"What has been shown is no collusion, no collusion," President Trump told reporters Saturday morning in response to the Friday news that his former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty of lying to the FBI about his contact with a former Russian ambassador. "There's been absolutely no collusion, so we're very happy," Trump reiterated, before changing the subject to the morning's passage of the Senate tax reform bill. "Frankly, last night was one of the big nights," he said.
Meanwhile, one of Trump's lawyers, Jay Sekulow, told The New Yorker that even if collusion did occur between members of the Trump campaign and the Russian government, it would not be a crime because there is no federal law against collusion itself. "For something to be a crime, there has to be a statute that you claim is being violated," Sekulow said. "There is not a statute that refers to criminal collusion. There is no crime of collusion."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Can AI tools be used to Hollywood's advantage?Talking Points It makes some aspects of the industry faster and cheaper. It will also put many people in the entertainment world out of work
-
'Paraguay has found itself in a key position'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Meet Youngmi Mayer, the renegade comedian whose frank new memoir is a blitzkrieg to the genreThe Week Recommends 'I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying' details a biracial life on the margins, with humor as salving grace
-
Sri Lanka's new Marxist leader wins huge majoritySpeed Read The left-leaning coalition of newly elected Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won 159 of the legislature's 225 seats
-
Biden arrives in Peru for final summitsSpeed Read President Joe Biden will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, visit the Amazon rainforest and attend two major international summits
-
Senate GOP selects Thune, House GOP keeps JohnsonSpeed Read John Thune will replace Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader, and Mike Johnson will remain House speaker in Congress
-
Trump tests GOP loyalty with Gaetz, Gabbard picksSpeed Read He named Matt Gaetz as his pick for attorney general and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. Both have little experience in their proposed jurisdictions.
-
Pentagon Discord leaker gets 15 years in prisonSpeed Read Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guard member, leaked classified military documents
-
Saudi crown prince slams Israeli 'genocide' in GazaSpeed Read Mohammed bin Salman has condemned Israel’s actions
-
Trump fills key slots, tapping Congress, MAGA loyalistsSpeed Read The president-elect continues to fill his administration with new foreign policy, environment and immigration roles assigned
-
Haiti council fires prime minister, boosting chaosSpeed Read Prime Minister Garry Conille was replaced with Alix Didier Fils-Aimé
