White House

President Trump believes there's plenty of proof Hillary Clinton is actually the one guilty of colluding with the Russians, and openly discussed it in meetings ... according to the new recording Omarosa just released.

She says this audio is from an October 2017 meeting -- Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Hope Hicks are heard talking to POTUS about Robert Mueller's investigation. Trump gleefully discusses a report claiming Hillary's campaign dropped millions to get the alleged Russian dossier on Trump ... which he calls, "the phony report."

You can hear Trump say, "So the whole Russia thing, I think, seems to have turned around. What do you think, Sarah [Sanders]?" Sarah replies, "Absolutely."

Omarosa released the audio Monday morning on "The View" -- and added a confession of sorts, saying ... "Hillary Clinton was robbed and I was a co-conspirator in that robbery. [I] helped this con man get into office."

We'll give her this -- she knows how to sell a book. Nearly a month after its release, 'Unhinged' is still near the top of several bestseller lists.

Barack Obama is going after President Trump for refusing to decry neo-Nazis in Charlottesville and bullying the media -- but he's also got beef with the alleged Trump staffer behind the NYT op-ed.

The ex-Prez went in on his predecessor while receiving an award at the University of Illinois ... saying, "How hard can that be? Saying that Nazis are bad?" He added, America is supposed to "stand up to bullies, not follow them."

It's the first time 44's publicly attacked 45 since leaving office and, honestly, it's the kind of talk Democrats have been dying to hear from Obama.

He also challenged Trump's non-stop assault on the media ... pointing out he had plenty of issues with Fox News during his administration, but never called them enemies of the state.

Obama said the anonymous NYT op-ed piece shouldn't make anyone feel better about the "crazy stuff" coming out of the White House ... because elected officials should be checking the President, not faceless appointees.

Sounds like someone's stepping back into the political arena just in time for midterm elections.

11:32 AM PT -- As for Trump ... he had a response to Obama during his rally Friday, saying 44's speech made him sleepy.

Donald Trump Jr. has a very clear picture of who's behind that anonymous New York Times op-ed -- and it ain't no "senior official" in the Trump administration.

We got the President's son heading into Vaucluse Thursday in NYC with his GF, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and when we brought up the NYT piece -- about White House staffers allegedly working against 45 -- junior unloaded.

Don didn't name names, but he made it clear he's not buying the Times' report that it was penned by a "senior Trump administration official." He's convinced it's the other end of the ladder.

We broke the story ... Trump's camp wants the Secret Service to launch an investigation to find the culprit.

Megyn Kelly, who's had her own battles with President Trump, is shockingly in his corner ... at least when it comes to the anonymous New York Times op-ed author showing his or her face!

The "Today" host was leaving NBC Studios in NYC Thursday when we asked about the contentious letter which claims Trump staffers are actively working to undermine 45. Megyn says the author of the letter is gutless, and needs to come out and speak publicly against Trump ... instead of working in the shadows.

Considering her rocky history with Trump, it's interesting to hear Megyn echo the administration's message regarding the anonymous piece.

She did say shortly after the election she and Trump were good.

Ted Cruz can't seem to see beyond party lines regarding an anonymous op-ed written in the New York Times that bashed Trump -- 'cause he strongly implies it was written by a Dem.

We got the Texas senator in D.C. Thursday amid the Brett Kavanaugh hearings to ask about a bombshell NYT piece -- supposedly written by a high-ranking Trump administration official -- that said there was an internal resistance in the White House looking to undermine 45.

Cruz says that type of secret mutiny is really nothing new in the Trump White House or in politics in general, explaining that previous Republican presidents also had Democrats working from the inside against their boss' agenda.

Donald Trump's incessant golf outings are costing taxpayers a FORTUNE.

Taxpayers footed bills totaling $300,675 for golf cart rentals alone, so the Secret Service could follow Trump on the links ... this according to federal documents obtained by TMZ.

Many of the expenses emanate from Trump's Mar-a-Lago excursions. And, get this ... since taking office Trump has reportedly spent 153 days at golf properties, which explains why the golf cart rental is sky high.

Since Trump took office, the total expense of his golf outings cost taxpayers an estimated $77 MILLION.

Kim Kardashian West seems to have a powerful pull over President Trump's administration, and she's using it for good ... according to an ex-judge very connected to her cause.

We spoke to former Tennessee judge Kevin Sharp Wednesday in D.C. after his White House meeting with Kim, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and, eventually, the President -- and he says the haters are way off base if they think Kim's only there as window dressing.

