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President Donald Trump on Wednesday pardoned Conrad M. Black, a friend and former business associate who wrote a flattering book about the president last year. Black, a Canadian-born citizen of Britain, was found guilty of mail fraud and obstruction in 2007 in a ploy to swindle millions of dollars from investors in his media company. Black served more than three years in prison and was legally barred from re-entering the United States, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
A woman carrying two Chinese passports and a device containing computer malware lied to Secret Service agents and briefly gained admission to President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club over the weekend during his Florida visit, federal prosecutors allege in court documents. Yujing Zhang, 32, approached a Secret Service agent at a checkpoint outside the Palm Beach club early Saturday afternoon and said she was a member who wanted to use the pool, court documents said. There is no indication Zhang was ever near the president.
Michael Cohen, the one-time personal attorney and fixer to President Donald Trump, on Wednesday presented an extensive set of his former boss’s possible criminal liabilities that Cohen described as under investigation by federal prosecutors in New York. In public testimony before Congress, Cohen provided fresh details about Trump’s participation in Cohen’s campaign finance crimes, including steps that occurred after Trump took office, and revealed that prosecutors are investigating other unspecified criminal activity by Trump. Cohen’s testimony dramatically expanded the scope of what is publicly known about New York federal prosecutors’ examination of the President, his company and his family.
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.
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.