President Trump Puts Off Syria Strike Decision, Will Talk To Allies

By ROBERT BURNS and CATHERINE LUCEY, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday put off a final decision on possible military strikes against Syria after tweeting earlier that they could happen “very soon or not so soon at all.” The White House said he would consult further with allies. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis…

Trump Threatens Syria Strike, Suggests Russia Shares Blame

By ROBERT BURNS, ZEKE MILLER and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Promising a decision within hours, President Donald Trump threatened a military strike against Syria and declared on Monday that Russia or any other nation found to share responsibility for Saturday’s apparent chemical weapons attack on civilians will “pay a price.” The White House…

President Trump Warns Assad: ‘Big Price To Pay’ For Fatal Syria Attack

By JONATHAN LEMIRE, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday condemned a “mindless CHEMICAL attack” in Syria that killed women and children, called Syrian President Bashar Assad an “animal” and delivered a rare personal criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin for supporting the Damascus government. As Washington worked to verify the claim by…

AP Source: Mueller Says Trump Not Criminal Target Currently In Russia Investigation

By CHAD DAY, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Robert Mueller has informed President Donald Trump’s attorneys that the president is not currently considered a criminal target in the Russia investigation, according to a person familiar with the conversation. The person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations and demanded anonymity, said…

McMaster Out, Bolton In As Trump’s National Security Adviser

By JILL COLVIN, CATHERINE LUCEY and KEN THOMAS, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is replacing national security adviser H.R. McMaster with the former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, injecting a hawkish foreign policy voice into his administration ahead of key decisions on Iran and North Korea. Trump tweeted Thursday that McMaster has done “an…

White House Says Trump Isn’t Considering Firing Mueller

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is not considering firing the special counsel investigating Russian election interference, a top White House lawyer said, after a cascade of Trump tweets revived chatter that the deeply frustrated president may be preparing to get rid of the veteran prosecutor. The late-Sunday statement from White…