President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, admitted Thursday he had lied to Congress about a Moscow real estate deal he had pursued on Trump's behalf during the heat of the 2016 presidential campaign.

The guilty plea makes clear that prosecutors believe that Trump, who insisted repeatedly throughout the campaign that he had no business dealings in Russia, was continuing to pursue the project weeks after he had clinched the Republican nomination for president and well after he or his associates have publicly acknowledged.

The negotiations about building a Trump Tower in Moscow continued as late as June 2016 - the same month Trump's oldest son met in Manhattan with a Kremlin-connected lawyer - even though Cohen told two congressional committees last year that they ended that January.

"Cohen lied about the extent of his conversations not only with people in the Trump Organization about this deal, but that they went on a lot longer further into the campaign than we previously knew," explains AP reporter Chad Day.

Cohen also discussed the proposal with Trump on multiple occasions and with unidentified members of the president's family, according to court papers filed by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the presidential election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign.

Prosecutors say Cohen is cooperating with Mueller and has met with his team seven times.

"What this shows is that he has been providing a significant amount of information to their investigation, that they do consider it to be material to what they're investigating and pursuing. And so I think that we're just scratching the surface right now about what Michael Cohen may have told them," Day says.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 29 November 2018

1. Michael Cohen and his attorney walk down steps of courthouse after guilty plea

ELIZABETH WILLIAMS - MUST CREDIT ELIZABETH WILLIAMS

New York - 29 November 2018

2. Sketch of Michael Cohen sitting in court

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 29 November 2018

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"What happened today is that Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former fixer and longtime attorney, appeared in a courtroom in New York and pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the extent of a Russia, a deal that the president's company, the Trump organization, was planning to do to build a Trump Tower Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 29 November 2018

4. Michael Cohen and his attorney walk down steps of courthouse after guilty plea

POOL

Fletcher, North Carolina - 21 October 2016

5. Donald Trump walks into campaign rally

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 29 November 2018

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"Cohen lied about the extent of his conversations not only with people in the Trump Organization about this deal, but that they went on a lot longer further into the campaign than we previously knew. He also, what we learned from the court papers is that he actually personally discussed this deal with the president, who was then a candidate at the time and also briefed his family members about it. So what we're getting from these new court documents is a much more vivid picture of how far along this deal went and who knew about the deal while they were also doing, you know carrying out the presidential campaign."

7. President Donald Trump walks out to talk to reporters before leaving for Argentina

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 21 September 2018

8. Michael Cohen walks out of court with his lawyer

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Washington - 29 November 2018

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"The president is acknowledging that this was a deal and we've known that there was a deal. Michael Cohen disclosed that this deal existed and that there were talks about this building that would go, that would be built in Russia. But the new part of this is that the president's personal involvement in it and how much he knew and when. And also, you know if we're looking at kind of going forward that Michael Cohen has cooperated extensively with the special counsel investigation. One big issue now for the president is that he recently provided written statements to questions about his interactions with Russia, his campaign's interaction with Russia that could have touched on this subject. We don't know for sure but if there's any inconsistency between what Mueller says is true in these court papers based on their evidence and what the president says that could be a problem for him."

10. President Trump walks away from talking to press, waits for First Lady Melania Trump on South Lawn

11 . SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"What we knew about Michael Cohen before is that he had pleaded guilty to a number of different crimes including campaign finance violations related to hush money payments that have been paid on the president's behalf to former Playboy model and also Stormy Daniels, a porn star. And so this is now kind of connecting that Cohen case which previously didn't have a Russia connection to the special counsel's investigation. And so what this shows is that he has been providing a significant amount of information to their investigation, that they do consider it to be material to what they're investigating and pursuing. And so I think that we're just scratching the surface right now about what Michael Cohen may have told them."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 2 July 2018

11. Michael Cohen walking down the street in New York

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 29 November 2018

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"It's really hard to tell now kind of where this goes. What, what we're able to see is that this is a very active part of their investigation, that you know, it's not just about Paul Manafort and his business deals. It's not just about Michael Flynn and lies that he may have told or that he did tell during, about his interactions with Russia. That there is a very active investigation, a criminal investigation into whether or not there was contact between Trump associates and Russians during the 2016 campaign. And while this doesn't have anything directly to do with collusion or any question of that, this does show that someone who was a high placed official at the Trump organization, very close to the president, was discussing a business deal with even officials in the Kremlin during the time where the president was you know, leading a very public campaign for office."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 29 November 2018

13. Michael Cohen and his attorney walk down steps of courthouse after guilty plea and toward press

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Washington DC - 23 May 2017

14. Paul Manafort, gets out of car and walks into US District courthouse

POOL

Washington, DC - 20 January, 2017

15. Michael Flynn arrives at inauguration

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New York - July 2018

16. Trump Tower exteriors

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New York - 30 May, 2018

17. Michael Cohen walks toward courthouse

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cleveland, Ohio - 21 July 2016

18. Paul Manafort with President Donald Trump at the RNC rehearsal

"Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders made a surprise visit to the Apollo Theater on April 4th 2019 in New York for an event honoring Harry Belafonte and Tony Bennett.

It was the Jazz Foundation's 'Great Night in Harlem' annual gala, but the day also marked another significant anniversary.

""This is also a night that we remember the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and one of the great leaders in American history who died, as we'll never forget helping sanitation workers get some dignity in their lives,"" Sanders said.

King was fatally shot outside his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4th 1968 by James Earl Ray, He was sentenced to 99 years, and died in prison in 1998.

Sanders recounted the great strides Dr. King made toward racial harmony, but agrees that tolerance has lost steps over the past couple of years.

As for the reason, Sanders pulled no punches.

""We have a president, and I say this without any joy in my heart, who is a racist. It's hard to believe that we have a president of the United States who is in fact, a racist,"" Sanders said.

That's why Sanders claims eradicating racism is a high priority for him, if elected to the nation's highest office.

""As president of the United States, what I would be doing is bringing our people together to create a nation that works for all of us, and not just the one-percent. To deal with the racism and the disparities that exists, not only between the rich and the poor, but between whites and blacks. And that would certainly be a major priority of a Sanders administration,"" he said

***

Public at last, special counsel Robert Mueller's report revealed to a waiting nation April 18th that President Donald Trump had tried to seize control of the Russia probe and force Mueller's removal to stop him from investigating potential obstruction of justice by the president.

In a previously unreported episode, the report revealed that in June 2017, Trump directed then-White House counsel Don McGahn to call the acting attorney general and say that Mueller must be ousted because he had conflicts of interest.

McGahn refused, deciding that he would rather resign than trigger what he regarded as a potential Saturday Night Massacre of Watergate fame.

For all of that, Mueller said he could not conclusively determine that Trump had committed criminal obstruction of justice.

The Justice Department posted the report online April 18th, 90 minutes after Attorney General William Barr offered his own final assessment of the findings.

***

On May 6th President Donald Trump's ex-lawyer and fixer has left his Manhattan home before starting a three-year prison sentence for crimes including campaign finance violations related to hush-money payments made on Trump's behalf.

Michael Cohen was expected to report later on May 6th at the Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville, a prison 70 miles northwest of New York City.

He paused briefly outside the building and spoke to a media throng, saying he looks forward to the day when he can ""share the truth.""

Then he was escorted to a waiting vehicle and driven away.

***

Trade talks between China and the U.S. continued on May 10th in Washington despite new tariffs the U.S. imposed on $200 billion in Chinese imports and Beijing's vow to retaliate.

Negotiators are trying to resolve the standoff after the United States raised tariffs on Chinese imports, escalating tensions between the world's two biggest economies and rattling stock markets around the world.

Earlier in the week, top U.S. trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin accused the Chinese of reneging on commitments they'd made earlier, throwing the trade talks into disarray.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Beijing is hoping the Trump administration will meet China ""halfway"" in the dispute over trade.

***

U.S. and Chinese negotiators held trade talks May 10th under increasing pressure after President Donald Trump raised tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods and Beijing promised to retaliate, escalating a battle over China's technology ambitions.

The Trump administration raised duties on nearly half of Chinese imports to 25% from 10%. China's Commerce Ministry said it would impose ""necessary countermeasures"" but gave no details.

The increase went ahead even after American and Chinese negotiators began more talks in Washington aimed at ending a dispute that has disrupted billions of dollars in trade and shaken global financial markets. The lead Chinese negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He, left the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative about midday, but it was not immediately clear whether talks had ended.

***

On May 29th Chinese tech giant Huawei filed a motion in a US court challenging the constitutionality of a law that limits its sales of telecom equipment.

The motion is the latest action in the company's ongoing clash with the US government.

During a press briefing on May 28th in Beijing, Huawei's chief legal officer Song Liuping said his company had filed a motion for summary judgment asking the court to rule on whether it is constitutional for the US to implement a military spending provision that bars the government and its contractors from using Huawei equipment.

Song accused US politicians of ""using the strength of an entire nation to come after a private company.""

Two weeks ago, the US Commerce Department placed Huawei on its ""Entity List,"" effectively barring US firms from selling its technology without government approval.

Song said this action sets a ""dangerous precedent"" for other companies and could harm Huawei's three billion customers around the world.

Huawei relies heavily on US components, including computer chips, and about one-third of its suppliers are American.

The move has already affected the company's US partnerships.

Song also denied Washington's claim that Huawei threatens international cybersecurity.

***

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump doesn't know right from wrong and is ""indifferent to law and any sense of ethics about who we are as a country.""

The top House Democrat said June 13th that when Trump says he's open to accepting information from a foreign power against a political opponent he is ignoring his oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution.

She said that ""it's a very sad thing, a very sad thing that he does not know right from wrong.""

Pelosi is one of Trump's leading antagonists. But she is taking a slow, cautious approach when many in her party are demanding an impeachment inquiry.

She says ""everybody in the country should be totally appalled"" by Trump's remarks to ABC News.

Trump told ABC on June 12th that if a foreign power were offering dirt on his 2020 opponent, he'd be open to accepting it and would have no obligation to call in the FBI.

***

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, whose tenure was marked by a breakdown in regular press briefings and questions about the administration's credibility, as well as her own, will leave her post at the end of the June, President Donald Trump announced June 18th.

Sanders is one of Trump's closest and most trusted White House aides and one of the few remaining on staff who worked on his campaign.

""After 3 1/2 years, our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the June and going home to the Great State of Arkansas,"" Trump tweeted just before she accompanied him to a White House event on prison reform.

Trump suggesting her as a future candidate for Arkansas governor. ""She would be fantastic.""

Under Sanders' tenure, regular White House press briefings became a relic of the past. She has not held a formal briefing since March 11th.

Reporters often catch her on the White House driveway after she is interviewed by Fox News Channel and other TV news outlets.

Her credibility has also come under question.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report revealed that Sanders admitted to investigators that she had made an unfounded claim about ""countless"" FBI agents reaching out to express support for Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey in May 2017.

Sanders succeeded Sean Spicer, Trump's first press secretary, in mid-2017.

***

US President Donald Trump kicked off his re-election campaign June 18th with a grievance-filled Florida rally that focused more on settling scores than laying out his agenda for the next four years.

Trump spent much of the first portion of his speech attacking the press, the political establishment and Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation into Russian election interference.

Trump complained he had been ""under assault from the very first day"" of his presidency by a ""fake news media"" and ""illegal witch hunt"" that had tried to keep him and his supporters down.

And he painted a disturbing picture of what life would look like if he loses in 2020, accusing his critics of ""un-American conduct"" and telling the crowd that Democrats ""want to destroy you and they want to destroy our country as we know it.""

The apocalyptic language and finger-pointing made clear that Trump's 2020 campaign is likely to look a whole lot like his improbably successful runs four years ago.

And he appeared eager for a re-run of 2016, spending considerable time focused on his former Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, who elicited """"Lock her up!"" chants, even though she is not on the ballot.

00:02:55:15"

"00:00:00

Sanders: 'We have a president who is a racist'

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York, 4 April 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Bernie Sanders, (I) Presidential candidate, on racism and the president:

(Reporter: With all the strides we've made toward racial justice and harmony, a lot of that in the last couple of years has taken steps back. What would you do to make it better?)

"" It's hard to believe that we have a president of the United States who is in fact, a racist.

00:04:22

A redacted version of Mueller's report is released

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 18 April 2019

2. STILL IMAGE - Special counsel Robert Mueller's report

00:11:05

Michael Cohen heads to prison

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++CLIENTS NOTE: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE CAN BE HEARD IN BROLL++

New York - 6 May 2019

3. Michael Cohen exiting apartment building to speak to media

4. Cohen making his way to a waiting car++EXPLICIT LANGUAGE++

00:30:08

China US trade talks resume in Washington

4210324

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 10 May 2019

5. U.S. trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin greeting Liu He, Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China outside the office of the USTR, they all walk inside

00:37:03

B-roll of goods made in China

4210369

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 10 May 2019

6. Black + Decker drill

7. Made in China on drill

8. Medium of Apple laptop computers

9. Assembled in China on laptop

00:54:10

Huawei asks court to deem US law unconstitutional

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Beijing - 29 May 2019

10. Wide of Huawei's chief legal officer Song Liuping walking to podium

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Song Liuping, Huawei chief legal officer:

""Just now, we filed a motion for summary judgement. By doing this we hope that the court can issue a judgment in the fastest and the most efficient way, declare restrictions on Huawei as unconstitutional

01:20:20

Pelosi: Trump doesn't know right from wrong

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 13 June 2019

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House

""Yesterday the president gave us, once again, evidence that he does not know right from wrong. It's a very sad and very sad thing that he does not know right from wrong.""

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House

"" The intelligence community, with great confidence has put forth that the Russians interfered in our election. That's an assault on our democracy, an assault on our democracy. This president says, it's a hoax. He takes an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. But, I guess it doesn't include him in terms of being to be held accountable to obey the law.""

02:02:23

Sarah Sanders to leave White House

4215792

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 9 October 2018

14. President Donald Trump walking with Sarah Sanders on the White House South Lawn

02:11:03

Trump: Radical Democrats 'want to destroy you'

4216511

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Orlando, Florida - 18 June 2019

15. Wide shot of Trump on stage at rally

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, U.S. President:

No collusion and the facts that led our great attorney general to determine no obstruction. No collusion, no obstruction and they spent 40 million dollars on this witch hunt, 40 million dollars.""

17. Crowd

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, U.S. President:

"" Our radical Democrat opponents are driven by hatred, prejudice and rage. They want to destroy you and they want to destroy our country as we know it. Not acceptable. It's not going to happen.""

"

Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice, Attorney General William Barr declared. That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of political and legal fighting.

Trump cheered the Sunday outcome but also laid bare his resentment after two years of investigations that have shadowed his administration. "It's a shame that our country has had to go through this. To be honest, it's a shame that your president has had to go through this," he said.

Democrats pointed out that Mueller found evidence for and against obstruction and demanded to see his full report. They insisted that even the summary by the president's attorney general hardly put him in the clear.

Mueller's conclusions, summarized by Barr in a four-page letter to Congress, represented a victory for Trump on a key question that has hung over his presidency from the start: Did his campaign work with Russia to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton? That was further good news for the president on top of the Justice Department's earlier announcement that Mueller had wrapped his investigation without new indictments. The resolution also could deflate the hopes of Democrats in Congress and on the 2020 campaign trail that incriminating findings from Mueller would hobble the president's agenda and re-election bid.

But while Mueller was categorical in ruling out criminal collusion, he was more circumspect on presidential obstruction of justice. Despite Trump's claim of total exoneration, Mueller did not draw a conclusion one way or the other on whether he sought to stifle the Russia investigation through his actions including the firing of former FBI director James Comey.

According to Barr's summary, Mueller set out "evidence on both sides of the question" and stated that "while this report does not conclude the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Barr, who was nominated by Trump in December, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in May 2017 and oversaw much of his work, went further in Trump's favor.

The attorney general said he and Rosenstein had determined that Mueller's evidence was insufficient to prove in court that Trump had committed obstruction of justice to hamper the probe. Barr has previously voiced a broad view of presidential powers, and in an unsolicited memo last June he cast doubt on whether the president could have obstructed justice through acts — like firing his FBI director — that he was legally empowered to take.

Barr said their decision was based on the evidence uncovered by Mueller and not affected by Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted.

Washington, D.C. - 24 March 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"So perhaps the most significant finding out of the special counsel's report today is that special counsel  Mueller did not find any evidence of criminal conspiracy between anyone associated with the Trump campaign and Russia. That is there's no quote unquote collusion that is prosecutable in any way between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. And that is the question that has been hovering over this investigation from the start. So that's a big victory for the president. it's a really unequivocal victory. The other interesting finding of note is on the question of whether the President obstructed justice. And here it's a little bit more complicated. In this particular aspect than the investigation the special counsel did not reach a conclusion one way or the other as to whether the President obstructed justice. Instead, according to Attorney General Barr who summarized these findings,  Mueller presented evidence on both sides of the ledger for these different episodes involving Trump's behavior that were examined, and then did not reach a conclusion one way or the other. However Barr said that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had reached their own conclusion based on Mueller's evidence and determined that it was insufficient to establish obstruction of justice."

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"So the letter today from the attorney general, it's a four page letter, it marks the conclusion, the real end conclusion of the special counsel's investigation. We  expect to hear more details of what the special counsel found in coming days and weeks."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

3 . SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"The major investigation that concerns the president right now is taking place in New York City. That's an investigation into hush money payments that were made to two women, one a former Playboy model, the other a porn star, who both say they had sex with the president about a decade before he was elected. And both received money during the campaign effectively to not come forward with their allegations. Prosecutors in New York City, in southern district of New York, are investigating whether that's a campaign finance violation. The president's been implicated in wrongdoing by his former lawyer Michael Cohen. It's not yet clear what's going to happen with that investigation."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"I think the main takeaway actually is going to be how unsatisfied Democrats are. This is a four page summary of what appears to be a very lengthy, very detailed report from the special counsel. And there is a suggestion in this letter that the special counsel did find evidence in at least some of the episodes he examined of potential obstruction of justice and simply did not reach a conclusion. So if you're a Democrat on Capitol Hill right now, you want access to all of the special counsel's work and you want the American public to see all of the evidence he gathered and his underlying report.  And so we can expect going forward, that is going to be the next big legal front is this fight between Congress and the Justice Department over how much of Muller's two years of work the public has to see. Especially because on the question of obstruction, it's clear that Mueller did indicate that there's a there there. He just didn't reach a conclusion one way or the other so that's given hope to Democrats that they want to see more."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"The regulations actually do not stipulate that the report is made public. That's a judgment call. It's what the regulations actually mandate is that a confidential report is delivered by the special counsel to the attorney general, who oversees his work. So in this case that would be Mueller to Barr.  And then it is possible that a document could be made public. But you have to imagine, and we know this for sure in this case, that this is a document that concerns grand jury information, perhaps classified information. That's a complicated process to scrub that document of any potential issues, executive privilege issues. And that's going to take some time."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"It is important to take stock of this moment that this is a pretty significant victory in terms of this collusion, or no collusion finding I should say, between the president and Russia and the special counsel according to Barr was pretty unequivocal about that. And so the president, we can expect him to rightfully claim victory and based on what we know from the special counsel's findings, that perhaps seems justified on that front. However there is a reference that is interesting and that is multiple offers from people connected to Russia,  Russian associates two individuals associated with the Trump campaign, offering help. We suspect that's a reference to the Trump Tower meeting that took place in June 2016 between Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin connected lawyer. He took that meeting with the expectation of receiving dirt on Hillary Clinton that could be used in weaponized during the campaign. We also know that a former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos had a meeting in London where he learned from a professor that Russia had dirt on Clinton in the form of thousands of stolen e-mails. So we suspect that Mueller's making reference to that, the fact that there are these multiple overtures of help from people connected to Russia. But there's no evidence or no allegation even that either of those two sides worked together. And that's a significant conclusion."

