| Week #27: May 21, 2017 |
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This week's list has over 100 items, and matches the feel of complete chaos: bombshell after bombshell about Trump's ties to, and efforts to undermine the investigation into Russia. Although the biggest headline of the week was the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Trump-Russia, of equal importance was the diurnal harbingers of our fading democracy. Trump's WH invitation to yet another brutal authoritarian: Ergodan of Turkey, and the ensuing melee outside the Turkish embassy in DC, is a wake-up call for us all. |
| 1. |
WSJ reported that three former employees of the Trump organization saw him tape phone calls from Trump Tower. Trump still has not revealed if his alleged taped conversations with Comey really exist. Read More About This |
| 2. |
The Economist interviewed Trump about his economic policy, and described his strategy to be "unimaginative and incoherent." The interview revealed alarming lack of knowledge of basic concepts. Read More About This |
| 3. |
Gen Michael Hayden said on CNN he's usually not in favor of special prosecutors, but after Trump fired Comey, "I've changed my mind." Read More About This |
| 4. |
Richard Spencer and his torch-carrying white supremacist followers marched in Charlottesville, VA to protest the removal of a Confederate monument, chanting, "You will not replace us." Read More About This |
| 5. |
Merkel's party seized a key state from rivals in the last election, putting her in a strong position for Germany's general election in September. This would mark the fourth setback for Putin since Trump. Read More About This |
| 6. |
An NBC poll found that just 29% approve of Trump firing Comey, and 78% want an outside special prosecutor. Read More About This |
| 7. | Trump spent Mother's Day on the golf course, and did not see Melania or Barron. |
| 8. |
The Trump regime issued a statement on N. Korea's missile test, whichoddly started out with a Russian perspective. Read More About This |
| 9. |
NY Magazine reported that candidates for FBI director were being screened for their loyalty to Trump. Read More About This |
| 10. |
WAPO reported on the ways Trump has leveraged his presence at Mar-A-Lago to enhance his club's event business and enrich himself. Read More About This |
| 11. |
Axios reported Sunday that Trump is considering a sweeping shake-up in his regime. One confidant said, "He's frustrated, and angry at everyone." Read More About This |
| 12. |
The Trump regime has hidden massive amounts of data on issues such as workplace violations, energy efficiency, and animal welfare abuses -- lessening the "naming and shaming" effect on corporate behavior. Read More About This |
| 13. |
Clapper said US institutions are under assault -- both externally with Russian interference in our election system, and internally from Trump. Read More About This |
| 14. |
WNYC reported NJ Republican Rep. Frelinghuysen wrote a letter to a constituent's employer complaining about her progressive activism: "P.S. One of the ringleaders works in your bank!" Read More About This |
| 15. |
Page wrote a bizarre letter to Rosenstein, complaining about Obama and Clinton, and citing Maroon 5 lyrics in the footnotes. Read More About This |
| 16. |
A WAPO reporter noted "This Is Not Normal," when the paper accidentally published Mathis's personal cell phone number, which was on a yellow sticky note in a photo of Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller. Read More About This |
| 17. |
Russian aluminum oligarch Deripaska is suing AP for libel in connection with their reporting on his ties to Manafort. Read More About This |
| 18. |
Mother Jones reported that 50 farmworkers outside of Bakersfield, CA were poisoned by a pesticide just green-lighted by Trump's EPA. Read More About This |
| 19. |
Trump met with UAE crown prince Sheikh Mohammed at the White House Monday. In Week 21 it was noted that this crown prince brokered a meeting between Prince and a Putin ally in Seychelles, shortly after a clandestine US meeting with Kushner, Bannon and Flynn. Read More About This |
| 20. |
On Monday, WAPO reported that Trump revealed highly classified information on ISIS to Lavrov and Kislyak at the White House meeting. As mentioned in Week 26, US media was excluded. Read More About This |
| 21. |
WAPO also noted that they withheld the most significant details from the story at the urging of White House officials who warned "revealing them would jeopardize important intelligence capabilities." Read More About This |
| 22. |
Buzzfeed confirmed WAPO's story, adding an official who was briefed on Trump's leak said, "it's far worse than what has already been reported." Read More About This |
| 23. |
Reuters and NYT also confirmed the story, with NYT adding the leaked information came from an ally. The White House continued to deny the WAPOstory Monday night. Read More About This; Click here, also |
| 24. |
Trump took to Twitter Tuesday morning saying he leaked to Russia for "humanitarian reasons" and which he has "the absolute right to do." Trump also ironically tweeted a complaint about "the LEAKERS." Read More About This; Click here, also |
