(DISCLAIMER: This has nothing to do with being in favor or against the current politics! These are just FACTS regarding on the week of the White House)
Here’s what happened in the White House this week.
Monday: White House Counsel Don McGahn cooperated fully with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia Investigation for 30 hours. Both of whom met 3 times (10 hours per time they met.) That kind of understanding angered President Donald Trump, as his former lawyer Michael Cohen was under prosecution in New York. He is being investigated for $20 million in bank fraud. This after President Trump’s vacation. He blasted on Twitter saying that The New York Times wrote a “fake” story over a testimony between McGahn and Mueller. He even called McGahn a type of John Dean kind of rat, despite allowing him to testify. But Dean (who was part of President Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal said “… I doubt you have ANY IDEA what McGann has told Mueller. Also, Nixon knew I was meeting with prosecutors, B/C I told him. However, he didn’t think I would tell them the truth!” (Good Morning America) He also said McGahn is doing something right. McGahn has become Mueller’s important key witnesses. On Sunday, President Trump’s Personal Attorney Rudy Giuliani fought back for President Trump for accusing Mueller on leaking the story. He still does not want President Trump to do the interview with Mueller (though a decision has yet to be reached), and saying that the truth is not necessarily the truth, calling it a perjury trap. Meanwhile, former CIA Director John Brennan is fighting back, and would like to have President Trump into court. Over 100 former Central Intelligence Agents are filing a lawsuit over President Trump. Meanwhile, the trial for President Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort was extended for one more day. The jury (6 men and 6 women) wanted to work until 6:15 PM, As they exhibited 388 documents. Manafort hid millions of dollars away from the IRS, and even defrauding banks for millions more. He had $60 million from 31 offshore accounts. Though President Trump was on his side, Manafort may still be charged. As for First Lady Melania Trump, she promoted her Be Best campaign, and warned the use of cyber bullying on social media. First Lady Trump’s spokesperson said she is aware of the criticism, but will not stop from what she is doing.
Tuesday: Tech company Microsoft has reported that Russia is possibly targeting Republicans leaders who have parting ways with President Trump and them. Microsoft said that the nation is targeting the US Senate and conservative think tanks, as well as mimicking what happened during the 2016 election. The tech group said in a statement “The initiative will provide state-of-the-art cybersecurity protection at no extra cost to all candidates and campaign offices at the federal, state and local level, as well as think tanks and political organizations we now believe are under attack.” (CBS This Morning) In an interview with Reuters, he said that the interview with Mueller may land him in a perjury trap. He also said that he could’ve ran the investigation if he wanted to, but decided to stay out of it. He also said considering firing former FBI Director James Comey last year that “… It’s my word against his, and he’s best friends with Mueller, so Mueller might say: ‘Well, I believe Comey,’ even if I’m telling the truth, that makes me a liar. That’s no good.” (CBS this morning) Senator Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) said that it wasn’t right to after the Intelligence agents, and strip their justice. As for First Lady Trump, the condemning of cyberbullies led to mixed reactions. This was because, President Trump called Brennan the worst CIA Director, then called Bruce Ohr a total joke, and then calling Mueller’s Russia Investigation what he and Democrats disgracefully creative. The spokesperson said that First Lady Trump is only interested with children at heart. Simultaneously, Manafort’s trial ended with a guilty verdict as Manafort was guilty of 8 out of 18 counts of bank and tax fraud. While Cohen pleaded guilty in his trial, as he is accused of campaign violation. The jury handed over Manafort’s convictions to Mueller’s Russia probe. In February, Manafort was indicted by Mueller. Of the 8 charges Manafort faces, 5 of those counts were filing false returns, 1 count for not documenting the financial accounts correctly, and 2 counts of misleading any lenders for loans. However, 10 of the verdicts were not unanimous by the jury. Manafort did not want to cooperate with Mueller, as he wanted a presidential pardon to not go to jail. Once more, President Trump called the Russia Investigation a which hunt, after his former campaign manager was convicted. The White House became very silence after Manafort’s trial result. As for Cohen, he admitted that he did pay the hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels (real name: Stephanie Clifford) and Playboy model Laura McDougal. The court document on Cohen said “In coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office, for the principal purpose of influencing the election.” (CBS Evening News with Jeff Glor) He also committed bank fraud. Deputy U.S Attorney Robert Khuzami that the charges are significant and serious. Cohen could face up to over 5 years in prison. He however is not a reliable witness for Mueller’s Investigation. Meantime, both Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump took the time to mention the news of Mollie Tibbetts’ death.
