Trump spent this past week at Mar-a-Lago, his "Southern White House." While there, Trump hosted Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, who, like Trump, is also facing fresh allegations of corruption back home. The two focused on upcoming talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
But it was an eventful week even with Trump away from Washington D.C. Former FBI Director James Comey made several media appearances to promote the release of his book, "A Higher Loyalty." ABC aired an interview with Comey on Sunday night in which he called Trump "morally unfit" to lead the country. Trump lashed back via Twitter, accusing Comey of committing "many crimes."
The complex web of scandals and court cases involving Trump affiliates grew even more tangled this week. Trump's attorneys have requested the right to review materials seized from an FBI raid on Trump attorney Michael Cohen conducted last week, citing a desire to protect the president from the release of any documents covered by attorney-client privilege. The judge in the case will decide the issue in the coming weeks.
For his part, Cohen is dropping a lawsuit he had filed against political research firm Fusion GPS and BuzzFeed over the publication of an infamous dossier on Russia and Trump. By dropping the suit, Cohen will avoid a discovery process that would have required that he turn over information about himself. The ongoing criminal investigation against Cohen will also impact Stormy Daniel's civil lawsuit, which Daniels filed to void a contract guaranteeing her silence about an affair with Trump she allegedly had in 2006 (Trump has denied the affair). Given the overlap between the two matters, Cohen's attorneys have sought to stay Daniels' case; a judge will decide if the stay will be granted.
Meanwhile, the Mueller investigation continues apace. The special counsel's office defended itself against attacks, saying that it has not "gone rogue" as some Trump allies have claimed. Former NY mayor Rudy Giuliani announced that he would join Trump's personal legal team in trying to bring an end to the Mueller inquiry.
The Trump administration appeared to waver on the issue of sanctions against Russia. Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., announced on Sunday that the U.S. would shortly level new sanctions, but the sanctions were actually still under review, and Trump later personally decided not to impose any further sanctions. The confusion was just one point of embarrassment for the White House, which is also reportedly reviewing the extravagant spending of EPA Chief Scott Pruitt and HUD Secretary Ben Carson.
Trump also faced a setback in a sanctuary cities case. A federal appeals court upheld a court order that prevents the U.S. Justice Department from imposing conditions on federal grants to cities, which Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have tried to use to force cities to comply with their strict immigration policies. Trump blasted sanctuary cities via Twitter, calling them a threat to public safety.