Wednesday, Nov 19th
Last update09:25:02 AM GMT
Political Glance
President Donald Trump on Tuesday cited the recent apprehension of ten suspected terrorists to bolster his case for building a wall along the southern border, implying that a porous border with Mexico is leaving the country vulnerable to national security threats.
But the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees security and law enforcement at U.S. borders and ports of entry, was unable to provide data to directly substantiate that claim.
The Trump administration for months concealed a report that showed Wells Fargo charged college students fees that were on average several times higher than some of its competitors.
The “unpublished” report was obtained by POLITICO through a Freedom of Information Act request. It was produced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau office previously led by Seth Frotman, who quit as the bureau’s top student loan official in protest of Trump administration policies. Frotman said in his resignation letter that CFPB leaders had “suppressed the publication” of the report.
Butina has pleaded innocent so far in the case in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She has been jailed since July, largely in solitary confinement. But now lawyers for both sides are asking for a plea hearing Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
“The parties have resolved this matter,” the two-page filing said.
The latest court filing suggests that Butina could be preparing to plead guilty to charges involving what prosecutors claim were efforts to infiltrate U.S. political organizations in order to advance Russia's interests.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that “federal agents showed up unannounced at the City Hall office of Finance Committee Chairman Ed Burke, kicked everyone out and papered over the windows Thursday morning.”
Although it is unclear whether the raid was related to President Donald Trump, the raid on Burke’s office is sure to raise eyebrows given that it came on the same day that Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about Trump Tower Moscow.
President Donald Trump told White House attorneys he wanted the Justice Department to prosecute Hillary Clinton and former FBI director James B. Comey, the latest indication the president views the department as a potential weapon to use against political opponents, according to a report.
The New York Times, citing unnamed sources familiar with Trump’s conversation, said the president told former White House counsel Donald F. McGahn in the spring that he wanted the Justice Department to pursue Clinton and Comey.
McGahn, according to the report, rebuffed the request, saying it would prompt critics to claim the president was abusing his power.
Although Trump's aides have repeatedly warned him that his three personal iPhones are not secure, the president refuses to give them up, the Times reported. He continues to use them to chat with friends and confidantes.
China has reportedly been keeping track of the people who Trump speaks to the most, compiling them into a list of figures to target with pro-Chinese messaging. While Russia's efforts are reportedly less coordinated, they are listening in to conversations in order to seek insight into the U.S. president's thinking.
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