Washington, D.C. - 11 November 2018

7. Still - Donald Trump Jr. (Partly covers Soundbite #6)

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

Washington, D.C. - 24 March 2019

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"As it relates to the question of collusion, we do have a definitive answer from the special counsel and ostensibly endorsed by the attorney general that there was no collusion. We've heard that from the president for the last two years. That is the central finding and take away from this four page summary that there was indeed no collusion, no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign on one hand and the criminal in the Kremlin on the other to get Trump elected."

++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES++

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, The Associated Press:

"It is possible that House Democrats could come up with a different conclusion on the on the collusion question. It's not clear how readily embraced by the American public. That would be because the special counsel is regarded as the ultimate arbiter of, with subpoena power, evidence, ability to criminally prosecute, so he's regarded as the final voice. So it's not clear whether the American public will accept if  Mueller says no collusion and House Democrats say otherwise."

++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++

Following a hearing with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday, many Senators seemed dissatisfied with the tech mogul's testimony.

Zuckerberg disclosed Tuesday his company is "working with" special counsel Robert Mueller in the federal probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign — and working hard to change its own operations after the harvesting of users' private information by a Trump campaign-affiliated data-mining company.

"We have to continue to press Facebook, continue to press Mr. Zuckerberg," said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., after the hearing.

The founder of the social media giant publicly apologized for his company's errors in failing to better protect the personal information of its millions of users, a controversy that has brought a flood of bad publicity and sent the company's stock value plunging.

"I'm not yet satisfied that we've got an accounting for why Facebook took so long to be fully transparent with the public about what happened with Cambridge Analytica," said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware.

Coons also criticized President Donald Trump for tweets he made Tuesday accusing Special Counsel Robert Mueller of violating attorney-client privilege.

"My concern is that as this investigation gets closer and closer to him or his family or his attorney, he is more likely to take some abrupt and unwise action," he said.

Washington - April 10, 2018

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Ed Markey, (D) Massachusetts

"In my opinion, we have to continue to press Facebook continue to press Mr. Zuckerberg. It should be the parents of America not Facebook who determine whether or not children's information is resold to third parties. That should be a fundamental privacy bill of rights for young people in our country. I think that's why most Americans are watching. They want to know the answer to these questions. Everything that happened in Cambridge Analytica is something that then raises questions in American families about what protections they have, what protections their children have."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Ed Markey, (D) Massachusetts

"I hope that he provides all of the information which the Mueller investigation is requiring. I think it's absolutely indispensable that the American people have every bit of information out in public which makes it possible for them to determine whether or not there was, in fact, an interference with the election of 2016. It's a sacred institution that we fought the American Revolution to protect. And Facebook should provide every bit of information which is necessary for them to be able in the Mueller investigation to get the answers for the American people."

3. Sen. Dick Durbin enters

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Dick Durbin, (D) Illinois

"There is a genuine concern with the decision by the U.S. attorney of the Southern District of New York to go into Mr. Cohen's law offices and private residence. This is getting closer and closer to the President, and we hope he does not over-react. Leaders within the Republican Party has said consistently that he should not fire Bob Mueller."

5. Wide of Sen. Chris Coons

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Chris Coons, (D) Delaware

"I'm not yet satisfied that we've got an accounting for why Facebook took so long to be fully transparent with the public about what happened with Cambridge Analytica."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK++

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Chris Coons, (D) Delaware

"I think this will be the first of several important hearings that will allow the American people to better understand the ways in which their personal data has been monetized, and in some cases misused by important social media platforms like Facebook and others. While I was encouraged by the positive statements made by Mr. Zuckerberg at the beginning of the hearing, in my questioning I try to point out to him that there have been many cases where profits seem to be put ahead of privacy."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK++

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Chris Coons, (D) Delaware

"President Trump has made a number of really disturbing statements in recent days -- particularly following a Department of Justice and FBI raid on his personal attorney Michael Cohen's home and office. And more and more, President Trump is saying things about his view that Robert Mueller's investigation is a witch hunt that the attorney general Jeff Sessions shouldn't have recused himself. Now we know full well that months ago President Trump was determined to fire Robert Mueller and was only stopped by his own White House counsel Don McGahn threatening to resign. My concern is that as this investigation gets closer and closer to him or his family or his attorney he is more likely to take some abrupt abrupt and unwise action on a bipartisan basis, Republicans and Democrats have said in the Senate don't do that. It's not in our country's interest. It's not in your interest."

++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK++

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Bill Nelson (D) Florida

"But my personal information -- I don't want the Russians to have it, I don't want commercial users to have it. My personally identifiable private information ought to be private to me."

STORYLINE:

Former US President Barack Obama endorsed Joe Biden on April 14th, giving the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee a boost from the party's biggest fundraiser and one of its most popular figures.

"This is a big deal for Biden because it helps him create some momentum, " says Julie Pace, Associated Press Washington Bureau Chief.

The endorsement marked Obama's return to presidential politics more than three years after leaving the White House.

He didn't mention his successor, President Donald Trump, by name and instead sought to bridge the ideological divide among Democrats.

"He's eager to get out there. He is eager to start drawing the contrast with Donald Trump, Pace said. "This is basically what he's been waiting for."

Biden now has the support of all of his former Democratic primary rivals except for Elizabeth Warren.

The Massachusetts senator is expected to formally endorse Biden soon, according to a person familiar with her plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss her thinking.

Two other prominent Democrats who have yet to publicly back Biden are former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, the party's 2016 nominee.

Hillary Clinton has been in regular touch with Biden, including several times since Sanders dropped out of the race, according to an aide.

Obama avoided intervening in the Democratic primary, but followed the race closely from the sidelines and is eager to take a more active public role.

He's expected to headline fundraisers for Biden and public events in key swing states, if such gatherings can still be held given social distancing guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic.

After his endorsement was released, Obama sent a fundraising appeal to Biden supporters, asking for donations ranging from $5 to $100.

The endorsement will test whether Obama can transfer his personal popularity to Biden.

While the former president is seen favorably by a wide swath of Democratic voters, he was also a deeply polarizing figure during his two terms in office.

During his presidency, Democrats lost about 1,000 legislative seats around the country, starting with disastrous 2010 midterms that also cost the party control of the House and many statehouses.

***

ASIAN AMERICANS ACTORS ON CALLING COVID-19 'THE 'CHINESE VIRUS': MAKING THIS BLANKET STATEMENT IS BAD

President Trump has stopped calling COVID-19 the "Chinese Virus" but some believe the damage is already done.

"I felt like it was a very uneducated statement," said TV personality Jeannie Mai, who was born in the United States to a Vietnamese mother and a Chinese father. "I think you have to be very responsible when you choose terminology to give people an idea of what to picture, what to visualize."

"The Good Doctor" actor Will Yun Lee, who was born in the U.S. to Korean parents, said blaming a group of people is dangerous because it only encourages xenophobia and racism.

"Making this blanket statement is bad. People take it the way they're going to take it. And unfortunately a lot of people have taken it to associate it to anybody who looks like me or is Asian-American or whatever Asian ethnicity you are. It becomes like the word 'chink,' right? It's a very harsh word."

Trump isn't the only person who has referred to COVID-19 in this way.

Earlier in April, TV host Bill Maher defended the notion of calling coronavirus the "Chinese Virus" on his HBO show, "Real Time with Bill Maher," saying it's logical because that's where it originated.

"Tigertail" and "The Farewell" actor Tzi Ma, who was born in Hong Kong and moved to the U.S. as a child, responded to Maher's statement saying, "For the moment it could be funny. For the moment it could give you some gratification or satisfaction by saying it. However you have to remember that there are ramifications."

Nico Santos of the NBC comedy "Superstore" was born in the Philippines and moved to the U.S. as a teen. He said this blame mentality rears its head whenever there is fear a community.

"We saw the same sort of thing happen when when the AIDS crisis was happening. People directed that sort of like fear and hate towards the LGBTQ community. When 9/11 happened, there was a lot of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiment. Even people who actually weren't Muslim or who weren't of Middle Eastern descent, who said, if you just look like you work, if you're basically you looked like you were brown or maybe came from that part of the world, you all of sudden, you know, bore the brunt of that of that hate."

***

The Justice Department on May 7th said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for Trump and his supporters in attacking the FBI's Russia investigation.

The move is a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. It comes even though prosecutors for the last three years had maintained that Flynn had lied to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in a January 2017 interview. Flynn himself admitted as much, and became a key cooperator for Mueller as he investigated ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.

