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• President Donald Trump reportedly wanted to order the DOJ to prosecute former FBI director James Comey and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
• Trump only backed down when then White House counsel Don McGahn told him he didn’t have the power to order investigations into his political rivals.
• The move is the latest in a series of documented efforts in which Trump has tried to use the DOJ as a weapon against his perceived enemies.

President Donald Trump wanted to order the Justice Department to prosecute two of his biggest political rivals but backed down when he was told he didn’t have the authority to do that, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Trump wanted the DOJ to investigate former FBI director James Comey and former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, according to the report. But when the president floated the idea to then White House counsel Don McGahn in the spring, McGahn is said to have told Trump he couldn’t order the DOJ to conduct investigations.

McGahn reportedly added that Trump could request an investigation, but that the move would likely spark a public outcry and accusations that he was abusing his power.

The Times’ report is the latest in a series of documented efforts Trump has made to exert control over the nation’s top law-enforcement agency. The DOJ is meant to be independent of the White House, but Trump has previously shown that he believes it is a political tool to be wielded against his perceived enemies.

In addition to publicly pressuring the DOJ to prosecute his rivals, Trump once reportedly asked advisers why he couldn’t have "my guys" at the "Trump Justice Department" do his bidding.

Trump has long harbored resentment toward both Comey and Clinton. When he ran against the former first lady in the 2016 election, Trump and his surrogates regularly led chants calling to "lock her up" in response to revelations that Clinton used a private email server to conduct government business when she was secretary of state.

He initially backed down after he won the presidency, but Trump soon resumed his calls for her prosecution when Clinton began criticizing him after the election, and as the FBI began investigating his campaign’s contacts with Russia.

Comey, meanwhile, moved into Trump’s crosshairs when he publicly confirmed the existence of the Russia investigation last March, shortly after Trump took office. Subsequent reporting and congressional testimony revealed that after Trump learned of the investigation, he repeatedly pressured Comey to publicly state he was not personally under investigation, or to drop the probe entirely. When Comey refused, Trump fired him and later publicly stated he ousted the FBI director because of the Russia investigation.

Comey’s firing now makes up the basis of a separate inquiry, overseen by the special counsel Robert Mueller, into whether Trump sought to obstruct justice in the Russia probe.

When Comey began publicly criticizing Trump after his removal, the president called for prosecutors to investigate Comey for leaking classified information to The Times when he had his friend share a memo with the paper that documented some of what Comey believed were his most troubling interactions with the president. The memo did not contain any classified information.

He has also called for Comey and other current and former FBI and DOJ officials to be investigated over their handling of the Clinton email probe during the election.

NOW WATCH: The Obamas are worth $40 million — here’s how they make and spend their money

See Also:

• Ivanka Trump ‘was the worst offender in the White House’: Ivanka reportedly discussed government affairs using her personal email address
• The White House is restoring Jim Acosta’s press pass days after a judge ordered it to do so — and CNN is dropping its lawsuit
• Democrats did something virtually unprecedented in the 2018 midterms, and it says a lot about Trump’s unpopularity

SEE ALSO: In a ‘self-defeating and self-incriminating’ slipup, Trump just indicated he installed Matthew Whitaker to kill the Russia probe

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• Microsoft is offering a major holiday sale on the Xbox Game Pass, the Netflix-style subscription service that lets users play more than 100 games on Xbox One and PC.
• While Xbox Game Pass is usually $9.99 a month, or about $120 per year, Microsoft will start selling 12-month subscription codes for $69.99 on Thanksgiving Day — a discount of more than 40 percent.
• The codes will be carried by at least Best Buy and the Microsoft Store, but it’s unclear if other retailers will participate, as well.
• Microsoft is constantly adding more titles to Xbox Game Pass library, including exclusives like "Forza Horizon 4," "State of Decay 2," and the forthcoming "Crackdown 3," giving subscribers access to new games for no extra cost.

While lots of shoppers are looking to make major purchases during the sales of the holiday season, one of the best video game deals of the year will cost about as much as a single game.

