesterday was very surreal for @ahowardbrowne & I. 30 years ago we came from South Africa to America as missionaries. Yesterday I was asked by Pastor Paula White-Cain to pray over our 45th Presidentwhat a humbling moment standing in the Oval OfficeLaying hands and praying for our PresidentSupernatural Wisdom, Guidance and Protectionwho could ever even imaginewowwe are going to see another great spiritual awakening.

The Howard-Brownes, who have a weekly broadcast on Dish channel 269, first began as missionaries in South Africa before taking their work to America in the late 1980s. Rodney heads Revival Ministries International, for which the Howard-Brownes travel around the United States 46 weeks of the year, according to the organizations Web site.

In March 2016, Rodney wrote a Facebook post titled Donald Trump Is the New World Orders Worst Nightmare, on singaporechristian.com, where he detailed his choice to back Trump in the election as a check against a global conspiracy to destroy America:

Trump does not censor his wordslike politicians dohe says what he thinkswhich appeals to people. I am not saying I agree with everything he has said, or that he knows everything he is signing up for, but I do believe that he will put knowledgeable people around him who share the same values as we patriotic Americans do.

Now that Trump occupies the White House, the Howard-Brownes are clearly remaining in his corner. The evangelical duo was invited to the White House by Paula White-Cain, a Pentecostal Christian televangelist who serves as a spiritual adviser to the president. As NBC News noted at the time of Trumps inauguration, Whites relationship with Trump first began when he cold-called her afterwhat else?seeing her on TV. White, who was one of several people to pray over the president before his swearing-in, spoke to NBC News about the presidents relationship with religion; she used language familiar to evangelical Christians, and maybe less familiar for Trump, whose own church claimed he was not an active member.

As the Los Angeles Times noted in April, Trumps relationship with religion has been a fairly unclear one. As he wooed the religious right during his campaign, he struggled to answer even the most basic questions about his faith, naming Second Corinthians as Two Corinthians and failing to come up with a favorite Bible verse. But Trumps brand of Christian faithcriticized by someseems to be one that televangelists accept.

I know that Donald is saved, White told NBC News. Hes absolutelyreceived Jesus Christ as his lord and savior . . . I understand on a much more personal level his walk . . . He doesnt know our Christian-ese or language . . . But that doesn't mean he's not a man of faith.

However untraditional Trumps show of faith might be, hes just the latest in a line of Christian presidents. Former president Barack Obama, no matter what Trump himself might have argued, organized occasional, private prayer circles and received advice from prominent spiritual leaders [each year on his birthday].

Following the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush prayed with other religious and political leaders, images of which can be found on the Web site for the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. And Bill Clinton regularly attended church services as president.

This Oval Office prayer circle is likely not the last to occur during the Trump administration era. When Trump began campaigning for president in 2015, a video emerged, which featured televangelist Robert Jeffress and others praying over the then-presidential hopeful.

As Politico noted thenand as is no doubt true today, the TV president has found his kind of Christians.

Losing to wind next to his helicopter in Scotland.

Losing to wind at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

Losing to wind as he heads to Indiana.

Losing to wind while hes in Scotland to discuss bankrolling an anti-wind-farm campaign in order to fight an off-shore development near his luxury golf resort.

Losing to wind in the presence of Tom Brady.

Losing to wind while waving.

Putting up a good fight but ultimately losing to wind in Scotland.

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Losing to wind next to his helicopter in Scotland.

By Michael McGurk/Alamy.

Losing to wind at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

By Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images.

Losing to wind as he heads to Indiana.

By Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images.

Losing to wind while hes in Scotland to discuss bankrolling an anti-wind-farm campaign in order to fight an off-shore development near his luxury golf resort.

By Danny Lawson/PA/A.P.

Losing to wind while he talks to Patriots owner Robert Kraft before a game.

From Splash News.

Losing to wind at the house on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, where his mother was born before she immigrated to the United States in 1929.

From PA/Alamy.

Losing to wind while boarding the Marine One helicopter at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

By Jonathan Ernst/Reuters.

Losing to wind while leaving One World Trade in New York.

By Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images.

Losing to wind in the presence of Tom Brady.

From Boston Herald/Splash News.

Losing to wind while waving.

By Rob Carr/Getty Images.

Putting up a good fight but ultimately losing to wind in Scotland.

By Michael McGurk/Rex/Shutterstock.

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Donald Trump's Oval Office Prayer Circle, Explained - Vanity Fair