Senior American officials were worried. Since the early months of the Trump administration, Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser, had been having private, informal conversations with Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the favorite son of Saudi Arabia’s king.
Given Mr. Kushner’s political inexperience, the private exchanges could make him susceptible to Saudi manipulation, said three former senior American officials. In an effort to tighten practices at the White House, a new chief of staff tried to reimpose longstanding procedures stipulating that National Security Council staff members should participate in all calls with foreign leaders.
But even with the restrictions in place, Mr. Kushner, 37, and Prince Mohammed, 33, kept chatting, according to three former White House officials and two others briefed by the Saudi royal court. In fact, they said, the two men were on a first-name basis, calling each other Jared and Mohammed in text messages and phone calls.
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Prince Mohammed bin Salman with Jared Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, in Riyadh last year.CreditCreditJonathan Ernst/Reuters
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Sixteen months after swastika-toting white supremacists swarmed the streets of Charlottesville, one of the demonstrators was convicted of first-degree murder Friday by a jury that found he intentionally drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing one woman and injuring nearly 40 others.
James Fields Jr., 21, faces up to life in prison for the death of Heather Heyer, 32, in a case that has stirred soul-searching in a city that prides itself on being a liberal bastion. Mr. Fields, who traveled from Ohio to attend the Unite the Right rally, was also convicted of nine other charges, including aggravated malicious wounding and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
Friday’s verdict was cheered by those fighting racial and religious hatred and provided some closure in a case that cast a national spotlight on Charlottesville, the scene chosen by racists and anti-Semites to rally for their cause, near a Confederate monument that some city leaders were trying to remove.
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James Fields Jr. drove into a crowd of counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017, killing one woman and injuring several other people.CreditCreditAlbemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, via Associated Press
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A bipartisan group of political figures appealed to Gov. Scott Walker on Thursday to avoid staining his legacy and behaving like a sore loser by signing legislation that would weaken the powers of the Democrat who defeated him.
Rather than notching another partisan victory in his final weeks in office, they said, Walker should think bigger. Think of your recently deceased father, they pleaded. Think of former President George H.W. Bush. Think of Christ.
“You can have a long, successful career ahead,” longtime Republican and major GOP donor Sheldon Lubar wrote to Walker in a deeply personal email. “Don’t stain it by this personal, poor-loser action. Ask yourself, what would my father say, what would the greatest man who ever lived, Jesus Christ, say.”
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Protesters Peppi Elder, left, and Christine Taylor holds up signs during the state Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in state Capitol Rotunda Tuesday Dec. 4, 2018, in Madison, Wis. The Senate and Assembly are set to send dozens of changes in state law to Gov. Scott Walker’s desk. (Steve Apps)
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Former national security adviser Michael Flynn provided “substantial assistance” in the special counsel’s Russia investigation and should receive little to no prison time, federal prosecutors said in court papers filed Tuesday.
Flynn met with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team 19 times after he pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators, according to a sentencing memo filed by Mueller’s office.
The court papers offered few new details on the Russia probe but the prosecutors, citing Flynn’s extensive cooperation in “several ongoing investigations,” said a sentence that includes no prison time is “appropriate and warranted.”
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The former president, who died Friday at 94, has lain in state at the Capitol Rotunda for the past two days, where mourners, including former Sen. Bob Dole, Sully the service dog, and members of the public, have flocked to pay their respects. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump visited the Capitol Monday evening, and will be in attendance at the cathedral service Wednesday along with several former presidents and world leaders.
Follow the NBC News live blog for the latest from the ceremony, and tune in to MSNBC for continuous coverage
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Memorial service honoring former President George H.W. Bush
Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s first national security adviser, helped substantially with the special counsel’s investigation and should receive little to no prison time for lying to federal investigators, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Mr. Flynn was a key cooperator who helped the Justice Department with several investigations, prosecutors for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, said. He sat for 19 interviews with Mr. Mueller’s office and other prosecutors and handed over documents and communications, they said.
“His early cooperation was particularly valuable because he was one of the few people with long-term and firsthand insight” into the subject of Mr. Mueller’s investigation — Russia’s election interference and whether any Trump associates conspired, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing recommendation memorandum and an addendum that was heavily blacked out.
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Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, will be sentenced Dec. 18 after pleading guilty last year to lying to investigators.CreditCreditJim Lo Scalzo/EPA, via Shutterstock
This lead Article plus the following 10 articles in missed news are part of George’s Legacy
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George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, was a steadfast force on the international stage for decades, from his stint as an envoy to Beijing to his eight years as vice president and his one term as commander in chief from 1989 to 1993.
The last veteran of World War II to serve as president, he was a consummate public servant and a statesman who helped guide the nation and the world out of a four-decade Cold War that had carried the threat of nuclear annihilation.
His death, at 94 on Nov. 30, also marked the passing of an era.
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A photo of a young George Bush, center, during his naval service in World War II, with Joe Reichert, left, and Leo Nadeau. (National Archives)
History may show that Monday ranks among the most consequential days yet of Robert Mueller’s 18-month special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
As George Papadopoulos, one of the most enigmatic characters to emerge in Mueller’s investigation, reported to a Wisconsin prison Monday, a confluence of small developments may indicate that by the time he emerges from Federal Correctional Institute Oxford two weeks from now, we might know far more about the breadth of Russia’s efforts—and the Trump campaign’s ties to them—than we do now.
In fact, as the holiday season begins to unfold, it’s clear that Mueller knows who’s been naughty and who’s been nice.
Film and Writing Festival for Comedy. Showcasing best of comedy short films at the FEEDBACK Film Festival. Plus, showcasing best of comedy novels, short stories, poems, screenplays (TV, short, feature) at the festival performed by professional actors.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman with Jared Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, in Riyadh last year.CreditCreditJonathan Ernst/Reuters
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James' World 2 