U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday defended the 2016 meeting his oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., held  with a Kremlin-linked lawyer to “get information” on his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, saying it was “totally legal and done all the time in politics.”

In his most definitive statement on the meeting at his Trump Tower campaign headquarters in New York, Trump said on Twitter that he did not know about the talks ahead of time that his son held with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and that the meeting “went nowhere.”

President Trump a year ago dictated a misleading statement about the meeting his son held with Veselnitskaya, saying it was about the adoption of Russian children. The younger Trump later acknowledged that the meeting was set up on the premise that the Trump campaign would get incriminating information about Clinton, saying in one email that he would “love it” to get the anti-Clinton material.

Trump called news accounts in recent days “a complete fabrication” that he was concerned about the legal liability his son could face for arranging the Trump Tower meeting.

Trump’s latest denial that he knew ahead of time about the meeting comes in the face of news accounts saying his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, is prepared to tell special counsel Robert Mueller that he heard Trump’s son tell his father in advance about the meeting.

“Too bad a large portion of the Media refuses to report the lies and corruption having to do with the Rigged Witch Hunt — but that is why we call them FAKE NEWS!” Trump said.

Mueller is in the midst of a 15-month investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Trump campaign ties to Russia and whether Trump, as president, obstructed justice by trying to thwart the investigation. Trump has repeatedly denied collusion with Russia or any other wrongdoing.

The term “collusion” is not mentioned in the U.S. legal code of criminal offenses, but Mueller is believed to be investigating whether anyone in the Trump campaign coordinated with Russian officials, which could result in criminal charges if they conspired to interfere with the election.

Trump railed again Sunday about Mueller’s probe, calling it “the most one sided Witch Hunt in the history of our country. Fortunately, the facts are all coming out, and fast!” 

In the midst of a working vacation at his Bedminster golf resort in New Jersey, Trump also unleashed a new barrage of attacks on the national news media, saying it was “very dangerous & sick!”

Trump’s latest offensive against stories he does not like about his 18-month presidency came hours after he rallied supporters in the Midwestern state of Ohio. He campaigned for a Republican candidate facing a tough race Tuesday for a seat in the House of Representatives, the last special election before the nationwide November 6 voting, when the entire 435-member House is being contested and a third of the 100-member Senate.

Republicans have held the seat in a suburban enclave just outside the Ohio capital of Columbus for three decades, but fear losing it could presage loss of their majority House bloc in the November voting.

“They’re talking about this blue wave,” Trump said referring to way Democrats are depicted on electoral maps. Shaking his head, he added, “I don’t think so. I don’t think so.”

Trump described the Republican candidate, state legislator Troy Balderson, as “really smart” and a “really hard worker,” while disparaging his Democratic opponent, local official Danny O’Connor, as a would-be pawn of national Democratic officials and “a low-level person that did nothing.”

On Sunday, Trump also defended tariffs he has imposed on imports into the U.S.

“Tariffs are working big time,” he tweeted. “Every country on earth wants to take wealth out of the U.S., always to our detriment. I say, as they come,Tax them. If they don’t want to be taxed, let them make or build the product in the U.S. In either event, it means jobs and great wealth.” 

He claimed the tariffs would help pay down “large of the $21 Trillion in debt that has been accumulated” and “At minimum, we will make much better Trade Deals for our country.”
…

U.S. President Donald Trump, in the midst of a working vacation, unleashed a new barrage of attacks on the national news media Sunday, saying it was “very dangerous & sick!”

“The Fake News hates me saying that they are the Enemy of the People only because they know it’s TRUE,” Trump tweeted from his Bedminster golf resort in New Jersey. “I am providing a great service by explaining this to the American People. They purposely cause great division & distrust. They can also cause War!”

Trump called news accounts “a complete fabrication” that he was concerned about the legal liability his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., could face for arranging a June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer said to have dirt on Trump’s opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

“This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics – and it went nowhere,” Trump said on Twitter. “I did not know about it!”

The president has denied knowledge of the meeting at his Trump Tower campaign headquarters in New York in the face of news accounts saying his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, is prepared to tell special counsel Robert Mueller that he heard Trump’s son tell his father in advance about the meeting.

“Too bad a large portion of the Media refuses to report the lies and corruption having to do with the Rigged Witch Hunt – but that is why we call them FAKE NEWS!” Trump said.

Mueller is in the midst of a 15-month investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Trump campaign ties to Russia and whether Trump, as president, obstructed justice by trying to thwart the investigation. Trump has repeatedly denied collusion with Russia or any other wrongdoing.

Trump railed again Sunday about Mueller’s probe, calling it “the most one sided Witch Hunt in the history of our country. Fortunately, the facts are all coming out, and fast!”

Trump’s latest offensive against stories he does not like about his 18-month presidency came hours after he rallied supporters in the midwestern state of Ohio. He campaigned for a Republican candidate facing a tough race Tuesday for a seat in the House of Representatives, the last special election before the nationwide November 6 voting, when the entire 435-member House is being contested and a third of the 100-member Senate.

Republicans have held the seat in a suburban enclave just outside the Ohio capital of Columbus for three decades, but fear losing it could presage loss of their majority House bloc in the November voting.

“They’re talking about this blue wave,” Trump said referring to way Democrats are depicted on electoral maps. Shaking his head, he added, “I don’t think so. I don’t think so.”

Trump described the Republican candidate, state legislator Troy Balderson, as “really smart” and a “really hard worker,” while disparaging his Democratic opponent, local official Danny O’Connor, as a would-be pawn of national Democratic officials and “a low-level person that did nothing.”

On Sunday, Trump also defended tariffs he has imposed on imports into the U.S.

“Tariffs are working big time,” he tweeted. “Every country on earth wants to take wealth out of the U.S., always to our detriment. I say, as they come,Tax them. If they don’t want to be taxed, let them make or build the product in the U.S. In either event, it means jobs and great wealth.”

He claimed that “because of Tariffs we will be able to start paying down large amounts of the $21 Trillion in debt that has been accumulated, much by the Obama Administration, while at the same time reducing taxes for our people. At minimum, we will make much better Trade Deals for our country.”

​
…

President Donald Trump’s strategy of becoming aggressively involved in the midterm elections is prompting concern among some Republicans who worry he’s complicating the political calculus for GOP candidates trying to outrun his popularity.

Those Republicans worry their statewide candidates may rise or fall based on Trump’s standing, muddling their path to maintain control of Congress.

But Trump has no plans to step out of the spotlight. He held a rally Saturday night in Ohio and plans to host two fundraisers at the Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster, New Jersey, next week, benefitting Senate and House candidates, according to a campaign official with knowledge of the president’s events. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details about the fundraisers that haven’t yet been publicly released.

​Star of the midterms

The president is casting himself as the star of the midterms, eagerly inserting himself into hotly contested primaries, headlining rallies in pivotal swing states and increasing his fundraising efforts for Republicans. Last week, Trump agreed to donate a portion of his re-election fund to 100 GOP candidates running in competitive House and Senate races.

He’s expected to be even more aggressive in the fall. White House officials say he’s reserving time on his schedule for a midterm travel and fundraising schedule likely to surpass that of former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

“This is now about Donald Trump,” said Al Cardenas, a former Florida Republican chairman. “It’s a high-risk, high-stakes proposition.”

Enough to win?

The question facing Republicans is whether turning out those Trump loyalists is enough to win in toss-up congressional districts or if their path to victory depends more on capturing a share of independents and suburban women turned off by Trump’s tumultuous first term. It’s a dilemma they will confront in 2018 and beyond.

“If we lose the governor’s race for the first time in 20 years, all of a sudden President Trump’s chances of winning in 2020 diminish with a Democratic governor,” Cardenas said. “You can’t win a presidential election if you’re a Republican without winning Florida.”

Trump aides argue no one energizes Republicans like the president, pointing to the throngs of thousands who wait in long lines to attend his rallies — he’s held 17 since taking office. The aides say the White House is taking a two-pronged approach, sending Trump to mobilize the base while other officials, such as his daughter Ivanka, can generate local headlines and help with voters who may not like the president’s aggressive style. The goal is to ensure that the occasional voters who turned out for Trump in 2016 cast ballots in the midterms.

