1/ A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration must resume accepting new DACA applications, saying the Department of Homeland Security’s legal explanation for ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was “arbitrary,� “capricious,� and predicated on “virtually unexplained� grounds and therefore “unlawful.� DHS now has 90 days to better explain its reasoning for canceling the program, or the judge will rescind the government memo that terminated the program. (New York Times / Politico / Washington Post / NBC News)

2/ Mick Mulvaney advised bankers and lobbyists that increasing campaign contributions would help weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – the agency he runs. Mulvaney capped off his speech at a American Bankers Association conference by arguing that trying to sway legislators with campaign contributions was one of the “fundamental underpinnings of our representative democracy.� Mulvaney, who is rumored to be at the top of the list when it comes to Trump’s next pick for chief of staff, also revealed that he would only meet with lobbyists who contributed to his campaign during his time as a congressman. “If you’re a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didn’t talk to you,� Mulvaney explained. “If you’re a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you.� (New York Times / Washington Post)

3/ Ben Carson proposed tripling rent increases for low-income Americans receiving federal housing subsidies, which would affect more than 4.5 million families. The proposed legislation requires congressional approval. (Washington Post)

4/ In 2015, Ronny Jackson drunkenly banged on the hotel room door of a female employee in the middle of the night. The Secret Service stopped him out of concern that he would wake then-president Barack Obama. (CNN)

5/ Scott Pruitt’s head of security, Pasquale Perrotta, moonlighted for American Media Inc. during the 2016 presidential campaign. A.M.I. owns the National Enquirer, which purchased the rights to Karen McDougal’s story about her alleged affair with Trump. A.M.I.‘s chairman, David Pecker, is a close friend of Trump’s. Perrotta received a waiver from the EPA under the Obama administration to hold outside employment. (New York Times)

6/ Trump praised Kim Jong Un as a “very honorable� person and expressed hope their meeting will occur “as soon as possible.� Trump sidestepped the question when asked to explain his comment that Kim, whom he once mocked as “Little Rocket Man,� is an “hono...

1/ Jeff Sessions will not recuse himself from the ongoing criminal investigation of Michael Cohen. By staying involved in the Cohen case, Sessions will receive briefings on the investigation, which puts Sessions in the position of being asked by Trump for information about the Cohen investigation. Trump condemned the FBI raid on his longtime lawyer and has called Sessions weak for recusing himself from the Robert Mueller probe. (Bloomberg / CNBC)

2/ The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee postponed Ronny Jackson’s confirmation hearing following reports that Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs oversaw a hostile work environment as the White House physician, allowed the overprescribing of drugs, and drank on the job. Jackson administered Trump’s annual physical in January, reporting that there is “no reason whatsoever to think the president has any issues whatsoever with his thought processes,� and that Trump could live to 200 years old if he had a healthier diet. (New York Times / Washington Post)

3/ The White House stands by Ronny Jackson, but Trump hinted that Jackson might withdraw from consideration because the process is “too ugly, and it’s too disgusting.� Trump said he doesn’t want to “put a man through a process like this� over “ugly allegations.� (Washington Post / New York Times)

4/ Iran warned that it could withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty after Trump threatened to restore economic sanctions unless European allies fix what he has called a “terrible deal� by May 12. “If they restart their nuclear program,� Trump said, “they will have bigger problems than they ever had before.� French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Angela Merkel and U.K. prime minister Theresa May have been coordinating potential side agreements they hope will convince Trump to remain part of the pact. (New York Times / Washington Post / Bloomberg / Reuters)

5/ The White House will host its first state dinner for France’s President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitt...

1/ Defense Secretary James Mattis wanted to get Congressional approval before bombing Syria last week. Trump overruled him because he wanted his tweets to be supported by action, despite warnings that an overly aggressive strike could spark a larger dispute with Russia. A limited airstrike on three targets was the compromise. (New York Times)

2/ Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un over Easter weekend for a top-secret visit to lay the groundwork for direct talks between Trump and the North Korean leader. Pompeo was nominated as secretary of state shortly after the meeting. Trump is expected to meet with Kim by June. While meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, Trump said his administration has “had direct talks at very high levels, extremely high levels with North Korea.� (Washington Post / New York Times)

3/ Sarah Huckabee Sanders said “the administration does not comment on the CIA director’s travel.� Hours later, Trump tweeted that “Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed.� (Reuters)

Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed. Details of Summit are being worked out now. Denuclearization will be a great thing for World, but also for North Korea!

