There's never a dull moment in the Trump White House, it seems.
Last week, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani joined Trump's legal team. Giuliani almost immediately sowed confusion by publicly acknowledging that Trump had personally repaid lawyer Michael Cohen for the $130,000 he used to buy Stormy Daniel's silence over an affair she had with Trump in 2006. "He didn't know about the specifics of it as far as I know, but he did know about the general arrangement, that Michael would take care of things like this," Giuliani said in his appearance on the Sean Hannity show. Giuliani also denied that the $130,000 came from campaign funds, insisting that no campaign finance violation occurred.
Giuliani's remarks caused a particular stir since Trump had previously claimed that he had no knowledge of the payment, and continues to deny that the affair took place. Trump later addressed Giuliani's comments via Twitter, explaining that Mr. Cohen "received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA." In a remark possibly intended to scold Giuliani, Trump also said, "You know what? Learn before you speak. It's a lot easier."
The admission could cause more than a PR hubbub for Trump. Some legal experts think Trump could not be in legal jeopardy, since the law mandates that federal officials report liabilities greater than $10,000 during the preceding year, but Trump's latest disclosure contains no mention of a debt to Mr. Cohen.
Giuliani also has now said that Trump might invoke his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid providing testimony to Special Investigator Robert Mueller.
Trump's former doctor, Harold Bornstein, also earlier this week claimed that in 2017, Trump aides raided his office and took Trump's medical files shortly after Mr. Bornstein publicly acknowledged that Mr. Trump took a supplement to promote hair growth. Mr. Bornstein also alleged that Trump dictated a letter touting his own physical health that was published under Mr. Bornstein's name. The White House has denied that any "raid" was conducted, saying that the files were transferred in accordance with procedure.
In less salacious news, months after seeming to waffle on gun control in the wake of the Parkland shooting, Trump seems to have recommitted to the NRA, addressing the group on Friday with a long speech in which he urged members to vote for Republicans to protect gun rights. Trump also managed to offend two close U.S. allies, France and the U.K., by referencing tragic attacks committed on their soil, implying that they could have been prevented if these countries had stronger gun rights.
Trump also drew ire from North Korea after he announced that a time and place have been set for the historic U.S.-North Korea summit, but would not disclose when and where more specifically. Pyongyang took umbrage specifically with Trump's "misleading" claims that it was his personal policy of maximum political pressure and sanctions that drove North Korea to the negotiating table.
And in other nuclear news, Trump is debating whether or not to recertify a 2015 Iran deal that lifted sanctions in exchange for limits on the Iranian nuclear program. International observers say there's no cause to end the program, which has successfully tamped down Iran's nuclear development while promoting trade - but Trump may nix it in favor of a more permanent solution.
- http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/385965-giuliani-trump-reimbursed-cohen-for-payment-to-stormy-daniels
- http://video.foxnews.com/v/5780101714001/
- https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/991992302267785216
- https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/04/us/politics/transcript-trump-giuliani-stormy-daniels.html
- https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/06/us/politics/giuliani-says-trump-would-not-have-to-comply-with-mueller-subpoena.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
- https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/trump-doctor-bornstein-w519732
- https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/02/607638733/doctor-trump-dictated-letter-attesting-to-his-extraordinary-health
- https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/05/politics/trump-nra-speech-angers-french/index.html
- https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/trump-north-korea-summit-plans-set-drawdown-table-54953447
- http://time.com/5264150/trumps-major-dilemma-on-the-iran-deal/