Wednesday: After the trials of Manafort and Cohen being guilty, Facebook has removed 652 pages containing misinformation on the campaign (all linking to Russia and Iran.) This come after an emergency conference, in which CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that security operations need to be more stronger. 300 Iranian accounts were also deleted on Twitter, in manipulating on social media. Also, President Trump said he felt “badly” for both. Cohen admitted that he broke the law, because President Trump told him to. Lanny Davis, who is Cohen’s lawyer said that the trial was basically a cover up. Because of this, Cohen faces a prison sentence of 3 1/2 to 5 years in prison. He (like Manafort) is charged for 8 counts of tax fraud, bank fraud, and even violating campaign finance laws (especially paying Daniels and McDougal hush money for their affairs with President Trump.) He insisted that he denied the affairs. Daniels’ Attorney Michael Aventti declares that President Trump is in a lot of trouble. However, his legal team defended themselves as Giuliani said “There is no allegation of any wrongdoing against the president in the government’s charges against Mr. Cohen. It is clear that, as a prosecutor noted, Mr. Cohen’s actions reflect a pattern of lies and dishonesty over a significant period of time.” (Today) ever since President Trump took over the White House, five people tied to his campaign were convicted. Speaking of Today, Davis spoke on the show saying that there was no dispute of President Trump directing Cohen to do the illegal action on paying the hush money. There was also one piece of evidence, and even mentioned about the truth fund (which Newstime will not post.) When asked about why Cohen changed, and turned his back over President Trump, Davis implied that Cohen regretted, and that his family and country was important. He plans to tell the truth from now on. President Trump would not accept the pardon nor would hope that. New court documents showed that he “admits he submitted phony invoices.” (NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt) All to President Trump’s company. Meanwhile, when President Trump was at the rally in West Virginia, the conviction of Manafort resulted more details. From 2010-2014, he earned $30 million in fraud, while reported less than half of that. This was money earned as a political consultant of former Pro-Russia President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich. He also hid the money in international banks, bought international clothes, antiques, and cars, avoiding the IRS, and lied about adding $20 million in loans, when Ukraine’s money dried up. All for funding his luxury lifestyle. He didn’t want to talk about pardoning Manafort. Manafort faces both ten years in prison, and a 2nd trial in DC. This could mean President Trump facing criminal charge, and a potential divided political party (but only, if the Democrats won the midterms, giving Republicans little room for error.) However (and a reminder), President Trump cannot be charged as a sitting President. He later admitted that he later on admitted that Cohen was told to solicit. However, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders defended the President saying he didn’t do anything wrong. President Trump also praised Manafort for declining to break. Cohen, Michael, Michael Flynn (who was guilty of lying to the FBI), George Papadopolous (who lied to federal authorities), and Rick Gates (who pleaded guilty for financial fraud) could all potentially spend time in jail. This even rocked Capitol Hill. While several Republicans were defending President Trump (saying it had nothing to do with Russia), Democrats want Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to halt, and await for the potential to impeach President Trump.