4/ Two Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will vote against Mike Pompeo, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state. Pompeo can still be confirmed by the full Senate without the committee’s support. Republicans hold a 11-10 majority on the committee and Republican Rand Paul has already said he’s also “no.� (Reuters / CNN)

5/ Nikki Haley: “I don’t get confused.� The comment by the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations comes in response to a White House official attributing her statement that Trump would impose sanctions on Russia to “momentary confusion.� Larry Kudlow, the president’s national economics adviser, said Haley “got ahead of the curve.� Later, Kudlow called Haley to apologize, saying “she was certainly not confused.� He added: “She was basically following what she thought was policy. The policy was changed and she wasn’t told about it, so she was in a box.� The White House sent out a document – titled “White House talking points� – to surrogates on Saturday letting them know that Trump had decided to take punitive action against Moscow. (New York Times / Politico /

1/ The Supreme Court ruled that a law subjecting immigrants to deportation for some “crimes of violence� is unconstitutionally vague. Justice Neil Gorsuch – Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court – joined with the court’s liberal justices, providing the swing vote for the first time in a 5-4 ruling that invalidated the federal statute. (CNN / Politico / USA Today)

2/ The Senate will not take up legislation limiting Trump’s ability to fire Robert Mueller. “I’m the one who decides what we take to the floor,� Mitch McConnell said, “that’s my responsibility as the majority leader and we will not be having this on the floor of the Senate.� McConnell’s statement comes about a week after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said his panel would take up and vote on the measure during a meeting on April 26. A handful of House Republicans have also endorsed legislation that would protect the special counsel. (The Hill / Washington Post / Politico)

3/ Trump rejected a new round of sanctions that would have been imposed against Russia on Monday. Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that “a decision will be made in the near future,� and Trump has now decided to not move forward with the sanctions. She added that Trump “has been clear that he’s going to be tough on Russia, but at the same time he’d still like to have a good relationship with them.� (New York Times)

4/ Trump’s National Economic Council chairman said Nikki Haley “got ahead� of herself in announcing new sanctions on Russia. Larry Kudlow insisted there was no confusion within the administration about the sanctions. Trump signed off on the sanctions package, but changed his mind following the airstrikes in Syria. “Russia sanctions were a part of the agreed-upon plan going into the strike and going into the weekend,� said a senior administration official. “As recently as Saturday that was reconfirmed as part of the plan.� (CNN / Politico)

5/ A broadband adviser chosen by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai was arrested last week and charged with fraud for tricking investors into pouring more than $250 million into an Alaska-based fiber optic cable company. Elizabeth Pierce used forged contracts with other companies to guarantee investors hundreds of millions of dollars in future revenue. Pierce stepped down from her role as head of the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee in September of last year. (Wall Street Journal /

1/ James Comey called Trump “morally unfit to be president� and likened “the loyalty oaths� to a mob boss at “the dominant center of everything� who is doing “tremendous damage� to institutional and cultural norms. In his Sunday interview with George Stephanopoulos, Comey said that it is “possible, but I don’t know� if Russia has compromising information on Trump. (ABC News / Reuters)

Annotated excerpts from James Comey’s “20/20� interview. (New York Times)

📚 Get Comey’s book: “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership� (Amazon)

2/ Trump tweeted that Comey is a “not smart,� “self serving� liar, who deserves jail for being the “WORST FBI Director in history, by far.� The tweets came hours before Comey’s interview aired. Trump also insisted that Comey’s memos are “FAKE!� while doubling down on calling the former FBI director a “Slimeball!� Trump also charged that the only reason Comey reopened the Clinton email investigation in the final days of the 2016 election was because he wanted a job in her administration. Trump added: “I never asked Comey for Personal Loyalty.� (Washington Post)

Unbelievably, James Comey states that Polls, where Crooked Hillary was leading, were a factor in the handling (stupidly) of the Clinton Email probe. In other words, he was making decisions based on the fact that he thought she was going to win, and he wanted a job. Slimeball!

The big questions in Comey’s badly reviewed book aren’t answered like, how come he gave up Classified Information (jail), why did he lie to Congress (jail), why did the DNC refuse to give Server to the FBI (why didn’t they TAKE it), why the phony memos, McCabe’s $700,000 & more?

