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U.S. President Donald Trump says the United States has begun direct high level talks with North Korea. The statement comes weeks before a proposed summit between Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, visiting Trump for bilateral talks, expressed a desire for Japan’s interests to also be on the table during the talks. VOA’s Jesusemen Oni has more.
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San Diego County leaders voted Tuesday to join the Trump administration’s court challenge to a California law limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, amid a conservative backlash to the so-called sanctuary movement.

The Republican-controlled Board of Supervisors voted to direct the county attorney to file a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the administration’s lawsuit at the first available opportunity, which is likely to be on appeal, board Chair Kristin Gaspar said.

The 3-1 vote during a closed-door session, with one of the five supervisors absent, followed an hourlong packed public hearing on the matter.

Outside, pro-sanctuary protesters peacefully picketed the meeting, carrying signs with slogans such as “Sanctuary Cities Make Us Safer,” and “We Are All Immigrants.”

Orange County

The action by leaders of California’s second-largest county followed a similar move last month by the all-Republican board of supervisors for neighboring Orange County, the state’s third-most-populous county.

The city council of the tiny Orange County municipality of Los Alamitos went even further on Monday night, approving an ordinance to “exempt” the town of about 12,000 people from the state’s sanctuary law. 

The city of San Diego ranks as California’s second-biggest by population, and with the adjacent Mexican city of Tijuana, comprises the largest cross-border metropolitan area shared between the United States and Mexico. 

California moved to the forefront of political opposition to Republican President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration with enactment last year of the first statewide law aimed at restricting local law enforcement participation in federal deportation activity. 

The measure bars state and local authorities from keeping undocumented immigrants who are incarcerated locked up any longer than otherwise necessary for the purpose of allowing U.S. immigration agents to take them into custody. It also prohibits police from routinely inquiring about the immigration status of people detained in an investigation or in traffic stops.

But the law, known as SB-54, allows local police to notify the federal government if they have arrested an undocumented immigrant with a felony record and permits immigration agents access to local jails.

Trump administration

The Trump administration has harshly criticized California’s law and similar sanctuary ordinances adopted by local governments across the country, saying they threaten public safety by protecting criminals who should to be deported. 

Sanctuary supporters counter that enlisting police cooperation in deportation actions undermines community trust in local law enforcement, particularly among Latinos, and that Trump’s crackdown has targeted some immigrants over minor infractions. 

The U.S. Justice Department sued California over SB-54 in February, claiming federal law pre-empts the statute, in a move Democratic Governor Jerry Brown denounced as a declaration of war on his state. 

Since then, however, local politicians in a number of California’s more conservative cities and counties have pushed back against the sanctuary movement, approving resolutions in support of the Trump administration lawsuit.
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A former FBI agent accused of leaking government secrets to a reporter pleaded guilty Tuesday to two criminal counts related to retaining and disclosing defense information, the Justice Department said.

Terry Albury, 39, a former special agent in the FBI’s Minneapolis field office, could face up to 10 years in prison for each of the two counts against him, the Justice Department said in a statement.

“As this prosecution demonstrates, we will not waiver in our commitment to pursue and hold accountable government officials who violate their obligations to protect our nation’s secrets,” Assistant Attorney General John Demers said in a statement.

Albury’s attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment.

‘FBI secret rules’

At the time Albury was charged in March, his attorneys said his actions were “driven by a conscientious commitment to long-term national security and addressing the well-documented systemic biases within the FBI.”

A source familiar with the case has told Reuters that the online news organization The Intercept was the recipient of the information Albury was charged with leaking.

The Intercept could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

In January 2017, The Intercept published a series titled “The FBI’s Secret Rules” based on Albury’s leaked documents, which showed the depth and broad powers of the FBI expansion since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and its recruitment efforts, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

The Intercept reported the initial charges against Albury and published a statement from its editor-in-chief, Betsy Reed, saying the news outlet did not discuss anonymous sources.

But she said the use of the Espionage Act “to prosecute whistleblowers seeking to shed light on matters of vital public concern is an outrage” and defended the right of journalists to report such stories.

Second leak to The Intercept

It was the second time someone suspected of leaking information to The Intercept had been prosecuted. Last year, a U.S. intelligence contractor pleaded not guilty to an espionage count after being accused of leaking a classified report on Russian interference in the U.S. elections to the news outlet.

The Justice Department did not identify the news organization that received the information Albury leaked. It said he worked at the time as a liaison with Customs and Border Protection at the Minneapolis airport and had a top-secret clearance that gave him access to some secret material.

The Justice Department said that between 2016 and continuing through August 2017, Albury disclosed national defense information classified as secret to a reporter.
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The Trump White House remained in battle mode Monday, one day after former FBI director James Comey described the president as “morally unfit” for office in an interview with ABC News. The administration has mounted a furious counterattack against Comey through Twitter and White House surrogates, as we hear from VOA National correspondent Jim Malone.
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U.S. senators announced long-awaited legislation on Monday to provide congressional authorization for campaigns against militant groups in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere, as lawmakers push to take back authority over the military from the White House.

A group led by Senators Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Tim Kaine, a committee Democrat, proposed an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) that would authorize “all necessary and appropriate force” against al-Qaida, the Taliban, Islamic State and associated forces.

Despite coming days after the U.S. bombing of Syria over chemical weapons, the proposed legislation does not authorize military action against any nation state, including Syria.

It also does not set an end date for military action, although it proposes a congressional review every four years.

Both Republican and Democratic members of Congress have long argued that they ceded too much authority over the military to both Republican and Democrat presidents — with no time limits — after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress, not the president, has the right to authorize war. But presidents have used AUMFs passed in 2001 for campaigns against al Qaeda and affiliates, and one passed in 2002 for the war in Iraq, to justify a wide range of conflicts since.

Corker said he expected the Foreign Relations Committee to debate and possibly vote on the new AUMF as soon as next week.

It was not immediately clear if the House of Representatives would take up the measure. To become law, it would have to pass the Senate and House and be signed into law by President Donald Trump.

Noting that Foreign Relations has been trying to pass a new AUMF for years, Corker said it was too soon to discuss the view of the Senate’s Republican leaders.

“I don’t really worry about much beyond having a successful vote in the committee,” he said.

Trump national security aides have pushed back against congressional calls for a new AUMF. However, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Trump’s nominee to be secretary of state, told senators last week it would be useful for lawmakers to weigh in on the military campaign.

The legislation also would require the president to report to Congress on any new military actions and allow lawmakers to vote on whether to reject them.

It would repeal the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs after being in effect for 120 days.
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Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer who is under investigation for his business dealings, has provided legal advice to Fox News host Sean Hannity, one of Trump’s most prominent media supporters.

The dramatic revelation came Monday during a court hearing in New York where lawyers for Cohen and Trump argued for permission to determine whether thousands of pages of documents FBI agents seized from Cohen last week should be subject to attorney-client privilege.

U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood appeared to reject the idea, saying that a “taint team” created by prosecutors to set aside privileged documents is a “viable option,” while a court-appointed outside lawyer known as a “special master” may also play a role in determining which records can and cannot be viewed by prosecutors. 

The disclosure about Hannity, who also hosts a nationally syndicated talk radio show, came after prosecutors indicated that Cohen performed “little to no legal work” and had just one client: Trump.  

In response, Cohen’s lawyers said that Cohen has represented three clients in the past year — Trump, GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy and a third “publicly prominent individual” who wished to remain anonymous.  Cohen’s lawyers identified Hannity as the third unnamed client only after Judge Wood ruled that it must be made public.

In a statement, Hannity sought to minimize his relationship with Cohen, saying he had never retained him as a lawyer.

“Michael Cohen has never represented me in any matter,” Hannity said. “I never retained him, received an invoice, or paid legal fees. I have occasionally had brief discussions with him about legal questions about which I wanted his input and perspective.”

“I assumed those conversations were confidential, but to be absolutely clear they never involved any matter between me and a third-party,” Hannity said.

Cohen was thrust into the spotlight in January after the Wall Street Journal reported that he’d secretly provided $130,000 in hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 U.S. presidential election to keep her quiet about an affair she allegedly had with Trump.

Cohen later admitted to making the payoff though Trump has said he did not know about it.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Cohen last year brokered a second “hush money” deal, arranging for a payment of $1.6 million to a former Playboy model who became pregnant by Broidy, the Deputy Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee.  Broidy stepped down after the report.

After the FBI raid on Cohen’s office, home and hotel room in New York last Monday, prosecutors revealed in court that Cohen had been under investigation for months for what they described as “criminal conduct that largely centers on his personal business dealings.”

Cohen’s lawyers called the FBI raid “completely inappropriate and unnecessary” and moved to prevent prosecutors from viewing thousands of pages of “protected attorney-client communications.”

Trump’s lawyers joined the legal challenge over the weekend, asking that they be allowed to review the seized material before government prosecutors.  

“I don’t know what’s in Mr. Cohen’s law files but some amount of material was generated in the course of representing my client,” Joanna Hendon, an attorney representing Trump in the case, said in court on Monday.

Prosecutors insisted that the “overwhelming majority” of evidence seized during the search warrants on Cohen’s office and home is not privileged material but rather related to his business dealings.

“No one has yet given a basis why President Trump’s assertion of attorney-client privilege is any different than any other citizen of the United States,” prosecutor Tom McKay said in court.
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Former U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey says President Donald Trump is “morally unfit” to be president and that there is “some evidence” Trump obstructed justice.

“There’s something more important than that that should unite all of us, and that is our president must embody respect and adhere to the values that are at the core of this country,” Comey said.  “The most important being truth. This president is not able to do that.”

Comey’s comments came in an interview with ABC News Sunday night ahead of the publication this week of a book Comey wrote, “A Higher Loyalty.” In part, it recounts his role in investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and Democrat Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server that contained classified information, as well as Comey’s private discussions with Trump before the president fired him last May.

On Monday, hours after the telecast, Trump claimed that “Comey drafted the Crooked Hillary exoneration long before he talked to her,” lied to Congress about it and “then based his decisions on her poll numbers.” The U.S. leader claimed that Comey and former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe, himself recently fired, and others “committed many crimes!”

Comey claimed that in one of his meetings with Trump, which he had previously described in public congressional testimony, Trump brought up the investigation of his one-time national security adviser Michael Flynn and asked if the FBI director could “let it go.”

“It’s certainly some evidence of obstruction of justice. It would depend — and I’m just a witness in this case, not the investigator or prosecutor — it would depend upon other things that reflected on his intent,” Comey said.

Trump has denied he asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the United States. Trump has also used Twitter to call Comey a liar and called for his imprisonment.

“The big questions in Comey’s badly reviewed book aren’t answered like, how come he gave up Classified Information (jail), why did he lie to Congress (jail),” Trump posted Sunday, apparently claiming wrongly that the notes Comey wrote about private meetings with Trump and talked about publicly were classified. It was not immediately clear what Trump was referencing in his contention that Comey lied in testimony before congressional committees.

Comey recounted in the interview another meeting where he said Trump asked for his loyalty.

“I never asked Comey for Personal Loyalty,” Trump said on Twitter before the interview aired. “I hardly even knew this guy. Just another of his many lies. His ‘memos’ are self serving and FAKE!”

Trump’s move to fire Comey led to the appointment of former FBI chief Robert Mueller as special counsel investigating Russia’s election interference and whether Trump obstructed justice. Mueller has so far charged 19 people in the probe, including Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and campaign aides Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said last week the Trump administration believes the president has the legal authority to fire Mueller, a move Comey told ABC would be the president’s “most serious attack yet on the rule of law.”

Comey said if allowed to continue his work, he is confident Mueller “will find the truth.”

“And again, I don’t know what that will be. He may conclude that there is nothing that touches President Trump or any of his senior people. And that’s fine, so long as he’s able to find that truth,” Comey said.

Trump denies his campaign colluded with Russia.

The U.S. intelligence community assessed that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a campaign meant to undermine confidence in the election, hurt Clinton’s chances of winning and boost the likelihood of Trump being elected president.