Starting on Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd, Microsoft will offer a one-year subscription to Xbox Game Pass for $69.99 a year — a discount of more than 40 percent from the $120 you’d pay for a year, billed at the normal monthly rate of $10. 

You’ll be able to snap up the codes at Best Buy and the physical and online Microsoft Store, though it’s unclear if other retailers will also participate. We first spotted a listing for this deal on Best Buy, though it was unavailable for shipping until Thursday. Microsoft confirmed to Business Insider that this deal is coming.

Microsoft

 

Xbox Game Pass is a Netflix-style service that lets subscribers download and play more than 100 different video games on their Xbox or PC. The service is normally $9.99 a month, with a full year costing just under $120.

Now for about the same price of a new game, Xbox owners can invest in a massive library of games to play for the next year. The deal is also a great way for those who pick up their first Xbox during the holiday season to catch up on classic titles without spending a ton on extra games. The Game Pass library includes backwards compatible Xbox 360, games as well as newer Xbox One titles.

Microsoft

Game Pass subscribers have no limitations on how many games they can download, and are eligible for discounts if they decide to purchase downloadable content for Game Pass titles. This year Microsoft began launching some of its own first party titles on Game Pass too, giving subscribers a cheap way to get access to brand new titles like "Forza Horizon 4," "Sea of Thieves," and "State of Decay 2." Microsoft has confirmed that the long-awaited "Crackdown 3" will launch on Xbox Game Pass the same day as its general release on February 15th, 2019.

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Read more: Xbox announced a bunch of new stuff over the weekend — here are the 8 things to get excited about

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With Microsoft rolling out more new games via Game Pass, and adding hits like "PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds" to the library shortly, the value of the Xbox Game Pass will only grow from here.

Beyond this deal, Microsoft is also letting new Game Pass subscribers pay just $1 for their first month until the end of the year — meaning it may be best to pay the $1 and wait until December to snap up one of these cards and pre-pay a whole year. 

NOW WATCH: Review: Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL are the best smartphones you can buy right now

See Also:

• Microsoft may be working on an Xbox One that ditches the disc drive
• Here are all the best deals for Xbox One consoles and games this holiday season
• The new ‘Fallout’ game is a boring mess that you shouldn’t play — here’s why

SEE ALSO: Xbox announced a bunch of new stuff over the weekend — here are the 8 things to get excited about

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• An E. coli outbreak has been linked to romaine lettuce, with the CDC encouraging people to stop eating romaine and throw away any that they have already purchased. 
• The strain of E. coli shares a genetic footprint with the bacteria linked to a past outbreak in 2017, which sickened at least 25 people across 15 states. 
• Investigators were unable to pinpoint the source of the 2017 outbreak, other than linking the E. coli outbreak to leafy greens. 
• Now, a food-poisoning expert says it is almost certain that the two outbreaks are linked — and that investigators will need to find the source this time around. 

As another E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce sweeps the United States, experts are drawing connections to an unsolved investigation from 2017.

On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a food-safety alert warning people to stop eating romaine lettuce and to get rid of any they’ve purchased. 

According to the CDC, at least 32 people in 11 states have reported E. coli infections linked to romaine lettuce starting last month. Thirteen people have been hospitalized.

Read more: The CDC tells people to stop eating romaine lettuce — again — after another E. coli outbreak sickens at least 32 people in 11 states

The outbreak is separate from another E. coli outbreak, also linked to romaine, that sickened more than 190 people earlier this year. However, that doesn’t mean that the outbreak is coming out of thin air. 

The strain of bacteria involved in this outbreak shares a genetic footprint with the E. coli bacteria tied to leafy greens in the US and romaine lettuce in Canada last year, according to the CDC.

In Canada, 42 cases of illness connected to the strain of E. coli were reported, including one death. In the case of the American leafy green outbreak, 25 people were sickened across 15 states, with illnesses starting in December 2017. One person died.

The source of the outbreak — such as a specific supplier or processing plant where the contamination occurred — was never discovered. While the Canadian outbreak during the same period was tied to romaine lettuce, the CDC was not even able to identify which specific leafy green was the source of the outbreak in the US. 

Now, the unsolved case is likely back. 

"It would be 90% certainty that wherever the lettuce was grown in 2017, it’s the same place where this lettuce is grown," Bill Marler, a food-poisoning attorney, told Business Insider. 

That place is likely going to be in California, either the Salinas Valley or the Central Valley, Marler says. With the illnesses linked to the romaine occurring in October, the contaminated lettuce is likely from California due to the American lettuce growing and harvesting schedule. 

According to Marler, something — whether that be a water source or wild animals — has remained constant in the romaine lettuce supply chain since 2017. Now, the CDC and other investigators will likely have the opportunity to pinpoint exactly what the source was for both outbreaks. 

"I think that it’s likely they’ll be able to figure this one out," Marler said.

"The sooner the better, just from a public health point of view," he continued. 

NOW WATCH: How Alibaba turned a fake holiday into a $25 billion shopping extravaganza that’s bigger than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined

See Also:

• The CDC tells people to stop eating romaine lettuce — again — after another E. coli outbreak sickens at least 32 people in 11 states
• Amazon employees are reportedly already buying up apartments in New York City — and they started before the company even announced HQ2
• We shopped at TJ Maxx and Kohl’s to see which store was better, and the winner was clear for one key reason

SEE ALSO: These are the stores with the best Black Friday discounts

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Harry How/Getty Images for The Match

• Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will face off on Friday in a head-to-head match with $9 million at stake.
• While promoting the pay-per-view match on Tuesday, Mickelson and Woods started putting down some side bets, with Mickelson putting up $100,000 that he would birdie the first hole.
• Woods immediately responded by doubling the bet, an offer that Mickelson agreed to.

On Friday, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will face off in a head-to-head, winner-take-all match with $9 million on the line.

The two have promoted the match with appearances on various shows and increasingly sharp trash talk as the match approaches.

Read more: Tiger Woods is already doling out trash talk ahead of his one-on-one showdown with Phil Mickelson

On Tuesday, the duo sat down for a press conference in one final bit of promotion for the pay-per-view event, and it didn’t take long for Woods and Mickelson to put even more money on the line.

As if $9 million wasn’t enough to keep them interested, Mickelson quickly threw out that he was ready to bet $100,000 that he would birdie the first hole.

"You don’t have to take it…" Mickelson teased, as Woods took in his proposal.

"So you think you can make birdie on the first hole?" Woods asked.

"I know I’m going to make birdie on the first hole," Mickelson said with confidence.

Without missing a beat, Woods upped the stakes. "Double it."

Mickelson froze, but only for a second, before breaking out in a smile, asking the crowd, "Did you see how I baited him like that?" and agreeing to the bet.

From there, the two broke down just how they thought the first hole of the match would play out, getting into each other’s heads. Woods brought up the water on the left of the fairway, while Mickelson boasted about his skill with short irons.

You can watch the scene play out below.

Once the two were done taking questions, they even faced off for a moment, as if preparing for a heavyweight fight.

While we don’t know precisely how the match will play out in terms of the broadcast, as the event is the first of its kind, if Tuesday’s press conference was any indication, there should be plenty of action for golf fans to tune in for, even beyond the $9 million that was already at stake.

At the very least, Mickelson will almost certainly be putting for $200,000 just minutes into the match.

Woods and Mickelson tee off on Friday, November 23 at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas, with the match available on pay-per-view for $19.99.

NOW WATCH: Inside an intense training session where aspiring WWE wrestlers learn how to fight

See Also:

• Tiger Woods is already doling out trash talk ahead of his one-on-one showdown with Phil Mickelson
• NFL Week 11 betting guide and our best bets for the Westgate SuperContest
• NFL WEEK 11: Our official predictions for who wins this weekend

SEE ALSO: How Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson’s longstanding rivalry turned into golf’s biggest bromance

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• A host of top Democratic donors wrote a letter on Tuesday expressing their support for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s bid to become the next House speaker.
• Pelosi’s allies point to her significant legislative accomplishments, recent electoral victories, fundraising prowess, and a lack of any strong alternative leader as reasons to support her. 
• They called the anti-Pelosi movement "naive and self-destructive" in interviews with INSIDER, and warned that if Pelosi is replaced, donations to the party could drop dramatically. 