​Worrisome signs

But there are some signs that Trump’s unpopularity with the general electorate may hamper more than help individual Republican candidates.

While Republicans have won a series of special elections since Trump took office, they’ve captured smaller margins than in previous years.

The GOP is worried about a special congressional election Tuesday in a central Ohio district that Trump won by 11 percentage points in 2016. A Monmouth University poll released this week showed the race tightening, leaving Republican Troy Balderson with a 1-point edge. The survey found 46 percent of likely voters approved of Trump, while 49 percent disapproved.

Hoping to shore up GOP support, Trump is hosting a rally in the district Saturday night. His visit follows a Monday stop by Vice President Mike Pence.

The president’s team keeps a close eye on data assessing whether Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction under Trump. And they point to Trump’s strength among Republican voters and an upbeat attitude about the nation’s economic climate as evidence Republicans will avoid the rough midterm elections that have afflicted previous administrations.

But some Republicans warn Trump’s outsized media presence drowns out the messages of congressional candidates, who believe the path to victory lies with a focus on local issues, the Republican tax cuts and the prospect of Nancy Pelosi becoming House speaker again. In Ohio, Balderson and his GOP allies have tried to tie Democrat Danny O’Connor to Pelosi. O’Connor has repeatedly said he would like to see a new generation of leadership in the House.

“Part of the reason why the Nancy Pelosi attacks are so important is that they’re a way to motivate the Republicans who might not love Trump,” said Ohio GOP strategist Terry Casey.

Democrats energized

Still, Republicans are often forced to fend off questions about Trump-sparked controversies. In recent days, Trump publicly mused about a government shutdown sometime in the fall — a possibility that Republican congressional leaders fear would significantly hamper their electoral prospects.

In Pennsylvania on Thursday, Trump said he was “little bit torn” about whether it would be better to shut down the government before or after the midterm elections to secure funding for his border wall. 

“Whether it’s before or after, we are getting it or we are closing down government,” he told thousands of supporters at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

That kind of uncertainty only serves to further embolden Trump’s opposition, say Democrats.

“Clearly he lights the fire when it comes to energized Democrats,” said Ohio Democratic party chairman David Pepper. “He’s going to come and give a rambling, over-the-top speech that has nothing to do with this district or Troy Balderson. It may hurt more than it helps.”

The president’s decision to intervene in recent GOP primaries is also raising concerns among some state party officials and politicians, who fear he’s siding with candidates who could prove weaker in general elections. Trump has relished doling out endorsements, sometimes blasting out several a day, even for those who don’t need his backing right now.

On Thursday, he tweeted support for Rep. Steve Stivers, an Ohio congressman who chairs the campaign committee for the House GOP, urging people to back him in a primary contest next week. Stivers’ primary was held in May and he ran unopposed. The tweet was quickly deleted.

​Winning streak

The president has compiled a winning streak in recent primaries in which he has endorsed, helping favored candidates in South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia.

His rally this week in Tampa, Florida, represented his most ambitious attempt to nationalize two races crucial to Republicans’ midterm hopes.

Trump stood onstage with Rep. Ron DeSantis, a 39-year-old three-term congressman, imploring his supporters to back his campaign for governor. DeSantis was little-known to Republican voters until Trump first tweeted support for him in December. Since then, he’s made his ties to Trump a centerpiece of his primary race, focused on Fox News appearances and ads. In recent weeks, he’s opened up a double-digit lead against state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, a longtime fixture in Florida politics.

DeSantis said he was grateful for Trump’s support but added, “I appreciate more the leadership you’re showing for our great country.”

The president also repeatedly praised Gov. Rick Scott, a Trump ally running for Senate, and attacked his opponent, Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. Trump, who spends winter weekends at his estate in Palm Beach, claimed the only time he sees the senator is “five months before every election.”

“After a while, you forget who’s the senator,” Trump said.
…

President Donald Trump’s strategy of becoming aggressively involved in the midterm elections is prompting concern among some Republicans who worry he’s complicating the political calculus for GOP candidates trying to outrun his popularity.

Those Republicans worry their statewide candidates may rise or fall based on Trump’s standing, muddling their path to maintain control of Congress.

But Trump has no plans to step out of the spotlight. He held a rally Saturday night in Ohio and plans to host two fundraisers at the Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster, New Jersey, next week, benefitting Senate and House candidates, according to a campaign official with knowledge of the president’s events. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details about the fundraisers that haven’t yet been publicly released.

​Star of the midterms

The president is casting himself as the star of the midterms, eagerly inserting himself into hotly contested primaries, headlining rallies in pivotal swing states and increasing his fundraising efforts for Republicans. Last week, Trump agreed to donate a portion of his re-election fund to 100 GOP candidates running in competitive House and Senate races.

He’s expected to be even more aggressive in the fall. White House officials say he’s reserving time on his schedule for a midterm travel and fundraising schedule likely to surpass that of former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

“This is now about Donald Trump,” said Al Cardenas, a former Florida Republican chairman. “It’s a high-risk, high-stakes proposition.”

Enough to win?

The question facing Republicans is whether turning out those Trump loyalists is enough to win in toss-up congressional districts or if their path to victory depends more on capturing a share of independents and suburban women turned off by Trump’s tumultuous first term. It’s a dilemma they will confront in 2018 and beyond.

“If we lose the governor’s race for the first time in 20 years, all of a sudden President Trump’s chances of winning in 2020 diminish with a Democratic governor,” Cardenas said. “You can’t win a presidential election if you’re a Republican without winning Florida.”

Trump aides argue no one energizes Republicans like the president, pointing to the throngs of thousands who wait in long lines to attend his rallies — he’s held 17 since taking office. The aides say the White House is taking a two-pronged approach, sending Trump to mobilize the base while other officials, such as his daughter Ivanka, can generate local headlines and help with voters who may not like the president’s aggressive style. The goal is to ensure that the occasional voters who turned out for Trump in 2016 cast ballots in the midterms.

​Worrisome signs

But there are some signs that Trump’s unpopularity with the general electorate may hamper more than help individual Republican candidates.

While Republicans have won a series of special elections since Trump took office, they’ve captured smaller margins than in previous years.

The GOP is worried about a special congressional election Tuesday in a central Ohio district that Trump won by 11 percentage points in 2016. A Monmouth University poll released this week showed the race tightening, leaving Republican Troy Balderson with a 1-point edge. The survey found 46 percent of likely voters approved of Trump, while 49 percent disapproved.

Hoping to shore up GOP support, Trump is hosting a rally in the district Saturday night. His visit follows a Monday stop by Vice President Mike Pence.

The president’s team keeps a close eye on data assessing whether Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction under Trump. And they point to Trump’s strength among Republican voters and an upbeat attitude about the nation’s economic climate as evidence Republicans will avoid the rough midterm elections that have afflicted previous administrations.

But some Republicans warn Trump’s outsized media presence drowns out the messages of congressional candidates, who believe the path to victory lies with a focus on local issues, the Republican tax cuts and the prospect of Nancy Pelosi becoming House speaker again. In Ohio, Balderson and his GOP allies have tried to tie Democrat Danny O’Connor to Pelosi. O’Connor has repeatedly said he would like to see a new generation of leadership in the House.

“Part of the reason why the Nancy Pelosi attacks are so important is that they’re a way to motivate the Republicans who might not love Trump,” said Ohio GOP strategist Terry Casey.

Democrats energized

Still, Republicans are often forced to fend off questions about Trump-sparked controversies. In recent days, Trump publicly mused about a government shutdown sometime in the fall — a possibility that Republican congressional leaders fear would significantly hamper their electoral prospects.

In Pennsylvania on Thursday, Trump said he was “little bit torn” about whether it would be better to shut down the government before or after the midterm elections to secure funding for his border wall. 

“Whether it’s before or after, we are getting it or we are closing down government,” he told thousands of supporters at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

That kind of uncertainty only serves to further embolden Trump’s opposition, say Democrats.

