Mar. 30, 2017, 4:32 p.m.
The Department of Justice has appealed a Hawaii court order that brought President Trump's travel ban to a national halt.
The government has argued that the president was well within his authority to restrict travel from six Muslim-majority countries and put a pause on refugee resettlement.
The appeal Thursday to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals came a day after U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu refused to dismiss his temporary block of the travel ban that he issued on March 15.
Mar. 31, 2017, 4:26 p.m.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) traveled to the White House Friday to view documents President Trump has said partially vindicate his claim that his predecessor ordered surveillance of him during the campaign.
In a statement, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said he was told they were “precisely the same materials” viewed previously by the committee’s chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare), which Schiff said should now be shared with the full panel membership.
“Nothing I could see today warranted a departure from the normal review procedures,” Schiff said, adding that he could not discuss the contents of the documents, which remain classified.
Mar. 31, 2017, 12:26 p.m.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday told a top government ethics official he should not have publicly plugged “The Lego Batman Movie” — a film in which he has a financial stake — and promised to “exercise greater caution” in the future.
“I take very seriously my ethical responsibilities as a presidential appointee and the head of the Department of the Treasury,” Mnuchin wrote to Walter Shaub, director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
On Monday, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked Shaub to determine whether Mnuchin had committed an ethics violation last week when he discussed the movie during an event hosted by the Axios news website that aired on C-SPAN2.
Mar. 31, 2017, 10:42 a.m.
Mar. 31, 2017, 10:23 a.m.
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee says it's too early to consider an immunity deal for President Trump's former national security advisor.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) says that Michael Flynn even discussing possible immunity in exchange for protection from prosecution is a "grave and momentous" step because of the seniority of his former position.
Schiff says the House Intelligence Committee is interested in hearing Flynn's story, but there would have to be coordination with the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Justice Department on the terms.
Mar. 31, 2017, 9:02 a.m.
The Trump administration on Friday fired back at California's top judge, disputing her characterization this month that federal immigration agents were "stalking" courthouses to make arrests.
In a letter to Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, leaders of Trump's Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security objected to her description of federal agents' conduct.
"As the chief judicial officer of the state of California, your characterization of federal law enforcement is particularly troubling," wrote Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, objecting to Cantil-Sakauye's use of the word "stalking."
Mar. 31, 2017, 8:29 a.m.
Hillary Clinton stepped back into the spotlight this week after laying relatively low since the election, and she had some advice for President Trump: Tear up the White House budget plan.
Clinton was at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security to bestow an award named in her honor to Colombian leaders who helped bring an end to war in that country and elevate the role of women in the peace process.
She spoke of the progress the world has made in advancing women’s rights since she spoke forcefully on the issue two decades ago when the U.N. gathered world leaders to address it in Beijing. But she warned that progress is threatened by Trump.
Mar. 31, 2017, 7:38 a.m.
President Trump won his office in spite of the best efforts of some in his party.
Now, the tenuous nature of the bonds between Trump and the GOP are increasingly on public display as the president openly feuds with conservatives and White House officials debate whether to reach out to Democrats in order to restart his domestic agenda.
The latest and strongest evidence came Thursday as Trump escalated his political battle against the members of the House Freedom Caucus, the conservative lawmakers who helped block the healthcare bill he backed.
Mar. 31, 2017, 7:23 a.m.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday promised NATO allies that the United States will stand by their side but also expected them to spend more on defense and do more to fight terrorism.
Tillerson participated in a day of discussions with foreign ministers from the 27 other NATO member nations, his first with the full roster of allies, who were sent scrambling last week to accommodate the top U.S. diplomat after he said he could not attend the meeting originally planned for early April.
"The United States is committed to ensuring NATO has the capabilities to support our collective defense. We understand that a threat against one of us is a threat against all of us," Tillerson said.
Mar. 31, 2017, 6:20 a.m.
President Trump’s former national security advisor, retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, is seeking immunity from prosecution in return for testifying to the House and Senate intelligence committees, a congressional aide said. The development was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
"Gen. Flynn certainly had a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit," his lawyer, Robert Kelner, said in a statement. "No reasonable person, who has the benefit of advice from counsel, would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized, witch-hunt environment without assurances from unfair prosecution."
On Friday morning, Trump tweeted his support for Flynn's request.
Mar. 30, 2017, 5:41 p.m.
President Trump's former national security advisor, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, has been seeking immunity from prosecution in return for testifying to the House and Senate intelligence committees, a congressional official confirmed Thursday.
The negotiations were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
In a statement, Flynn's lawyer, Robert Kelner, said "Gen. Flynn certainly had a story to tell and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit."