Articles Written By: Abby Phillip

Trump adds another lawyer to his Russia investigation team

President Trump has hired prominent defense lawyer John Dowd to join his legal team amidst multiple probes into Russian interference in the 2016 election and reported allegations of obstruction of justice. Dowd, who has represented clients in cases involving the Justice Department and the Senate Ethics Committee, will join Trump’s legal team, which is led by […]

Trump appears to confirm obstruction investigation, attack Rosenstein in morning tweet rant

June 16, 2017

Abby Phillip

President Trump fired off tweets Friday morning attacking the special counsel's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, and apparently, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein. I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June […]

Mulvaney defends proposed cuts to climate research and poverty programs, deeming them wasteful or ineffective

March 16, 2017

Abby Phillip

The White House strongly defended President Trump's budget, which proposes deep cuts to domestic spending, including programs aimed at aiding the poor and funding scientific research. Budget director Mick Mulvaney stated broadly that the budget was intended to defund areas of the government that had been deemed wasteful or ineffective in the interest of being […]

Trump can’t hide how eager he is to be finished with the health-care debate

March 15, 2017

Abby Phillip

NASHVILLE — It took more than 25 minutes into his speech here for President Trump to make his pitch in support of the biggest legislative fight facing his administration: repealing and replacing Obamacare. “I want to get to taxes, I want to cut the hell out of taxes,’ Trump said by way of introduction. “But before I […]

Spicer denies Trump leaked his own tax returns, slams ‘desperate’ NBC News

March 15, 2017

Abby Phillip

White House press secretary Sean Spicer slammed NBC News on Wednesday for publishing two pages of Trump's 2005 tax returns and denied a suggestion that the president leaked the document. NBC “sat there and speculated openly and asked guests and pushed a narrative about whether the president was behind this," Spicer told reporters on Air Force […]

Trump ‘confident’ that Justice Dept. will find evidence to back up wiretapping claim, Spicer says

March 14, 2017

Abby Phillip

President Trump is “extremely confident” that the Justice Department will find evidence to back up his claim that former president Barack Obama “had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower” during the presidential campaign, even as the White House seeks to discourage the public from taking the president's comments literally. White House press secretary Sean Spicer […]

FBI Director Comey asked Justice officials to refute Trump’s unproven wiretapping claim

March 5, 2017

Abby Phillip

FBI Director James B. Comey asked the Justice Department this weekend to issue a statement refuting President Trump’s claim that President Barack Obama ordered a wiretap of Trump’s phones before the election, according to U.S. officials, but the department did not do so. Comey made the request Saturday after Trump accused Obama on Twitter of […]

Hackers accessed a private email account Pence used for official business as Indiana governor

March 2, 2017

Abby Phillip

Vice President Pence used a private email account that was later compromised while he served as governor of Indiana, his office confirmed Thursday. The existence of the account was first reported by the Indy Star, which obtained copies of Pence's emails through a Freedom of Information request. The paper reported that Pence used the account […]

Trump has ‘total’ confidence in Jeff Sessions amid calls for attorney general’s resignation

March 2, 2017

Abby Phillip

President Trump said Thursday that he has “total” confidence in Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has come under fire for not disclosing his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States during his Senate confirmation hearing. Speaking aboard the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford in Newport News, Va., Trump told reporters that he was not […]

Trump calls on Venezuela to release political prisoner after meeting with Rubio

February 15, 2017

Abby Phillip

President Trump called on Venezuela to release a prominent political prisoner, Leopoldo López, after meeting with López's wife and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) at the White House on Wednesday night. Trump tweeted the declaration of support along with a photo of López's wife, Lilian Tintori, Vice President Pence and Rubio after their White House dinner. “Venezuela […]