“Clearly he lights the fire when it comes to energized Democrats,” said Ohio Democratic party chairman David Pepper. “He’s going to come and give a rambling, over-the-top speech that has nothing to do with this district or Troy Balderson. It may hurt more than it helps.”

The president’s decision to intervene in recent GOP primaries is also raising concerns among some state party officials and politicians, who fear he’s siding with candidates who could prove weaker in general elections. Trump has relished doling out endorsements, sometimes blasting out several a day, even for those who don’t need his backing right now.

On Thursday, he tweeted support for Rep. Steve Stivers, an Ohio congressman who chairs the campaign committee for the House GOP, urging people to back him in a primary contest next week. Stivers’ primary was held in May and he ran unopposed. The tweet was quickly deleted.

​Winning streak

The president has compiled a winning streak in recent primaries in which he has endorsed, helping favored candidates in South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia.

His rally this week in Tampa, Florida, represented his most ambitious attempt to nationalize two races crucial to Republicans’ midterm hopes.

Trump stood onstage with Rep. Ron DeSantis, a 39-year-old three-term congressman, imploring his supporters to back his campaign for governor. DeSantis was little-known to Republican voters until Trump first tweeted support for him in December. Since then, he’s made his ties to Trump a centerpiece of his primary race, focused on Fox News appearances and ads. In recent weeks, he’s opened up a double-digit lead against state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, a longtime fixture in Florida politics.

DeSantis said he was grateful for Trump’s support but added, “I appreciate more the leadership you’re showing for our great country.”

The president also repeatedly praised Gov. Rick Scott, a Trump ally running for Senate, and attacked his opponent, Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. Trump, who spends winter weekends at his estate in Palm Beach, claimed the only time he sees the senator is “five months before every election.”

“After a while, you forget who’s the senator,” Trump said.
…

The first week of Paul Manafort’s trial ended Friday, with prosecutors calling a bevy of witnesses to testify about the former Trump campaign chairman’s alleged financial crimes. 

Manafort, 69, is accused of filing false tax returns, failing to disclose foreign bank accounts to U.S. authorities, and obtaining fraudulent bank loans after his earnings dried up from his political consultancy business for pro-Russia politicians. 

The trial is the first to arise from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and whether Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with Moscow. 

Manafort’s former business partner, Rick Gates, who was indicted along with Manafort, has pleaded guilty and has become a cooperating witness. Manafort’s lawyers, through their opening statement and cross-examination of witnesses, sought to pin the blame on Gates.

Here are highlights from the first four days of the trial:

Day 1: The trial started with the selection of a jury of six men and six women pulled from a pool of several dozen randomly summoned citizens. Manafort’s fate rests in their hands.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers then delivered their opening statements to the jury, laying out their sides of the story.

Prosecutor Uzo Asonye said Manafort committed tax and bank fraud, believing “the law did not apply to him.”

Manafort’s lawyers responded by blaming the crimes on Gates. “We’re primarily here because of one man. That man is Rick Gates,” defense lawyer Thomas Zehnle said in his opening statement.

The day featured testimony from the prosecution’s first witness, Tad Devine, a Democratic political consultant who worked with Manafort on campaigns in Ukraine. His testimony was aimed at demonstrating that Manafort worked for the Party of Regions and its leader, former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

Day 2: The second day of the trial was focused on Manafort’s lavish lifestyle, with testimonies aimed at showing his taste for luxury and establishing his need for money and motive to commit fraud.

Several vendors, including a high-end New York men’s clothier, a landscaper and a home technology executive, testified how Manafort spent millions of dollars on luxury goods and services, almost always paying with wire transfers from foreign accounts.

Admonished by the judge on Tuesday that “it isn’t a crime to make a lot of money and be profligate in your spending,” prosecutor Asonye said that while it isn’t “a crime to have a lot of money,” it is a crime to not pay taxes.

Asonye made a stir on Wednesday by suggesting Gates might not be asked to take the stand. But prosecutors later put the speculation to rest, saying they had “every intention” of calling Gates to testify.

Day 3: The prosecution’s focus shifted on the third day of the trial from Manafort’s extravagant lifestyle to his financial history, and how he kept his bookkeepers and tax preparers in the dark about his overseas accounts.

Longtime Manafort bookkeeper Heather Washkuhn took the stand, testifying that she did not know about Manafort’s foreign bank accounts and relied on him for determining whether to report something as income or a loan. Contradicting the defense’s argument that Manafort was too busy to be involved in his finances, she said Manafort “approved every penny of everything we paid.”

Day 4: Accountants Philip Ayliff and Cindy Laporte, who prepared Manafort’s tax returns for several years, testified that they had no knowledge that Manafort controlled foreign corporate entities and bank accounts. They told the jury they asked Manafort every year about his foreign holdings and he told them he had none.

Laporte testified that she changed Manafort’s tax return in 2014 to lower his taxes by as much as $500,000 and two years later helped him falsify documents in order to get bank loans.

Like several other witnesses, Laporte has been given immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony.

Defense lawyer Kevin Downing questioned the prosecution’s claim that Manafort willfully hid his foreign accounts from his financial advisers, saying the firm kept documents containing details about them. “Only a fool would give that information to his accountant if he was trying to conceal it” from the Internal Revenue Service, Downing said.

The trial resumes on Monday afternoon with the cross-examination of Laporte by defense lawyers.
…

The first week of Paul Manafort’s trial ended Friday, with prosecutors calling a bevy of witnesses to testify about the former Trump campaign chairman’s alleged financial crimes. 

Manafort, 69, is accused of filing false tax returns, failing to disclose foreign bank accounts to U.S. authorities, and obtaining fraudulent bank loans after his earnings dried up from his political consultancy business for pro-Russia politicians. 

The trial is the first to arise from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and whether Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with Moscow. 

Manafort’s former business partner, Rick Gates, who was indicted along with Manafort, has pleaded guilty and has become a cooperating witness. Manafort’s lawyers, through their opening statement and cross-examination of witnesses, sought to pin the blame on Gates.

Here are highlights from the first four days of the trial:

Day 1: The trial started with the selection of a jury of six men and six women pulled from a pool of several dozen randomly summoned citizens. Manafort’s fate rests in their hands.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers then delivered their opening statements to the jury, laying out their sides of the story.

Prosecutor Uzo Asonye said Manafort committed tax and bank fraud, believing “the law did not apply to him.”

Manafort’s lawyers responded by blaming the crimes on Gates. “We’re primarily here because of one man. That man is Rick Gates,” defense lawyer Thomas Zehnle said in his opening statement.

The day featured testimony from the prosecution’s first witness, Tad Devine, a Democratic political consultant who worked with Manafort on campaigns in Ukraine. His testimony was aimed at demonstrating that Manafort worked for the Party of Regions and its leader, former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

Day 2: The second day of the trial was focused on Manafort’s lavish lifestyle, with testimonies aimed at showing his taste for luxury and establishing his need for money and motive to commit fraud.

Several vendors, including a high-end New York men’s clothier, a landscaper and a home technology executive, testified how Manafort spent millions of dollars on luxury goods and services, almost always paying with wire transfers from foreign accounts.

Admonished by the judge on Tuesday that “it isn’t a crime to make a lot of money and be profligate in your spending,” prosecutor Asonye said that while it isn’t “a crime to have a lot of money,” it is a crime to not pay taxes.

Asonye made a stir on Wednesday by suggesting Gates might not be asked to take the stand. But prosecutors later put the speculation to rest, saying they had “every intention” of calling Gates to testify.

Day 3: The prosecution’s focus shifted on the third day of the trial from Manafort’s extravagant lifestyle to his financial history, and how he kept his bookkeepers and tax preparers in the dark about his overseas accounts.

Longtime Manafort bookkeeper Heather Washkuhn took the stand, testifying that she did not know about Manafort’s foreign bank accounts and relied on him for determining whether to report something as income or a loan. Contradicting the defense’s argument that Manafort was too busy to be involved in his finances, she said Manafort “approved every penny of everything we paid.”