In court documents being filed May 7th, the Justice Department said it is dropping the case "after a considered review of all the facts and circumstances of this case, including newly discovered and disclosed information." The documents were obtained by The Associated Press.

The Justice Department said it had concluded that Flynn's interview by the FBI was "untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI's counterintelligence investigation into Mr. Flynn" and that the interview on January 24, 2017 was "conducted without any legitimate investigative basis."

The U.S. attorney reviewing the Flynn case, Jeff Jensen, recommended the move to Attorney General William Barr last week and formalized the recommendation in a document this week.

The decision was quickly embraced by Trump, who has relentlessly tweeted about the case and last week pronounced Flynn "exonerated," and energized supporters who have taken up the retired Army lieutenant general as something of a cause celebre. But it may also add to Democratic concerns that Attorney General William Barr is excessively loyal to the president, and could be a distraction for a Justice Department that for months has sought to focus on crimes arising from the coronavirus.

The Justice Department's action comes amid an internal review into the handling of the case and an aggressive effort by Flynn's lawyers to challenge the basis for the prosecution. The lawyers cited newly disclosed FBI emails and notes last week to allege that Flynn was entrapped into lying when agents interviewed him at the White House days after Trump's inauguration.

***

Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's onetime presidential campaign chairman who was convicted as part of the special counsel's Russia investigation, has been released from federal prison to serve the rest of his sentence in home confinement due to concerns about the coronavirus.

Manafort, 71, was released May 13th from FCI Loretto, a low-security prison in Pennsylvania, according to his attorney Todd Blanche. Manafort had been serving more than seven years in prison following his conviction.

His lawyers had asked the Bureau of Prisons to release him to home confinement, arguing that he was at high risk for coronavirus because of his age and preexisting medical conditions.

Manafort was hospitalized in December after suffering from a heart-related condition, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press at the time. They were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Manafort was among the first people to be charged in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, which examined possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election campaign.

He was prosecuted in two federal courts, convicted by a jury in federal court in Virginia in 2018 and later pleaded guilty in Washington.

He was sentenced last March and was immediately hit with state charges in New York that could put him outside the president's power to pardon. New York prosecutors have accused him of giving false information on a mortgage loan application.

***

US President Donald Trump's long-time personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen was released from federal prison on May 21st to serve the remainder of his sentence at home, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Cohen had been serving a federal prison sentence at FCI Otisville in New York after pleading guilty to numerous charges, including campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress.

The person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Cohen was released on furlough as part of an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus in federal prisons. Cohen, 53, began serving his sentence last May and originally was scheduled to be released from prison in November 2021.

Prison advocates and congressional leaders have been pressing the Justice Department for weeks to release at-risk inmates, arguing that the public health guidance to stay 6 feet (1.8 meters) away from other people is nearly impossible behind bars.

Attorney General William Barr ordered the Bureau of Prisons in March and April to increase the use of home confinement and expedite the release of eligible high-risk inmates, beginning at three prisons identified as coronavirus hot spots. Otisville is not one of those facilities.

The Bureau of Prisons placed Cohen on furlough as it continues to process a move to home confinement, another person familiar with the matter said.

The agency has the authority to release inmates on furlough for up to 30 days and has been doing so to make sure suitable inmates, who are expected to transition to home confinement, can be moved out of correctional facilities sooner, that person said.

***

Joe Biden blistered President Donald Trump on June 2nd for directing authorities to drive back peaceful protesters outside the White House "in order to stage a photo op."

The former vice president said the commander in chief was "more interested in power than in principle."

Biden was delivering a speech in Philadelphia, addressing the civil unrest across America in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

Biden is also working to elevate his voice in the national debate after more than two months of the campaign for the White House being frozen amid the outbreak of the coronarvius.

He's also looking to provide a stark contrast to Trump who has struck a forceful tone against protests.

***

It's official. After an almost year-long, often tumultuous battle, former Vice President Joe Biden has crossed the finish line, formally clinching the Democratic nomination.

The milestone sets him up for a bruising battle against President Donald Trump that will play out amid the backdrop of a pandemic, economic collapse and civil unrest, a daunting trifecta of challenges Biden hopes to use to his advantage.

"They're some of the sternest challenges our nation has ever faced," Biden said June 5th at an event in Delaware. "They need a president who cares about them, who cares about helping them heal now."

Biden became the presumptive nominee almost two months ago when his last opponent in the primary, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, dropped out of the race.

But he only pulled together the nearly 2-thousand delegates needed to seal the nomination after the latest round of contests this week.

The former vice president's path to the prize wasn't always so clear. While he consistently led the largest primary field in history in the national polls, his campaign looked to be in trouble after a string of losses in the early contests.

He rebounded with a resounding win in South Carolina. From there, he dominated Super Tuesday, launching what turned out to be an insurmountable comeback.

While Biden no longer has to battle Democratic rivals, he has a host of other issues to tackle, from winning over skeptics in his party's left wing to running a campaign essentially out of his Delaware home.

Though Biden has started to venture out more this week, the coronavirus pandemic has largely confined him to his Wilmington, Delaware, home for much of the past three months.

University of Virginia Center for Politics Director Larry Sabato says while that approach may irk his rival, Donald Trump, and challenge political norms, it could be just the right move during this unprecedented campaign year.

"The best strategy for Joe Biden may be a low-key strategy, which fits in pretty well. Do the events that you want to do, organize them from the basement and let Donald Trump deal with the problems. It's actually tougher this year to be the incumbent than it is to be the challenger," Sabato says.

"Most people know that Joe Biden was a two term vice president under Barack Obama and that he opposes, as Obama does, almost everything that Donald Trump has been doing or trying to do. That is enough of a contrast for most voters," Sabato adds.

With his place in the 2020 presidential race now set, all eyes are turning to what could be the most important decision of Biden's five-decade political career: choosing a running mate, something he says he hopes to do by August 1st.

***

The Trump administration is suing former national security adviser John Bolton to block the publication of a book that the White House says contains classified information.

The suit follows warnings from President Donald Trump that Bolton could face a "criminal problem" if he doesn't halt plans to publish the book.

The administration has also said the former adviser did not complete a pre-publication review to ensure that the manuscript did not contain classified material.

Bolton's attorney, Chuck Cooper, has said Bolton worked for months with classification specialists to avoid releasing classified material. He has accused the White House of using national security information as a pretext to censor Bolton.

He has accused the White House of using national security information as a pretext to censor Bolton.

Trump said June 16th Bolton could face a “criminal problem” if he doesn’t halt plans to publish the book.

He said Attorney General William Barr will decide if Bolton will be charged.

***

President Donald Trump “pleaded” with China’s Xi Jinping during a 2019 summit to help his reelection prospects, according to a scathing book by former adviser John Bolton that accuses the president of being driven by political calculations when making national security decisions.

The White House was working furiously to block release of the book, whose China revelations carry echoes of Trump’s efforts to solicit political help from Ukraine that led to his impeachment.

Bolton, Trump's national security adviser for a 17-month period, called Trump's attempt to shift the June 2019 conversation to the US election a stunning move, and wrote that it was among innumerable conversations that “formed a pattern of fundamentally unacceptable behavior that eroded the very legitimacy of the presidency”.

Deeply critical of the president and much of his senior team, Bolton wrote that because staff had served him so poorly, Trump “saw conspiracies behind rocks, and remained stunningly uninformed on how to run the White House, let alone the huge federal government.” He added that while he was at the White House, Trump typically had only two intelligence briefings a week “and in most of those, he spoke at greater length than the briefers, often on matters completely unrelated to the subjects at hand.”

The 577-page book paints an unvarnished portrait of Trump and his administration, lending the most vivid, first-person account yet of how Trump conducts himself in office. Several other former officials have written books, but they have been almost entirely flattering of the president. Other former officials have indicated they were saving their accounts of their time working for Trump until after he left office in order to speak more candidly. The Associated Press obtained a copy of Bolton's book in advance of its release next week.

As for the meeting with the Chinese president in Osaka, Japan, Bolton wrote that Trump told Xi that Democrats were hostile to China.

“He then, stunningly, turned the conversation to the coming U.S. presidential election, alluding to China’s economic capability to affect the ongoing campaigns, pleading with Xi to ensure he’d win,” Bolton said. “He stressed the importance of farmers, and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome.”

The book, titled “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir,” which is set to be released Tuesday by Simon & Schuster, has been the subject of a lengthy battle between Bolton and the White House.

Trump signed legislation June 17th that seeks to punish China for a crackdown on ethnic minorities, even as the Bolton book said the American leader expressed support for the brutal campaign in a private conversation with his Chinese counterpart.

The Uighur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 passed with overwhelming support from Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Trump signed it with no ceremony, issuing a statement in which he said a sanctions provision intruded on executive authority and he would regard it as non-binding.

***

A top White House aide who handles President Donald Trump's trade policy toward China described John Bolton's controversial new book as "revenge porn," and said Bolton took no interest in China policy, despite his position as Trump's national security adviser.

"It's 'Big Lie' Bolton. It's 'Book Deal' Bolton." He's doing it for the money," said Peter Navarro, Trump's director of trade and manufacturing policy.

In his book, Bolton claims that President Donald Trump “pleaded” with China’s Xi Jinping during a 2019 summit to help his reelection prospects,

He also accuses the president of being driven by political calculations when making national security decisions.

The White House has been working furiously to block the book, asking a federal court for an emergency temporary restraining order June 17th against its release.

Navarro said Trump has used tariffs to stand up to China in retaliatation to such Chinese actions as intellectual property theft, militarizing the South China Sea and cracking down on Hong Kong.

"I think there's a consensus now in this government that China is the single greatest strategic and existential threat to this country."