A host of top Democratic donors are making their support of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi known as her bid for House speaker is under fire from a group of younger, largely centrist Democrats.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) donors, who include top Wall Street financiers and longtime political heavyweights, wrote a letter to Democratic leaders on Tuesday warning that without Pelosi at the helm, donations to the party could drop dramatically.

"The competence and effectiveness of the Leader is a critical component in motivating us to reach in our pockets. On that basis it is hard to imagine a replacement for Nancy engendering the same level of confidence at this critical time," they wrote in a letter obtained by Politico Playbook.

The donors argue both that Pelosi is eminently qualified for the job, pointing to her legislative achievements and specifically citing her success shepherding Obamacare through Congress and into law. 

"The skill of the leader is critically important — doesn’t matter if she’s a little bit to the right or the left," Richard Ravitch — a real estate developer, former lieutenant governor of New York, and a signatory of the letter — told INSIDER. "And it’s more important than ever given that we have a psychopath in the White House."

Jeff Gural, a New York real estate developer who also signed the letter, chalked up the Democratic Party’s midterm successes to their focus on healthcare — an issue on which the party has authority thanks to Pelosi’s efforts. 

"I hear the argument, ‘You would’ve won more seats if Nancy wasn’t the speaker’ — yeah, well, we wouldn’t have won any seats without healthcare," Gural told INSIDER, adding that Pelosi is "the hardest working person I know in politics." Gural added that he fears an inexperienced new leader "who could totally botch the job." 

The donors’ letter was prompted by the 16 House Democrats who signed a letter this week outlining their opposition to Pelosi’s re-election as House speaker. The lawmakers, five of whom are incoming members, argued that Democrats "ran and won on a message of change" this year, and that the party’s leadership should respond to that mandate by handing the reins to a new, younger, guard.

Mitch Draizin — a New York hedge fund founder and another Pelosi-allied donor — called the opposition to the 78-year-old lawmaker "naive and self-destructive to the country and to the party" in an interview with INSIDER. 

"I’m a bit insulted that these freshmen and some of these younger folks … who haven’t done anything yet, have the audacity to challenge her," Draizin said, adding that Pelosi "is the personification of leadership."

The opposition hasn’t put forward any substantive reasons why she should be replaced and they don’t have a contender to challenge her — Rep. Marcia Fudge, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, who considered challenging Pelosi, announced on Tuesday evening that she would not run after Pelosi named her the chair of the reconstituted House Subcommittee on election-related issues. 

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Donors are skeptical that any challenger could rival Pelosi. 

Gural said he was first convinced to donate to the DCCC after getting to know Pelosi, and he isn’t sure he’d be willing to reach into his pockets for another leader, particularly if he felt the new leadership had "thrown [Pelosi] under the bus." 

"It’s easy to say that people who’ve been donating significant sums of money to the Democrats all these years like myself would continue to do it without a phone call from Nancy," Gural said. "I’m not so sure."

The vocal and increasingly influential progressive wing of the party — some of whom were critical of Pelosi on the campaign trail this year — are also unconvinced by the movement against Pelosi. 

"My main concern was that there is no vision, there is no common value, there is no goal that is really articulated in this letter aside from we need to change," Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a democratic socialist and breakout star of the left in the Democratic Party, told MSNBC on Monday night of the anti-Pelosi letter. 

NOW WATCH: This top economist has a radical plan to change the way Americans vote

See Also:

• Trump continues Twitter campaign for Pelosi: ‘I can get her as many votes as she wants’
• Nancy Pelosi’s bid for House Speaker is in a lot more trouble than she’s letting on
• House Democratic leadership is dominated by coastal states, has a ‘geographic diversity’ problem

SEE ALSO: Nancy Pelosi is using gender to win over progressives in her fight to become House speaker

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• After 11 weeks, the NFL season is moving towards a thrilling conclusion.
• The Rams, Chiefs, and Saints have established themselves as the teams to beat, while a worthy group of contenders will look to join their ranks.
• At the bottom, teams are fighting to avoid embarrassment, but still looking forward to next year’s draft.

