Media Blackout: The White House Stops Talking to the Press

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The White House told the media on Monday that President Donald Trump would not take any questions after he admitted on Twitter that his son may have colluded with Russians during the 2016 campaign.

“JUST IN: White House announces a travel/photo lid, which means no public appearances by Trump today as new questions swirl around that 2016 Trump Tower meeting to get dirt on Hillary Clinton.”

“The White House has issued a “lid” for the day, essentially telling reporters that we will not see the president until at least tomorrow. He is having dinner with supporters tonight at his Bedminster property in NJ, per prior guidance.”

The move seemed designed to insulate the president from making any more legally damaging statements to the press, and to prevent him from incriminating himself any further.

It is widely believed that he, his advisors, and even his family may be facing increasing legal jeopardy for possible criminal conspiracies and obstruction of justice.

Over the weekend Trump sent tweets changing his explanations for the notorious June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer in Trump Tower. He had claimed originally that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss Russian adoptions, which nobody believed. This provably false explanation was drafted by his former adviser Hope Hicks while they both were traveling on Air Force One.

In a tweet on Sunday, Trump finally publicly admitted that the purpose of the meeting had been to get damaging information about Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee, which other people have been saying for many months.

With one simple tweet, the president changed his story from “no collusion” to “collusion is OK.” He now claims that meeting with Russians to get “opposition research” is perfectly fine and it’s done all the time. In saying this he forgot to mention that the campaign help he solicited and obtained was from a foreign enemy of the United States, the Russian Federation.

Receiving help from a foreign nation during a campaign is not legal in any way, shape or form, but Trump has now admitted that he did this, and so did his senior campaign advisers. He also said his son Don Jr. knew about it and arranged it.

The White House “lid” on presidential travel and questions from the press clearly was an attempt to prevent a desperate and beleaguered commander in chief from adding to the new legal problems he has made for himself.

And clearly he already has enough legal problems. Previously, his former lawyer Michael Cohen said he was going to testify that the president knew about the meeting in advance and approved it.

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Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.