Donald Trump's disastrous week continues to rumble on, as the US president attempts to change a narrative that is swiftly spiralling out of his control.
On Tuesday, two former associates of Mr Trump were convicted of a number of charges, with the president's former lawyer admitting to a pair of campaign finance violations during the presidential election.
Michael Cohen, Mr Trump's legal "fixer" implicated the president when he told the court his client had directed him to make payments to two women for the "purpose of influencing the election".
Live Updates
The president has departed Washington with First Lady Melania Trump to Ohio, where they are expected to visit the Nationwide Childrens Hospital in Columbus.
While boarding, Mr Trump ignored shouted questions about the numerous scandals he faced this week, from Michael Cohen to Allen Wisselberg, along with other major news stories from the week.
Donald Trump is now saying he’s cancelled further meetings between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the North Korean regime, writing on Twitter, “I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula”.
"Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were,” the president continued. "Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved. In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!"
Michael Cohen’s guilty plea has revealed a controversial link between Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and the Qatari royal family, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
The attorney received a reported $100,000 brokerage fee through a real-estate deal in Florida, in which he seemingly represented a firm owned by Sheikh Abdul Aziz.
Eric Swalwell, a Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, referred to the comittee’s now-closed Russia investigation as a “sham” in an interview with CNN. The congressman then called for the investigation to be re-opened after Michael Cohen’s guilty plea.
"The Republicans shut down our investigation. The best thing they can do for the country is reopen the investigation and bring these witnesses in under subpoena and allow us to look at the documents that third parties hold to test their stories,” he said. "The Republicans shut down our investigation. The best thing they can do for the country is reopen the investigation and bring these witnesses in under subpoena and allow us to look at the documents that third parties hold to test their stories”.
Mr Trump’s anger with Sessions boiled over in an interview with Fox News in which the president also expressed frustration with the plea agreement his onetime legal fixer Michael Cohen cut with prosecutors, implicating Trump in a crime that Cohen admitted. Mr Trump said it might be better if “flipping” — cooperating with prosecutors in exchange for more favorable treatment— were illegal because people cooperating with the government “just make up lies” to get a break from prosecutors.
Some of the issues Mr Trump raised with Mr Sessions on Friday have either already been examined or are in the process of being investigated.
He cited two former FBI officials, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who were sharply criticized in a Justice Department inspector general report in June for trading derogatory text messages about Trump. Mr Strzok, who was removed from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation in the summer once the texts were brought to his attention, was fired by the FBI this month. Page has resigned from the bureau.
Mr Trump also mentioned the Russian probe. The inspector general is also investigating potential abuses in the early stages of the FBI’s investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign. Mr Trump and other Republicans have complained that the political opposition research used to support a wiretap application on a Mr Trump associate was paid for by Democrats, something the inspector general is expected to look at.
Mr Trump also addressed the five-year sentence given to a former government contractor convicted of mailing a classified U.S. report to a news organization.
Mr Trump tweeted Friday that is “small potatoes” compared with “what Hillary Clinton did.” Prosecutors are calling that sentence handed down to 26-year-old Reality Winner the longest imposed for a federal crime involving leaks to the media.
Earlier he defended himself on Fox against talk of impeachment — “the market would crash ... everybody would be very poor” — tried to dissociate himself from Cohen and said anew that he hadn’t known in advance about Cohen’s hush money payments to silence women alleging sexual relationships with the celebrity businessman.
Mr Trump’s latest criticisms of law enforcement came as he appeared increasingly vulnerable to long-running investigations after this week’s one-two punch of Cohen’s plea deal and the conviction of Trump’s former campaign chair Paul Manafort.
Majorities of Americans also doubt the recently announced taxes on imports will increase jobs or wages at home, according to a poll released Friday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The survey found that 35 per cent of Americans think the tariffs will leave them worse off financially, while only 19 per cent expect improvement. Forty per cent expect them to help the economy, while 44 per cent expect them to hurt and 16 per cent expect them to make no difference.