I never asked Comey for Personal Loyalty. I hardly even knew this guy. Just another of his many lies. His “memos� are self serving and FAKE!

Slippery James Comey, a man who always ends up badly and out of whack (he is not smart!), will go down as the WORST FBI Director in history, by far!

1/ Rod Rosenstein is prepared to be fired by Trump, telling confidants he has done his job with integrity and repeating the phrase “Here I stand.� In recent private conversations, Rosenstein said history will prove he did the right thing by firing James Comey in May 2017, adding that Americans don’t have all the facts about what led to his decision to write the memo that led to Comey’s dismissal. If Rosenstein is fired, the next in line to oversee Mueller’s probe is Solicitor General Noel Francisco. Trump, however, could choose to replace Rosenstein with anyone who has been confirmed by the Senate. (NBC News)

� GIVEAWAY: Win a set of Pee Tape and Robert Mueller III Prayer candles.

2/ James Comey called Trump an “unethical� man “untethered to truth and institutional values� in his new book, “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership.� Comey describes Trump and his advisers as being unconcerned with whether Russia meddled in the election, but rather “debat[ing] how to position these findings for maximum political advantage.� Trump, as president-elect, disputed the Steele dossier allegations that he watched sex workers urinate on each other. Comey writes that Trump insisted that “there’s no way I would let people pee on each other around me� because he is a self-professed germaphobe. “I don’t know,� Comey told ABC News, if Trump “was with prostitutes peeing on each other in Moscow in 2013.� (NBC News / New York Times / CNN)

New York Times Book Review: James Comey Has a Story to Tell. It’s Very Persuasive. (New York Times)

📚 Get your copy of “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership.�

3/ Trump tweets that Comey is a “weak and untruthful slime ball� who deserved to be fired “for the terrible job he did.� He added that Comey is a “proven LEAKER and LIAR� and that “it was my great honor to fire James Comey!� The pair of tweets are Trump’s first remarks since advance copies of “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership� surfaced. ABC’s “20/20� will air an interview with Comey on Sunday morning, while Fox News will air a special called “The Trial of James Comey� on Sunday night. (New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News)

James ...

1/ Steve Bannon is working with White House aides and Congressional allies on a plan to undermine Robert Mueller’s probe. The plan involves firing Rod Rosenstein, refusing to cooperate with Mueller’s team, and having Trump assert executive privilege “retroactively� in order to argue that Mueller’s interviews with White House officials over the past year should now be null and void. Bannon also said “Ty Cobb should be fired immediately.� Trump, however, tweeted that he has “full confidence in Ty Cobb.� (Washington Post)

I have agreed with the historically cooperative, disciplined approach that we have engaged in with Robert Mueller (Unlike the Clintons!). I have full confidence in Ty Cobb, my Special Counsel, and have been fully advised throughout each phase of this process.

2/ A Trump interview with Robert Mueller is now unlikely to take place following Monday’s FBI raid of Michael Cohen’s home, office, and hotel room, which has “significantly complicated� negotiations for a presidential interview, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Trump’s lawyers wanted a potential interview to last only a few hours, as well as force Mueller to release his report within three or four months. An interview was considered one of the last steps Mueller needed before closing the obstruction of justice portion of his Russia investigation. (NBC News)

3/ Trump asked James Comey to investigate “the golden showers thing� and “prove it was a lie� in January 2017 so he could “lift the cloud� because it upset Melania Trump. The infamous dossier, compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, alleges that Trump watched sex workers urinate on themselves in the same Moscow suite that the Obamas had stayed in previously “as a way of soiling the bed.� Comey said Trump was obsessed with the sex workers portion of the dossier, asking about it at least four times. (Washington Post)

4/ Trump’s allies plan to discredit James Comey with digital advertising branding him “Lyin’ Comey� in an effort to undermine the credibility of the former FBI director ahead of his book launch next week. Republican talking points attack Comey’s credibility, conduct, and point out contradictions. (CNN)

5/ The White House is preparing talking points designed to undermine Rod Rosenstein’s credibility and cast the deputy attorney general as too conflicted to fairly oversee the Russia investigation. The White House is ...

