Outside the Beltway

You keep using that word. It does not mean what you think it means.

It took less than twenty-four hours for President Trump to essentially repudiate his purported attempt to walk back the appalling comments he made in Helsinki.

Some Democrats want to compel President Trump’s translator to testify about his private meeting with Vladimir Putin. That’s a bad idea.

One day after an embarrassing performance at the Helsinki Summit, President Trump an absurd, completely unbelieve walk back of things the entire world heard him say loud and clear.

Mariia Butina, a Russian “gun rights activist, is accused of being an unregistered agent of the Russian government and attempting to influence Republican Party policies regarding Russia in an operation that pre-dates the Trump Presidential campaign.

President Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin was an even bigger disaster than anticipated.

Even if all he gets out of the Helsinki Summit is a handshake and a photograph, Vladimir Putin has already won.

Some thoughts on the Strzok hearing.

The Office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller has issued indictments against twelve Russian intelligence officials for election-related hacking, and in the process has shown most of the arguments made by the President and his surrogates regarding the Russia investigation are nonsense.

Not surprisingly, the President’s visit to the United Kingdom wasn’t exactly diplomatic, or even borderline polite.

The NATO Summit is going about as well as can be expected.

A selection that is likely to keep the Senate GOP united and red-state Democrats up for re-election under pressure to vote to confirm.

On the eve of the NATO Summit, President Trump continues to engage in tactics that seem to serve no purpose other than to undermine America’s most important and successful alliance.

Donald Trump continues to do something that Russian and Soviet leaders likely only thought possible in their wildest dreams, drive a wedge between the United States and its NATO allies.

Donald Trump’s trade war continues to have negative consequences for American consumers and businesses.

In a new interview, former Trump attorney and ‘fixer’ Michael Cohen gives the strongest signal yet that he’s ready to cooperate with investigators.

A really weird detail buried in a New York Times story about President Trump’s efforts to get the Justice to retire.

President Trump reportedly trashed the NATO alliance in conversations at the G-7 Summit, something that should make Russian President Vladimir Putin quite happy.

The Presidents of the United States and Russia will meet next month and there’s reason to worry about what Trump might give away.

Once touted as an example of his deal-making prowess, Harley-Davidson sent a rebuke to President Trump by announcing it was moving some manufacturing to Europe to counteract the impact of his ongoing trade war.

Not surprisingly, Canadians aren’t too thrilled with Donald Trump these days.

Turkey’s authoritarian leader is going to be around for a long time.

Three months after it started, the Trump Trade War is already starting to have a negative impact on American businesses and American consumers.

President Trump once said that “trade wars are good and easy to win.” It’s only been three months since he started this war and we’re already finding out just how wrong he is about that.

Seemingly out of nowhere yesterday, the Commander-in-Chief ordered the Pentagon to create a fifth service.

The offer was made to Roger Stone.

The President’s attorney continues to issue public statements that would seem injurious to his client.

Donald Trump’s former Campaign Manager was sent to jail, a move that likely increases the pressure on him to cooperate with Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

There was some degree of humor in the Dept. of Justice’s Inspector General’s report.

The Department of Justice’s Inspector General found that former F.B.I. Director James Comey was ‘insubordinate’ in regard to the Clinton email investigation, but found no evidence of political bias at the Bureau.

The Attorney General of New York has filed a Complaint against President Trump and several members of his family alleging widespread fraud in the operation of Trump’s charitable Foundation.

The North American delegation has won the right to lose a whole lot of money putting on a soccer tournament.

Thanks to Donald Trump, the happiest man in the world right now is Vladimir Putin.

European alliance and Russian goals edition.

Dan Coates, the Director of National Intelligence, has issued a strong warning that has received little attention.

Former Trump Campaign Director Paul Manafort has been hit with a new round of charges.

Donald Trump hinted that he’s considering a pardon for Muhammad Ali, but Ali doesn’t need a pardon.

Trump’s suggestion to include Russia again in a new G-8 makes me wonder about a couple of things.

As he headed to the G-7 Summit, President Trump threw our ostensible allies another curve.

The plan to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill appears to be running up against President Trump’s bizarre affinity for Andrew Jackson.

The actions of the Trump administration are helping Russian-EU relations (to the detriment of the US).

The arguments in favor of a permanent U.S./NATO base in Poland are not very convincing.

More than a decade ago, Donald Trump revealed one of his secrets to success. Exhaust your enemies. It explains much of what has happened since he took office.

Based on a strict reading of the Constitution, a sitting President probably does have the power to pardon himself. That doesn’t mean he should be allowed to get away with it without consequence.

Echoing the Obama Administration, the Trump Administration is arguing that it did not need Congressional authorization to attack Syria earlier this year.

President Trump’s attorneys have put forward a shockingly expansive view of the powers of the President.

A long-overdue overhaul of the way the United States vets those who access classified information is underway.

President Trump has issued another controversial pardon.

President Trump is claiming that he didn’t fire former F.B.I. Director James Comey because of the Russia investigation, even though he admitted the exact opposite just weeks after it happened.