Trump travel ban: Judge expands definition of relatives

FBI director rejects Donald Trump's claims that Barack Obama tapped his phone

6 March

FBI director James Comey has reportedly rejected Donald Trump claims that Barack Obama tapped his phones during last year's US presidential election campaign.

Comey has "asked the Justice Department to publicly reject President Trump's unsubstantiated claim", the New York Times reports. However, the department has not issued a public rebuttal, which "would be a major rebuke of a sitting president", says the newspaper.

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Without providing any evidence, Trump alleged on Saturday that Obama had wiretapped Trump Tower in the run-up to November's election and compared the alleged action to Watergate and McCarthyism, before calling the former president a "bad (or sick) guy".

The White House called for Congress to investigate the allegations to determine whether "executive investigative powers were abused" during the campaign.

As to the source of Trump's claim, many news outlets have pointed to an article published on Friday by Breitbart, the hardline conservative website formerly run by Steve Bannon, who is now Trump's chief strategist, which claimed the Obama administration used "police state" tactics to monitor the Trump team and launch a "silent coup".

The New York Times quotes two people "close to Mr Trump" who said he was referring to this article, "which aides said had been passed around among his advisers".

There is "scant evidence" supporting these allegations, says the BBC's Anthony Zurcher, but making charges like this fits a pattern in Trump's behaviour when his back is against the wall. They "could mark the beginning of a massive water-muddying effort in which any forthcoming investigatory revelations are swept up in a growing partisan maelstrom", says Zurcher.

Kevin Lewis, a spokesman for Obama, called the claims "simply false".

He added: "A cardinal rule of the Obama administration was that no White House official ever interfered with any independent investigation led by the Department of Justice."

However, Lewis's statement "did not address the possibility that a wiretap of the Trump campaign could have been ordered by Justice Department officials", says Reuters.

The FBI has been investigating contacts between Trump campaign advisers and Russians known to US intelligence, but "there is no evidence such a document on surveillance of Trump himself exists, according to sources with knowledge of the situation", CNN reports.

Several Democrats have suggested Trump's claim is an attempt to shift attention from his team's links with Russia after it was revealed last week that attorney general Jeff Sessions met the Russian ambassador before the election, despite having said under oath he had "no communication with the Russians".

"The Deflector-in-Chief is at it again," tweeted House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.

Jeff Sessions steps aside from Russia inquiry

3 March

US attorney general Jeff Sessions has said he will recuse himself from investigations into Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election, but is still facing calls for his resignation.

Staff had recommended he step aside from the inquiry, he said, adding: "I believe those recommendations are right and just. Therefore I have recused myself from matters with the Trump campaign."

Sessions made the announcement less than 24 hours after the Washington Post revealed he had twice met Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the US, during Donald Trump's campaign for the White House. He had denied any such meetings during his confirmation hearing in the Senate, telling senators: "I did not have communications with the Russians."

According to the paper, the two men spoke about a trip Sessions made to Russia in 1991, as well as terrorism and Ukraine, which is a "major policy issue, given Russia's annexation of Crimea, and the imposition of US and European Union sanctions on Russia for its actions".

"The latest disclosures - and the Trump administration's contradictory accounts of them - have deepened the questions about Russia's role in the election and its aftermath," the New York Times says.

President Trump defended his attorney general. Sessions "did not say anything wrong", he said, and the controversy was "a total witch hunt".

"He could have stated his response more accurately, but it was clearly not intentional," added Trump.

Senior Democrats have called for Sessions to step down. House leader Nancy Pelosi said "his narrow recusal and sorry attempt to explain away his perjury" were not enough.

Sessions is the second senior member of the Trump administration to come under fire for meeting with the Russian ambassador.

Mike Flynn was forced to resign as national security adviser last month after admitting he misled the administration over conversations with Kislyak before Trump's inauguration.

Trump's attorney general Jeff Sessions faces calls to quit over Russia meetings

2 March

US attorney general Jeff Sessions twice met Russia's ambassador to the US during last year's presidential election, the White House has confirmed.

"The details of the meetings were not clear," says the New York Times, "but the contact appeared to contradict testimony Mr Sessions provided Congress during his confirmation hearing in January when he said he 'did not have communications with the Russians'."

Sessions, a senator at the time, said last night he "never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign".

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House minority leader, accused him of "lying under oath" and said he should resign.

This is not the first time the new administration has been linked to Moscow. Last month, Mike Flynn was forced to quit as Donald Trump's national security adviser after it emerged he had misled senior staff about his contact with the Russian ambassador before taking office.

A US congressional committee has also agreed to investigate claims of Russian interference in the presidential election, an announcement which marked an abrupt change of direction by senior Republicans, who had previously resisted calls for an inquiry from Democrats.

"The House intelligence panel inquiry will scrutinise contacts between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Moscow," the BBC reports.

The six-page "scoping document" remains classified, but the inquiry will seek to answer four main questions:

• What Russian cyber activity was directed against the US and its allies?
• Did the Russian campaign include links between Russia and US political campaigns?
• What was the US government's response and how could it be improved?
• Was classified information leaked during the intelligence communities response?

The New York Times says a number of countries have provided the US with "information describing meetings in European cities between Russian officials - and others close to Russia's president, Vladimir V Putin - and associates of president-elect Trump".

Donald Trump softens tone for Congress speech

1 March

Donald Trump promised a "new chapter of American greatness" as he delivered an upbeat first address to Congress yesterday.

Striking a much softer tone than usual, the US President said: "I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart."

He also attempted to repackage his hardline campaign promises with a "moderate sheen", says the Washington Post.

Hoping to steady his presidency after a chaotic first 40 days, Trump "had an air of seriousness and revealed flashes of compassion", the paper says, unveiling plans to rebuild a country he described as "ravaged by crime and drugs, deteriorating infrastructure and failing bureaucracies".

He called on Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare, saying he wants to "expand choice, increase access, lower costs and, at the same time, provide better healthcare", and promised "massive tax relief for the middle class".

He also said the US "strongly supports Nato", but its members "must meet their financial obligations", and vowed to "extinguish" the "vile enemy" of Islamic State, a comment greeted with wide applause.Trump's speech was even praised from media outlets and commentators that have a rocky relationship with the new administration.

The New York Times said the themes were "largely Republican orthodoxy, delivered soberly", while CNN said the address had a "softer tone" and that Trump showed "statesmanlike cadence, hitting notes of inspiration".

In the UK, the Daily Telegraph described it as "a more optimistic and presidential" address than expected, while The Times said it "looked to reset his presidency after a fitful start".

However, several media outlets said the speech contained numerous inaccuracies. The Guardian picked apart many of his statements, including his exaggerated claims of unemployment and tax relief for the middle class, which the newspaper says will largely help the top earners.