Despite the frequency of Trump's falsehoods, the media have rarely referred to them as "lies". The word suggests an attempt to deceive, hence if used could be construed as conveying an opinion as to the intent behind the statement. The word is fraught with political peril and has usually been avoided out of respect for the presidential office. Nevertheless, in August 2018 The Washington Post declared for the first time that some of Trump's misstatements (statements concerning hush money paid to Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal) were lies. Former Secretary of State for George W. Bush, Colin Powell, who had never used the word in reference to any previous president, said in June 2020 that Trump "lies all the time".
On April 1, 2020, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) extended the PREDICT program for six months. In September 2019, the Trump administration had ended the 200-million-dollar early-warning program initiated by USAID in 2009; dozens of epidemiologists and wildlife veterinarians working for partner organizations were laid off. The program trained scientists in sixty foreign laboratories, including the Wuhan lab that first identified the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19, to detect and respond to viruses that have the potential to cause pandemics.
More InfoOn May 17, 2017, former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller, a former director of the FBI, to serve as special counsel for the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) investigating "any links and/or coordination between Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump, and any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation", thus taking over the existing "Crossfire Hurricane" FBI investigation into the matter. The special counsel also investigated whether Trump's dismissal of James Comey as FBI director constituted obstruction of justice, and possible campaign ties to other national governments. Trump repeatedly denied any collusion between his campaign and the Russian government. Mueller also investigated the Trump campaign's possible ties to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Qatar, Israel, and China.
More InfoTrump's cabinet nominations included U.S. senator from Alabama Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, financier Steve Mnuchin as Secretary of the Treasury, retired Marine Corps general James Mattis as Secretary of Defense, and ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. Trump also brought on board politicians who had opposed him during the presidential campaign, such as neurosurgeon Ben Carson as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley as Ambassador to the United Nations.
More InfoOn March 22, 2019, Mueller concluded his investigation and gave his report to Attorney General William Barr. On March 24, Barr sent a four-page letter to Congress summarizing the "principal conclusions" in the report. He quoted Mueller as stating "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him." Barr further wrote that he and Rosenstein did not see sufficient evidence to prove obstruction of justice. Trump interpreted Mueller's report as a "complete exoneration", a phrase he repeated multiple times in the ensuing weeks. Mueller privately complained to Barr on March 27 that his summary did not accurately reflect what the report said, and some legal analysts called the Barr letter misleading.
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