Here's what's making headlines in the political world on Tuesday, August 28, 2018:
Trump says Google search results are “rigged” against him
-- President Trump targeted tech giant Google in a series of tweets Tuesday morning, accusing the Bay Area firm and other companies of “suppressing voices” of conservatives and “hiding information.”
Trump said, “Google search results for ‘Trump News’ shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake News Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of results on ‘Trump News’ are from National Left-Wing Media, very dangerous. Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can & cannot see. This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!”
Google search results for “Trump News” shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake News Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018
....results on “Trump News” are from National Left-Wing Media, very dangerous. Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can & cannot see. This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018
In a statement posted on Bloomberg, Google officials said: “Search is not used to set a political agenda and we don’t bias our results toward any political ideology. Every year, we issue hundreds of improvements to our algorithms to ensure they surface high-quality content in response to users’ queries. We continually work to improve Google Search and we never rank search results to manipulate political sentiment.”
Sources: North Korea warns Pompeo denuclearization talks are "at stake"
-- Top North Korean officials warned the United States in a letter that denuclearization talks are "again at stake and may fall apart," sources familiar with the process told CNN.
The letter was delivered to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who abruptly canceled his fourth trip to Pyongyang, hours before he was scheduled to depart with his new special envoy Stephen Biegun on Friday, sources said.
Three sources with direct knowledge of the North Korean position on denuclearization said the letter stated that Kim's regime felt that the process couldn't move forward because "the U.S. is still not ready to meet (North Korean) expectations in terms of taking a step forward to sign a peace treaty."
WSJ: Manafort sought plea deal before second trial
-- Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort sought a plea deal before his trial in Washington, DC, federal court next month, but talks stalled over issues raised by special counsel Robert Mueller, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Manafort was found guilty last Tuesday in a separate trial in Virginia federal court on eight counts of financial crimes, including tax fraud, bank fraud and hiding foreign bank accounts. He faces a second set of criminal charges next month in Washington of failure to register his foreign lobbying and money laundering conspiracy.
The talks between the defense and prosecutors occurred last week as the Virginia jury was deliberating, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. The newspaper said it was unclear what issues Mueller raised or what terms for a potential plea might have been proposed.
Justice Department official in Trump's crosshairs to face lawmakers
-- Bruce Ohr, the career Justice Department official targeted by President Donald Trump as a "creep" and a "disgrace," will face a grilling by Republican lawmakers Tuesday on Capitol Hill.
The closed-door session is expected to focus on Ohr's relationship with Christopher Steele, the British spy behind the dossier that included salacious and unverified intelligence on Trump and Russia. It is an unlikely turn in the spotlight for the nearly 30-year veteran of the Department of Justice, who has built a reputation as the "consummate government servant" and an expert on global organized crime.
Little is known publicly about the extent of the relationship between Ohr and Steele, but some House Republicans who are vocal critics of the Russia investigation have seized on it as proof of an untoward connection between government officials and the roots of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
CNN contributed to this report