"It's not Russia. It's certainly not Venezuela. It's not Iraq, Iran or Afghanistan issues," Navarro said. "It's China."

"He took no interest in that whatsoever," he said.

***

Supporters of President Donald Trump faced off with anti-racism protesters on June 20th in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the President held a campaign rally.

Black Lives Matter activists flooded the city's downtown streets, and some got into arguments with Trump supporters who were shouting “all lives matter”.

Later in the evening, a group of armed men began following the protesters.

There were no reports of trouble.

02:29:18

00:00:00

Barak Obama gives Biden a boost with endorsement

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ARCHIVE - Washington - 23 March 2010

1. Biden introducing Obama at healthcare law signing

++CONTAINS AUDIO OF EXPLETIVE++ Biden heard saying to Obama: "This is a big f------ deal"

ARCHIVE: Washington - 7 January 2015

2. President Obama speaks in the Oval Office with Vice President Joe Biden

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4:3 FROM SOURCE

ARCHIVE: Chicago - 4 November 2008

3. Various, then President-elect Obama on stage after victory speech with then-Vice President elect Joe Biden

00:13:03

Asian American actors on calling COVID-19 the 'Chinese Virus': 'Having this blanket statement is bad'

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Archive: Washington, DC, 18 March 2020

4. UPSOUND (English) Reporter question:

"Why do you keep calling it the Chinese virus? There are reports of dozens of incidents of bias against Chinese Americans in this country - why do you keep using this?"

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, U.S. President:

"Because it comes from China. It's not racist at all, no.

Los Angeles, 6 April 2020

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeannie Mai, TV Personality - on Trump calling COVID-19 the "Chinese virus":

"It was a very uneducated statement. I think you have to be responsible when you choose terminology to give people an idea of what to picture, what to visualize."

00:38:19

Justice Dept. drops Michael Flynn's criminal case

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Washington, DC - 18 December 2018

7. Michael Flynn leaves courthouse as competing demonstrators chant "lock him up" and "U.S.A."

00:45:16

Manafort released from prison due to virus concerns

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ARCHIVE: Washington, DC - 23 May 2017

8. Former campaign chairman for US President Donald Trump, Paul Manafort leaves courthouse

ARCHIVE: New York - June 27, 2019

9. Paul Manafort in handcuffs walks in hallway of a Manhattan courthouse escorted by court officers

00:54:18

Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen to be released from prison

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ARCHIVE: Washington - 28 February 2019

10. Various of Cohen testifying in Congress

01:05:10

Trump attorney Michael Cohen out of prison

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New York - 21 May 2020

11. Michael Cohen exits vehicle and walks into residence

01:11:19

Biden: Trump more set on 'power than principle'

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Philadelphia - 2 June 2020

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Joe Biden (D) Presidential candidate::

"We can be forgiven for believing the president is more interested in power than in principle, or just in serving the passions of his base than the needs of the people in his care. For that's what the presidency is, the duty to care, to care for all of us, not just those who vote for us, but all of us."

01:37:22

Biden clinches Democratic presidential nomination

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Los Angeles, 3 March 2020

13. Joe Biden walks into rally after winning a number of Super Tuesday contests

Los Angeles, 3 March 2020

14. Biden on stage at California rally after winning a number of Super Tuesday contests

01:46:15

US Justice Dept. sues Bolton to block book release

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ARCHIVE: Washington, DC - 30 September 2019

15. Mid shot of John Bolton walking up to podium

ARCHIVE: Seoul, South Korea - 24 July 2019

16. John Bolton arriving to meet South Korean officials

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Washington, DC - 4 June 2020

17. Mid shot of William Barr at Justice Department news conference

01:59:20

Bolton book: Trump asked China for reelection help

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Washington - 17 June 2020

18. Bolton's book, "The Room Where it Happened"

02:04:03

White House aide calls Bolton book 'revenge porn'

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Washington, DC - 18 June 2020

19. Peter Navarro walking to microphone

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Navarro, Assistant to the President, Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy :

"Look, I knew John Bolton pretty well after he got in here and my take on him. It's big lie Bolton. It's book deal Bolton. He's doing it for the money. That's pretty clear. And my view is it's the Washington swamp's equivalent of revenge porn.

02:19:23

Pro and anti-Trump protests near Tulsa rally

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Tulsa, Oklahoma - 20 June 2020

21. Trump supporters holding banners reading (English) ''Make America Great Again!''

22. Armed men following the protest

Stormy Daniels' lawyer says he has information showing that President Donald Trump's longtime personal attorney received $500,000 from a company associated with a Russian billionaire within months of paying hush money to the porn star who claims a long-ago affair with Trump.

Lawyer Michael Avenatti also said hundreds of thousands of dollars streamed into Trump attorney Michael Cohen's account from companies, including pharmaceutical giant Novartis, AT&T and Korea Aerospace, with U.S. government business interests. Those three companies have confirmed the connection.

Avenatti isn't disclosing the source of his information or releasing documentation. But in a seven-page memo, Avenatti details what he says were wire transfers into and out of the account Cohen used to pay Daniels $130,000 in October 2016 to stay silent about her alleged tryst with Trump in 2006. He denies having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

Financial documents reviewed Tuesday by The Associated Press appeared to back up Avenatti's report.

The memo says Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian billionaire, and his cousin "routed" eight payments totaling approximately $500,000 to Cohen's company, Essential Consultants, between January and August 2017. The reason for the payments was not immediately known.

Avenatti's memo says the deposits into the account controlled by Cohen were made by Columbus Nova, an American investment company headed by Vekselberg's cousin, Andrew Intrater, and affiliated with the Renova Group, which Vekselberg controls.

Andrey Shtorkh, a spokesman for Vekselberg and the Renova Group, said in a statement that "neither Victor Vekselberg nor Renova has ever had any contractual relationship" with Cohen or Essential Consultants.

He said questions about a relationship between Columbus Nova and Cohen would have to be answered by Intrater "because Columbus Nova is a company owned and managed by him."

Columbus Nova's lawyer, Richard Owens, said in a statement the company is "solely owned and controlled by Americans." He said that after Trump's inauguration in January 2017, the company hired Cohen as a business consultant "regarding potential sources of capital and potential investments in real estate and other ventures," but that it had nothing to do with Vekselberg.

Cohen and his lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Cohen is under investigation by federal prosecutors in New York, but hasn't been charged.

At the time of the payments, there was an FBI counterintelligence investigation, which special counsel Robert Mueller took over last May, into Russian election interference and any possible coordination with Trump associates.

New Orleans -  6 May 2009

1. STILL: Stormy Daniels visits a local restaurant in downtown New Orleans

Washington - 9 May 2018

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"Stormy Daniels' attorney kind of dropped a little bit of a bombshell on Twitter where he released a document that included what he said were payments going in and out of a shell company that Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen used."

New York - 13 April 2018

3. STILL: Michael Avenatti, left, attorney and spokesperson for adult film actress Stormy Daniels speaks during a press conference at Federal court

New York - 16 April 2018

4. STILL: Adult film actress Stormy Daniels speaks outside federal court

Washington - 9 May 2018

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"So what's new out of what the information that he posted last night is that there were additional payments going through this shell company that was used to pay Stormy Daniels and what he's highlighting about these payments is that there were some bluechip companies -- AT&T, a pharmaceutical company -- that were paying payments to Michael Cohen that they have since confirmed that they were looking to get his read on the administration."

Washington -19 September 2017

6. STILL: Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, arrives on Capitol Hill

New York - 5 April 2018

7. STILL: Michael Avenatti, lawyer for Stormy Daniels, is interviewed on the floor of the NYSE

Washington - 9 May 2018

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"What they're saying is - we weren't paying him to be a lobbyist, we weren't paying Michael Cohen to actually go and advocate for us - with the administration- which would be something that he would have to register with the government for. Instead what they're saying is that we were paying him to get his views of the administration and to consult on, you know, getting insight into the President."

FILE: New York - 24 October 2016

9. STILL: AT&T logo is positioned above one of its retail stores in New York

Palm Beach, Florida - 17 April 2018

10. STILL: President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sat Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club

Washington - 9 May 2018

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"So another payment that Avenatti pointed out in this document is five hundred thousand dollars that came in a series of payments paid by a company here in the United States. Now this company is connected to a Russian oligarch and Avenatii was trying to point to, or what he has said is that, the account these payments came in after the Stormy Daniels payment and he has suggested that these were payments that were replenishing this 130,000 dollars that went out to her as part of a hush money scheme."

New York - 26 April 2018

12. STILL: Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels' attorney, left, watches as Michael Cohen, center, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, leaves federal court in New York, Thursday, April 26, 2018

New York- 16 April 2018

13. STILL: Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, center, leaves federal court following a hearing

Washington - 9 May 2018

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"Now the company has now come back and said that this oligarch Viktor Vekselberg was not involved in this transaction at all and that he had nothing to do with this and that these were all part of something that this company, this American subsidiary, was trying to do similar to what AT&T and the other companies were doing- paying Michael Cohen for his views on the administration and getting insight into Trump."

Key West, Florida - 19 April 2018

15. STILL: President Donald Trump boards Air Force One before his departure from Naval Air Station Key West in Key West, Fla

New York - 16 April 2018

16. STILL: Adult film actress Stormy Daniels speaks to members of the media after a hearing at federal court

Washington - 9 May 2018

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"So obviously the biggest question here is, you know, were any laws broken. And so there are some allegations in there and we know that Michael Cohen is under investigation for bank fraud and potential campaign finance violations - it's being handled by a federal prosecutor in Manhattan. But these payments that really came out last night - these are things that you know he kind of looks bad or you know, there's that there's some ethical questions that might be raised by it - but there's nothing illegal per se that came out last night that we saw.