Thursday: President Trump continues to fight back, after the Manafort and Cohen trials ended guilty. He also pleaded on Fox News that he shouldn’t be impeached, and that if he is, the stock market would crash. He also called out General Attorney Jeff Sessions on not doing the action on the Justice Department, as well as Mueller. Sessions fought back saying “Well I am Attorney General, the actions on the department of justice will not be in probably influenced by political considerations. I demand a higher standard, and when they are not made, I take action.” (BBC World News America) He also said that he did take control of the Department of Justice since he took over. It was also reported that the federal prosecutors gave legal immunity to chairman of American Media Inc David Pecker. Pecker is also a longtime friend of the President, and provided information on Cohen, and the hush money given to Daniels and McDougal. Also on Fox News, one of the Manafort Jurors, and Trump supporters Paula Duncan prevented the other unanimous charges, and that she said she voted to convict. As for Kavanaugh, he asked US Senators for support. With 6 meetings (including Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) on abortion.) Collins said it was settled law, but no clue if he will overturn it. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration slammed another 25% in tariffs on Chinese imports. Former US Ambassador to China Max Baucus said President Trump’s approach on tariffs was an amateur approach in trade, in which both China and the United States could be affected by it. He suggested that President Trump should address the issues on China. China fought back though, putting 25% in US goods. The US Secretary add new regulations on bypassing the cap on tax deductions. As for the Democratic National Committee’s calls on a potential hack for the midterm elections, it was a false alarm. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop National Security Advisor John Bolton to sound the alarm on Russian hacking. Search engine Google deleted 39 YouTube Channels related to misinformation. Also, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tapped Steven Beigun to be the US ambassador of North Korea. Beigun (who used to work for the Ford Motor company) would join Pompeo next week in North Korea to discuss nuclear negotiations. Also, President Trump called out a land dispute on South Africa regarding farm land, but the South African government called it fake information. As for the death of Tibbetts, Governor Kim Renyolds (R-Iowa) said in a statement “Heart wrenching. As Iowans, we are heartbroken and we are angry. Angry that a broken immigration system allowed a predator like this to live in our community.” (PBS NewsHour) President Trump even posted a video about Tibbetts and the issue on illegal immigration. He even mentioned in rallies about the illegal El Salvadorian gang MS-13, and even called out Democrats for opening the borders, which would mean in his sense more crimes. Even former Republican Speaker of the house Newt Gingrich contacted various news media outlets on coverage on Tibbetts’s murder, all in the hopes of ignoring the Manafort-Cohen trials. President Trump has also stressed about the trade policy.
Friday: With Pecker given legal immunity, he agreed to share information on Cohen, President Trump, and the Russia Investigation. When he announced about his presidential run in 2015, Pecker and Cohen came up with a plan to hide negative stories on President Trump by “… identifying such stories so they could be purchased and their publication avoid it.” ( Good Morning America) It was Pecker that told Cohen on Daniels’s story. Even the National Enquirer said President Trump must be the President of the United States, and even spilled dirt on Clinton. But Pecker wasn’t the only person with immunity, CFO of the Trump Organization Alan Weisselberg for cooperating with investigators and answering questions on the Cohen case. One court document said “The company accounted for these payments as legal expenses. In truth and in fact… The monthly invoices Cohen submitted were not in connection to any legal services he had provided in 2017.” (ABC World News Tonight with David Muir) President Trump once again blasted and mocked Sessions on Twitter. It became very personal for him. Meanwhile, Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-California) and his wife was charged for misusing $250,000 in campaign funds. That included $15,000 for airfare tickets and hotel rooms during a luxury trip to Italy, $11,300 in Costco, $6,000 for their children’s tuition, $3,300 on fast food, and even created faux donations to Smiles for Life using dental bills. They pleaded not guilty, and could not make eye contact with the judge, but Hunter cannot be convicted due to winning the California primary. Hunter even blamed his staff of disloyalty and his wife as the campaign manager. President Trump asked Pompeo not to go to North Korea, because their leader Kim Jong-Un failed to make any progress.As for Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), his family has decided not to continue medical treatment, after a year fighting brain cancer. He has not been seen in the White House since December.
Saturday: Senator John McCain has passed away, at the age of 81. He was a Navy vet (where in 1967 he survived a deadly fire, later to be held prisoner in North Vietnam. and has served 4 decades in politics. He even did a brave thing by defending President Barack Obama during his campaign run into 2008. When he was the Republican Nominee for the 2008 election, he said “What it really means is, I understand who I work for. I don’t work for a party. I don’t work for a special interest. I don’t work for myself. I work for you.” (PBS NewsHour) He even denied the Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act last year after being diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer. Many of his family members including wife Cindy and daughter Meghan tweeted about McCain. Even despite his rivalry with him, President Trump decided send his condolences to McCain’s family.
Sunday: Nothing to report.
And that is A Week of the White House from Monday, August 20th, 2018-Sunday, August 26th, 2018
From Newstime, our thoughts and condolences to friends and family of John McCain. Next week, Newstime will honor his legacy.
Newstime with Sophia Melki 