| 25. |
Fmr US ambassador to Russia McFaul said Trump does not "have the right to leak classified information obtained from other countries, without their permission." Read More About This |
| 26. |
A European official told AP that their country "might stop sharing intel with US if Trump gave classified info to Russian diplomats." Read More About This |
| 27. |
At a press conference Tuesday, McMaster claimed that Trump decided to leak highly classified info to the Russians on the spur of moment, and wasn't aware where the information came from. Read More About This; Click here, also |
| 28. |
NYT reported that Israel was the source of the intelligence given to Russia. The leak raises concerns that the information could be passed to Iran, "Russia's close ally and Israel's main threat in the region." Read More About This |
| 29. |
Buzzfeed reported an Israeli intelligence official said knowing Trump leaked to Russia without that country's prior knowledge was Israel's "worst fears confirmed." Read More About This |
| 30. |
ABC reported Trump's leak endangered an Israeli spy placed inside ISIS. Read More About This |
| 31. |
WSJ reported that the Israeli source Trump leaked was considered so sensitive, it wasn't shared with Five Eyes, our closest allies. Read More About This |
| 32. |
For the first time, more Americans support Trump's impeachment (48%) than oppose it (41%) according to PPP. Their polling was conducted before the Russia leak. Read More About This |
| 33. |
Trump hosted Turkey's Ergodan at the WH, another in a string of brutal authoritarians invited to the White House despite human rights abuses at home. Read More About This |
| 34. |
After the meeting, a video captured Ergodan's bodyguards viciously attacking protestors outside the Turkish embassy in DC. Later, a video surfaced of Ergodan watching as his guards beat protestors. Read More About This; Click here, also |
| 35. |
DC police chief Newsham said diplomatic immunity could limit what the city can do to hold Erogodan's bodyguards accountable. Read More About This |
| 36. |
Republicans and Democrats spoke out against the attack, with McCain calling for Turkey's ambassador to be expelled. Read More About This |
| 37. |
Ceren Borazan tweeted a photo (see below) and wrote: "Dear @POTUSI'm being attackd in this photo. I was assaulted by this man, strangled for protesting. Please help me find & prosecute this man." The tweet was retweeted over 55k times. Trump has not responded to the assaults. Read More About This |
| 38. |
Following outcry, the State Dept summoned the Turkish ambassador; but two bodyguards who were detained, we released and allowed to leave without redress. Read More About This |
| 39. |
The @VP account tweeted then deleted a photo of Trump and Ergodan's sons in law -- both in government positions of power -- seated across from one another at lunch. Read More About This |
| 40. |
NYT reported that Comey had been writing memos on his interactions with Trump, including a February 14 meeting at which Trump asked Comey to end the FBI investigation of Flynn. Read More About This |
| 41. |
NYT also reported that the meeting took place in the Oval Office, and before it started, Trump asked Sessions and Pence to leave the room. Read More About This |
| 42. |
According to a Comey associate, Trump also told Comey he should consider putting reporters in prison for publishing classified information. Read More About This |
| 43. |
WAPO reported Comey had shared his notes with a small circle in the FBI and DOJ -- raising questions of whether Sessions and Rosenstein were aware before they wrote the memo to back Trump's firing of Comey. Read More About This |
| 44. |
That evening, and the following morning, TV networks -- including Fox News -- complained that elected Republicans were refusing to go on-air. Read More About This; Click here, also |
| 45. |
The Russian Foreign Minister advised Americans not to believe the WAPOstory on Trump leaking to Russia. A spokesperson wrote on Facebook about American newspaper: "You shouldn't read them." Read More About This |
| 46. |
Wednesday morning, Putin offered to hand over records of Trump and Lavrov's conversation to the US House and Senate. Read More About This |
| 47. |
NBC reported Feds have subpoenaed Manafort for a $3.5mm mortgagetaken out on his Hampton home just after leaving the Trump campaign. Mortgage documents were never filed, and taxes never paid on the loan. Read More About This |
| 48. |
Eleven Democratic Senators called for an investigation of Sessions's involvement with the Comey firing, after his stated recusal from the Trump-Russia investigation. Read More About This |
| 49. |
In another sign of US decline under Trump, France's PM, economic minister and national security adviser are all experts on Germany. Read More About This |
| 50. |
27-year-old Jean Jimenez-Joseph became the seventh person this year to die while under ICE custody. Jimenez-Joseph committed suicide, but ICE said he 'passed away' while at a detention center. Read More About This |
| 51. |
ICE data revealed 41,000 arrests in Trump's first 100 days, a 38% increase over the same period in 2016. Read More About This |
| 52. |
