Ty Cobb, President Trump's White House lawyer, says "all the White House interviews are over” in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, NBC reports.
The big picture: Trump's team has repeatedly tried to take the president out of the spotlight of Mueller's investigation and stated that the probe will wrap up this year.
The backdrop: Jay Sekulow, one of Trump's private lawyers, told Axios' Mike Allen that he believes a second special counsel is needed, to investigate potential conflicts of interest in the FBI and Department of Justice.
The Democratic Women's Working Group called on the House Oversight Committee to launch an investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations against President Trump on Tuesday.
Why it matters: The accusations against Trump have resurfaced just as similar allegations are ending careers of powerful men in every industry. The Group penned a letter, signed by 56 members, saying, "We cannot ignore the multitude of women who have come forward with accusations against Mr. Trump."
President Trump signed the almost-$700 billion National Defense Authorization Act on Tuesday, saying it invests in "our military's greatest weapon of all, its warriors."
Why it matters: The bill is expectd to go towards a 2.4% pay increase for soldiers, the Hill reports, as well as additional active duty and reserve troops, increased Afghanistan operations, missile defense, and equipment.
Following her heated Twitter war with President Trump Tuesday morning, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has called for Trump's resignation amid allegations of sexual misconduct, told reporters that she sees Trump's attacks as a "sexist smear" aimed at silencing her.
I will not be silenced on this issue. Neither will the women who stood up to the president yesterday.— Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called on President Trump to "immediately resign" yesterday, prompting a disparaging Twitter response from POTUS this morning:
Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for Chuck Schumer and someone who would come to my office “begging” for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against Trump. Very disloyal to Bill & Crooked-USED!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2017
Gillibrand fired back with a tweet of her own, stating that Trump had brought "unfitness and shame" to his office:
You cannot silence me or the millions of women who have gotten off the sidelines to speak out about the unfitness and shame you have brought to the Oval Office. https://t.co/UbQZqubXZv— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) December 12, 2017
Fred Shapiro, an associate director at the Yale Law School has updated the"The Yale Book of Quotations," first published in 2006, and the top quote of the year is Kellyanne Conway's "alternative facts" statment on Jan. 22. Shapiro chooses quotes that are famous or revealing of the spirit of the times — not necessarily eloquent or admirable.
"I actually had to limit the amount of Trump-related quotations on the list so as not to have the list overwhelmed by him," Shapiro told the AP.
President Trump tweeted this morning that the multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against him are a Democratic ploy to smear him in conjunction with the Russia investigation:
Despite thousands of hours wasted and many millions of dollars spent, the Democrats have been unable to show any collusion with Russia - so now they are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met. FAKE NEWS!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2017
President Trump's legal team believes Attorney General Jeff Session's Justice Department and the FBI — more than special counsel Robert Mueller himself — are to blame for what they see as a witch hunt.
The result: They want an additional special counsel named to investigate the investigators.
Trump officials outlined their new line of thinking to me last night.
President Trump was "infuriated" by U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley's remark Sunday that the women accusing him of sexual assault and harassment "should be heard," the AP reports.
Per the report, Trump has "grown increasingly angry in recent days that the accusations against him have resurfaced, telling associates that the charges are false and drawing parallels to the accusations facing Republican Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore." White House advisers were "stunned" by Haley's statement, made on CBS' "Face the Nation," according to the AP.