FILE - Los Angeles - 11 February 2007

18. STILL: Adult film actress Stormy Daniels arrives for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles

New York - 9 May 2018

19. Exteriors of Columbus Nova group - company said to be tied to Russian billionare

The Senate intelligence committee has subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr., calling him in to answer questions about his 2017 testimony.

That's according to a person familiar with the subpoena who discussed it on condition of anonymity. The committee has renewed interest in talking to President Donald Trump's eldest son after Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, testified earlier this year.

Cohen told a House committee in February that he had briefed Trump Jr. approximately 10 times about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Trump Jr. told the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017 he was only "peripherally aware" of the proposal.

The Senate intelligence committee has been investigating Russian election interference and Trump's ties to Russia for the last two years. The subpoena is a sign that the panel is still conducting its investigation even after the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican member of the panel, hinted after Cohen spoke behind closed doors to the Senate intelligence panel that the committee would want to talk to Trump Jr. again. She said senators "clearly need to re-interview some witnesses whose accounts (Cohen) contradicts."

Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Trump Jr., did not immediately respond to multiple messages seeking comment.

The subpoena was first reported by Axios.

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Lynchburg, Virginia - 1 March 2019

1. ARCHIVE: Wide, Jerry Falwell, Junior and Donald Trump, Junior on stage

2. ARCHIVE; Various Donald Trump Junior, son of President Donald Trump speaking

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cleveland, Ohio - 19 July 2016

3. ARCHIVE: Various of Donald Trump, Jr. on stage

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Sun City, Arizona - 1 November 2018

4. ARCHIVE: Medium view of U.S. senate candidate Martha McSally introducing Donald Trump Jr.

5. ARCHIVE Donald Trump Jr., Executive Vice President, The Trump Organization speaking

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Washington - 2 April 2018

6. ARCHIVE: Various of Donald Trump, Jr (pink tie) walking with children, followed by Vanessa Trump (blue jacket) and Tiffany Trump (pink jacket)

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New York - July 26, 2018

7. ARCHIVE: Various STILLS of Donald Trump Jr and Vanessa Trump arriving for divorce hearing

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New York - 11 June 2018

8.ARCHIVE: From left, US professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau, Son of US President Donald Trump, Eric Trump, former US professional golfer Jack Nicklaus (who designed the course), Son of US President Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., and US professional golfer Dustin Johnson cut ribbon to open new clubhouse at Trump Golf Links in the Bronx

9. ARCHIVE: Zoom out from Eric and Donald Trump Jr., to wider group posing for photos

10. ARCHIVE: Donald Trump Jr. (with Eric Trump on stage with him), speaking

The Senate intelligence committee has subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr., calling him in to answer questions about his 2017 testimony.

That's according to a person familiar with the subpoena who discussed it on condition of anonymity. The committee has renewed interest in talking to President Donald Trump's eldest son after Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, testified earlier this year.

Cohen told a House committee in February that he had briefed Trump Jr. approximately 10 times about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Trump Jr. told the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017 he was only "peripherally aware" of the proposal.

The Senate intelligence committee has been investigating Russian election interference and Trump's ties to Russia for the last two years. The subpoena is a sign that the panel is still conducting its investigation even after the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican member of the panel, hinted after Cohen spoke behind closed doors to the Senate intelligence panel that the committee would want to talk to Trump Jr. again. She said senators "clearly need to re-interview some witnesses whose accounts (Cohen) contradicts."

Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Trump Jr., did not immediately respond to multiple messages seeking comment.

The subpoena was first reported by Axios.

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Lynchburg, Virginia - 1 March 2019

1. ARCHIVE: Wide, Jerry Falwell, Junior and Donald Trump, Junior on stage

2. ARCHIVE; Various Donald Trump Junior, son of President Donald Trump speaking

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cleveland, Ohio - 19 July 2016

3. ARCHIVE: Various of Donald Trump, Jr. on stage

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Sun City, Arizona - 1 November 2018

4. ARCHIVE: Medium view of U.S. senate candidate Martha McSally introducing Donald Trump Jr.

5. ARCHIVE Donald Trump Jr., Executive Vice President, The Trump Organization speaking

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 2 April 2018

6. ARCHIVE: Various of Donald Trump, Jr (pink tie) walking with children, followed by Vanessa Trump (blue jacket) and Tiffany Trump (pink jacket)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - July 26, 2018

7. ARCHIVE: Various STILLS of Donald Trump Jr and Vanessa Trump arriving for divorce hearing

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 11 June 2018

8.ARCHIVE: From left, US professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau, Son of US President Donald Trump, Eric Trump, former US professional golfer Jack Nicklaus (who designed the course), Son of US President Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., and US professional golfer Dustin Johnson cut ribbon to open new clubhouse at Trump Golf Links in the Bronx

9. ARCHIVE: Zoom out from Eric and Donald Trump Jr., to wider group posing for photos

10. ARCHIVE: Donald Trump Jr. (with Eric Trump on stage with him), speaking

Stormy Daniels' lawyer says he has information showing that President Donald Trump's longtime personal attorney received $500,000 from a company associated with a Russian billionaire within months of paying hush money to the porn star who claims a long-ago affair with Trump.

Lawyer Michael Avenatti also said hundreds of thousands of dollars streamed into Trump attorney Michael Cohen's account from companies, including pharmaceutical giant Novartis, AT&T and Korea Aerospace, with U.S. government business interests. Those three companies have confirmed the connection.

Avenatti isn't disclosing the source of his information or releasing documentation. But in a seven-page memo, Avenatti details what he says were wire transfers into and out of the account Cohen used to pay Daniels $130,000 in October 2016 to stay silent about her alleged tryst with Trump in 2006. He denies having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

Financial documents reviewed Tuesday by The Associated Press appeared to back up Avenatti's report.

The memo says Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian billionaire, and his cousin "routed" eight payments totaling approximately $500,000 to Cohen's company, Essential Consultants, between January and August 2017. The reason for the payments was not immediately known.

Avenatti's memo says the deposits into the account controlled by Cohen were made by Columbus Nova, an American investment company headed by Vekselberg's cousin, Andrew Intrater, and affiliated with the Renova Group, which Vekselberg controls.

Andrey Shtorkh, a spokesman for Vekselberg and the Renova Group, said in a statement that "neither Victor Vekselberg nor Renova has ever had any contractual relationship" with Cohen or Essential Consultants.

He said questions about a relationship between Columbus Nova and Cohen would have to be answered by Intrater "because Columbus Nova is a company owned and managed by him."

Columbus Nova's lawyer, Richard Owens, said in a statement the company is "solely owned and controlled by Americans." He said that after Trump's inauguration in January 2017, the company hired Cohen as a business consultant "regarding potential sources of capital and potential investments in real estate and other ventures," but that it had nothing to do with Vekselberg.

Cohen and his lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Cohen is under investigation by federal prosecutors in New York, but hasn't been charged.

At the time of the payments, there was an FBI counterintelligence investigation, which special counsel Robert Mueller took over last May, into Russian election interference and any possible coordination with Trump associates.

New Orleans -  6 May 2009

1. STILL: Stormy Daniels visits a local restaurant in downtown New Orleans

Washington - 9 May 2018

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"Stormy Daniels' attorney kind of dropped a little bit of a bombshell on Twitter where he released a document that included what he said were payments going in and out of a shell company that Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen used."

New York - 13 April 2018

3. STILL: Michael Avenatti, left, attorney and spokesperson for adult film actress Stormy Daniels speaks during a press conference at Federal court

New York - 16 April 2018

4. STILL: Adult film actress Stormy Daniels speaks outside federal court

Washington - 9 May 2018

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"So what's new out of what the information that he posted last night is that there were additional payments going through this shell company that was used to pay Stormy Daniels and what he's highlighting about these payments is that there were some bluechip companies -- AT&T, a pharmaceutical company -- that were paying payments to Michael Cohen that they have since confirmed that they were looking to get his read on the administration."

Washington -19 September 2017

6. STILL: Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, arrives on Capitol Hill

New York - 5 April 2018

7. STILL: Michael Avenatti, lawyer for Stormy Daniels, is interviewed on the floor of the NYSE

Washington - 9 May 2018

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"What they're saying is - we weren't paying him to be a lobbyist, we weren't paying Michael Cohen to actually go and advocate for us - with the administration- which would be something that he would have to register with the government for. Instead what they're saying is that we were paying him to get his views of the administration and to consult on, you know, getting insight into the President."

FILE: New York - 24 October 2016

9. STILL: AT&T logo is positioned above one of its retail stores in New York

Palm Beach, Florida - 17 April 2018

10. STILL: President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sat Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club

Washington - 9 May 2018

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"So another payment that Avenatti pointed out in this document is five hundred thousand dollars that came in a series of payments paid by a company here in the United States. Now this company is connected to a Russian oligarch and Avenatii was trying to point to, or what he has said is that, the account these payments came in after the Stormy Daniels payment and he has suggested that these were payments that were replenishing this 130,000 dollars that went out to her as part of a hush money scheme."

New York - 26 April 2018

12. STILL: Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels' attorney, left, watches as Michael Cohen, center, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, leaves federal court in New York, Thursday, April 26, 2018

New York- 16 April 2018

13. STILL: Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, center, leaves federal court following a hearing

Washington - 9 May 2018

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"Now the company has now come back and said that this oligarch Viktor Vekselberg was not involved in this transaction at all and that he had nothing to do with this and that these were all part of something that this company, this American subsidiary, was trying to do similar to what AT&T and the other companies were doing- paying Michael Cohen for his views on the administration and getting insight into Trump."

