Trump news: President demands personal apology after NYT publish 'antisemitic' cartoon as he attacks firefighters

Former top Justice Department official Sally Yates said on Sunday that if Donald Trump were not president, he would have been indicted on obstruction charges in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

Yates, a career federal prosecutor who rose to acting attorney-general before Trump fired her in 2017 less than two weeks into his presidency, told NBC's Meet the Press the president was shielded by department guidelines that a sitting president should not be indicted.

"I've personally prosecuted obstruction cases on far, far less evidence than this," Yates said. "And yes, I believe, if he were not the president of the United States, he would likely be indicted on obstruction."

Yates told NBC there was a larger question raised by the report, which she said painted a "devastating portrait" of a campaign that welcomed Russian intervention, lied about it and then tried to cover it up.

"Is this the kind of conduct that we should expect from the president of the United States?" she said. "I mean, when the Russians came knocking at their door, you would expect that a man who likes to make a show of hugging the flag would've done the patriotic thing and would've notified law enforcement."

Yates was fired by Trump after she took the extraordinarily rare step of defying the White House and refused to defend new travel restrictions targeting seven Muslim-majority nations.

Republicans have been heavily attacked for their unwavering support of President Trump in the wake of the Mueller report and the damaging behind-the-scenes snapshot it offers of his administration, most notably by Paul Krugman of The New York Times, whose article on "The Great Republican Abdication" drew fire from the big man himself last week.

Here's a particularly craven example of what Krugman was referring to, courtesy of Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin - also speaking on Meet the Press - who somehow found it within himself to defend Trump calling the Justice Department and FBI "scum" on Saturday night.

Here's Trump's latest tweet.

It's regarding his phone call with Rabbi Goldstein and gives a needlessly graphic account of the grieving man's injuries.

Nice work from The Washington Post.

President Trump's latest speeches take him past the 10,000 false claims mark.

That's 23 lies per day, according to The Post's Glenn Kessler.

Here's a nice bit of perspective from Kessler's colleague, Philip Bump.

Also appearing on the Sunday talk shows was Trump's pick for the board of the Federal Reserve, Stephen Moore, who says there is a "smear campaign" being waged against him, after past writings and comments about women sparked renewed criticism from Democrats.

Moore, during an interview on ABC's This Week, said there were a handful of reporters dedicated to digging up negative information on his personal life and past statements.

Moore said the president asked him to appear on the show, where he denounced negative news reports as a "character assassination."

Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, giving them the final say on whether Moore's promised nomination is confirmed.

Democratic Senators have criticised Moore for his policy positions, including his longtime support of tax cuts to stimulate the economy, as well as his comments about women.

"If I become a liability to any of these senators, I would withdraw," Moore told ABC. "I don't think it's going to come to that. I think most fair-minded people think this has been kind of a sleaze campaign against me.

"I just think the perception is very different from the reality in terms of my attitude towards women."

Moore said he had apologised for writing a column 18 years ago in which he jokingly called women's participation in basketball "a travesty," adding he would never write such a "politically incorrect column" today.

Moore also has come under fire for 2014 comments referring to cities in the US Midwest, such as Cincinnati, as the "armpits of America."

Some economists and Democratic lawmakers have questioned Moore's competence, citing his support for tying policy decisions to commodity prices and his fluctuating views on rates.

Moore was an adviser to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and has commented on the economy in various media. In 1999 he co-founded the Club for Growth, an organisation calling for lower taxes and limited government.

Trump has broken from tradition by frequently and publicly pressuring the Fed. He has accused the non-partisan central bank under chairman Jerome Powell, who Trump appointed to the job last year, of hurting the economy and stock market. Moore has said he agrees with Trump that rates should be reduced.

"It was a terrible decision by the Fed," Moore said of the Fed decision to raise interest rates in December. "The stock market fell by 2,500 points in the subsequent weeks of that, and then of course the Fed had to reverse course, put its tail between its legs and admit that people like Donald Trump and I were right and that they were wrong."

Trump also had planned to nominate former pizza chain executive Herman Cain for a Fed seat, but Cain withdrew from consideration last week, saying it would reduce his income and influence.

Cain, whose bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 was derailed by accusations of sexual harassment, would have had a difficult confirmation process because four Republican senators had expressed reservations about him.

Here's an unexpected change of pace for you.

DJ and musician Moby recounted an extraordinary anecdote to The Sunday Times over the weekend about the time he rubbed his penis against Donald Trump for a dare at a dull party in New York.

"In 2001, I found myself on my way to a party on Park Avenue," Moby explained. "The party wasn’t that exciting. It was mainly full of businessmen and real estate developers, most notably Donald Trump, who was standing a few yards away, talking loudly to some other guests.”

Moby was challenged to enliven matters by a friend.

“I drank a shot of vodka to brace myself, pulled my flaccid penis out of my trousers and casually walked past Trump, trying to brush the edge of his jacket with my penis.

“Luckily he didn’t seem to notice or even twitch. I returned to my friends and ordered another drink.”

He did so with the immortal words: “I think I knob-touched Donald Trump”.

Here's Hugh Hewitt for Indy Voices on why Trump will win with ease in 2020.

Former CIA director John Brennan has railed against Trump‘s “sociopathic ramblings” after he called special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation an attempted “coup” on his presidency. 

Here's more.

Here's one for you sports fans.

President Trump tweeted his congratulations to Ohio State University defensive end Nick Bosa - who has been picked up by the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Draft - erroneously believing the rookie to be a MAGA supporter.

But Bosa has since deleted earlier tweets in favour of Trump, apologising for them as a "bad decision".

Here's Ed Malyon.

Here's a little on the Trump camp's view of their 2020 prospects.

And this is what they're up to in Texas.