Comey also said he cannot rule out the possibility that Russia has compromising information about Trump.

“I think it’s possible. I don’t know. These are more words I never thought I’d utter about a president of the United States, but it’s possible,” he said.

Comey faced criticism for his handling of the investigation into Clinton’s email practices while she served as secretary of state under former President Barack Obama, including announcing just before the election that the probe had been reopened. Clinton said that decision helped cost her the election.

Comey told ABC he made what he thought was the appropriate decision and that a belief Clinton would win the vote was a factor.

“I don’t remember spelling it out, but it had to have been,” he said. “That she’s going to be elected president, and if I hide this from the American people, she’ll be illegitimate the moment she’s elected, the moment this comes out.”

Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with those comments on Twitter.

“Unbelievably, James Comey states that Polls, where Crooked Hillary was leading, were a factor in the handling (stupidly) of the Clinton Email probe. In other words, he was making decisions based on the fact that he thought she was going to win, and he wanted a job. Slimeball!”

Trump expressed a similar view of Comey in another tweet: “Slippery James Comey, a man who always ends up badly and out of whack (he is not smart!), will go down as the WORST FBI Director in history, by far!”

FBI directors are appointed for 10-year terms that span presidencies. When asked if he would still be serving in that position had Trump not fired him, Comey said he would be unhappy, but would still be leading the organization and “trying to protect it.”

Comey likened the Trump presidency to a forest fire, saying it is doing “tremendous damage to our norms and values,” but that he is optimistic because he sees “already things growing and flourishing that didn’t before this fire.”
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Former U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey says President Donald Trump is “morally unfit” to be president and that there is “some evidence” Trump obstructed justice.

“There’s something more important than that that should unite all of us, and that is our president must embody respect and adhere to the values that are at the core of this country,” Comey said.  “The most important being truth. This president is not able to do that.”

Comey’s comments came in an interview with ABC News Sunday night ahead of the publication this week of a book Comey wrote, “A Higher Loyalty.” In part, it recounts his role in investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and Democrat Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server that contained classified information, as well as Comey’s private discussions with Trump before the president fired him last May.

On Monday, hours after the telecast, Trump claimed that “Comey drafted the Crooked Hillary exoneration long before he talked to her,” lied to Congress about it and “then based his decisions on her poll numbers.” The U.S. leader claimed that Comey and former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe, himself recently fired, and others “committed many crimes!”

Comey claimed that in one of his meetings with Trump, which he had previously described in public congressional testimony, Trump brought up the investigation of his one-time national security adviser Michael Flynn and asked if the FBI director could “let it go.”

“It’s certainly some evidence of obstruction of justice. It would depend — and I’m just a witness in this case, not the investigator or prosecutor — it would depend upon other things that reflected on his intent,” Comey said.

Trump has denied he asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the United States. Trump has also used Twitter to call Comey a liar and called for his imprisonment.

“The big questions in Comey’s badly reviewed book aren’t answered like, how come he gave up Classified Information (jail), why did he lie to Congress (jail),” Trump posted Sunday, apparently claiming wrongly that the notes Comey wrote about private meetings with Trump and talked about publicly were classified. It was not immediately clear what Trump was referencing in his contention that Comey lied in testimony before congressional committees.

Comey recounted in the interview another meeting where he said Trump asked for his loyalty.

“I never asked Comey for Personal Loyalty,” Trump said on Twitter before the interview aired. “I hardly even knew this guy. Just another of his many lies. His ‘memos’ are self serving and FAKE!”

Trump’s move to fire Comey led to the appointment of former FBI chief Robert Mueller as special counsel investigating Russia’s election interference and whether Trump obstructed justice. Mueller has so far charged 19 people in the probe, including Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and campaign aides Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said last week the Trump administration believes the president has the legal authority to fire Mueller, a move Comey told ABC would be the president’s “most serious attack yet on the rule of law.”

Comey said if allowed to continue his work, he is confident Mueller “will find the truth.”

“And again, I don’t know what that will be. He may conclude that there is nothing that touches President Trump or any of his senior people. And that’s fine, so long as he’s able to find that truth,” Comey said.

Trump denies his campaign colluded with Russia.

The U.S. intelligence community assessed that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a campaign meant to undermine confidence in the election, hurt Clinton’s chances of winning and boost the likelihood of Trump being elected president.

Comey also said he cannot rule out the possibility that Russia has compromising information about Trump.

“I think it’s possible. I don’t know. These are more words I never thought I’d utter about a president of the United States, but it’s possible,” he said.

Comey faced criticism for his handling of the investigation into Clinton’s email practices while she served as secretary of state under former President Barack Obama, including announcing just before the election that the probe had been reopened. Clinton said that decision helped cost her the election.

Comey told ABC he made what he thought was the appropriate decision and that a belief Clinton would win the vote was a factor.

“I don’t remember spelling it out, but it had to have been,” he said. “That she’s going to be elected president, and if I hide this from the American people, she’ll be illegitimate the moment she’s elected, the moment this comes out.”

Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with those comments on Twitter.

“Unbelievably, James Comey states that Polls, where Crooked Hillary was leading, were a factor in the handling (stupidly) of the Clinton Email probe. In other words, he was making decisions based on the fact that he thought she was going to win, and he wanted a job. Slimeball!”

Trump expressed a similar view of Comey in another tweet: “Slippery James Comey, a man who always ends up badly and out of whack (he is not smart!), will go down as the WORST FBI Director in history, by far!”

FBI directors are appointed for 10-year terms that span presidencies. When asked if he would still be serving in that position had Trump not fired him, Comey said he would be unhappy, but would still be leading the organization and “trying to protect it.”

Comey likened the Trump presidency to a forest fire, saying it is doing “tremendous damage to our norms and values,” but that he is optimistic because he sees “already things growing and flourishing that didn’t before this fire.”
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The White House says President Donald Trump remains determined to pull out U.S. troops deployed in Syria, a message that comes after French President Emmanuel Macron said he convinced Trump to keep U.S. forces there.

