Trump: “We must now focus on strengthening Background Checks!”


Developments on Day 397 of the Trump Administration:

Trump Orders Ban on Bump Stocks

Under pressure after the mass killing at a Florida high school last week, Donald Trump has ordered a small concession for gun control.

Trump has been silent when questioned about limits on firearms, as angry, grieving students from Douglas High School, where 17 classmates were slain, demanded significant action.

On Monday, Trump signaled that he might support legislation for a modest change to the national background check system. Yesterday he said he had ordered the Justice Department to issue regulations banning bump stocks, which convert semi-automatic guns into automatic weapons.

Bump stocks were not used at Douglas High School or in many other killings. However, they contributed to the assault on concertgoers in Las Vegas last October, killing 59 people in the largest killing by a single shooter in US history.

Gun control advocates quickly noted that the measures are limited. Even the National Rifle Association supports the background check legislation and regulation of bump stocks, although not an outright ban.

In Washington, the background check bill, seeking to improve the existing database which prevents gun purchases by criminals and the mentally ill, does not close loopholes that allow millions of gun sales without a check. In the House of Representatives, a similar measure has been combined with legislation that would effectively allow people to legally carry concealed weapons in all 50 states.

Trump said at a White House ceremony for public safety officials, “We cannot merely take actions that make us feel like we are making a difference. We must actually make a difference.”

On Tuesday night, he tried to use the small concession to divert pressure on his Administration:

But in Florida, the Republican-controlled State House rejected consideration of a bill to ban large-capacity magazines and the type of assault rifles used in last week’s attack, while students from Douglas High School watched from the gallery.


Lawyer Pleads Guilty of Lying in Trump-Russia Investigation

Lawyer Alex van der Zwaan, the son-in-law of a Russia-based billionaire, pleads guilty to lying to investigators about communications with Rick Gates, the top aide to former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.

Van der Zwaan said in federal court in Washington that he lied to prosecutors about a September 2016 conversation with Gates over their work for a Ukrainian political party aligned with Russia. He also admitted that he deleted records of e-mail exchanges.

Both Manafort and Gates were indicted in October on money laundering, tax, and lobbying charges over consulting work for the pro-Russian Ukrainian political party headed by former President Viktor Yanukovych.

Both men pleaded not guilty, but reports this week say Gates may accept a plea bargain and cooperate with the Trump-Russia inquiry of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.