As crises loom this week, a new NBC/WSJ poll found that only a quarter of Americans find Trump to be honest. Read More About This |
| 53. |
WSJ reported Russian state-run bank VEB indirectly provided hundreds of millions in financing to Ukrainian steel mill owned by Alexander Shnaider, who then funded construction of a Trump project in Toronto. Read More About This |
| 54. |
Delivering a commencement speech at the Coast Guard Academy, Trump said, "No politician in history… has been treated worse or more unfairly." Read More About This |
| 55. |
On Wednesday, Rosenstein appointed a special counsel, Robert Mueller, to oversee the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion between Russia and the Trump regime. Read More About This |
| 56. | Rosenstein was set to appear before the full Senate on Thursday and House on Friday. |
| 57. |
The White House was blinded by the special counsel news: given only 30 minutes advanced notice. Read More About This |
| 58. |
WH PR strategy was in chaos, with Conway cancelling a scheduled appearance on Tucker Carlson's show an hour before airtime. No members of Trump's inner circle appeared on TV Wednesday. Read More About This |
| 59. |
WAPO reported a month before Trump clinched the GOP nomination, in a private conversation with fellow GOP leaders, House Majority Leader McCarthy said Trump could be getting money from Putin, "There's two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump." Read More About This |
| 60. |
Some GOP leaders laughed, and McCarthy continued, "Swear to God." Speaker Ryan swore the attendees to secrecy. Read More About This |
| 61. |
When called for comment, spokespeople for Ryan and McCarthy denied the WAPO story -- until the Post told them they had audio. Read More About This |
| 62. |
Pence registered a PAC on Wednesday, typically a signal of seeking higher office. Neither Biden or Cheney had active PACs while in office. Read More About This |
| 63. |
NYT reported that Flynn officially disclosed to the Trump transition team on January 4 that he was under federal investigation for secretly working as a paid lobbying for Turkey. Read More About This |
| 64. |
Pence headed Trump's transition team, but he continued to deny he knew about Flynn's lobbying. Pence was also notified about Flynn by Rep. Cummings in a letter dated November 18. Read More About This |
| 65. |
NYT reported the Trump regime was aware of Flynn's business dealings in early November, even before his infamous pro-Turkey op-ed on Nov 8. Read More About This |
| 66. |
NYT also reported acting FBI director McCabe confirmed to Congress a "highly significant" investigation into possible collusion between the Trump regime and Russia to sway the 2016 election. Read More About This |
| 67. |
FBI prosecutor Brandon Van Grack is leading a grand jury inquiry in VA looking into Flynn's foreign lobbying, and has started issuing subpoenas. Read More About This |
| 68. |
NBC reported that both Manafort and Flynn are considered "subjects" of a criminal investigation. Read More About This |
| 69. |
Also per NBC: the FBI, with help from the Treasury Dept, CIA and other agencies, is examining contacts, money transfers and business relationships between the Trump regime and Russia. Read More About This |
| 70. |
McClatchy reported that one of the Trump regime's first foreign policy decisions, involving the fight against ISIS, was made by Flynn in coordination with outgoing NSA Susan Rice. Flynn went against Obama administration advice, and put Turkey's interests ahead of US interests. Read More About This |
| 71. |
Reuters reported that the Trump regime had at least 18 undisclosed contacts with Russian officials in the 7 months leading up to the election. Read More About This |
| 72. |
Six of the undisclosed contacts involved Kislyak with Flynn and three other Trump regime members. The other 12 involved Russian officials or people close to Putin and Trump campaign advisers. Read More About This |
| 73. |
Reuters also reported that after the election, Flynn and Kislyak had conversations about setting up a back-channel communication between Trump and Putin that could bypass the US national security bureaucracy. Read More About This |
| 74. |
Yahoo reported that Trump was in touch with Flynn as recently as April 25th, telling him to "stay strong." Read More About This |
| 75. |
On Thursday, Flynn's lawyer said his client will not honor the Senate Intel Comm's subpoena. Read More About This |
| 76. |
WH advisers and personal associates are urging Trump to hire an experienced outside attorney to deal with the Trump-Russia probe. Read More About This |
| 77. |
TIME reported Russia tried to hack the Defense Dept's Twitter accountsby sending 10,000+ tailored messages in an effort to get them to click, which would have enabled hackers to control the account. Read More About This |
| 78. |
Thursday, Chaffetz, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, resigned from Congress without explanation. Read More About This |
| 79. |
Newsweek reported that Trump staffers are starting to look for new jobs, and are worried about the taint of having worked for the Trump regime. Read More About This |