“The U.S. mission has not changed — the president has been clear that he wants U.S. forces to come home as quickly as possible,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement late Sunday.

She added that the United States wants to “complete crush” the Islamic State militant group and work to prevent it from coming back.

Macron spoke earlier Sunday to France’s BFM television, saying: “Ten days ago, President Trump was saying ‘The United States should withdraw from Syria,’ We convinced him it was necessary to stay for the long term.”  However, on Monday, Macron sought to clarify his comments, saying both countries were committed to finishing the battle against the Islamic State group and helping the peace process in Syria.

France joined the United States and Britain in airstrikes against Syrian chemical weapons sites on Saturday.

WATCH: US defends attack on Syria

​Macron also said he told Trump that it was necessary to limit the airstrikes in Syria, suggesting Trump wanted to go further.

“We also persuaded him that we needed to limit the strikes to chemical weapons sites after things got a little carried away over tweets,” Macron told reporters.

The French leader said there is proof the Syrian government used poison gas in Douma and that missile strikes were necessary to give the international community credibility. He also said Syrian ally Russia is complicit.

“They have not used chlorine themselves but they have methodically built the international community’s inability to act through diplomatic channels to stop the use of chemical weapons.”

Macron told BFM that France has not declared war on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but it was necessary to show Assad that using poison gas on civilians will not go unpunished.
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The White House says President Donald Trump remains determined to pull out U.S. troops deployed in Syria, a message that comes after French President Emmanuel Macron said he convinced Trump to keep U.S. forces there.

“The U.S. mission has not changed — the president has been clear that he wants U.S. forces to come home as quickly as possible,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement late Sunday.

She added that the United States wants to “complete crush” the Islamic State militant group and work to prevent it from coming back.

Macron spoke earlier Sunday to France’s BFM television, saying: “Ten days ago, President Trump was saying ‘The United States should withdraw from Syria,’ We convinced him it was necessary to stay for the long term.”  However, on Monday, Macron sought to clarify his comments, saying both countries were committed to finishing the battle against the Islamic State group and helping the peace process in Syria.

France joined the United States and Britain in airstrikes against Syrian chemical weapons sites on Saturday.

WATCH: US defends attack on Syria

​Macron also said he told Trump that it was necessary to limit the airstrikes in Syria, suggesting Trump wanted to go further.

“We also persuaded him that we needed to limit the strikes to chemical weapons sites after things got a little carried away over tweets,” Macron told reporters.

The French leader said there is proof the Syrian government used poison gas in Douma and that missile strikes were necessary to give the international community credibility. He also said Syrian ally Russia is complicit.

“They have not used chlorine themselves but they have methodically built the international community’s inability to act through diplomatic channels to stop the use of chemical weapons.”

Macron told BFM that France has not declared war on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but it was necessary to show Assad that using poison gas on civilians will not go unpunished.
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Washington is witnessing a renewed war of words between President Donald Trump and a man he fired last year, former FBI director James Comey. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports Comey is speaking out ahead of the release of a book detailing turbulent encounters with Trump, as well as the FBI’s probe of Hillary Clinton’s handling of emails as secretary of state.
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U.S. President Donald Trump contended Sunday that James Comey, the FBI director he fired who has written a scathing new book on the Trump presidency, should be imprisoned, claiming that he revealed classified information and lied to Congress.

Trump unleashed a new broadside on Comey hours ahead of a widely publicized television interview with the former chief of the country’s top law enforcement agency. Comey’s book, “A Higher Loyalty,” is set for publication Tuesday and has already soared to near the top of bestseller lists because of pre-sales.

In the book, Comey likens Trump to a “mafia boss” and referred to his presidency as a “forest fire.”

Watch related video by VOA’s Michael Bowman:

“The big questions in Comey’s badly reviewed book aren’t answered like, how come he gave up Classified Information (jail), why did he lie to Congress (jail),” Trump said on Twitter, apparently claiming wrongly that the notes Comey wrote about private meetings with Trump and talked about publicly were classified. It was not immediately clear what Trump was referencing in his contention that Comey lied in testimony before congressional committees.

“I never asked Comey for Personal Loyalty,” Trump said, disputing a key contention made by Comey. “I hardly even knew this guy. Just another of his many lies. His ‘memos’ are self serving and FAKE!”

Trump declared, “Slippery James Comey, a man who always ends up badly and out of whack (he is not smart!), will go down as the WORST FBI Director in history, by far!”

Comey wrote in the book, “This president is unethical, and untethered to truth and institutional values. His leadership is transactional, ego driven and about personal loyalty.” Comey claimed Trump was particularly concerned about unproven allegations that in 2013 he had watched as prostitutes urinated on a bed in a Moscow hotel, asking Comey to investigate to disprove it.

Comey is kicking off his national publicity tour promoting sales of the book with a Sunday night interview on ABC News. After Trump assailed the book, Comey replied on Twitter, “My book is about ethical leadership & draws on stories from my life & lessons I learned from others. 3 presidents are in my book: 2 help illustrate the values at the heart of ethical leadership; 1 serves as a counterpoint. I hope folks read the whole thing and find it useful.”

Trump assailed Comey for acknowledging that shortly before Trump’s November 2016 election victory, he considered the fact that Trump’s opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, was leading in national polls over Trump as the FBI chief reopened an investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server to handle classified information when she was secretary of state several years before.

“Unbelievably, James Comey states that Polls, where Crooked Hillary was leading, were a factor in the handling (stupidly) of the Clinton Email probe. In other words, he was making decisions based on the fact that he thought she was going to win, and he wanted a job. Slimeball!,” Trump said.

The U.S. leader also revisited a June 2016 incident, when Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, met privately with then-attorney general Loretta Lynch on an airport tarmac at a time when Lynch was overseeing the FBI’s email investigation involving Hillary Clinton in which Hillary Clinton was weeks later cleared of criminal wrongdoing.

“Comey throws AG Lynch ‘under the bus!'” Trump claimed. “Why can’t we all find out what happened on the tarmac in the back of the plane with Wild Bill and Lynch? Was she promised a Supreme Court seat, or (to stay on as attorney general in a would-be Clinton presidency), in order to lay off Hillary. No golf and grandkids talk (give us all a break)!”