Day 4: Accountants Philip Ayliff and Cindy Laporte, who prepared Manafort’s tax returns for several years, testified that they had no knowledge that Manafort controlled foreign corporate entities and bank accounts. They told the jury they asked Manafort every year about his foreign holdings and he told them he had none.

Laporte testified that she changed Manafort’s tax return in 2014 to lower his taxes by as much as $500,000 and two years later helped him falsify documents in order to get bank loans.

Like several other witnesses, Laporte has been given immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony.

Defense lawyer Kevin Downing questioned the prosecution’s claim that Manafort willfully hid his foreign accounts from his financial advisers, saying the firm kept documents containing details about them. “Only a fool would give that information to his accountant if he was trying to conceal it” from the Internal Revenue Service, Downing said.

The trial resumes on Monday afternoon with the cross-examination of Laporte by defense lawyers.
…

Small scuffles broke out Saturday as police in Portland, Oregon, deployed “flash bang” devices and other means to disperse hundreds of right-wing and self-described anti-fascist protesters.

Just before 2 p.m., police in riot gear ordered people to leave an area downtown, saying demonstrators had thrown rocks and bottles at officers.

“Get out of the street,” police announced via loudspeaker.

There were arrests, but it wasn’t immediately clear how many. There was also debris left in the streets by various protesters.

Demonstrators aligned with Patriot Prayer and an affiliated group, the Proud Boys, gathered around midday in a riverfront park.

The hundreds of opposing demonstrators faced them from across the street, holding banners and signs. Many of them yelled out chants such as “Nazis, go home.”

Officers stood in the middle of the four-lane boulevard, essentially forming a wall to keep the two sides separated.

The counterprotesters were made up of a coalition of labor unions, immigrant rights advocates, democratic socialists and other groups. They included people dressed as clowns and a brass band blaring music.

The rally organized by Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson was the third to roil Portland this summer. Two previous events ended in bloody fistfights and riots, and one counterprotester was sent to the hospital with a skull fracture.

This time, Gibson changed the venue from a federal plaza outside U.S. District Court to a waterfront park so some of his Oregon supporters could carry concealed weapons as they demonstrated.

Protesters saw a significant police presence that included bomb-sniffing dogs and weapons-screening checkpoints. In a statement, police said weapons might be seized if there was a violation of law and added that it is illegal in Portland to carry a loaded firearm in public unless a person has a valid Oregon concealed-handgun license. Many protesters were expected to be from out of state.

Gibson’s insistence on bringing his supporters repeatedly to this politically liberal city has crystallized a debate about the limits of free speech in an era of stark political division. Patriot Prayer also has held rallies in many other cities around the U.S. West, including Berkeley, California, that have drawn violent reactions.

But the Portland events have taken on outsized significance after a Patriot Prayer sympathizer was charged with fatally stabbing two men who came to the defense of two young black women — one in a hijab — whom the attacker was accused of harassing on a light-rail train in May 2017.

A coalition of community organizations and a group representing more than 50 tribes warned of the potential for even greater violence than in previous rallies if participants carried guns. The coalition called on officials to denounce what it called “the racist and sexist violence” of Patriot Prayer and protect the city.

Gibson, who is running a long-shot campaign to unseat Democratic U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington state, said in a live video on Facebook earlier this week that he wouldn’t stop bringing his followers to Portland until they could express their right-wing views without interference.

“I refuse to do what Portland wants me to do, because what Portland wants me to do is to shut up and never show up again. So, yeah, I refuse to do that, but I will not stop going in, and I will not stop pushing, and I will not stop marching until the people of Portland realize that and realize that their methods do not work,” he said.

Self-described anti-fascists, or “antifa,” have been organizing anonymously online to confront Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys in the streets.

 A broader counterprotest organized by a coalition of labor unions, immigrant rights groups and artists planned to gather at City Hall before the Patriot Prayer rally. Organizers say that while Patriot Prayer denies being a white supremacist group, it affiliates itself with known white supremacists, white nationalists and neo-Nazi gangs.

“Patriot Prayer is continuing to commit violence in our city, and their events are becoming more and more violent,” said Effie Baum of Pop Mob, a coalition of community groups organizing the counterdemonstration. “Leaving them a small group to attack in the streets is only going to allow them to perpetuate their violence.”

Dueling protests a month ago ended with Portland police declaring a riot and arresting four people. A similar Patriot Prayer event on June 4 devolved into fistfights and assaults by both sides as police struggled to keep the groups apart.
…

The Washington Post is reporting that an alleged Russian agent who cultivated close ties with U.S. gun rights groups was also socializing with a former Trump aide in the weeks before the presidential election.

The paper said Maria Butina sought out interactions with J.D. Gordon, who served for six months as the Trump campaign’s director of national security and who was later offered a job with the presidential transition team. It said the two exchanged several emails in September and October 2016 and said Butina also attended Gordon’s birthday party in October 2016.

The Post says the new information puts Butina in closer contact with the Trump campaign than was previously known.

Prosecutors say Butina, 29, who was a graduate student at American University, attempted to infiltrate U.S. political organizations at the direction of a senior Russian official.

When asked by the Post for comment, Gordon said his contacts with Butina were innocuous.

“From everything I’ve read since her arrest last month, it seems the Maria Butina saga is basically a sensationalized click bait story meant to smear a steady stream of Republicans and NRA members she reportedly encountered over the past few years,” he said in a statement to the paper.

Federal prosecutors accuse Butina of conspiring with two American citizens, one of whom she cohabited with, and a top Russian official to influence U.S. policy toward Russia by infiltrating the National Rifle Association gun rights group and other conservative special interest groups potentially influential on the Trump administration.

Butina was charged last month with acting as an agent for the Kremlin, but was not formally charged with espionage, most likely because her role was not to steal state and military secrets but allegedly to insinuate her way into U.S. political circles to advance Russia’s policy aims.

Butina’s lawyer, Robert Driscoll, denied in a statement that she was “an agent of the Russian Federation.” He described Butina as a Russian national in the U.S. on a student visa.
…

The Washington Post is reporting that an alleged Russian agent who cultivated close ties with U.S. gun rights groups was also socializing with a former Trump aide in the weeks before the presidential election.

The paper said Maria Butina sought out interactions with J.D. Gordon, who served for six months as the Trump campaign’s director of national security and who was later offered a job with the presidential transition team. It said the two exchanged several emails in September and October 2016 and said Butina also attended Gordon’s birthday party in October 2016.

The Post says the new information puts Butina in closer contact with the Trump campaign than was previously known.

Prosecutors say Butina, 29, who was a graduate student at American University, attempted to infiltrate U.S. political organizations at the direction of a senior Russian official.

When asked by the Post for comment, Gordon said his contacts with Butina were innocuous.

“From everything I’ve read since her arrest last month, it seems the Maria Butina saga is basically a sensationalized click bait story meant to smear a steady stream of Republicans and NRA members she reportedly encountered over the past few years,” he said in a statement to the paper.

Federal prosecutors accuse Butina of conspiring with two American citizens, one of whom she cohabited with, and a top Russian official to influence U.S. policy toward Russia by infiltrating the National Rifle Association gun rights group and other conservative special interest groups potentially influential on the Trump administration.

Butina was charged last month with acting as an agent for the Kremlin, but was not formally charged with espionage, most likely because her role was not to steal state and military secrets but allegedly to insinuate her way into U.S. political circles to advance Russia’s policy aims.

Butina’s lawyer, Robert Driscoll, denied in a statement that she was “an agent of the Russian Federation.” He described Butina as a Russian national in the U.S. on a student visa.
…

An accountant for Paul Manafort, U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, testified Friday that she prepared his tax returns despite her concerns about the propriety of classifying money he had transferred from overseas as loans.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis asked the accountant, Cynthia Laporta, whether she was testifying under an immunity agreement with the government because she was concerned that she could be prosecuted. She answered, “Correct.”

Laporta testified she knew an accounting treatment for a loan was wrong when preparing Manafort’s tax return for 2014. “I very much regret it,” she told the courtroom.

Her testimony came on the trial’s fourth day as prosecutors sought to drive home their case that Manafort tried to hide millions of dollars he earned working for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine. Manafort, 69, has pleaded not guilty to charges of bank fraud, tax fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts.