Sharp says they had further discussions about criminal justice reform, and not only was Kim was smart and very involved ... she's the right person to seal the deal.

Judge Sharp says Kim's success with Alice Johnson proves she's incredibly effective in a process that would normally take months, because of the public attention she can bring.

By the way, Kim's latest mission -- to get clemency for Chris Young -- is a special one for Sharp. He's the judge who resigned after Tennessee laws forced him to give Young a life sentence for drug possession.

The Lord didn't send thunder or hail, but maybe a lightning strike at the White House can jolt President Trump onto a righteous path ... because a little shock therapy never hurts.

There's a thunderstorm in the nation's capital and the White House was right smack at the center of it. A bolt found its way to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

CNN photographer Khalil Abdallah caught the moment.

There's a storm brewing over Trump's SCOTUS nominee who's getting scorched for snubbing the father of a Parkland shooting victim. Then, there's legendary journalist Bob Woodward's book. The excerpts released Tuesday paint Trump as an egomaniac with "the understanding of a fifth or sixth grader."

Among other claims ... White House chief of staff John Kelly told colleagues Trump's "an idiot. It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails. We're in Crazytown."

Kelly's predecessor, Reince Priebus, reportedly called the presidential bedroom where Trump does most of his tweeting as "the devil's workshop." And, according to the book, Trump said of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, "This guy is mentally retarded. He's this dumb Southerner."

4:00 PM PT -- Hard to tell if it's related, but the Prez just tweeted in all caps ... "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Trump's tweet could be regarding his current struggle with Canada to reach a new NAFTA deal ... or he may have just felt the need to repeat his oft-used slogan. Just as likely, though ... it's a retort to Meghan's eulogy for her father.

Wolf Blitzer doesn't think anything at John McCain's funeral was out of line or too political ... and he's got no apparent issues with Meghan McCain's shot at the Prez either.

We got the CNN anchor at the Reagan National Airport in D.C. Saturday shortly after the late Senator's service wrapped up ... he said it was a beautiful funeral, fitting for "a great American and a great patriot."

Wolf also supported Meghan's comments about her father and the country, clearly slamming Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" motto.

Meghan said, "The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great."

Blitzer's on board with that sentiment, telling us though America's made mistakes, it's the greatest country in the world in his opinion ... and "it's always been great."

As we reported ... former Presidents and McCain rivals George W. Bush and Barack Obama also delivered eulogies for the esteemed politician's National Memorial Service Saturday.

President Trump is defending the way he handled the death of Senator John McCain, saying he did "everything that they requested" and didn't bungle a damn thing.

The Prez sat down with Bloomberg News Thursday for an exclusive interview in the Oval Office, and reporters asked if he missed an opportunity to unite the country and made a mistake by initially not keeping the White House's American flag at half staff until McCain was buried -- an honor that's been bestowed on other senators who've died while in office.

You'll recall ... Trump ordered the flag be flown at half staff the day McCain died, but it was flying at full staff just a day later -- which pissed off A LOT of people, and reportedly caused a veterans group to personally demand that he lower it again out of respect.

Trump caved to the pressure, and eventually issued a statement praising McCain's service to the country after acting clammy at first with reporters who asked about the late statesman.

There's also this ... Bloomberg asked if he thought McCain would've made a better president than Barack Obama ... and DT refused to answer, saying "I don’t want to comment on it ... I have a very strong opinion, all right." Bloomberg notes that Sarah Huckabee Sanders was staring daggers at her boss while he said this, to which he reportedly joked that she was "having a nervous breakdown" over his response -- adding he might elaborate someday.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti knows all too well that people confuse Rodeo Road with the Rodeo Drive ... but that's NOT why the former was renamed Obama Blvd.

We got hizzoner at USC's Galen Center in downtown L.A. and our camera guy just had to know -- was the reason for the change that untold numbers of folks ended up accidentally going to glitzy Beverly Hills instead of south L.A. or vice versa.

Our photog's question triggered an LOL from the Mayor ... who got in on the joke before getting all presidential on us. Garcetti explained Obama made a historic visit on the Road long before he was POTUS ... and that's what triggered the move for the switch.

Watch the vid ... our guy has another trick up his sleeve in getting Garcetti to spill the beans on whether he's running for Prez in 2020.

John McCain is finally getting his due respect from President Trump -- his body is being flown to Washington D.C. on an aircraft that had to be approved by POTUS.