After a thrilling battle between two of the top teams in the league, there is more reason than ever to be excited about the 2018 NFL playoffs.

That said, there’s still much to be decided before it’s time to start planning for the Super Bowl.

While the top three teams in the league have established themselves, there’s a glut of teams in the middle hoping to make a run in the second half and secure a spot in the playoffs. And at the bottom of the standings, teams are already planning on how they’ll spend their first-round pick.

Going into a big Week 12, here’s where all 32 teams stand.

32. Buffalo Bills

Mark Brown/Getty Images

Record: 3-7

Last week: 28th

Week 11 result: Bye

Week 12 opponent: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

One thing to know: Head coach Sean McDermott says that rookie quarterback Josh Allen is on track to start again on Sunday after a few weeks on the sidelines due to an elbow injury, but it’s unclear how much his return will help the flailing Bills offense.

31. Arizona Cardinals

Ross D. Franklin/AP

Record: 2-8

Last week: 27th

Week 11 result: Lost to the Raiders, 23-21

Week 12 opponent: at Los Angeles Chargers

One thing to know: In three games under new offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, David Johnson has totaled 294 rushing yards, 143 receiving yards, and 3 touchdowns. Welcome back, DJ!

30. Oakland Raiders

Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images

Record: 2-8

Last week: 32nd

Week 11 result: Beat the Cardinals, 23-21

Week 12 opponent: at Baltimore Ravens

One thing to know: The Raiders finally got another win, but with games remaining against the Steelers, Ravens, and Bengals, as well as two left against the Chiefs, they’re still the clear favorites to land the top pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

• The epic ‘Monday Night Football’ game made bettors in Las Vegas millions thanks to in-game wagering and the third-most points in NFL history
• The best ‘Monday Night Football’ game of all time produced 29 gorgeous photos including one of Jared Goff’s epic layup celebration
• Malcolm Jenkins flipped off his former coach Sean Payton after the Saints scored a touchdown on 4th down late in blowout win

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The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you’ll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

• Look no further for some shopping inspiration for Black Friday 2018 than last year’s list of best-selling products.
• From Instant Pots to Echo Dots to 23andMe DNA test kits, these were the 20 top sellers among Business Insider readers in last year.
• Some of these items are currently on sale for Black Friday 2018.

Black Friday is the biggest shopping event of the year, a way to make a major dent in your holiday gift shopping and perhaps treat yourself to something you’ve been eyeing as well. With another Black Friday quickly approaching, we wanted to show you what Business Insider readers were buying at this time last year.

Our readers’ purchases last year told us a few things, namely that they’re using tech in all sorts of ways to streamline their lives. Unsurprisingly, smart home device purchases, particularly from the Amazon Echo family, are on the rise — after all, when you experience the seamless interactions among all your devices, it’s difficult to go back.

It’s also evident that our readers care about getting their money’s worth without having to spend big. The discounts offered on Black Friday are perfect for bargain hunters and deal diggers.

Based on the popularity of these items from last year’s Black Friday, you can make a pretty good guess that they’ll be discounted this year as well. Bookmark any that you like so you’ll be ready to purchase come Black Friday 2018.

While this data tells us a lot about the types of products and services you’re interested in, we still love it when you drop us a line at insiderpicks@businessinsider and tell us things you’d like to hear more about or are perhaps having trouble finding on your own.

These are the 20 products Business Insider readers bought the most on Black Friday 2017.

Looking for more deals? We’ve rounded up the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals on the internet.

1. 23andMe and Ancestry.com DNA tests

23andMe

23andMe DNA Test, $69, available at Amazon ($49 when you buy 2+ kits)

AncestryDNA Test, $59 (originally $99), available at Ancestry.com [You save $40]

If the increasing popularity of DNA test kits tells us anything, it’s that we’re all pretty interested in learning more about our roots. So interested, in fact, that we now even have the option to test the DNA of our pets. Our ever-growing fascination with where we come from explains why these DNA testing kits were the top sellers among Business Insider readers last Black Friday.