The trial in federal court in Alexandria is the first arising from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russia’s role in the 2016 U.S. election.

Both Laporta and fellow accountant Philip Ayliff, her predecessor who handled Manafort’s tax filings at the firm KWC, testified that they had no knowledge that Manafort controlled foreign bank accounts. Such accounts must be reported to tax authorities if they contain $10,000 or more.

Laporta said she asked Manafort directly about any such holdings and was told there were none.

Prosecutors have tried to make their case first by presenting testimony about Manafort’s lavish lifestyle and then detailing his financial maneuvering.

Defense attorneys have signaled they will seek to blame the financial charges against Manafort on his business partner, Rick Gates, who was Trump’s deputy campaign chairman in the 2016 presidential election.

Alleged order from Gates

Laporta testified that Gates, in a conference call with her and another accountant at the firm, instructed them to alter a loan amount to lower Manafort’s tax bill because it was too high for Manafort to pay.

“Rick said it was too high” and that Manafort “didn’t have that money,” Laporta said in response questions by prosecutor Uzo Asonye.

Gates, who pleaded guilty in February of conspiracy and lying to the FBI, is cooperating with Mueller’s probe, and is expected to testify later in the trial.

The charges against Manafort largely predate the five months he worked for Trump, some of them as campaign chairman, during a pivotal period in the race for the White House.

Trial consultant Roy Futterman, who is following the trial but not involved in it, said, “The prosecution is doing a very good job of keeping a brisk pace, putting witnesses on for short direct examinations, keeping it lively and keeping very tight messages for each witness.”

Manafort’s defense attorneys do not seem to have scored a lot of points on cross-examination, Futterman said, but added that the witnesses who have testified so far are not “the main targets.”

Prosecutors asked Ayliff about Manafort’s accounting of a $1.5 million transfer in 2012 from Peranova Holdings Ltd. as a loan, even as records showed that no interest or principal was paid on it in subsequent years. Peranova is one of numerous Cypriot entities that prosecutors have said Manafort controlled.

Ayliff testified that KWC did not know Manafort controlled Peranova, and that if the transfer was a payment related to his consulting work, it would have been treated as income — not as a loan — on his tax returns.

Kevin Downing, Manafort’s attorney, signaled Friday that his defense strategy might also involve raising questions about whether Manafort in fact had willfully deceived his accountants. One way to do that could be to show that documents Manafort had provided to the accountant contained details about foreign bank accounts.

“Only a fool would give that information to his accountant if he was trying to conceal it” from the Internal Revenue Service, Downing said, referring to whether the accountant had names of the Cyprus-based entities in his files and had retained them for his records.

Late on Thursday, Manafort filed an objection to the government’s bid to block his legal team from raising the fact that he and his companies were never audited by the IRS. Mueller’s team has argued that any such civil action is separate from the criminal charges at hand.
…

Less than two months after a landmark U.S.-North Korea summit in  Singapore, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew back to the city state on Friday and suggested that continued work on weapons programs by North Korea was inconsistent with its leader’s commitment to denuclearize.

Pompeo was asked en route to Singapore about his statement in the U.S. Senate last month that North Korea was continuing to make bomb fuel and reports that North Korea, led by Kim Jong Un, was building new missiles.

“Chairman Kim made a commitment to denuclearize,” Pompeo told reporters. “The world demanded that they [North Korea] do so in the U.N. Security Council resolutions. To the extent they are behaving in a manner inconsistent with that, they are a) in violation of one or both the U.N. Security Council resolutions and b) we can see we still have a ways to go to achieve the ultimate outcome we’re looking for.”

Pompeo thanked ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a meeting in Singapore for their efforts in enforcing sanctions on North Korea.

In a landmark summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12, Kim, who is seeking relief from tough sanctions, committed to work towards denuclearization, but Pyongyang has offered no details on how it might go about this.

Pompeo told a Senate committee hearing on July 25 that North Korea was continuing to produce fuel for nuclear bombs in spite of its pledge.

Renewed activity

On Monday, a senior U.S. official said U.S. spy satellites had detected renewed activity at the North Korean factory that produced the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States.

The Washington Post reported on Monday that North Korea appeared to be building one or two new liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles at the research facility, citing unidentified officials familiar with intelligence reporting.

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho is also in Singapore and will attend the same regional meeting as Pompeo on Saturday, but the State Department has not said whether the two will meet.

Following his talks with Ri, China’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said he hoped North Korea and the United States would continue to move forward to implement their leaders’ agreement.

“China all along has believed that the consensus reached by U.S. and North Korea’s leaders meeting in Singapore is very precious,” Wang told reporters.

“That is, at the same time as realizing denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, to establish a peace mechanism. This direction is without a doubt correct,” he said.

China is North Korea’s most important economic and diplomatic supporter and fought for the North in the 1950-53 Korean War against the U.S.-led United Nations forces that backed South Korea.

Previous talks

Pompeo, who has led the U.S. negotiating effort with North Korea, visited Pyongyang from July 5-7 for inclusive talks aimed at agreeing a  denuclearization roadmap. Pompeo said at the time he had made progress on key issues, only for North Korea to accuse his delegation hours later of making “gangster-like” demands.

Trump hailed the Singapore summit as a success and went as far as saying that North Korea no longer posed a nuclear threat, but questions have been mounting about Pyongyang’s willingness to give up its weapons programs.

Trump has pointed to North Korea’s freeze on nuclear and missile tests and its agreement to return the remains of American troops killed in the 1950-53 Korea War.

The White House said on Thursday Trump had received a letter from Kim and had responded with a note that should be delivered shortly. But it said no second meeting was currently planned.
…

China warned Friday it would impose new tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods if the Trump administration follows through with its latest trade threats.

The Commerce Ministry said the proposed tariffs of 5 percent to 25 percent on more than 5,200 U.S. goods are restrained and maintained it has the right to take retaliatory action in the escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

China’s warning came shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Friday with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Singapore. The two men did not speak to the press after the meeting, and reporters were ushered out of the room before the talks began.

On Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Minister told reporters the U.S. needed to calm down and consider its own consumers, responding to threats by the Trump administration to raise its proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from the initially planned 10 percent to 25 percent. Wang Yi said raising tariffs would hurt U.S. consumers and businesses located in China.

“Instead of achieving one’s own goal by doing this, we believe it will only hurt one’s own interests,” said Wang.

The U.S. says it wants China to stop stealing U.S. corporate secrets and stop subsidizing Chinese companies with cheap loans that give them an unfair advantage.

Natural disasters

Before meeting with Wang, Pompeo co-chaired an ASEAN ministerial meeting with Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. Pompeo started off by expressing his sorrow for a number of devastating natural disasters in the region.

“On behalf of the United States, let me also offer my condolences to the people of Laos for the loss of life and devastation caused by the dam breach,” said Pompeo.

He said the U.S. government is providing assistance to respond to this disaster and welcomes the support already provided by the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Center. Pompeo also expressed his condolences to Indonesia, where a powerful earthquake struck; and to Myanmar, for the casualties suffered in recent flooding and landslides.

Security issues

Economic opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region are a major focus of Pompeo’s visit, but security issues also are high on the agenda of the ASEAN meetings, as Pompeo made clear.

“On security, we appreciate ASEAN’s ongoing efforts to promote peace and stability in the region, support the rule of law in the South China Sea, and to strictly enforce sanctions on North Korea. We are also working with ASEAN member-states to counter the threat of terrorism and violent extremism in the region.”

Pompeo wrapped up a full day with a meeting with Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, at the Istana in Singapore.

Malaysia visit

He started his Southeast Asia tour Thursday in Malaysia.

Pompeo was the first senior U.S. official to visit Malaysia since Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad took office following a May election dubbed “quite historic” by a senior State Department official. Pompeo met with Mahathir early Friday, and congratulated the people of Malaysia on their democratic transition.

It was the first stop of his Asian tour, focused on promoting free trade and pressuring North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. After holding ASEAN meetings in Singapore, Pompeo will head to Indonesia.