1/ Trump tweets that “smart� missiles “will be coming� toward Syria in response to a chemical attack, taunting Russia to “get ready.� Russia’s ambassador to Lebanon said any U.S. missiles fired at Syria would be shot down and the launch sites targeted. Trump also condemned Moscow’s backing of Bashar al-Assad, saying: “You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!� In a pair of subsequent tweets, Trump said relations between the U.S. and Russia are “worse now than it has ever been� and the “Fake and Corrupt Russia Investigation,� Democrats, and everybody that worked for Obama are to blame. (New York Times / Washington Post)

Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!� You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!

Our relationship with Russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold War. There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy, something that would be very easy to do, and we need all nations to work together. Stop the arms race?

Much of the bad blood with Russia is caused by the Fake & Corrupt Russia Investigation, headed up by the all Democrat loyalists, or people that worked for Obama. Mueller is most conflicted of all (except Rosenstein who signed FISA & Comey letter). No Collusion, so they go crazy!

2/ Paul Ryan will not seek re-election in November, ending what will be a three-year run as the leader of House Republicans. Ryan will serve until the end of this Congress in January, which will mark 20 years in Congress for him. He said that he won’t run for public office again. (Axios /

1/ Michael Cohen is under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud, and violations of campaign finance law. Two potential crimes – bank and wire fraud – suggest prosecutors believe Cohen may have misled bankers about his use of certain funds or improperly used banks to transfer funds. Among the documents taken in Monday’s FBI raids on Cohen’s office, home and hotel room were those related to a 2016 payment Cohen made to Stormy Daniels. (Washington Post)

Lou Dobbs urged Trump to fire Robert Mueller in response to the raid of Michael Cohen’s offices. “This is now a man that has to be brought under control, it would seem to me,� Dobbs said. “Frankly, I can’t imagine ― because each of us has to come to terms with our own heart and conscience ― I would fire the SOB in three seconds if it were me.� (HuffPost)

“Why don’t I just fire Mueller? Well, I think it’s a disgrace what’s going on. We’ll see what happens,� Trump said. “But I think it’s really a sad situation, when you look at what happened. And many people have said, you should fire him.� (CNN / Politico)

Sen. Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said “it would be suicide for the President to fire� Mueller. “I think the less the President says about this whole thing, the better off he will be. And I think Mueller is a person of stature and respected and I respect him. Just let the thing go forward.� (CNN)

Trump “certainly believes� he has the power to fire Robert Mueller, Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. The White House’s stance on firing Mueller has been rejected by many legal experts who say Trump does not have the power to fire the special counsel directly. Sanders later added that “we’ve been advised that the president certainly has the power to make that decision.� (CNBC / The Hill)

The White House is “not sure� if Cohen still represents Trump. (The Guardian)

2/ Rod Rosenstein signed off on the FBI’s decision to raid Cohen’s office. Agents were looking, in part, for records about payments Cohen made to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, as well as information related to the publisher of The National Enquirer’s role in silencing one of the women. Rosenstein, a Republican prosecutor, was picked by Trump to serve as deputy attorney general. The interest in both Daniels and McDougal indicates that federal investigators are trying to determine whether any crimes were committed in the course of buying their silence. (New York Times /

1/ The FBI raided Michael Cohen’s office, home, and Manhattan hotel room seizing records related to Stormy Daniels and several other topics. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan obtained the search warrants after receiving a referral from Robert Mueller. The search warrants were executed by the office of the U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York and are “in part� related to Mueller’s investigation. Trump characterized the FBI raid on his longtime personal attorney as a “disgraceful situation� that has reached a “new level of unfairness� and “an attack on our country in a true sense.� (New York Times / Politico / Los Angeles Times / Wall Street Journal)

2/ Trump vowed to make “major decisions� in the next 24 to 48 hours about how to respond to a suspected chemical attack in Syria that killed dozens of people. Trump said there will be a “big price to pay� for the “atrocious,� “horrible,� and “barbaric act.� Trump directly criticized Putin, Russia, and Iran for backing “Animal Assad� in a tweet. Later, Trump said “Everybody’s going to pay a price. [Putin] will, everybody will.� (New York Times / Washington Post / Reuters)

Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price...

....to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!

3/ John Kelly threatened to quit on March 28 after he blew up at Trump during an Oval Office meeting – the same day Trump fired Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin. “I’m out of here, guys,� Kelly said, and packed up some personal belongings. DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis attempted to calm Kelly down. (Axios / Washington Post)