Trump also railed again about last week’s FBI raid on the New York office and home of his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, in search of documents related to hefty hush money payoffs shortly before the election to two women who claim to have had affairs with Trump a decade before he ran for the presidency. Trump has denied both purported liaisons.

U.S. legal principles shield from disclosure conversations lawyers hold with their clients — attorney-client privilege — unless they are plotting criminal activity.

“Attorney Client privilege is now a thing of the past,” Trump tweeted. “I have many (too many!) lawyers and they are probably wondering when their offices, and even homes, are going to be raided with everything, including their phones and computers, taken. All lawyers are deflated and concerned!”

 
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Gun rights supporters gathered in Atlanta and dozens of other U.S. state capitals Saturday at a time when many Americans are pressing for tougher restrictions on weapons.

According to a early Associated Press count, more than 135 people attended the rally in Atlanta, and more were arriving. Most of them were armed, and some held signs as they listened to speeches. A few people wearing “Black Lives Matter” T-shirts made videos but didn’t interact with the ralliers.  

About 400 people, as estimated by an AP reporter, attended the rally in front of Delaware’s statehouse to support the right to keep and bear firearms. Some of those participating on Dover’s legislative mall openly carried rifles and handguns. Others carried American flags and flags reading “Don’t Tread on Me.”

In all, a group called the National Constitutional Coalition of Patriotic Americans said organizers had permits for gatherings in 45 states. They encouraged supporters to bring unloaded rifles in states where it’s legal.

The rallies came less than three weeks after hundreds of thousands marched in Washington, New York and elsewhere to demand tougher gun laws after the February school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17.

Daniyel Baron helped organize the Delaware rally. The former Marine said he feared the current gun-restriction efforts were a precursor to eventual prohibition of all gun ownership.
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The Justice Department has sent another round of letters to the so-called sanctuary cities of Seattle and Oakland and the state of Vermont demanding further proof that they are cooperating with immigration authorities.

The letters sent Thursday warn that the department could use subpoena power to force Seattle and Vermont to provide documents. The department is seeking a legal opinion from Oakland on whether its policies violate a federal statute requiring information sharing with federal immigration authorities.

The Justice Department has threatened to deny grant money to communities that refuse to share such information. It’s part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on cities and states that refuse to help enforce U.S. immigration laws.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan denounced the department’s subpoena threat Friday, saying the city complies with federal immigration law.

 
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The Justice Department has sent another round of letters to the so-called sanctuary cities of Seattle and Oakland and the state of Vermont demanding further proof that they are cooperating with immigration authorities.

The letters sent Thursday warn that the department could use subpoena power to force Seattle and Vermont to provide documents. The department is seeking a legal opinion from Oakland on whether its policies violate a federal statute requiring information sharing with federal immigration authorities.

The Justice Department has threatened to deny grant money to communities that refuse to share such information. It’s part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on cities and states that refuse to help enforce U.S. immigration laws.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan denounced the department’s subpoena threat Friday, saying the city complies with federal immigration law.

 
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U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan endorsed Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to be his successor, NBC News reported Friday.

“We all think that Kevin is the right person,” the Wisconsin lawmaker said in an interview airing Sunday on Meet the Press.

Ryan said Wednesday that he would not seek re-election in November, dealing a blow to fellow Republicans and President Donald Trump before the congressional elections.

The announcement dismayed some Republicans already concerned about their prospects with U.S. voters in November. Now they fear they may have to deal with a House of Representatives leadership struggle when the party should focus on defending its congressional majorities and advancing Trump’s agenda.

Ryan’s endorsement, however, gives McCarthy an edge in the leadership contest.

Ryan told NBC he believed having McCarthy step in would work toward a smoother transition in House leadership.

“We have made a huge, positive difference in people’s lives, and people are more confident as a result of it,” Ryan said. “This leadership team has done that, and so I really do envision a more seamless transition, versus, say, the time when I came in.”

Another name circulating as a possible Ryan replacement was House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana. He and McCarthy are expected to wage a furious effort to raise campaign funds for fellow House Republicans to shore up support for their potential leadership aspirations.

Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a co-founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, whose members have at times clashed with Ryan and other Republican leaders, said he was also open to pursuing the role of speaker.

“We have six more months to prove Republicans deserve to keep the majority. If and when there is a speaker’s race, colleagues have approached me about running, and that’s something I’m open to doing,” Jordan said in an statement emailed Friday to Reuters.
…

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan endorsed Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to be his successor, NBC News reported Friday.

“We all think that Kevin is the right person,” the Wisconsin lawmaker said in an interview airing Sunday on Meet the Press.

Ryan said Wednesday that he would not seek re-election in November, dealing a blow to fellow Republicans and President Donald Trump before the congressional elections.

The announcement dismayed some Republicans already concerned about their prospects with U.S. voters in November. Now they fear they may have to deal with a House of Representatives leadership struggle when the party should focus on defending its congressional majorities and advancing Trump’s agenda.

Ryan’s endorsement, however, gives McCarthy an edge in the leadership contest.

Ryan told NBC he believed having McCarthy step in would work toward a smoother transition in House leadership.

“We have made a huge, positive difference in people’s lives, and people are more confident as a result of it,” Ryan said. “This leadership team has done that, and so I really do envision a more seamless transition, versus, say, the time when I came in.”

Another name circulating as a possible Ryan replacement was House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana. He and McCarthy are expected to wage a furious effort to raise campaign funds for fellow House Republicans to shore up support for their potential leadership aspirations.

Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a co-founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, whose members have at times clashed with Ryan and other Republican leaders, said he was also open to pursuing the role of speaker.

“We have six more months to prove Republicans deserve to keep the majority. If and when there is a speaker’s race, colleagues have approached me about running, and that’s something I’m open to doing,” Jordan said in an statement emailed Friday to Reuters.
…

A Justice Department report accuses fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe of lacking candor and misleading investigators.

