Last week, BuzzFeed News reported Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office had information that President Trump instructed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about the timeline of work on the proposed Trump Tower Moscow project. Mueller’s office said the report is inaccurate but BuzzFeed News continues to stand by its story.
Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney, went on a media tear this weekend, giving interviews on the Trump Tower Moscow project. He said discussions continued all the way until election day in 2016, but this contradicts Trump’s public statements saying he hadn’t been involved in the proposed project at all. Giuliani later clarified his statements, saying he was just practicing “alternative arguing,” as he does in court, to explain that even if the president had those conversations leading up to the election, it wouldn’t be illegal. Co-host Ken White analyzes whether Giuliani’s public appearances are so bad that they’re undermining President Trump, or whether they’re so bad they’re not hurting President Trump at all.
The partial government shutdown has been going on for over a month and we’re wondering what effect it has on investigations surrounding President Trump. Although Robert Mueller’s team is funded by their own indefinite appropriation, they still have to interface with other parts of the Justice Department.
Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker is set to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 8. Committee chairman Jerry Nadler sent Whitaker a letter declaring his intention to ask a series of specific questions about Whitaker’s interactions with President Trump. Could the questions Nadler wants to ask implicate executive privilege?
And in this week’s Michael Avenatti news: he’s being sued for fraud by a former client who says Avenatti received a settlement on the client’s behalf last year but Avenatti claims he never saw a settlement. So, where’s the money, Michael?