Nation Glance
AP source: Mueller team questions ex-spy on Trump dossier
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team of investigators has recently spoken with a former British spy who compiled a dossier of allegations about President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
The meeting with Christopher Steele took place in Europe in recent weeks, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
The dossier, which contends that Russia amassed compromising personal and financial allegations about Trump, was turned over to the FBI last year. It was developed by Steele, a former British spy who was assigned to look into Trump’s Russia ties by a private American firm.
The document of allegations, which circulated in Washington last fall before the presidential election, received public attention in January when it was revealed that then-FBI Director James Comey had privately briefed Trump on a summary on the document’s findings.
Trump has called the allegations in the dossier “phony stuff” even as the FBI has been investigating and working to corroborate the document’s claims. The conversation with Mueller’s team, which is investigating potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, suggests that investigators continue to take the document seriously.
Tens of thousands have yet to submit DACA renewals
WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of young people eligible for renewed protection from deportation had yet to submit their applications hours before a Trump administration deadline Thursday night. The administration was finalizing details of an immigration wish list that could jeopardize a long-term fix.
Under a phase-out plan announced by the president last month, more than 150,000 young people covered by the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program whose permits were set to expire before March 5 were given the chance to submit renewals — provided they arrive by Oct. 5.
Trump gave Congress six months to come up with a legislative replacement for the program. It shielded from deportation hundreds of thousands of young people, many of whom were brought into the U.S. illegally as children, and allowed them to work legally in the country.
While final numbers wouldn’t be available until next week, DHS spokesman David Lapan said that about 118,000 of the roughly 154,000 people eligible for renewals had submitted their applications by mid-day Thursday. That left 36,000 — or about 23 percent of those eligible — outstanding. Facilities processing applications were prepared to accept courier deliveries until midnight, he said.
The deadline approached as the Trump administration finalized the details of a set of immigration principles that could upend efforts to come up with a permanent fix for DACA recipients, often known as “Dreamers.”