Power shift
Former Sen. Bob Dole, acting as a foreign agent for the government of Taiwan, worked behind the scenes over the past six months to establish high-level contact between Taiwanese officials and President-elect Donald Trump's staff, an effort that culminated last week in an unorthodox telephone call between Trump and Taiwan's president. Dole, a lobbyist, set up a series of meetings between Trump's advisers and officials in Taiwan, according to disclosure documents filed with the Justice Department. Dole's firm received $140,000 from May to October for the work. The documents suggest that Trump's decision to take a call from the president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, was the result of an orchestrated plan by Taiwan.
Michael G. Flynn, the son of incoming National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, has no involvement in the transition team of Donald Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence said Tuesday. The younger Flynn, his father's chief of staff, had been involved in the transition but is no longer, Trump spokesman Jason Miller clarified. The younger Flynn has promoted fictitious news stories.
The presidential recount in Michigan expanded to several new counties on Tuesday, including its largest one that includes Detroit, as a federal appeals court refused to stop it. Meanwhile, the fate of a statewide recount push in Pennsylvania must wait at least until Friday, when a federal judge has scheduled a hearing on it.
Donald Trump has asked 25 longtime friends and supporters to lead his Presidential Inaugural Committee. The group will plan most of the official events for the inauguration — lunches, dinners, a parade and the official balls — and will pay for it with private donations. Because the timeline for fundraising is only eight weeks, Trump has turned to CEOs, casino magnates and financiers who can pull it all off by Jan. 20. Leading the effort is multimillionaire Thomas J. Barrack Jr., one of Trump's oldest friends and a longtime business partner. Barrack raised $32 million to support Trump, appeared frequently on television to speak for him, and was given a prominent role at the GOP convention.
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