The report by the Justice Department inspector general’s office claims that McCabe misled investigators about his role in a news media disclosure about presidential candidate Hillary Clinton just days before the 2016 election.

McCabe was fired last month by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the recommendation of FBI officials who had knowledge of the inspector general’s findings.

The report, released to lawmakers and the public Friday, alleges that McCabe authorized FBI officials to speak with a Wall Street Journal reporter about an investigation into the Clinton Foundation. It said McCabe later misled FBI officials when questioned about his actions.

McCabe denies misleading investigators.

McCabe says when he believed his answers to the inspector general were misunderstood, he went back and tried to correct them. His lawyer says the inspector general unfairly tried to conclude its work before McCabe could retire with a full pension.

In a statement Friday, an attorney for McCabe disputed the Justice Department findings and said the rush to fire him was “unprecedented, unseemly and cruel.”

McCabe was fired two days before he was planning to retire, potentially denying him part or all of his pension.

McCabe is close to former FBI director James Comey, who was fired by Trump in May 2017. McCabe has called his firing “retribution” and said he was singled out because of the “role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath” of Comey’s firing.

Trump has publicly criticized McCabe for “lies and corruption” and wrote on Twitter that his firing was a “great day for Democracy.”

On Friday, Trump tweeted that “McCabe was totally controlled by Comey” and that the investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and whether there was collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia was “made up by this den of thieves and lowlifes!”

McCabe has fired back, saying his dismissal was part of the Trump administration’s “ongoing war” on the FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

Mueller, who was appointed after Comey was fired, is investigating whether Russia attempted to meddle in the election. He also is investigating whether Trump’s actions, including firing Comey, constitute obstruction of justice.

Some information is this report was provided by The Associated Press.
…

A Justice Department report accuses fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe of lacking candor and misleading investigators.

The report by the Justice Department inspector general’s office claims that McCabe misled investigators about his role in a news media disclosure about presidential candidate Hillary Clinton just days before the 2016 election.

McCabe was fired last month by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the recommendation of FBI officials who had knowledge of the inspector general’s findings.

The report, released to lawmakers and the public Friday, alleges that McCabe authorized FBI officials to speak with a Wall Street Journal reporter about an investigation into the Clinton Foundation. It said McCabe later misled FBI officials when questioned about his actions.

McCabe denies misleading investigators.

McCabe says when he believed his answers to the inspector general were misunderstood, he went back and tried to correct them. His lawyer says the inspector general unfairly tried to conclude its work before McCabe could retire with a full pension.

In a statement Friday, an attorney for McCabe disputed the Justice Department findings and said the rush to fire him was “unprecedented, unseemly and cruel.”

McCabe was fired two days before he was planning to retire, potentially denying him part or all of his pension.

McCabe is close to former FBI director James Comey, who was fired by Trump in May 2017. McCabe has called his firing “retribution” and said he was singled out because of the “role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath” of Comey’s firing.

Trump has publicly criticized McCabe for “lies and corruption” and wrote on Twitter that his firing was a “great day for Democracy.”

On Friday, Trump tweeted that “McCabe was totally controlled by Comey” and that the investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and whether there was collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia was “made up by this den of thieves and lowlifes!”

McCabe has fired back, saying his dismissal was part of the Trump administration’s “ongoing war” on the FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

Mueller, who was appointed after Comey was fired, is investigating whether Russia attempted to meddle in the election. He also is investigating whether Trump’s actions, including firing Comey, constitute obstruction of justice.

Some information is this report was provided by The Associated Press.
…

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Friday that President Donald Trump is still weighing options in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria that Washington believes President Bashar al-Assad carried out.

“Our president has not yet made a decision about possible actions in Syria,” Haley told a meeting of the U.N. Security Council. “But should the United States and our allies decide to act in Syria, it will be in defense of a principle on which we all agree. It will be in defense of a bedrock international norm that benefits all nations.”

Haley told reporters on her way into the council session that she would be returning to Washington on Friday for more meetings on a potential response.

“I am unbelievably proud of how President Trump has looked at the information, analyzed, not let anyone rush him into this, because he has said from the beginning — we have to know when we’re right, we have to know all the information, we have to know that there’s proof and we have to know that we’re taking every precaution necessary should we take action,” she told reporters.

At least 40 people were killed and hundreds sickened in last week’s attack in Douma, in eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of Damascus.

“At some point, you have to do something,” Haley said. “At some point, you have to say enough.”

Syria has denied using chemical weapons, but Haley criticized the Syrian president for the repeated use of chlorine and sarin gas on civilians.

“Let’s be clear: Assad’s most recent use of poison gas against the people of Douma was not his first, second, third, or even 49th use of chemical weapons,” the U.N. ambassador said. “The United States estimates that Assad has used chemical weapons in the Syrian war at least 50 times. Public estimates are as high as 200.”

Russia

She chastised Russia for steadfastly protecting Assad from accountability with its Security Council veto and for not living up to its obligations in making sure Syria gave up all of its chemical weapons under a 2013 deal.

“Russia can complain all it wants about fake news, but no one is buying its lies and its cover-ups,” Haley said.

Russia called Friday’s Security Council meeting, the fourth day this week it has discussed Syria. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said his government has worked “robustly and fully” to de-escalate tensions in international relations. He said Moscow sponsored and supported the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) sending a fact-finding mission to Douma to investigate, but the U.S., Britain and France had rejected it.

“Thereby, these countries have demonstrated they have no interest in an investigation,” Nebenzia said. “The sole thing they have an interest in is to oust the Syrian government and, more broadly, to deter and contain the Russian Federation.”

A measure put forward by Moscow supporting an OPCW investigation, but not a mechanism to attribute blame for chemical attacks, failed to pass the Security Council on Tuesday, garnering support from six of the 15 council members.

OPCW inspectors have arrived in Syria and are scheduled to begin collecting samples Saturday in Douma.

Britain, France

The United States has been in close consultations with allies Britain and France on what response it should take.

French envoy Francois Delattre said Assad’s government had “reached a point of no return” with its most recent chemical weapons attack.

