President Trump uses nuclear war to distract from porn star scandal, tariffs
Mar 9, 2018, 3:10 PM | Updated: 3:32 pm
A watchdog group asked the Justice Department and Office of Government Ethics to investigate whether a secret payment to Stormy Daniels made prior to the 2016 presidential election violated federal law because Donald Trump did not list it on his financial disclosure forms. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
(AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
Both sides of the Pacific are buzzing about an apparent upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
It’s good news for everyone because nobody wants nuclear war. And it’s even better news for President Trump, with attention turning away from news that Trump attorney Michael Cohen allegedly paid a porn star $130,000 to keep quiet about an affair.
It kicked porn star Stormy Daniels off the front page, KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross pointed out.
“You’re such a cynic, but you’re right,” said “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan. “This was a tremendous change of topic.”
Brennan says President Trump wasn’t having a good week. He faced opposition from his own party over stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. Many of America’s big trading partners blasted the tariffs.
Trump argued the tariffs are necessary for national security. Analysts said the tariffs will increase tensions that may lead to a trade war.
In addition to the tariff troubles, a watchdog group asked the Justice Department and the Office of Government Ethics to investigate a payment to Daniels made prior to the 2016 election. The group believes the payment may have violated federal law because it was not disclosed.
“Mr. Trump intentionally omitted this material information from his financial disclosures as part of a larger scheme to hide his relationship with Ms. Daniels, that would be no small thing,” the chair of the watchdog group told The Associated Press.
Thanks to the possibility of Trump meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, those headlines have been pushed to the background. Though it wasn’t certain that meeting would happen as of Friday afternoon, White House legislative affairs director Marc Short did say President Trump spoke about his decision to meet with the North Korean dictator with some lawmakers.
The White House told The Associated Press Trump wouldn’t hold a meeting unless Kim Jong Un would take “concrete steps” toward denuclearization.
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Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.