Key West, Florida - 19 April 2018

15. STILL: President Donald Trump boards Air Force One before his departure from Naval Air Station Key West in Key West, Fla

New York - 16 April 2018

16. STILL: Adult film actress Stormy Daniels speaks to members of the media after a hearing at federal court

Washington - 9 May 2018

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Chad Day, Associated Press:

"So obviously the biggest question here is, you know, were any laws broken. And so there are some allegations in there and we know that Michael Cohen is under investigation for bank fraud and potential campaign finance violations - it's being handled by a federal prosecutor in Manhattan. But these payments that really came out last night - these are things that you know he kind of looks bad or you know, there's that there's some ethical questions that might be raised by it - but there's nothing illegal per se that came out last night that we saw.

FILE - Los Angeles - 11 February 2007

18. STILL: Adult film actress Stormy Daniels arrives for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles

New York - 9 May 2018

19. Exteriors of Columbus Nova group - company said to be tied to Russian billionare

STORYLINE

US President Donald Trump arrives in Britain on July 11th 2018 - and straight into a storm of protests.

Anti-Trump demonstrators have vowed to track him every step of the way.

One of the most eye-catching initiatives will be a giant inflatable balloon, or blimp, which has been named Trump Baby.

The blimp will be flown over Parliament Square Gardens in London's Westminster on July 13th.

Footage captured ahead of Trump's visit shows organisers inflating the blimp, which caricatures the American president as an angry, orange baby, complete with a snarling face and nappy, with a tiny hand clutching a mobile phone for tweeting.

Organisers say that they've sought to portray Trump as he's seen by his critics.

***

Thousands of demonstrators marched in central London on July 13th to protest against Donald Trump's first visit to the UK as US President.

A huge crowd gathered in Trafalgar Square, one of the British capital's most iconic landmarks.

***

As thousands of protesters in London marched against Donald Trump's first visit to the UK as US President, a small group of far-right supporters emerged from a pub and scuffled with police and demonstrators.

Some of the far right supporters were joined by Trump supporters.

Footage shows heated exchanges between pro- and anti-Trump supporters, with at least three people being arrested as minor scuffles broke out.

Police eventually escorted the far-right and Trump supporters away from the anti-Trump rally, allowing them to gather at the Red Lion pub near the UK Parliament.

Throughout the day, anti-Trump demonstrators in London were seen chanting slogans to vent their disapproval over the visit, blowing horns and waving banners.

Protests in Britain are expected to continue on July 14th.

***

A small rally supporting US President Donald Trump in London has been joined by thousands of supporters of prominent right-wing activist Tommy Robinson.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, founded an anti-Muslim group and was jailed for contempt of court after broadcasting outside a criminal trial in May.

Scotland Yard had imposed restrictions on both rallies "due to concerns of serious public disorder and disruption."

It said a June rally by the "Free Tommy" group resulted in serious violence in London and led to nine arrests.

Police said two people were arrested at Saturday's rally for suspected public order offences.

***

US President Donald Trump was asked at the end of a Cabinet meeting on July 18th if Russia was still targeting the United States.

The president said, "no," contradicting recent warnings from his top intelligence chief.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said later on July 18th that Trump was saying "no" to answering more questions, although he did go on to answer an additional question.

Trump's comment came after National Intelligence Director Dan Coats said July 13th that warning lights about overall cyber threats to the US are "blinking red" - much like "blinking red" signals warned before the 9/11 attacks.

Trump did not elaborate on the threat posed by Russia, telling reporters that no American president has been as "tough" on Russia as he has been.

Russia has been the most aggressive foreign actor, but cyber threats also are coming from China, Iran and North Korea, as well as criminal networks and individual hackers, Coats said last week.

US intelligence agencies have said Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers, accusing them of hacking into the Clinton presidential campaign and the Democratic Party.

Russia has denied state involvement.

***

House Speaker Paul Ryan dismissed President Donald Trump's plan to revoke security clearances from top former national security officials as just a mild form of "trolling," rather than a serious attack on dissent.

The GOP leader shrugged off the White House plan Tuesday, saying, "I think he's trolling people, honestly."

Ryan said the issue of who is able to access security clearances falls within the purview of the executive branch, rather than Congress. He seemed intent on leaving it to the White House to decide. Ryan says, "It's not really in our purview."

He dismissed Trump's threat to revoke the clearances of top former national security officials as simply the president's way of needling his opponents.

"I think he's just trolling people," Ryan said.

The White House on July 23rd said it was looking into revoking clearances for top former officials who have "politicized" their public service and security clearances by making "baseless accusations" that the Trump administration had improper contact with Russia or was influenced by Russia.

Ryan also responded to a question about President Vladimir Putin's possible visit to Washington this fall, saying he "certainly will not be giving him an invitation to do a joint session (address to Congress.) That's something we reserve for allies."

Ryan also said lawmakers are making the case to President Donald Trump that tariffs are "not the way to go."

The Republican leader told reporters July 24th, "I've made it pretty clear I don't think tariffs are the right answer."

Ryan's remarks came a couple hours after Trump tweeted that "Tariffs are the greatest!" and threatened to impose additional penalties on U.S. trading partners.

***

Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and "fixer" Michael Cohen says that he made hush money payments to two women "at the direction" of Trump.

Deputy U.S. Attorney Robert Khuzami told reporters on August 21st after Cohen's guilty plea that he submitted invoices to the candidate's company to obtain reimbursement for the unlawful campaign contributions.

Cohen pleaded guilty to charges including campaign finance fraud stemming from hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal.

The 51-year-old Cohen said in federal court in New York on Tuesday that he made the payments in coordination with Trump, who wasn't named, to influence the election. Both women claimed Trump had affairs with them, which he denies.

The other charges Cohen pleaded guilty to involve bank fraud and income tax evasion.

As part of his plea agreement, Cohen agreed not to challenge any sentence from 46 to 63 months.

***

US President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid an unannounced visit on September 21st to the federal courthouse in New York where he pleaded guilty a month ago.

Cohen left the building at around 1:30 pm and declined to say why he was there.

He also declined to comment on any discussions he'd had with special counsel Robert Mueller.

Mueller is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

On September 20th , Cohen confirmed in a tweet that he had met Mueller and provided "critical information".

Cohen is awaiting a December sentencing after pleading guilty to tax fraud, bank fraud and campaign finance violations.

During his plea, Cohen said Trump directed him to arrange payments to a porn star before the 2016 election.

01:46:09

00:00:00

Protesters to fly Trump Baby balloon over parliament during his UK visit

4162931

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London - 10 July 2018

1. Giant balloon called "Trump Baby"

2. Close-ups of snarling face

00:08:00

Thousands in central London anti-Trump protest

4163387

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London - 13 July 2018

3. Tilt down on protest crowd at Trafalgar Square

4. Protesters in Trafalgar Square

5. Protester carrying sign reading (English) "Donald Duck Off"

00:20:07

Heated exchanges between anti-Trump and far right protesters, arrests

4163396

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London - 13 July 2018

6. Police leading the arrested far-right supporter away

7. Anti-Trump protesters chanting UPSOUND (English) "Donald Trump, go away, racist, sexist, anti-gay"

8. Far-right protesters chanting (English) "USA"

00:39:03

Right-wing and pro-Trump protests held in London

4163510

ASSOCIATED PRESS

London - 14 July 2018

9. Female Muslim bus driver sitting in her bus unable to drive

10. Protester making a rude hand gesture at female Muslim bus driver

00:45:24

Trump: There's never been a president as tough on Russia

4164104

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington DC - 18 July 2018

++TRUMP PAUSES AS REPORTERS ASK QUESTIONS++

11. Trump: " and there's been no president ever as tough as I have been on Russia.

00:51:02

Ryan likens Trump's threat to revoke critics' security clearances to trolling

4164941

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington - 24 July 2018

12. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rep. Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House: (responding to question on Trump's possible plan to revoke security clearances)

"I think he's trolling people, honestly. This is something that's in the purview of the executive branch. I think some of these people have already lost their clearances. Some people keep their clearances. That's something that the executive branch deals with. That's not really in our purview. ... I think he's just trolling people."

01:10:02

First Lady Melania Trump's parents sworn in as US citizens

4167226

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 9 August 2018

13. Viktor and Amalija Knavs walk out of a federal building in New York City after being sworn in as U.S. citizens

14. Viktor and Amalija Knavs with their lawyer Michael Wildes and Department of Homeland Security law enforcement officers

15. Viktor and Amalija Knavs walking into court

01:23:13

Trump's former 'fixer' Michael Cohen pleads guilty to campaign finance fraud

4168869

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 21 August 2018

16. Various of Michael Cohen leaving court and getting into car

01:38:21

Trump ex lawyer Michael Cohen visits New York court

4173668

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 21 September 2018

17. Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen exits courthouse, enters vehicle

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who now represents President Donald Trump as his attorney, slammed the credibility and character of adult film actress Stormy Daniels during an interview in Tel Aviv.

"I'm sorry I don't respect a porn star the way I respect a career woman, or a woman of substance," Giuliani said.

"So Stormy, you want to bring a case, let me cross-examine you," he said.

Daniels has said she had sex with a married Trump in 2006, and she is fighting to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement she signed days before the 2016 election,

Wednesday, Daniels filed a lawsuit and said her former lawyer, Keith Davidson, was a "puppet" for President Donald Trump and worked with the president's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, to get her to appear on Fox News and falsely deny the sexual tryst with Trump.  

