The president speaks before leaving for Davos.
President Trump told reporters Wednesday that he welcomed the chance to speak under oath to Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating the Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. "I'm looking forward to it, actually," Trump told reporters during an impromptu briefing in the West Wing prior to his departure for Switzerland Wednesday evening.
"Here's the story, just so you understand: There's been no collusion whatsoever. There's been no obstruction whatsoever, and I'm looking forward to it,” Trump said. The president characterized the accusations of obstruction of justice as “fighting back” against false charges of collusion with the Russians. “Oh, well, ‘Did he fight back?’ You fight back, ‘Oh, it’s obstruction,’” Trump said.
Trump lawyer Ty Cobb, who had not previously indicated whether he would advise the president to meet with Mueller, told the New York Times that arrangements were still being worked out and that Trump was not volunteering to testify before a grand jury. “He’s ready to meet with them, but he’ll be guided by the advice of his personal counsel,” said Cobb. |
|
|
The White House announced Wednesday it will release its newest immigration policy proposal next week, which will lay out President Trump’s expectations for the immigration deal Congress could pass in the coming days.
“These reforms were assembled in coordination with frontline law enforcement officers and career public servants who know what is necessary to keep America safe,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. “This framework will fulfill the four agreed-upon pillars: securing the border and closing legal loopholes; ending extended-family chain migration; cancelling the visa lottery; and providing a permanent solution on DACA.”
It’s unclear whether this framework will include a path to citizenship for DACA recipients, something the president himself suggested he could support in that impromptu briefing. “Over a period of 10 to 12 years, somebody does a great job, they work hard, that gives incentive to do a great job. Whatever they’re doing, if they do a great job, I think it’s a nice thing to have the incentive of, after a period of years, being able to become a citizen,” Trump said. |
|
|
| One More Thing—My colleague Haley Byrd reports from Capitol Hill on the different immigration proposals percolating in Congress: While a number of legislative proposals exist to replace the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which will expire on March 5, the plans vary widely . . .
In the Senate, a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham and Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin has been working on a plan to replace DACA.
The proposal does not yet have legislative text, but it appears to be a compromise that would grant President Donald Trump funding for his wall on the southern border along with some other potential concessions in return for permanent legal status for immigrants currently living in the United States. |
|
|
Even as Congress ponders a DACA fix, the Trump administration continues to crack down on illegal immigration in other areas. The Justice Department on Wednesday issued letters to 23 local governments demanding proof that they are not "unlawfully restricting information sharing by law enforcement officers with federal immigration authorities."
"I continue to urge all jurisdictions under review to reconsider policies that place the safety of their communities and their residents at risk," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement. "Protecting criminal aliens from federal immigration authorities defies common sense and undermines the rule of law."
The letter threatened subpoenas against jurisdictions that declined to turn over the information voluntarily and warned that governments found out of compliance would lose federal funds related to a crime-fighting grant program. |
|
|
| | | View this email as a webpage. | This email was sent by: The Weekly Standard
| | We respect your right to privacy - view our policy | | Unsubscribe | © Copyright 2015-2018 The Weekly Standard. All Rights Reserved
|
|
|
|