“This is a situation to which the world must provide robust, united and steadfast response and this is our responsibility,” Delattre told the council Friday.

He said France would “shoulder its responsibility to end an intolerable threat to our collective security,” and ensure respect for international law and Security Council resolutions.

“The use of chemical weapons cannot be allowed to go unchallenged,” said British Ambassador Karen Pierce. “The British Cabinet has agreed on the need to take action to alleviate humanitarian distress and to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime, and we will continue to work with our friends and allies to coordinate an international response to that end.”

As the international community waits to see if there will be a military response, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of the dangers of escalation.

“Increasing tensions and the inability to reach a compromise in the establishment of an accountability mechanism threaten to lead to a full-blown military escalation,” he said. “In my contacts with you — especially with the Permanent Members of the Security Council — I have been reiterating my deep concerns about the risks of the current impasse and stressed the need to avoid the situation spiraling out of control.”

Guterres added that the situation in Syria is now the “most serious threat to international peace and security.”
…

Trade and North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs will be the key topics for Japan during U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe next week.

Earlier this month, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga spoke on Japan’s priorities for the upcoming meeting. He said addressing how to handle the North Korean missile situation is high on the agenda, as is trade.

“We anticipate discussions on the importance of free trade — since that is of interest to us,” he said.

Trump hit Japan and many other countries with aluminum and steel trade restrictions last month. Japan has been asking that the restrictions to be lifted.

“The U.S. wants Japan to complain about the tariff and then wants to talk about a bilateral treaty,” said Hajime Izumi, professor of international relations at Tokyo International University. “From the Japan side, they aren’t interested in doing a bilateral FTA [Free Trade Agreement]. This is not going to be easy.”

That’s because Japan has just signed on to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) with 10 other countries. Critics say Abe is unlikely to coax Trump to reconsider joining the trade pact, and Trump may see similar results on a bilateral proposal.

Another key topic: the North Korea missile situation. Critics say Japan will remind Trump to negotiate on all types of missiles, and not just long-range missiles that would reach American soil.

“While the U.S. is trying to address the issue of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States, from the Japanese perspective, what is more important is the medium-range ballistic missiles with a range of 1,300 kilometers, capable of reaching most parts of Japan, including Tokyo,” said Narushige Michishita, professor of securities and international studies, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.

Meanwhile, some Japanese analysts observed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month indicated North Korea’s nervousness about the upcoming talks with Washington.

“Eventually, [the U.S. and North Korea] may conclude that all the diplomatic efforts have been exhausted,” said Kunihiko Miyake, president of the Foreign Policy Institute in Tokyo. “That’s when the Americans might or could contemplate a possibly harsher, more physical measure against North Korea. That’s what North Koreans are most concerned about.”

Miyake raises the possibility of a meeting between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as indicated in an envoy meeting with top Russian diplomats April 10.

“[North Korea is] fully aware of the military disadvantages vis-à-vis against the Americans,” said Miyake. “That’s why [North Korea needs] to talk to the Russians and Chinese to prevent that kind of worst-case scenario from happening.”

Miyake said North Koreans had nothing to offer to Russia or China but “their existence, as a buffer against the U.S. control over the Korean peninsula.”

Abduction issue

Many critics say a sure topic will be the Japan abduction issue, a domestic priority rivaling the North Korean missiles in importance.

Former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il admitted in 2002 that its agents had abducted Japanese citizens in the 1970 and ’80s. Several were returned, but Tokyo has since demanded more information.

“There is a possibility some of [the abductees are] still there, living in North Korea,” said Michishita. “So we have to take them back. It’s a real issue.”

Another point critics are betting on is that true denuclearization of North Korea will be a long way away, even if a Trump-Kim meeting happens and even if North Korea says it will denuclearize.

“Trump must have been informed or convinced by now that the word ‘denuclearization’ has many meanings,” Miyake said. “Denuclearization of the North means dismantling North Korean missiles, but denuclearization of the Korean peninsula — which was agreed upon with China — means they want to basically kick the U.S. out of the Korean peninsula.”

Trump and Abe are expected to agree to continue applying maximum pressure against North Korea until talks produce meaningful progress.
…

Trade and North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs will be the key topics for Japan during U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe next week.

Earlier this month, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga spoke on Japan’s priorities for the upcoming meeting. He said addressing how to handle the North Korean missile situation is high on the agenda, as is trade.

“We anticipate discussions on the importance of free trade — since that is of interest to us,” he said.

Trump hit Japan and many other countries with aluminum and steel trade restrictions last month. Japan has been asking that the restrictions to be lifted.

“The U.S. wants Japan to complain about the tariff and then wants to talk about a bilateral treaty,” said Hajime Izumi, professor of international relations at Tokyo International University. “From the Japan side, they aren’t interested in doing a bilateral FTA [Free Trade Agreement]. This is not going to be easy.”

That’s because Japan has just signed on to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) with 10 other countries. Critics say Abe is unlikely to coax Trump to reconsider joining the trade pact, and Trump may see similar results on a bilateral proposal.

Another key topic: the North Korea missile situation. Critics say Japan will remind Trump to negotiate on all types of missiles, and not just long-range missiles that would reach American soil.

“While the U.S. is trying to address the issue of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States, from the Japanese perspective, what is more important is the medium-range ballistic missiles with a range of 1,300 kilometers, capable of reaching most parts of Japan, including Tokyo,” said Narushige Michishita, professor of securities and international studies, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.

Meanwhile, some Japanese analysts observed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month indicated North Korea’s nervousness about the upcoming talks with Washington.

“Eventually, [the U.S. and North Korea] may conclude that all the diplomatic efforts have been exhausted,” said Kunihiko Miyake, president of the Foreign Policy Institute in Tokyo. “That’s when the Americans might or could contemplate a possibly harsher, more physical measure against North Korea. That’s what North Koreans are most concerned about.”

Miyake raises the possibility of a meeting between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as indicated in an envoy meeting with top Russian diplomats April 10.