 

2. Amazon Echo Dot

Amazon

Echo Dot (2nd Generation), $39.99, available at Amazon

Echo Dot (3rd Generation), $49.99, available at Amazon

The Echo Dot is small but packs a punch with all its capabilities. Use it to call, shop, play music, set a timer, and control other parts of your home by connecting it to other smart home devices. With nearly 80,000 people giving this convenient device a 5-star rating, it’s no wonder it was a top-selling product last year.

3. TP-Link smart plug

Amazon

 

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

• 17 Black Friday mattress sales from popular companies like Casper, Leesa, and Helix
• 27 Target Black Friday deals you can get without dealing with the crowds or the cold
• 43 Black Friday deals from cool startups you should have on your radar this week

DON’T MISS: Business Insider’s guide to the best Black Friday sales of 2018

SEE ALSO: All of Insider Picks’ holiday gift guides, in one place

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• LuLaRoe CEO Mark Stidham said Tuesday in an emotional internal video meeting that the company is working to address inventory problems.
• "I don’t have the product to serve you, and therefore I don’t have the product to serve your customers," Stidham told consultants, according to leaked audio from the meeting.
• Stidham made the remarks following a Business Insider investigation, which was published earlier Tuesday, into the company’s mounting inventory problems and the exodus of top sellers.
• Stidham said top sellers are leaving LuLaRoe because he refused to give them preferential treatment over others in the business. 
• Also read: LuLaRoe is facing mounting debt, layoffs, and an exodus of top sellers, and sources say the $2.3 billion legging empire could be imploding

LuLaRoe CEO Mark Stidham tearfully addressed inventory problems and slammed "sensationalist journalists" on Tuesday in an internal video meeting in the wake of a Business Insider investigation into the multi-level marketing company, according to leaked audio from the meeting.

On the call, Stidham’s voice faltered with apparent emotion as he told the story of a LuLaRoe seller, whose name he did not know, who he said was helping families affected by the recent wildfires in California. 

"As our community does good, I will promise you, we will continue to be attacked by those who don’t understand, who don’t get it," he said. "There is a lot of excitement and curiosity around LuLaRoe. What is this thing? How did it become? And unfortunately, there are sensationalist journalists that are taking that name and leveraging it so they can get some clicks through on ridiculous, ridiculous things. I want you to know guys, they are going to do that and it doesn’t matter to us. It’s irrelevant. They are irrelevant."

Stidham said that he’s been getting a lot of emails from frustrated sellers over the past several weeks.

"I’ve read many, many of them and they are heartfelt; and they are people who are concerned about their business; people who are concerned about whether or not we are paying attention; whether we care for them," he said. "And I want to reassure you that we absolutely do."

Sellers, also called consultants, buy clothing from LuLaRoe at wholesale prices and then turn around and sell it at a markup to customers. Some have been complaining about inventory shortages and quality problems, as Business Insider’s investigation revealed.

"I empathize 100% with your frustrations that you don’t have the product to serve your customers," Stidham said. "I don’t have the product to serve you, and therefore I don’t have the product to serve your customers. I understand that."

LuLaRoe representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At one point during the call, Stidham offered an explanation for the company’s loss of top sellers. About one-third of LuLaRoe’s top sellers have exited the company since July, according to data reviewed by Business Insider.

"Have you noticed that a whole bunch of top retailers have left lately? You want to know why? Because I refused to give them preferential treatment," he said. "They came to us and said, ‘We’re your biggest sellers you need to give us first choice. You need to let us come into the warehouse and pick our own orders. You need to let us get the things we need so that we can continue to grow our business.’ And I challenged them on that thinking."

Towards the end of the call, Stidham said that he recently traveled to China to secure more sources for production.

"I had a vision that we would find these old Chinese guys smoking cigarettes in a backroom somewhere with a factory," he said. "The people that we met are young entrepreneurs that are excited about the opportunity that is coming to them because of what you sell."

Shortly after that, he paused and it sounded like he had started to cry. 

