Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Reporter Just Tweeted a List of All of Donald Trump's Associates Who've Either Been Charged With or Admitted to Crimes, and Hoo Boy

Reporter Just Tweeted a List of All of Donald Trump's Associates Who've Either Been Charged With or Admitted to Crimes, and Hoo Boy
US President Donald Trump speaks following a meeting on infrastructure at Trump Tower, August 15, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Nope, nothing to see here.

In case there's any doubt that several of President Donald Trump's associates have been charged with crimes or are pleading guilty to crimes––some of which are related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian meddling––Aaron Blake, The Washington Post's senior political reporter, tweeted a list of people who are contending with just that. And yes, they are all close associates of the president himself.


Here's the rundown:

  • "Trump's 2nd campaign manager": This is Paul Manafort, whose criminal trial is in its second week. In October 2017, federal agents charged Manafort and his longtime business partner Rick Gates with 12 counts of “conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading FARA statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.”
  • "Trump's deputy campaign manager": This is the aforementioned Rick Gates, who served as deputy to Manafort when they worked on Trump's presidential campaign. Gates has finished three days of often dramatic testimony, during which he admitted that he and Manafort committed both bank and tax fraud together.
  • "Trump's national security adviser": This is Michael Flynn, who resigned from the White House in disgrace after he provided false information about his communications with the Russian government, particularly after the news of his conversations with Sergey Kislyak, then the Russian ambassador to the United States, became public. In December 2017, he appeared in federal court to formalize a deal with Mueller to plead guilty to a felony count of "willfully and knowingly" lying to FBI agents. He has signaled that he will cooperate with Mueller's probe.
  • "Trump's foreign policy adviser": This is George Papadopoulos, who tried to broker connections between members of the Trump campaign and Russian officials. Trump later accused "The Fake News of working overtime" and claimed Papadopolous was "a young, low-level volunteer." In October 2017, Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents about contacts he had with the Russian government during the 2016 election cycle.
  • "Trump's 1st campaign manager (battery charges later dropped)": This is Corey Lewandowski, whose influence within the Trump campaign waned considerably once Paul Manafort came aboard. He soon departed, still facing criticism for the scandal which erupted in March 2016 after he was charged with one count of simple battery for assaulting a journalist. The Palm Beach County State Attorney's office later declined to prosecute Lewandowski.
  • "Trump's first congressional endorser": This is Representative Chris Collins (R-NY), who was the first sitting member of Congress to endorse Trump for the presidency. Collins was arrested earlier today and charged with insider trading and lying to the FBI.

The responses to Blake's tweet have been largely sardonic in their mockery of the president, who has claimed to only hire "the best people" to work for him.

Representative Adam Schiff also listed off a few other names tied to scandals of their own which might be of interest to our readers.

While some of these names have already been covered, Schiff is also referring to:

  • Scott Pruitt: This is the former director of the Environmental Protection Agency, who was under at least 14 separate federal investigations by multiple agencies over such matters as his management practices, his spending habits, and his numerous conflicts of interest. He resigned last month.
  • Ronny Jackson: This is the former White House physician, who was Trump's nominee to lead the Veterans Affairs Department. Jackson's nomination was derailed after reports revealed Jackson “oversaw a hostile work environment as the White House doctor, allowed the overprescribing of drugs and possibly drank on the job.”
  • Tom Price: This is the former Secretary of Health and Human Services, who ultimately resigned amid scandal after it was revealed that he had racked up at least $400,000 in travel bills for chartered flights.
  • Rob Porter: This is the former White House Staff Secretary, who resigned after domestic abuse allegations from both of his former wives became public.

In recent days, the president and his attorney Rudy Giuliani, have come under fire for their attempts to distance themselves from Mueller's investigation, even as Mueller continues to rack up indictments.

Earlier this week, for instance, Trump quoted "Fox & Friends"––one of his favorite news programs––to support his new line of defense: That collusion, that is, in this case, secret and illegal cooperation with the Russian government, did happen, but that it was the fault of former Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton and her campaign.