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles against Davidson and Cohen, alleges that after a tabloid story emerged in January about Daniels' relationship with Trump, the two lawyers planned for her to appear on Sean Hannity's show on Fox News and falsely deny the tryst.

"I don't trust, I don't believe Stormy Daniels," Guiliani said.  He also said the first lady believes the president in his denials that he ever had an affair with Daniels.

"She believes in her husband. She knows it's not true. I don't even think there's a slight suspicion that it's true," Giuliani said.

The former New York mayor is leading the defense of Trump in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether Trump associates coordinated with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, and whether Trump took steps to shut down that investigation through actions, including the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Giuliani, a strong supporter of Israel, is in Israel for a number of appearances.

Tel Aviv, Israel - 6 June 2108 (

+++AUDIO AS INCOMING+++

+++WHITE FLASH BETWEEN SOUNDBITES+++

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Rudy Guiliani, Attorney for President Trump:

''Stormy, the porn star. You know every porn person can't be a star. I never heard of her before. Now I don't really look at porn. Please get that down. I don't look at porn. But, I would say that that's about the same credibility as a lawyer who basically got thrown out of the case. I don't trust, I don't believe Stormy Daniels. I don't believe it. I don't know, sue me Stormy, I don't believe you.''

+++WHITE FLASH+++

2. SOUNDBITE (English): Rudy Giuliani, Attorney for President Trump

(Presenter): ''If you don't believe her, how come money was paid to keep her silent?'' (Giuliani): ''Because I've done that for clients.''(Presenter): ''The money was repaid by the President.''(Giuliani): ''You settle cases to protect people's reputation whether it's true or not. Because if she said it, as she has, people will believe it whether it's true or not.

+++WHITE FLASH+++

3. SOUNDBITE (English): Rudy Giuliani, Attorney for President Trump

I respect all human beings, I even respect criminals. But I'm sorry I don't respect a porn star the way I respect a career woman, or a woman of substance, or a woman who has great respect for herself as a woman and as a person, and isn't going to sell her body for sexual exploitation. So Stormy, you want to bring a case, let me cross-examine you.''

+++WHITE FLASH+++

4. SOUNDBITE (English): Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor:

(Presenter:) ''Can you tell me, we've seen Melania here in Israel and we've been very impressed by her gracious manner and her you know such elegance (inaudible). Can you tell me how does she feel these days with all the Stormy Daniels affairs going on in the background?'' (Giuliani): ''I can't speak for Melania.'' (Presenter): ''But you're a personal friend?'' (Giuliani): ''I am. She believes in her husband. She knows it's not true. I don't even think there's a slight suspicion that it's true, excuse me, when you look at Stormy Daniels. I know Donald Trump. Look at his three wives, right? Beautiful women, classy women, women of great substance, Stormy Daniels? Pfft.''

ALICE JOHNSON TO KIM K: 'YOU HAVE LITERALLY SAVED MY LIFE

A woman whose life sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump thanked him on Thursday for "having mercy" and said reality TV star Kim Kardashian West saved her life.

After flexing his clemency powers once again, Trump tweeted: "Good luck to Alice Johnson. Have a wonderful life!"

And "BEST NEWS EVER!!!!" was the exuberant Twitter response from Kardashian West, who visited the White House last week to press the case.

Johnson, 63, spent more than two decades serving life without parole. She was released hours after the White House announced that Trump had commuted her sentence, running to greet her family with her arms opened wide for a group hug outside the federal prison in Aliceville, Alabama.

On Thursday morning, she told the Associated Press that she plans to make her freedom count.

"I feel that I owe that to the people who I left behind because they, their voices have not been magnified the way that my voice is. So, I'm going to work hard to make a difference and I hope that as people see my success story back into society it will help others to be set free."

As for Kardashian West, Johnson said, "Kim, I love you. Thank you. You have literally saved my life. I'll never forget what you have done, not only for me, but for my family."

Unlike a pardon, the commutation will not erase Johnson's conviction, only end her sentence.

Trump's decision, his latest inspired by a celebrity champion, comes amid a flurry of recent pardons he's issued. He says he's considering a long list of other clemency actions, including former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is serving 14 years in prison for corruption, and celebrity homemaker Martha Stewart, who served about five months on charges connected to an insider trading case.

Working outside the pardon process usually overseen by the Justice Department, Trump has appeared to favor cases championed by friends, celebrities or conservative media, or involve people he sees as rivals. Trump also has been drawn to cases in which he believes prosecutors may have been motivated by politics — situations that may remind him of his own predicament at the center of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling.

Trump recently pardoned conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza, who was convicted of a campaign finance violation. And he granted a posthumous pardon to boxing's first black heavyweight champion, a case championed by actor Sylvester Stallone. The federal prosecutor who oversaw Stewart's case in New York was James Comey, one of Trump's principal antagonists, and the man he fired as FBI director last year.

Some have seen the pardons as sending a message to former campaign aides now ensnared in the Mueller probe or other legal inquiries, including Trump's longtime lawyer and legal "fixer" Michael Cohen, whose finances are under federal investigation.

Indeed, the wife of former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russia contacts, appeared on Fox News this week to lobby her husband's case.

"I trust and hope and ask to President Trump to pardon him," Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos told Trump's favorite network.

Trump is looking at cases where he can bring "relief to folks who he feels have been 'treated unfairly,' a term the president uses frequently to describe many different situations," top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said Wednesday.

Shawn Holley, Kardashian West's attorney who accompanied her to the White House, said the reality star broke the good news Wednesday in "the most wonderful, emotional and amazing phone call with Alice, Kim and Alice's lawyers."

"Once Alice's family joined the call, the tears never stopped flowing," Holley said in a statement.

Kardashian West, on Twitter, said "Telling her for the first time and hearing her screams while crying together is a moment I will never forget."

A White House statement said Johnson "has accepted responsibility for her past behavior" and had been a model prisoner, working hard to rehabilitate herself and serve as a mentor to fellow inmates.

Johnson was convicted in 1996 on eight criminal counts related to a Memphis-based cocaine trafficking operation involving more than a dozen people. The 1994 indictment describes dozens of deliveries and drug transactions, many involving Johnson.

Federal courts, including the Supreme Court, rejected her appeals. Prosecutors opposed a pending reduction in her sentence, citing federal guidelines based on the large quantity of drugs involved

Memphis, Tennessee, 7 June 2018

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Alice Johnson, Released from Federal Prison:

"I'd like to say Kim, I love you, thank you, you have literally saved my life and I'll never forget what you have done not only for me but for my family. Thank you."

FILE: Washington, D.C., 30 May 2018

2 . Still image - Kim Kardashian West arrives with her attorney Shawn Chapman Holley at the security entrance of the White House

3. Still image - Kim Kardashian West arrives with her attorney Shawn Chapman Holley at the security entrance of the White House

4. Still image - Kim Kardashian West, second from left, leaves the West Wing of the White House with her attorney Shawn Chapman Holley, left

5. Still image - Kim Kardashian West, second from left, leaves the West Wing of the White House with her attorney Shawn Chapman Holley, left

FILE: Moon Township, Pennsylvania, 10 March 2018 /New York, 15 May 2017

6. Still image - Combination photo shows President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Moon Township, Pa., on March 10, 2018, left, and Kim Kardashian West at the NBCUniversal Network 2017 Upfront in New York on May 15, 2017

FILE: New York, 4 June 2018

7 . SOUNDBITE (English) Kim Kardashian West/Reality TV Star: - on how confident she feels about imprisoned grandmother Alice Johnson and whether she'll be released:

"I'm just hopeful. I'm just hopeful."

Reporter: "Have you had contact with her since you spoke to the president?"

Kim Kardashian West: "I have, yes."

Memphis, Tennessee, 7 June 2018

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Alice Johnson, Released from Federal Prison: "Honestly, my first of emotions when I — I'll never forget having that door slammed shut behind me and knowing that freedom had just been cut off. It took me just a moment, but I realized that I had to, I had to get a grip on my emotions, and I decided to turn it around and make the best of this situation because I refused to allow anything to take my life. So, I decided to live my life still."

9. STILL IMAGE- Alice Johnson and daughter Katina Marie Scales

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Alice Johnson, Released from Federal Prison: "When I saw my family, it became real to me. To see them waiting and smiling and ready to embrace me, I took off running. I was so happy."

11. STILL IMAGE- Alice Johnson and daughter Katina Marie Scales

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Alice Johnson, Released from Federal Prison: "Big party, my family assembled that party so fast. I had family I had never seen and family that I had not seen in almost 22 years who were there. They just kicked in, and this was, a lot of it was home-cooked food, so as soon as they got the news they kicked inane started preparing to receive me."

13. STILL IMAGE- Alice Johnson

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Alice Johnson, Released from Federal Prison: "I've taken so many classes. I've gotten certifications in things like electrical to prepare myself for, if I wanted to do electrical work, I could. I'm a personal trainer. I'm a hospice, I've got hospice certification. I've got certifications in all types of office equipment. I still looked toward the day that I would get out of prison. I did not want to walk out and be clueless and not be prepared to enter back into the workforce."

15. STILL IMAGE- Alice Johnson and attorney Michael Scholl

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Alice Johnson, Released from Federal Prison: "I feel that I owe that to the people who I left behind because they, their voices have not been magnified the way that my voice is. So, I'm going to work hard to make a difference and I hope that as people see my success story back into society it will help others to be set free."

17. STILL IMAGE- Alice Johnson, daughter Katina Marie Scales and attorney Michael Scholl