TV News LIES

In the two years since he took office, President Trump racked up more than 1,400 conflicts of interest involving the government, those trying to influence it and the Trump Organization, according to a report released today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

President Trump used the presidency to enrich himself by repeatedly promoting his businesses as extensions of his administration. Political allies, wealthy donors, special interests and foreign governments adopted a key tactic of patronizing Trump’s businesses to curry favor with the Trump administration. Here are some of the key findings from CREW’s tracking of Trump’s conflicts of interest:

Soon after the story broke, Donald Trump Jr. – a participant in the meeting – issued a highly misleading press statement about what transpired. We later learned that the president personally dictated that statement while aboard Air Force One, during a return trip from a G-20 summit in Germany. This appeared to directly implicate the president in a cover-up.

T-Mobile's CEO and other executives have repeatedly stayed at President Trump's hotel in Washington, DC while lobbying the Trump administration for approval of T-Mobile's proposed acquisition of Sprint, according to a Washington Post story published today.

The Post's investigation is titled, "T-Mobile announced a merger needing Trump administration approval. The next day, 9 executives had reservations at Trump's hotel."

T-Mobile and Sprint announced their $26 billion merger on April 29 last year and are still seeking approval to merge from the US Department of Justice, Federal Communications Commission, and state regulators. T-Mobile executives have faced skepticism about the deal from federal and state regulators, according to a report by The Capitol Forum. A coalition of consumer advocacy groups has been warning regulators that the deal will harm competition, raise prices for wireless consumers, kill up to 30,000 jobs, and result in worse wireless service.

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President Donald Trump is often called thin-skinned. It’s usually not meant literally.

But the back of Trump’s right hand was covered with an adhesive bandage during a Thursday trip to McAllen, Texas, with blood visibly seeping through the dressing. His hand was similarly bandaged again on Monday as he departed for a trip to New Orleans.

Armchair medics studying photos that circulated online this week leapt to dramatic conclusions. But the White House said on Tuesday that Trump sustained the injury while playing with his 12-year-old son. “The President was having fun and joking around with his son Barron and scratched his hand,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told POLITICO.

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President Trump’s nominee for attorney general, William Barr, wouldn’t commit to recusing himself from the special counsel’s probe after writing a memo that was critical of Robert Mueller’s investigation.

Sen. Pat Leahy questioned Barr during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing Tuesday about whether he would seek and follow the advice of the Justice Department’s career ethics officials about recusal.

“I will seek the advice of the career ethics personnel, but as head of the agency, I make the decision of my recusal,” he said. “At the end of the day, I would make my decision based on the law and the facts.”

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Gates took a plea deal in February 2018, and he agreed to cooperate when he pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States and making a false statement to federal investigators.

His sentencing was delayed first in November, when the special counsel also cited ongoing cooperation.

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