“[North Korea is] fully aware of the military disadvantages vis-à-vis against the Americans,” said Miyake. “That’s why [North Korea needs] to talk to the Russians and Chinese to prevent that kind of worst-case scenario from happening.”

Miyake said North Koreans had nothing to offer to Russia or China but “their existence, as a buffer against the U.S. control over the Korean peninsula.”

Abduction issue

Many critics say a sure topic will be the Japan abduction issue, a domestic priority rivaling the North Korean missiles in importance.

Former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il admitted in 2002 that its agents had abducted Japanese citizens in the 1970 and ’80s. Several were returned, but Tokyo has since demanded more information.

“There is a possibility some of [the abductees are] still there, living in North Korea,” said Michishita. “So we have to take them back. It’s a real issue.”

Another point critics are betting on is that true denuclearization of North Korea will be a long way away, even if a Trump-Kim meeting happens and even if North Korea says it will denuclearize.

“Trump must have been informed or convinced by now that the word ‘denuclearization’ has many meanings,” Miyake said. “Denuclearization of the North means dismantling North Korean missiles, but denuclearization of the Korean peninsula — which was agreed upon with China — means they want to basically kick the U.S. out of the Korean peninsula.”

Trump and Abe are expected to agree to continue applying maximum pressure against North Korea until talks produce meaningful progress.
…

Lawyers for President Donald Trump and his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, told a federal judge in New York on Friday that they believe some of the documents and devices seized from Cohen during an FBI raid are protected by attorney-client privilege, and they want a chance to review the items before prosecutors get to examine them.

In the hour-long court hearing, U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood said Cohen’s lawyers have asked to “take the first cut at identifying documents that are relevant or not relevant to the investigation.”

An attorney for the president, Joanna Hendon, appeared as well, telling the judge Trump has “an acute interest in this matter.”

“This is of most concern to him. I think the public is a close second. And anyone who has ever hired a lawyer a close third,” she said.

Federal agents seized records on a variety of subjects in raids Monday on Cohen’s Manhattan office, apartment and hotel room, including payments that were made in 2016 to women who might have damaging information about Trump.

The court hearing Friday didn’t provide new insight into why agents seized the items, but the judge, prosecutors and the attorneys all spoke openly about an investigation that previously has been shrouded in secrecy.

Wood adjourned the hearing until 2 p.m. It was unclear whether that session will be open or closed to the public. The judge said sealing the proceedings might be needed to protect “the privacy interests of potentially innocent people.”

FBI and Justice Department officials have refused to say what crimes they are investigating, but people familiar with the investigation have told The Associated Press the search warrant used in the raids sought bank records, business records on Cohen’s dealing in the taxi industry, Cohen’s communications with the Trump campaign and information on payments made to a former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, and a porn actress, Stephanie Clifford, who performs under the name Stormy Daniels. Both women say they had affairs with Trump.

Clifford’s lawyer, Michael Avenatti, was in the audience for the court session and asked the judge to be heard at 2 p.m.

“We have every reason to believe that some of the documents seized relate to my client,” he said.

Cohen has denied wrongdoing.

Trump has called the raids a “witch hunt,” “an attack on our country,” and a violation of rules that ordinarily make attorney client communications confidential.

Those confidentiality rules can be set aside under certain circumstances if investigators have evidence that a crime has been committed.

Public corruption prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan are trying to determine, according to one person familiar with the investigation, if there was any fraud related to payments to McDougal and Clifford.

McDougal was paid $150,000 in the summer of 2016 by the parent company of the National Enquirer under an agreement that gave it the exclusive rights to her story, which it never published.Cohen said he paid Daniels $130,000 in exchange for her silence about her claim to have had a one-night-stand with Trump.

The White House has consistently said Trump denies either affair.
…

Lawyers for President Donald Trump and his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, told a federal judge in New York on Friday that they believe some of the documents and devices seized from Cohen during an FBI raid are protected by attorney-client privilege, and they want a chance to review the items before prosecutors get to examine them.

In the hour-long court hearing, U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood said Cohen’s lawyers have asked to “take the first cut at identifying documents that are relevant or not relevant to the investigation.”

An attorney for the president, Joanna Hendon, appeared as well, telling the judge Trump has “an acute interest in this matter.”

“This is of most concern to him. I think the public is a close second. And anyone who has ever hired a lawyer a close third,” she said.

Federal agents seized records on a variety of subjects in raids Monday on Cohen’s Manhattan office, apartment and hotel room, including payments that were made in 2016 to women who might have damaging information about Trump.

The court hearing Friday didn’t provide new insight into why agents seized the items, but the judge, prosecutors and the attorneys all spoke openly about an investigation that previously has been shrouded in secrecy.

Wood adjourned the hearing until 2 p.m. It was unclear whether that session will be open or closed to the public. The judge said sealing the proceedings might be needed to protect “the privacy interests of potentially innocent people.”

FBI and Justice Department officials have refused to say what crimes they are investigating, but people familiar with the investigation have told The Associated Press the search warrant used in the raids sought bank records, business records on Cohen’s dealing in the taxi industry, Cohen’s communications with the Trump campaign and information on payments made to a former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, and a porn actress, Stephanie Clifford, who performs under the name Stormy Daniels. Both women say they had affairs with Trump.

Clifford’s lawyer, Michael Avenatti, was in the audience for the court session and asked the judge to be heard at 2 p.m.

“We have every reason to believe that some of the documents seized relate to my client,” he said.

Cohen has denied wrongdoing.

Trump has called the raids a “witch hunt,” “an attack on our country,” and a violation of rules that ordinarily make attorney client communications confidential.

Those confidentiality rules can be set aside under certain circumstances if investigators have evidence that a crime has been committed.

Public corruption prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan are trying to determine, according to one person familiar with the investigation, if there was any fraud related to payments to McDougal and Clifford.

McDougal was paid $150,000 in the summer of 2016 by the parent company of the National Enquirer under an agreement that gave it the exclusive rights to her story, which it never published.Cohen said he paid Daniels $130,000 in exchange for her silence about her claim to have had a one-night-stand with Trump.

The White House has consistently said Trump denies either affair.
…