Giuliani, meanwhile, sparked controversy after he said during an interview on “Fox & Friends” that Mueller should end his investigation.

“If we had anything to do about it, I would ask the special counsel to put out his report and show us what he’s got, you know, show your hand,” Giuliani said.

When asked if he meant he wanted Mueller to put out his final report, Giuliani replied:

Final! Get it over with. Make your case to the Justice Department that you have to continue to investigate. I think you’ll find that there is no reason. Look, think about this: You could investigate an innocent man forever. If you decided he robbed the bank, and he didn’t and he proved to you 50 different ways that he didn’t do it, you’ll look at 51, and then 52, and then 53. Then you try to get somebody who knows him and prosecute the poor person for tax evasion, so they say he robbed the bank. That’s what’s going on here!

During the same interview, Giuliani justified his that colluding with a foreign government is not a crime.

“I have been sitting here looking in the federal code trying to find collusion as a crime,” he said. “Collusion is not a crime. Everything that’s been released so far shows the president to be absolutely innocent. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

Giuliani phoned Fox News later that afternoon to clarify those comments.

“When I said today that there and therefore… and that collusion also is no crime, I’ve been saying that from the very beginning, [and] so has John Dowd,” he said, referring to the man who once led Trump’s legal team.

He added: “It’s a very, very familiar lawyer’s argument than the alternative: My client didn’t do it, and even if he did it, it’s not a crime.”

More from People/donald-trump

Sir Michael Caine
Mike Marsland/WireImage

Michael Caine Cryptically Tweeted The Word 'Jet'—And The Jokes Came Flying In

Legendary Oscar winner Sir Michael Caine may be 92 years old, but he's no less a social media maven than the young people among us. In fact, he might even be better at it than the youths!

What makes him so good at the social media game is the way he gets right to the point with as few words as possible.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mike Malott and Charles Radtke during UFC match
Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

U.S. UFC Star Threatens Canada For Booing Anthem—Then Gets His A** Handed To Him

UFC fighter Charles Radtke was widely mocked online after talking trash about Canada before his bout with Canadian fighter Mike Malott—only to be soundly defeated by Malott in the second round.

Radtke leaned into the role of the villain leading up to the fight, invoking President Donald Trump’s talk of annexing Canada as the “51st state” and saying he was seeking revenge for Canadian hockey fans recently booing the U.S. national anthem.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Brian Jack talking to high school students
@patriottakes/X

High School Group Asks MAGA Rep. Why Trump Looks 'So Orange'—And His Answer Is Awkward AF

Things sure got awkward for Georgia Republican Representative Brian Jack after a group of students asked him during a Q&A session why President Donald Trump is "so orange."

People can only speculate what brand of makeup or bronzer Trump uses on a daily basis but there's a reason why he's been nicknamed "the orange man," "Agent Orange," and even "Mango Mussolini"—the color of his face is really, really hard to miss given he's photographed all the time.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sean Duffy
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Transportation Secretary Slammed After Admitting He Made A Telling Switch To Wife's Recent Flight

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was criticized after admitting in a recent audio clip that he'd just switched his wife's Newark Liberty International Airport flight to one out of LaGuardia Airport—despite previously claiming his family flies out of Newark Airport "all the time."

Duffy’s remarks came as staffing shortages caused major flight disruptions at Newark on Monday, with the F.A.A. forced to delay incoming flights from across the continental U.S. and parts of Canada. According to an online advisory, delays averaged over 1 hour and 40 minutes and in some cases stretched to nearly seven hours.

Keep ReadingShow less
tourists on stairs leading to cathedral
Ilnur Kalimullin on Unsplash

People Share The Things They Consider 'Normal' In Their Country That Would Shock Tourists

What's normal but a setting on the clothes dryer?

What we label "normal" would often be best described as "common." Normal is defined as "conforming to a standard" or "the usual, average, or typical state or condition."

Keep ReadingShow less