Developing now, Tuesday, March 5, 2019
DEMOCRATS LAUNCH NEW, WIDE-REACHING PROBE INTO TRUMP: House Democrats on Monday opened a huge new avenue in their investigations into President Trump, with the chairman of the Judiciary Committee firing off document requests to dozens of figures from the president’s administration, family and business … Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said Monday the committee served document requests to 81 agencies, entities and individuals, as part of a new probe into “alleged obstruction of justice, public corruption, and other abuses of power by President Trump.” Nadler said the investigations were necessary to make sure the Trump presidency isn’t a dictatorship. In addition to the White House, Nadler is also seeking information from Trump family members, like Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Jared Kushner; from former administration figures like former chief of staff Reince Priebus, former national security adviser Mike Flynn, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former spokeswoman Hope Hicks; and from Trump campaign figures like Brad Parscale and Corey Lewandowski.
In addition, Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Eliot Engel, and Oversight Committee chairman Elijah Cummings on Monday formally demanded interviews with any translators who witnessed Trump’s communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin since Inauguration Day – a request that comes as part of a sweeping series of inquiries virtually certain to be met with legal pushback by the White House. The only good news Trump received on the investigation front was that Attorney General William Barr will not recuse himself from Russia probe.
Political backlash to declaring emergency and the wall?
POLITICO
Graham: Trump says GOP senators opposing him are ‘playing with fire’
By BURGESS EVERETT
03/05/2019 03:38 PM EST
Lindsey Graham
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said his meeting with the president focused mostly on the border and the number of illegal crossings as Trump faces certain bipartisan defeat on his emergency declaration in the Senate. | Alex Wong/Getty Images
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President Donald Trump said Senate Republicans considering opposition to his emergency declaration on the border are “playing with fire,” according to Sen. Lindsey Graham, who met with the president on Tuesday morning.
The South Carolina Republican said his meeting with the president focused mostly on the border and the number of illegal crossings as Trump faces certain bipartisan defeat on his emergency declaration in the Senate later this month.
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Four Republican senators have said they will join 47 Senate Democrats in voting to block the national emergency declaration, though Trump will veto it and Congress likely won’t be able to muster the votes to override it. And though Trump is not waging a massive campaign to convert Republicans to his side, he’s acutely aware of the politics of the issue.
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“He says he thinks Republicans are playing with fire here because most Republicans, anyway, most people I hope, will see that the border is in a state of crisis,” Graham said, adding that Trump believes GOP senators that defy him are likely to face a political backlash. “That’s his observation, but he’s not out there calling people out or anything.”
Graham said Trump also groused about the wide-ranging investigations launched by the Democratic House, and questioned why Democrats are eager to probe his administration and 2016 campaign but not cooperate on legislation.
“He believes they are taking a wrecking ball to his life. Clinton said that about us. They’re going nuts,” Graham said. “‘It seems like nobody wants to solve any problems.’ He said that a couple times. He said he’s surprised. He thought it would be in everybody’s interest [to do] infrastructure and stuff like that.”
This story tagged under:
Senate Lindsey Graham Donald Trump Donald Trump 2020 Border Wall National Emergency Declaration National Emergency
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POLITICO
Graham: Trump says GOP senators opposing him are ‘playing with fire’
By BURGESS EVERETT
03/05/2019 03:38 PM EST
Lindsey Graham
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said his meeting with the president focused mostly on the border and the number of illegal crossings as Trump faces certain bipartisan defeat on his emergency declaration in the Senate. |
President Donald Trump said Senate Republicans considering opposition to his emergency declaration on the border are “playing with fire,” according to Sen. Lindsey Graham, who met with the president on Tuesday morning.
The South Carolina Republican said his meeting with the president focused mostly on the border and the number of illegal crossings as Trump faces certain bipartisan defeat on his emergency declaration in the Senate later this month.
Four Republican senators have said they will join 47 Senate Democrats in voting to block the national emergency declaration, though Trump will veto it and Congress likely won’t be able to muster the votes to override it. And though Trump is not waging a massive campaign to convert Republicans to his side, he’s acutely aware of the politics of the issue.
“He says he thinks Republicans are playing with fire here because most Republicans, anyway, most people I hope, will see that the border is in a state of crisis,” Graham said, adding that Trump believes GOP senators that defy him are likely to face a political backlash. “That’s his observation, but he’s not out there calling people out or anything.”
Graham said Trump also groused about the wide-ranging investigations launched by the Democratic House, and questioned why Democrats are eager to probe his administration and 2016 campaign but not cooperate on legislation.
“He believes they are taking a wrecking ball to his life. Clinton said that about us. They’re going nuts,” Graham said. “‘It seems like nobody wants to solve any problems.’ He said that a couple times. He said he’s surprised. He thought it would be in everybody’s interest [to do] infrastructure and stuff like that.”