"We are making a difference in the world, don’t lose sight of that," he said, his voice faltering. "We have over two million garments coming in the next three weeks and the pipeline is filling and we will continue to have things coming. We love you. We appreciate you."

NOW WATCH: How ketchup started as a fish sauce from Asia

See Also:

• We shopped at TJ Maxx and Kohl’s to see which store was better, and the winner was clear for one key reason
• Victoria’s Secret is bringing back swimwear after abandoning it nearly 3 years ago
• LuLaRoe is facing mounting debt, layoffs, and an exodus of top sellers, and sources say the $2.3 billion legging empire could be imploding

SEE ALSO: LuLaRoe is facing mounting debt, layoffs, and an exodus of top sellers, and sources say the $2.3 billion legging empire could be imploding

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• President Donald Trump defended his daughter Ivanka’s use of private email to conduct government business to reporters on Tuesday.
• "Ivanka did some emails, they weren’t classified like Hillary Clinton, they weren’t deleted like Hillary Clinton..she wasn’t doing anything to hide her emails," he said. 
• Congressional Democrats on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, however, plan to investigate private email use of Ivanka and other White House officials. 

President Donald Trump confirmed a Monday report that his daughter Ivanka, an unpaid White House advisor, used a private email address to conduct government business, but defended his daughter by saying her emails "weren’t deleted like Hillary Clinton’s.”

The Washington Post reported Monday that Ivanka regularly used a private email account using a domain shared with her husband Jared Kushner for official government business, sending "hundreds" of mainly logistical and scheduling emails to other officials from the private email address.

Ivanka and Kushner’s private email use was first reported in fall of 2017, which prompted the watchdog group American Oversight to file a public records lawsuit for Ivanka’s communications. 

“She was the worst offender in the White House,” a former senior government official familiar with the review of Ivanka’s emails told The Post about her email usage, which could violate the Presidential Records Act. 

See also: Ivanka Trump ‘was the worst offender in the White House’: Ivanka reportedly discussed government affairs using her personal email address

A spokesperson for Ivanka’s attorney Abbe Lowell told The Post that Ivanka did not mean to potentially violate federal records rules by using a private email, and has since turned over those emails to be part of the public record.

"Ms. Trump did not create a private server in her house or office, no classified information was ever included, the account was never transferred at Trump Organization, and no emails were ever deleted,” the spokesperson said. 

Trump echoed those comments to reporters on Tuesday afternoon. "Ivanka did some emails, they weren’t classified like Hillary Clinton, they weren’t deleted like Hillary Clinton…she wasn’t doing anything to hide her emails," the president said. 

Throughout his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump frequently attacked Clinton for her use of a private email account and private server in the basement of her home in Chappaqua, New York — often leading chants of "lock her up" at campaign rallies. To this day, Trump occasionally tweets outrage at the FBI for ultimately finding she had not broken any laws. 

Read more: From rich kid to first daughter: The life of Ivanka Trump

“The parallels between Ms. Trump’s conduct and that of Secretary Clinton are inescapable,” Austin Evers, the executive director of American Oversight, wrote in a letter to members of Congress. 

“In both her use of personal email and post-discovery preservation efforts, Ms. Trump appears to have done exactly what Secretary Clinton did — conduct over which President Trump and many members of Congress regularly lambasted Secretary Clinton and which, they asserted, demonstrated her unfitness for office.”

Despite Trump’s defenses, Democrats on the House Committee for Oversight & Government Reform plan to further investigate Ivanka and other White House officials’ private email usage. 

"We launched a bipartisan investigation last year into White House officials’ use of private email accounts for official business, but the White House never gave us the information we requested,” Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat and the likely next chairman of the Oversight Committee said in a Tuesday statement. 

“We need those documents to ensure that Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and other officials are complying with federal records laws and there is a complete record of the activities of this Administration," he added. 

