Trump reportedly pushed Australia's prime minister to work with Barr and 'discredit' Mueller
President Trump is reportedly asking for favors around the world.
Just weeks after he asked Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky for a "favor," Trump reportedly asked Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison for another one. He wanted Morrison to work with Attorney General William Barr to investigate the origins of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe and hopefully discredit it, two American officials with knowledge of the call tell The New York Times.
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.
The call is similar to the one between Trump and Zelensky recounted in a White House memorandum released last week. In that case, Trump asked Zelensky to talk with Barr in an effort to investigate the DNC email hack and former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden. The Australia call similarly shows how Trump sees Barr as a "critical partner" to achieve his goals and "shows the president using high-level diplomacy to advance his personal political interests," the Times writes.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment, while spokespeople for the White House and for the Australian prime minister did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Read more at The New York Times.
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
What is the endgame in the DHS shutdown?Today’s Big Question Democrats want to rein in ICE’s immigration crackdown
-
‘Poor time management isn’t just an inconvenience’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