| 80. | Thursday, Rosenstein briefed the Senate. McCaskill and other senators said shared that Rosenstein knew Comey was going to be fired before he wrote his memo. |
| 81. |
Thursday, Trump tweeted the Special Counsel/Russian is the "single greatest witch hunt of a politician," and continued to cite Rosenstein's memo as justification for his firing of Comey. Read More About This |
| 82. |
Trump denied collusion between his campaign and Russia in the 2016 election, but said "I can only speak for myself." Read More About This |
| 83. |
On Friday, Rosenstein released his opening remarks to the House and Senate which include on Comey firing, "My memorandum is not a statement of reasons to justify a for-cause termination." Read More About This |
| 84. |
After Rosenstein briefed the House, Cummings told the media, "This is about the fight for the soul of our democracy. We cannot afford to lose this one." Read More About This |
| 85. |
NYT reported Trump called Comey weeks after taking office, and asked when he was planning to publicly state that Trump was not under investigation. Comey tried to explain proper chains of communication. Read More About This |
| 86. |
According to a friend, Comey was troubled by many of his encounters with Trump, including a Jan 22 ceremony in the White House blue room, where Comey tried to blend in the blue curtains to avoid Trump's attention. Read More About This |
| 87. |
WAPO also reported on Comey's apprehension around meetings with Trump, citing his extensive preparations with staff, and writing out notes in his car directly after meetings. Read More About This |
| 88. |
NYT also reported Priebus asked Comey to push back on media reports in mid February that the Trump regime had been in contact with Russia during the election. Read More About This |
| 89. |
Kushner, while in a White House room with a high-level delegation of Saudis, called the chief executive of Lockheed Martin, and asked if she would cut the price on a $100bn+ weapons deal with Saudi Arabia. Read More About This |
| 90. |
CNN reported that despite his recusal, Nunes continues to review intelligence relating to Russia, including as part of the Gang of Eight. Nunes had recused himself over his close ties to the Trump regime. Read More About This |
| 91. |
Pence's team continued to spin stories and distance him from Trump, indicating Pence was kept in the dark on Flynn and Russia, and that he's a "loyal soldier" but the news cycle is wearing on him. Read More About This |
| 92. |
In Trump's first 119 days, he has made 586 false and misleading claims. Read More About This |
| 93. |
As Trump floated Joe Lieberman as his top pick for FBI director, mysteriously Liberman's Wikipedia page was edited to remove 'Donald Trump' as a notable client of his firm. Read More About This |
| 94. |
As Trump leaves for his first overseas trip, foreign leaders have been instructed to praise him for winning the Electoral College. A report cited: 'Compliment him on his election win, and compare him favorably to former President Obama.' Read More About This |
| 95. |
On Friday, Rep. Carlos Curbelo became the first Republican to call for Trump's impeachment. Read More About This |
| 96. |
Spicer issued a statement Friday afternoon in response to NYT stories, accusing Comey of "grandstanding" and "politicizing" the Russia probe, and hurting our ability "to engage and negotiate with Russia." Read More About This |
| 97. |
NYT reported late Friday on a document detailing conversations between Trump and Russian officials in the Oval Office. Trump said "I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job." Read More About This |
| 98. |
Stepping closer to obstruction of justice charges, Trump also allegedly told Russian officials that firing Comey had relieved "great pressure" on him, and that he is not under investigation. Read More About This |
| 99. |
WAPO reported late Friday that law enforcement has identified a current White House official as "a significant person of interest." Read More About This |
| 100. |
Reuters reported that the Trump regime is exploring ways to use obscure ethics rules to undermine the special counsel investigation of Trump-Russia -- citing since Kushner and Manafort were clients of Mueller's former firm, Mueller should be barred from investigating them. Read More About This |
| 101. |
Late Friday, NY Magazine reported the person of interest in the WAPOstory is Kushner. Read More About This |
| 102. |
CNN reported that intercepts of Russian communications reveal Russian officials bragged during the presidential campaign that they could use Flynn to influence Trump. Read More About This |
| 103. |
Trump pick for deputy Treasury Secretary, James Donovan, withdrew from consideration on Friday. Read More About This |
| 104. |
A former Trump campaign official who has hired counsel in the Russian probe told a CNN reporter that Trump should help pay for legal costs. Read More About This |
| 105. | As Trump left for his first foreign trip, one reporter noted, "Almost palpable relief the circus has left town for a few days." Truly was a different feel from the not normal chaos of recent months. |
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