Trump's aides face deepening anxiety over federal investigations
US President Donald Trump's aides face deepening anxiety and uncertainty over ongoing federal investigations related to the 2016 US presidential election.
White House staff members experienced a new level of turbulence this week after federal prosecutors on Tuesday secured the conviction of Trump’s former campaign manager and a plea agreement from the president’s longtime attorney, USA Today reported Thursday.
In interviews with a half-dozen Trump aides and people close to the White House, many described rising concerns about federal inquiries underway, including US Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump has denied any collusion by his campaign and has long denounced the Mueller probe as a witch hunt.
"I think people are genuinely shaken," said one official, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters. "They're still trying to digest it – process it."
On Tuesday, Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and other charges, saying he made payments to influence the 2016 election at the direction of Trump.
Also on Tuesday, a jury in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia found former Trump election campaign chairman Paul Manafort, guilty on eight of 18 charges of filing false tax returns, failing to disclose his offshore bank accounts and bank fraud. Manafort still faces separate charges brought by Mueller in the Russia probe.
Trump has also lashed out at embattled US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who recused himself from the Russian investigation, which paved the way for Mueller’s appointment.
Separately, in the latest sign of the potential dangers for Trump and those close to him, David Pecker, CEO of American Media Inc, had been granted immunity by federal prosecutors in a deal in which he has been discussing Trump's role in hush agreements ahead of the 2016 election to women who said they had sexual encounters with the president, The Wall Street Journal and Vanity Fair reported Thursday.
In a tense press briefing with reporters on Wednesday, White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders declined to get into the "back and forth" on the Cohen and Manafort cases and repeatedly said Trump "did nothing wrong.
Arrest and harassment: US intensifies crackdown on pro-Gaza protests in universities
US Senate reauthorizes surveillance bill despite privacy concerns
US vetoes Palestinian request for full UN membership
Google fires more employees over anti-Israel protests
Iran set to build more nuclear power plants: AEOI chief
'Iran’s True Promise ushers in new era for region; strategic implications felt across globe'
VIDEO | Arrest and harassment: US intensifies crackdown on pro-Gaza protests in universities
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
France fails to ban anti-Islamophobia protests
In Numbers: 200 days of Israeli genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza
Death toll mounts in Gaza as Israeli genocidal war marks 200 days
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