The late Arizona senator's casket was loaded onto one of the jets known as Air Force 2 -- which is often designated for the VP or First Lady's travel. As you know, 45 will not be attending McCain's service in D.C. ... reportedly because McCain wanted it that way.

Still, Trump announced earlier this week he had greenlit military transport for McCain, saying, "At the request of the McCain family, I have also authorized military transportation of Senator McCain’s remains from Arizona to Washington, D.C., military pallbearers and band support, and a horse and caisson transport during the service at the United States Naval Academy."

Prior to the statement, Trump was being incredibly stubborn on publicly speaking about McCain's passing ... refusing to answer questions about the Senator, and even briefly returning the White House flag to full-staff. It was eventually lowered back to half-staff.

There was no love lost between Trump and McCain. Then-candidate Trump mocked McCain's military service, saying he was not a war hero because he'd been captured in Vietnam.

A memorial service was held for McCain Thursday in Arizona, where a lot of people spoke in remembrance of the political maverick ... including a teary-eyed Joe Biden. McCain will lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda Friday before another memorial service Saturday.

Sen. Lindsey Graham can't hide his pain over losing John McCain, but says there can be a silver lining ... if politicians, including himself, lead more like his friend did.

Senator Graham was clearly emotional about Sen. McCain's death when we saw him Wednesday at Reagan National. He described himself as McCain's wingman, and said America had lost its "voice of reason."

He added, "I gotta up my game" ... insinuating it was time for elected officials to govern more like the AZ Senator did -- fighting passionately, while respecting the other side.

As for the guy who repeatedly disrespected McCain -- President Trump -- Graham said the administration will be represented at the memorial services ... even if POTUS himself won't be there.

Donald Trump learned what a red card was for on Tuesday ... and POTUS waited about 2 seconds to use it on the White House reporters!

The playful ejections all went down in the Oval Office, where D.T. played host to FIFA president Gianni Infantino for a celebration of North America landing the 2026 World Cup.

Gianni gifted #45 with his own personalized futbol jersey ... and then brought out the referee cards -- and the exchange that ensued between the two was as hilarious as it was predictable.

"In soccer, we have referees. And they have cards," Infantino explained.

"Yellow cards and red cards. Yellow card is a warning, and when you want to kick out someone, this one right here."

Trump couldn't grab the red card fast enough ... nearly chucking it at the media assembled in the Oval Office!!

Ivanka Trump just broke in a big way from her father, calling John McCain a "true hero," adding that he served with distinction for more than six decades.

Donald Trump was just shamed into acknowledging John McCain was an honorable American, belatedly saying, "Despite our differences on policy and politics, I respect Senator John McCain's service to our country and, in his honor, have signed a proclamation to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff until the day of his interment."

BTW, the flag was raised after a day at half-staff but Trump clearly bowed to the outrage and pressure.

More John McCain disrespect from Donald Trump -- who refused to even acknowledge the late senator in front of reporters Monday at the White House.

POTUS held a meeting in the Oval Office -- sitting with Melania -- when ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl began asking question after question about McCain.

Despite the fact he was in spitting distance from the President, Trump ignored Karl and stared blankly at the pool of photographers.

Karl followed up with Trump in the White House Cabinet Room -- while Trump was sitting next to Vice President Mike Pence -- but still, no acknowledgment from 45 when it came to McCain.

Further insult from the administration came early Monday morning as the White House flag was returned to full-staff after it had been at half-staff to honor Sen. McCain. Interestingly, it's now been lowered again.

Trump has been extremely critical of McCain for years -- claiming he should not be hailed as a hero because he was captured in battle during the Vietnam war.

Trump famously said he likes people who did NOT get captured.

McCain -- who passed away on Saturday after battling brain cancer -- took a thinly-veiled shot at Trump (and his walls) in his farewell letter ... saying:

"We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down ..."

McCain was 81.

John McCain took a parting shot before he died at Donald Trump, saying, "We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down ..."

McCain's final words were called a "farewell statement" from the Senator. As we reported, McCain has made Donald Trump persona non grata at his funeral, and the President has been stingy to say the least in any praise for the war hero who was a guiding light in the Senate ... especially on global relations.

McCain wrote, "We are three-hundred-and-twenty-five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times."

He ends with this -- again seemingly about the troubles that emanate from the top -- "Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America ... Fairwell, fellow Americans, God bless you, and God bless America.