Detained pastor

Earlier Friday in Singapore, Pompeo met with his Turkish counterpart in an effort to obtain the release of Andrew Brunson, a detained U.S. pastor who Turkey accuses of backing terrorism. The Trump administration has placed sanctions on Turkish officials because of Brunson’s detention. Turkey says the sanctions are unacceptable.

Pompeo and Mevlut Cavusoglu met on the sidelines of a meeting of regional ministers in Singapore.

The top U.S. diplomat said “Brunson needs to come home, as do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government. Pretty straightforward. They’ve been holding these folks for a long time. These are innocent people.”

Turkey has also detained three Turkish employees of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul.

The Turkish foreign ministry has called the sanctions a “disrespectful intervention in our legal system” that would harm “the constructive efforts toward resolving problems between the two countries.”

Wayne Lee, William Gallo and Fern Robinson contributed to this report.
…

China warned Friday it would impose new tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods if the Trump administration follows through with its latest trade threats.

The Commerce Ministry said the proposed tariffs of 5 percent to 25 percent on more than 5,200 U.S. goods are restrained and maintained it has the right to take retaliatory action in the escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

China’s warning came shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Friday with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Singapore. The two men did not speak to the press after the meeting, and reporters were ushered out of the room before the talks began.

On Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Minister told reporters the U.S. needed to calm down and consider its own consumers, responding to threats by the Trump administration to raise its proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from the initially planned 10 percent to 25 percent. Wang Yi said raising tariffs would hurt U.S. consumers and businesses located in China.

“Instead of achieving one’s own goal by doing this, we believe it will only hurt one’s own interests,” said Wang.

The U.S. says it wants China to stop stealing U.S. corporate secrets and stop subsidizing Chinese companies with cheap loans that give them an unfair advantage.

Natural disasters

Before meeting with Wang, Pompeo co-chaired an ASEAN ministerial meeting with Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. Pompeo started off by expressing his sorrow for a number of devastating natural disasters in the region.

“On behalf of the United States, let me also offer my condolences to the people of Laos for the loss of life and devastation caused by the dam breach,” said Pompeo.

He said the U.S. government is providing assistance to respond to this disaster and welcomes the support already provided by the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Center. Pompeo also expressed his condolences to Indonesia, where a powerful earthquake struck; and to Myanmar, for the casualties suffered in recent flooding and landslides.

Security issues

Economic opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region are a major focus of Pompeo’s visit, but security issues also are high on the agenda of the ASEAN meetings, as Pompeo made clear.

“On security, we appreciate ASEAN’s ongoing efforts to promote peace and stability in the region, support the rule of law in the South China Sea, and to strictly enforce sanctions on North Korea. We are also working with ASEAN member-states to counter the threat of terrorism and violent extremism in the region.”

Pompeo wrapped up a full day with a meeting with Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, at the Istana in Singapore.

Malaysia visit

He started his Southeast Asia tour Thursday in Malaysia.

Pompeo was the first senior U.S. official to visit Malaysia since Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad took office following a May election dubbed “quite historic” by a senior State Department official. Pompeo met with Mahathir early Friday, and congratulated the people of Malaysia on their democratic transition.

It was the first stop of his Asian tour, focused on promoting free trade and pressuring North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. After holding ASEAN meetings in Singapore, Pompeo will head to Indonesia.

Detained pastor

Earlier Friday in Singapore, Pompeo met with his Turkish counterpart in an effort to obtain the release of Andrew Brunson, a detained U.S. pastor who Turkey accuses of backing terrorism. The Trump administration has placed sanctions on Turkish officials because of Brunson’s detention. Turkey says the sanctions are unacceptable.

Pompeo and Mevlut Cavusoglu met on the sidelines of a meeting of regional ministers in Singapore.

The top U.S. diplomat said “Brunson needs to come home, as do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government. Pretty straightforward. They’ve been holding these folks for a long time. These are innocent people.”

Turkey has also detained three Turkish employees of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul.

The Turkish foreign ministry has called the sanctions a “disrespectful intervention in our legal system” that would harm “the constructive efforts toward resolving problems between the two countries.”

Wayne Lee, William Gallo and Fern Robinson contributed to this report.
…

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with his Turkish counterpart Friday in an effort to obtain the release of Andrew Brunson, a detained U.S. pastor who Turkey accuses of backing terrorism. The Trump administration has placed sanctions on Turkish officials because of Brunson’s detention. Turkey says the sanctions are unacceptable.

Pompeo and Mevlut Cavusoglu met on the sidelines of a meeting of regional ministers in Singapore.

Pompeo told reporters traveling with him before the meeting that the U.S. has warned Turkey “that the clock had run out and it was time for Pastor Brunson to be returned.”

The top U.S. diplomat said, “Brunson needs to come home as do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government. Pretty straightforward. They’ve been holding these folks for a long time. These are innocent people.”

Turkey has also detained three Turkish employees of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul.

US sanctions

The Turkish foreign ministry has called the sanctions a “disrespectful intervention in our legal system” that would harm “the constructive efforts toward resolving problems between the two countries.”

The American pastor is on trial on terrorism and espionage charges for alleged links to followers of U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is blamed by Ankara for the 2016 failed coup and whom Turkey is seeking to extradite.

Last month, in a move widely seen as a gesture to Washington, Brunson was moved to house arrest after nearly two years in jail. But U.S. President Donald Trump is demanding Brunson’s return to America. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists Brunson’s detention is a matter for the courts.

Washington accuses Ankara of hostage-taking, claiming the pastor’s detention is part of efforts to extract concessions over several disputes between the countries.

Pompeo’​s Asian tour

Pompeo was in Malaysia Thursday. It was the first stop of his Asian tour expected to focus on promoting free trade and pressuring North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

Since President Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June, U.S. officials have been optimistic that Pyongyang will give up its nuclear weapons, though there is no evidence the North has begun that process.

Concerns over ongoing nuclear and missile activity in North Korea surged after The Washington Post reported Tuesday that U.S. intelligence officials believe Pyongyang is continuing to build new missiles in the same research facility it used to build intercontinental missiles capable of reaching the East Coast of the United States.

During his meetings with ASEAN counterparts in Singapore this week, Pompeo is also expected to discuss conflicts in the South China Sea, the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine state in Myanmar, and cybersecurity.

Pompeo is the first senior U.S. official to visit Malaysia since Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was took office following a May election dubbed “quite historic” by a senior State Department official.

VOA’s William Gallo and Fern Robinson contributed to this report.
…

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with his Turkish counterpart Friday in an effort to obtain the release of Andrew Brunson, a detained U.S. pastor who Turkey accuses of backing terrorism. The Trump administration has placed sanctions on Turkish officials because of Brunson’s detention. Turkey says the sanctions are unacceptable.

Pompeo and Mevlut Cavusoglu met on the sidelines of a meeting of regional ministers in Singapore.

Pompeo told reporters traveling with him before the meeting that the U.S. has warned Turkey “that the clock had run out and it was time for Pastor Brunson to be returned.”

The top U.S. diplomat said, “Brunson needs to come home as do all the Americans being held by the Turkish government. Pretty straightforward. They’ve been holding these folks for a long time. These are innocent people.”

Turkey has also detained three Turkish employees of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul.

US sanctions

The Turkish foreign ministry has called the sanctions a “disrespectful intervention in our legal system” that would harm “the constructive efforts toward resolving problems between the two countries.”

The American pastor is on trial on terrorism and espionage charges for alleged links to followers of U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is blamed by Ankara for the 2016 failed coup and whom Turkey is seeking to extradite.

Last month, in a move widely seen as a gesture to Washington, Brunson was moved to house arrest after nearly two years in jail. But U.S. President Donald Trump is demanding Brunson’s return to America. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists Brunson’s detention is a matter for the courts.

Washington accuses Ankara of hostage-taking, claiming the pastor’s detention is part of efforts to extract concessions over several disputes between the countries.

