page_title: Timeline of the Donald Trump presidency (2018 Q3)
section_title: Week 79
hierarchical_section_title: Timeline of the Donald Trump presidency (2018 Q3) / Timeline / July 2018 / Week 79
caption_attribution_description: English: Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Trump, 2018-07-25.
context_page_description: The following is a timeline of the presidency of Donald Trump during the third quarter of 2018. To navigate among quarters, see Timeline of the Donald Trump presidency.
context_section_description: Monday, July 23
  President Trump publicly considers revoking security clearances for former top-level officials (including John Brennan, James Clapper, James Comey, Susan Rice, Andrew McCabe, and Michael Hayden); Trump claims that the former officials' public comments about the Special Counsel investigation are "inappropriate", and Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused the former officials of "politicizing and ... monetizing their public service".
  The Senate confirms Robert Wilkie as the 10th U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs in a vote of 86–9; Wilkie served as an under-secretary in the U.S. Department of Defense since November 2017 (and previously from 2006 to 2009 under President George W. Bush) and also served as acting Veterans' Affairs secretary from March 2018 to May 2018 following David Shulkin's resignation.
  President Trump launches "Made in America Week" at the White House by showcasing products made in all 50 states.
  Tuesday, July 24
  At a speech to the annual convention of a veterans' organization (Veterans of Foreign Wars) in Kansas City, Trump says that "what you're seeing and what you're reading [in the media] is not what's happening". Some observers describe this quote as "Orwellian".
  The September 2016 tape, the existence of which was revealed on July 20, is published by CNN on its 9:00 p.m. show, Cuomo Prime Time. The three-minute recording proves that Trump and his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, did discuss the $150,000 payment to American Media, Inc., as claimed on July 20. Moreover, Trump and Cohen can be heard discussing whether to make the payment in cash; on the recording, Trump appears to suggest a cash payment, and Cohen appears to dismiss the suggestion. According to The New York Times, the salient portion of the "sometimes muddled" recording reads as follows:
  Mr. Cohen is heard telling Mr. Trump that he will need to set up a company to arrange the payments.
  
  Mr. Trump then asked, "What financing?"
  
  "We'll have to pay," Mr. Cohen said.
  
  Mr. Trump then appears to say, "Pay with cash."
  
  Mr. Cohen then says, "No, no."
  
  The word "check" is uttered, but it is not clear by whom, and the audio is then cut off.
  However, Trump's legal team disputes this.
  Wednesday, July 25
  Eleven Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee (all members of the House Freedom Caucus) file an impeachment resolution against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, claiming that Rosenstein in his role as overseer of the Special Counsel investigation committed "high crimes and misdemeanors" in refusing to turn over information relating to the ongoing investigation to the House Judiciary Committee.
  President Trump holds a bilateral meeting and joint press conference with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the White House.
  Thursday, July 26
  The House Republicans who filed an impeachment resolution against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on July 26 back down, deciding not to continue with impeachment proceedings. This decision comes after many high-profile Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, criticize the impeachment resolution and express support for Rosenstein.
  Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, claims that Trump had contemporaneous knowledge of the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Trump campaign officials (including Trump's son, Don Jr., and son-in-law, Jared Kushner) and Russian lobbyists, where the Trump campaign was promised "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. While Trump has repeatedly denied that he knew that this meeting took place, Cohen claims that he is prepared to testify to the Special Counsel investigation that Trump knew in advance of the meeting. Commentators note that "this revelation, if true, would directly implicate Trump himself in an effort to conspire with a foreign power to tip the election to him, and a subsequent effort to cover that up." Trump tweets in his denial that "[it] sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam (Taxi cabs maybe?)."
  The deadline (imposed on June 26 by 
caption: President Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker
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