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President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen announced he is postponing his public congressional testimony that was scheduled for February 7, citing “ongoing threats against his family” from the President and his attorney Rudy Giuliani. Democrats are now considering whether to subpoena Cohen to compel his testimony before he reports to prison next month, and at least one senior Democrat on the House Oversight Committee said he expects Chairman Elijah Cummings of Maryland to issue a subpoena.
President Donald Trump made a surprise Christmas visit to U.S. troops in Iraq on Wednesday, his first trip to a conflict zone nearly two years into his presidency and days after announcing a pullout of American troops from neighboring Syria. Accompanied by first lady Melania Trump and speaking at the Al Asad Air Base west of Baghdad, Trump defended the withdrawal from Syria and said it was made possible by the defeat of Islamic State militants.
President Trump’s personal charitable foundation agreed to dissolve under judicial supervision in the wake of a lawsuit claiming that the President and his three oldest children violated campaign finance laws and abused its tax-exempt status. The lawsuit claims the foundation was used as ‘little more than a checkbook’ for President Trump’s business and personal spending.
President Trump released a statement on Tuesday saying the US will stand by Saudi Arabia’s rulers and not act against them in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In a setback for the Trump administration, a judge ordered the US government not to enforce the ban on asylum for immigrants crossing the southern border illegally.
President Trump launched his strongest attack yet on Jeff Sessions saying, ‘I don’t have an attorney general.’ He also said he is unhappy with Sessions’ immigration response. Trump visited North Carolina and praised emergency responders for their role in controlling and helping with the ‘nightmare’ of Hurricane Florence, which killed at least 36.
President Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts in a Manhattan court on Tuesday. Cohen said he acted ‘in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office’ to keep information from becoming public during the 2016 election and make secret payments to Trump’s alleged mistresses.
The New York State attorney general’s office filed a lawsuit against the Donald J. Trump Foundation on Thursday, accusing the charity and Trump family of violations of campaign finance laws, self-dealing, and illegal coordination with the presidential campaign. The lawsuit alleges illegal conduct over more than a decade. President Trump established the foundation in 1987.
It was announced Tuesday, by President Trump’s White House physician, that Trump received a perfect score on a cognitive test for neurological impairment, meaning the President does not suffer from mental health issues which interfere with his ability to function in the office. Dr. Ronny Jackson cited Trump’s ‘good genes’ and ‘excellent’ cardiac health, as well.
President Trump pardoned best-selling author and documentarian Dinesh D’Souza from his felony conviction for making illegal campaign contributions on Thursday, saying D’Souza had been ‘treated very unfairly by our government.’ Trump granted pardons to others including former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, while considering granting further pardons, raising questions about the extent of the presidential pardon power.
A BBC report revealed on Wednesday that Michael Cohen was secretly paid at least $400,000 by Ukrainians to set up talks between President Trump and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko last year. A federal judge ruled that President Trump violated the constitutional rights of Americans when he blocked Twitter followers after being criticized.