Pompeo’​s Asian tour

Pompeo was in Malaysia Thursday. It was the first stop of his Asian tour expected to focus on promoting free trade and pressuring North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

Since President Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June, U.S. officials have been optimistic that Pyongyang will give up its nuclear weapons, though there is no evidence the North has begun that process.

Concerns over ongoing nuclear and missile activity in North Korea surged after The Washington Post reported Tuesday that U.S. intelligence officials believe Pyongyang is continuing to build new missiles in the same research facility it used to build intercontinental missiles capable of reaching the East Coast of the United States.

During his meetings with ASEAN counterparts in Singapore this week, Pompeo is also expected to discuss conflicts in the South China Sea, the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine state in Myanmar, and cybersecurity.

Pompeo is the first senior U.S. official to visit Malaysia since Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was took office following a May election dubbed “quite historic” by a senior State Department official.

VOA’s William Gallo and Fern Robinson contributed to this report.
…

Trump administration officials say they are concerned about foreign meddling in upcoming midterm elections and are working to fight it. At the White House on Thursday, the director of National Intelligence warned Russia is continuing to “try to weaken and divide” America ahead of the vote. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has more.
…

Trump administration officials say they are concerned about foreign meddling in upcoming midterm elections and are working to fight it. At the White House on Thursday, the director of National Intelligence warned Russia is continuing to “try to weaken and divide” America ahead of the vote. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has more.
…

The Trump administration has announced plans to freeze fuel efficiency standards for vehicles.

The administration also announced Thursday it wants to rescind the authority of California and other states to set more stringent vehicle mileage standards to address environmental issues like climate change and smog.

New fuel-efficiency requirements, which were set to take effect in 2020, would be frozen through 2026.

The freeze, proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department, would increase projected daily U.S. oil consumption by 500,000 barrels by the 2030’s, the administration said.It also said the freeze would save up to 1,000 lives each year by cutting the price of new and safer vehicles.

Environmental groups are condemning the proposal.

Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp described the proposal as “a massive pileup of bad ideas” that would increase pollution and boost fuel costs. Krupp said the organization would challenge the administration’s action “in the court of public opinion and the court of law.”

The advocacy group Earthjustice said the proposal “is the latest in a long list of gifts from the Trump administration to the oil industry given at the cost of the public health of Americans.”

Seventeen states, including California sued the administration over the freeze in May, in anticipation of the new regulation.

California and 12 other states use more stringent standards than the EPA. Together they account for 40-percent of the American market for cars and light-duty trucks.
…

The Trump administration has announced plans to freeze fuel efficiency standards for vehicles.

The administration also announced Thursday it wants to rescind the authority of California and other states to set more stringent vehicle mileage standards to address environmental issues like climate change and smog.

New fuel-efficiency requirements, which were set to take effect in 2020, would be frozen through 2026.

The freeze, proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department, would increase projected daily U.S. oil consumption by 500,000 barrels by the 2030’s, the administration said.It also said the freeze would save up to 1,000 lives each year by cutting the price of new and safer vehicles.

Environmental groups are condemning the proposal.

Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp described the proposal as “a massive pileup of bad ideas” that would increase pollution and boost fuel costs. Krupp said the organization would challenge the administration’s action “in the court of public opinion and the court of law.”

The advocacy group Earthjustice said the proposal “is the latest in a long list of gifts from the Trump administration to the oil industry given at the cost of the public health of Americans.”

Seventeen states, including California sued the administration over the freeze in May, in anticipation of the new regulation.

California and 12 other states use more stringent standards than the EPA. Together they account for 40-percent of the American market for cars and light-duty trucks.
…

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Malaysia, the first stop of an Asia tour expected to focus on promoting free trade and pressuring North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

During his visit Pompeo will press countries to keep up pressure on North Korea via sanctions, according to a senior State Department official who briefed reporters during the flight to Kuala Lumpur.

“We do have concerns about North Korea bypassing some of those sanctions, not adhering to its own obligations, so the secretary will use these opportunities to remind all of that obligation to stick to the sanctions as a means to get to the ultimate objective: the fully verified, finally fully verified denuclearization of North Korea,” the official said.

Since President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June, U.S. officials have been optimistic that Pyongyang will give up its nuclear weapons, though there is no evidence the North has begun that process.

Concerns over ongoing nuclear and missile activity in North Korea surged after The Washington Post reported Tuesday that U.S. intelligence officials believe Pyongyang is continuing to build new missiles in the same research facility it used to build intercontinental missiles capable of reaching the East Coast of the United States.

During his meetings with ASEAN counterparts in Singapore later this week, Pompeo is also expected to discuss conflicts in the South China Sea, the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine state in Myanmar, and cybersecurity.

Pompeo landed Thursday in Malaysia. He is the first senior U.S. official to visit Malaysia since Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was took office following a May election dubbed “quite historic” by a senior State Department official.

“We take note of the fact that for the first time in Malaysia’s history an election has gone to an opposition coalition. That says a lot for governance and democracy,” the senior State Department official added.

Ahead of his trip, Pompeo announced $113 million in new regional investments for the Indo-Pacific focused on technology, energy and infrastructure. It is seen by many as an attempt to reassure U.S. allies of Washington’s commitment to the region, especially after pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.

On his way back to Washington, Pompeo will stop in Jakarta, Indonesia, to meet with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to reaffirm the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with world’s third-largest democracy.

(VOA’s William Gallo contributed to this story.)
…

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Malaysia, the first stop of an Asia tour expected to focus on promoting free trade and pressuring North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

During his visit Pompeo will press countries to keep up pressure on North Korea via sanctions, according to a senior State Department official who briefed reporters during the flight to Kuala Lumpur.

“We do have concerns about North Korea bypassing some of those sanctions, not adhering to its own obligations, so the secretary will use these opportunities to remind all of that obligation to stick to the sanctions as a means to get to the ultimate objective: the fully verified, finally fully verified denuclearization of North Korea,” the official said.

Since President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June, U.S. officials have been optimistic that Pyongyang will give up its nuclear weapons, though there is no evidence the North has begun that process.

Concerns over ongoing nuclear and missile activity in North Korea surged after The Washington Post reported Tuesday that U.S. intelligence officials believe Pyongyang is continuing to build new missiles in the same research facility it used to build intercontinental missiles capable of reaching the East Coast of the United States.

During his meetings with ASEAN counterparts in Singapore later this week, Pompeo is also expected to discuss conflicts in the South China Sea, the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine state in Myanmar, and cybersecurity.

Pompeo landed Thursday in Malaysia. He is the first senior U.S. official to visit Malaysia since Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was took office following a May election dubbed “quite historic” by a senior State Department official.

“We take note of the fact that for the first time in Malaysia’s history an election has gone to an opposition coalition. That says a lot for governance and democracy,” the senior State Department official added.

Ahead of his trip, Pompeo announced $113 million in new regional investments for the Indo-Pacific focused on technology, energy and infrastructure. It is seen by many as an attempt to reassure U.S. allies of Washington’s commitment to the region, especially after pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.

On his way back to Washington, Pompeo will stop in Jakarta, Indonesia, to meet with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to reaffirm the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with world’s third-largest democracy.

(VOA’s William Gallo contributed to this story.)
…

President Donald Trump is justifying his call for voter ID cards by saying photo identification is a universal requirement in the marketplace. As anyone who frequents a grocery store knows, it’s not.

A look at his comments on the subject Tuesday and his press secretary’s attempt to explain them Wednesday:

TRUMP: “We believe that only American citizens should vote in American elections, which is why the time has come for voter ID like everything else. If you go out and you want to buy groceries, you need a picture on a card, you need ID. You go out, you want to buy anything, you need ID, you need your picture.” — remarks Tuesday at Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa.

THE FACTS: No photo is required to purchase items at retail stores with cash or to make routine purchases with credit or debit cards.

Identifications are required to purchase limited items such as alcohol, cigarettes or cold medicine and in rapidly declining situations in which a customer opts to pay with a personal check.

According to the National Grocers Association’s most recent data, the use of checks as a percentage of total transactions dropped from 33 percent in 2000 to 6 percent in 2015, because in part to the popularity of debit cards, which use PIN codes. The group’s members are independent food retailers, family-owned or privately held, both large and small.

​WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY SARAH SANDERS: “He’s not saying every time he went in; he said when you go to the grocery store.” — press briefing Wednesday.

THE FACTS: Actually, Trump did claim, erroneously, that photo IDs are required whenever “you want to buy anything,” not only in limited cases.

Asked when Trump last bought groceries, Sanders responded: “I’m not sure. I’m not sure why that matters, either.”

SANDERS: “The president wants to see the integrity of our election systems upheld, and that’s the purpose of his comments. He wants to make sure that anybody that’s voting is somebody that should be voting.”

THE FACTS: This concern, often voiced by Trump as well, stems from an unsupported theory that voter fraud has shaped election outcomes.

The actual number of fraud cases is very small, and the type that voter IDs are designed to prevent — voter impersonation at the ballot box — is virtually nonexistent.

In court cases that have invalidated some ID laws as having discriminatory effects, election officials could barely cite a case in which a person was charged with in-person voting fraud.

Democrats have opposed voter-ID laws as unnecessarily restricting access for nonwhites and young people, who tend to vote Democratic. Republicans accuse Democrats of wanting noncitizens to be able to vote in U.S. elections.

Neither Sanders nor Trump has offered evidence of consequential fraud. Sanders said Wednesday that “even if there are 10 people that are voting illegally, it shouldn’t happen.”
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U.S. President Donald Trump is not obstructing the federal criminal investigation into Russian interference in the election that he won, rather he is “fighting back,” according to White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

Sanders made the remark to reporters Wednesday in a White House briefing hours after Trump made his most forceful call yet for an end to the special counsel’s investigation.

The president said Robert Mueller’s 14-month investigation of his campaign’s links to Russia is “a terrible situation,” and he tweeted that the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, who is the country’s top law enforcement officer, “should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further.”

Sanders said Trump’s tweet “is not an order, it’s the president’s opinion,” adding that as far as she knew, Trump has not transmitted any formal directive to Justice Department top officials to stop the investigation.

The attorney general, more than a year ago, removed himself from oversight of the probe because of his own contacts with Russia, leaving that role to the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, whom some Republican lawmakers want impeached.

Some senators of the president’s party are defending the investigation.

“I support the probe to find out what Russia did to influence our election in 2016,” Senator John Kennedy of the state of Louisiana and a member of the judiciary committee, told reporters Wednesday, adding that the attorney general “had no choice” but to recuse himself.

“I don’t fully get what he’s trying to do,” said Utah’s Orrin Hatch, a former chairman of the senate’s judiciary committee, when asked by reporters about the president’s tweets, adding that while many would like the Mueller probe to go away, “that’s not going to happen.”

The third highest-ranking Republican in the Senate, John Thune of the state of South Dakota, said that “most of us up here believe the process needs to play out, and it will.”

Sanders, in her remarks to reporters in the briefing room Wednesday, said Mueller’s probe has “come up with nothing with regard to the president,” and the press secretary expressed expectations the investigation will soon conclude.

Trump contended in another tweet the appointed special counsel “is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!” 

Trump’s pressure on Sessions came on the second day of the tax and bank fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, with the president, in another tweet, calling the trial “a hoax” and attempting to distance himself from the case in a courtroom just outside Washington. Manafort is accused of hiding millions of dollars he earned lobbying for deposed Ukrainian dictator Viktor Yanukovych in the years before his work for the Trump campaign.

“Paul Manafort worked for Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and many other highly prominent and respected political leaders,” Trump said. “He worked for me for a very short time. Why didn’t government tell me that he was under investigation. These old charges have nothing to do with Collusion – a Hoax!”

Trump’s Wednesday tweets are “just one more piece of circumstantial evidence of corrupt intent that Mueller will incorporate into his analysis of whether the president sought to obstruct justice,” according to national security lawyer Bradley Moss.

“Whether this will result in increased risk of a successful impeachment and conviction of President Trump is a purely political calculation,” Moss, deputy executive director of the James Madison Project, told VOA.

Rosenstein named Mueller to lead the investigation of Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election after Trump, in May the following year, fired FBI Director James Comey, who was at the time heading the agency’s Russia probe.

Trump has declined to fire any of the officials, however, perhaps because some lawmakers, including Republican colleagues of Trump’s, have warned him that his dismissal of any of the officials could lead to impeachment hearings against him in the House of Representatives.

Mueller has secured guilty pleas from a handful of Trump aides for lying to investigators about their contacts with Russia and indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officials on charges of hacking into computers of Democratic operatives supporting Trump’s opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, and then releasing emails through WikiLeaks.

Mueller’s probe is continuing, and there is no deadline for its completion, although a Trump lawyer, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, said this week he thinks it could be finished next month, ahead of November’s nationwide congressional elections.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump is not obstructing the federal criminal investigation into Russian interference in the election that he won, rather he is “fighting back,” according to White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

Sanders made the remark to reporters Wednesday in a White House briefing hours after Trump made his most forceful call yet for an end to the special counsel’s investigation.

The president said Robert Mueller’s 14-month investigation of his campaign’s links to Russia is “a terrible situation,” and he tweeted that the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, who is the country’s top law enforcement officer, “should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further.”

Sanders said Trump’s tweet “is not an order, it’s the president’s opinion,” adding that as far as she knew, Trump has not transmitted any formal directive to Justice Department top officials to stop the investigation.

The attorney general, more than a year ago, removed himself from oversight of the probe because of his own contacts with Russia, leaving that role to the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, whom some Republican lawmakers want impeached.

Some senators of the president’s party are defending the investigation.

“I support the probe to find out what Russia did to influence our election in 2016,” Senator John Kennedy of the state of Louisiana and a member of the judiciary committee, told reporters Wednesday, adding that the attorney general “had no choice” but to recuse himself.

“I don’t fully get what he’s trying to do,” said Utah’s Orrin Hatch, a former chairman of the senate’s judiciary committee, when asked by reporters about the president’s tweets, adding that while many would like the Mueller probe to go away, “that’s not going to happen.”

The third highest-ranking Republican in the Senate, John Thune of the state of South Dakota, said that “most of us up here believe the process needs to play out, and it will.”

Sanders, in her remarks to reporters in the briefing room Wednesday, said Mueller’s probe has “come up with nothing with regard to the president,” and the press secretary expressed expectations the investigation will soon conclude.

Trump contended in another tweet the appointed special counsel “is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!” 

Trump’s pressure on Sessions came on the second day of the tax and bank fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, with the president, in another tweet, calling the trial “a hoax” and attempting to distance himself from the case in a courtroom just outside Washington. Manafort is accused of hiding millions of dollars he earned lobbying for deposed Ukrainian dictator Viktor Yanukovych in the years before his work for the Trump campaign.

“Paul Manafort worked for Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and many other highly prominent and respected political leaders,” Trump said. “He worked for me for a very short time. Why didn’t government tell me that he was under investigation. These old charges have nothing to do with Collusion – a Hoax!”

Trump’s Wednesday tweets are “just one more piece of circumstantial evidence of corrupt intent that Mueller will incorporate into his analysis of whether the president sought to obstruct justice,” according to national security lawyer Bradley Moss.

“Whether this will result in increased risk of a successful impeachment and conviction of President Trump is a purely political calculation,” Moss, deputy executive director of the James Madison Project, told VOA.

Rosenstein named Mueller to lead the investigation of Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election after Trump, in May the following year, fired FBI Director James Comey, who was at the time heading the agency’s Russia probe.

Trump has declined to fire any of the officials, however, perhaps because some lawmakers, including Republican colleagues of Trump’s, have warned him that his dismissal of any of the officials could lead to impeachment hearings against him in the House of Representatives.

Mueller has secured guilty pleas from a handful of Trump aides for lying to investigators about their contacts with Russia and indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officials on charges of hacking into computers of Democratic operatives supporting Trump’s opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, and then releasing emails through WikiLeaks.

Mueller’s probe is continuing, and there is no deadline for its completion, although a Trump lawyer, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, said this week he thinks it could be finished next month, ahead of November’s nationwide congressional elections.
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