More specifically, about four in 10 think the policy will lead to an increase in jobs. Only about three in 10 expect wage gains.
Moreover, 72 per cent of Americans say the import levies will cause prices for everyday goods to climb. The agreement about tariffs setting off inflation is bipartisan, with Republicans nearly as likely to express concern about rising prices as Democrats.
"Tariffs don't help anybody," said Raymond Brown, 65, a retired truck driver from Rio Grande, New Jersey. "It seems like the tariffs are imposed and the corporations just pass that tax onto the consumer."
A registered Republican, Mr Brown worries that he would need to pay more for a new car because of the steel and aluminum tariffs the Trump administration has added to the cost of importing the metals. He said he fears auto costs could rise even more if tariffs are placed on electronic equipment made abroad that is installed in cars assembled in the US.
Yet despite concern about his trade policies, the economy is a relative source of strength for Mr Trump. While only 38 per cent of Americans approve of his handling of the presidency, 51 per cent approve of his stewardship of the US economy, according to the poll.
There is a long way to go, and Trump is not surrendering yet. Interviewed on Fox & Friends – friends being the operative word – the president admitted that, yes, he had paid hush money to two women who had alleged having affairs with him, but, no, the payments had not violated election laws. In so saying, he both reversed past denials about a payment to the porn star, Stormy Daniels, and flatly rejected the claim of his erstwhile lawyer, who claimed the payments had been illegal...
Responding to Mr Sessions' declaration that he would not be influenced by politics, the president tweeted that the Justice Department chief must "look into all of the corruption on the 'other side"', later adding: "Come on Jeff, you can do it, the country is waiting!"
Earlier this week, Mr Trump, concerned by the legal downfall of two former advisers, accused Mr Sessions of failing to take control of the Justice Department.
Mr Sessions hit back on Thursday, saying he and his department "will not be improperly influenced by political considerations".
Mr Trump's anger with Mr Sessions boiled over in an interview with Fox News in which the president also expressed frustration with the plea agreement his one-time legal "fixer" Michael Cohen cut with prosecutors, including implicating Mr Trump in a crime that Cohen admitted.
The president said it might be better if co-operating with prosecutors in exchange for more favourable treatment was illegal because people "just make up lies".
On Friday, Mr Trump also complained about the five-year sentence given to a former government contractor convicted of mailing a classified US report to a news organisation.
He said "this is 'small potatoes' compared to what Hillary Clinton did".
Prosecutors said 26-year-old Reality Winner was handed the longest sentence imposed for a federal crime involving leaks to the media.
The poll found 60 per cent of Americans disapprove of Mr Trump's work as president, compared with 38 percent who approve.
Mr Trump's approval rating has been largely stable over the course of his presidency.
Ratings of Mr Trump among all Americans are equally dim on a host of issues, including immigration and health care, even as the president continues to receive high marks from his base of Republican supporters.
Documents relating to "hush-money payments" made to a porn actress and a Playboy model who alleged affairs with the businessman were stored alongside details of embarrassing secrets about other celebrities, it is alleged.
The claims emerged after it was reported that federal prosecutors have granted immunity to National Enquirer chief executive David Pecker in exchange for providing information on the deals.
Cohen admitted paying the hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, both alleged to have had extramarital affairs with Mr Trump.
The developments have once again raised the spectre of impeachment, with one Democratic congressman warning the "countdown" is underway.
Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former White House aide, has added fuel to the fire, saying she is "fully willing and ready" to testify in impeachment proceedings against the president.
Paul Manafort, Mr Trump's one-time campaign manager, was also found guilty on Tuesday over numerous charges of financial and tax fraud, the same day Cohen admitted his guilt.
The convictions stemmed from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, as well as the Kremlin's interference in the 2016 election.
On Thursday, it was revealed the White House opposed a bill which would significantly bolster America's defences against future election hacking.
Mr Trump has consistently dismissed the threat posed by Russia, and has flip flopped on whether he believes Moscow interfered in the last election.
