Media Center

Tomorrow’s White House briefing by law enforcement and intelligence officials to discuss a confidential informant’s interactions with Trump campaign officials in 2016 cannot be a closed partisan meeting and must include members of both political parties through the “Gang of Eight.” Despite President Trump’s assertions on Twitter, the entire U.S. intelligence community has concluded beyond a doubt that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. And it has been widely documented that numerous members of the Trump campaign, including the President’s own son, took meetings throughout the campaign with Russians and other foreign nationals offering assistance to the campaign.

Rudy Giuliani tonight put President Trump in legal peril for “knowing and willful” violations of campaign finance law related to hush money payments to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford (a.k.a., Stormy Daniels). Giuliani, as a member of President Trump’s legal team, told Fox News tonight that President Trump repaid his lawyer Michael Cohen the $130,000 that Cohen had paid Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet just prior to the 2016 presidential general election.

Today, Common Cause filed complaints with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging reason to believe that President Trump, his 2016 presidential campaign and American Media, Inc. (AMI) violated campaign contribution limits and reporting requirements through a December 2015 payment of $30,000 to a former doorman at a Trump property to squelch rumors of then-candidate Trump having fathered an illegitimate child with an employee at Trump World Tower in New York. The DOJ this week raided the office and residences of Trump attorney Michael Cohen in its investigation of similar violations alleged by Common Cause in earlier complaints to the agency.

No American is above the law, not even the President. But President Trump is making no bones about the fact that he believes he is above the law and members of his administration continue to float disturbing trial balloons to gauge what the public reaction would be if Trump fired Special Counsel Robert Mueller. In light of these deeply troubling actions, the Senate must move quickly to pass its bipartisan legislation to protect the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election by the Special Counsel.