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• Lawyers for President Donald Trump say they’ve provided the special counsel’s office with written responses to questions on Russian election interference.
• The answers are an important milestone in Robert Mueller’s probe, marking the first time the president is known to have described to investigators his knowledge of key moments under scrutiny by the special counsel’s office.
• Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for Trump, said in a statement that the answers were provided Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has provided the special counsel’s office with written answers to questions about his knowledge of Russian interference in the 2016 election, his lawyers said Tuesday, marking the first time Trump has directly cooperated with the investigation.

The step is a milestone in a months-long negotiation between Trump’s attorneys and special counsel Robert Mueller’s team over whether and when the president would sit for an interview. They represent the first time the president is known to have described to investigators his knowledge of key moments under scrutiny by prosecutors. If Mueller finds the answers satisfactory, the responses may also help stave off a potential subpoena fight over Trump’s testimony.

The compromise outcome, nearly a year in the making, offers some benefit to both sides. Trump avoids, at least for now, a potentially risky and unpredictable sit-down with prosecutors, while Mueller secures a set of on-the-record statements whose accuracy the president and his lawyers will be expected to stand by for the duration of the investigation.

"The president today answered written questions submitted by the special counsel’s office," attorney Jay Sekulow said in a statement. "The questions presented dealt with issues regarding the Russia-related topics of the inquiry. The president responded in writing."

Sekulow said in a follow-up message that the legal team would not release copies of the questions and answers or discuss correspondence with the special counsel’s office.

Mueller’s team may well press for additional information.

Investigators months ago presented Trump’s legal team with dozens of questions they wanted to ask the president related to whether his campaign coordinated with the Kremlin to tip the 2016 election and whether he sought to criminally obstruct the Russia probe by actions including the firing of former FBI director James Comey.

Mueller’s office agreed to accept written responses to questions about potential Russian collusion and tabled, for the moment, obstruction-related inquiries. They left open the possibility that they would follow up with additional questions on obstruction, though Trump’s lawyers — who had long resisted any face-to-face interview — had been especially adamant that the Constitution shielded him from having to answer any questions about actions he took as president.

Another of Trump’s lawyers, Rudy Giuliani, said Tuesday that the lawyers continue to believe that "much of what has been asked raised serious constitutional issues and was beyond the scope of a legitimate inquiry." He said Mueller’s office had received "unprecedented cooperation from the White House."

"it is time to bring this inquiry to a conclusion," Giuliani said.

The precise questions and answers that Trump gave to Mueller weren’t immediately clear, though the president told reporters last week that he had prepared the responses himself.

Trump told Fox News in an interview that aired Sunday that he was unlikely to answer questions about obstruction, saying, "I think we’ve wasted enough time on this witch hunt and the answer is probably, we’re finished."

Trump joins a list of recent presidents to be questioned as part of a criminal investigation.

In 2004, George W. Bush was interviewed by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald’s office during an investigation into the leaked identity of a CIA officer. In 1998, President Bill Clinton testified before a federal grand jury in independent counsel Ken Starr’s Whitewater investigation.

"It’s very extraordinary if this were a regular case, but it’s not every day that you have an investigation that touches upon the White House," said Solomon Wisenberg, a Washington lawyer who was part of Starr’s team and conducted the grand jury questioning of Clinton.

Mueller could theoretically still look to subpoena the president if he feels the answers are not satisfactory. But Justice Department leaders, including acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker — who now oversees the investigation and has spoken pejoratively of it in the past — would have to sign off on such a move, and it’s far from clear that they would. It’s also not clear that Mueller’s team would prevail if a subpoena fight reaches the Supreme Court.

"Mueller certainly could have forced the issue and issued a subpoena, but I think he wants to present a record of having bent over backwards to be fair," Wisenberg said.

The Supreme Court has never ruled on whether a president can be subpoenaed to testify in a criminal case. Clinton was subpoenaed to appear before the Whitewater grand jury, though investigators withdrew the subpoena once he agreed to appear voluntarily.

Other cases involving Presidents Richard Nixon and Clinton have presented similar issues for the justices that could be instructive now.

In 1974, for instance, the court ruled that Nixon could be ordered to turn over subpoenaed audio recordings, a decision that hastened his resignation from office. The court in 1998 said Clinton could be questioned under oath in a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by Paula Jones.

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